#aaaaaaaaa!!!! we finally get to see what she looks like!!

[weirdblondestuff]

Why is everyone hating on Disney's "Wish" so much?? Is it just where I live or an universal experience?

Like, ok, the villain is nothing but a control freak. Is that really all that we're seeing here?

Are we really ignoring the fact that they managed to mention *a lot* of Disney's old movies and some nice things?

TW: some spoilers ahead?

Also, feel free to add things or agree or disagree. I really want to understand why everyone is hating that movie so much. I'm not saying it's my favourite but I actually think there's some interesting stuff there.

The main friend group is formed of seven people, excluding Asha. Each of them reminds me of one of the seven dwarves from Snow White, except that the one who represents Dopey can talk. The short one even says "And they ask me why I'm grumpy!". He's clearly Grumpy.

Asha's grandpa, Sabino(?) is turning 100, just like the Disney company. And after the final credits roll, there's a scene of him playing "When you wish upon a star" on whatever instrument he plays(don't really know the name of it, sorry).

On one of the wishes, Aurora's dress can be clearly seen for a split second.

On another wish, we see Peter Pan flying around and soon after king Magnifico mentions Neverland. Later on, a guy NAMED PETER. WANTS TO BUILD A FLYING MACHINE. AND HE LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE PETER PAN. Coincidence? I think not.

They reference Tangled with the scene everyone is drawing on the ground with chalk.

Bambi! Bambi is in the movie! As an adult and he barely has 5 seconds of screen time? Yes, but it's still Bambi.

Asha's wish is... Guess what? Made upon a star. 🎵When you wish upon a star...🎵

Sleeping Beauty might also have been referenced when king Magnifico "trapped" everyone in that... Rose thorns looking magic. (It's either this or my mind is mixing Disney's version with the tale I read as a kid. Sorry.)

When Asha's trying to lure the king into the forest, she's given a small stick with some magic in it and is wearing something very similar to what Cinderella's fairy godmother wore. Later on, she receives an actual magic wand and is asked to become everyone's fairy godmother, and her clothes sparkle similarly to how Cinderella's ones did when her dress transformed.

Magnifico also mentions the Evil Queen from Snow White! (Not sure if this is the exact phrase but I'm pretty sure he said something similar) "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who in the land is the fairest of all?".

Valentino says something, by the end of the movie, that references to Zootopia (something along the lines of "A place where all mammals are the same. And wear clothes!").

The star does the Disney intro thing by the end of the movie(Castle on the background, the star... Y'know what I'm talking about. Hopefully.).

There might be other things I forgot to mention here and things I didn't notice. Also, I've only watched the movie once, in english, and it isn't even my mother tongue, so there might be some misunderstandings. Anyway, overall, I don't think the movie deserves all the hate it's getting. It's definitely not the best movie of all, but, honestly? It's not that bad.

Please forgive any mistakes 🙏 and help me understand whatever's happening because it doesn't make much sense to me.

[amazingmsme]

Curtwen hc time! Bc we always need some more of these. (And strap in theres a few—)

First things first, i ADORE your last hc with Curt finding out about Owen first. I love the lines of dialogue beforehand between the two of them so SO much. I like that Owen would be like "stop tickling!" rather than "stop tickling ME", makes him sound more british.

Alr here are my thoughts:

Curt obviously spends a lot of time on his hair to keep it ✨️perfect✨️, but actually so does Owen. Owen uses a lot of product to keep his longer hair silky and soft, while Curt uses product specifically for looks. SO Owen loves that when theyre making out his hair ends up all up in Curt's face. Curts squinting and squirming and like "Owehehen- use a hair tie!" and Owens like "I literally just washed my hair, I'm not going to ruin it now-" so Curt has to suffer through giggles.

I will always and forever adore Barb being unwillingly involved in the boys' lil games, SO— Curt keeps asking and asking Barb to buildnhim somrthing that'll help him get revenge on Owen, but he never specifies what he wants the invention to do. So Barb's like "Mega, if you cant tell me what you want the invention to DO, i cant make one for you!!" and Curt tries to explain it in the vaguest way possible so that 1) she doesnt think he only wants it for himself and 2) itll still do what he wants it to do. And wventually when she connects the dots she teases the hell outta him. Curt makes excuses about the 'bad guys' bring thrown offguard or itd be helpful in interrogations, but Barb says "no one would ever use tickling in an interrogation, Mega" and Curt doesnt have the willpower or pride to correct her.

Owen has ticklish arms. There i said it. He wore a tak top while he and Curt were cuddling, and Curt just traced lines up and down the soft skin of his inner/outer arm. He tries SO FREAKING HARD not to tense his muscles because he knows as soon as he does Curt will notice. So hes just like "Curt could you cut it out? You're nails are itching me." and tries to move out of the way. But Curt senses somethings up and prods him (figuratively and literally) about it until he spills. Owen's laughter from soft tickles is so much different from when he's "getting wreckt". Its very breathy and soft, and he covers his face with the back of his hand to hide himself, but doesnt actively lean away from the feeling. Curt gets heart-eyes and immediately wants to hear more. Owen's throwing insults at him to stop, but he just lays there giggling into the side of the couch.

Finally, LETS👏TALK👏ABOUT👏CURT'S👏TICKLISH👏EARS👏. Our canon. Our bread and butter. Curt originally hates wearing earpieces because Barb hadn't perfected the technology yet and it always buzzed. He got yelled at because one time on a very important mission in Budapest Curt was losing his gd mind with how tingly his ear was feeling and he had to take it off. When Barb couldn't get ahold of him, she knew she'd give him an earfull later. Curt also has issues with Owen. Now, Owen loves Curt's ears. He thinks theyre a cute shape and he loves that theyre so sensitive. Owen adores tracing them and pecking them. Depending on the day, Curt wil either get major goosebumps from Owen, or lose his shiy immediately as he did in the famous interrogation scene. Owen always keeps an ostrich feather in his coat pocket. He rarely uses it, but he likes that Curt knows its always there. Its like its watching him 👀

THAT is all i have, i know it is alot but i am obsessed w these two and i just aAA-

AAAAAAAAA THESE ARE SO FUCKING CUTE I’M DYING I NEED CPR STAT!!! These two are gonna kill me, they’re such fucking dorks I love them I love them I love them! & I love that it makes him sound more British, I didn’t even think of that but now that you pointed it out I can’t stop seeing it!

I absolutely LOVE the difference in hair care between the 2 because they both obsess over their hair in different ways. Curt will style & gel his hair before he even thinks about stepping out the door because he’s always gotta look his best. Meanwhile Owen takes fucking forever after his shower brushing it & putting products in it to help it grow, heal split ends, make it soft, literally the works. Curt’s always like what the hell takes you so long??? & Owen’s just like “you have your hair routine, I have mine”

But it makes his hair so silky smooth & soft & it’s the perfect length to brush against Curt’s neck & ears when they cuddle or make out & it makes him so blushy & giggly because wtf hair shouldn’t tickle! But Owen absolutely loves the fact that he doesn’t even have to use his hands to get him laughing

On a related note, his stubble is the bane of Curt’s existence, it should be illegal

& omg Barb is constantly flipping between extremely amused & very annoyed, these boys never give her a fucking break! She’s so patient with Curt trying to find out what the fuck he actually wants from her, but he won’t stop beating around the bush & is being vague af. So she’s just like “damn if you can’t even say it you can’t be trusted with it” & then he tries to make more of an effort to actually describe what it is he’s looking for & she just gets more amused by the second. & when she says no one would use that in an interrogation he like mumbles under his breath something like “well Owen did” or “must be an MI6 thing” & he’s just being classic sassy Curt but she hears what he said & is like wait a fucking second. “Curt you can’t be serious. Agent Carvour is a professional” & he’s getting flustered & huffy & just goes “yeah, a professional pain in my ass. So can you make it or what?” She has it ready for him by lunch the next day & demands a “full report” on the device’s performance. She even had a sticky note with it that just says “give him hell ;)”

FMVRMAGELW I AM FOAMING AT THE MOUTH RN! TICKLISH ARMS ARE SO UNDERRATED! Sorry for yelling but this really has me in a chokehold. Owen is pretty averagely ticklish in all the normal spots, but I like to imagine he’s a lot more sensitive in harder to reach or more unconventional spots like his arms. Light touches here drive him up the fucking wall ok, he cannot take it whatsoever. Immediately breaks down in a fit of giggles. He tries to hold out, but breathy snickers always force their way out as he squirms around trying to suppress his wide dopey ass grin. Curt thinks it’s the cutest fucking thing he’s ever seen in his life, & he’s right. His forearms are pretty bad & he can’t help but twitch away with a huff of laughter when Curt brushes over the skin there. But his biceps? That’s a good way to kill him. Light tickles there will have him in shrill hysterics & squeezing the muscle will draw out full on belly laughs. Owen didn’t even know he was ticklish there until Curt, & so he was really trying to hide the spot from the both of them. Because what a stupid fucking spot to be ticklish, he did not need to know how sensitive that spot was & he really didn’t need Curt to find out either. But he can’t lie to him, so they went in a little journey of discovery together

Bro we’re so damn lucky that we got canon ticklish!Curt I literally couldn’t believe it! & on his ears no less, like that is legit one of my favorite spots! It’s just so sweet & cute & the way people giggle & scrunch their neck for protection is so kxganssmabfi & that’s his literal introduction to the show!!! Like he legit goes from suave spy who never cracks under pressure to cutest giggly dork in the world in seconds flat! Like wtf they can’t do that to me! But I fucking LOVE how he can’t handle the ear piece because he’s too sensitive there & he just straight up ditches it! & when they ask him about it he’s all dodgy & embarrassed & not giving a straight answer until Cynthia threatens not to pay him for the assignment if he can’t answer her & he just blurts it out, blushing so much & Cynthia just scoffs like “Jesus Mega, that’s it? Why didn’t you just say so, no need to make such a big fucking deal out of it” & he’s so shocked because he honestly expected a lecture about how a spy shouldn’t be ticklish, but she was cool with it??? & she can kinda sense what he’s thinking so she says “look, we’re all human, I get it. I’ll get Barb to make some adjustments” & he thinks that’s the end of it but now she just uses it to tease the shit out of him when he’s least expecting it

His ears are Owen’s absolute favorite spot because Curt is soooo cute & giggly when he tickles him there & it’s one of his worst spots, & he’s a bit of a masochist & likes to bully his boyfriend. & I’m fucking dying thinking about him carrying around that feather all the time “just in case” like just imagine the first time Curt stumbles upon it! Maybe he’s looking for something in his pocket or grabbing his jacket for him & he just freezes & turns completely red. & he pulls it out & looks at Owen like “what the fuck is this???” & Owen looks up & smirks like “well you should know what that is” all smug & shit & he fucking has the audacity to wink at him. He knows exactly what he’s doing, & Curt really can’t handle it

Also worth noting: this is one of the top pics that comes up when you google Owen Carvour

I love them so very much, if you couldn’t tell

[stars-n-spice]

Thoughts on s3 ep14!

Woke up at like 12:10 something,, didn't get my usual "waste 2-3 hours to mentally prepare myself" so I jumped right into it once I made my coffee (bad idea)

Once again recorded my reaction so actual screaming will be under the cut!

SERIOUSLY HOW THE FUCK DO WE HAVE ONE FUCKING EPISODE LEFT?! HELLO?!?!

Anyways-

Incoherent screaming and spoilers under the cut!

Why the fuck are they going into this with like no backup and like,, they're just fucking jumping into it. Like I understand because Omega but like CMON guys. This happened before!!

Click here to hear my actual live reaction to the episode

Fuck, this armor is kinda growing on me

seriously what the fuck are they going to do with rampart?? he's literally dead weight

He makes for really good comedic relief though and he had me fucking dying this entire episode

WHO THE FUCK REPORTED THEM?!? DID I MISS SOMETHING?? LIKE I GET THAT THEY KNOCKED PEOPLE OUT AND SHIT BUT YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT PEOPLE RECOGNIZED THEM AND DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING UNTIL LATER OR WHAT?!!

Also the fact that they KNOW they're coming. fucking HELL the odds are stacked up against them

THE KIDS :(( Omega having to tell them what "cover me" means and them doing their absolute best to do so

ECHO MY BELOVED <33

Echo in the stormtrooper armor I'm

He has a hand now - "Thanks for the hand" - my comedic genius

IS THAT THE FUCKING ZILLO BEAST!??!?! FUCKING FINALLY!!! NOW WHEN THE FUCK IS IT GOING TO EAT HEMLOCK?!?!?

I miss Batcher :( Where is she? Is she safe? Is she alive?

Crosshair shoving Rampart around <3

"I've changed" - "Sure you have" WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT RAMPART SHUT YOUR WHORE MOUTH

Rampart acting like he knows Crosshair, fucking no you don't, just because you disrupted his meals like twice a day to call him to the principal's office doesn't mean SHIT

I love Echo so much, he's so cool

ECHO AND EMERIE TEAM UP

THE WAY THAT I SCREAMED BECAUSE AAAAAAAAA

OMEGA TALKED ABOUT THEM :( AND EMERIE LISTENED :( AND EMERIE REMEMBERED ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT WAS ECHO :( RAGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I need to kick Rampart so badly, please, please let me kick him

"we can't use blasters i'll give away our position!" - AND MAKING ALL THAT NOISE WONT?!?!

WRECKER OH MY GOD GOT FUCKING SLASHED HE BETTER BE OKAY WHAT THE FUCK

HELLO?? Rampart getting his fucking ass found. What are they going to do with him now? What can he tell them that they don't already know??? I guess Echo but like-

To anyone who is starting to like Rampart STOP. Because watch him be the Saw Gerrera of this season

Cannot wait to see the kids break out and release the zillo beast <3

Emerie :( "I was doing my job" EMERIE MY LOVE THERE'S MORE THAN THAT

I'm so scared for her now SHE'S REALIZING THERE'S MORE TO LIFE AND I SWEAR TO GOD IF SHE FUCKING DIES-

WHERE THE FUCK IS C-2X OR WHATEVER THE FUCK???? I'M LOSING HOPE FOR A TECH REVEAL. FUCKING HELL I MISS HIM SO MUCH. THIS WHOLE FUCKING SEASON WITHOUT HIM??? RAUUGHHHHHHHH.

This episode was just fucking,,, stakes stakes stakes

Did not get a rest

holy shit

Emerie and Echo are fucking MOTHERS love them

ECHO HAS FUCKING EARS?!?!?!?!?!?!? OK NOW GIVE HIM HIS HAIR AND COLOR BACK!!!!!!

Craziest fucking thing to come out of this season - Echo having ears

LOOK

a lot happened

i'm so scared for next week

this whole episode was fucking action, action, action

WHY DID IT FEEL SO SHORT

SO MUCH HAPPENED BUT AT THE SAME TIME NOTHING HAPPENED????

Ugh

More thoughts are in the audio because I go on like a 13 minute rant but

FUCK <- my final thoughts

[mytalemyworld]

Alaz: You should leave before anybody sees you. Look, you will be jailed for nothing. It's not worth it. I am not worth it. I just used you so that I couldn't go to jail and could tell the cops that I was with you if they asked me where I was. I don't care about you or that night.

He is a lying liar who lies.

Forget all noble idiocies you've ever watched or read. This is a whole new level.

Alaz: Save yourself. Save yourself from me.

Apparently she can't do that.

She brings him to Yaman's birth father, Güven.

But here, this moment destroyed me. She sees for the first time how much he's bleeding. That view shakes her up too much.

Güven: Why do you guys bring everybody you find on the streets to me? Isn't here any hospital? Alaz: No hospital. Güven: Why? First I'm gonna stop your bleeding then you have to go to hospital. I am not your on-call doctor. Alaz: Look at me. Nobody will know this, okay? You can staple or glue it, I don't care. But no hospital, do you understand me?

Alaz is being Alaz. Bleeding to death but still threatening…

Güven of course gets angry, pours something on his wound, he suffers, she suffers with him too. Aaaaaaaaa!!!

Güven: Yeah, I understand. Now you look at me too, but of course if you can keep your eyes open. If you keep threating me, I'll first stitch this wound then re-open it again. I am not your buddy. Talk properly.

Güven: I wonder whom you protect. Why don't you two tell me who did this? Alaz: It doesn't matter who did it. Don't ask.

Lol. Güven be like:

He's so done with them.

Güven: What are you on? Even the best day we have ends with stitching someone. Will there be any day you guys don't make any trouble? Could you bring one more towel from inside? Asi: That's all from me. You know where I live. If he dies, you can send the cops. Güven: What did you do to her?

Doc finds out it finally. Lol. He was scolding both of them just now then is like "so you have done something to her. As usual".

Meanwhile Alaz is just watching her leave. I mean, he finally gets what he wants but doesn't seem like relieved.

Alaz: If someone asks about this, tell them she found me on the road and brought me here. The rest is nobody's business.

He still protects her. By the way if he really died, he probably would tell this was his last wish. Tsk, tsk, his priorities....

Alaz: It hurts too much. Aren't there any painkillers? Güven: You were acting cool just now. What happened now?

I mean, I think he should know. He's quite a perceptive man, he should have understood that he doesn't need to hold back his screams anymore because she left.

[shi-daisy]

Chapter 13 and 14 have me reeling omg ma'am! 😭 The fluff 💗 the twists😱 the smut 🥵 We been blessed! I love how Tamlin is finally getting his healing arc/found family/Lucien romance because the way you write our boy is so cuteeeee!!! The flashbacks were adorable, Lucien is so handsome and adorable and I need both of them to be happy and cherished forever. Goodbye SJM canon this is what's canon for me now!

Few questions tho, given that you've named all the other 'nameless' characters like the Vanserra family, Tamlin's family, and other secondary characters is there are a reason why you haven't named Rhysand's family? Like is it because you're looking for a fitting name or a story reason?

Also, given that the new Dusk Court is seemingly a mix of Greece and Japan do you have headcannons for the other courts? What would Spring, Autumn or Winter be?

Finally I can't wait to see more of the Njght Court rebellion. After the whole Dusk reveal I'm excited to see their reactions and maybe backstory, and them with the Valkyries because Gwyn and Lunara would be such a cute friendship. Also Grim is best boy I love this man he's had one scene and now I need a prequel we stan himbo dad warrior in this house! He's what Cassian should've been!

Speaking of, Nesta needs to come back and read everyone for filth! Book 2 might be all about her but she so fun to read here too, especially as Tam's sister (they'd be cute as a ship too but platonic siblings Nestlin is life)

Anyway so sorry for the long message, I love your fic and I'm cheering you on! 💗

Aaaaaaaaa!!!! Anon c'mere and let me hug you! You're so sweet! Thank you so much!!! 🥰🥰🥰 it's been a joy to write this fic and while I already loved Tamlin and Lucien both as individuals and as a ship before, thanks to the fic they've gone up to otp status in my heart. I'm so excited to keep bringing you my boys and their adventures be it sweet and fluffy or high stakes.

Okay so to answer your questions, the reason I haven't named Rhysand's family (or the other bat boys family) is less interesting that twist a or story and has more to do with spite. I am spiteful AF when it comes to the page hogging bats and I refuse to give them any once of development or thought other than antagosnist. So I have zero intention of naming any of those characters because I know SJM would grant them names before the Acheron parents or the Vanserras or any other more important character. So no, I'm just a petty spiteful slug in that case. Sorry to disappoint.

Glad to hear you cought the Greece/Japan mix invented for Dusk. Given that Night seems to be based on Greece along with Middle East at least from what little world building we were shown I thought it would be cool to have them have Greek influence due to Night's colonization but also retain the Japanese inspired culture and aesthetic that was theirs before their fall. I have some ideas for the other courts but these are just headcanons.

Spring- Scottland, France

Summer- Kingdom of Hawaii, Polynesian, Caribbean

Autumn- Spain, Ireland

Winter- Russia, Norway, Korea

Day- Madagascar, Kenya, Roman Empire

Dawn- India, China, Vietnam

Dusk- Japan, Greece, England (Gothic period)

Night- Greece, Middle East

You shall get more Night Court rebellion content soon, I love this group and trust me you haven't met them all yet, lots of peeps want Rhys gone. Gwyn and Lunara will be good pals don't you worry, priestess stick together and I really want more Gwyn she is a delight. Seriously considering a prequel with them at some point.

Funny you mention Grim, he's the favorite so far out of the Rebellion oc's and while I love this precious edgy himbo he is not of my creation @maplesamurai made him as an NPC for one of our D&D campaigns and I've been obsessed with him since then (that version of him and of D&D Lunara are also a couple, mates in every universe baby!) So thank him for the best boy and best himbo. Cassian's got nothing on the best dilf!

Nesta too will get more page time, I'm just keeping from adding too much before her own book, while her healing is mostly happening offscreen and she will be stable by the time of book 2 girlie will have stuff to deal with later that I need to put off for now, but do expect her to get a good moment along with the rest of the squad. Also yes platonic Nestlin for life! They'd be an awesome ship, but as siblings they're a winning combo. Eris look out Nesta now has an older brother to keep an eye on ya once you're official!

Don't ever worry about long questions anon, I live for comments and asks and any attention so I'm absolutely delighted that you sent me this and so grateful you love my silly fix it fic! Thanks so much and I hope I've answered your question! 💙

[coconut530]

I painted Vi!! Took me so many hours but I did do it :D! I definitely want to try it more, since there are so many beautiful characters and shots in this show.

I also watched S2 yesterday!! GOD it was so good. Things I loved:

New Intro:

The vibrancy of it I am all here for I like it a lot more than the other one (but it’s still cool)

The simple clothing too very cool

Vi smudging her tattoo like what’s that all about

The black rose permeating Ambessa and Mel’s scenes

Mel and the hands

CaitVi scene

Heavy is the Crown…

The light transitioning the title

Heavy is the Crown:

MEL AND JAYCE ARE ALIVE OMG OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG (fully expected them— the whole council to be dead)

The beautiful tension of Jayce looking at Viktor

Freya Ridings’ had the most perfect voice in “I Can’t Hear It Now” for that scene, and the stylization of it was beautiful

CAIT HUGGING VI AND BREAKING DOWN ONLY IN FRONT OF HER AUGHGHHHHHHH

Mel comforting Jayce (Holding Viktor’s cane when she says “I won’t let them corrupt your dream” AUUUGHHHH)

Maddie Nolan you adorable cinnamon roll

Idk why I like the way Vi said “Or are you here just to waste my time?”

“Cait said all that…?” GRRR

The tension leading up to the fight at the memorial was executed so well (And then the fight sent me on an emotional rollercoaster)

The way Cait becomes so badass

The foreshadowing in the council meeting

Watch It All Burn:

The parallel of Jinx setting Silco into the water to Ep. 4 last season

THE OPENING SCENE WITH “SUCKER” BY MARCUS KING WAS A PERFECT INTRO TO THE PEOPLE LEFT IN ZAUN AND ISHA

That song is my current on-repeat (Along with “To Ashes & Blood”)

Sevika and Jinx talking about Silco

VIKTOR AND JAYCE REUNITING AND “YOU’RE ALIVE!” AAAAA

Viktor becoming Arcane Jesus

The way his eyes shift hues is so interesting, like it’s color one point and metallic silver the next it’s really fascinating to watch

Finally Got The Name Right:

“Hellfire” and its animation style were so intense

Ambessa taking down Amara ough I love how Ambessa is animated

CAITVI KISSSSSSS OH MY GOD SQUEALING IT FINALLY HAPPENED THEY’RE SO ADORABLE TOGETHER KAGLAELEGNARPNWENNCMWGURHURAS

The way Caitvi is animated captures the hesitance and acceptance so well

Lest is a very pretty lady

So is Mel but like we all knew that

THE ENTIRE TIME “TO ASHES AND BLOOD” BY WOODKID PLAYS IS PEAK CINEMA

The scene transitions between Jayce and Vi’s storylines are so creative and the song is awesome

ok I didn’t really looove it but CAITVI BREAKUP AAAAAAAAA

Was animated very well tho

WHOEVER TOOK MEL HAS HELL TO PAY

🚨EMERGENCY ALERT🚨 THE HOTTEST WOMAN IN PILTOVER HAS BEEN TAKEN

Ambessa’s regalia is beautiful

The shot of her pounding her chest against a blank blue sky is so powerful

AMBESSA WHY YOU STAGE THE ATTACK THAT’S SO DUMB

Yeah!! There’s all my thoughts. Really looking forward to Act II. I’ll probably get another painting done by then so see you then!!!

[bunnakit]

OH SHIT ITS LAWS OF ATTRACTION 4 TODAY

just spewing my thoughts about the ep under the read more

tinn literally eating ice cream in front of his daughter when shes in trouble LMAO i love dad tinn so much

"dont do anything that goes against this" and points to his heart OH I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT SENTIMENT LATER SIR TINN FIGHT SCENE TINN FIGHT SCENE TINN FIGHT SCEEN IM SO FERAL

god thee youre so in love with tanthai and i love you so much, you hopelessly devoted fool

HNNNGNS CHARN SCOLDING TINN ALMOST THE SAME WAY TINN SCOLDED CHARN ABOUT THE FIRE YESSSS THE TENSION WHY DONT YOU TWO KISS ABOUT IT

HOLY SHIT CHARN - CHARN YOU BEAUTIFUL BITCH YOU TOLD THE TRUTH IM SO PROUD OF YOU BABY BOY

tinn im so mad at you for getting defensive, we could've had homoerotic patching up scene with charn, get him grandma

WHOO PROTECTIVE CHARN YESSSS PROTECT TINN - but also you fucked up bc now thattep knows and that's not good at all

THE GIRLS ARE COMMUNICATINGGG YESSS

i love the slow mo "this idiot is flapping his hands over my soup, i think i love him"

OH IS THIS GONNA BE THE SHIRT TIE SCENE PLEASEPRETTY PLEASE BE THE SHIRT TIE SCENE

OH IT IS AAAAAAAAA I SWEAR TO GOD when these two finally kiss i will explode into a thousand pieces

TINN I WILL FUCKING GRAB YOU AND SHAKE YOU LIKE A RAGDOLL BUT ALSO WHAT A BOSS MOVE MY BOY KNOWS HES HOT AF

oh mommies hello ive missed you very much AND THEYRE MATCHING

OHH TINN OH YES AAAHHH LIKE IM SURE THIS WAS PLANNED BUT STILL AAAAA SEXY BEAUTIFUL MAN

i like beer was dtf tho, he was like TWO CAKES YAY

GOD THEYRE FLIRTING SO MUCH HHHGGGGG PLEASE I AM NOT GOD'S STRONGEST SOLDIER THE PINKY TOUCH

clawing my own face off THEYRE SO CUTE YOUR HONOR

OH AND THE AND THE PARALLELS OH IM GONNA CRY THEE IM ROOTING FOR YOU BABY

AND CALLING HIM BC HE SAW THE LIGHT ON MY BOY HHHGHGHGH SOBBING

askldjglkajs they both looked back aughguhguhg

[sumerun]

IM GONNA SCREAM ABT SOME OF THE CHARACTERS AND JPN CAST SO IM SORRY IN ADVANCED LMAOO

FATHER???? LAW DADDY????? MAKSJSJ okay I genuinely do love this design I ADORE his gorgeous long hair. It’s finally time mhy releases more long hair makes (COUGH LUOCHA) I’m gonna eat this dry, stoic, serious male characters UP

I cannot fuckjng believe they got the man kamiya HIROSHI THAT IS HUGE. (But surprisingly he sounds REALLY young in the trailer?? was hoping for deeper but will grow on me 😭 junichi suwabe was perfect for him too omg)

FREMINETTTTT omg I’m genuinely so curious about him. The way the trailer was so dramatic with his scenes and all of the dialogue going on. I’m sensing an albedo 2.0 here. Potentially tragic character but a soft boy at heart. or. he just likes free diving in the ocean lmao. I NEED TO KNOW MOREEEEE *SHAKES UR SHIRT COLLAR* I would love to see more 4* characters to have bigger archon story relevance!

WRIOTHESLEY. I love his design a lot!! (still super salty abt what we could’ve had from the giant concept art leak 😭😭) it’s chaotic, really busy. he’s *our* goth bf. saw a lot of people think he’s possibly vision impaired? it’ll be dope if he is but MHY does lack a bit in the diversity department so expectations are low lol anyways the girl next to him is insanely adorable and I wonder if we’ll have some sort of cute sibling-like relationship between the two?? maybe she’s the assistant to him hmmm

ANYWAYS ONO DAISUKE VOICES HIM GNANSNAJNNHA 😭 same VA as JPN Jing Yuan IM GOING FERAL

CHLORINE (ik it’s clorinde shhh NSJS) CONFIRMED TO BE ELECTRO AND SHE HAS A FREAKING GUN. AND VOICED BY THE ONE AND ONLY ISHIKAWA YUI 🥺🫶🫶🫶🫶 if I get a dollar for every time she voices a stoic female character, oh boy I’ll be rich

I’m sad she couldn’t keep her prev colors but she still looks amazing nonetheless. Her and Navia is already going to be a power duo/couple hehe

AAAAAAAAA LYNEY AND LYNETTE. after reading some leaks of them I’m 10000% more curious about these two. They’re extremely fascinating and I’m so curious to what their role is in the game!!! And my boy LYNEY is voiced by Hiro Shimono 😭

I’m SO excited. forget abt 3.8 can we get Fontaine instead 💀💀💀

[12colors]

Episode 1, Part 1 - Teams arrival (v0.1)

This is just 1st draft of the script, so there arent that many details.

=== Episode 1 ===

Chris: Welcome to total drama, all'n'awful, where we will be redoing first three seasons with even bigger cast, which will be made out of Generations I, II and IV. Why it doesn't include Generation III? Cause they died! Hahahahaha!

*Cheff rolls his eyes*: Not really, they jus- Chris: Shush! You are ruining it! Anyway, here are the contestants. *Talks to a headset* Drop 'em Boys!

There is a big plane above, with the cast inside. The doors open and everyone falls out. Chris: Don't worry! They had parashutes there!

That was true, but almost nobody wore them, except for: Cody and Sierra (Sierra was expecting that, so she secured cody and herself just in case... But she used like 8 on Cody), Owen (AAAAAAAAA PLANES), Cameron (Jo equiped it on him to make fun out of the fact that it's too heavy for him), Axel, Zee (Yooo, free stuff!), Priya (she knew it) Those who didn't, landed in water, except for Dawn, who used a shortcut and got to the land dry and without a scratch. Those who had parashutes also landed on the beach. *Complaining etc.* Everyone gets out of the water and Chris announces: Hey, I brought all of you to fight against each- Priya: Yeah, everyone knows the formula, even Zee.

Zee: Formula? are we cooking something? Owen: Are we gonna eat something? Heather: The game is always the same. At the end of each episode there is voting-based elimination- Sierra: But not always. There are exceptions

Heather: Ekhem... Person with most votes is out, and the Final Two fight for Milion dollars Chris: Nope! This time the reward is 10 Miltion Bucks! *Shock. Even in people who werent interested at first like Gwen or Duncan* Chris: Shut it! Now we will be splitting into teams. There will be 6 of them. To what team you go will be based elimination order from previous seasons. Let's start:

Chris: Wild'zekiel, Team A. Walk over there *Chris points at his far right, contestants' far left.* Ezekiel seems less feral. Looks like he finaly got the terapy he deserved. But still has some Leftovers. Chris: Eva, Team B.

Eva walks up to the spot on the left of Ezekiel Chris: Noah, Team C. Noah goes where he needs too and shares some looks with Eva. Chris: Justin, Team D. Justin walks to his place. Chris: Katie, Team E. Katie goes to the spot to Justin's right Chris: Tyler, Team F. Tyler takes the final spot. Chris: Izzy, Team A. Izzy: Yo, Ezekiel! Glad your hair is finaly regrowing. Chris: Cody, Team B. Cody slowly walks up to his team's spot, but keeps the distance from Eva Chris: Beth, Team C.

Beth goes there, where she needs. Chris: Sadie, Team D.

Sadie runs up to Katie, Screaming and they hug.

Chris: No! I said Team D! Not Team E! Sadie is sad, and goes to the correct team. But she isn't sad for long, because she sees that she is in the team with Justin Chris: Courtney, Team E. Courtney goes there. Chris: Harold, Team F. Harold goes there.

Chris: Trent, Team A.

Trent goes there.

Chris: Bridgette, Team B.

Bridgette goes there, but hides behind cody. Eva doesn't care Chris: Lindsay, Team C.

Lindsay gasps, runs up to Beth and They are very happy. Noah sighs, saying: „Great...” Chris: DJ, Team D. Sadie: Yay! DJ! Chris: Geoff, Team E. Geoff is quite happy, as always. Chris: Leshawna, Team F. Leshawna seems quite happy with her team, as does Tyler and Harold Chris: Duncan, Team A.

Duncan goes there, not impressed or anything.

Chris: Heather, Team B.

Heather was the fist one of her team who got close to Eva. Eva is listening on her smartphone. (haha, no more mp3's. Now smartphones are the thing)

Chris: Gwen, Team C.

Gwen is as happy as noah is. Chris: Owen, Team D. Owen high-five's DJ, Justin and Sadie Chris: Blainley... Sorry... Mildred >:), Team E.

Mildred is just as happy of her team as Courtney is.

Chris: Sierra, Team F. Sierra: Noooo! Cody! (Cody is in Team B) Leshawna whispers to Tyler on the side: She goes out first.

He nods. Chris: Alejandro! Team A. Alejandro walks up to his team, smiling... He smiles outside. Chris: Ms. Blah Blah. Shut Your yapper and go to Team B.

Staci stops talking to Millie and goes to her team.

Chris: Dakotazaurus-Rex. Team C. Dakota goes to her team. Noah and Gwen share a look. They aren't dissapointed. Chris: Beverly, Team D. Owen High-Five's B.

Chris: Dawn, Team E... Oh... You are arleady there... Alright Chris: Sam. Team F.

*Sam stops playing on his 3BS*: Wha... Oh... Okay. Sierra: Yo! Is that Pocketed Monsters Platinium? Sam: Yeah. They are way better than Pearl or Diamond. Sierra: Not even talking about their NonTendo Swap remakes. They both laugh a bit, and Chris Continues

Chris: Brick, Team A.

Bricks walks up to his team, and Tries sharing a handshake with Duncan, Failing.

Chris: Anne Maria, Team B.

Anna: Wha- Oh okay. *She walks up to her team* Heather: Wow! Your hair looks... Gorgeous! Anna: Thank you! But yours could use a bit of Conditioner Cody: Yeesh

Heather pushes Cody away, he Lands at Eva. She doesn't care and continues listening to her music.

Chris: Finaly single Mike!, Team C.

Mike: I 'm not single! Singular? Maybe.

Chris: Jo, Team D. Jo walks up to her team, complementing DJ and fist-bumping him.

Chris: Scott, Team E.

Courtney and Scott: What? No!

Chris: Zoey, Team F.

Zoey welcomes her teammates. Get's either ignored by Sam and Sierra nerding out about NanTendo, or getting death stare from Leshawna

Chris: Lightning, Team A.

Lightning: Oh Yeah! A is for Sha-Avesome!

Chris: Cameron, Team B.

Cameron isn't really sure about his team.

Eva is Eva, Cody and Bridgette are being bored to sleep by Staci, Heather is mad at Anne. So he just goes there, but with a bit of distance. Chris: Caleb. Team C.

Caleb just walks up to his team, thinking.

Chris: Axel, Team D.

Axel walks up to her team. Starts a conversation with Jo.

Chris: Nicole, Team E. Nicole: Okay! Hey, team.

Mildred: BTW, Your career was nothing compared to mine. Good thing it ended. Nicole was to shoked to speak.

Chris: Scary, Team F.

Zoey welcomes Scary Girl. She might regret that.

Chris: Damien, Team A.

Damien goes there.

Chris: MK, Team B.

MK: Ugh...

Noah: Your team not-so-great too, huh?

MK: You bet. But at least we are not Team A. Just Look at theese guys.

Noah: Yeah.

Chris: Wayne, Team C.

Wayne: Hey!

Mike: Hey.

Caleb: Hey~

Noah: Jesus Fucking Christ.

/*Caleb Confessional

Well... Playing „Justin” didn't do much for me last time. And based on that reaction, I have to change strategies.

Or I could just try playing it safe and get Lindsay and Beth like Justin did. Oh. Of course I know them. I watched the show. Duh. Well... It might not work for Lindsay anymore... Hmmm *Thinking noises*

*/

Chris: Raj, Team D.

Raj goes there.

Chris: Ripper, Team E.

Ripper tries making fun of Dawn, which fails, because she wasn't listening, and just responded with „Huh?”

Chris: Zee, Team F.

Zee: *Sips his soda* Hey Lauren. We are in the same team.

Scary Girl: Yeah! This is going to be so much fun! *She looks at leshawna, zoey backs off a bit* Chris: Chase, Team A.

/*Trent Confessional So Yeah... Half of our team are jocks... Would Izzy count as a jock?

*/

Chris: Emma, Team B.

Emma goes there.

Chris: Juliet, Team C.

Juliet: Well, this is gonnna suck. My whole team are just weirdos. Maybe except for Caleb.

Chris: Millie, Team D.

Millie goes there.

Chris: Bowie, Team E.

/*Bowie Confessional

Well... My team might not be the strongest... But I will survive.

And Raj's Team is strong, so he will be fine too.

*/

Chris: And Ending on Priya, Team F.

Priya walks up to Leshawna, Harold and Tyler confidently: Hey guys.

Harold: Hey.

Tyler: What's up!

Leshawna just rolls her eyes.

/*Priya Confessional

Well... To survive, I need allies. And Leshawna, Harold and Tyler are good enough for allies, and weak enough to fuck up, and get eliminated instead of me. Maybe I could even get to Sierra and Sam?

*/

[milesworld96]

FINALLY GETTING TO WATCH RAW YALL, I AM SO EXCITED

SAMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII HIIIIII❤️ oh, the ko shirt. That’s fine. That’s funny. Hilarious even. Wow. 😢, I ALREADY MISS ZOWENS. GRRRR BRO GOT ME IN MY FEELS☹️☹️☹️ SIR⁉️⁉️⁉️ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATERIAL⁉️⁉️⁉️ FUCK YES. wait bro wym the reason he ain’t on raw anymore, YO WHY U BRINING JEY INTO THIS. yalls ☹️☹️. I CANT. Yo Sami speaking the truth, I love him. OHHHH SHIT JUDGEMNT DAY😍😍😍 OH LAWD THEY LOOK SO FINE. GIRL???? RHEA IMMEDIATELY GETTING DEFENSIVE OF DREW WHEN DAMIEN BROUGHT HIM UP?????? IS THIS A SIGN. damn so Rhea basically saying Sami is the orphan no one wants💔 GIRL JEYYY, GET UR MANS‼️‼️‼️‼️ Sami listen to Jey💥💥💥 WHY R U IFNORING HIM NO😭😭 LOOK AT JEYS EYES‼️‼️ HOW CAN YOU LEVE HIM

SHINSUKEEEE😍🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶 WAIT FALSE COUNT ANYWHERE⁉️⁉️ OOOHHHH SHIIIT, OH MY FUCK THIS MATCH IS SO SLAY LIKE WHAT🤯🤯 THESE MOTHER FUCKers ARE CRAZY, RICOCHET BRO WGATST. NUNCHUCKS⁉️ BRO MICHELANGELO FR BRO THEY GOING FUCKING CRAZY MAN. WOOOOOOOO SHINSUKE FUCKING WON

OMFG SAMIJEY SPOTTING AGAIN😭😭😭😭😭 SAMI WHAT THE FUCK. I UNDERSTSND WHERE YOUR COMING FROM BUT ☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️ stop blaming Jey‼️‼️‼️‼️ Yeah Jey speak it‼️‼️ Girl Sami going through it don’t worry bbg you’ll be fine. SAMIJEY MAKE UP AND HUG WOO🫶🫶

OMMGGGGGGG TEGAN AND NIKKI‼️‼️‼️😍😍😍😍🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶 OOOOO CHELSEA AND PIPER R HERE TOO😭😭😋😋 lol Katana and Kayden spotting too. OMG TEGAN V CHELSEA? YES PLEASE

HES PIPER IS ABOUT TO SERVE SO MUCH CUNT, I LOVE HER. LETS FUCKING GO. AND I WAS RIGHT, SHE MOTHER FUCKING DID. YEYSYSHHSHDSYSYEESHSH. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA TEGAN MY LOVE HAAAAIIIIKKI :33

IMPERIUM PROMO VID LETS GO, THEY ARE SO COOL I CANNOT DO THIS. I LOVE THEM, CANT WAIT 4 LUDWIG & GIOVANNI TO BE CHAMPS SOON

DAMIEN FINN & DOM DOM. bro why yalls thinking bout JD like that, GIRL NAH THEY TRYNA JUMP DREW😭😭 DomDom is such a mama’s boy. I LOVE THEM, ENOUGH WITH THE CONFLICT NOW. LET THEM ALL BE HAPPY 2GETHER FROM NOW ON☺️☺️💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

AAAAAAAAA SETH, SERVING ONCE AGAIN. ILYYYY. omg I need his shoes. Oh lawd, this match between Seth and Drew is gonna serve so much cunt @ Crown Jewel😍🫶. NAAAAHHHHH SETH CAME OUT WITH EVIDENCE AND EVERYTHING😭😭 BRO CATCHING RHEA AND DREW FR.RUGGEDLY HANDSOME? SETH SAYING THE TRUTH.NAHHH DREW CALLED HIM A THIRSTY CREEP, LEAVE JEY ALONE HE WAS GOING THROUGH A PHASE PLEASE😭💀 eneheheehheehhehe Drewww😈😈 I RESLLY HOPE HE WINS @ CROWN JEWEL. ay don’t be nasty to Drew Seth, you stfu😡 SETH STFU, YOU AINT KNO SHIT. WATCH DREW PULL UP ALONE @ FIRST, AMD THEN FUCKING RHEA AND DOMDOM COME LUT AND HELP HIM GET THE WIN💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀 (estoy loco, I am delulu.)

OOOOOOOO BOY ITS BRONSON REED😈😈

RAAAAAAAAAH LUDWIG😝😝😝😝😝😝😝😝😝😚😚😚😚😚😚😚😚😚 HAAAAIIIIKK OH SHIT JOHNNY GARGANO⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️ EEEEEEEEE OO BOY IM EXCITED. NAHH WADE GOT TF OUTTA THERE LMFAOOO, JOHNNY GIRL 😭😭😭 SO HAPPY TO SEE JOHNNY BACK AAAAAAAAAA. THIS MATCH IS SLAYING SO HARD OMFFFFF. AAAAAAWWWW GARGANO LOST😭😭😭

Becky😡 INDI & CANDICE😍😍🤯🤯 OMG HIIIIIII INDI, HAIIIIIII CANDICE :3 OMG BECKY V INDI, LETS GO. LMFAO RHEA. WAIT DID BECKY SAY BECKY TWO BELTS BEFORE GOIN TO COMMERCIAL 😨😨🤯

OMMGGGGG DREW & SAMIIIIII. Compliments from Drew, hm bro what you gettin at🤨🤨 AHT, YALLS PLS STOP DRAGGING JEY😭😭😭 🤯DREW JUST DRAGGING EVERYONE LMFAOOO. wait, they keep mentioning Sami ab the world championship shit. OMG ARE WE SETTING THAT UP FOR THE FUTURE⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️ AAAAAAAAAA, WAIT DREW V SAMI NEXT WEEK😨🤯 YES YESYEYS

RHEAAAAA😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍 HAAAAAIIIIIIIIII :333 HIIII SHAYNA. OOOOOO THE MAULIN😍😚 NIA GTFO PLS, OMG RAQUEL. BEAT HER FUCKING ASS YESS LETS GOOOO. OMMMGGGGG ZOEEEEEEEYYYYYYYY I LOVEE YOU, J NEED MORE OF HER OMFG

HII XIA, ITS BEEN A WHILE. JADEEEE OMFG HI HIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHI PLEASE MAKE IT OFFICIAL, JADE CARGILL V BECKY LYNCH AT CROWN JEWEL PLEASE. IM BEGGING, I NEED IT PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

HIIIIIIIIII BRONSON, HIIIIIIIII GUNTHER. YOOOOOO GUNTHER, BRONSON WTFFFFFFFFF😨😨😨😨😨😨 YESEYSYSYSYSYS G7 THER WON

OMMMMGGGGG POOKIE BEARS❤️❤️❤️❤️💙💙💙💙 CODY AND JEY ILYSM, BUT YOU ARE JOT WINNING. oml they never gonna give up that bit from the press conference are they?😭💀 they are so cutie patootie

MIIZ MY FAV ASSHOLE, OMG HIII. nah fr tho, we need more MIZ. LMFAO THAT IMPERSONATION, GTFO OUT NIA I DON WANNA SEE YOU

RHEA💜 yo stfu. WOAH, FATAL FIVE WAY⁉️⁉️⁉️ ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL RHEA. ZOEY, NIA, RAQUEL AND SHAYNA AT THE SAME TIME? HWTA

INDUS SHEER ⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️

LMFAO WHAT IS TOZAWA DOING, HE IS SO SILLY I LOVE HIM. OMG HI KOFI, HI XAVIER. Not the hip thrusts🤯🤨🤯🤨🤯🤨🤯. NAAAAHHHHHHH KOFI XAVIER😭😭😭😭😭

OMG ITS TIME, ITS FINALLY TIME OMGGGGGGGG HAIIIIIII I LOVE MY BBGS. SORRY CODYJEY YALLS LOSIN💀 PRIESTBALOR 🔛🔝 EEEEEEEEEEE I LOVE MY GOTHS HAIHAIHAi AAA THIS MAYCH IS SO GOOD WTFFF OMG DOMDOM NO😭😭 WAIT YESYES RAAAHHHHHH THIS MATCH GOT ME SO NERVOUS WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCUUUUUKKKKKKK JIMMY⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️ YOOOO AINT NO FUCKING WAY🤯 OMG YES YESYEGRHHDBDBBD YES FUCK YES JUDGEMENT DAY HAS ALL THE GOLD AGAIN‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

[captainsspnanon]

C2E67 - Beyond the Eyes of Angels - rewatch

Fair warning, this one is loooong and rambly.

Well, while I still greatly enjoy CR, it’s clear that my hyperfixation stage of it has passed. It lasted a good two years before it calmed down, so that’s good! But it means that these rewatches end up going a lot slower, because I’m not binging 2 to 2.5 episodes a day. It also means that I jump between lots of media now, which is fun. :) I’ll be starting my re-read of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings soon. I last read the Hobbit probably around 25 years ago? And LoTR was 21 years ago. I loved the Hobbit, my mom read it to me as a child. LoTR was a big struggle for me at first, I kept trying and giving up within the first book of the first book. I only ended up finally reading it all once the Two Towers movie was released, and binged them very quickly. Turns out it’s ONLY the first book of the first book that was a struggle for me, the rest was easy. So I’m really looking forwards to seeing how my interpretations of the story will change after two decades. (not going to be posting it, don’t worry! That’s just for me)

Oh wow. So this is the ad bit where Sam says he’s too depressed to do a bit, so they have a pre-recorded generic version – which is him acting like he’s dead and it’s his will. And after, I don’t know if I noticed this before!, Liam actually got hit pretty hard emotionally! I actually went back a few seconds to check, and it doesn’t look like he’s playing it up? I wonder if he had other stuff going on behind the scenes, or if this is just Sam’s particular ability to always seem to grab Liam by the emotions. (If I remember, he gets choked up both during the five year song, and the pandemic welcome back.)

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Codependent!Caleb. Even though Nott ended up still being invisible so the scene doesn’t work, I do like Liam having Caleb looking panicked and stressed flicking between Nott and the team, Nott and the team, until he goes after Nott. As much as I joke, I do wonder why Caleb is so stressed about Nott being separate at the moment. We know that he has faith in her, and she’s gone on ahead before a number of times. Is it because of the atmosphere of the tomb? Is it because Nott is sober, so he thinks she’s more likely to make bad decisions? I wouldn’t call it a regression in behavior, but it is a bit jarring compared to how he’s been interacting with the entire team for a number of in game months. ...Well, maybe not. The last time, I THINK, was in episode 54, when they split up the rooms and Caleb didn’t realize that he was going to be separated from Nott. Looking at critrolestats, I think that’s only a difference of 20 in game days.

OH GOD THIS IS THE SPIDER ROOM ISN’T IT I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT THIS AAAAAAAAA (i’ll find out in a few minutes if I’m right, but Matt describing things stuck around the wall, and one of the words he used was ‘sacks’, so I’m pretty sure I’m right) Interestingly, I WAS actually just the other day thinking about rogues in dnd – I’d seen some post talking about how rogues actually were bad at dealing damage unless the sneak attack critted, and I remembered Nott’s exciting sneak attack crit that basically took out the entire baddie. Of course, I couldn’t remember what the baddie WAS, but this brought all the memories rushing back.

One BS comment I have seen way too much of online is Laura being ‘entitled’ with her spells, being ‘whiny’ when things don’t go her way with spells, and trying to get as much out of Matt as possible. And here we are – with Laura specifically bringing up to Matt that the Bless that she cast would have faded by now and so not have been present with initiative. Something that had she not brought up, Matt might not have caught. No whining, no complaining, just playing fair. *sigh* I’ve gotten off of those places (aka reddit forums), but still some of the shit I saw just DIGS.

Poor Travis. I am very lucky that while I am thoroughly freaked out from bugs, I’m not bothered by situations like this. The figures don’t bother me, nor do the descriptions. I’m pretty good with seeing them in movies and such as well. It’s only 1) in real life, especially if they’re close to me or move fast, 2) if they are ON ME – my actual literal phobia is them somehow getting inside me (nose, ears, mouth), and 3) some of the really freaky videos you can see online where someone brushes a dark clump and it spreads out into a million spiders.

Beau attacks, misses, Matt barely starts to speak before Marisha rolls again, then she apologies and gives him the go ahead, he gives her the go ahead, and then she tells him he can do his description, which he then does, but keeps it short. A good sign of a good table, a player recognizing when a DM wants to speak and giving them the space to do so, AND a DM recognizing that a player may want to just get the attacks out and is willing to forgo the usual flavor speech. You love to see it! Mutual respect!

(coming back to this at the end of april) wait I’m only half an hour in? I thought I was way further than that!

OH WHAT. We have the red Ashton lopsided 6-sided dice here with Tal!!! I totally thought those were c3 only, I don’t recall seeing them before! Clearly he’s had them though.

ROGUE CRIT!!!!! I love how Sam is so astonished by it too. Are rogue’s the best class to get a crit on? I’d assume paladin would be up there as well with smite…. 20th level rogue can get 60 sneak at max, so 120 per CR rules, then plus weapon damage. Divine smite has a max of 6d8, so max of 96 plus weapon damage on a crit. Wait, does improved divine smite and another d8 on top of that? So 112? but do smite spells add to a smite, or replace? Like, if it was banishing smite, would it add 5d10 on TOP of that? Or INSTEAD of that? I’m thinking way too hard about this, especially considering I prefer spellcasting to melee for my own personal play. EITHER WAY – badass moment!

...I got distracted just watching it. There’s something so comforting about the humor in C2, the feel at the table is different than it was in both C1 and C3, and sometimes I prefer it. Don’t get me wrong, the balls to the walls punchiness at the table in C3 is great and leads to a ton of laughs, but there’s a nice balance in C2 that almost lends itself to the PCs as much as it does to the cast. I’m doing a horrible job of explaining it, but it’s pure comfort food for me.

Anyhow, yay for spell scroll for Caleb, but also I’m glad that it’s not some super amazing spell. It’s something where Liam wouldn’t feel like he was missing out or punished if he never found it, but it’s a nice bonus to have to where he feels rewarded for looking.

Once again my grumbles about the table attitude towards a rogue though. Caduceus wants to move forwards, but Tal/Cad has to tell Sam/Nott to search for traps. Jester wants to open the door, but Laura/Jester has to tell Sam/Nott to search for traps. There are times that I really would like to get into Sam’s head and see what his choices were for this. If he’d known how it would have gone, would he have picked a different class for Nott? Was he deliberately making a rogue who wasn’t particularly good at what she did, not because she couldn’t but because she forgot and didn’t care a lot of the time? It would fit with the housewife picture, but it’s a sense of almost spiting the class for the roleplay. I feel like with C1 and C3, Sam was able to explore his roleplay within the confines of the class, whereas C2 it feels like the roleplay just has the class slapped on top of it. *shrugs* It’s hard to say, because she does do a lot of sneaking around during combat, but it always feels a little forced. It’s much more Liam/Frumpkin doing early exploring than Nott, a lot of the time.

I really love how they discovered the stairs going down (this is the lightning one where Matt uses an hourglass, I think?), and I also love how they were able to so quickly and smoothly give the marching order. In the weirdest way, I do think the Nein ended up being the most smoothly combined group, which is very surprising considering they started out the most fractured. (also in fairness I really don’t have much recollection of this aspect of C1, so I could be totally wrong here)

LOL I love that Laura stands up and hits the mic, then Taliesin stands up and hits the mic, and then Sam stands up and hits the mic. They talk about how it had to be so loud for the audience, but either Chris the sound guy is REALLY good at his job, or no it’s not that loud at all.

(wait is this the episode where they have three encounters/maps and sam gets short [humorously] with the last dwarvenforge sponsor bit?)

(omg I’m only an hour and forty three minutes into this, we’re now in May. I don’t know why I’m watching this so slow, it’s SUCH a good episode!)

In the span of five minutes, Sam hits the mic AGAIN and Marisha, while bending down under the table, cracks the back of her head against in while coming up.

I have no recollection of the mist/wind spirit! I thought this was the electrical pulse! (I still think it is, and that’s what the timer is for, which honestly is a great method of using it. I know Matt used it a few times in C1, and I think this is the only time in C2, but I appreciate that while it’s punishing in an effect, it’s not massively punishing like they LOSE or FAIL if they can’t accomplish what they are doing in time. Especially because them asking Matt for clarifications eats away time, as well as Matt’s own turns. I’ve seen some detractors online wish that Matt pulled out the hourglass more, as a way to get the players to make decisions faster, but all I can think is that pulling out the timer means that it becomes even HARDER to think because now you have the external pressure as well as whatever circumstance you’re in. I can’t fully pooh-pooh the detractors as there have been a few circumstances where I have found that the players really dithered, either consistently during combat, or having ooc conversations during a quick event that took way longer than I thought Matt should have allowed, but I see people claiming this for so many things, including encounters where there may have been minor dithering but then moved smoothly, or one or two players turns took long but everything else was smooth.)

Beau jumping down = so fucking hot. Especially because she’s the first to break from the ‘run down and maybe action’ format which reveals the bottom tier allowing other players to start having more creative movement. (polymorph of eagles coming in five, four, three…) Hm, I trying to think now of how often Marisha is the red-button pusher. We know that Travis and Sam will go for it, Ashley’s pretty decent at button pushing, is Marisha the next one? ...I’m struggling to think of examples in all three campaigns, which could meant that no, she’s not, but it also could mean that I have a very shitty memory (well confirmed at this point).

Matt allowing Beau to both investigate and yank out the power source of the electric crystal is something that I think is a very table-specific decision. On the one hand, I love that he allowed her to do essentially two actions because she is a monk and able to do things very quickly (such as step of the wind, flurry of blows [I typed bleaus without even thinking what the fuck]), but on the other hand that can definitely feel bad at a different table with another player being allowed two actions where you may only be allowed the standard one. I genuinely am unsure of how I’d feel about it at my table, though that’s also because I have a really shitty attention-grabbing player at the table. If they were allowed the double action I’d probably be pretty annoyed, but if the really nice good player at the table were allowed it, I’d feel better about it. Breaking the action economy for a cool moment really only works when you have full trust at a table. Here, it’s a moment done well, with a group of players who fully respect the choice and decision (and are glad not to take additional damage XD), at a table like mine? ….I’d rather have taken the damage, tbh. (side rant, but last game I got to do some exploring as a water skimmer, DM describes to me what I see, players immediately start going off of the description and I’m like….alright, I guess I went back and transformed, lost my wild shape, and told them. Fuck me if I had other things I wanted to do, or even if I’d wanted to roleplay the moment.)

(also off topic, I read a chapter update today of a shadowgast fic that I’m enjoying, but Caleb is SO OOC it’s ridiculous, to the point where I’m like his canon backstory must not have happened in this fic, and coming back and watching canon Caleb is DELICIOUS. We’re not in an rp moment, but even the way Liam portrays using shield, the facial expressions and body language, it’s like YES this is the caleb I crave.)

There’s so many good tactics on display here. Fjord jumping with his held Misty Step, both polymorphs with Jester going back to grab the other party members, Beau investigating the door and finding the slot! There are small bits of metagaming that I just...eh. Would Jester have gone back for Nott and Caduceus if the hourglass had still been going? Maybe not, but that also can be explained by her seeing that the glow has stopped. Caduceus thinking that there’s no monster now? ...Honestly that just feels like Taliesin thinking ‘well we beat the encounter so we’re good now’. Usually I’m not too heavily bothered, even if I notice metagaming, but that bothered me just a little bit. I’m a tiny bit nastily pleased that the creature attacked again shortly after. ….I have a petty side, okay?

OH GOD IT’S THE START OF MAKING MY WAY. (I think someone found that it technically started in a one shot before this, but this is the first in game of a very very long running gag)

Interesting that Caleb flying down triggered an attack of opportunity from the creature, with Fjord, Jester, and Beau not triggering one. I wonder if Matt had specific ideas of where the creature was in the tower and this really was the first, or if he’s just been blanking because he was focusing on the electrical charge and this is the first time he remembered.

…..why does Sam want to know if goblins have tails? I want to know what he’s thinking! I can’t think of any mainstream depiction of goblins with tails, so it’s certainly a bit of an out-there thought.

For what it’s worth, while we all know and love Veth’s Big Naturals, I greatly appreciate and am entertained by Sam’s insistence that Nott also has Big Naturals, despite every piece of official artwork (presumably signed off by Sam) depicting Nott as smaller-busted.

I’m sure this was speculated about by the fandom at the time, but I wonder if Jester being so preoccupied with making sure that everybody gets out of the mist tower before she will leave ties back into her getting left with the young dragon back in the happy fun ball. I know Laura has talked about the impact that moment had on Jester, but unless I’m forgetting stuff (super entirely possible) I feel like this is the first time we’ve really seen Jester make an effort, putting herself at risk, to ensure that everyone else is safe.

Sam just did his usual bit when Matt went to get the map for the zombie room. I wonder what the section I’m thinking of is? To be fair, *I* don’t actually remember it, but I saw a post talk about it. AH – thank you CR Transcripts! It’s episode 79 “It's a fantastic company that makes a fine product and if you don't go to their fucking website, I'll kill you.”. Searching “kill you” under Sam worked. Based on context, rather than it being the ‘holy shit a third encounter’ that I thought it was going to be, instead it was just the pure stress and time crunch with Obann and the tree. Understandable.

I admit, I’m a bit exhausted with initiative. As much as I enjoy this episode (and I really really do!) three back to back combats, regardless of the tactical aspects of them, is just tough to watch. It’s the same thing for me for the really big episode long fights (Lucian, Vecna, etc). Four plus hours of combat is a LOT. I’m usually good if it’s two or less.

When Matt decides to just ‘roll with it’, it works out fantastically at the table. Jester casts Turn/Destroy Undead, which he has just impact the five undead that he had minis out for. After a bit of ooc clarification about the slopes and creatures on them, Laura asks if her destroy undead would have worked there too. In terms of the encounter, I’m pretty sure Matt saying yes or no wouldn’t have impacted the main combat at all, but he acknowledges the legitimacy of her point, rolls some rolls, and has a total of ten more get destroyed. Does it make the encounter any easier? It does trigger Caduceus seeing the glowing heart, but that would have happened fairly soon anyway, I’m sure. What it DOES do is it has the table let out a cheer at Jester being badass and destroying thirteen enemies with a single spell. It’s a feel good moment, rather than a numbers game moment, and even as a viewer it does exactly what it should do, it Feels Good. In comparison to the other GMs I’ve watched (Brennan on ExU and a number of D20 shows, Aabria only on ExU so far), he does roll with things a lot less, as he is a bit more of a stickler for the rules, so I notice the moments more. With Brennan a few times, and with Aabria in ExU a lot more of the time, I’d see Rule of Cool moments where, for my tastes, I would have preferred a harder RAW/RAI ruling. (again, no judgment to Aabria in Misfits and Magic or A Court of Fey and Flowers, I still have not seen those though I want to! Especially because I’ve heard her GMing style is very different in those other systems.)

Coming right off of Jester’s Feel Good, we’ve got Caleb’s Feel Bad. Very smart to do a fireball into the massive pit of undead, but then immediately after it fails to have any true impact at all. While I can understand the choice not to have it impact the number of undead spawning, I could see having that area be considered difficult terrain due to the flaming corpses, or simply just having no undead spawn at that specific area until the next turn – instead have them spawn on the other side. There was no actual benefit to Caleb casting the fireball, which is just a sucky feeling – especially with a third level spell. Especially because Caleb is the only one targeted by two undead, with anyone else only being targeted by one.

Double Feel Bad of Matt not letting Nott at least try to give the door a physical tug after expending her action using Mage Hand. It’s some inconsistent DM decisions this episode, considering Beau being allowed to inspect and grab and pull out the rod from literally just the previous encounter.

Granted, I don’t think any of the players are taking issue with this, or I’m sure they would always speak to Matt about it after game if it bothered them, but it’s things that I’m noticing that just feel just a bit sucky.

Off topic, but I’ve been seeing some complaints about C3 with the group talking over whoever is making the action in combat, and how rude it is and how it’s so bad in C3 and it was never this bad in previous campaigns. Meanwhile I’m watching the gang non-stop chitchat during the combats, I literally think the only difference is that C3 has better mic pickup than C2 or C1. I don’t think the group is being any more or less than they usually are, it’s just now sometimes we can hear them more clearly which covers up the audio of the main player at the moment.

LOL Marisha saying she’s never playing a wizard after seeing Caleb basically being the only one actually hit by the zombies. Double lol at Liam saying he’s only playing bloodhunters from now on.

It’s fun to see Sam clarify that Nott is running low on bolts, only six left! because we really only had one ranged combatant before with Vex who never needed to keep track of arrows – but only because she bought a thousand of them before the stream started. (I’m not counting Percy because he had to make his own ammunition versus being able to buy it in a shop.) I actually don’t think Nott ever runs out though, what with being able to collect them back after combat. Also interesting looking through the transcripts now that Nott/Veth always seemed to buy bolts in amounts ranging from 10 to 40. I’m not sure if Sam’s thought process was that Nott/Veth didn’t have a bag of holding for the bolts, or if it’s just the Mighty Nein vibe of buying what they need, as little as possible, versus the Vox Machina vibe of buying what they need and want in larger quantities than they may use. I love this little dnd-broke group so much. (also with all the transcript searching, bolt/bolts no longer look like actual words.)

...Did we ever figure out what caused the glowing hearts versus grey hearts? Critrolestats doesn’t know. I’m wondering if it was just DM fiat based on an estimated frequency.

One thing that I really love about M9 versus both other campaigns, this group somehow seems to perfectly convey that exhaustion and despondency. VM had a lot of grief, but it was always intense emotions, always a 9/10 or higher on the scale. M9 I feel is perfectly able to capture those days where you are deep in your feelings but it only shows as a 2/10. That’s such a horrible way of explaining it. It’s High Fantasy versus gritty realism, in a way. BH has it’s own frequency of emotions XD

IT’S BEEN SO LONG I literally forgot there’d be a Talks Machina after this!!!!!!! AAAH SO HAPPY.

[baeshijima]

AOJSWIJSKQHAJA AM POSITIVELY CRYING BC OMG FINALLY SOMEONE WHO READS A STEPMOTHERS MARCHEN AAOSJWKSJKWJSKW AAAAAA 😭😭😭😭😭 PLSSS I LOVE LOVE SHULI AND NORA SO SO MUCH !!! DEFINITELY NOT A NORMAL AMOUNT !!

Like!! I alr love them sm but after the epilogue chapters??? Im-- they own my heart. Your honour, they are in love. Pls let them be happy i will fight for their happiness. They are literally so perfect for each other id be crying everytime i saw them sobs and them as individual charas are so hnggizhak criesss i just love them sm i cant- 😭😭

AND RUBY AND IZEK!! BRO MY HEART DIES EVERYTIME I SEE THEM BC THEY !!!!! I LITERALLY HAVE NO WORDS !! THE CHAPTER WHERE RUBY HAD A DREAM OF RUDBECKIA AND IZEK ORIGINAL LIFE???? EVERYTHING FROM THE SCENERY TO IZEK AND RUDBECKIA'S EXPRESSIONS THEIR DIALOGUES ????? JUST-- AAAAAAAAA

THE Izek von ortega, who's normally so stoic, but when he had to face his wife who had betrayed him and his family, he was completely heartbroken (he even shed a tear and his expressions????? Also "I'd do anything if it's for you..." ??? Idk if hes alr fallen for the original rudbeckia at this time but if that isnt a declaration of love idk what is !!) And rudbeckia too!!! The way she looked-- no matter how hard she tried to make it seem like she was willing to do everything that she did to izek, her facade also broke when izek's does, apologizing for toying with his heart all this time and asking him to let her go for the last time as his wife ... it showed that she was never willing to do all those things, and she was just another puppet in the grand scheme of thing by her family (and this scene makes me think that even if izek never express his feelings for rudbeckia, she alr knew abt it all this time :((( and she might also feel the same, and thats the reason she showed that she never wanted to do this..)

AND THEIR CHARACTER DEVELOPMENTS??? literallly the best i go from i love laugh live ruby and ruby only to i now love laugh live ruby and izek they are so in love i love them for it. They are literally so sweet to each other makes me cry everytime 😭😭 the fact that now izek is more open to his feelings for ruby im- ascending to the great heavens. Im so so happy for them they absolutely deserve each other after all yhe shits ruby had to go through (and me crying my eyes out everytime smthg happen to her) its all so worth it when their relationship is fixed 🥺🥺🥺

(This ask is getting too long holy frick im so sorry wojskwjwjw BUT BUT B4 I GO did u know that orkatoon, a stepmother's marchen artist, has an instagram account and they have a couple of arts of the charas in asm and theyre all so !!!! 🥺🥺🥺🥺 heres one of my fav !!! i also would like a smol shuli for emotional support pls aosjaisj :')))))

NO BC UR SO RIGHT THE EPILOGUE CHAPTERS HAD ME ON THE FLOOR TRYING TO FORGET LIFE I LOVE THEM SM AND WE ARE THEIR PROTECTION SQUAD NONNIE !!!!

(also the one part of the manhwa that will forever live rent free in my head is the couple chapters around chap 50 that looks back into the past life ;w;;; LIKE??? I COULDNT STOP CRYING FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK THE MISUNDERSTANDINGS THE WRONG TIMINGS AND ABSOLUTE HEARTBREAK WAS SOSJLJFKSDGFKS WAILS)

i would say more in regards to ruby and izek but u basically summed it up for me KJHFK NO BC THEIR DEVELOPMENT HAS ME ON A GRIP !!!! ur honour theyre so in love and im in love with their love 🥹 the past life where izek was literally more concerned about her than the whole area being up in flames made me ugly sob... his expression... her expression.... god the artist is literally god tier with how they convey emotions pls 😭 im so happy theyre accepting one another and if anything comes between them *glares with all my soul at cesare* then i will drop kick them into the stratosphere 😤

[perfectlyripeclementine]

hey the previous anon here, i still hvnt found anyone 🥺

it is so interesting tho bc like bc of my body dysphoria i would never really care about myself. like im not a stone top by any means but i didnt really care about my body either tbh. but with my ex it was kinda the first time someone Wanted to show me that they find my body attractive even if i dont but didnt make it into a whole "but ur boobs are great why would u want to get top surgery" and actually like...did it right if that makes sense. and then it got to a point where i was the horny bitch touching myself as she is on the phone talking about work and to this day idk how i got here but oh well jfkdmdj

anyway i still am very touch starved and manifesting someone to come fuck me.

part 2:

hi again the same anon. imma go with 🦄 if thats not taken djdkdmjd

anyway now i cant stop thinking about my ex and how she made me feel so wanted and i will never forget how the first time we were making out she dipped her fingers inside me and than licked them clean and i think i died a little. i love doing that but no one had done it to me (not to bash my other (very limited) partners they usually just assumed i would be uncomfortable with it and i didnt really know what i wanted at the time either) and how it was the first time and how she was not even like actually looking at me and just savoring the moment and how afterwards she said "ive been wanting to do that for so long now" aaaaaaaaa i die

hi sweet. yes, the unicorn is all yours 🦄

I’m sorry that your breakup has left you feeling at odds with your own body. I hope you remember that even if she helped you become more sexual comfortable with yourself, your and your body’s pleasure are ultimately yours. a gift that she gave you is that you better know how to access them, and even though it really hurts to miss somebody (trust, i know), that’s yours to keep now.

it makes total sense that you want someone who thinks you’re hot as you are but also doesn’t have specific expectations of how you should or shouldn’t want to treat your body. i promise there are others like there who will also find you attractive and also be excited to see you change and come into yourself as you choose to. there are many weirdos, and also many people who are well-meaning but may not know how to navigate some of these questions. and there are also lots of people who are curious and excited and wanting to better understand their own pleasure like you.

mmmmm that sounds like a really hot memory. ❤️‍🔥 that sounds incredible. i’m sure it feels amazing to touch you that way, and know that feeling of relief when you finally get to push into someone you’ve been wanting to for so long. it sounds like that really opened some doors for you and now you’ll know how to talk to other partners in the future, and what to ask for.

i’m sorry this relationship ended, i know how tough it can be to lose someone who was really affirming. but it sounds from what you’ve said that this was just the beginning for you. manifesting someone to fuck you and enjoy you like you deserve 💕

in the meantime, while i don’t feel comfortable directly sexting anons on here, you are welcome to drop fantasies in my inbox if that’s fun & hot to you, and i hope that you keep exploring what works for you through tumblr and whatever other platform works for you.

[darkbluekies]

☁️  (1/3) hey! im back ^__^ sorry ive been away for quite a while. irl stuff has been taking up most of my time lately T__T ... but i still try and check up on your blog when i can. i have a lot to say hehe >:] so now FIRST OF ALL... lets talk about my previous ask.

— I CANT BELIEVE PEOPLE USED TO COPY YOUR STORIES WTF... what happened if you dont mind me asking 😓

— OML THE HUGGING DR KRY FROM BEHIND. IM SO HAPPY YOU WROTE IT TBH LIKE THAT WAS SO GOOD. i didnt know how much i needed a oneshot where his darling gets a panic attack but here we are 😭 THE CONFRONTATION TOO!!

— ... you shouldnt have said that. YOU SHOULDNT HAVE SAID THATTT!!!!HSJKS!!!JS!!SKD!!!! sqUEEZING dr kry's ARMS ? BUFF ARMS ? MAN WHAT IF I BITE IT TOO HUH??? WHAT IF I WHAT IF I (dashes to my secret stash of dr kry ideas)

AAAAAAAAA MY CHILD IS HOME I WAS THINKING ABOUT YOU EARLIER TODAY

Don't apologize!!! Please make sure to take care of yourself<333333

Im she/her!!

I have a wattpad, and my readers send in when they find someone copying my stories. When I see that someone does, I message them and ask them to change or put me as the cred. I usually help them with a new idea and with the writing if they're understanding. One time someone copied a oneshot of mine and uploaded it to YouTube and took all the cred ... so mh readers helped me get it down!!

DR KRY SUPREMACY I LOVE WRITING ABOUT HIM. he's such a cold character to other people than his darling <333 ID SAY BITE IT, HED PROBABLY LIKE THAT-

The cynical playhouse is probably my favorite oneshot I've made to date (it contaisn EVRRYTHING FROM GORE TO FLUFF). I've finally started to find my old style again. When I was like 10-15 I wrote in a very graphic and violent way which I lost when I was writing fanfiction because I have limits when it comes to real humans :/ but now that i have made my own characters, I've managed to let lose and found back to the old style, especially with the cynical playhouse!!!

Please show me your drawing someday :((( I see the room in my mind and it's basically a rectangular space with the bed I the middle towards the bed, windows and Dr Krys desk on the readers right (when they're in bed), the door out to the corridor on the left and the door to the bathroom in front of them!! The bookshelf is on the empty wall to the left!!

PLEASE SHARE YOUR DR KRY IDEAS WITH ME IM DYING FOR IT</3

For me it really doesn't matter how people see my characters!! If you think he's blonde, make him blonde haha, I have the OG design but if you think he looks hotter in another way, imagine him however you want :>>

I KNOW IM SO SHOCKED, I LOOKED AF THE GROWTH THJNG AND WEVE GROWNED IVER 260 FOLLOWERS OR EVEN MORE IN A MONTH. I REACHES 300 A FEW DAYS AGO😭❤️

Blue is so cute :(((( my favorite color is dark blue (hence my username) and sadly, I don't have a lot of nicknames. My friend calls me (my name)-cita my family has a joined nickname for me but it's so ugly that I won't tell you haha. I'm perfectly fine with Blue, it's so cute :>>

I'VE MISSED YOU NOW TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND GET SOME WELL DESERVED SLEEP

[creators-novel]

DarkClaw is thrown back. The battlefield has gone quiet for just a moment, but Vyz’s eyes glint with excitement at the sight of it all. Surrounded by divine light, the Kurai siblings stand side-by-side, ready to join in.

“Well, well…glad to see you finally made it…Straus.”

Not missing a beat, Straus glares at Vyz, “You did this to him.”, he points at DarkClaw, who’s sprawled out on the forest floor, “You took my best friend…you won’t be taking another soul.”

Exisite looks up at Straus in awe and surprise, whose eyes soften upon seeing his successor. “…I’m so sorry for everything you’ve gone through…But I’ll make it better. I promise.” “Wha-?”, Exisite tries to pull himself back up. As he does, Vyz interjects, “By saying that, Straus, you’ve already done more than I expected you to…but that aside-“

“Stop speaking.”

            Wasting no time, Straus rushes Vyz; their fists clash but the sheer force is enough to knock Vyz into the wall of his tomb. They push against each other, their abilities matched. Vyz laughs, “Such wonderful power at your disposal. And yet, you waste it on humility.” “Shut your mouth already!” “Oh, come on… you know you want to do what Red does to all the foes you face.”

What did he just say?! In a blink, Straus activates Divine Paranormatrix.

“You don’t have a blue clue do you!?”

            As the rival powers continue their confrontation, Koto catches a glimpse at DarkClaw…gods, it’s worse than she thought. He looks awful. Uriel runs up to her and holds her hand, “I know it looks bad but…look out-!” DarkClaw roars and lunges towards the girls. Exisite jumps between them just in time and shoves him away, “STOP IT!” “Do we know how to save him yet-?!”, Koto asks. “What do you think!?”, Uriel yips. “aaaAAAAAA!!”, DarkClaw furiously tries to break away from Exisite as he keeps him from singling out anyone else.  Just then, in another beam of light, Red appears, “Koto!” She turns around, “Red-!”, but taking her eyes off the fight was a big mistake. DarkClaw tosses Exisite to the side and rushes towards Koto! But! Just when it seems like she’ll be the next victim of corruption, a different scarlet streak strikes DarkClaw point blank, knocking him out.

Ex flips and lands on his feet, then flashes the others a confident smile, “Told ya I’d make it!”

“Right on time, big brother…”, sighs Uriel.

Vyz pushes Straus away and tries to strike him, but Straus ducks, grabs his arm and slams him overhead into the ground. When he spots Koto about to be hurt, his focus wanes, allowing Vyz to get the upper hand. He barrages Straus with an unending flurry of attacks. Getting her mind back to the fight, Koto steps in and summons a barrier between them. “Thank you…”, Straus huffs, “He’s…crazy.” “In a cold sweat, are you?”, Vyz catches his breath and stretches. Koto summons her knife and lowers the barrier.

Vyz cackles, “Hmhm… and here I thought that you wouldn’t be holding back.”

Straus grits his teeth, “We aren’t psychos like-“

“Like you?”

“Enough chatter!”, Koto snaps, “Listen- just put this World back to the way it was and we can settle all of this peacefully!”

“Oh, dear Koto…”, Vyz leans down to meet her glare, “…you can’t fathom what little tolerance I have for peace.”

“Yeah, whatever man.”, Straus mutters, “So you messed up our world for giggles? Or are you just another of Jupiter’s friends?”

“I’m no friend of hers. But it was funny to see how she handled dealing with you all plaguing her mind. You did the job for me~”

“Well, she’s dead now, and we can’t change that!” Straus once again charges into Vyz, this time sending him soaring into a wall of the tomb, which cracks on impact. “Just stand down, Vyz!”, Koto demands.

Vyz staggers back to his feet, “Is that any way to say ‘thank you’, Koto? After I dealt with that scientist for you?”

Straus blinks in surprise, “You what-?”

“You- you killed Feros?!”

“You’re welcome.”, Vyz teases.

Koto trips on her response, “But- but that’s no excuse for what you’ve done here!”

Vyz rolls his eyes, “Do you know how many people have felt like this throughout Jupiter’s rule? For thousands of years, they targeted countless worlds just like this one.”

“Yeah, we know.”, interrupts Ex, remembering what happened when everyone first encountered Jupiter and Synthis.

Vyz frowns, “…If there’s anyone you should be angry at. It’s the people who run that kingdom.”

“Clearly you did something to hurt them if you’ve been hiding away for so long.”, Straus reasons.

“I just wanted to live. But they wouldn’t have that… they targeted me because I’m like you…

Different.”

“-!?”

“I’m not trying to kill you, Straus. Because I can see that you and I are identical.

Help me show this stupid realm what it means to be the victim.”

“…”

Is he being honest? Vyz did all of this, the corruption and lockdown of their Worlds and their minds, going after their loved ones, and nearly torturing those brave enough to stand up to him…because he and Straus are the same? Could he sympathize with all that he’s gone through? Does he understand what being Impure in the eyes of a higher power means? Maybe… maybe he’s onto something?

“HE’S NOT GOING ANYWHERE WITH YOU!!”, Koto wails.

She feels a hand on her shoulder.

“…You wanna know what I think of that?”, Straus asks.

He moves Koto behind him, his tails glow, and he begins conjuring an immense amount of magical energy into his mouth. It feels like the moment slows to a halt, and yet also goes by in an instant. The people of Lightverse, even on the outskirts of the city, notice a blue light begin to shine from the forest. And Straus feels a voice calling out to him from his very soul.

“(Blow him up, kiddo.)”, says Para.

Before Vyz has a chance to counter, the force of Straus’ beam fires him into the tomb, making the entire thing collapse around him. No more Stygians emerge, they can’t come through even if they wanted to. The portal’s been cut off for good. Koto and Red catch Straus as the attack finishes. “You ok?”, asks Red, worried. “Mm… I used a lot for that.”, answers Straus with a cough. “What the…”, Castor diverts everyone’s attention to something new. With Vyz down and the portal gone, the corruption holding onto DarkClaw and the others crumbles away. “Mmmh-“, DarkClaw sits up, dazed. “Da-…sir?”, Castor sits next to him. Uriel also approaches, “DarkClaw…?” “Fffffffriggin…”, he shakes his head as his red lights flicker back on. Castor and Uriel look at each other and then back at him. “Sorrryyy I kinda fell asleep after you guys lef-“ “You’re back!!”, Uriel tackle-hugs him. “HCK-!”, DarkClaw falls over from the shock.

Koto looks to Straus and smiles, “You did it!” “Mm-!”, Straus nods, still a bit tuckered out.

“Celebrations are not necessary…”, Vyz says as he dusts the rubble off of his coat, “Don’t worry, children. You won’t be dying…for now anyway. Though, I have to give Straus credit.”, he pulls his hand away from his arm, revealing a bloody wound. “That did, in fact, hurt…We’ll settle this someplace else… but until then, see you all soon.”, and he vanishes through a dark portal. “…He’s not gonna stop.”, Castor realizes. “I doubt he will.”, Straus groans.

            Later that night, the trio of Straus, Red, and Koto finally have a decent night’s rest after all that’s been occurring. Well, not quite yet. Koto lies away from the others, staring up at the unending sky of their Space. Instead of counting sheep, she tries to count all the potential Worlds that orbit around them.

“(Is something troubling you, Mistress?)”, wonders Illumi.

“(Eh…I’m just… thinking about what could happen next. There’re so many possibilities… and in any given situation, we could either win like we normally do…or… die. Just like he said we would.)”

“(…In that case, Mistress, you should try to rest in the event that something does happen. You need your strength, and the others will need your help.)”

“(Yeah…you’re right.)”, Koto turns over and gives a soft look to her friends before drifting off.

[stellamancer]

OKAY. Finally sitting down to read knight!gojo.

Sera, I really like how you.... made the Gojo clan in this AU a notable family... LMAO. I'm not sure quite how to phrase what I mean... tranlated it? In a way? Transitioned? Transmigrated? Something like that, but Gojo being a one man army on his own in this world too is just very... him LMAO.

Anyway, is he having Shoko... intentionally poison him in attempts to achieve enlightenment again??? GOJO????? That is such a dangerous game you're playing, your princess will not be happy!!!

I really like this section here:

“I have a princess to rescue,” he said. “Dragons to slay, things of that nature.”

Shoko scoffed. “You are the dragon they have to save princesses from.”

Well, Gojo thought as he hurried down the corridor, she wasn’t wrong. He was sure others agreed with her. He didn’t waste his time with children’s tales anymore, but he remembered his mother’s voice whispering to him in the dark, curled around him in his bed. A dragon was a tool to lock princesses away. His presence deterred anyone from coming too near to his princess, so by that definition, he was most certainly a dragon.

A dragon huh... well, I think a knight is far more romanitc, but it really aligns with the notion a couple paragraphs earlier with him blurring the line between man and monster.

And then there's this:

“Come now,” he says, a little softer. “Don’t look so desolate. What will I do if everyone sees you pouting? You’ll ruin my reputation.”  

“You don’t have a reputation to ruin.”

“Don’t underestimate the things I’d do for the smallest sign of joy from you. Shall I procure one right now to destroy for your amusement?”

GOD HE IS SO ABSOLUTELY SMITTEN. SO SMITTEN. Tell me why we can't marry him? What good is being a princess if we can't choose!! To hell with royal formalities and the like!!

Dammit Sera, he is already so charming. I hate him. HATE HIM. But, untouchable huh? I see this word choice... I see what this really is LMAO.

DANCING AAAAAAAAA. I'm so weak for dancing.... It's so... AAAAA.

His lips are soft against your skin, temptation incarnate. <- Sera this line is so very sexy omg. And then the mutual pining??? You are killing me!! Killing me!! Gojo is so openly smitten and well, Reader... is probably some shade of obvious. AUGH. I'm suffering!!

DON'T TA- okay I know he is probably being protective, but LIKE. Let me read into the potential jealousy. Let me have just a smidgen... Yeah, reader I'd... melt at being called princess by Gojo too. I. Yeah. Broke a little just thinking about it.

Part of me wants a proposal counter. We're at two so far, so I'm curious how many it will take before our princess finally gives in to him.

AUGHHH PRINCESS NOOOOOOOOOOO. I'm sure he'll be back, but it's just... WEEPS.

AND THEN NAOYA.... the night is getting worse... Can't tell him to fuck off, can't tell him we don't wanna dance... Man, being a princess sucks LMAO.

"We both know how this ends." I gagged a little at him. Gross. It ends with his head on the pike. Or it should.

OMG GETO TO THE RESCUEEEE. bless him. ofc gojo sent him, but. regardless, thanks for the save geto!

gOJO HOW RUDE. staring at another woman when you're dancing... i mean i doubt yuki cares BUT STILL. he may be a knight here, but no matter what, he's the king of rudeness!!! AND HIS GAZE IS FILTHY??? that's such a... the picture that paints is just so intense omg...

and there he is. he's back again. can't stay away that one.

ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT???? princess lock yOUR DOOR OMG... but gojo, man, he should teacher reader how to throw a good punch!! sure she's a princess, but doesn't mean she can't give someone the ol' one two knock out!

omg... he put reader's slippers on... that's actually kind of sweet despite... the death there. speaks to his priorities i think.

the 'all i know how to do is kill' line reminds me of text post meme i sent to my bf earlier: 'like it's MY fault my love language is acts of service and all i know how to do is kill'

UTAHIME'S SCAR!! sera that's so brilliant of you, working her scar into this universe's canon!!

oh! another proposal, kinda. LMAO, utahime please take my hand in marriage and together we can fight against the plague known to the world as satoru gojo. he's so rude, reader can protect utahime!! probably!!

AAAAAAAAAA THE RIBBON. AAAAA SERA U ARE KILLING ME ONE DISPLAY OF AFFECTION AT A TIMEEEEEE.

YUJI!!!

squinting at the king here.... he better stop talking shit about yuki...

gosh calling gojo a natural disaster... ain't that the truth...

a secret meeting in the garden tho... hehehe. but. aughhh.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA omg SERA HOW COULD YOU END IT LIKE THAT I'M SO SCAREDDDDD.

Okay, okay, okay okay, enough of my play-by-play comments. So. Wowie. Part of me really needs to marinate here. This is really a wonderful introduction to this story! I don't know what's to come, but I feel like you've done a lot of wonderful set up here!

I can really feel the reader's frustration at her position, being a princess really isn't all cake and flowers, and with the fact that she is the sole heir to the throne hanging over her head... Maybe things would have been easier for her had she had a brother, but, I don't know. The fact that remains that, throughout the entire narrative it's just reinforced how much things are really out of her hands. She is so hyper aware of the things she cannot do, shouldn't do, doesn't know how to do, so I'm very interest in seeing what happens for her from here on out. I feel like we've gotten the foreshadowing that marriage is on the way from the kitchen onto the table for her. And not the marriage any of us want LMAO. Given Naoya's presence at the beginning I can believe that could be an option, but name dropping Sukuna... makes me wonder if that's the route you're planning to go.

Personally, I'd love to see her take her fate into her own hands and rather than think of what she is unable to do, to think of what she can, but that is just my personal preference.

Also, I commented on it a lot in the play by play, but Gojo is so devoted, so so so devoted to his princess. And you know, it's so very Gojo to be that devoted, but to draw the line in the sense of... Like, when I think of a knight in Gojo's position with the same feelings he has, I would think that the knight would ultimately put duty first, but Gojo... he just wouldn't LMAO. Not if that's what he didn't want, and I think that, if he truly felt that the reader didn't want him he might relent... But at the same time, I can't even imagine that being a possibility to him. He really has that 'all roads lead to me' kind of feel, you know?

And that last line, you must be cackling wherever you are, hitting us with that kind of cliffhanger. I'm so nervous. What the hell is going to happen because clearly not all is well. AUGHHHHH.

I'm so excited for the next part (if not immensely nervous)!! I'm sorry if my play-by-play babbling is really... babbling LMAOOO. But I know you were concerned that you'd plateau'd with your writing and like... I haven't read teen dad gojo yet, so I can't run any comparisons, but I have complete faith that you have nothing to worry about!!!!

Act One, Chapter One: half agony, half hope

Knights are bound by duty and honor, but Gojo is more devoted to his princess than he ever was to his oaths.

Main Masterlist | AO3

wc — 10k

tags — royal au, knight gojo, princess reader, forbidden love, ballroom scene, dancing, court politics, blood, minor character death, period-typical misogyny, complicated relationships with fathers, secret meetings, flouting social etiquette by sneaking out to meet your childhood best friend who is also your loyal knight, title from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Next: the beginning of devotion (coming soon)

He was so still Shoko almost mistook him for a dead body. It was a common misunderstanding in her line of business, but not one she was usually startled by. As a poisoner, legally and officially a herbalist, the occasional corpse on her table wasn’t such an unexpected occurrence. A lord, on the other hand, was. 

Especially if it was him.   

Gojo Satoru wasn’t just a lord. He was the son of the former Hand of the King, the greatest swordsman in living history, and connected to the princess. There wasn’t a man alive who didn’t know the Gojo name. It was synonymous with the royal house itself as the clan that had produced scores of advisors to the king. In nearly every generation, the heir to the throne was accompanied by a Gojo, acting as a living sword and shield. 

But even with that storied history, this one was special. A young man who had risen to prominence during The Silent War, he returned home from hell as a knight unlike any other. The bards would adore him. They already did. 

Most generals earned their titles by leading campaigns. Gojo hadn’t needed one. He turned the tides of the war as a single man army. They had started calling him a grim reaper, a god of death. 

Shoko disliked him on principle, but she couldn’t kill a man like that. They’d have her head on a pike. She didn’t mind the idea of dying so much. What she did shrink from was the idea of dying painfully. 

The princess was known for abstaining from most decisions involving the crown despite being in line to inherit it, but Shoko somehow doubted that she would remain so passive if her favorite knight was murdered. Thankfully, Gojo let out a soft breath to show her that he did remain among the living. 

“I thought you died,” she remarked. 

“Sorry to disappoint you.” 

She said something else, but Gojo wasn’t listening anymore. He was floating through a shapeless world again, chasing that moment. It slipped away from him despite his redoubled attempts to capture it. He remembered the tang of iron in his mouth. Blood spraying in the air, a mist that he could smell and taste. The leather grip of his sword in his hands, slippery with sweat. 

He was trying to win back enlightenment, briefly attained and lost again just as quickly on the battlefield. A feeling of deep and solid peace had settled over him as he hacked through bodies, as if that was what he was meant to do. It should’ve concerned him. He already confused the ever thinning boundary between man and monster. That bloodshed brought him such euphoric tranquility could only mean it was growing worse, but he hated things he couldn’t understand. 

He needed to experience it again. Just one more time, so he could make sense of it. The smell of blood. Wading through the dead and the dying, thigh deep in gore - it was no use. Frustrated, he let it go. 

There was something soothing about the cracks in the ceiling. He stared up at it, letting his breaths come as shallowly as they had while he had been immersed in his meditative state. Shoko’s basement was chilly and dark, but it was necessary for the illegal autopsies she performed at his request. Those, and the poisons she crafted for him, were its primary purpose. It was only a stroke of luck that these qualities were also helpful for his attempts to recover his short-lived state of grace. 

He was tempted to try again, but not today. There was someone too precious to keep waiting if he delayed any longer. He wouldn’t impose upon her the way he often imposed on the elder lords who tried to remind him of his place by pulling rank. While they deserved his spite, she didn’t. 

Even Shoko was surprised by his sudden desire for punctuality. “You’re not going to stay?”

“I have a princess to rescue,” he said. “Dragons to slay, things of that nature.” 

Shoko scoffed. “You are the dragon they have to save princesses from.”

Well, Gojo thought as he hurried down the corridor, she wasn’t wrong. He was sure others agreed with her. He didn’t waste his time with children’s tales anymore, but he remembered his mother’s voice whispering to him in the dark, curled around him in his bed. A dragon was a tool to lock princesses away. His presence deterred anyone from coming too near to his princess, so by that definition, he was most certainly a dragon. 

Gojo found that he was a little proud of himself for that. Thinking of his mother had made him nostalgic. He thought she might be proud too, that he had taken such good care of the princess she herself had looked after. A dragon might trap, but it also guarded and hoarded. He had polished his princess like a treasure, lavishing her with attention until she had become a gem. 

She was beautiful. 

He was a soldier, so he had long since rid himself of the ability to lose his breath, but if he still could, he would’ve choked at the sight of her when he broke past the doors. She was seated so that the eye of anyone who entered the ballroom would be drawn to her first, but he would’ve found her regardless. He had promised. 

Wherever you were, he would always find you. 

It’s difficult to hide, being as tall as he is, but Gojo managed. He didn’t want you to see him coming. Already, he has to bite his lip to fight down his smile as he draws closer and closer. A few more steps, a detour to duck behind some random noble, and he’s in front of you. 

“May I?” You don’t have a chance to speak before he’s already dragging a chair closer. 

The smile on your face doesn’t match the harsh delivery of your words. “The next time you leave me alone with these miserable fools, I’ll order you to fall on your sword.”

Gojo laughs, unfazed. “Good choice. You’re too pretty to get your hands dirty. Although, you are a bit more murderous than expected for a princess.” 

“You try putting up with Naoya’s simpering gibberish for an hour.”

“I don’t have to.” He slips into the chair beside you, avoiding you neatly when you try to trip him. “Watch your feet, my lady. People like me don’t have to put up with Naoya.” 

People like you shouldn’t have to, either. You’re both higher ranking than he is, a princess and a lord each, yet Gojo’s the only one who gets to escape his painful-to-witness affections. 

It’s only natural. A royal dowry comes attached to you. Any eligible man would have to be an idiot not to fight for your hand, but really, they’re vying for a chance at kingship. You can’t go one day without someone reminding you that you’re a physical embodiment of the crown, something to want and own. 

Gojo pours himself water with a heavy hand, bypassing the wine. Watching him sip at it, you realize you’ve actually never seen him drink.

“Come now,” he says, a little softer. “Don’t look so desolate. What will I do if everyone sees you pouting? You’ll ruin my reputation.”  

“You don’t have a reputation to ruin.” 

“Don’t underestimate the things I’d do for the smallest sign of joy from you. Shall I procure one right now to destroy for your amusement?” 

You know he wants you to smile, but you can’t. Even if Gojo can usually pry laughter from you with the ease of a trained jester, this time, your sadness weighs over you like a heavy wool cloak. It’s your birthday, but it’s not a happy occasion. Every passing year tightens the noose around your neck. 

You’re a princess, and that means your life was arranged for you before you breathed your first breath. There’s nothing you can do about it. You’ve never had a choice. 

“Don’t,” he whispers. 

“Don’t what?” 

“Don’t make that face,” he says. “I’d marry you. If it came down to it, I’d take care of you.” 

His words nearly cause you to spill your drink all over your finely embroidered dress. If it set in, it would never come out. He grasps your hand just as the cup begins to tip, saving you. 

“Did you mistake your water for wine?” It’s a genuine question from you. 

He waves his goblet around carelessly. You’re worried he might be actually drunk, but you smell no alcohol on him. He couldn’t get inebriated from just a sip, anyway. Whatever wild whims have overtaken him tonight are entirely of his own design. 

“Better me than Naoya, no? I’d keep you safe.” He cracks a crooked smile in your direction, like you’re sharing a secret. “Admit it. I’d be a good husband. If I were around, you’d be untouchable.” 

He’s telling the truth. If Gojo Satoru was your husband, no one would dare anything with you, but you chase the idea from your mind as quickly as Gojo plants it. You’re your father’s daughter, raised on his practicality. You don’t waste time on pipe dreams. Better the hideous truth than a lie costumed in beauty - the bite of thorns was infinitely preferable to the impermanent fantasy of petals. 

Instead of answering him, you push your plate in his direction. You don’t even have to ask. Gojo dutifully takes your knife and fork in hand to cut up your meat. “Not even going to consider it, princess? I’m hurt. That was a serious offer, you know.” 

“You’re insufferable. Be quiet and eat.” 

Gojo’s mother used to say that the more adamantly someone denied something, the closer to the truth it likely was. You can only hope Gojo doesn’t remember, because she was right. The reason you won’t give him even an inch on the topic of marriage is because a proposal from him is the only thing you want but can’t have. 

Predictably, he ignores you. He’s never known when to quit. With so little that can genuinely stand in his way, Gojo has difficulty understanding the concept of a limitation. You’re both spoiled in that sense, noble children who had never been told no. 

“Think about it,” he says casually. “We’d be invincible. What other house could stand before our union?”

“I said- hello, father.” 

“A little early to be calling- oh, hello, Your Majesty. You look well tonight. Is that a new ring?” 

Your father cuffs Gojo around the ears. “Brat.” 

He’s in a good mood, then. 

“My little girl,” he says to you. “How pretty you look. I’m surprised no one has stolen you away from me yet.” 

You’re not so little anymore, but you forgive him. It’s just the two of you, ever since the queen died. He’s the reason you are what you are, as cultivated as a rose in a greenhouse. The climate that nurtured you is one carefully tailored by his own hand. 

“Not for lack of trying,” Gojo says brightly. 

“Boy,” your father calls him, despite the fact that Gojo isn’t a boy either. A deep sigh escapes his lungs. He looks truly sorrowful for a moment. “You look just like your mother.” 

Gojo’s smile freezes on his face. It’s true, he does. Through him, the king’s former hand lives again, but you know Gojo doesn’t want to be seen as an extension of her, even if he misses her more than anything. 

You’re familiar with the way your father knows exactly what to say to make you feel small again. The king is someone who exudes power. His uncanny ability to pick out what you’re most sensitive to and exploit it makes even the most proud of noblemen revert to children in his presence, as if they’ve been scolded by a nanny for stealing tarts from the kitchen. It’s strange that you feel the need to protect Gojo, the strongest person you know, from that. 

He reaches out and pats Gojo’s cheek now that he’s reduced him to silence. “Enjoy the night, my dear child.” 

When he leaves, Gojo slumps back in his chair with a tick in his jaw. Even if the king is your father, he can’t help himself. “Nasty old man,” he mutters. 

You pinch his thigh beneath the table. “Smile and look pretty.”

“Ugh, who is it now?”

“Lord Zenin and his son haven’t gotten their fill of tormenting me.” 

“Hm,” Gojo says. “I wonder.” 

“If you have a plan to avoid them, hurry. They’re nearly here.” 

“I don’t know,” he teases. “I don’t think you’d like it very much.”

“Yes, well, I don’t like conversation with Sir Zenin very much either.” 

He grabs your hand. “Then you’ll forgive me for anything that happens tonight?” 

“Anything is questionable, but do as you please.” 

He tugs you from your seat, pulling you through the crowd of people. Caught in his wake, you float past faces familiar and unfamiliar until the patriarch of House Zenin and his infernal spawn fade behind you. 

When you turn to face him again, he’s dipped into a bow. His smile is sweet, boyish. It’s as if you’re children again, and he’s stolen you from your lessons to waltz in an empty ballroom, motes of dust that you’ve stirred up floating in the sunbeams. 

He extends his hand, a sapphire burning on one finger. A dragon curls around the silver band of the ring, a nod to his heritage. Though the Gojos are a powerful and ancient house, in this moment, Gojo looks young, foolish, and all the better for it. 

“May I have this dance, my lady?” 

You giggle, wishing you had a fan to pretend to hide behind. You’re playing pretend again, acting as if you’re characters from a storybook.

“I’d be delighted to, my lord.” 

The music swells. Gojo takes your hand and presses a kiss to your bare knuckles. His lips are soft against your skin, temptation incarnate. In his grasp, your fingers tremble slightly, torn between wanting to seize him and wanting to run away. 

You’re terrified by how much you want him. 

If you let him in for one second, you can imagine how easy it would be to never stop. He’s every one of your desires and hopes made manifest, tied up in a single person. Although it’s impossible, you still feel the heat of him. The warmth of his lips linger on you, a stolen moment before he sweeps you up in his arms.

This is how you remember he’s a boy no longer. The breadth of his shoulders is wide. He’s lost the roundness of youth, his face growing angular and cunning. There’s solid muscle underneath your hands as he pulls you with him, his feet beating a steady rhythm that you have to fight to keep up with. 

He’s doing it on purpose, you know, testing how much you still retained all of those years of tutoring. You’re determined to show him they weren’t for naught. 

When you catch your breath and master the music once more, gliding with him rather than being tugged along, he smiles like he always expected you to. He’s been like this since you were young, dangling challenges in front of you that he’s equally as excited to see you pass as fail. 

The music slows. All around you, the frantic steps melt into slow swaying. You’re feeling brave tonight, so you step closer. You allow the arm curled more tightly around your waist, the tender look in his eyes. When you steal a glance around, no one is watching the two of you, but how far can you go before you lose it all? 

“Don’t talk to Naoya again,” he murmurs against your skin. It tickles, and you squirm until he presses so close it petrifies you. “I don’t like the rumors around him.”

“What rumors?”

“Bad ones. He tumbles girls and leaves them with nothing. Hurts them, takes whatever he wants, and ruins their lives. I don’t trust him, and especially not with you.” His hand smoothes over a stray ruffle on your petticoat, the gesture impossibly loving. “Never with you, princess.” 

You shudder at the way he says princess, feeling cut open, exposed. What has gotten into him tonight? You don’t understand. It feels like drowning, your brain always three steps behind, struggling to break the waves of your confusion. 

You know you’re weak. It’s your name that protects you, the threat of your father and the royal house behind you. Alone, you’re a lamb to slaughter. You’ve been spoiled your whole life, leaving you naive and helpless. 

Gojo is someone you trust implicitly. He’s always protected you. You’ve relied on him for as long as you’ve been alive, but perhaps that’s conditioned you to feel comfortable putting your hand into the mouth of the beast. Even at the chance of exposing how poorly you’ve been trained for the court’s schemes, you don’t hold back when you’re with him. He makes you feel at ease to speak freely without fearing how much you’ll reveal of your own vulnerabilities. 

“I can’t,” you tell him honestly. “House Zenin is one of the Three Great Houses. I can’t refuse Naoya without good reason.” 

“Then marry me,” he says softly. “Marry me and be done with all of this. They don’t deserve you, anyway. They won’t treat you like I will.” 

You close your eyes, feeling the telltale hotness of incoming tears burn behind your eyelids. Why did he do this to you? He was so gentle it hurt, even though you knew he was capable of terrible things. Somehow that made it worse, the knowledge that he was choosing to be kind. 

“You should go,” you say instead. 

Marriage between you and Gojo would never happen. Forget your father. An alliance between the strongest house and the royal house? It would be akin to tyranny. There would be blood in the streets before any of the other nobles would allow it. It’s better not to dream about impossible desires. 

Thorns, not petals, you remind yourself. You can suffer the truth. 

“Why?” He says. “I want to stay with you. I want to be good to you.” 

“This isn’t something to joke about, Satoru.” He looks like he’d rather you have slapped him. “Never talk to me about this again. Find someone else to dance with.” 

There. Your brain snags on something to distract you. You’ve been dancing with him for too long. It’ll reflect poorly on your reputation to give an unmarried man so much of your attention. 

“Pick another partner,” you urge him. 

His brow creases. Stubbornly, he holds onto you even tighter. “Don’t want to.” 

“You have to. Everyone will whisper. I’m surprised they aren’t already.”

“Then let them,” he pleads. “It doesn’t mean anything to me.” 

Regretfully, you pull away. Darkness clouds his beautiful face. It’s unnatural. When you remember him, he’s always smiling. The instances when he directs a genuine frown at you are few and far between, but you’ve already made your decision. 

Gojo stalks off in search of a new partner. Somehow, even though you were the one who forced him to leave, your heart stings to watch his back fade into the distance. If you didn’t want him to go, you shouldn’t have said anything. This is what you hoped for. Still, it’s painful. 

You want to find somewhere to rest after your spat, drained from a rare argument with him, but nowhere is secluded enough for you to let your guard down. Suddenly, you feel a wave of hatred for your stupid, glittering palace and the stupid, glittering fools infesting it. You just fought with your best friend and you’re tired, but you still have to keep up appearances. 

Somewhere nearby, Gojo is spinning another girl, her skirts flaring out around them. You wish you could press your palms to your eyes, letting the pressure relieve your headache, but you’ve shown enough weakness tonight. Instead, you tilt your head back and breathe, trying to appear calm and in control. 

It’s a good thing you restrained yourself, because Naoya is the one that finds you. His shoes are the first thing you see, black leather with steel accents. Steel, not silver, because he wants it to hurt when he kicks. 

You know. You’ve heard the stories. 

“Abandoned by Satoru, my lady?” You hate the way it sounds coming out of his mouth. Gojo makes it sound so intimate, like it’s for you and him only. Naoya’s version is a bastardization, much like the man himself. 

You’re too tired to deal with him, and yet, you’ll have to. House Zenin is important to your father and thus, important to you, especially when you inevitably replace him. “What are you insinuating about your princess, Sir Zenin?”

You use the proper address, the way he should’ve spoken about Gojo. They’re not close enough for him to be calling the other man by his first name. 

“Nothing, nothing,” he says. “Don’t get defensive now.”

You want to tell one of the knights stationed around the hall to drag him away. Instead, you smile and let him prattle on. Court politics. If you ever want to prove to your father you deserve everything you’ve been born into, you have to play the game. No matter how terrible some of the players are. 

“Since you graced Satoru with one, I hope you wouldn’t mind another dance.” 

Turning him down isn’t an option, but when you see that everyone’s watching, you realize even more how much it really isn’t an option. He probably arranged it that way too. Demonspawn. You’d curse his house if you could, instead, you offer him your hand, cringing internally when he tries kissing it. 

You can’t help but compare the two. Gojo did it better. 

Like any son of a high born house, Naoya’s a good dancer. It’s the one compliment you’re willing to grace him with, as everything else about him, especially his personality, is hideous. His hand is solid against your upper back, the other leading you as you spin around the room. It makes you want to scrub yourself clean, even under the layers of clothes. 

You’re doing this for your house. Your throne. This is nothing. None of your mantras diminish your desire to shove Naoya’s head in the cake waiting at the banquet table. 

“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” he tells you. 

“Forwardness is unbecoming in a man,” you say with a smile, as if he’s telling you the sweetest nothings. “What would my father say?”

“Don’t play coy, princess. We both know how this ends.” 

“Please excuse me,” you say as soon as the song ends. One is enough. “I find myself rather dizzy.” 

Naoya’s lips whiten with anger. He tries to grab your wrist, but someone steps between you. “Watch your hands with Her Royal Highness, Zenin. I won’t tolerate your disrespect.” 

Naoya’s eyes flash, but the interloper is sweeping you away already. His hands hover above your dress, never actually touching, as he guides you in the opposite direction. 

“Sir Getou, what are you doing?” 

Getou looks down on you in amusement once you’re a safe distance away. “Satoru sent me to rescue you, of course. I didn’t think he was serious when he said you would get into trouble without him.”

“Trouble finds me,” you reply archly. 

“Yes, yes,” he placates, sparking annoyance even though he just saved you from Naoya. “Are you tired of dancing yet, or do you have room for one more? I’m hoping to make an impression on potential wives by dancing with the princess.”

You’re smart enough to know that one more is rarely truly one more, but Getou did save you from Naoya. Besides, if you’re busy with him, no one else can ask for your hand. 

“I suppose I can spare you a dance.” 

Like Gojo, Getou is an adept dancer. He is, after all, a trained court noble, and the sons of House Getou are unusually predisposed to the arts in any case. If the Gojos are known for their strength, the Getous are known for their crafts. 

Getou doesn’t flinch from your unwavering gaze. If anything, he seems to find it amusing, although in the way one would find a puppy amusing. Gently, he leads you around the ballroom. 

“Stay alert, my lady. Someone’s watching you,” Getou warns. 

You follow his gaze to Gojo. There’s a beautiful woman in his arms that takes you no time at all to place, so infamous is her notoriety. Yuki of House Tsukumo is second only to Gojo in her blatant disrespect for everything the elders held dear. 

They make a striking couple. Everywhere they go, heads turn to watch them pass. Her gold to his silver, her lion to his dragon - it would be a powerful match. They would be perfect for each other, if only because no one would be able to challenge each other like they could. 

Excellent dancers each, together they become an instrument for the music to shine through. Getou is gentle with you, each movement as delicate as lilies floating across the surface of a pond. In contrast, Gojo and Yuki dance like they’re fighting, each trying to gain an advantage over the other. They’re magnetic, drawing every eye in the room to watch them. 

Everyone else may be entranced by the pair of them, but the pair itself seems disinterested in the crowd around them. Yuki’s eyes are closed but Gojo-

Gojo’s looking at you. Your cheeks heat with his attention. His stare is intense, eyes half-lidded. Every move is prowling, almost predatory. His eyes remain fixated on your face as he and Yuki move in a complicated, sinuous series of circles. There’s something impossibly filthy about his gaze. It borders on indecency, combined with the way he barely seems to be paying attention to dancing, giving you all of his focus instead.

“We can’t let them steal all the attention,” Getou says. He really is Gojo’s brother-in-arms. “Let’s give them a show.” 

You’ve never been trained in statecraft, but you’ve been given the very finest of tutors in the elegant manners of the court. A show, as Getou puts it, is more than within your capabilities. You close your senses to the rest of the world, focusing on the shift of your skirts and Getou’s quiet voice as your steps weave intricate patterns across the floor. 

He’s a naturally friendly man. It’s easy to talk to him, whispering between each peak in the music. Although he’s friends with Gojo, your social circles rarely overlap enough for you to spend much time in Getou’s company. You’re almost surprised by how much you enjoy it. 

“I think it’s time to change partners,” calls a familiar voice.

As Getou takes the hands of Lady Yuki, her eyes still closed as she sways, someone takes his place. Gojo’s hand slides from where Getou’s were placed appropriately on your upper back down to your hip. You drag them back up, ignoring his pout. He’ll be your last dance of the night. 

“Should I be worried about being replaced?” He murmurs. 

“It was only one turn,” you tell him. 

“And I never want to do it again,” he says. “The other girls don’t dance like you do.” 

He’s an unrepentant liar. You might have been tutored by the best dancers your father could find, but at this level, first and second place might as well be interchangeable. He’s only saying it so you know that he wanted to come back to you, despite the fact that you forced him away. 

Gojo’s a contradiction wrapped inside a paradox, at once sadistic and merciful. No one’s capable of making you feel as much as he does. Without the guidance of formal tutors to give you the education of a prince, you have no idea how to navigate the dangerous world of alliances and betrayals, war and peace. Once, you clumsily blundered through diplomacy, watching your father’s disappointment grow by the hour. You’ve since learned that complete silence is preferable to gaucheness. At least that is something your education as a princess has taught you. 

But Gojo knew you before you grew into the woman you are now. He still remembers how to pull smiles and tears from you, how to push you to the brink of exasperation and coax you into brilliant happiness. He has a key to all the gates you’ve erected. No matter what you do, he always slips past your defenses. 

If you keep letting him do as he pleases, you’ll be the only one who loses. Gojo is a man. If he’s rumored to be attached to the princess, it’ll elevate his reputation. He’s already the best swordsman in the entire kingdom. Being thought of as a profligate would only make them worship him more. People love a little hint of degeneracy to their heroes - not too much to make them immoral, but enough to make them attainable. 

A princess is not a hero. You’re not someone to attain, you’re someone to obtain. When people look at you, they only see the crown. If you’re thought of as a ruined woman, it would prevent you from finding a husband. It would destabilize the entire kingdom. 

It hurts to realize that you’re that selfish. Gojo would’ve chosen you over anything, but you’re letting something as empty as reputation displace him. 

Not that it’s exactly a choice. Your life has been forfeit since you were born. You don’t belong to yourself, but to the royal house. As the only child of the king, you can’t allow yourself any mistakes, not when even the barest twitch of your fingers is scrutinized. 

When Gojo offers to escort you back to your chambers at the end of the night, you swallow down the desire to agree. His eyes are hopeful, mirroring your own expression. It could be like back then, when you were children, running through the halls of the grand palace without a care in the world. Except you know you can never return to the halcyon days of your childhood, before your mother died, before his mother disappeared, before everything went wrong. You try not to let the disappointment on his face bother you when you allow the knight your father sent to bring you back to your rooms instead. 

You attribute the strange feeling you get in the morning to the leftover melancholy of last night. Sunlight trickles across your face lazily, not enough to raise you from your bed but just bright enough to remind you that morning was here. 

You’ve never slept long enough for the sun to warm your face while you were still entangled in your sheets before. The window faces your bed at such an awkward angle that the sun has to be high in the sky before it can light across your pillows. 

Usually a maid wakes you by now if you aren’t up already. Where were they? 

A gentle knock at the door only makes you more apprehensive. It can’t be Utahime. You know the sound of her steps. The pacing is stilted, awkward, as if whoever was behind the door was nervous. 

“Hello?”

“Oh, princess!” Definitely nervous. Not a voice you can recognize. A new maid, perhaps? But why would they-

The door bursts open. You scream as a cloaked figure lunges at you. She throws herself on top of you, trying to pin you to the bed so she can run you through with the knife she has raised in her left hand. 

She’s crying. “You weren’t supposed to be awake!”

Crying and angry. Fluffy white down bursts into the air, obscuring your vision as she stabs a pillow so brutally it vomits its contents. She’s not very good, which explains her terror. Unfortunately, you aren’t very good either, and you’re pinned underneath her. Thrashing doesn’t work - at the very least, she’s stronger than you, if badly trained. 

When she finally immobilizes you, she has a growing bruise over her arm from a terrible punch you had thrown, trying to mimic the way Gojo does it. Keeping your thumb outside your fist was all you remembered, and it went wide. You barely managed to hit her, and it came with a cost. She snags your wrist and pins it down. 

The knife plunges towards you. It’s rusty, which terrifies you almost as much as the implement itself. If by some miracle you survived, you’d be at risk of infection. 

Blue eyes flash before you. In this moment, an inch away from death, you wish you had gotten to say goodbye to him. Fear robs you of rationality. You don’t know anything but that you want to see him one more time and feel the warmth of his embrace. 

“Princess, it’s okay. I’m here.” 

You crack an eye open. The girl is no longer visible. The only person leaning over you now has white hair and the characteristic Gojo eyes, impossible to fake. You decide you must’ve died already. This is heaven, where your wishes have been granted. 

Gojo pulls you up. His hands are warm and solid. Vaguely, you realize that you’re trembling with the same nonchalant distance that you would use to catalog the color of the pillows. 

“You’re not dead yet.”

“Did I say that out loud?”

He chuckles. His thumb is rubbing soothing circles into your palm. “No, I could just tell by the look in your eyes.” 

“The girl…”

“Dead.” 

You scramble to the edge of your bed and peek over. Sure enough, she’s lying in a pool of her own blood. Her throat has been cut so surely her head is nearly separated from her body. 

You gag. 

“Wait,” Gojo says. He kneels to tear off her cloak and holds it in front of you. “Here, princess.”

You don’t want to give in to your queasiness, especially not when he himself is so stoic, so you shake your head. More insistently, he pushes it towards you. 

“It’s only natural,” he soothes. “I’m used to this. You’ve never seen a dead body before.”

“Just come here,” you say weakly. “No, actually. I’ll come to you.” 

“Give me a second,” he says, dropping to his knees. Under the bed, he retrieves your silk slippers. He slips them onto your feet gently, standing when he’s finished with his task. 

Obligingly, he waits as you gingerly step over the girl. When your slipper threatens to dip into the red stain spreading across your floor, he simply grabs you underneath the armpits and lifts you over it. 

Even though it’s a horrific scene, you can’t look away. Her face is frozen in a still mask. Bile fills your stomach. Gojo gently turns your head in another direction with two fingers, the touch delicate. “Don’t look.” 

“I think I’m going to be sick.” 

“I told you not to restrain yourself,” he says disapprovingly.

“You’re not- you’re-“ You can’t figure out the right way to finish your sentence. “Does it really get that easy?” 

His laugh is short and brutal. “Easy? I didn’t even think about it. All I know how to do is kill. I don’t mind it, for you.” 

You shake your head. There’s nothing to say, with a body between you and blood pooling around both your shoes, but still, your heart aches. You had known him when he was a boy. It would always be hard to see him with calluses where once his hands had been chubby and soft. 

He chucks you under the chin, the gesture fleetingly affectionate. “Don’t be so despondent, princess. I’m glad to do it. That’s what knights are for.” 

Knights and maids, all meant to lay down their life or other lives for you at your convenience. Utahime was too loyal to have let an assassin into your chambers by choice. Your breath catches. It concerns him that you’re teetering into upset again, just when he’s calmed you down. 

“Satoru, is Iori-“ The thought is too horrible. You can’t finish it. 

“She’s not dead,” he says. 

Noticeably, he doesn’t say that she’s alright. 

Utahime will be scarred forever. They found her slumped at the bottom of the stairs, her body dumped unceremoniously after they stole her from outside your bedroom. A massive gash opened her right cheek up, crossing just slightly over her nose bridge. 

You almost can’t bear to look at her. Not because her scar makes her hideous - far from it. Utahime will always be beautiful to you. The scar is only a reminder of how you’ve failed her. 

You’re a princess without any power.  All you can do is fuss over her after the fact, unable to change the past. 

“Princess,” she hisses, jerking away from you for the third time in as many minutes. “You must stop! I’m your lady-in-waiting, not the other way around.” 

“You got hurt for me,” you say, hands balled helplessly at your side. You refuse to touch her more aggressively, for fear of aggravating her wound. The bandages wrapped around her cheek are an ever present reminder of how much she’s sacrificed for you. So are the whispers. The looks. She holds her head high, acting as if it doesn’t bother her. 

“I was glad to do it. I didn’t want to be shipped off to some far away baron anyway. Be grateful,” she cracks a smile you don’t feel. “I certainly am. At least I could still join the church, if anything.” 

Why do the people around you insist on destroying themselves for your benefit? 

“You don’t need a baron.” Loyally, you vow, “I’ll take care of you for the rest of your life.”

“Be careful, my lady. Some would take that as a marriage proposal, and then I’d have twice as many death threats.”

“I’d protect you.”

“You, princess? I doubt that,” Gojo calls. 

You’ve been watching the knights move in and out of the arena from your vantage point on the royal balcony, but very few of them have dared to address you, much less speak to you so casually. They’re all too focused on the tourney you’re set to watch this afternoon. Only he would be so familiar with you and so unconcerned about the sparring, knowing his chances. 

Utahime lets out an aggressive sigh with no regard as to whether or not Gojo could hear her. In fact, she’d probably prefer it if he had overheard. Gojo, for his part, ignores the chance to antagonize her for once in his life in order to focus on you.  

“You know, my lady, I’ve heard an interesting rumor going around.” 

You walk to the edge of the balcony and peer over the railing. Utahime gasps in fear and grabs onto your petticoats, afraid that you’ll tip over the fencing. “Go on, Sir Gojo,” you say. 

“If a fair damsel grants a knight her favor, he’ll fight ten times as well. Twenty, even. And all the more so if it’s the princess, who everyone knows is the fairest in the land.”

Unwillingly, a smile twitches to life upon your lips. “Is that so?”

“Won’t you grant your most loyal knight a token of your affection?”

“Don’t,” Utahime gripes. “What has he done to deserve it?”

A scrap of pale blue fabric flutters in the light breeze, reminiscent of doves. Gojo catches the ribbon you’ve loosed from your hair, his fist enclosed in armor. He brings it to his lips for a chaste kiss he can’t place upon you. The entire time, his eyes are on yours, searching. 

“I’ll win this whole thing,” he says. “I’ll defeat every knight here for you.” 

The trumpets blow, calling the contestants. He’ll be wanted. Utahime shakes you lightly as he leaves your sight. “Get yourself together,” she says sternly. 

“But mama, I love him!” You joke. 

Her frown can’t last in the face of your teasing smile. She fixes the lace on your sleeve and collar, though they’re hardly ruffled. She can’t help herself. It’s her second nature to dote on you. 

“Ah, my princess,” she sighs. “You worry me.” 

You poke her uninjured cheek, trying to get her to smile. “It’s not me. You worry too much.”

Another voice cuts in. “I feel the same way sometimes, my dear Lady Utahime, but I trust no one more than you. Her mother left her to your capable hands, after all.” 

Your father has arrived. Utahime smiles as the king kisses her cheek, but you can’t. You know he means it lightheartedly, but it galls you all the more that he says it so blithely. When your mother fell ill, Utahime had been the one who took charge of looking after you. 

Not your father. 

Not your only living parent, the man who was supposed to feel all the closer to you for your loss. Instead, he pushed you away. 

You knew you weren’t being fair. 

The king had been wracked with grief over the passing of his beloved wife. Along with his other royal duties, he couldn’t possibly have been expected to watch over an infant as well. You know better than anyone the toll the crown takes on a man. Stewardship of this land asks a heavy price. It’s not an easy role. 

No, you can’t blame your father for choosing the country. It’s his duty, as it is yours.

You only wish it hadn’t been Utahime’s burden to carry instead. She was just a few years older, a child still when she had raised another child. In many ways, she had been a mother to you. Only now that you’ve grown older than she had been back then do you understand how much responsibility she had accepted at such a young age. 

Your father turns to you. “Are you enjoying the tournament?”

“It’s barely started. Only the squires have been jousting. We haven’t seen any of the real knights yet.” 

“Those squires will become knights themselves one day. Watch carefully, and you may discover a treasure worth keeping.”

As he speaks, you finally find someone worth watching, as if your father only had to say it to cause it to happen. A boy with rosy hair lunges towards his opponent. He disarms him and forces him to the ground - only to offer him his hand in exchange.  

The other squire hesitates. Doubt crosses his face. Finally, he accepts the proffered hand like someone expecting an attack at any minute, but all the other boy does is pull him to his feet and dust him off. He’s more honorable than most of the knights of the realm you know, too focused on humiliating their opponents to flaunt their own glory. 

Your father doesn’t notice your distraction. He’s still speaking. You bring yourself back to the conversation just in time to hear him say, “Sukuna, the King of the Curses.”

“Sorry?” You laugh. 

“It’s no laughing matter, I’m afraid,” your father says gravely. “He’s the ruler of the Western Kingdom, the land where the sun never sets. Perhaps he’s grown tired of his arid land and seeks gentler climes, for his invasions have earned him the title ‘King of Curses’.” 

Utahime’s lip curls in disgust. “King of Cruelty is more like it. I’ve heard of what he’s done to his prisoners. That man has no honor.”

“None,” your father agrees, “and yet it is necessary not to antagonize him. We are small if prosperous. We can’t afford it.”

Utahime looks as if she wants to speak, but she holds her tongue. She’s always been good at navigating the court. Trained under her, you wait as well. Taking your cues from her is something you’ve done since you were a child.

“Yes,” your father says, his eyes distant. He’s ruminating over something he won’t share. “He can’t be provoked. The representative he sent us for this tourney must be carefully attended to.” 

That representative, Uraume, doesn’t fight like any knight you know. Their sword is wider than most of those found in your country, and half as tall as a man. Precision is lost in favor of brutality. They wreak havoc with the brutality of a butcher, tearing through the ranks of your best and strongest. Of course, he’s not the only strong fighter. There are other knights to watch as well. 

“That Lady Tsukumo is doing quite well for a woman,” your father notes in surprise. “What prodigious talent. I don’t think her house has produced a fighter like that in years.”

“She’s better than half your knights,” you remind him. “Lady Tsukumo already defeated most of her bracket.” 

“Yes, yes,” your father laughs. “You know I don’t mean it like that. I’m simply admiring her.” 

As the day progresses, clear victors emerge in each division of the tournament. Uraume is one of them. Gojo is another. 

They placed him against Getou for his penultimate match, knowing the crowd would go wild for a contest between not only two of the best knights of the realm, but sworn brothers. Although Getou is better than most, Gojo is more of a natural disaster than a real, human adversary. At the end of their round, Getou smiles even as Gojo brings him to his knees. 

The next round is even more hotly anticipated than Getou and Gojo’s. 

Gojo strides into the center of the arena with the classic arrogance he’s known for. He delights in riling the crowd up. They cheer louder and louder on each circuit he laps around the arena on his silver stallion, pale as moonlight. By the last, they’re nearly delirious with passion for him. 

Uraume has no such pretenses. They’re a cold creature, as frigid as they come. 

It matters not. Gojo beats them so easily that it can only be described as disrespectful. He rides past Uraume and thrusts the hilt of his sword into their stomach with such force they fall off their horse. Gojo dismounts casually. He hadn’t even used his blade. He flips Uraume onto their back with a boot and steps onto their breastplate, pinning them in place. His sword hovers underneath their chin, a whisper away from death. “Yield,” he says pleasantly. 

You, remembering your fathers speech about Sukuna’s chosen representative from that morning, glance to the side. He’s smiling as gently as ever. Underneath his cloak, where only you and Utahime can see, his hands clenched so tightly his knuckles have turned white. 

After the match, you recognize one of the men rushing Uraume off to be one of your father’s most trusted advisors. He must be doing damage control, but then again, when is he not when Gojo’s around? 

Your father stands, as composed as if he had never been upset in the first place. You envy that self-control. You’ve always aspired to your father. In your eyes, he was the perfect ruler - perhaps because he was the one who taught you what a ruler should be. 

Gojo waits in the center of the arena. He’s beautiful as always, as fierce as an avenging angel. There’s a fine sweat beading at his temples in a way that makes you want to wipe it off with your handkerchief, but you abstain, knowing thousands are watching. 

Gojo has no such scruples. 

When it’s time for him to be awarded his laurel crown, he kneels - not to your father, but to you. A gasp rises from the crowd. You stifle your own shock. Here, where every sign of weakness is clearly visible and easily taken advantage of, you can’t reveal that this wasn’t planned. The royal family’s control over its retainers must appear immaculate - even if Gojo had always been uncontrollable. 

Wordlessly, your father passes you the laurel. You know something is brewing. He can only tolerate Gojo’s outlandish behavior so many times. But this isn’t the place to worry about your father’s incumbent wrath, so you take over the duties of honoring the victor. It’s easy. You’ve seen your father do it enough times to be able to replicate it in your sleep. 

Gojo rises from his knees, a hungry smile on his face. “I told you I’d win.” 

“That you did,” you reply noncommittally, trying to figure out how you’re going to discreetly get him out of the arena without your father attempting to try him for treason. 

He frowns. Knowing him and the type of maneuvers he’s likely to pull, you put a respectable amount of distance between the two of you as you mark his brow in gold paint. 

When you grasp his hand to lift his arm into the air, he presses something into your palm. Years of sharing secrets and playing pretend at espionage have trained you not to flinch. When you lower your enjoined hands, you slip the shred of paper he’s passed you into your pocket. 

People are cheering. You notice with warmth that he looks heroic, like he’s stepped right out of an old legend. Your father doesn’t seem to agree. 

Arguments between the two of you used to be few and far between, but lately it seems like you can’t do anything right. You’d forgotten what it was like to retreat to your parents’ bedroom for a scolding. It hadn’t happened since you were a child, yet here you were again, studying the fabric of the draperies to avoid eye contact with your father, just like you had when you were younger. 

“He wasn’t trying to be disrespectful,” you start. But that’s not true, and you know it. So you try again. “He wasn’t trying to cause problems. He cares about the kingdom, father. He was just trying to show off his - our - strength.” 

“Gojo is a liability.” How easily your father casts him off, marks him as defective. He’s always been like that - clinical in his appraisal. You lacked that precise, indifferent ruthlessness. You’ve tried. 

“He’s a good man, a good knight. House Gojo has always been loyal to us, father. Remember his mother? Remember Sorashi? She wouldn’t want you to treat her son like this.”

Your father flinches. First comes sorrow, then, anger. “Don’t speak to me about Sorashi.”

“You can’t just pretend like they never existed! Sorashi, my mother-“

“Child, you are testing my patience dangerously.” 

You fall silent, hating yourself for it. Always a child. Never someone worth listening to. 

“You don’t understand anything,” he says more gently. 

“I don’t understand anything because you won’t tell me anything!” 

“You’re a princess,” he snarls. “You’re not supposed to know anything!”

You reel back, stunned. You had always been afraid that this was how your father truly felt. 

“You have no sons, so it’s me or no one else.” Disgust fills you at the fear in your own voice. Weak. Pathetic. After all these years, the lessons your father gave you still haven’t sunk in. Perhaps he’s right, and you’re not fit for the throne after all. You’re still begging for what you want instead of demanding it like it’s what you deserve. A prince wouldn’t act like this, but you’re not a prince - only a girl who was never taught how to rule. 

He throws up his hands in exasperation. “I didn’t say anything about sons. See, you’re too young and inexperienced. This is why I won’t let you in yet. You’re not ready to rule.”

“But I will?”

He gives you a wan smile. He’s tired. Guilt seeps through you. These days, all you do is fight. You miss the times when it felt like you had worked together. At the end of all of it, you love your father. You hate that it’s been like this. 

“All in time, my child. I love you, I really do. But you’re not ready.” 

Mutiny curls under your tongue. You’re not ready because he waited too long, hoping for a male heir until your mother died. By then, it was too late for you to catch up on years of lessons you should’ve had. Regardless of what he says, you know how he feels. You were never the one he wanted but-

He’s still your father. When he reaches out to stroke your cheek, a peace offering, you close your eyes against his hand and don’t give voice to your treasonous thoughts. It’s nothing to suffer the humiliation of your status for a while longer. You have all the time in the world to earn your place. 

Your father is right, in the end. You can be patient. 

Back in the privacy of your room, you unfurl Gojo’s note. Gojo’s mother had him trained in elegant cursive that he uses for formal documents and letters. In his messages to you, it degenerates into chicken scratch. It’s a lucky coincidence that it’s all but unreadable to anyone else, making it a code only you can decipher. 

The gardens at midnight. - S. 

Only a place and a time. Is he trying to tempt fate? 

You indulge in the idea of not going, especially since things are already tense with your father. All the way up until the hour you need to leave, you let yourself believe it’s not happening. It’s too risky. People are already suspicious of you as it is. The minute passes, and if you go now, you’ll be late, so you won’t. 

You grab your shawl with a huff of annoyance. You’re going. You were always going to go, from the very moment you got the note. 

You aren’t used to sneaking through hallways you usually glide through. There are several close calls as you make your way closer and closer to the gardens. Multiple times, you’re forced to make a run for the nearest door or drape to hide behind. 

You’re barely two feet away when you’re finally caught. A hand slaps over your mouth before you can scream as someone tugs you into a dark corridor. You kick and lash out, forgetting everything Gojo has taught you in favor of blind violence. 

“Shh,” comes a voice in your ear. “It’s just me.” 

You bite him. 

He hisses and pulls back, shaking out his hand. “What’s wrong with you?” 

“Why would you do that? You scared me!” 

“You’re not careful enough, princess. Did you even notice the maid coming up the left hallway?”

Admittedly, you hadn’t. It’s lucky that he was there to save you. 

Gojo has always been there to protect you. The tension bleeds from your body. You sigh and lean into him. You can’t help it. 

He laughs. “Are you that happy to see me?” 

“If you don’t be quiet, I’ll show you exactly how happy I am.” 

“Come on,” he tugs you out towards the gardens. It’s dangerous, but you follow him anyway. Being with Gojo is so threatening not despite his strength, but because of it. You rely on him too easily, trusting him to see you safely through any peril. His very presence is the promise of security. It makes it too easy to relax when he’s with you. 

You expect him to tell you why he called you here, but he remains silent when he tugs you down on the bench next to him. “Satoru?” 

“Here,” he says, opening his hands. A single crushed violet sits on his palm. You raise it to your eye. It’s all the more fragrant because it has been mangled, the delicate petals bruised to release the scent into the air. 

Gojo’s mouth lifts in a smile. “Sorry,” he says. “I didn’t realize.” 

“You really know how to win a girl’s heart,” you tease. 

“Hopefully I know how to win over her father’s too.”

You freeze. 

“If not marriage, then knighthood. Let me be yours, in whatever way I can have you.” 

“You have me,” you tell him. “You always have.”

You don’t know how to answer such devotion. Besides the obvious political ramifications of being wedded to Gojo when your marriage is meant to be a bargaining chip used for the sake of your kingdom, you don’t want it. Not like this. 

Gojo has been your dedicated shield for so long, the two of you have forgotten a life where he wouldn’t give up everything to protect you. He’d do anything for you - even that which he should hold sacred for himself. His very body is littered with scars that he’s received on your behalf. How much more can you take from him? 

Does Gojo really want to marry you or does he want to protect you? Will he play the part of the devoted servant for the rest of his life? 

“You don’t have to…” You realize you don’t know how to say it. Or that you don’t want to. Selfishly, a part of you can’t bear to release him from the oath he gave you when you were children, though he couldn’t have known. Neither of you could have understood what it meant for him to kneel at your feet and swear his life to you. It had all been in good fun, the way children understand things. “I don’t want you to- Oh, Satoru. You don’t owe me anything. You’ve done enough for me.” 

For a second, your imagination plays tricks on you. The cobalt of his eyes kindles into a terrifying flame, like the lightning in the town he hails from. It’s as if the draconic blood his ancestors claimed still lives within him. 

He continues as if he hadn’t heard you. “I’m going to ask your father tomorrow. I want to be your dedicated knight; I won’t wait any longer. I’ve waited enough.” 

His pushiness feeds your annoyance. You cling to it, preferring it to the dreadful hopelessness inside of you. The right thing is not always the easy thing. Gojo deserves his freedom after wasting his youth on keeping you safe, yet letting him go feels as difficult as willingly driving a nail through your hand. You want to cling to him forever, reassured by his strength. 

“Don’t,” you say, trying to sound firm. 

“At the ceremony,” he says determinedly. “When he gives me captainship in the army. He’ll have to say yes if I ask him then.” 

“Satoru, please-” Your voice wobbles embarrassingly, and you have to pause. Silently, you beg your tears not to fall. The way he disarms you is humiliating. You turn away, but Gojo understands. Years of watching after you has taught him a lot. He bandaged the scrapes that you refused to cry over and avenged your honor after you pretended your pride hadn't been hurt. He can see right through you. “Please don’t.” 

You see the frustration on his face. He’s not a man used to holding himself back, and yet he does. 

“It’s alright,” he says. “We can wait.” 

It’s just another number to add to the tally of favors you owe him. “It’s not that I don’t want you to be my guard,” you say in a small voice. “I just-” 

“I know. Though I do think the king will ask me anyway, so this is all pointless.” He looks away. “I just wanted you to- Nevermind.” 

“Really?” Doubt colors your voice. 

“I’m the strongest. Who else would your father ask to protect you but me?” 

“He doesn’t like you,” you point out. “No, he does, but it’s a very begrudging like. I don’t get it.” 

It makes you smile, thinking about the way your father can’t stand Gojo but won’t allow anyone else to speak poorly of him. He’s still a Gojo after all, no matter how much trouble he causes your father, and your father loves Gojos. The royal house has always held their house dear. They had been close for decades. Always, they were something to the other, no matter what form that something took. 

“There you are,” Gojo murmurs. His fingers trace the arc of your mouth. “So pretty.” 

You glare at him through tears. “And whose fault is it that I cried?” 

“Your father’s?” 

You scoff. “You see? This is why he doesn’t like you.” 

Gojo looks at you seriously. “I’ll get down on both knees and beg him for it if I have to.” 

“Don’t do that,” you gasp. 

“I don’t care,” he says. “You’re what’s most important to me. More than pride, more than honor.” 

You look at the crushed violet in your hand. 

Who else but Gojo? 

He breaks you down so easily. You press the flower back into his palm. “I know you’ll do what’s right.” 

His eyes soften. He leans closer. 

“Gojo,” comes a voice. “What are you doing in the gardens this late at night?” 

You stiffen. The owner of the voice is drawing closer. 

“Do you trust me?” Gojo asks, as cool and collected as ever. 

You nod, fearing your voice will give you away. He cups your face in his hands and ever so delicately presses a light kiss to your cheek, tilting his head towards you. Does it look like a real kiss from afar? Did he mean it to? 

“Stop,” he tells the man behind you. “Don’t come any closer. You’ll scare her.” 

“A new plaything?” Asks Yaga. “I’m not so scary, am I?” 

Gojo notices you tremble harder as the voice registers. Lord Commander Yaga is close to the King. As the captain of the kingsguard, he could ruin everything.

Gojo lifts a hand to the back of your head and presses it gently towards his shoulder, obscuring your face. He pulls you towards him, arranging your legs around his waist. A soothing hand traces a warm path up and down your back. It calms you as much as it shames you. You’ve never been this close to any man, not even him, and now you’re cuddling only for the sake of protecting your secrets. 

“The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard is a terrifying man, or so I’ve heard,” he says casually, as if the two of you aren’t trapped in an extremely compromising position. As if your father wouldn’t demand his head on a pike if Yaga realized who it was. 

“Just escort her to her room when you’re done,” Yaga says gruffly. “I don’t need to tell you to be a gentleman, do I?” 

“No, sir,” Gojo says cheerfully. 

That night, you breathe a sigh of relief. Yaga gave no sign he recognized you. He acted as if he normally would upon encountering any soldier of his on a late night escapade, profoundly disinterested and deeply desirous to get away. Only in the morning do you begin to doubt your deception.