#accidentally king of haven

[cherie-doll]

𓆩♡𓆪 Headcanon: They're Your Bodyguards (Royalty x Knight AU Part #2)

𖠁 Price, Ghost, Soap, Gaz, Roach, Alejandro, Rudy, Phillip Graves, Makarov, Keegan, König, Horangi, Nikto

❦ Based off this hc I had written a while back

Price

He upholds his noble promises, he wouldn't ever dare to wander too close into your life

With every string tugging at his heart, he restrains the overwhelming feelings, he remembers the oaths he's made

To keep in this way was dancing death's waltz

Oh, but your soft silhouette blending in the foliage with the aura of golden sun was refreshing like morning dew, how is it possible for the human heart to long for something it has never had? We dream of a haven, but is there hardly one on this earth?

He longs to have what is restricted, maybe what has been out of reach has always appealed to us, since children we want what is above us, as young people we crave what makes us feel alive, and in our limited existence we continue to search for it

It was all forsaken; what was left unsaid, the silent sentiment, the shared glances that were neither given nor taken, for nothing was accidental nor hidden between the both of you... only guarded

Ghost

Here is another fool, one who thinks love is a controlled emotion, have pity on him!

The only salvation he can be found guilty of on base of selfishness is imagining you imagining him, secretly he loses himself in fantasies of a future that can never be

He hath nothing but muted passion for you

And from the silence, is it possible to determine the outcome? It does nothing more but to hurt one's feelings, does the bearer more hurt than partaking in improper fantasies, for it is all in vain and a reaching for and grasping at the wind

In the end the happiest fool is miserable, the most disciplined king conquers nothing, and the bravest knight afraid of battle

What pain for nothing!

Soap

Not a word from your lips heard, not a touch felt nor a sensation given, but those eyes speak for the entire soul

This story doesn't have to be a tragedy, because no matter what it will never end the way everybody wants it to, "vivamus, moriendum est", but you'll let yourselves live blissfully

Nothing can stifle his silent joy, his merry face goes about all day desirous of crushing you with a million acts of affection

The mindless dialogue he recites, staring off into nothing as he finds your capricious eyes shining like a glow the lake flashes at the evening sun

He'll find beauty in your entire being and relate it to things because if one day, you find each other a long way off, the sentiment will remain and the earth will remember you and remind him

Gaz

What's forbidden only makes the temptation greater, hm?

With such yearning and softening of his eyes does he gaze at you, it's a feeling that's so heavy and present in the air it's impossible to ignore, an energy only igniting between you both

He's engulfed in dreams of what could be, but surely it's not all just a figment of his imagination, to a certain point you mirror his thoughts

The emotions that won't stop growing rise to the surface and threaten to breakthrough, ruining his discipline, yet are always present and showing through every act and small interaction with you

The brushing against one another, the whispers that want to turn into screams, the heart begging to be let out

Roach

It had been dawning on him, a premonition of sorts in the air since he started serving your family, as if it was destined to happen

Now as he gazes up at you from his head lying on your lap, your bodies hidden from view by the tall hedges and vines in the garden, he almost melts at the sight of you

Even if the weather isn't favorable, you walk hand in hand, free of worries for an evening or night, it feels as if the sky could be never-changing and the circumstance always right

And as he reflects back on this years later, he remembers it fondly, though now gone and far away from one another, he gathers these memories and wonders if there was no ending to it, would you two have kept laughing innocently?

He would let your name slip from his lips one last time as if calling you softly into the fading sunlight

Alejandro

Every time you cross paths after meeting and loving in secret it is like the morning after a heavy torrent of rain, you cannot hide the smiles breaking out onto your faces, nor the fidgeting of hands wanting to embrace each other

An impulse so strong that it can barely be contained when he gazes deep within your cherub eyes, your lashes fluttering as the shimmering sunlight reflects on water, this scene all too perfect

Curiously, he will gaze at you and construct the most beautiful verses he seriously believes he would have made a great poet

You're everything he's held dear, not only does he love tenderly but deeply, you hit every feeling spot within him unveiling a new world

Rudy

Oh, but he's so respectful, so contained, so true to his word, until he finds himself alone in your chambers, faced with an order he has the right to deny or be a little selfish

For once he is given choice and it is difficult to remember his priorities

How could he deny? When you're murmuring so softly, and you're welcoming him so well, making the weight on his shoulders feel lighter even if it's a false feeling only for a little while

He'll cherish that moment for a lifetime, because for once he's known what heaven feels like, smiling easier and more often

His mind drifting back to you, you're unforgettable, not just a fleeting moment but an experience

Phillip Graves

He looks curiously at what is before him; the kingdom's precious flower, and as he gazes he becomes entranced in a thread that with time will become too hard to be undone by a single pull

It starts out as a foolish act but soon grows into much more, but was he ready for what came with it? The yearning, the sensitivity and vulnerability he was exposing himself to?

With every look that gained new meaning and lost their playfulness, you became all too attached and duty no longer was first

Perhaps this was the beginning of your descent, your spiraling into doom and recklessness, crumbling and giving in to your heart who beats so wildly only once in this ephemeral sentiment

Makarov

The repetitive phrase that leaves your lips every time, "we can't do this" or "we shouldn't", always the regret setting in after saying you've let go

And frankly, he doesn't care nor does he care whether you completely let go of it or not, it'll be your stone to carry, not his

Just feel the pull between you, focus on the fact that you're in his arms right now, your royal attire loosely around your shoulders and your worries and responsibilities should be a mile off by now

Concentrate on what you feel, he's trying to remind you, there is nothing selfish in enjoying the sensations for a little while

Or is he trying to put his conscience at ease with these words he tells you? What a reflection of his soul they are, and what truth do they carry

Keegan

You find him deeply captivating and intriguing, you feel bad for having so much curiosity for him

In a room full of people and yet you always wonder if he's there among the crowd, and with so much noise in the world does he stop and listen for your voice?

So dreamlike were these short moments of delight it must've been a dream, you met only at midnight behind heavy velvet curtains that obscured all light

You could only feel with your fingertips and hear soft murmurs that you tried to memorize, you would later pray in your tucked corner of the room, whispering softly into your blankets that it was real

Someone felt for you and the memories had really happened

König

The brooding figure that wishes he had the privilege of learning about you without repercussions, without that nagging thought of it coming back to bite at him

To color in the blank spaces of unknown, wishing to reside in the intimacy of your heart and mind, to navigate what is familiar

The blossoming interest in you reflecting in his eyes, making you feel a strange sense of safety when with him, a calming feeling that you welcome too well when in his presence you find rare to recreate when alone

Not even castle walls could grant as much security as he could, they were old and empty, standing many years and guarding many families before you, it was only a false sense of security that had been handed down to you

But he, he was your own, your own to cherish and love for now and even if his love wasn't a family heirloom to pass down maybe that was fine, let yourself hold this selfishness close to your chest

Horangi

A gambling game he is playing, it's as if he has a thing for chasing after what is not secure nor certain, but that's what makes it appealing

He doesn't stick much to rules, if he does it's only for a short time until he finds his own way of doing things, he was never concerned with playing the game fair

So he's not hesitant nor does he shy from trying risky things with you, it's all a game to him

The momentum only increasing as the stakes rise and he finds himself almost tying his fate to you, wanting for once in his life a secure future he can be sure to have, to reach out for and receive

Nikto

The craving for something different and rattling came to you when you discovered his tarnished past

It was so different to what you knew, and maybe it was in that darkness and chaos that you found comfort, a world you wanted him to share with you, more intimate than any touch

More erotic and through-provoking were his shards of soul revealed to you than an affair, and his growing confusion at how easily he shared parts of him with you

A hidden memory arising from the depths of his mind, trying to show him how comforting it felt to be perceived for what you were, he wanted to indulge in it a little longer each time

He knew his desires and dreams wouldn't change a thing in his life, but this peace freed him from the chains that had been weighing heavy, he felt lighter and allowed himself to long for someone

[mailontumb]

HC for the LSSMP!☆ﾟ⁠.⁠*⁠･⁠｡ﾟ

Spoke and Minute are definitely siblings or half siblings

Bacon and Planet likes to kidnap their friends to surprise them for their surprise birthday party

Rek met Branzy during Childhood and is really close friends and never once lied or try to keep things away from each other

Clown and Kab ARE DEFINITELY SIBLINGS. LIKE HOW ARE THEY NOT (it could be like half or step siblings)

Zam is the Dance king

Pangi likes hanging out with Zam cus he is the only one who understands him

Derapchu takes pictures of everyone's feet and sells it to the internet

Jumper is half Bunny

Squiddo learned how to glitch after asking ash to teach her

Ash secretly has a picture of people he likes in his Glitch Room

Red HATES tomatoes as everyone compared him to one

The reason Chief is grey is because he Might've painted himself grey or just have stone genetics

Although Mid has multiple of the exact same hoodie but she is a MASTER designer

Clown kidnapped Branzy for their first date

Oh and Kab often comes to Clowns date cus their mom said so

Flame found Mane terrorizing people and thought "I relate to bro" and became bestie ever since

Parrot can communicate with any bird but Owl cus it scares him

EVERYONE but rek HAS SLEEP PARALYSIS DEMONS

Rek doesn't have SPD cus he over thinks that his base is trapped and the Monster felt really bad haunting him

Oh yea The SPD is worse on Derapchu cus he once took a picture of the Demon's feet and it got really offended

Hanna knows EVERYONE's Secrets (she was the first person who knows about Clownzy after accidentally trying to gamble at the casino)

Cookie God is the LSSMP God too but he barely takes care of the place cus he trusts the listener to take care of it

Rek sprays people with water if they cuss in his video

1 time Vortex challenge Vitalasy and Jeppexx to a Lemon eating competition, Vitalasy won at 150 lemons in 30 minutes

Vortext is often offline but when he is online every makes it a celebration

The LSSMP have their own birthday but Ro doesn't as he was an escaped Watcher

Watchers Can't interact with LSSMP only the listeners can, so that makes LSSMP a safe haven for all those who are running away from the watchers

Hanna ran away from the Watchers 5 TIMES with each attempts getting harder and harder

Only 5 people knows about the situation of LSSMP that being G,P,M,Ro and Hanna, 3 of which tried to escape &only 2 made it the other one was returned back to the watchers and was punished

Mr cube can do a double backflip and likes tea parties!

4cvit is the reason why child labor exists

Someone mistaken SB for a penguin and called animal control,which they grabbed him and sent him back to the icy pole, parrot came and took him back

Leo REALLY likes gold and even tried to marry a golden statue

Pentar only ever have 1 shirt and tries to revive it every time it's torn

Speptical was the one who married Clown and Branzy, Rek,Leo,Minute,Kab,Jumper and Jaron being witnesses

Jaron solves many mysteries but also makes many more of them

Woogie had the same situation as SB but instead of anyone saving him he just visited his parents and traveled back to the LSSMP

Wemmbu escaped hell twice, so he is put on a watch list with clown

Also wemmbu ate his jail cell's bar and escaped with Zam

Mappic is left handed and likes playing arm wrestling with people

Poafa is a cloud, meaning he can fly and turn into a cloud

People often wonder where terrain lives but never tried to search

Branzy's bloodline is the apart of the watchers making ash half watcher and demon <- (cus of clown)

⁠━⁠☆ﾟ⁠.⁠*⁠･⁠｡ﾟ⁠━⁠☆ﾟ⁠.⁠*⁠･⁠｡ﾟ⁠━⁠☆ﾟ⁠.⁠*⁠･⁠｡ﾟ⁠━⁠☆ﾟ⁠.⁠*⁠･⁠｡ﾟ⁠━⁠☆ﾟ⁠.⁠*

｡⁠:ﾟI'll be back for more 😼😼! Lelele ﾟ⁠:⁠｡

[dewdropdinosaur]

Redemption is Best Served Hot

LUCIFER x READER Part Two Summary: You are like the mom Charlie always wanted. And like the partner Lucifer wishes he had. Warnings: NONE. REQUESTS ARE OPEN! See pinned post for details

In the bustling underworld of Hell, where chaos and mayhem were the order of the day, there stood a peculiar establishment known as the Hazbin Hotel. Run by the optimistic and determined demon princess, Charlie, the hotel aimed to rehabilitate wayward souls and give them a chance at Heaven. 

You, an older demon, found yourself entangled in the unique tapestry of the Hazbin Hotel. Drawn to Charlie's mission and warmth, you had become an essential part of the hotel's daily operations. As the pseudo-mother to Charlie and the other inhabitants, Y/N provided a sense of stability and care in the tumultuous underworld. A pillar of support for the lost souls seeking refuge within the hotel's walls, helping with the cleaning, aiding anyone with anything; you were in fact quite literally acting mother to all six inhabitants. Not that they minded, each loved you in their own way. Even Alastor, who would not admit it to himself that maybe your cooking could have rivaled his own mother’s.

“Nifty darling, here. Don’t run around with that old knife. This one is much sharper.” “Oooooo, thank you! BUGS PREPARE TO DIE!”

“Angel, poor thing. Come here, let me draw you a bath and we can talk all about it….or we can just sit in silence. Whatever you would like.” “Yeah…that woulds be good.” 

“The new shipment just arrived, Husk! Do you want me to help you carry it in?” “Nah, I got it. But thanks.”

“PENTIOUS! What did I say about letting the Egg Bois into my kitchen?!”  “Sssssory Mssss Y/N.”  “It’s alright dear, just…please be more mindful of them. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“Vaggie, no you may not kill Alastor.” “But..!” “No buts! You will respect Charlie’s wishes. And that goes for you too, Alastor.” “Oh me? Darling, it would be a pleasure to do as her highness commands.” 

And so on and so forth as the world goes. 

Over the years, Lucifer, the charismatic and charming ruler of Hell, found himself increasingly drawn to you after the original spout with Heaven. It wasn't just your unparalleled dedication to the hotel or the unwavering support you offered to Charlie; it was a magnetic force that pulled him towards you. Lucifer, accustomed to the chaos and seduction that surrounded him, found the calm demeanor and genuine kindness irresistible. In the dimly lit chambers of the hotel, Lucifer found himself captivated by your unwavering dedication and boundless compassion. He admired the way you effortlessly navigated the tumultuous currents of Hell, offering solace to those who had long abandoned hope. 

One evening, as the residents of the Hazbin Hotel gathered for a makeshift family dinner, Lucifer couldn't help but steal glances at you throughout. Laughter echoed through the room, bringing an unusual warmth to the usually cold and unforgiving realm. Lucifer found himself captivated by the way you effortlessly connected with the diverse souls seeking salvation and he felt his heart twinge a little. The scene was sweet, almost too much so. It made him long for something he had never had with Lillith or thought he could ever have. He hardly touched his food all night, too enthralled with you and your presence. You were like an angel, ironically so. 

After the meal and asking the Egg Bois to clean up(they were kind enough to oblige), you retreated to the hotel's back rooms with a book in hand, a haven of peace in the chaotic underworld. Lucifer followed, the air thick with an unspoken tension. You, engrossed in a book, hadn't bothered to notice the King of Hell until he cleared his throat. With a small flush of embarrassment at accidentally ignoring him, you looked up and met Lucifer's piercing gaze with a soft smile, setting your book aside. 

“What can I do for you Lucifer?”

"Quite the family you've built here," Lucifer commented, his voice a silky blend of charm and authority.

Smiling and setting the book aside, you laughed softly. "They're a unique bunch, but they deserve a chance at redemption, don't they?"

Lucifer nodded, taking a step closer. "And what about you, Y/N?” 

Your gaze met Lucifer's, eyes reflecting a depth of understanding about the true meaning of his question. "We're all seeking something, aren't we? Redemption, forgiveness, a second chance."

Lucifer reached out, gently tracing a finger along Y/N's cheek. "And what do you seek, Y/N?"

Your  heart fluttered, and as you took a deep breath you held his gaze. Oh how he loved that dazed look in your eyes. He wanted you to look up at him that way everyday if possible. Just the way your sparkling and your lips parted so sinfully sweet, he knew even the original sin barrer himself could be tempted. "I seek a chance to make a difference, to maybe bring a little of Heaven down here when I could never do it when I was alive."

Lucifer leaned in, his lips dangerously close to your ear. "Perhaps you've already brought light to the darkest corner of my realm."

Lucifer then pulled away, a small flush gracing his cheeks. He tipped his hat in acknowledgement before leaving the room without another word. Once outside the door, Lucifer pressed back up against a wall and could feel his undead heart about to beat out of his chest. Placing a hand over his chest in order to calm himself back down, the King of Hell flew back to his castle with a giant grin on his face. 

You too were no stranger to the effects of his…flirting. A giant grin and flush appeared on your face as you sunk back down into the chair you were sitting in. Giggling like a schoolgirl, you kicked your feet happily and ignored the book you were once reading. 

A forbidden connection sparked between Lucifer and you, a dance of redemption and desire in the heart of Hell, where the Hazbin Hotel stood as an peculiar beacon of hope. For in the heart of Lucifer Morningstar, amidst the chaos of Hell's domain, love had found its most unlikely champion.

[steddieas-shegoes]

Fluffy part 2 to this post

I'm posting early because @madigoround deserves it. I hope you enjoy love ❤️

As books get crossed off his list, Steve continues to add more.

They never skip a day. Even when Eddie’s sick, even when Steve’s sick, even when the kids are demanding their attention, Eddie reads to him.

Sometimes they sit on the couch at Steve’s house, sometimes they’re in Eddie’s bed, sometimes they’re by Steve’s pool, enjoying the cool evening air.

It doesn’t matter where they are, really. Anywhere Steve can listen to Eddie create a world with a story for him is a good place to be.

After a month, Steve’s head finds a permanent resting place in Eddie’s lap. Eddie’s hands would play with the small wavy hairs that tickled the back of his neck. It was peace.

It didn’t take long after that for Eddie to lean down and kiss Steve’s forehead or the tip of his nose between chapters, and for Steve to smile up at him with gratitude for giving him something he loved back. It was comfort.

Soon enough, reading would turn into make outs that turned into cuddling that turned into “no, just stay the night” that turned into cooking breakfast together. It was home.

They didn’t have an official anniversary, everything had been blurred lines and yearning, but they recognized when a year had passed from their first actual date. They’d gone to the largest bookstore in Indy, both surprising each other with books (even though Eddie would read them all), and giggling when they ended up leaving with enough books to start their own library. But Eddie knew what he was going to do.

He’d been working on it for a month.

It was perfect.

He’d been writing a book. Well, more like a journal.

Their story.

He was reading it to Steve tonight.

He’d left their names out of it, maybe dramatized a few things a bit, wanting to make it as much of a show as anything else he did.

So when Steve took his place with his head in his lap, Eddie’s fingers threading through his hair, he began.

He told the story of a king, lonely and putting on a brave face for his kingdom. The lowly medicine man who was cast away from society when one of his potions accidentally killed a woman of the court. The king protected him from punishment, and provided him a safe haven among the castle, forming a family among the servants and groundskeepers. As the medicine man learns more about the king, he falls deeply in love with him, but knows the king is set to marry a woman from a distant kingdom.

“But the medicine man stays. He’d rather have some of the king than nothing at all. He meets up with him in the castle library every night to read together…”

“Eds…”

Eddie looked down to see tears gathering in Steve’s eyes.

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“This is about us.”

Eddie smiled down at his king.

“Yes.”

Steve smiled up at his medicine man.

“You did this for me?”

“Of course I did. Our story is the greatest one I could ever tell you.”

They didn’t finish the story that night. But that was okay; they had a lifetime to add to it.

[franki-lew-yo]

An alt-universe's version of The Owl House's final season

"Thanks to Them" - Luz, Amity, Willow, Gus, Hunter and the Palismans get stuck in the human realm after King's heroic sacrifice. Luz properly meets Vee and reconciles with her mother.

"HalfWay House Noceda" - The Demon Realm kids attempt to make themselves 'useful' to Luz and Camilla by doing chores around the house even though their magic/skills are a bit more of a detriment. Meanwhile Luz shows Camilla some videos she took of Eda to prepare her for meeting the Owllady and King and Camilla is unnerved but also thrilled.

"Abduction of the Innocents" - Vee and Hunter have a heart to heart while everyone else pretends to like Camilla's and Luz’s favorite movies, except of course for Gus, who is inspired by the images on screen to really explore his illusion powers for Camilla. 

"Next to Nowhere" - Luz begins school again and ruminates over accidentally helping Philip, but her friend's determination help's her to keep going. Also Amity and Luz bond over Azura with Amity being able to tell Luz that she doesn’t like the Azura movies. 

"Kids of Gravesfield" - The other Palisman have been noticing Flapjack pacing around and both hiding something from the kids while also looking for someone. Luz and Hunter investigate a certain feeling they have around town while the rest of the gang heads to the Gravesfield Historical Society to get answers. Unbeknownst to everyone, Belos is amassing power and does something to Jacob Hopkins. 

"Season's Feedings" - On Halloween Night the kids learn the story of brothers’ Wittebane. Through this Luz regains some of her glyph magic by finding the portal Evelyn and Caleb originally used. Hunter gets possessed by Belos who kills Flapjack, but Hunter gets unpossessed. With just enough Titanblood to take them to the Demon Realm, Camilla joins the kids after Belos while Vee stays home to cover for them being missing.

"For the Future" - A look as to what our Demon Realm friends have been doing all this time; King keeps the Collector entertained, Lilith and Eda try and reach the immobilized citizens, and Hexside becomes a safe haven for the unconverted kids of the Boiling Isles. 

"Outside, Over Here" - The Collector, King and the Clawthorne sisters begin actually knowing Collector and bonding over his past - but things get interrupted by the Owl Beast and further interrupted by Lilith being puppet-ized for 'bad behavior'. Or, is it? Lilith, Hooty and the Owl Beast begin their own psyche-plotting within their inner mind and find a way to communicate with Eda and King despite still being puppets.

"Revenge of the Bad Girl Coven" - Just as it looks like Matholomule is coming into his own, Boscha decides she's taking over the remains of Hexside after her Grugby Team are turned into Puppets and two new students appear on campus.

"Watching and Dreaming" - Luz, Camilla and the crew return to the Boiling Isles and discover what's left of the Owl House and Hexside. They aren't alone, however, as Belos has also returned. 

"After All" - Amidst Boscha's reign of terror, Luz heads to the basement to recount her memories of Philip's shortcut to the head of the titan. The kids ultimately thwart Kikimora's takeover with the help of the Bat Queen though not before Willow finally looses her cool. Luz on the other hand finally meets her palisman, Stringbean. 

"The Brothers Wittebane" - Flashback episode that shows the complicated life of farmhand-turned Witch-husband Caleb Clawthorne and the brother he didn't mean to leave behind."

"Collector Says" - In an attempt to get more information on the archivists and what happened to the Titans, King and the Collector travel once again to the Titan Trappers, who listen to whatever the Collector says. Luz and Stringbean get separated from Camilla.

"How it shouldn't have Ended" - Luz, King and Eda all get reunited in an unconventional way while befriending Collector, while Belos makes a break for the Heart of the Titan to amas his final body.

"Inbetweens" - Belos' uses various hosts to get to the Titan's body which he takes over and starts destroying the Boiling Isles in his wake, but also leaving behind the now-mobilized hosts (Covenheads, Raine, harpy-Lilith) who each help Eda, Luz, King and Collector get to Belos from the inside out. Luz jumps in the way of the Collector being killed and appears to die herself, setting off Eda and King.

"Now Eat this SUCKAAH" - The puppet-ized kids regain their consciousness and begin fighting back and freeing the others under the Collector's spell. Luz wakes up in the in between realm and is helped out by King's dad in finding a way to get out and defeat Belos using the magic of the Titan. In the end Belos melts in the boiling rain and the Collector thanks everyone and goes to confront his family.

"Gone Bygones" - Peek into a bright, Belos-less future for all the characters.

Upside of this alt reality = proper Gus and Willow development, resolution to the Batqueen, actually seeing Caleb and Evelyn andbeebybaby Belos, an answer as to who really made the original portal door, more Stringbean, Lilith having her moment of bonding/actualization with the Owl Beast, resolution on the Titan Trappers, and just a final season overall to really close out the series and send off the characters we all love.

Downside to this alt reality = because Disney's no longer funding it the animation had to be finished by Dingo Pictures and all the voice acting is done by Chris Pratt. Also a nuke went off and we're in the middle of WWIII officially.

[a-not-so-clean-blog]

Nu carnival x celebrity gn

Yakumo

Singing together while cooking is one of your favorite activities! He is very shy and sweet and that's so endearing. Despite his social anxieties he does make a point to come out to your shows whenever he can. You always smile a little bigger when you see him in the crowd. You know it does make him nervous to be around so many people, but he loves you so much and he puts in the effort to know that he supports you no matter what.

Edmond

At one point knights were hired as bodyguards to protect you for a high profile show and that's how the two of you met. You impressed him on stage and he impressed you with his strength. It's a solid relationship built on mutual admiration. He's probably one of the only people you can go on a date with and not be swarmed by fans. It's nice to have a literal bodyguard as a boyfriend.

Olivine

You two instantly bond over the shared trauma of having insane fan clubs. He listened with an open heart to your confessions about the stress being a celebrity was giving you. At the time you just wanted to quit and leave your life behind but after talking it over with him you relaxed a little bit and decided that it was hard but not a hardship you couldn't overcome. Sometimes it feels like the two of you are the only ones who understand each other. It's a little bit of an equality that you both appreciate and it brings a sense of normalcy that you both crave from each other.

Quincy

You two met because you desperately needed a break from your fans. The only place you could think of to get away was the forest, and unfortunately you got lost. You would have stayed lost if Quincy didn't find you by accident. He didn't know that you were famous and honestly didn't care that you were. After you two got together he became a safe haven for you to get away from the stress of life. When you see him you almost instantly relax because he gives off this calming and protective aura that you don't feel anywhere else but by his side.

Kuya

He knows exactly who you are and found you interesting enough to mess with. What started off as him trying to mess with you to see if he could incite riots with your fans turned into him respecting how you handled the situations that he put you through. When he eventually ‘accidentally bumped into you’ and introduced himself you had no idea that he was the one making your life slightly more annoying. Eventually you figure it out because he couldn't help but drop hints but you did wind up forgiving him.

Blade

He may have actually fallen in love with you before he met you. If he had a radio in the dead zone then I definitely think he's heard you before, and maybe even have fallen a little for your sweet voice or demeanor. He doesn't get jealous but he does get concerned when he sees you overwhelmed with crowds. He always asks if you're okay after a performance. If he's really worried you'll buy him a cute thing and then he will forget about his worry until the next performance…

Garu

I think you met after one of your performances and you were trying to get away from the crowd. All he saw was you trying to get away from a group of people and his instincts kicked in and he stepped in between you and the ravenous fans. He's very sweet and supportive. It's nice knowing that he doesn't like you just because of your fame.

Karu

Guard dog. Head of your security and no you don't get a choice about it. He's impressed by your power to sway people and get people to like you. You explain how it's because you're a celebrity but any explanation goes in one ear and out the other. He doesn't understand or care about why, he just likes how you ‘have power over people’. He did develop genuine feelings after this but it definitely started with him trying to learn your secret to control people's hearts

Dante

He's definitely more famous than you…but that kind of comes with the territory of being a king. Sometimes he may ask you to do a show for his soldiers to boost morale. Sometimes that's just an excuse to get you to come to Solaria and see him. Both of you have extremely busy schedules so you both understand it's difficult to make free time and you both fully appreciate the time you get to spend with each other. He's very kind in private and because of your schedules quality time even in total silence has become your love language.

Rei

He does not want to admit he's jealous of the attention you give your fans. Trying to talk to him about it is like pulling teeth. I think you two got together before you got famous and he is not handling the change well. Give him a little bit of personal attention and that may help or it may make it worse. He respects your career choices but that doesn't mean he has to be happy about it.

Eiden

He has definitely fantasized about sleeping with a celebrity, so actually getting to date one is a dream come true. He treats you the same as he does his clan members. Basically he treats you like a normal human being and that taste of normalcy is not something you get in your day-to-day life. It soon becomes something that you crave and one of the things you love most about him.

Aster

He's definitely going to sell merch for you. Whether you know it or not. You may be his first love but profit is definitely a close second. He does offer to help for event planning or for designing merch for you as well. It's nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of. He may have actually approached you initially because he thought he could make a profit on you, and eventually those pesky feelings set in so now he's stuck emotionally attached to you.

Morvay

He's not normally a jealous person, but I think you being a celebrity might make him a bit jealous or flustered. He doesn't mind sharing people physically, however he does still crave private time with you and your busy schedule doesn't allow for a lot of that. He takes full advantage of any time he gets to be alone with you. If you shoot him a wink while you're on stage or during a show then he is going to practically melt. That helps a little bit with his jealousy but definitely just makes him more eager to get his hands on you later.

[mothergold]

| Falling on Pavement |

Pairing: Lucifer x Reader

Warnings: 18+ MINORS DNI, No Pronouns for Reader, He/Him Pronouns for Lucifer, Fluff, Implied Slow Burn, First Kiss, Strangers -> Friends -> Lovers, Reader is bad at feelings, Reader is Oblivious, It kinda gets a little suggestive towards the end lol, Open Ending, 1.7k words.

A/n: Uhm i just wanna kiss Lucifer <3 

Summary: When Lucifer asks you to go on a little night time walk, who are you to refuse?

Tags: @auphelia @suyacho @tighnarly @themovingcastlez

It had been a long day at the hotel and everyone had run off to do their own thing, and that’s when you decided to rest on the couch. You’d flipped through the various channels and ended up landing on something that was halfway interesting. That’s when you noticed something out of the corner of your eye, looking to the right you saw Lucifer standing there, a little awkwardly, too. 

“Lucifer?” You called out. 

His body stiffened before quickly turning to you and (trying) to laugh it off. “Mhm, yeah?” 

“Are you okay..?” You questioned.

He chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head. “Oh yeah, I’m okay.” 

“Lucifer.” You pressed.

“Okay, okay, truth is I had something I wanted to ask you.” He admitted sheepishly. 

You tilted your head in curiosity, waiting for what he was about to ask. 

Lucifer fiddled with his thumbs as he slowly approached you. “Well, I was, uh, just wondering if maybe you’d like to go on a walk.. with me.. alone.” 

“Oh.” You said without thinking. “Shit, sorry that’s not what I meant to say.” 

Lucifer seemed to lean away for a split second before he heard your actual response.

Your next reply was more enthusiastic. “I’d love to!” Already you could feel the heat rushing to your cheeks, and embarrassment swimming in your chest. “Lemme go grab my shoes real quick, then we can go.”

Lucifer nodded and waited patiently for you to get your shoes on and meet beside him for this walk that was now lowkey making the both of you panic internally. Sure, the two of you had been more than well acquainted with since your arrival at the hotel, but there had always been this odd tension between the two of you that you could never quite put your finger on. Lucifer opened the door for you, holding it open as the two of you took a stroll down the street. You took in all the usual sights and sounds but this time with Lucifer beside you, talking to you. It was such an unusual feeling, enjoying the world around you with him by your side. Or at the very least it was weird to do such normal, mundane things with the king of hell beside you. It felt weird,  like you were almost out of place here, but you shook away those thoughts.

You continued walking as Lucifer pointed out different places and the memories he had held onto with each place. It was when Lucifer pointed out the next nostalgic place that he had accidentally bumped his arm against your chest, which made the both of you instantly become hot with embarrassment. He looked at you first but then quickly averted his eyes, too ashamed to make eye contact with you. You wouldn’t even look at him, your eyes glued to the ground as you listened to Lucifer say multiple apologies. There was a moment of silence before anyone said another thing, the both of you were far too nervous to say a damn thing, but eventually you chose to speak up. 

“Hey, it’s okay, it was just an accident. I’m sorry for not saying anything afterward, that was kind of shitty.” You admitted. You were a little ashamed for not forgiving him right on the spot, but in all honesty you were really embarrassed. 

He turned to face you and you did the same, and as he spoke you took in each and every word he said. “You have nothing to apologize for. So, please, don’t.” He smiled at you, and just as he was going to say something else you saw something that filled you with fear.

You never told anyone before, even after joining the hotel, that before you had been welcomed into this safe haven, you had lived under one shitty ass roof with a very sketchy demon. That same demon you lived with for so long was the exact reason you came to the hotel. To be honest, you were ashamed to admit you made a deal with someone you most definitely shouldn’t have. You knew that if anyone at the hotel found out they’d try their best to find a way out of your deal. At least that’s what the fear told you every time you wanted to confide in anyone at the hotel. You hadn’t seen the guy since you escaped that night, and how you managed to escape his sights for so long was beyond you, but you weren’t about to cross paths with him anytime soon.

So, without warning you dragged Lucifer down a nearby alley and told him to be quiet, adding a hand over his mouth for extra measure. This was definitely going to come back and bite you in the ass in a few moments. Logically you knew he had nothing to be afraid of, but you were too scared of who you had just seen to let logic dictate your actions. You hadn’t seen him in quite some time, so you couldn’t help but let your initial instinct upon seeing him, be to run and hide. You waited until the coast was clear and the demon had completely walked out of view for you to weaken your grip. Lucifer pulled your hand off of his mouth and looked at you with a face of worry. 

“So, mind telling me what all that was about?” He asked. 

You sighed and tried to stand up and balance yourself before confiding in him, but as luck would have it you completely lost your balance and fell into his arms. It was almost too comical how coincidental it was, as if the afterlife was trying to throw you a bone, but it wasn’t like that between you and Lucifer. Was it? Sure, you had your tension with him and of course you had your wholesome moments with him just like you did with anyone else, but that didn’t mean you wanted him in any other way.. Right? 

In the split moment that you had lost your balance and fallen into his arms, you had begun to think back to all your times with Lucifer, especially the ones where it was just the two of you. The wheels in your head started turning and thinking back to how your chest pounded everytime you were near him, or how you stared at him longer than others did, and the many other instances in your head in which time seemed to stop around him, you had begun to realize he was never just a friend to you. Fuck, you kind of knew that already, but you were just.. Not quick on the uptake. You’d never been good with feelings, even as a human, but this was a new low even for you, or maybe it was simply denial. You had soon forgotten the realization and the emotions that came with it once you looked up at Lucifer, gazing deep into his eyes. 

His eyes were half-lidded and filled with yearning. Your chest began to throb, your body aching for his touch, and your hands slowly slid up the wall of the alleyway to entangle with his hands. Everything in your body was screaming for you to stop what you were doing, telling you that this was a bad idea. You didn’t know how it was wrong, but something about it felt too good to not be a sin. Before you realized it Lucifer had moved his hands so that they held onto yours. Instinctively you pushed your body against his as he leaned his face close to yours, he was mere breaths away from you when his lips hovered over yours. You waited with bated breath until his lips finally pressed up against yours. 

Whether it was right or wrong mattered not to you anymore, the only thing you cared about was his lips against yours. You struggled to get as close to him as possible, even slithering underneath his skin wouldn’t have been enough for you. You had a sudden urge to devour him whole, eager to taste all the king of hell had to offer. Slowly your hands slid down from his hands, your nails scratching him as you made your way down. Once your hands had been at the same level as his hips you began to slide them underneath his shirt, lightly tracing a trail up his back with your nails. Lucifer opened his mouth in a breathless gasp, as if the air was sucked right out of his lungs, but it wasn’t long before his mouth made its way back to your mouth. Just like an animal craving something unattainable Lucifer slid his hands down to your hips and pulled you close to him. 

It was shocking to think that this was your first kiss. That something passionate and hot could be the beginning of something so sweet and honest. As much as you wanted to continue this.. Amazing experience, you couldn’t help but pull away breathlessly. You looked up into Lucifer’s eyes and let out an airy chuckle.

“That was.. Wow.” You said quietly. 

Lucifer rubbed the back of his head, looking to the side and chuckled at your comment. “Yeah.. Wow.” He replied.

You waved your hands in front of you frantically and apologized. “I’m so sorry! We shouldn’t have– I shouldn’t have done that, sir. Oh, fuck I’m so sorry.” You trailed off in a moment of panic, but a hand tilted your head up and you were then met with Lucifer’s empathetic expression. 

“Hey, I liked it, and please, call me Lucifer.” He reassured you with a smile.

You opened your mouth to say something but Lucifer quickly shut you up with a kiss. He left you once again speechless and embarrassed. He held out his hand for you to hold and ushered you out of the alleyway.

“C’mon let’s head back.” He said smiling at you as if you were the greatest thing he’d ever laid eyes on.

You nodded and squeezed his hand as the both of you made your way back to the hotel. You wondered what this meant for the both of you. What were you two now? Fuck if either of you knew. One thing you did know was that you definitely wanted to do that again.

[lucigoo]

Weekly Roundup: 20th January - 26th January

Ngl, I'm feeling particularly proud this week. I managed to post 5 fics this week, with a combined word count of 23,297 of my 15,000 word a week goal. Im also at 53,357 words of my monthly 60,000 word goal!

As always, recs first and then my own fics.

Haven - EyesUpMarksman - The Witcher (TV) [Archive of Our Own] (Geralt/Jaskier, AWAU)

Summary: It was a very neat arrangement; the kings of the Continent and the Witchers of Kaer Morhen had a set agreement that they wouldn’t be at each others’ throats in the coming years, and Alfred Pankratz got rid of his eldest son and heir-apparent. The latter could have been seen as a great loss. It was seen as a great loss by anyone who didn’t know the truth, which just happened to be most of the Continent. Only a select few knew why the Viscount de Lettenhove was so eager to get rid of his eldest, and only, son.

Jaskier is settled into his new life in Kaer Morhen, married to the feared White Wolf, Geralt of Rivia, and an unexpected gift is presented to the couple in the first few months of their marriage.

The Blessing of a Long Life - thinksleep - Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types [Archive of Our Own] (Geralt/Jaskier)

Summary: Five times someone accidentally extended Jaskier’s life (and one time someone did it on purpose)

Care and Rehabilitation of a Bard - theblobfishwrites - Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types [Archive of Our Own] (Gerat/Jaskier, Aiden/Lambert)

Summry: After the dragon hunt, Jaskier thought he was done with Witchers. But when life (or rather Nilfgaard) throws you into neighbouring prison cells, you're kind of bound to become friends. Which is why Jaskier would do anything to protect Aiden. Even if that means going to Kaer Morhen, home of the man that broke his heart.

Kill Me Slowly - safiraneo - Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types [Archive of Our Own]

Summary: Jaskier isn't exactly happy to dig himself out of his own grave. In fact, he'd very much like to go back in it. Unfortunately, Destiny has other plans.

who is this bard? - Sunfl0wer78 - Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types [Archive of Our Own]

Summary: No one knows what’s going on.

Eskel, Lambert, Vesemir, Ciri…. They all wonder just who is this bard Geralt keeps finding company with?

FlooFlirt (TM) - Iwritemynameinallcaps - Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling [Archive of Our Own] (Texting au in the wizarding world)

Summary: There's a new available feature on the very succesfull wizarding communication device PocketFloo (TM). Let the FlooFlirting begin.

So, mostly Geralt/Jaskier with suprise Drarry at the bottom lol. Have a wonderful week <3

Now to my own fics

A Party Full of Love (Bilbo/Thorin and little Frodo, written for my wonderful friends at the Bagginshield Book Club (BBC)

Summary: Frodo loves his Uncle Bilbo and his uncle Thorin and so has decided to give them a party. A party he has painstackingy crafted the invitations too. Now all that is left is to deliver them.

Please Mahal, Don't take the hobbit! (Bilbo/Thorin, inspired by the song "Don't take the irl," by Tim McGraw)

Summary: Thorin's adad was taking him fishing when he was a young dwarf.

It starts with Thorin and hi sadad and ends with Frodo and his own adad.

Snippets of Bilbo and Thorin's lives as they grow and love and live for one another.

All Shall Fade, All Shall Fade! (Pippin Took - centric)

Summary: Pippin is a young hobbit, not even an adult, alone in the world of men with orcs at Gondor's walls.

He watches as brave oy. ung Farmir marches out hoping ot earn his father's love as he is ordered to sing. To sing for this man when those he loves most are fighting against evil.

He has never felt as small as he does in that moment and all he wants is to go home, Merry, Frodo and Sam in tow.

His gaze is blinded by the gold (Bilbo/Thorin, unhappy ending, written for @flashfictionfridayofficial)

Summary: Bilbo is running from Smaug, the dragon that wants to burn him alive when he is suddenly stopped by Thorin's sword pointing right at his chest.

Thorin - Sword - Bilbo.

It doesnt make sense, none of it, including why his partner is pointing his sword at Bilbo

Of Witcher's and Songbirds and their wings (Geralt/Jaskier, wrote the final two chapters for this long fic and I'm so glad it is now complete)

Summary: The continent is changeing. After his bard left him and died on the way down the Killer, Geralt is left reeling, trying to survive day by day.

5 Years after tat fateful day, Geralt and the other witchers learn about "The Sick" and the way it is changing the fate of their world.

What are witchers if not monster killers, and nothing is more monstrous then murdering children for being born different and this time the witchers will not sit back and accept it.

[quitealotofsodapop]

I just adore the idea that Flower Fruit Mountain became a sort of safe haven/getaway for the pilgrims' decendants and overtime the various families just... forgot that this was THAT mountain after generations of information being diluted and forgotten until someone just... accidentally stumbled upon Wukong fresh from the dirt

Secret cool family mountain island.

Plus the rings of volcanos (either a security messure by Wukong, or a result of the Burning) make it super hard for anyone other than a pair of dragons who can fly over, a really good boatman + pig, or a really lucky castaway scholar.

Sandy has known of the island for a while now. He's the only boatman brave/hardy enough to discover the exact inlets between the volcanos that safely pass into the paradise beyond. He keeps it a tight secret - not wanting the island to be victim to the greed of the modern day.

Pigsy and Tang are the next to learn about it. Both had gotten themselves into personal troubles and needed an escape from the world. So their friend Sandy offered to show them a spot where the magic privacy wards were strong, and where they could just be alone with their thoughts. Sandy hesistates to land the boat on the island for real, sensing a strong magic that repels potiential trespassers.

Pigsy appriciates the quiet for once. He wonders what ungrateful jerks do have special access to the paradise as he watches from the side of the ship. He saw dragons flying overhead once - maybe its exclusive to them?

Tang has a major historian/fantasy nerd moment when he sees the location of the region on Sandy's map. It's a dead ringer for the lost country of Alolai! The ancestral home of Monkey Demonkind and the birthplace of the Monkey King himself!! This could be a huge discovery!!! Sandy and Pigsy warn their friend about jumping to conclusions; its likely just a really isolated spot in the middle of the ocean. Tang pouts and disagrees, suggesting that if he could explore the island, he might find remnants of what people could have lived their before.

Tang accidentally puts his theory to the test when a freak storm knocks him off the boat and into the waters surrounding the island. He finds himself washed up on the shoreline of the island, confused/cautiously smug at why the protective wards allowed him access. He immediately ignores the survival aspect of his experience and begins exploring the island to his heart's content - blissfully unaware that Pigsy and Sandy are busy tearing the shoreline apart trying to find him.

The Ao-Longs find themselves in a predicament as they notice that they actually can't hire anyone to follow them onto the island. The wards take one look at what appears to be an invasion of dragons like "Nope. No Entry." and spits all the hired help/guides out. The Ao Longs believe their ancestor gained special permission to visit the island and that only related members of Sea dragon royalty can step foot on it. They mostly just saw it as a "panic room" of sorts when they truly needed to be alone (also alone together wink wink).

The day they meet Wukong was when the couple decided that they desperately needed an "off-grid" vacation from the modern world, esp with their super curious and attention-demanding pup.

A certain dragon pup wanders off and finds both a very pretty waterfall, and a very confused human looking at it...

Lil Mei: "Water slide!!" Tang: "OH SWEET BUDDHA NO!!" *jumps in after her* (*both find themselves in an odd cave...*) Tang: "I am freaking out so hard right now, but please never do that again!!" Lil Mei: *delighted giggling* Tang, looking around: "Wow this place hasn't had a good dusting in a while... I'mma just look around for cool stuff before we try getting out, k?" Lil Mei clinging to Tang's robe: "Yep!"

And ofc... a very curious pair find an odd lump/marker in the dirt of the cave that makes the scholar wonder if it's the burial place for a beloved heirloom or pottery. With the assistance of little dragon claws, he manages to unearth what looks like a weird monkey statue (very cool).

Until the staute begins glowing with a powerful magic energy... (0_ 0)

[whumpsday]

Whumpmas in July #7

Post a link to your favorite whump fic of all time!

so once again, i want to avoid saying the same thing i've said in previous years, and i've already talked about a lot of my favorite whump fics for WIJ before since this same prompt was used last year!

here is my post from last year, with a bunch of my favorite whump fics of all time. those fics include:

Dollhouse by @sowhumpshaped

Hazeshift by @whumpwillow

Magnanimous Moonrise & Savage Sunset by @not-a-space-alien

Of Vampires and Men by @whumpy-writings

Riot Kings by @befuddled-calico-whump

The Dark Side of the Sun by @quietly-by-myself

The Monster of Lindborough by @secretwhumplair

Things End | People Change by @whumpcloud

Tomas and Rowe by @whumpzone

you can find links to and summaries of those in the post linked above. here's 5 more of my favorite whump fics!

🔥 Bahkauv by @deluxewhump - Three friends traveling to the city stop off at a hunters camp to purchase a vampire for one of them to research at the university he will be attending. They purchase something a little different instead. (monster/vampire-adjacent whumpee, rescue/recovery, caretaker new master, burns, torture)

🧙‍♀️ Demon's Haven by @whumpwillow - Summoning demons for requests with a price far less expensive than one’s undying soul is common practice for witches, especially those who practice dark magic. Haven just wants to unlock a grimoire she found with the help of demonic magic, yet she ends up not in a battle of wits and wills but comforting a tortured and traumatized demon. (demon whumpee, rescue/recovery, desperate begging whumpee, accidental whump, caretaking)

💔 Shattered by @oddsconvert - Years of being held captive, under the vampires brutal persusasion has finally broken Declan, shattered his mind. Not living but not quite dead, paralysed in a comatose-like state. Vince decides his once delicious bloodbag has finally reached its end, selling it during it’s final few days. When August sees the advert for the dying human, he knows what he must do. Taking on the responsibility of nursing Declan back to health - though he is woefully unprepared for just how deep and severe the damage is and the hardships that will arise whilst tackling it. (vampire whumper, vampire caretaker, rescue/recovery, caretaker new master, recovery from mind control)

🧟‍♀️ Part of You by @sowhumpshaped - I’ve been thinking about it a lot. About whether I could do it. At the end of the day, there’s really no other alternative. Gena is my responsibility, and I’ll do everything to keep her safe and fed. (undead whumpee, cannibalism, lab whump, gore/dismemberment, tragedy)

⚰️ Another Path (BG3 fanfic) by @asidian - Astarion has spent two hundred years waiting for a hero to come. It isn't the foolish sort of idle dreaming that one reads about in adventure tales, no – he doesn't moon about in picturesque arched windows, pressing his hand to his chest and sighing. But he does hope sometimes, furtive and distantly yearning, in the same way he still prays to gods who never listen, every now and again. (vampire whumpee, rescue/recovery, starvation, caretaking, whumpee x caretaker)

@whumpmasinjuly

[radioactivepeasant]

Free Day Thursday: Fragile Things

(This is the one where overuse of light eco at the point of death rewound Damas’s soul back three years. He still isn't sure whether he actually died and accidentally entered another timeline's body when that Damas would have died early, or if he just had an extremely detailed vision. Either way, he broke into Haven and kidnapped TPL Jak literally right in front of Errol and his patrol, and 100% forgot to explain this to his people. Including Jak.) This is long so I'm breaking it into two three posts because even with a read-more it'd be a lot of scrolling.

Two Months Before the Incident:

For the children of the North Quarter, the bridge was a popular place to play and congregate. Most people didn't mind their youngsters hanging around the area, as it was close enough to the tower to discourage general mischief. Footraces, dramatic games of make-believe, even impromptu Raids matches were held on the dusty landmark. It wasn't uncommon for a passing adult to stop and keep an eye on the children for a while, occasionally playing referee.

It was not common for that adult to be King Damas.

He leaned against the tower, and an entrance to the filtration levels that only a handful of Spargans had the code to. Nine children ranging from ten to fourteen in age were spread across the bridge in little groups. The smaller ones were playing a fairly unhinged version of Raids that had evolved to include someone's pet dogat. The older three were crouched closer to him, intent on learning a marble game Jak was trying to teach them. Kill-Grid, he called it, some fusion of checkers and an Arena trial. Damas hadn't quite gotten the hang of it yet, himself, but he enjoyed watching Jak play.

One of the water staff exited the entrance and was taken aback to find him there. For a moment, the balding man looked around as if expecting trouble. When he realized that the king was merely taking his turn looking after the collective of children, he relaxed.

"One of these days someone is going to go right over the side of this thing," he sighed.

"And that's why they're never up here unsupervised," Damas agreed. Never taking his eyes from the children, he asked, "How are the new saline filters working out?"

Jeriko made a face. "All good but one. There's a crack in the seal we didn't notice at installation. We're going to have to take it out and use the old filter until it's fixed."

"Ah. I'll have the Trade guild remind its members to examine imports from Kras more closely." Damas rubbed his nose and shrugged. "Still, three out of four isn't bad."

"No indeed.”

They were silent for a while, and Jeriko noticed something. While Damas’s eyes periodically flitted across every little Spargan on the bridge, they always came back to one in particular. The skinny little thing he'd brought back after dropping off Sig for his infiltration mission. Jak, right? Or Jag? Jeriko could never quite tell, but the boy was almost always in the tower. Far more than any of his playmates would have been. Jeriko could almost swear the boy lived there.

"You knew him already, didn't you?"

He couldn't say what had possessed him to ask what so many whispered about already. A death-wish?

But Damas wasn't offended. There was a faraway quality to his gaze as he murmured, "Yes."

He folded his arms and sighed.

"He's thirteen, now. Thirteen! It doesn't seem real."

This was not what Jeriko had expected to hear. He turned to face his king in shock.

"Did you know him...before? In Haven?"

Did he leave a kid behind? He wouldn't do that, right?

Damas’s mind was far from the bridge. He answered honestly, but he did not think then how his answers would be interpreted.

"He's changed so much-! And yet for me, it seems only days since we were first separated."

Oh. Jeriko blanched. The coup. Jak had probably been a hostage to ensure that Damas cooperated. He would have been a newborn then! The poor kid! Jeriko didn't want to think about what kind of life he'd led before Damas went back for him. And now Haven had his other child, too? It was unthinkable.

"Does...does he remember?" Jeriko asked cautiously.

Damas shook his head. "No. I was a stranger to him."

His voice caught on the words.

"But it is...better this way. Better he is spared the horrors I remember. If I must rebuild our relationship from the beginning, I will gladly do so as long as he's safe."

Jak looked up then, meeting Damas’s gaze. He blinked at the intensity of it, then beamed and waved.

Damas smiled and waved back, but his eyes were still troubled.

And now, so were Jeriko's.

Five Days Before the Incident:

(The snippet where Jak jumpscares Damas by asking "Hey are you secretly my dad or something")

The Incident:

On the mainland, autumn had arrived. The air was cooling, and leaves were beginning to change color. On the desert island colloquially known as The Wastelands, fall meant temperatures dropping from 100° to 75°, and the air drying out. A relief for everyone except the people who harvested humidity to sell water. The cooling of the air meant that the sandstorm season had ended, and the rainy season would be upon them soon.

In the city of Spargus, that meant children anxiously awaiting the first major storm of the year. Once it had rained for more than fifteen minutes in a single span, the council would choose a day within the week to celebrate the Rainfall holiday on. Rainfall meant a four day break from school, and distribution of carefully conserved fruits and sweets, and the annual plays and mock battles held in the Arena to entertain the youngest Wastelanders. (And some of the older ones, not that they'd admit it.)

Jak had never heard of the holiday before being brought to the desert city. But it reminded him of Aurora Night in Sandover -- or more specifically, Rock Village. Uncle Erasmus had brought the tradition down into the coastal village when he settled there, long before Jak arrived.

He wondered where in the world Erasmus had ended up -- or maybe when. The calendars were all messed up now.

The holiday sounded like a lot of fun. There had never been more than three children in their little neighborhood in Sandover, and celebrations were subsequently quite small. But here there were more kids than Jak had ever seen in one place before. And even the older ones were excited about Rainfall!

Jak sat under an awning with a few other twelve and thirteen year olds, sorting spent ammunition casings to be recycled. It was normally a chore for very young children, but someone in Jak’s class had gotten them all on punishment.

The actions of one affected the whole.

That's the lesson the teacher was trying to impress on them: that one person breaking rules and taking risks in the ruins could put a whole team in danger.

Half the kids understood the lesson behind the group punishment. The other half -- including Jak -- thought it was just grown-ups being mean.

"Y'know what's the worst about this?" complained a girl to Jak’s left -- one of his regular playmates these days, "It wasn't even me this time! For once, I didn't sneak off, and I'm still getting baby chores!"

Jak snorted. "Lose-lose," he signed.

"You said it," Flick agreed.

She tossed another empty Scatter cartridge into a basket and nudged Jak's foot with her own.

"Hey, you think the big boss will give you a Rain Bead this year?"

"Huh?"

Jak tilted his head quizzically.

Flick took a moment to wind her braided hair back up out of her way, only to undo her work again by shrugging.

"Y'know, since you live...somewhere in the tower. Does he take care of you? Or do you live on the first floor?"

"I live with Damas? You knew that already?"

He wasn't that surprised that she'd forgotten. There were a lot of floors in the tower, and three of them had people living in them. And since people didn't like to talk about Damas’s other kid, the baby his friend in Haven was searching for, they tended to assume that Damas wasn't the one looking after Jak.

The only exceptions were the guards and the filtration staff. They gossiped worse than old Mrs. Perch! Inside the tower, it was an open secret that Jak had either been adopted by the king, or was a biological child that had been taken from him when he was exiled.

Jak pretended not to hear them gossiping when they saw him. It just made his head hurt.

Forget figuring out how that could work. Damas said he wanted to be Jak's dad on purpose! That was even better, right? Because it meant he wasn't obligated to look after Jak, he did it because he wanted to.

Jak watched a strand of bone beads bounce against Flick's braid -- off-white against bright teal -- and counted them silently.

Thirteen, one for every Rainfall Flick had experienced. She was looking forward to her fourteenth bead. Some Wastelanders had as many as twenty hanging from belts or hair! But only those with parents living in the city.

It wasn't a gift friends could give. Apparently it was reserved only for parents and guardians.

Jak didn't know if Damas would give him a rain bead, but he was hoping he would.

Lost in thought, he didn't notice the half filled blaster casing still contained until his hands tingled.

Oh, he hadn't meant to channel it out!

Jak pretended to light one of his fingers on fire and watched the eco hop from vein to fingertip like a perverse candle.

It wasn't enough for a full fireball, but that was for the best. The last time there was an eco imbalance, he'd nearly singed off Teacher Rustin's eyebrows.

"Aw cool!" Flick leaned over with a wide, crooked grin. "Man, I wish I could channel."

Feeling a bit whimsical, Jak used the fire to write words in the air before it ran out.

"That's what the shells are for, right? Even the playing field."

"Yeah," Flick sighed, "I guess that's true."

Then she started digging around for more blaster casings.

"Do it again."

"Guysss!" a younger boy whined from further down the line, "Quit! You're gonna get us in more trouble!"

Considering this was the youngster who had gotten them on group punishment in the first place, nobody paid him much attention.

"Here! How about this one?"

Flick tossed another shell to Jak.

"Nah. Empty."

The baskets were nearly full by the time they found more eco. Most of their classmates had finished their allotted baskets and been dismissed to carry on with their day by then. And according to Rustin, Jak could have left by now. But he hadn't channeled yellow eco in months! Now he wanted to find more!

"Ah-ha!"

Jak held up three shells triumphantly. Now this was enough for a fireball.

Rustin leapt to his feet.

"Noooooo you don't!" the young man shouted, "You get out of here with that eco!"

Cackling, Jak and Flick scooped up a handful of disorganized cartridges and shells and dashed out of the stall towards the beach.

Nobody minded if kids made a mess on the beach. Wasn't much to mess up. Flick turned a cartwheel -- showoff, Jak couldn't do that! -- and landed on her feet. Jak just did a somersault, as he always did back h- back in Sandover.

"Hey! I'll throw a sandball, and you blast it outta the air, okay?"

Flick ran to the surf and began packing wet sand into a sphere.

Jak drew the remnants of the yellow eco out of the spent casings. The stuff ran out quickly. You either channeled it out, or it got absorbed into your core.

The warmth gathered in his palm, sharpened his sight, and Jak waited.

Flick pulled back her arm and launched her projectile straight up.

Blam!

The fireball struck it dead-on. Sand rained down on them both.

Laughing, Jak brushed it out of his hair and shoved the fully empty casings into his pocket. Sorting through the random assortment they'd grabbed, he was disappointed to find no red residue in any of them. Oh well. There was a hint of blue, though.

Jak curved his right hand down into his left palm.

"Again!"

"You got it, partner!" Flick ran back to make another sandball, missing Jak's wince.

He didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he wasn't her partner. It was Jak and Daxter, not Jak and Flick. Damas’s friend would find Daxter, Damas said so! He was so sure of it! Damas was always telling him that he would see Daxter again, that he couldn't give up.

Flick was his friend -- she'd probably be Daxter's friend, too -- but Daxter was the one who'd been through enough with him to be a partner.

"Okay! Ready for launch?"

Flick waved an arm.

"Readyyyyy- go!"

This time, Jak didn't shoot a fireball. This time he'd gotten a fingerful of blue eco.

Just that little bit was enough to propel him four feet up in a single leap to slap a hand against the sandball, smashing it.

"Yoooo!" Flick crowed, "That was awesome!"

Then an idea struck her. Jak recognized that little shimmer. When the girl's brown eyes looked almost gold for a moment, that was cause for concern. That meant somebody's parents were going to get called by the end of this.

Unfortunately, it also meant something really fun was about to happen. Choices, choices.

"Wait here." Without waiting for an answer, Flick turned and pelted up the beach, sending up little sprays of sand in her wake.

Jak tucked the Vulcan cartridge into his pocket with the other casings and shrugged. The weather was nice, he didn't mind waiting. The water was just beginning to cool, the perfect temperature for swimming. Jak struggled with his boots -- laces, he hated laces! It took weeks for Damas to teach him to tie his own stupid shoes! -- and kicked them off with a grumble before diving in.

The salt stung his eyes, but Jak had grown accustomed to that years ago. He pushed past the cloudy grit of the shallows and down past the breakers, to where the water was clear, and clean, and blue.

There was coral here. Not as dense as the reef in Rock Village, but there were more fish around it. Parrotfish nibbling at odd ends, wrasse darting in and out and hiding in the sand, funny little things shaped like flat ribbons that bumbled along. Jak loved to watch them all.

Sometimes, if he looked hard enough, he could find pieces of orbs under the coral. There were some whole ones, too, but prying them out would require breaking the coral, and Jak still remembered Samos's hour long lecture about coral being an animal of some kind. Jak didn't want to hurt an animal that wasn't hurting him just for the sake of something shiny. The shards of orbs he dredged up were enough -- the adults certainly seemed to think so. Apparently there were so many broken orbs around the desert that shards had become the most common form of currency. Jak wondered what could be powerful enough to smash an orb.

It wasn't until he came up for air that he realized Flick had been calling him. He wasn't sure when she'd gotten back. Time seemed to disappear when he was underwater. In no particular hurry, Jak swam a leisurely circuit before making his way back to shore. Flick had a bag over her shoulder that she was clinging to with a clear impatience. What was she up to?

"C'mon! Hurry! Before my mom figures out I took these!"

Well that was both promising and ominous at the same time.

Jak shook off seawater like a crocadog. (He saw them swimming beyond the reef sometimes. He badly wanted to touch one, but it Wasn't Allowed, apparently.)

Flick squealed and jumped out of the way.

"Ja-aak! Quit!"

He did not.

Once he'd wrung out his scarf -- and flicked the water off his fingers and onto his friend -- Jak leaned over with a questioning grunt.

Flick's eyes sparkled with mischief.

When she pulled back the flap, shiny yellow and blue plastic caught the sunlight.

Bullets. Unspent bullets.

Flick was fourteen; she was allowed to have Scattergun cartridges -- Jak still had to wait a year to be allowed to hold a gun -- but Blaster and Vulcan rounds? Absolutely not. The lure of the forbidden pulled at Jak, and he only hesitated for a moment.

The last time he'd given in to that call, his best friend got turned into an ottsel. But, they'd also uncovered Gol and Maia's plot.

And it wasn't like there was any dark eco here. He definitely had no chance of turning Flick into an ottsel.

Jak took adventure's bait, hook line and sinker.

Prying open the bullets to get the eco out was difficult. It took several minutes, and the sun was beating down uncomfortably on their shoulders when they finally cracked the seal on a Vulcan round. But it was so worth it. The rush of blue eco, shooting through his body, made Jak feel almost like he was back on Sentinel Beach. He whooped and took off down the strand, laughing.

Go go go go go! cried the eco in his blood, Faster! Higher! Further!

He'd made it halfway up the side of the cliff before he felt the eco beginning to wear off. Making the most of every last spark, Jak kicked off the rock wall and into a backflip, landing on his feet.

The nice thing about blue eco was that he was never out of breath after using it.

Jak turned to find Flick, much further down the beach. He waved his arms with a theatrical, "TA-DA!"

Flick whooped and waved her own arms. She waited until Jak had jogged back to her before pulling out a Blaster bullet.

"Now let's do fire!"

They spent close to half an hour playing with the elements of motion and range and fire. It was so strange to Jak that this was such a foreign concept to children in Spargus. There were no open vents here, no clusters of raw eco oozing from the rocks and the sea and the earth itself. Was it because it was a desert?

"Hey Jak," Flick said when they had begun to wind down, "How come you can channel more than one eco?"

Jak looked away from the sun, which was beginning to sink, with a startled grunt.

Oh. Right. The sages only ever channeled just one. He supposed monks were like sages in training, so they probably only channeled one eco, too.

"I don't know. I just do." Jak shrugged. "I can't turn it off. It just happens."

Flick laid back on the sand with her hands behind her head. "Huh. Well, that's kind of cool though."

They were quiet for a few seconds, but the calm wouldn't last.

Flick abruptly sat up and shifted to look at Jak. He blinked back at her upside-down visage and wondered why he suddenly had a bad feeling.

Was this what it was like to be Daxter?

"Have you ever channeled more than one eco?" Flick asked, "at the same time?"

A year ago, Jak would have said that was impossible. Picking up green turned off the effects of blue. Yellow turned off red. He just couldn't hold onto two at once.

Or so he'd thought.

But then came the last battle against the Acherons.

"Actually..."

Now Jak sat up, frowning.

"Actually, yeah! Only once, but it was like-"

He made a few meaningless gestures, trying to convey a sensation he couldn't describe.

"It was all four! And- and they mixed or something into- to- white eco or something!" Jak's hands were exaggerated into a shout. "It was like mega powerful!"

"Nuh-uh!" Flick challenged, but she was smiling. "There's no way. You did not homebrew light eco."

"Wasn't me, it was four sages!" Jak explained. "Maybe that's why I could do it?"

"Well can you only do it with all four, or does it work with three? Or even just two?"

The wheels were turning in Flick's head.

"What if you wanted speed and firepower, but not super strength?"

"Blue and yellow! Maybe!"

Jak didn't know that it wouldn't work.

And even if it didn't, at worst one would just cancel out the other.

"Might not do anything, but who knows!"

"We'll know.”

Next>

[cloysterbell]

This is probably a stupid question but do you have any Haven and Merlin fanfics that you particularly enjoy and might be able to recommend me...? 👀

BOY DO I

So I will caveat that these Haven recs are a lot fresher since I only got into the show last year. Most of my Merlin recs are a thousand years old since I haven't read anything new since probably 2016 but the old stuff is classic and still fucks despite its age. Also funnily enough, despite everything I still have the most Merlin bookmarks on AO3 over any other show

HAVEN:

The Void series by serendipityxii - to me this is how the show canonically ended

don't stop to think this through by gendernoncompliant - maybe my favorite Haven fic?? You will immediately see why if you read it

the only right i have wronged by gendernoncompliant - VERY interesting read! Love when actions have consequences! Also I do highly recommend most of gendernoncompliant's Haven fics, they're very good

The Accidental Threesome (Or, Five Times Duke Might’ve Date-Crashed, and One Time the Date Crashed Him) by jadzibelle - as a Duke stan I just think that

Emotional Motion Sickness by bellatemple - I really wish we'd gotten to explore the consequences of the finale a little bit more, especially if Duke had survived

Come See About Me by templemarker - absolutely insane about this one and again, you'll see why if you read it

Powerful (with a Little Bit of Tender) by polytropic - I don't remember the details about this one too well but I remember the concept was super interesting and well done

The Trouble with Fairytails by Kedreeva - not to be a furry but

and of COURSE I have to recommend Three Favorite Things and No one told me that there'd be a test (I never studied but I did my best) by multifandom-damnation because they were written for me and they rule!

MERLIN:

to the world that never let you be by imperialmint - oh my god. oh my god. maybe still one of my favorite fics of all time?

Down by the River by bleedforyou1 - wait no never mind THIS is my favorite fic of all time

Stars Above, Stones Below by Destina - I did reread this recently and it and its sequel still hold up

We Are All Diamonds by Footloose - listen. It's a strange concept but just go with it, it's one of the most beautifully written pieces of fiction because Footloose (also the famed author of the Shadowlord and Pirate King, which I never read) is a fandom classic

The Crown of the Summer Court by astolat - let Merlin be on equal footing with Arthur! It's what he deserves!

Hidden Light by Destina - I have this bookmarked as 'the fic with the lake' which is all you need to know

I'm Colourblind, Kid by brbsoulnomming - a fun little au where again, not to be a furry but

August by rageprufrock - it's what we should've gotten if canon wasn't determined to be mean to Arthur all the time

Leashed by riventhorn - 👀

Sense Memory by glim - soft!Arthur my absolute most beloved

and of course, I have to recommend The Student Prince by FayJay. I truly have no idea if you were to read this for the first time in 2024 if it's any good, but it's still very much considered to be one of the fandom classics so it's worth a try at the very least

Unfortunately with Merlin I don't really read that many modern!AUs but stick to mostly canon or canon!AU so I'm not much help if you do want more recent stuff. But I would also very much recommend checking out @dirtybookshelves (better on desktop than mobile)! It's a PHENOMENAL resource for Merlin fics and whoever ran this (I think it was emjayelle?) is a goddamn hero

[jor-elsemissary]

A Pirate’s Life For Eternity

Although I may or may not pick this up, I do have a world built for it. It’s a mix of Smallville and Pirates of the Caribbean. Essentially Smallville characters and lore and PotC lore mixed together.

Here are some things I have established in this AU, starting with our favorite pirate, erm, businessman:

Captain Leonel “Blackmane” Luthor

Born in 1675 in a small hamlet outside of Glasgow, Scotland to Lachlan and Eliza Luthor.

Abused by his drunken father who was a dockworker in Glasgow and neglected by his gin soaked mother.

Murdered his parents at the age of 19 in an ‘accidental’ fire and stole their life savings (which wasn’t enough to restart anywhere).

Stowed away aboard an English merchant ship called The Gloriana leaving for the New World in order to escape the authorities.

Half way through the voyage, was found and flogged for stowing away and stealing from the galley.

Became indentured to that merchant captain for five years.

Met his best friend, Morgan Edge, on the same ship.

In 1699, with Morgan’s help, mutinied against the captain and stole the crew and ship. Thus began his life as a pirate.

In 1700, met a merchant’s daughter, Lillian, in the new coastal city of Metropolis and fell in love with her. Marries her six months later and Alexander Luthor is born three months after that.

Leaves his family in Metropolis while he pillages up and down the eastern colonies with Morgan as his First Mate.

1702 he has an affair with a prostitute and sires Lucas whom he hands over to a midwife to raise for him. He murders Rachael Dunlevy.

1704 he has another affair with Lillian’s best friend, Pamela Jenkins, and lets her keep the child. It’s this child that Lillian realizes he’s being unfaithful.

Builds businesses in Metropolis and makes political connections that turns the English port into a safe haven for his crews.

1715 Lillian dies from a heart problem and curses her husband. He renames The Gloriana to The Red Lily in honor of her despite their falling out. He changes his flag to the skull and bones with a red lily in its teeth, and dyes his sails red.

Not long after Morgan acquires his own ship and goes his own way down in the Caribbean.

He makes Lex and Lucas cabin boys aboard his ship to introduce them into his way of life.

In 1720 he makes Lex his First Mate

1721 he steals the title of Pirate Lord of the Atlantic from the current one by attacking his ship and killing him. He learns a year later that Morgan has taken the title for the Caribbean.

He strives to become Pirate King.

1722 Lutessa Jenkins shows him up in a tavern, demanding a spot on his crew. Amused and impressed, he agrees.

Lucas and Lutessa eventually earn their own captaincy.

1724 The East India Company attacks Metropolis and focuses on the Pirate Slums. Many pirates are killed and Leonel learns his eldest has betrayed them, choosing to take a privateers life to hunt down pirates.

One of the ships he and Lucas hunts down has prisoners taken from the Slums. Among them is a woman named Martha Kent whom he knew from years ago.

She proves to be unyielding and honest, and knows how to handle him. Leonel finds himself attracted to her and takes her aboard.

He finds out her husband, a farmer, had died in the raid while trying to protect her and her son. She does not know what became of Clark.

She does not see Metropolis for four years as Leonel spends the time hunting his traitorous son. He falls in love with her and Martha is wary of his advances.

1728 He is attacked by an East India Company ship, surprisingly, captained by Martha’s son. Apparently he blames the pirates for the loss of his parents and had spent the last four years cleaning up Metropolis and the Atlantic.

Leonel manages to beat him in a ship battle but soon discovers that he’s dealing with a demi-god when the fighting is taken to the decks.

Martha stops them from killing each other and Clark learns it was Lex who had betrayed everyone that fateful day.

They work together to find Lex, Leonel promising to retire once he has revenge against his son.

1729 While Clark takes his mother back to Metropolis, Leonel catches up with Lex off the coast of North Carolina.

He loses the battle, his crew is slaughtered in front of him and Lex has his father tied to the main mast before scuttling the ship.

He drowns once his ship completely sinks but not before he sees the colors of Clark Kent on the horizon.

Post 1729

This is where more of the PotC lore comes in and Smallville’s Krypton lore is altered a bit…

Leonel is sent to Davy Jones locker when he refuses to sell his soul to the devil himself. He knows Lex will pay for what he’s done and although he would want to return to Martha, it is mostly unrequited love.

He suffers in the locker, a broken mockery of The Red Lily rests on a sandbar beyond his reach. He tries to swim to it, but it is endless and he drowns from exhaustion.

He finds himself alone on another sandbar some time later. There is no life and the sun never sets, always existing at the hour he died.

Soon enough the sandbar sinks or the sea level rises and he has no choice but to tread water. Eventually he drowns again trying to reach his ship or land, but the distance is endless.

Enough time passes and he gives up and just lays there on the sandbar, letting the locker drown him over and over again.

He had begged God and whatever gods there were to end his suffering. His pleas go unheard.

Then one day a small crab appears and he realizes it’s the familiar of a sea goddess he has only heard stories of.

He drowns one last time in the Locker.

He finds himself back on his ship, alone, but the gentle, cool breeze of the open sea tells him he is alive.

Cautiously he finds a goddess at the stern of his ship and makes a bargain with her.

Serve the god, Jor-El, and he would have his life and ship back. Fail and he would be returned to the Locker to drown.

She sends him back to Metropolis, his ship guided by the spirits of his dead crew until they reach port.

He eventually rebuilds his crew, finds out what he is to protect, reconnects with Martha and discovers he is cursed when Lutessa tries to kill him.

He hadn’t realized his bargain had been literal. He was to serve a god and the only way a mere mortal could do that is if he was immortal.

Emissary of Jor-El

He serves Jor-El faithfully while still living his life as a pirate and marrying his mortal son’s mother. But time eventually catches up to him and he learns the second curse his bargain has bestowed him.

He outlived his children and grandchildren. He outlived Martha. He outlived his closest friends and comrades. He outlived piracy and finds himself wandering as the world ages and he does not.

He becomes a mercenary, a revolutionary, a wanderer, a teacher, a soldier, and eventually a businessman.

He comes to believe in reincarnation as he finds his first wife and his children again. He encounters Martha Kent years later and falls in love with her again.

He learns Kal-El is reborn after a century without him.

He still serves Jor-El when he is needed and once more he has to betray his family to protect the god’s son.

This second time around, he wants to fail and suffer an eternity in the Locker.

Martha keeps him from doing so and he begs Jor-El to let her follow him through time or release him.

Jor-El refuses to release his servant but gives him a boon when he succeeds in helping Kal-El ascend this time.

[bijouxcarys]

𝐓𝐨 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 (𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐅𝐚𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧)

Masterlist

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three

Description: Sometimes the pain of what should never have been, opens your eyes to what can be.

Tags: @firethatgrewsolow @whothefuckisanja @celestial-dragoness @chromations @ourshadowstallerthanoursoul @m-faithfull @strsmn @callmethehunter @angrychicksposts (if you want to be added to the tag list, just let me know!)

The amber liquid sloshed gently as another glass was filled, marking a gradual countdown to a much-anticipated break.

In the heart of Walsall, John Bonham's pub buzzed with life on that particular day. The recent return of kids to school after half-term holidays granted parents a brief respite, allowing them to savour the comforting ambiance of their cherished local haunt.

Walsall might not have dazzled the urban enthusiasts accustomed to the bustling streets of London, Liverpool, or Manchester. However, for the residents, it was a haven. The community thrived in tight-knit bonds, where familiarity bred friendship. In Walsall, faces weren't just faces; they were familiar chapters of a collective story.

For Elena, the pub job John had offered was a lifeline, an escape from the logistical challenges of her previous employment that entailed rides back and forth. The relentless hour-long bus ride on days when John couldn't drive her had become a wearisome routine. Yet, she never had to ask; John's commitment to her safety was unwavering. Opting for the haven of John's pub proved to be a decision that reshaped Elena's narrative, making it the finest choice she'd ever made.

Elena gingerly massaged her lower back, easing the strain from bending over the rack of pint glasses. A flush of warmth crept across her face, and the rebellious baby hairs escaping her ponytail adhered to her forehead. Glancing at the clock above the bar had become a ritual, each tick dragging its heels toward the elusive 2pm.

The half-apron snugly tied around her waist doubled as a saviour, mopping the moisture above her eyebrows and guarding against any accidental beverage spills. A fleeting grimace transformed into a welcoming smile as the next patron patiently awaited service.

John's pub drew a crowd of amiable souls, and Elena effortlessly charmed them, especially the older clientele. Navigating conversations with the seasoned regulars was her forte. Despite the occasional pang of longing for a break, she generally relished her role. The only thorn in her side was the relentless passage of time, leaving her body ablaze with exhaustion. Today was no different; an unrelenting marathon had her yearning for a damn cigarette break.

Adjusting the grip on her ponytail, Elena’s attention was snatched by the entrance of two familiar faces, their boyish grins lighting up the pub like a burst of energy. 

John and Robert, when together, had developed an aura of mischief since they met. They were both confident in each other’s presence, and both knew they were destined for greatness. Although Crawling King Snakes had disbanded early that year, the pair were still in touch and had become virtually inseparable, which in turn meant Elena saw Robert a lot more than what she would have otherwise.

It hadn’t even been a year since she met him and it felt like she’d known him an entire lifetime. She’d already picked up on his little quirks and mannerisms; the way his smile was slightly crooked, his accent thickened when talking about something he loved, and his eyes would narrow when in deep thought. Elena would poke fun at Robert when the Black Country accent warped his words into almost unintelligible murmurs, but he was always quick to bounce back with a light comment about her own accent. 

Recently, Robert had started to let his hair grow out along the sides, turning his blonde locks into a short mass of messy curls that now dropped down into a fully defined beard. It was an intricate development, experiment, he was trying out, searching for a style he felt fit him perfectly.

“El!” John’s voice echoed cheerfully, arms flung wide in a theatrical greeting as they approached the bar. Elena’s face lit up in response, leaning forward with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“Y’alright, Bon Bon?” she inquired with a sly grin, her gaze subtly drifting to the blonde figure beside John. “Hi,” she added, her voice a soft undertone.

“Workin’ hard, I see,” John teased, playfully tapping his fist on the freshly polished surface.

“Obviously. Isn’t that why you handed me this job?”

“Could’ve been just because you’re my best friend.”

“Oh, not because I’m a hard worker or anything, eh?” Elena retorted, shooting a smirk at Robert, who observed the banter with an amused expression. “I’m so glad you hold me in such high esteem, John.” With a snort of laughter, she tossed the cloth she had been using to wipe the bar into the wash bin, adding a touch of flair to the mundane task.

“Nah, just joshin’ with you, El. Look at your face! You’re clearly putting in the effort,” John nodded his head in reference to her flushed cheeks and tired demeanour.

“Oh, thanks,” Elena deadpanned, giving him an exaggerated eye roll. “Have you had a good look at your own face lately?”

“Yeah, it’s gorgeous, isn’t it?” John tilted his head back, theatrically flipping his hair.

“You are so fucking insufferable. You’re lucky I love you,” Elena dismissed John with a playful grimace, a sentiment he returned with a mock offended expression. She then turned her attention to Robert. “And how are we today, Robert?”

“Ah, not too shabby, not too shabby,” he shrugged casually, leaning against the bar with a nonchalant air. “You?”

“Oh, I’m having the absolute time of my life here,” she answered Robert but darted her eyes over at John, who was occupying himself by creating a steady rhythm with his hands. He was entirely in his own world, head moving along with the beat he’d created. Looking back at Robert, she smirked. “Has he been smoking again?”

Robert stifled a laugh, standing up straight and nudging John. “Oi, Bonzo!” No answer. “My Lord…” he muttered, resuming his previous position. “Not been smoking, just bangin’ on about Ginger Baker for the last half hour.”

“Ginger Baker… why’s that name sound familiar?”

“Cream.”

“Ah, yes!” she clicked her fingers with a nod, “That’s right… Great, aren’t they?”

“Superb, yeah,” Robert nodded. “You listened to their new album yet?”

“Uh, of course I have, I never miss a new record from my favourite artists,” she told him pointedly.

“You don’t have any of mine!” John interrupted.

“Oh, so you’re competent now, are you?” Elena jested. “You don’t have any records, you plonker.”

As she and John continued their usual back and forth—nothing but love—Robert kept his eyes fixed on Elena. He’d known it within the first 15 minutes of meeting her. He just knew. Deep in his soul. As sure as he was that the sun would rise in the morning. He liked her.  

She was so entirely endearing to him, and that only intensified throughout the months he’d had to get to know her. It turned him into a giddy little boy, the way she made him feel whenever she was around. Her smile was totally intoxicating, even more so when paired with that accent—that stabbing bluntness that gave her an air of invincibility. 

When John had made a passing comment about visiting Elena at work, Robert was almost embarrassed at how quick he was to encourage the idea, his stomach flipping at the mere mention of her name. If it were up to him, he’d have sprinted his peppy self all the way down that road and bulldozed into the pub. He would have dove over the bar, taken her into his arms and attacked her with kiss after kiss…

But he simply could not bring himself to make that move. Never had he ever felt this intimidated about approaching a girl he found attractive. Perhaps it was the lingering knowledge that her rejection would strain his relationship with John, or the straight fact that he couldn't muster up the correct string of words to accurately convey the urge he had to be around her.

So, he did the safest thing and cherished the friendship they’d formed, making the most out of every moment he got with her.

“Listen, I got ya a lovely little job in my lovely little pub,” John gestured around him. “What’s so wrong with the decor?”

Robert was quickly brought back from his thoughts as Elena let out a jubilant laugh. My favourite sound…

“Uh, there aren’t enough plants. Try putting some plants in here, Bon. Plants make everything more lively and colourful!” She gave him a playful pout, batting her lashes in a plea for botanical relief.

Robert stood straight again, nodding his head at John. “Go’won mate, it won’t hurt.”

“Shut up, you, you’re supposed to be my friend.”

“And I am, but give the girl a plant.”

“We don’t need plants in here, El,” John tried to reason with the brunette, who had already settled with the fact she would not be getting her way this time. It was his pub, after all… 

“Besides,” John continued, “The only ‘plant’ anyone ever needs is right here.” He shot a glance at Robert, whose eyes widened in a subtle appeal for silence.

Elena raised her eyebrow, arms folded, and looked over at the boy in question. It was a relief to see Elena smiling at the comment, taking it lightly, and Robert was quick to breathe out his ease. He was lucky John hadn’t caught the fleeting exchange of smiles between the two, and mentally praised his decision to keep the beard in its concealment of a pink flush.

“Fine,” she sighed, facing the drummer. “But you owe me, Bonham.”

“Anything but a plant, please,” he groaned. “What time’s your break?”

Another useless glance at the clock proved a whole 10 minutes had passed, yet it was still a gruelling 20 from her golden 2pm. With a small whimper, she told him.

“Well, why don’t you go on break now, I’ll man the bar.” He gestured for her to come out of her enclosure with a sympathetic nod of his head.

“Really?” she breathed, already moving to untie the apron from her waist. “Ugh, you’re a lifesaver, cheers, Bon.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he mumbled, catching the apron as Elena threw it to him. “And take ‘im with ya,” he pointed at Robert. “If I have to hear about fuckin’ Derrick Morgan and that reggae shit for another second, I’ll wring his neck in.”

“Ses you with fuckin’ Ginger Baker, ya twat,” Robert shot back with a roll of his eyes.

“Oh, leave him alone, Bon Bon, just because he can grow out his beard,” teased Elena as she passed him by.

“Yeah, but look at this ‘tache.” He ran his fingers over the thick hair above his top lip, encouraging a laugh from Elena. 

“See you in a bit,” she shook her head, the smile still lingering, as she and Robert made their way out the back of the pub.

“You put up with that your whole life?” Robert asked with a smirk as she stopped in the cloakroom to dig out her cigarettes from her jacket pocket.

With a nod, she giggled and gestured to the correct door. Pushing it open, he gave a theatrical bow in Elena’s direction. “Ladies first.”

“Oh, thank you,” she responded with an equally flamboyant nod, stepping outside into the cool May breeze. Whilst the pub’s atmosphere was laid back and welcoming, there were some ventilation issues that made it stuffier than most would prefer; especially if they were working. Elena had to take a minute to breathe in the fresh air around her before lighting up her cigarette.

The space behind the pub was a small, abandoned patch of land that doubled as the car park. It meant Elena could be alone during her breaks and smoke as much as she wanted without the possibility of judgemental eyes. Not that she particularly cared what others thought about her; she would just prefer not to find herself in an altercation.

“I’m telling ya, don’t ever work in a pub,” she advised Robert, groaning as she slid down the wall into a seated position on the floor. With a chuckle, he joined her, weary of how close he was. Just a few more inches to the right and his leg would be touching hers. Don’t do it, Rob… So he settled for bending his knees and resting his arms on top of them. 

“‘S not that bad, is it?” he peered at her through squinted eyes, the afternoon sun lashing down on them. Elena shrugged, crossing her ankles together and rolling them to relieve her of the burgeoning ache.

“Nah, it’s alright. John just needs to put some proper ventilation in there.” She flicked some ash onto the gravelly floor. “There’re plenty of things I’d rather be doing, but it’s okay for an 18-year-old that doesn’t know what the fuck she’s doing yet.”

Robert gave her an understanding nod and smiled to himself. “What would you rather be doing?”

“I’m not too sure yet,” she thought, resting her head against the wall. “I’ve only just finished sixth form. Everyone’s buggering off to uni—it was a struggle just surviving the last 2 years, I ain't gunna spend thousands on a bloody degree.”

“I mean, you must be smart if you made it through sixth form, at least,” Robert speculated, unable to unglue his eyes from Elena as she took a long drag from her cigarette.

“It was mostly to appease my dad,” she snorted, blowing out excess smoke into the air. “Oh, do you want one, by the way?” She turned to him, offering out her packet of Marlboros.

Looking down at the pack, he couldn’t resist. “Well, if yer offerin’,” he accepted somewhat giddily with a shrug of his shoulders. Elena giggled, passing him one before striking a match, leaning in to light it up for him. “I coulda lit it meself,” he mumbled out the side of his mouth, but gladly leaned into the flame. 

Perhaps he was imagining things, but he swore he caught the scent of her perfume—or is it her hair—as she cupped her hand over his cigarette and the match, her own cig dangling from her lips. Whilst she was distracted with the small task, he took a moment to let his eyes wander over her face, still slightly red from her labour. Thick, dark brows knitted in concentration, long eyelashes untouched by makeup, the natural glow of her skin… He’d never had the chance to take a good look at her up close like this, but he wasn’t expecting to fall even deeper into whatever spell she had unknowingly cast upon him.

What he didn’t catch, however, whilst admiring the slope of her nose, was how she took her own experimental glance at him. It was brief, but long enough to truly admire the vibrancy of his eyes; she wasn’t sure she’d ever seen any as blue before. 

And it was definitely long enough to notice his wandering gaze. 

She felt strange being in such close proximity to Robert, but it was in no way unpleasant. His energy was warm, that much she gathered from the day they met; it was the reason she enjoyed being friends with him so much. Robert had the warmest soul she’d ever crossed paths with, even though she’d known him for the short span of 10 months.

Pulling back, she shook the match, the smoky residue thick in its ascendance, before she dropped it beside her, swiftly joined by the ash that had collected at the end of her cigarette.

With a small smirk on her face, she watched Robert as he took a drag. Yes, he was definitely looking at her… 

Then, his bushy eyebrows narrowed, as if in confusion, and he snapped his head towards her. “Hang on, 18?”

“18 what?” She mirrored his expression.

“Since when were you 18?”

“Uh, since last week.”

Robert’s mouth dropped open, an almost offended expression taking over his features.

“What?” she laughed. “What’s that face for?”

“Why didn’t you tell me it was your birthday?”

Tilting her head to the side, she pulled her mouth into an amused line. “Didn’t think it was that important.”

“Your 18th isn’t important?” he gasped.

“Well, yeah, it’s an important age, but I didn’t know I needed to tell you about it,” she chuckled.

“I coulda gotten you summet, luv…” 

“Don’t be silly, Robert, you never needed to get me owt.”

“Owt?”

“Anything—you wouldn’t have needed to get me anything!” she huffed.

He held back a laugh by bringing his cig to his lips. “Okay, if you insist…” he murmured.

Even though he was taking a jab, yet a-fucking-gain, at her accent, and being allusive about her birthday, she couldn’t suppress the smile it put on her lips. She lowered her eyes to her legs for a moment, picking at the skin around her thumb, before looking back over at Robert.

“My birthday’s the 13th. For future reference…” Her voice had dropped to a softer tone, and she gave him a smile of the same candour.

“Noted,” Robert nodded. “Don’t be complainin’ if I ever get you owt, though. For future reference,” he smirked.

“You’re as bad as him in there,” she nodded her head towards the door, wondering how John was coping behind the bar and finding some unbridled amusement in the image.

There was a small silence between the two, during which she had finished her cigarette and was now simply reclining against the jagged bricks that made up the pub.

“How’s everything going with finding a new band?” she asked him after a moment, staring up at the clouds now that they had mercifully shielded the sun.

Robert’s sigh was heavy, and through stubborn lips. He shook his head, grumbling something incoherent before finally answering. “‘S alright…” He ran his tongue over his teeth, narrowing his eyes in thought. “Uh, Elena?”

“Hm?”

“D’ya think… I dunno, if I were to ask…” he paused, clicking his tongue. “Ya think Bonzo would be up for playin’ with me again?” He looked at her with genuine curiosity.

It didn’t take much thought for her to reply with a confident nod. “Oh, absolutely! I mean, he’s having a lot of fun with A Way Of Life, but he really did enjoy working with you.”

He sighed in relief, smiling to himself at the response, it being exactly what he wanted to hear.

“Who wouldn’t?”

Robert instantly looked back up at Elena with slightly widened eyes, wondering if he’d just heard her correctly.

“A-as in you’re a good singer,” Elena was quick to clarify, “You’ve got a… just this… the right…” she stuttered, before sighing and looking right into his eyes. “Energy…”

Robert’s eyes softened and grinned characteristically, with a hint of bashfulness. “Tha–”

“Oi! Have you two finished your mother’s meeting out ‘ere?!”

The pair on the floor whipped their heads towards the door to see John’s face sticking out the small gap in it.

“Fucking hell, man, don’t do that!” Elena exclaimed, her hand shooting to her chest. “Wanker…” she mumbled as she pulled herself up from the floor and dusted off her trousers, Robert following suit.

Giving him a jesting shove on the way inside, Elena begrudgingly set herself up for resuming her shift. Meanwhile, Robert slowly made his way back inside, stopping to face his friend.

“Your timing is nothin’ short of fuckin’ exquisite, Bonzo.”

Playfully flicking his forehead, Robert sauntered his way back inside. And as he did, John watched with the complete knowledge of Robert’s seemingly ever-growing interest in his best friend.

[broken-clover]

(Fingers crossed that since this is the last recuse for a while, I won't keep starting and stopping as much. Fingers crossed)

-

“I was not aware that humans could have hair such a color.”

Joe tried to sit still and not react. He had no intention to be rude, but given the size of the hand currently pawing at his head, holding still was the safest choice. Were he to move, he feared that the best-case scenario would be having a chunk of it accidentally pulled out.

“I have seen some rubies with that hue. Not many, though. How novel.”

“It was darker when I was younger,” he replied, glancing up just enough to see the woman towering over him. “But I quite like it how it is now.”

“Is this natural, too?” She asked, flicking at the large forelock that draped over his eyes.

Their conversation was interrupted by harried footsteps. Jirachi bustled into Haven Hollow, eyes wide.

“I’ve found another signature. I think I’ve found the last of your faces.”

Blue pulled away. Joe let out a little sigh of relief. Both approached the sage.

“Is it far?” the diamond asked.

“Not far at all.” Replied Jirachi. “But it’s moving. If we don’t leave now, it may start to move away again. I would advise that we leave as soon as possible.”

“Understood,” nodded Joe. “Phoenix, are you ready?”

They were greeted with silence. They turned to meet it.

He hadn’t moved from his place in a while. A groove had worn into the dusty soil where he had been sitting, staring across the hollow.

“Phoenix?”

Phoenix had been eerily quiet for quite some time now. Neither were sure what to do about it. They weren’t sure what the cause could be. The more faces they recovered of their teammates, the better, right? They had expected he would have grown more enthused the more progress they had made, but this was the exact opposite.

“We…we’ll wait for you outside, alright? We can wait a few minutes.”

He nodded.

The pink-haired tank had finally settled. A looping trail of tread marks had marked her territory. The sudden break appeared less out of any real purpose and more a sudden, unaware tiredness. Her artificial arm numbly scraped at the dirt.

He regarded the final faceless resident of the hollow with a somber look, finally getting up and trailing after the rest of the group. 

++++++

Phoenix was getting very tired of Karkaton. And from the sound of things, they weren’t even in Karkaton proper. Maybe once they made it deeper inside, the weather would cool? Despite his name, he’d never been good in the heat. 

It felt rude to complain, though. Riding on Fluttershy offered a little bit of wind as she trotted along, which was more than the rest of the group got. Should he offer a ride? He’d considered it multiple times now, but kept getting into a mental loop. Fluttershy couldn’t hold all three of them at once, so would only picking one feel like favoritism? Would it be better to switch around? Would that get annoying? Should he could he did he need to-

So on and so forth, round and round. Going on horseback was probably the best decision. Otherwise, he would probably end up walking in circles, too.

He wasn’t thankful for the interruption, though. The higher vantage point on the horse’s back meant he was the first to notice.

“Heel, girl!” He tugged on the horse’s reins until she stopped. Phoenix slid down from her back and joined the others.

Baiken was easy to spot. Not merely because of the familiar face, but because the monster it had been attached to was *massive.* Far from the first golem his party had encountered, but this one had to be even larger than the one the King’s face had been stuck to.

“Good that we didn’t find this one first. I’ve never seen a golem this large. Alright, Phoenix, you keep coming up with ways to handle these things,” Jirachi gestured to him. “What’s the plan?”

“The…the plan?”

“Yes! You’ve shown quite a knack for this.” Insisted Joe. “So we’re counting on your strategy, Phoenix!”

Slowly, he turned to the three, eyes wide.

“Are you nuts?!” He asked, voice sharply cutting into a shrill panic by the last syllable. 

“Wh- “

“Lo- look, for you for the rest of the team, I’m sure there’s something we could do to make it a little easier. This?? Not this one.” Phoenix gestured wildly at the air. “I was really, really hoping that she’d managed to escape, because if there’s one person I can say with total seriousness that I can’t beat, ever, it’s her.” He pointed to the golem, which was currently looking at them with a very disconcerting scowl.

The group was silent.

“Oh.” Said Joe.

“Um, okay…” Jirachi was at a loss for words.

“Er…was coming here a bad idea?” Asked Blue. “Will this be too much to handle as a group?”

Phoenix made a strangled little noise. He pulled at a tuft of his hair. “Maybe? Probably not? I- I don’t know. If it’s all four of us, and Baiken isn’t really Baiken, then we can probably do it.”

There was little conviction in his voice. Nobody was quite sure how to react.

“We’ll simply…do our best then, I suppose.” Said Jirachi.

“And quickly, might I add.” A pale blue hand pointed behind them “It appears she has spotted us.”

Upon looking, they found the monster charging at them in a full sprint, glaring daggers.

The quartet readied their weapons and held back a collective sigh.

This wasn’t going to be pleasant, was it?

-

-

-

“And Phoenix?”

“Y-yeah, Jirachi?”

“While I do take some enjoyment in having my skills put to the test, if you ever force me to fight something like that again, I am going to turn you into a slime.”

“That’s…yeah, that’s fair.”

(We hurried back to the hollow almost immediately, making Baiken wait seemed like a bad idea)

A rush of sensation flooded every single nerve at once. A cacophony of noise in each ear. A bitter taste in the back of her throat. An awful smell unlike anything she’d encountered before. Itching and stinging and relief and bone-deep ache, simultaneously overlapping in the same instant. What had just been pure nothingness a second ago had abruptly become an overabundance of anything and everything.

It was only because of that disorientation that Baiken didn’t immediately grab the nearest weapon and start swinging it at anything nearby. She hoped whoever was standing within bashing range was grateful for their luck. Hard to say if there even was anyone close. Hard to make much out through the wave of stimuli.

It took far too many moments before she was able to prune apart any of the information flooding her brain. When she was able to recognize the sensation of her own arm, Baiken brought it to her head and rubbed it to try and ward off the headache of sensory overload. So this was what Delilah was talking about? Shit, no wonder the kid hid in the closet half the time, this was the goddamn worst.

“Baiken?”

…Dammit, she kinda wished she didn’t recognize that voice. Anji might’ve been annoying, but he didn’t sound that pathetic. And- yep, there he was, wet-eyed and wobbly-kneed as always. But a friendly face, at least.

His mouth moved way too fast for her to process. “Pleasedon’tkillme.”

“What- “ Before she could reply, before she could even try to parse the jumble of syllables, Baiken had a pair of arms latched on to her ribs.

It was only through the lingering tiredness that she didn’t immediately rip him off on instinct. She didn’t know the last time someone had tried to hug her, and she didn’t want to think about it, but it had very likely gone a similar way, ending with broken fingers. 

“What the absolute hell are you- ?!“

She took in her surroundings. Some kind of dingy cave. Baiken recognized the people inside of it, though. Same incredibly punchable face on that damn sage, that hadn’t changed at all. Those other two, they weren’t automatically familiar, but she swore she knew them from somewhere.

Right. The Dark Lord’s castle. The absolute bastard’s cheap tricks. That was the only reason he’d been able to get the drop on her in the first place. Everything after that was a blur, but it didn’t take a genius to put the pieces together. 

A rescue mission. No clue how long it had taken, but the fact that she was awake at all meant he’d succeeded, and…goddamn, part of her didn’t think he’d be able to pull it off, even with help.

Baiken groaned internally. It wasn’t like he was whining the whole time. And he had rescued her face…

She raised her arm and gave the man an impersonal pat on the back. “One time, kid. Just this once.”

As they looked on at the sight, Blue and Joe both noted that Baiken’s expression didn’t match her scolding tone. They decided to keep that observation to themselves.

[sea-owl]

Random facts in the Iris Council that I'm not sure how to write out yet but will put them here.

The Iris Council is mainly made up of women that pose as Anthony's concubines, but there are a few men. Two of these men are the head of the gaurds of the Garden Palace and the Garden Palace's Apothocary.

The head gaurd keeps a list of those who disobey the king's orders of staying out of the Garden Palace and tries to manipulate the concubines. They never make it inside, but Anthony knows who is trying to make power grabs.

The Garden Palace's Apothocary is the one who created the tea that works as a temporary chemical castration.

Anthony uses his reputation as a rake / manwhore to make sure he always has the advisor he needs in the meeting with him. While the court thinks the concubine is giggling the king's ear in reality, she's whispering advice.

Simon, Anthony's best friend, has his suspicions about the concubines. He thinks there is more to them than what Anthony claims, but he can't figure out what.

Sophie and Penelope have a bet going on when Anthony and Kate will fall into bed together.

Technically, concubines can be used as peace offerings and "rewards" so long as she is not pregnant. But due to a part of the Iris Council using the Garden Palace as a secret safe haven for some women, and Anthony's protective streak, it's a long process that most importantly requires the concubine's consent.

Anthony, while not against being a rake, is against himself fathering any children whose mother is not his queen. He secretly takes a special tea that basically does what a vasectomy does. Once he finds the perfect candidate for his queen, he'll stop taking the tea.

Part of the reason Violet greatly dislikes the concubines is that it's not the future she envisioned for her son and she remembers the stories and politics of the previous concubines from her father in-law.

Edmund and his siblings Billie, Georgie, and Hugo were all children of his father's high-ranking concubines and the only ones to survive to adulthood. They have memories of the rivalries and politics of the concubines. Baby swaps, attempted poisonings. Amd more often than not the mothers would encourage the children to fight with one another. Edmund and his siblings managed to become close despite this.

Edmund's mother was the one who ended up becoming queen.

The mother of Edmund's cousin Poppy was a concubine to their father, but she was given to his brother as a bride. Due to how close Poppy's birth was, many wondered if the mother was in the early stages of pregnancy when she was married off.

Benedict gonna go through a whole crisis at some point. He goes to the Garden Palace to fetch Anthony after Anthony accidentally stayed the night after visiting a certain someone. He gets pointed in the direction of Sophie's Peonie Pavilion as the last place Anthony was seen in. His banging wakes Sophie up, who is not pleased. She had a long night of going over those damn budgets after Anthony left. What do you want, princey?! Oops Benedict fell in love.

Penelope gets sent on a diplomatic mission with Colin to another country. Officially and to Colin's knowledge, she was sent to keep Colin company on the long journey. Unofficially, Anthony wants Penelope to spy and report back. Something about this potential ally doesn't sit right with either of them. Things get a little complicated when the hosts assume to give them only one room. This leads to Colin waking up when Penelope sneaks out to go do spy business without her normal mask, and he follows her. Wait, Penelope, is that you?!

After the first time Anthony and Kate spend the night with one another, Sophie and Penelope accidentally walk in on them. Kate was late for a meeting, and it wasn't all that uncommon for them to pop into the other's pavilions. Nothing gets done that day after. Sophie and Penelope tease Kate relentlessly.