#and the last time the castle saw him he was REALLY worse for wear

[author-main]

This is so fun *Drawing Twilight at his literal worst*

[ariaxmu]

my shy, shy girl

a mattheo riddle x shy!femreader fic

summary: mattheo keeps trying to confess how he feels, and you keep running away.

warnings: alcohol usage, maybe a lil swearing, just cutesy fluff.

''y/n, can i talk to you for a second?'' i hear someone behind me speak up, as i quickly turn around to see him. i gulp, gripping onto my books as i step back a tiny bit, shaking my head no as i rush away.

''w- why?'' he calls after me as i internally cringe at myself, again.

this keeps happening. mattheo will somehow sneak up on me, ask to talk, i say no and run away like an idiot. i have always been a shy person, if you can even call it that. nervous, anxious person. i can speak to maybe two people without feeling like i cannot breathe.

and which makes it even worse, is that i know what mattheo wants to talk to me about. pansy has told me many, many times. and the fact i know makes me even more nervous. apparently he has been crushing on me for a while now, and wants to ask me our or tell me how he feels, i don't know.

but i like him too. i have admired him from afar for years now, too anxious to tell him. and i would love more than anything to be with him, but every time he approaches me, my fight or flight kicks in and i just run.

i go to my usual place, in the corner of the library, sitting down and cursing at myself again. i know how embarrassing it is, and i know he's going to get tired of it and give up. that is the last thing i want.

but i just don't know what to do. i take a deep breath, face palming as i notice pansy approaching me.

''it happened again didn't it.'' she says, crossing her arms.

i nod, shamefully.

''come on. i have an idea.'' she says sternly, grabbing my hand and pulling me away with her. i am dragged into the common room, and up to our dorm room.

''okay, now hear me out.'' she says softly, sitting me down beside her. ''my friend used to be the same as you. but do you know what helped?'' she says. ''alcohol''.

i raise an eyebrow. ''you think alcohol is going to help me?'' i giggle.

''there's a party at the black lake tonight. i have alcohol here. mattheo is going to be there. we are going to get you nice and drunk before we head down, and you're going to be so confident you won't know what to do with yourself'' she smiles proudly.

''i don't know...'' i say, already feeling nervous.

''let's at least give it a try, you could have the best night of your entire life, and if we don't do something soon then he's going to get tired of being shut down and you'll lose your chance to be with the guy i know you are in love with'' she says a little softer, putting her arm around me. i sigh, knowing she's right.

i nod, smiling softly. ''okay, but i can't go looking like this and i have no party clothes'' i say.

''don't worry, i do.'' she smirks, rushing over to her closet.

''oh boy...''

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

i look into the mirror, as pansy stands behind me very proudly. i'm wearing just a simple little back dress, my long black hair curled ever so slightly, and a little makeup too. i do feel pretty.

''you look beautiful. mattheo is going to die'' she grins, grabbing my drink and handing it to me. ''drink up, angel''.

and i do.

and i drink a little more.

aaand a little more.

and my body starts to feel a little tingly, my face feeling warm as i look over at pansy. ''let's go now before it wares off!!''

''it wont ware off, you just drink more. but sure, it's dark now so lets go!'' she giggles, topping up my lip gloss as we rush down to the party.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧

around two hours into the party, i am extremely drunk, and no sign of mattheo. he was supposed to be here, and nobody knows where he is. i look around for him, too drunk to really be nervous, just wanting to see him now.

''have you seen mattheo?'' i ask a random person.

''i just saw him go around there with some girl'' the guy says, pointing towards the castle. i furrow my brows, feeling a pit in my stomach as i rush around the wall, slightly peeking to see if i can see anybody.

and there he is. sitting very closely to a girl on the bench, smiling and laughing with her. it hits me like a truck, am i too late? please, please tell me i'm not too late. i slightly stumble to the side, a little too drunk from my own good and his head snaps towards me.

''y/n?'' he says confused, quickly standing up. the girl ushers him towards me, and she rushes off herself.

i sigh, beginning to feel tears well up in my eyes as he walks over.

''i'm really drunk please don't look at me'' i whimper, covering my face as i throw my red plastic cup to the floor.

''i-i didn't even realize you came to this party... who let you drink this much?'' he says, confused and worried, holding my hands so i don't fall over.

''p-pansy said that if i have alcohol then i wouldn't be so nervous to talk to you, and t=then you never showed up so i kept drinking so i wouldn't get anxious again, b-but now i'm just really drunk and emotional and im so sorry-''

''shh, shh it's okay'' he whispers, wiping a tear from my face. ''don't worry angel, come sit down for a minute, i have a potion here that'll make you feel better faster okay?'' he says softly, helping my walk over to the bench.

''i-i'm so sorry, mattheo. i promise i'm not avoiding you because i don't like you, because i'm really really in love with you'' -hiccup- ''but i get so nervous, and now seeing you w-with another girl i think i missed my chance and-''

''shh, shhh'' he coos, ''you did not miss your chance i promise. that girl was my friend, i have been getting advice from her about you and how to make you less nervous around me but- i guess this is one way to doit'' he giggled.

''drink some of this, we're going to sit here quietly for like 2 minutes and you will feel much better okay?'' he says quietly, passing me the potion, and i drink it. i nod, passing it back as i lay my head on his shoulder as i sniffle.

''god'' he gulps, cheeks a little flushed as i cuddle into him, not really realizing what i am doing.

but soon i do, the potion kicks in and i sit up, wiping the tears from my face as i feel like myself again.

''i-i'm sorry about that'' i whisper, realizing how much i had revealed and that i'm also sat centimeters away from him.

''don't apologize, baby. i'm just glad you're here'' he says softly, head tilting to the side as he looks at me with gentle eyes and smile.

“i-” i gulp. “i mean.. everything i said, though” i whisper.

“i know… i think i’ve probably been in love with you for even longer, and i just didn’t want to make you uncomfortable so i hid it for a while but uh” he stops and scoots a little closer to me. “my feelings got too strong for me to just ignore them anymore.” he says. god he looks so pretty too.

the moonlight illuminates each of us. “so.. what happens now then? i’ve never really done this before… as you can imagine” i say, fiddling with the rings on my fingers.

“it’s okay… we don’t have to rush anything, id just… really like to call you my- well, i don’t want anybody to think either of us are single if that makes sense?” he seemingly cringes at himself.

“are you asking me to be your girlfriend?” i ask quietly, smiling softly at him.

“god yes, please” he grins. it’s weird, im completely sober now but i don’t feel nervous. it just feels, comfortable.

“then yes, i’d like that” i giggle.

he lets out a breath, scooting even closer to me now.

“i know you’re probably going to freak out, but i want to do something.” he says plainly.

i nod.

“just, close your eyes” he whispers.

i close my eyes.

“take a deep breath, my shy girl” he whispers.

i take a deep breath.

its quiet for a moment, but then i feel it. his soft, warm lips pressing onto mine ever so slightly. i kiss back slightly, but he pulls away, searching my face for any dislike or uncomfortableness.

my eyes stay closed for a moment, just in shock.

before he attatched our lips together again, i let out a little squeak. he smiles against my lips, kissing me a little harder as my hands grip onto his shirt.

and after a moment of bliss he pulls away, cheeks flushed and eyes glazed over. i look at him, “oh my god i love you” i blurt out.

he grins, “oh i love you too”, pressing another small peck against my lips.

“come on, i’ll walk you to your dorm. you probably need a good sleep after today” he giggled. “come on, sweet girl.” he pulls me up, holding onto my hand as we walk quietly but comfortably up to my dorm.

he stands at my door, leaning against the door frame as i open it up.

“i’ll see you tomorrow, baby” he whispers, kissing my forehead, before stepping back and heading towards the stairs again.

i furrow my eyebrows. “wait!” i speak out to him.

he turns back, a relieved look on his face.

“i-i know we should sleep but i don’t want you to go yet” i whisper, as he walks back up to my door.

“thank god because i really don’t want to leave either”.

i giggle. “why don’t you sleep here tonight? i-i mean, pansy will be staying with blaise anyway so, nobody will be here” i say, shyly.

“i’d love that, let me grab my clothes from my dorm quickly and i’ll be right back, okay?”

i nod, and he presses a soft kiss against my lips, before grinning as he rushes out of the room.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧

i hope this was okay:3 i kind of yapped through most of this and im not even sure if its good. but i hope you enjoyed none the less. love u girls! xoxo

[monimccoythings]

Bad Pick up Lines

I'm facing writer's block in this Bowser x reader so for now we are getting this T.T but I wanted to pull something after leaving it with a cliffhanger. I really love my Bowser x reader series hopefully I'll get to continue it some day.

`Previous Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4

tags: @loveforfandomsstuff @harpy-space (Please tell me if I'm forgetting someone, unfortunately I'm very dumb and forgetful)

Your head hurt, just like a nasty New Years Eve hangover. What happened?? The last things you remembered was a blast, a lot of fire and smoke and then...

Oh no.

You immediately opened your eyes. You were inside a darker and grittier castle, certainly not the Disney Princess vibe Peach had going on. What the fuck.

This couldn't be happening. You were dreaming. You had inhaled too much smoke and were in a coma at the ER. There was no way this was Bowser's castle.

He seemed to like the Middle Ages dark castle style, whelp at least the bed was cofortable. Still, you didn't want to stay longer than you needed to. If everything that had been told about your ex cutie patootie was true, which you were sure it was. What awaited you inside this walls was something worse than death.

Fuck, you had treated him like a pet, you had babie talked him, dressed him up, fed him apple slices and combed his luxurious red mane!! You would do all of that again given the chance tbh. It was worth it.

Escaping seemed impossible, the room you were in was too high; and the doors, though more obvious, were too heavy for you to move, whoever put you in there (Bowser) wanted to make sure you didn't get out.

You felt sick, even if you haven't had anything to eat since that morning. Was this how it ended?? With you dying because once you called the turtle equivalent of Genghis Khan 'chimken nugget'.

You heard thundering steps approaching your room. Big man was coming. There was no place for you to hide. Better face death with dignity.

The door opened and the King of Koopas himself came in. Woah. He was even bigger than you remembered, las time it was too smokey for you to see clearly, but boy did you see know his might and glory. I you put it him in your lap now the weight of his head alone could easily break your legs.

Your eyes quickly diverted towards his face, and noted that he looked anything but murderous. He had this weirdly dilated puppy eyes like the Puss in Boots in Shrek 2, his hair had been sliced back, and he was wearing a purple bowtie. Given his actual size, it wasn't as cute as he thought he would look. Still, you swallowed down the urge to laugh at the randomness of it all.

"Did you sleep well?" Wow, his voice was even more thunderous than last time, and now that it wasn't high pitched, it actually sounded kinda nice and fitting, but you couldn't let your guard down.

"Yeah?" You weren't sure where he was going with this. Bowser raised one eyebrow in confusion "Are you asking me?" "No?" God this was going to be a bloody mess.

Bowser, for a behemoth of his size and mass, looked kinda sheepish. It would be endearing if he didn't tower over you and could't crush you with a single hand.

"You-you know, it was quite helpful my bed was there..." He looked at something scribbled in his hand, squinting his eyes. "... for when you hell-fell! from Heaven..."

You snorted a bit, you couldn't help it, that was the worst pick up line you had ever heard. The tension dissipated from your body, only to return with full force when you realised that he may take offense in you laughing. You quickly clasped your hands over your mouth a blush colouring your cheeks.

Apparently he took it as you blushing with delight, because he shyly scratched the back of his head. It was cuteness oversized. For a second you saw your little buddy again, enjoying your pets, gradually warming up to you, and quietly listening when you rambled about everything that crossed your mind.

"Ha... that was a good one..." You managed to say. "I actually have like, so many more." He seemed happy that you had liked it. Oh you actually wanted to hear them all.

They did not disappoint, each one of them was as good (or bad) as the first one he had told. So cheesy. You felt more eased in his presence the more pick up lines he told, at certain point you felt like back at Peach's castle, but the sizes had been reversed. If you made a huge effort to look past the numerous atrocities he certainly had comitted, you could see that he was just lonely.

"Hey, wanna hear my pick up line?" For a second, he looked shocked. Nobody had ever told him a pick up line before. You cleared your throat, hoping it was as fun as it was to you. "So... Are you into the bad types? Because I am bad at everything."

His eyes shone with mirth, glad your audience loved your terrible sense of humour. You smiled at him and he smiled back. Peach had warned you due to previous experiences that once Bowser got a hold of someone he very rarely let them escape their grasp.

It seemed that Bowser had now moved his fixation towards you. Maybe you were not ready to jump into marriage immediately, and maybe you needed to return home to your job and duties. However, you wouldn't mind exchanging phone numbers... That could be a good start.

[zukosdualdao]

i promise i'll do better (i will soften every edge)

zutara month, day 11: "mom and dad are fighting again", @zutaramonth

summary: kya interrupts an argument between katara and zuko.

warnings: reference to (implied) abuse/domestic violence, wrt to ozai's treatment of ursa.

other notes: lyrics from 'light' by sleeping at last. don't ask me how timelines work idk. yes there is a zutara daughter named kya here (separate entity from the lok kya.) she wears her hair in a southern water tribe braid and zuko calls her firecracker and it’s very cute. not really relevant but in this story i’m imagining she’s a nonbender.

“Katara, you know I agree with you.”

Across from him, she crosses her arms, and Zuko sighs. The throne room is empty, save for the two of them, and Zuko feels trapped, claustrophobic in the walls. They’ve made a point of opening up windows in the castle, letting light filter in, getting rid of old, haunting portraits, and making something new and beautiful together. 

But the throne room doesn’t have windows to open. On a day like today, at times like these, it’s all too easy to remember the staunchly severe figures both his grandfather and father made here, walling themselves as they did behind high, towering fires.

Maybe they shouldn’t be having this talk here. It's too late now, but something to note for the future.

“It doesn’t seem like it.”

“Of course I want to increase reparations soon,” he insists. “That’s the plan, and that’s always been the plan. But we have to be smart about this,” he tries to remind her. “We can’t do it all at once, or people will try to block—”

“Oh, so now you’re all about thinking things through! Those instincts could have served you well years ago, you know.”

Zuko closes his eyes and runs a hand through his hair. The words are biting, but it’s nothing he can’t handle. Things have been tense again in the Fire Nation lately. Better than ever before in some ways. Worse in others.

The first years after the war were a turbulent time in the Fire Nation—riots from those not happy with the changing of the old guard, strikes from workers contesting the need to pay reparations to the other nations, whispers of loyalists to the old regime plotting to get either Ozai or Azula back on the throne. A few assassination attempts, all handled efficiently but reason enough for concern.

Ten years past the end of the war, though, and things have started to stabilize. The plan has always been to increase reparations once the Fire Nation’s economy has improved, and Zuko intends to keep his word. But part of the system he’s trying to build means that there are representatives from all over the Fire Nation, as well as the other nations, and they each have their own agendas. It’s a tricky thing to navigate; he has to take all of their concerns seriously, of course, but also act according to his own principles. To live up to the promises he made years ago, and that he’ll continue to make for years to come.

Katara looks at him with a combative raise of her eyebrow.

It’s taken a strain on their relationship. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, they’re both a little too good at lashing out, both a little too good at saying the thing that will hurt, even if they immediately regret it.

But usually, by the end of the day if not before, they can remember they’re on the same side, for all that their perspectives might differ.

“Can we pause?” Zuko asks of her, and her features soften. “Just—try to hear each other out? Katara, I understand…” but before he can finish, the large door to the throne room creaks, and Zuko watches as one of the serving maids guides their daughter into the room.

“See?” Kya points to them, eyes wide with alarm and lip quivering. “Mom and Dad are fighting again.”

Something in Zuko’s stomach drops. He doesn’t want her to worry about this. About them. He’d had to worry about his parents, to worry about his mother, Ozai looming over her, and sometimes Zuko was pretty sure he saw fear in her eyes where there should have been love, and then—

She’d been gone. And he’d drawn his own conclusions, quietly and with little reason to question them.

“She coudn’t sleep,” Hina says apologetically, and Zuko only waves a hand. “She was asking for you both.”

“Thank you for bringing her.”

“Oh, sweetie, don’t worry,” Katara says, walking over and lifting Kya up onto her hip. “Things are just tense right now,” she says, with a guilty sideways look to Zuko, who smiles weakly. “It’s not anything for you to worry about.”

“Promise?”

Zuko walks over to join the huddle and places a kiss atop her dark hair, which is twisted in a braid. “Promise, little firecracker. Mom and Dad are just trying to figure out the right way to handle something.” He meets Katara’s eyes and tries to impress the sincerity of his words on her. “But we will figure it out. We always do.”

Katara smiles at him and uses the hand not keeping Kya secure on her hip to touch the small of Zuko’s back in a gentle gesture. The three of them stand huddled together, and for the first time in… weeks, probably, Zuko feels his body relax, just a little.

He smiles back, a little exhausted but a lot relieved—to have Katara with him, there to both challenge and support him, to have Kya with them, creative and funny and quick as a whip as she is, and at only age four. He’s glad to have his family.

They are okay. Right now, they are okay. Whatever else may come.

[malnivia]

My contribution to the challenge! Enjoy

(Warning: some angst, a couple swears)

***

Cleaning the shelves. Dusting the books. Rereading the same story all over, again and again until you are finally determined worthy of another less repetitive task.

"Well, that was the last of me," he murmured and got up from his chair.

He could not handle anymore of this crap. Not today, at least not right now. The headache was getting worse and the more he read, the more letters seemed to be more like blurry lines with no pattern in sight.

It was time for him to run.

He laughed nervously when leaving the room. It was that easy. Because they never even were here to keep an eye out for their tasks getting completed. They never had to – he was a perfect student and apprentice and every other random rank he had been given in order to establish the givers as the good ones. Because he would never leave that dark dusty room to wander off to other endeavors. He was taught not to from a young age.

Worried, but determined, a boy with black hair and light-blue eyes hastened to the key chamber to outrun the reasonable thoughts in his head, telling him to go back.

The creaky door announced itself to all of the library halls. Behind it there were carefully placed artifacts in form of keys, hidden from the eyes of the gullible and common outlanders.

Not from the perfect apprentice they aren't, that's for sure

"Which one should I take?" the guy from before put his thumb on his chin and scratched it in a very asshole-y way, as if he was proving some kind of point to the non-existing audience. The point being "No, you cannot understand me, I am simply more intelligent and literate than all of you and your family combined."

Anyway, his gaze has fallen onto the easiest key there is – the Heroine Key. He was never given that one for reasons, obvious to Ex Libris, yet unknown to him. Well, he never really yearned for it since the experience it offers is truly horrendous. After all, what heroines do most of the time is fall in love and spend time with the fictional princes – who in their right mind would want to do that? But this time it was not about the story rather than the simple concept of walking around, doing nothing – something he could never afford.

Finally, he grabbed the key and turned his head to the closest shelf there. "Snow White" is the first one he saw and with no room for anxious thoughts and doubts, he puts the key in the book and vanishes.

***

Once upon a time... A dude falls from the sky.

He appears then in a castle, surrounded by beautiful and high walls, in a room that looks like princesses' chambers. But the boy doesn't spare a single glance – he is truly fed up with the fairytale settings and, having visited so many stories, has lost the ability to enjoy these fantasy surroundings.

Although something does catch his eye... A weird colorful outline coming from his clothes which were supposed to be dark and stylish.

"What the-" he uttered with a hint of hate and genuine disgust as he looked into the mirror nearby and realised what he was wearing – a beautiful dress with a skirt of a golden color, with navy blue puffy sleeves and some red gems around it. He also notices a red short bow in his hair.

Truly, a horror.

"What does it think it's doing?" he referred to the key which was the creator of this outfit. The keys were rarely talked to and if they were, it was not to ask them for a new fashion choice, that's why the guy was so weirded out.

And when you think the situation couldn't get worse – he wasn't even able to punish it (with words). Taking artifacts off of their keychains was strictly forbidden without supervision to ensure no slip-ups and runaways.

The bottom line being, all the boy could do was complain about this situation under his nose.

After 5 minutes of very inappropriate words, he finally let it go and went on on his endeavors, his voice now muttering the plot of the book like some sort of incastation that would make the real world problems vanish away from his brain:

"Once upon a time, there lived a princess named Snow White. Snow White was very beautiful" he rambled while passing through the corridors. "Her skin was as white as snow, her hair as black as the ebony wood and her lips were as red as a red, red rose."

Who even has the lips of a double red rose? Clearly, the princess applied some lipstick before starting the story. "Now now, that's just cheating" a boy thought while stepping out of the castle. "Really, this is supposed to be medieval with no make-up business in sight. Me, I would prefer if my lips were compared to the actual color they are" he considered while gracefully stepping through the garden.

"Excuse me, your Highness!" a voice echoed behind him and he turned to see a local huntsman getting closer. "Princess, would you like to go on a walk in the forest with me?"

"Ah, the part where I get left behind" princess pondered.

"I would love to accept your proposal, sir" he stated instead since he was taught better than to mess with the story's flow of events.

And so they went on a walk. It wasn't really a two-person walk since Snow White has long forgotten how to relax and talk to people his social status and could only reminisce on the plot carved into his mind. He put his hands behind him and didn't pay attention to the character near him until the man cried:

"Princess, I... I have to tell you something. I believe I forgot the... the task I was given by her Majesty. I am going to have leave you."

"What? Aren't you gonna do some work and show me a place to hide from my stepmother?" the princess was very confused as to why is the story different from what he has read.

"E-excuse me, miss. But, you should stay in the forest. It's not safe at the palace right now." the huntsman mumbled with clearly no idea of a good excuse to leave.

The princess couldn't believe his ears. To think that the least this measly character would do is follow the story exactly and yet he doesn't. Snow White felt pissed and very annoyed.

"Ugh, whatever. I am in no need of my mother's subject who can't even do a casual job of killing me..." he said, whispering the last words to escape the leaving man's attention. He watched him go and after he was left alone, he realised... how quiet it actually was.

Is anyone doing their job around here? The huntsman ain't unaliving little girls and now the birds are not singing and helping out the princess. Well, guess what? Today is the opposite day. So, our heroine is going to seat right here and not move for a single inch.

...

Why would it matter anyway... If he went looking for the dwarves' hut, he would have to clean it – basically, more work for the errand boy.

He sat down by the tree in search of some comfort. The headache could not be erased by the magic of Ex Libris, but at least it wasn't getting worse – more like frozen in time.

The boy now had time to dwell on.

He wanted so much to happen, but nothing did. He was still dusting the books and reorganizing the shelves and rereading the same fricking books over and over again. It felt like no life at all. Every meeting, every training session gave him no enjoyment at all – they all became just one single mess of chores that he had to deal with.

Suddenly the boy felt his eyes getting wet. He couldn't believe it. He quickly got up from sulking (which he apparently was doing) and tried to distract himself to avoid the tears coming. After all, what good of an apprentice who cries whenever he gives in a bit too much to ponder on casualties of the present?

He then started thinking about simpler things. He thought of what the Queen was doing at the moment and the words came up to him as if he had the page opened right in front of him.

"Famed as thy beauty, Majesty,

But behold, a lovely maid I see.

Alas, she is more fair than thee,

Lips as red as a rose,

Hair as black as ebony" he brushed his hair off of his face.

"Skin as white as snow."

He sat there for a silent moment before clapping his eyes twice in a rush of thought.

"What?"

He swiftly returned his locks to the same spot.

"Hair as black as ebony huh," he realised only now when looking at his short hair. It was quite dark, a color of night.

"Skin as white as snow..." he then focused his eyes on the hand that was holding the hair, now leaving it behind. His hands were indeed pretty pale.

Instinctively, he touched his lips, but swiftly rolled his eyes after realising that they were clearly not as red as any red, red rose.

"I suppose we're not so different, now are we?" he said to himself. "And without the appearances, we are still both scullery maids, assigned by our predecessors. And in no power to express our opinion." he nervously laughed. "It's almost as if the only difference is that..."

He started, but didn't have the strength to finish.

What he wanted to say was, that in contrast to him... Snow White has a good ending. The evil Queen dies and even though the girl falls asleep, not only she gets kissed by her true love, but the random dwarves and forest animals make a damn good funeral for her.

He's definitely not asking for true love stuff... But a comfortable coffin does sound nice – as well as the people mourning him. Would someone actually do that for him? The Ex Libris probably don't have the patience and the generosity to arrange a little something of an event. Even if they would, it feels really difficult for the boy to believe in something like that.

...

Suddenly, he hears a sob. It's coming from him.

"Well... At least the old man can't hear me," he thinks before letting the tears free.

***

Once upon a time, there lived a princess named Snow White.

Snow White was very beautiful.

Her skin was as white as snow, her hair as black as the ebony wood and her life – as miserable as the most miserable life could be.

[zephyrrr101]

OMG OMG OMG!!! HOTD SEASON 2 EPISODE 1: BLOOD AND CHEESE!!!

Okayyyyyy! Boy! I just saw it and I have so much to rant and talk about!!!

But before we go into it, for those who hasn't seen it yet,

this is a spoiler! Below the cut

So don't venture if you don't want to loose your fun.

The first and foremost thing we see is Wolf Woods and Winterfell. And man! Did I not feel nostalgic!

Cregan Stark is carrying a sword through out the journey to top of the wall, probably Ice.

I really like the way they have changed Jace here. The hairstyle, the words, the way of talking to a Lord. This Jace is what I connect to, the one we know about in books.

Emma D'Arcy! You woman! I love you! I love you so so so much. Rhaenyra doesn't has more but one dialogue in the whole episode but through out it all I can see her speak. Every scene made me cry. Rhaenyra stands at the edge of castle, looking to anything she could, I would say to even hold a false hope of Luke being alive. Her desperate climb through the stones when she hears fishermen yell about the Dragon wing (Arrax's), her clutching Luke's clothes, looking at last memories that she has of his. It's lovely.

We finally also see Mysaria. Her interaction with Daemon is brilliant. She is shown as who she is. A woman who works for gold. I have no disappointment here.

Larys, you foxxy bastard, look at you trying to put Otto out of his position. Filling both Aegon and Alicent's ears with poison against him.

Aemond, struts into the council room, you cunty little bastard. I loved Ewan every moment of him. That is exactly how I expect Aemond to be.

Aegon. Loved it too. We see him in more than just a sorry ass drunk. Fine-fucking-ly. I like how he takes control of the throne room the second time Otto tries to tell him what to do. I'm really ready to see Otto get kicked out of his position. But boy. You sweet not to sweet anymore summer child, what are you doing. You can't call your unhinged brother loyal as a dog when he's planning war behind your back, something even your granddad is pointing at.

ALICOLE!!! Woohoo you people! Yes they are fucking! They are fucking right the moment when Blood and Cheese come and kill Jaehaeyrs.

While speaking on the matter, (Please don't attack me, this is only my analysis of show and somethings I compare from the book). Blood and cheese is disappointing. To me atleast. Child murder, of course it's not right, very, very, very bad. But I rather like the book part. We have no Maelor up until this stage in the show so it's basically making Helaena choose between her twins which, I'm sorry, looks stupid. The whole point of it was making a choice between two sons. The Greens basic usurpation is based on the fact that Rhaenyra is a woman. So why the hell would Helaena be forced to chose between her daughter and son. It would have been obvious that she would have chosen Jaehaera to be dead over Jaehaeyrs. She is not an idiot. We know.

And if we talk about the show sow why she did it? My reason, perhaps she doesn't wants her son to see or face what is coming. Or maybe she had seen what he doesn't wants it.

Helaena at the start in the first scene when Aegon comes looking for Jaehaeyrs tells him "What if he doesn't want it?" It feels like a call back to times when Aegon didn't want it. But still, she knows a woman's life is much worse in Westeros specially in time of war, so why save a girl who would lead a bad life instead of the son who actually had a chance to get out of that. Is it a call back to Viserys choosing Rhaenyra over Aegon? Wouldn't know until next scenes.

Rhaena. We see her on the council table and while they are burning Luke's and Arrax's remains. I wanted to cry just seeing her. She looks so distraught.

Daemon wearing his MURDER CLOAKKKKKK!!!

YAYAYAYAYAY!!!

I love how he paid that Gold Cloak to do his bidding and how that man went "Commander" and "Fuck the Hightowers". We see the loyalty of the Gold Cloaks to Daemon that we know from books and the first season. Loved every moment of that.

Well, that's what I think about it.

[ilovethewaleses]

But is she putting in as much effort as she used to? I’ve never seen so many illfitted trousers on her as I’ve seen the past few weeks (today and the beige ones are the worst). And wearing Burberry today was a weird choice given the content of the engagements, considering their clothes isn’t even made in the UK. Her team would’ve been much more on top of that in the past. I think she wants to portray a certain look but whether she likes it or not what she wears is important too.

But I will say, William is worse. He shows up in wrinkly clothes almost every day, and he seems to have forgotten where his ties are most days. Receiving guests in Windsor Castle not even wearing an business suit was a real low point for him. The media and royal watchers just forget the men and don’t have the same kind of expectations on them.

I don’t know if you’ve seen their staff but some of them dress so bad even on official engagements, like I’ll never forget one of their engagements during the coronation week when one of their staff showed up in cargo pants. I think their office in general became too casual during the pandemic and they haven’t regained what they had before that (the pandemic overall was really detrimental to their office, I think they lost too many staff members at the same time so there’s too many newish ones there, see how awful their social media has been the past few years (the last few weeks have been much better though)).

Umm... what?? Sorry anon but I do not agree with much of this.

Catherine has worn a wrinkly outfit probably one time that I can remember in recent years. It was Wimbledon and when I saw it on tv, you couldn't even tell. Even if I haven't liked an outfit, every single outfit she has practically EVER worn has been completely appropriate. Yes she's had a few wardrobe snafus here and there but as one of the most photographed women in the world under an intense microscope, she is of course going to have a few of those.

What she wears is important, you're right. Which is why she is always beautifully turned out with well-fitting clothes appropriate for the occasion. She looks completely professional. There's nothing "not princess-like" about wearing trousers, unless we're still stuck in the 1950s. I think what it is is people got used to her dresses and when she's been changing it up, people don't know what to do with themselves... lol. She goes out and does these engagements in nice clothes and then when it comes to the big royal events, she wears very "princessy" clothes and tiaras and jewels. She's been at this for 12 years, she is going to go through lots of different clothing eras. She's experimenting, she's trying a new look, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. I am incredibly confused how somehow putting on a dress = effort but putting on a three piece suit does not... there is nothing ill-fitting about this look at all to me 🤷🏼‍♀️ And one quick google search tells me that Burberry is made in multiple locations including the UK.

I also... don't care what their aids or staff are wearing lol. And I don't think their social media is awful, either. In fact, I think it's been pretty great these past few months.

[lovingthereign25]

Fight for me🤍

Part 2.

It's been two whole weeks since Joe and I kissed. We haven't talked about it or brought it up to each other; it was like it never happened. We continued our normal routines. Except for one minor detail I was back on Smackdown for the time being. I didn't actually have a role or storyline but I was there most as a "supportive wife " to the Tribal Chief. 

Joe and I didn't even travel together which didn't catch attention to a lot of the other superstars but it did one Angelo Dawkins.  He took notice the second time I was on the show and when he asked about it I tried to lie but after a couple more shows he and Tez caught on asking again and couldn't lie to either of them.  I've known Angelo, Montez and Bianca since they were down in NXT . 

So I told him and Tez the truth that Joe and I have been separated for months now and how I brought up  getting a divorce. After that Angelo and I started talking more and more, nothing too serious but some flirting here and there all clean and playful. I am still a married woman. And I do love Joe.

We were all scheduled to be on Smackdown tonight a week before Clash at the Castle.

I rode with Bianca, Tez and Angelo to the arena, Dawkins being the gentleman he was, opened my door for not thinking anything about it until Jon, Joe's cousin also known as Jimmy Uso came over .

"What's this? Riding with the enemy?, Y/n we supposed to be family" he joked

"You know you'll always be my favorite tag team" I smile reassuring him.

"But seriously Big Uce about to pull in if I were y'all I wouldn't be seen together" he says

" Ain't nobody worried bout big Uce, it's all love over here" Dawkins says 

"I appreciate the advice, but there's nothing going on here besides friends riding with friends" I walking to the trunk to get my bags

Jimmy walks away after nodding understanding . Dawkins grabs his bags and then mine offering to carry them into the arena I shrug and say okay as we're walking in Joe passes us, Joe eyes locked on mine.  Dawkins walked me to Joe's locker room, handing me my stuff, giving me a quick hug before going his separate way .

I made myself comfortable in the locker room setting my outfit aside, loving how it matched the black and red the Bloodline had been wearing. Joe comes in walking right past me as if I wasn't even in the room which usually he'd ask about the kids and just small talk.

"Hey, how was your drive?" I ask 

"Fine…you?" He says 

"Mine was good, rode with some some friends" I say

"Yea I saw …so the divorce how soon can we the papers drawn up" he says dryly

"Ummm …I can have Pam send some over by next week….are you sure that's what you want?"I say taken back a little

"Yea" he says and walks out of the room .

I sat there for a few minutes trying to process what just happened, he really wanted a divorce? He wasn't even gonna fight for me? damnit fight for his family? Like the last 9 years meant nothing to him. I began to cry how did this get this far, this bad,  that divorce was an opinion for us.  My marriage was really about to be over. 

I needed air so I stepped outside calling Joe's mom who has our children. After the call I began to cry again. Talking to our kids made everything hurt worse. They didn't deserve what was happening right now with their parents. 

"Hey, Y/n you good?' I hear turning and seeing Dawkins.

'' Yea….yea I'm good just missing my babies" I like wiping my tears 

" Come on, I know you better than that. Tell me what's up?" He says crossing his arms

" Joe wants a divorce. And I know I brought it up, I just didn't actually think he would go through with it I thought bringing up the idea of divorce would get him to step up and and sort this mess out" I cry

"Damn….Y/n I'm sorry. You and the kids don't deserve this" he says, hugging me.

We sat outside for a bit just talking, after a while I went in to get ready for the show .

In gorilla I stood waiting for Joe's music to hit 

Jey was talking to Dawkins about something and he smiled over at me. I smile back, turning to Joe who looked away from me.

Joe's music hits and we were about to ahead out 

"I hope you're using protection, Teo is only 1." He says dryly.

Before I could answer we headed out to the ring . Joe was supposed to take my hand walking down the ramp but as he did I moved my hand away. 

I was so pissed with Joe right now, not only with the divorce situation but the disrespectful comment he made. Joe has never talked to me like that. It hurts me to wonder what's happened to the man I married and our marriage.

We cut our promo and headed back to the locker room without saying a word. I gathered my things and was getting ready to leave.

"Y/n…is everything ok? " Jimmy asks 

"Ask your cousin…that ass seems to know everything!" I snap walking away.

A few days later Joe had come to see the kids because his schedule was so hectic this week. 

He was putting Mateo down for a nap while I made Ryanne and Karsyn lunch. 

"Hey, you got a minute?'' I heard him ask as I finished getting the girls settled at the table.

"What?" I say coldly

"Y/n, what's going on Stephanie told me you dropped out of the storyline and wouldn't be attending Smackdown anymore…is everything okay?" He asks 

" I'm fine Joe" I say

"What's with the dry answers ….now that I think about it we've haven't spoken since…" he says but I cut him off

' since you disrespected me a few days ago, since your ego was hurt so disrespecting me made you feel good." I almost shout

"Y/n,  how was I supposed to react seeing you flaunt by our relationship with Dawkins around all over the place" he snaps back

"Relationship? What relationship? Angelo and I are friends, that's it and that's all. He listens to me and lets me vent about how much this situation with you is out of control'' I say

"Yea he listens so he can get into you fucking pants Y/n." He rolls his eyes

Just before I can say anything Karsyn calls for me.  

That night Seth was throwing Becky a surprise birthday party at a club he had rented out.  Seth was like a big brother especially since he was in the Shield with Joe. 

I arrived with Alexa . Looking around I spot a few friendly faces. I grab a drink and find a table with Alexa, Bayley and a few others. I feel a pair of eyes looking up when I meet Angelo's eyes. Smiling at him he waves me over.

"Damn, look at you girl!" He smiles 

"Y/n is the definition a "MILF" Bianca adds 

"Shut up" I wave them off 

 I sat and talked to them for a while until I felt someone tap my shoulder looking over it was Sami.

"Hi, Y/n, sorry to bother you but Joe would like to speak to you if you don't mind." He says 

"Hey Sami, Tell Joe I have nothing to say and also tell him I'm a little busy ….I'm dancing with my friend Dawkins!" I say taking Dawkins by the hand leading him to the dance floor making sure to make eye contact with Joe.

I grind against Angelo as the music played, feeling his hands roam my body. It felt weird. Having another man touch me in any way that Joe had felt weird. I felt Joe's eyes on us as we danced trying to hide the uncomfortableness on my face then it happened. I don't know if it was the music or something but I felt Angelo's lips on my neck. Before I could react there was Joe and the look on his face was pure anger! 

[mageofseven]

Repressed Love: A DiaLuci Love Story

Chapter 10

Tag list: @astroseuss @zarakem @brielle043 @missloserqueen

•▪︎▪︎◇°●♡●°◇▪︎▪︎•

A little over a week went by. Satan came over to visit every day to see his sister and father. Occasionally, the brothers would force their company onto the blonde and join him at the castle. On these days, Satan didn't say a word, just sat in a corner and waited the other men out until they left before taking his sister from Lucifer and holding her tightly.

Him having a good relationship with his father and being so protective of his sister...it was all still fresh so the man didn't want the others to know about it yet, in fear that they would tease him or worse, pay too much attention to him. The wrath demon still wasn't ready to deal with them yet.

Still, as soon as they left and Audriana was in her big brother's arms, the blonde was content. He spoke more freely with his father during this time than he ever has and the two were really at the budding stage of a healthy parent-child relationship.

Some days, Diavolo would come join them during his break and each time, the blonde met him with a look of utter disdain, like the prince was intruding on his family time.

Lucifer saw this, was well aware of these looks, but said nothing to his son. Things between the two were just starting to improve for the first time in his son's life and he was afraid of jeopardizing it. He apologized to his boyfriend multiple times for his son's attitude and for Luce's own cowardice in the situation, but Diavolo always kissed his love and assured him that it was alright.

Dia understood that a lot of things were changing lately and assumed that Satan more or less was having difficulties with some of it. The prince assured him that he'll be patient with the blonde and that things will work themselves out eventually.

One day, Lucifer got a call from the headmaster at RAD. Apparently Satan got into a fight with some another demon during lunch and the other guy had to be sent to the infirmary.

This was the last thing the pride demon needed, but he knew he had to go to the school and address this issue.

He wasn't sure what to do about Audriana at first though. Lucifer didn't want to bother his boyfriend while he was working, but also thought that taking his daughter, who was already hurting and overwhelmed, to a new location with so many new and different noises would be too much for her.

The man dug through the pile of assorted baby things his boyfriend bought for their daughter to see if there was anything useful for this situation. Honestly, Diavolo bought so many items for Audriana that the girl likely won't even lay her eyes on them by the end of year when she's fully grown.

Devil, that was such a strange thought, so very different than what he's used to. He raised his brothers and Lilith for hundred of years before they matured yet his daughter...won't have a very long childhood at all, the same as Satan...

His heart stung as he thought of this. Satan really didn't get a childhood, another thing that was out of his control, but the dad still felt guilty about nonetheless.

Finally, he found these tiny little headphones with these cute little dog ears on the top of them, reminding the man of Cerberus. He read the box they came in and discovered that they were enchanted to block out noise for sensitive babies.

Luce smiled down at the box softly, his love for his boyfriend swirling in his chest; Dia really did think of everything, didn't he?

The dad also found a baby harness, the kind parents strap onto their chest and slip the baby in so they could carry the infant while also keeping their hands free.

The demon sighed. The idea of wearing that harness was embarrassing to the Avatar of Pride, but he admitted that it would be useful.

So he strapped on the harness, slipped his daughter inside before putting the enchanted headphones over her ears and heading out to RAD.

Once at the school, the dad got a lot of stares. Was it because the Avatar of Pride had a baby strapped to his chest or because the baby strapped to him was lightly whimpering in her all too familiar way; the man wasn't sure, but did his best to ignore them.

Once he got to the headmaster's office, he stepped inside and the man behind the desk looked shocked at the Avatar of Pride carrying around a baby. Satan, on the other hand, looked positively thrilled for the first half second, finding the little headphones on his sister to be too cute (though obviously would have preferred cat ears on her instead of dog ears).

Then he looked up at his father's face before looking away, a frustrated scowl replacing his first expression.

But that wasn't all that was on his face. Fresh cuts, still bleeding from the fight.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" The Avatar of Pride yelled at the man at the desk, grateful his daughter couldn't hear him. "He's bleeding for devil sake! Go get him a first aid kit, a potion, something!"

Lucifer scared that man out of his own office. His son stared, genuinely impressed and wondered if the older demon will actually come back.

The dad took a seat next to his son, still furious. Yes, Satan started the fight, but that didn't mean he was undeserving of basic medical care! What the devil is wrong with that man? The dad was already preparing to talk to his boyfriend about finding a replacement for the job, someone with basic common sense.

The man didn't say anything to his son for the first few moments, still brewing over the incompetency of that so-called headmaster. After a minute or so, he took a deep breath in then out before addressing his son.

"Are you alright?"

"Of course. That fool learned his lesson."

"I'm well aware." The dad huffed. "You sent that man to the infirmary. He almost died, Satan."

"I could have finished the job--"

"Satan!" Lucifer scolded. "Things are not the same in the Devildom as they were when RAD was first founded. You could get into legal trouble for this now."

The blonde scowled and looked away from the other man.

His father sighed.

"Satan, what caused this?" He asked. "You've been doing so well; you haven't been in a fight here more or less in the last eighty years. What changed?"

His son kept silent, refusing to even look at him.

"Satan...I thought we were starting to talk to one another." Luce kept his gaze on the blonde. "I thought we were making progress. Do you really want to cut yourself off from me now?"

The other man pursed his lips before slowly turning towards his father.

"That guy was talking shit about you, saying that you're actually self-centered and incompetent, that the only thing you can do right is knock yourself up." The blonde said, gritting his teeth. "Talked like Audriana and I were just bastards, incomplete freaks..."

Oh this father felt a fire in him blaze. Talk shit about him? Fine then. It says more about about you then it ever could about himself. But you bring his children into this? There will be consequences, mark his words.

Lucifer took a deep breath.

"His name."

"What?"

"What was this man's name?" He asked again, trying to keep his temper in check for his son.

"I don't know." The blonde shook his head. "He's Abigor's son though, I know that much for sure."

Luce pursed his lips. A man from a noble family, but luckily from a minor one. The father should still be able to handle this though.

Looks like he has another topic to discuss with Diavolo when he gets back home to the castle.

[nicoathogwarts]

The massive clock chimed, waking Nico from his nap in the grass and he sat up. He had defense against the dark arts and Umbridge had threatened him with more detention if he was late again. 

The stairs would be too slow, but there was another way.

Grabbing his bag he made a dash towards the castle.

Hermione was looking out the window, ignoring everything Umbridge was saying, having finished the reading they were supposed to do last month. She watched someone fling a bag onto one of the ledges and pull themself up.

Nico di Angelo waited for Umbridge’s back to be turned before using his wand to open the window and slip in, silently making his way to his seat and sitting down with his book out.

Umbridge turned around “Mr. di Angelo, how wonderful for you to join us today.” her lips were in a thin line of displeasure.

“Of course professor, I’d never disrespect my elders.” Nico held up his hand to show off the scar, grinning.

At the end of class nearly everyone wanted to know why Nico had climbed the side of the castle.

“I didn’t want to be late.” was the only explanation given.

McGonagall caught him in the halls “Mr. di Angelo, if you could spare a moment.”

The Slytherins that’d been walking by all slowed their waking or stopped, eager to hear Nico get in trouble.

“What do you need, professor?”

“I saw your little… Shortcut, if you are to get hurt then I would need to send a letter to your father, and we don’t want that do we?”

“Of course not professor, I’ll make sure to be careful and stay out of the hospital wing.”

She nodded and Nico walked with Neville to their next class. “That was close, she didn’t even take point off.”

Nico nodded “you heard her, I just need to not get hurt and it’ll be fine. There’s not even lava so it’ll be a piece of cake.” 

“Lava?? Why would there be lava?”

“The climbing wall at camp has lava. And no one’s died because of it yet.”

“Do all Americans have a death wish or just you?” 

“Most of us, yeah.”

Nico had made a habit out of climbing the side of the castle to get where he needed to go. In his defense it really was faster then taking the stairs.

Ginny had started to run a gambling ring centered around him and his climbing abilities. “How long will it take you to get to the top of the astronomy tower?��

Nico shrugged “seven minutes? Why.”

“I bet you could climb it in five. I’ll split the money with you if you do.”

“I’ll give you double if I lose.” Nico said. He started climbing, a crowd had gathered by the time he was halfway up.

He made it to the top in just under five minutes. “Fuck yeah!”

McGonagall cleared her throat and Nico whirled around. “Oh, hi professor.”

“Mr. Di Angelo, this is completely inexcusable reckless behavior. Twenty points from Slytherin and I will be writing a letter to your father and stepmother.”

“Sorry professor.”

Come dinner time Nico was looking even more like a walking corpse then usual. Along with his dinner being served a vulture flew into the great hall, dropping a howler and a single mint leaf in front of him.

“Thanatos take me now,” he muttered before opening the howler.

It roared to life, yelling in a strange language as Nico listened to the words of his stepmother. At one point it almost looked like he wanted to laugh before the howler said something that made his face drop. After several minutes of lecturing it shriveled up into petals and Nico was much worse for wear then before.

“Come on, it’s so nice, let's go out by the lake!” Ginny said, sitting next to Neville in the courtyard.

Nico made a face “yeah no, I don’t want to be turned into a plant again so grass is a no go for awhile.”

Luna nodded in agreement as if she understood what the fuck Nico was talking about.

“Your mum’s transfigured you into a plant? That’s illegal practically everywhere because it’s so dangerous to transfigure another person” Neville said, looking a little ill.

Nico backtracked “stepmom, and I’m fine. Tell the asshole that turned me into corn it’s illegal without dying and then talk to me.”

Ginny changed the subject to the upcoming quidditch game.

Maybe it was better they didn’t know everything about Nico di Angelo.

[scarlet-fantasies]

Prince! Eren headcanons ?

Hi anon,

sorry, this has taken so long. But I finally finished it. I honestly don't like it but I hope you do. Idk I like royalty core but this was hard to make, lol. Sorry that I am so inactive, this semester seems lighter so I will pop up in here randomly which is better than before. :)

-Scarlet

Prince Eren headcanons

::𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬::

***words may be censored to respect Tumblr guidelines

sfw & nsfw

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑡

𝐼𝑛𝑏𝑜𝑥 𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛

𝐶𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑘 𝑡𝑜 𝑗𝑜𝑖𝑛 --> 𝑇𝑎𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

© 𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑒𝑡-𝑓𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑒𝑠 // 𝑑𝑜 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑙, 𝑟𝑒𝑢𝑠𝑒, 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑠. 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑢𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑤𝑖𝑠𝑒. // 2021-𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

General + Background

👑So Eren’s family is royalty and his mother and father are the king and queen of the kingdom.

👑The name of the land is probably (I’ll give a few ideas) Literra Empire, Laivurean Kingdom, or the Kingdom of Ayeasothia. (I just thought they were cool but idk it doesn’t matter)

👑Okay so he and his brother are princes, I picture that they are German princes (but they can be from wherever you want.) and you’re a princess but probably from another country/land that has ties with his family.

👑And you two have known each other ever since you were children, even in fact Eren remembers the day you were born because he was already six years old.

👑So your parents have been planning your marriage for as long as you can remember.

👑Now the other problem is that you two dislike each other.

👑He was always pranking the servants, people in the village, you, literally anyone.

👑And he wasn’t nice to you either.

👑He was a complete rascal as a kid and probably used to pull your hair and bully you whenever you visited.

👑Which is the main reason why you two never really played together.

👑And the maids, or Zeke and always had to separate you two.

👑As you both got older though you saw Eren less and less because you both were busy and plus you’re parents thought about giving up on having you two married in the future.

👑They still liked the idea but they were planning to have other suitors in case you and Eren never change.

👑You probably came off as a crybaby as a child but now you were an independent woman and crying was out of the question. (Fun fact in case you didn’t know, as a royal you’re not really allowed to cry because it shows that a person is weak.)

👑Eren hadn’t changed much however, he was still on some crazy adventure or a voyage of some sort.

👑His father always scolds him to be more grown-up and start acting more like a future king so that he’ll be ready one day.

👑And what’s worse is that Eren is a complete perv and a ladies man to many women, except to you.

👑Now you had heard about the rumors of Prince Eren’s change of attitude (in the sense that he has grown to be a playboy) and his appearance but still, you were unphased.

👑The last time you saw Eren you were 13 and he was 19 (remember 6 years apart). It was because your older cousin/sister was getting married.

👑Now Eren had heard about Princess Y/n and how popular she was with suitors and how she always rejected them.

👑Anyways you were invited to attend Eren’s 25th Birthday (You’re 19). It was also a way for him to meet girls and pick a bride, well his parents hoped he would.

👑Both of your parents were hoping to get you two to bond. Since the ceremony will last a week, cause you know it’s the prince’s birthday; you will be staying there for three weeks, in the same castle. This is mostly because his parents insisted (celebrations went on for a long time too).

👑Now the color of the dress you wear typically is blue and this is because it represents your kingdom but also because you look good in it. And his suit is typically white and gold.

Re-encounter

👑So you and your family were greeted by his family but the whole time Eren is just staring at you.

👑He hasn’t seen you in a long time so he’s taken in the view. Though as much as Eren wouldn’t admit it, you looked beautiful.

👑 He was so in his own that his parents nudged him to greet you.

👑And of course to keep formality he kissed your hand with a little bit of eye contact, which he was not supposed to do.

👑Once you got settled in at the party there came the part where people would dance.

👑You didn’t plan on it tbh you were chatting with friends and family but Eren got a hold of you. And this is mainly bc he was surrounded by lots of girls who’d like a dance and his way of getting out of it is by asking you to dance with him.

👑Of course, it would look bad and cause attention if you said no so you had no choice but to say yes to him. It was also because he dragged you there before you could actually say yes.

👑Meanwhile, you find the setting to be uncomfortable but mostly annoying since you still view him as the teasing boy he was (well he still is).

👑You danced with him looking monotone as ever until he told you to smile.

👑It was the first thing he said to you and you only whispered to him about how you were upset about what he did.

👑“I cannot smile in a room just to please you and have those women off your back.”

👑“It’s just one favor, I mean, surely you know how hard it is for me with all these young women wanting to approach me? After all, the ladies think I’m charming.” He'd grin.

👑“Yes, so ‘prince charming’ how could I forget that babyface at my cousin's wedding. You haven’t changed in the face and I doubt anywhere else.”

👑“See, that’s where you're wrong princess. I have changed.” He’d say whilst twirling you around.

👑“Hmm, humor me.”

👑“Well I guess it’s my turn . . . you know, if I recall from our last encounter, you’re still pure.”

👑���Excuse me?” you'd scoff.

👑“Oh was I too harsh? I figured we were being honest about what hasn’t changed about us.”

👑“Immoral as ever I see—you’re still quite the pervert even if you don’t look under a girl's dress.”

👑“Sounds to me like a certain princess isn’t over what happened almost a decade ago.”

👑“This is the last dance you’ll be getting.” You'd say.

👑“You know I heard a lot about Princess Y/n, but they never said she was feisty. You used to be a crybaby.”

👑“And you, a momma's boy.”

👑“You are quite witty too. Princess Y/n, because of your honesty I’d like your help in choosing my bride.” he'd explain.

👑“What?”

👑“I want your opinion on which girl I should marry. There are plenty of women on the list and I know nothing about them. If I’m going to marry them I’d at least like to know them. And since you are a woman you are able to ask them questions I cannot. In return, I will do anything you want for all three weeks of your stay. . . Do we have a deal?”

👑“ . . . Fine, I will agree to your deal. But on one condition.”

👑“I’m all ears.”

👑“The bride you end up choosing must be on the list, you cannot choose anyone else, it's what your parents wanted so make them happy.” you'd say.

👑“Alright, we’ll start tomorrow.” 

Fun and games

👑So your deal with him went on for a while. Like I imagine you went through endless tea sessions with girls your age range and their mothers just to get to know them. And you’d sit there for hours on end listening to boring stories that sometimes you’d be on the verge of sleep.

👑Little did you know Eren has seen you countless times at these tea parties and he finds it amusing how you’ll be close to falling asleep or how you're bored out of your mind with some people. He also laughs when you're annoyed by a girl who babbles too much.

👑Like, for example there was a young girl who had a huge crush on him and she asked you so many questions about him.

👑She thought you were lucky bc you had known him all your childhood bc word does travel fast. So she asked what he was like and you honestly felt pressed on how to answer this.

👑And you knew he was listening this time because you saw him before you were planning to give an answer, so you only told her he was a troublemaker when he was young but you hardly know him now.

👑This girl even asked if you had a crush on someone and oh boy was he listening now but of course you said it was too private of a question. In general, he was most curious whenever you had something to say.

👑Seeing that retaining all the info would be impossible you took notes. So with the list, you met up with Eren every time after these tiring tea sessions and told him about every single girl that you’d met at the time and you’d cross off the ones he didn’t like at all.

Convo between you two:

👑“Okay, the next one is Louisa—“

👑“That’s enough, proceed to the next one.” He’d said with the wave of his hand.

👑This made you upset as he didn’t even want to hear what this girl was like.

👑“You’ve only heard her name and you just want to cross her off?”

👑“Is there a problem?”

👑“Yes, why would you do that?”

👑“The name doesn’t interest me. So move on.”

👑“It’s no wonder you're still looking for a bride. . . the next one is Anastasia Walton, she is the daughter of a duke and duchess from Eradale. She enjoys watching plays, and playing the flute. Anastasia is smart, kind, loyal, and would make a caring wife and would serve her husband as expected. She is fluent in French as well. She’s 19, she loves children and would like to have a family of her own someday.”

👑“Hmm, something that would be good for the public and for my father . . . What do you think of her?”

👑“Me? —oh well, I think--I mean your parents would be proud. Although, I cannot make decisions for you. This must be your decision, Prince--” He’d put a finger up to your l!ps.

👑“Princess, if I ask for your opinion I would expect only your opinion after all that is what we’ve agreed on And please, drop formality and call me, Eren.”

👑“Fine, I will only say this once. You can’t choose who you want to love but you can choose who you don’t want to marry.”

👑“A prince cannot focus on just love. As my father has said, a king puts his mind ahead of his heart.”

👑“I'm aware love doesn’t exist among us royals. I just wasn’t sure if you valued love in the slightest.”

👑“I do not, however I’d still like to know your honest opinion of this girl?”

👑“Well, if you want to know the truth . . . I think she’s boring and too perfect.”

👑“You’re finally understanding what I dislike.” He’d smile.

👑This went on for a while where you’d meet him to inform him. It became fun when you two would even joke about the way some behaved since sometimes he would watch as well but in secret.

👑You two sneak around the castle so you can avoid possible suitors your mother may run into and any brides Eren may run into—you too have kinda made a pact of course in secret. You two are always trying to hide or claim to be busy.

👑Because you are doing all this he makes sure you’re happy with the room you have. Like softer pillows, a better maid, you name it.

👑Your bed was a little uncomfortable and so he told you to sleep in his room but you told him it was fine. Eren made sure you weren’t allowed in your room by servants so you had no choice but to sleep with him.

👑When you entered his chambers you were upset and argued with him about how you didn’t want to do this. You also complained about not having your nightgown on yet and that now you couldn’t because your room was locked.

👑“Then take off your clothes.” He’d suggest, not seeing the problem since you had an underdress underneath.

👑“I can’t undress in front of you.” You’d complain.

👑“I’ve seen you countless times when we were younger. In fact, I remember helping you change once or twice.” He’d wink, making you throw the nearest pillow at him as he laid on the bed.

👑“I was a child back then! It’s—it’s different now!”

👑“Just so we're clear, I wouldn’t look at you as a woman. What does it matter anyway, you’re nightgown is see-through?” He’d point out

👑You'd gasp before throwing a pillow at him. He'd just laugh before throwing you a blanket to cover yourself.

👑Although he'd give you space for you to change behind the dresser.

👑He’d be the type to get you to play tag or get chased in the courtyard. And boy does he have fun.

👑Because he owes you he will give you days off but even then he hangs out with you. He shows you places outside of the castle and lets you explore.

First Move

👑Of course, with all this work he gave you whatever in exchange. He’d make sure you had your favorite sweets present at dinner.

👑I picture you two sneaking out to the kitchen at night and having sweets together.

👑In fact, this is when he started to be a bit of flirt but you tried to just ignore it.

👑he first handed you a sweet and explained how he remembers that this was your favorite ever since you were a kid.

👑“This is for all your help.” He’d say holding out the sweet in his hand only to k!ss your cheek. “And this is extra.” He’d grin, placing the sweet in your hands.

👑You look confused by his kiss which is hella amusing to him so then he figured he'd try to kiss you for real instead to which your expression didn't change either.

👑His lips brushed against yours teasingly before you tried to stop him, "You can't." You'd whisper, trying to remind him.

👑"I don't care about the rules." He'd say hushing you with his response before kissing you on the lips.

Tension and Feelings

👑In a room full of people he stares at you and makes subtle eye contact.

👑If a guy was talking to you, he'd approach you to disrupt your conversation with him.

👑This is mostly because he feels a little jealous.

👑He will always try to make the excuse to be help or be involved with you.

👑He says a lot of things that make you think and maybe even second guess.

👑"Who cares about what everyone thinks or what they want. They are not you, they don't share your pain or feelings. Just do what you want." He'd express.

👑"I don't believe us royals are gifted to do as we please. But I'd give anything to disappear from this court, these people."

👑"You know, we are not so different." He'd smile, causing you to smile back.

👑"Perhaps you are right." You'd agree.

👑He has fixed your hair before and he tends to adjust your dress casually.

👑Which seems pretty suggestive, of course you're barely paying mind to it.

👑Except one time you were trying to adjust your corset because it wasn’t tight enough.

👑"Allow me." He'd say, walking up behind you to pull the laces.

👑He ended up helping you in the process and trailing his hands down your sides in process causing you to cough since it was an awkward moment.

👑When you got closer to narrowing down who the bride was gonna be he was not himself and neither were you and you both would argue in this time. You were trying to get him married this way the small thing you felt for him would just end. Still, Eren didn’t want it to end so he kept saying he didn’t like any girl there was. You had gone through almost everyone except yourself well you didn’t see yourself as an option but he pointed it out.

👑“Me?!”

👑“Yes, you. You’re the last one.” He'd insist.

👑“You’ve got to be joking, there’s nothing to know, I’m not getting married and I will not have children.”

👑“Ahh but that’s not what your mother wrote here to my parents.” He’d say holding up a letter with a sm!rk.

👑“What are you--”

👑“My dearest friends, Y/n, has finally come of age and is ready to marry—“

👑“Stop, this is embarrassing—“ You'd intrupt him from reading as you tried to take the letter away.

👑“There’s more—Although she thinks she is merely a guest at the party she is also a participant but I would prefer you to not speak of this in front of her—“

👑“Give me that!" You'd say still fighting to get the letter from him as he kept dogging while laughing.

👑“Oh it gets even better, listen—I sincerely hope their wedding will go as planned.” He’d sm!rk whilst laughing as he held the paper up high so you couldn’t reach it.

👑“Eren, give me the letter. This is completely unfair and embarrassing—“

👑“Relax, relax—I lied, it says,  I sincerely look forward to seeing you all.”

👑“You lied!" You'd frown.

👑"It was only to see your expression." He'd grin.

👑"Whatever the case I am not a liable choice."

👑"How so?" He'd ask, wondering for your reasoning.

👑"Eren, I am not on the list to begin with."

👑"Who says I can't decide to put you on it?" He'd tease having your cheeks flush light pink at this.

👑"No one." You'd answer.

👑“So it looks like this makes you a candidate for the list then, princess.”

👑In shock you'd respond in hopes of discouraging the idea. “But I’m not a bride and besides I can’t rate myself.”

👑“You’re right, that’s why I’m judging.” He grinned. This gave him the excuse to drag his decision and he got to know you better. And lets just say it made it even harder to be around him.

👑He'd be asking questions and you are trying to disinterest him.

👑"What do you do in your free time?"

👑"Nothing you'd be interested to know." You'd state, hoping to not interest him.

👑"I disagree. You've always been different than most."

👑"I do what every princess does." You’d say.

👑"Oh really, attend tea parties? You hate those things."

👑"Alright fine, I sometimes paint . . . and play a little music." You’d admit.

👑"Play me something."

👑"You're joking, I haven't learned any piece fully." You’d shake your head ‘No’ as you disagreed,

👑"Then play what you know." He’d grin getting you to do what he asked.

Confession

👑He k!ssed you after a ball you had because some girls didn’t leave him alone and he needed a distraction. You may have liked the k!ss but not under these circumstances, he was just using you so the girls that saw him out with you would leave him alone. This made you upset and humiliated and you absolutely couldn’t stand him after it. You walked away and cried in your room because he was literally just playing with your feelings.

👑“Y/n, please talk to me.” He’d say, entering your room and finding you sitting on your bed with your back turned to him. 

👑“There is nothing to talk about.” You’d say softly, not wanting to burst into tears.

👑“You are angry with me.” He’d sigh, knowing he ruined the night by hurting your feelings.

👑You turned and looked at him. “I’m not angry.” You’d say, somewhat rasing your voice as you were annoyed.

👑Your eyes were watery and he felt bad, “Well, there must be some reason for you to storm off?” He’d say approaching you.

👑“I’m unwell, and I’d like to be alone, please.”

👑“Y/n, I order you, as prince of this kingdom, to not go away. I deserve a clear answer and the truth from you.” I’m cringing for all of us, but this is how it was back then lol.

👑“Of course, you use your title when it benefits you but you could care less how your actions affect others!” You’d shout, wiping your tears away.

👑“I had my reasons for tonight.” He’d look at you not knowing what to say.

👑“I’m quite aware of that, but did you ever bother to think that maybe this isn’t what I wanted!?! What even gives you the right to just use me?!?!”

👑Hearing this he realized he f*cked up. “I didn’t use you, I trust you.”

👑“Oh and I suppose you just k!ss the people you trust?”

👑“Princess, I’m sorry, this was a mistake—“

👑“Then why do such a thing?”

👑“Because you never said you didn’t want to be on the list!” He'd exclaim

👑“I don’t have a choice to decline because it’s you! I’m not allowed to refuse your proposal because of our family ties. I made sure to not get married so I’d end all ties with our families, all to have this instead."

👑 "You could've easily said no, I would have let you."

👑"Why do I feel as if you're lying to me?" You'd question.

👑"I would let you . . . as much as I'd hate to." He'd admit making your eyes widen slightly by what he said.

👑"I feel in debt to give you a proper kiss, rather than what I gave you before."

👑"Eren--" Of course before you could say anything he crashed his lips on to yours.

👑Overall, you both end up being together and the next thing you know that it was a big announcement but everyone was happy.

👑sorry guys I'm out of ideas so I'm cutting it short.

NSFW/PDA

👑always tries to take you far away from the castle

👑He swims in the lake with you naked.

👑Loves it if you lift your skirt to tempt him.

👑Now you two have a lot of sex, even in the castle walls like he doesn’t care.

👑Servants have walked in on the two of you.

👑He’ll have a room vacant just so you two can do that when you want.

👑Eren’s very loud and gets off to the sound of your moans echoing throughout the room.

👑Really loves it if the walls are not sound proof but he’ll lie to you and say they are so you’ll be as loud as he wants.

👑This way all the servants can hear.

👑He gets off to the sight of your ballet shoes slipping off your feet from his thrusts.

👑And he loves all the corsets you wear.

👑He loves undoing it slowly to get you to feel anxious.

👑Likes to have you taste food through his kisses.

👑Especially something sweet.

👑Loves it when you’re bold enough to make the first move.

👑Really likes if you can dominate him too, he’ll never admit it but he loves it.

👑He plays under your long skirt all the time when you two are alone.

👑He wants you to call him by a title when you two do it.

👑Loves to cancel ceremonies or show up late just to have sex with you instead.

👑Even if you’re ready and you're walking through the hallway he’ll pull you back behind a wall and kiss you

👑Loves to help you put on your corset.

👑He loves to leave marks in visible areas.

👑Probably into fingering and would probably do it in his office or the library.

👑Loves to chase you when you're only wearing your undergarments and you two are getting ready for a ball.

👑He loves messing up your hair after sex so that people will question why your hair is messy.

👑You two exchange very heavy eye contact at a ball.

@bi-effing-simp @sofijaeger @lucifugovs @xxghoulishspritexx @sp00ksic0la @keithandlevi-ontheroof @songbirdgardensworld

@bubs-world

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[madcatdaderpydrawer-blog]

Starholder tf sun would be one of the tf suns that would be easiest to persuade to change his ways because he’s the one whose the most conflicted and is actively doubting their past treatment. This is strongly aided by the fact that he’s the one whose involved in handling the community environment in their dimension, which means out of the three he interacts with the shadow people the most. Through them he learns stories about Blackhole that make him realize that he wasn’t as much of a black and white villain as he had assumed for so long. The children who Blackhole had interacted with are grown by now, but they still mention him despite it being centuries since he last ruled. Talking about all the times he helped them find their way out of the woods, how he showed them how to feed the mannequins, different fun facts about navigating the woods and the natural plant life. Some of them recalled playing with his cat and how he kept the flower crowns they made for the cat and put a different one on the kitty whenever he left the castle. How excited they were whenever they saw that the kitty was wearing a flower crown they made. He learned about who Blackhole really was around his people, and it made him feel even worse about how he treated lunar.

[subwaysurf45]

The Time of the Prey (2)

Summary: The younger sister of the most talked about princess in the kingdoms really can’t do much except smile and nod. When Natasha, your sister, finally goes to moves all of you to Shieldshire to marry her beloved Prince Steve you are left with your art, all alone. But one Knight took it upon himself to keep you company, and that company was all you needed to get through wedding season. Will that company last or will it be ripped away from the both of you? A war is starting and it seems targets are being made.    

Pairing: Knight!Bucky x Princess!Reader

Words: 3.6k

Warnings: stalking, protective Bucky, mentions of poison, allusions to SA and kidnapping, fluffy yet angsty

Series Masterlist      II      Series Playlist

It had been a few days since your arrival and you had yet to see the outside of the castle, there had been so many wedding preparations with Natasha she asked you to come to all of them. As you sat with her to pick out flowers for her bouquet or sit on a very comfortable poof as she tried on her wedding dress. 

Your mother was there as well when Natasha was trying on her dress, their top seamstress tightening her corset. You had worn one before but not enough to know how to breathe, your mother wore one every day. Your mother was brought to tears when she saw the tiara placed on Natasha’s head, you had never seen her cry before but your mother had the biggest smile on her face. 

“Leave us,” she said and the seamstress finished the last measurement and left the room, “Y/N, that means you too.” 

You had never been included in the wave of the hand dismissal before. 

Royalty had a way of bossing around people below them, you’ve never heard your mother use please or thank you to any handmaid, servant, or seamstress in your life. Normally, if your mother asked you to leave- which is more than most people think -she’d say your name and add a please for good measure. 

You almost let your shocked expression show when you got up to leave, placing a hand on your stomach and felt a stiff board that was there. You were wearing another gift gown you received when you showed up, Shieldshire’s dresses had a lot more boning than South Lands’ dresses. 

“I will be going to the market today, mother,” you said at the doorway, “I hope you and Natasha have a nice day,” you knew your mother could see through your smile, she knew you could easily fake courtesy but when you made it easy to tell you were upset was worse than faking it. 

“Sister?” Natasha quickly called, “will you wear a corset with me a few days before my wedding, maybe a week before to get used to it?” she was wearing one now, feeling the pain as she breathed. Natasha always had a hard time picking up on the fake curtsies, always thinking people were being extremely proper to her no matter what.  

“You’ll never go through it alone, sister,” you smiled, “may I suggest wearing Shieldshire’s gowns, they’re tighter than ours.” Natasha smiled and nodded, her chest almost spilling out of the front of her dress. It was her wedding soon, you would be evil to be mean to her in this moment. 

“Thank you,” she whispered before you closed the door. 

“Princess Y/N,” a guard had approached, “do you need an escort, where are you heading?” he smiled. 

“I’m going to the market, I would like to find some fabrics and dresses,” you smiled and walked past him, knowing you didn’t need an escort when going to the market near castle walls. 

“Then you will need an escort,” the knight walked beside you and turned in front of you, “I will accompany you.” 

“I don’t need one,” you laughed, “I’m very capable on my own, thank you.” 

“I do not doubt that, Princess,” he laughed, “but it is castle rules, you are leaving so you’ll need an escort.” 

“But I was told I do not need one, that if I was just going to the market near the castle I would always be in a knight's eyesight.” your voice went up as you talked, seeing the confusion on the knight’s face. 

“May I ask who told you that, Princess?” his voice shook. 

“I-I don’t know, he came into my room and told me my art would be coming and told me what I told you…was he lying?” you stepped forward with a furrowed brow, “what is the matter?” 

“You go back to your chambers,” he said quickly, “someone will be there soon.” 

“What is going on?” you asked as he walked you back, “you must tell me!” you shouted as he pushed you into your room and closed the door, the sound of it locking caused you to stomp your foot, something you could get slapped for. 

You sat on the edge of your bed with your arms crossed, a pout on your face. You just wanted new dresses and to survey the land for painting spots, the last thing you wanted was to be locked in your room, not understanding anything. Your mind wandered and you wondered if you’d get in trouble for this, your mother seemed to have enough of you already, and you didn’t want to see how mad she’d get if she found you had caused a scene. Natasha had enough stress on her already. Though she was older than you, both of you knew she relied on you for comfort. Her wedding means so much to her that you wanted it to go as smoothly as possible. 

There was a knock at the door, “Princess Y/N?” the voice was muffled, “it is Ser James, may I open the door?” 

“It is locked,” you said as you stood. 

When you reached the door it was already open, James stood in the doorway, “and I have a key.” 

“Lucky you,” you rolled your eyes and turned around going back to your bed, “you may come in.” 

James entered but left the door slightly open, “I’m here to escort you to the market, I heard you would like to shop.” 

You looked over at him, “why?” he seemed very confused like the last knight, “I was told you don’t need an escort if you’re near castle walls, am I missing something?” 

He let out a deep sigh, “I’m afraid you are,” his hands joined together, “the man that was in your room was not a man of Shieldshire or South Lands,” he slowly looked up to you, “he was a spy, from Hydra’s Hill, he was caught yesterday when he was sending a pigeon back to his home,” Natasha and Steve communicated through messenger pigeons, it was common and the main form of communication amongst royals. 

You could feel your blood running cold, “he was able to enter my room…h-he must have had a key…how could he have-”

James quickly sat next to you on your bed, “do not worry, Princess,” he calmed, “he had been taken care of. But you, Princess Natasha, and Lady Melina are being watched closely, we do not know who is a spy.” he smiled when you began to calm down, “I will be your personal escort wherever you’d like, I’m going to keep you safe because that is my job.” only now did you notice a slightly heavier tunic and chain mail covering his chest, he was also wearing padded pants. 

“Ser James,” you stood up and brushed down the front of your dress, “you should be watching Natasha rather than me, she is a more prized possession than me,” you scoffed and walked over to your vanity. 

“Princess Y/N,” James spoke slowly, “it is not the oldest and the one that is to be married who is more likely to be taken, it is also not a mother who had already been wed,” you felt him stand and step closer, “it is the youngest, that would be you.” 

You slowly turned around and saw the worry in his eyes, “but wouldn’t they want the prized jewel?” 

He shrugged, “sometimes it’s easier to steal the royal staff,” one hand grasped yours, “because it is not guarded as strongly as the jewel.” he slowly dropped your hand after you nodded, “let’s not ruin the day entirely, if you want dresses we’ll do get dresses, Princess.” 

You nodded and began to walk, he followed behind you, “can you walk by my side, rather than behind me, Ser James?” you asked over your shoulder. 

“Of course, Princess.” he walked beside you. 

He walked beside you as you left the main doors, out into the sun. you stopped abruptly and so did James, your eyes slowly closed as you took in the smell of afternoon air. When you opened your eyes you saw people walking around, living their normal lives. James touched your elbow and guided you to keep moving, you walked beside him. 

“So,” you started but never finished your sentence. 

“So,” he with a smirk as he looked over at you, “what is it you want to ask?” 

“When these younger princesses get stolen,” his smile fell, “do they normally get saved?” Your hands played with one another, silently becoming more anxious about the situation that has unfolded in front of you. “or do they...?” 

“Please do not worry yourself with that, we’ll keep you safe here,” James shook his head, stopping in front of a vendor who sold fabrics. 

“I’m just curious,” you said innocently, picking up some of the fabric and feeling it between your fingers. 

“P-Princess Y/N,” the vendor seemed to be in shock, “what a lovely surprise,” he had a permanent smile on his face, “please, feel free to look at whatever you like, if you have your sizes we can make the dress and send it to you inside the castle.” 

“That would be lovely,” you nodded, the vendor seemed pleased. 

He stood back and allowed you to feel and look at all the fabrics. They were rich and soft, as you felt a sheet of purple silk between your fingers your eyes seemed to close, it was as if it wasn’t there; that’s how smooth it was.  The vending table was made of a slab of wood with a tent above it, there were alternating white and red flags hanging off of the edges, there was a white tablecloth underneath the fabrics to make them pop, a black fabric under the white silks and furs to make sure everyone saw them. 

There were fruit stands and jewelry stands with different colour flags hanging off the side of their tents, it seemed these stands stayed put but the vendors changed. People were walking around with baskets on their arms. There were families walking as well, kids running between a mother's and father’s legs as they played with a new toy. 

You looked back at the fabric and picked up the purple sheet, “this would make a great wedding gift for my sister, I’ll have someone send her sizes,” you smiled up at the vendor. 

“Anything for you, my Princess?” he asked, “see, this colour would look great against your skin, let me tell you,” he held up a dusty orange fabric, you touched it and it felt heavier than most he had laid out, “see,” his arms reached out to place the fabric against your chest. 

“Watch it,” James reached in and grabbed his wrist.

“Ser James,” you chastised, removing his hand, “I’m sorry, mister,” you looked back at the vendor who was shaking, James was much larger than the man. “Continue.” It was known not to get on a Knight’s bad side, they were heavily trained and could kill in a silent but torturous way.

“I-I…” the man stumbled, “the colour would really compliment your skin, as seen here…” he reached out slowly and looked at James as he did, gently placing it upon your exposed chest and collar bone so you could see in the small mirror behind him. 

“That does look wonderful,” you gasped, your hands feeling the fabric though it rested against your skin already, “it’s heavy, what is it?” 

“A binding of silk and wool,” he smiled, “I made so many prototypes to get a ratio right, I’m very proud if you can’t tell.” it seemed he had forgotten about James grabbing his hand and was back to just having a conversation with you. 

“I can’t sew to save my life,” you giggled, “I’ll have someone send mine and my sister's measurements to you right away-how much for all of this?” 

“My Princess,” he shook his head with a blush, “not a penny, our town is so excited the Prince is getting married to Princess Natasha, this dress is a gift to you.” he couldn’t contain his smile, taking one hand and squeezing it between both of his, “thank you,” he said passionately. 

“That’s enough,” James grumbled and detangled the hands, “let's move on.” 

You didn’t pick up anything else, you didn't have a basket to hold anything in. James walked with you around the market and stopped whenever you did, looking around and surveying his surroundings. You tried to engage in conversation with him but his mind was elsewhere, he didn’t care that you liked the tree hanging down or the pretty flowers on display. You ended up getting a bouquet as a gift from the vendor, you held them in front of you chest as you walked, occasionally smelling them. 

“They are wonderful,” you looked up at Ser James who was looking everywhere but you, “your kingdom has such wonderful greenery, don’t you think?” you gasped as you looked around, which ever way you looked you were greeted with some form of plant. 

“Yes,” was all he said. Nothing enthusiastic, it looked like talking about flowers was pitiful to him; you swore you saw him roll his eyes. 

When you were making your way back a man approached you and James stood in front, one hand out to make sure he could feel you behind his back. 

“I would like to offer some wine,” he said as he held a small glass, “we would love to supply the wedding if the Princess will have us.” 

“That is not up to me,” you said as you stepped around James, “but if it is good I'll be sure to tell my mother.” you reached out to grab a cup but James got in your way, taking to cup and offering it to the man selling it to you. 

“You first,” James snarled. 

“I’m afraid do not understand, this is a gift for Princess-”

“I know what you intend,” James pushed the cup towards him again, “but you drink first.” 

“Do you think I want to poison the Princess?” he gasped, “I would never,” he swiftly took the cup and took a sip, even flashing his tongue after swallowing, “how poorly do you think of the common folk, Knight?” 

“Alright,” you stepped in, “no need to fight, some of us are more paranoid than others I’m afraid,” you laughed it off, “I’d love some.” you took a sip and felt the liquid fill your mouth, it was very fruity and seemed to dance on your tongue, “it’s the bubbly kind!” you smiled, “I had it once when I was a child, with my sister, it was so splendid,” you cheered, “my mother never let us have it, it was a treat.” you took another sip and looked to James, “would you like some, Ser?” 

“No,” he said flatly, “I can’t.” 

“Right,” you shook your head, Knights can’t drink. You placed the cup in the man’s hands, “thank you so much, I’ll be sure to tell my sister.” 

“Thank you, Princess,” it looked like his day was complete. 

James had taken you back to the castle, you were now secluded from the population and on royal grounds. There were Duchess and Dukes walking past you, smiling and waving. James seemed to relax as you walked past other guards, he was walking beside you again and engaging in minimal conversation. 

“No, they don’t,” he said out of nowhere, you had not prompted them at all. 

“Pardon?” you stopped and turned to face him.  

“Your question from before,” he said slowly, “you asked if the youngest Princess gets saved,” he paused, “they don’t.”

“Oh…” you looked to the ground and the loose gravel under your feet. There was this weird feeling swirling around in your stomach, as much as you hated how stern and straight to the point he was, you couldn’t get over the little curls that framed his face. He was talking about you getting kidnapped and all you could think about was those freckles scattered on his cheeks, you felt like you sister. “What-what happens?”  

“If they’re taken for ransom, the price to pay is typically too high and the castle gives up the life for the greater good. If they are taken for a some type of warning then…well, there is a war,” he sighed, “as of right now with things brewing between all castles it seems someone would be taken for a warning, something dangle in front of another kingdom like a ragdoll.” 

“Ragdoll?” your voice gave out as you asked. 

“I do not mean to scare you,” he looked both ways before talking, “but you must understand what men will do to a Princess if she is taken.” 

“I understand,” you nodded, “I’ve never been called that before.” 

James’ face fell, “I do not call you a ragdoll, simply drawing from previous wars and explaining it that way, I do not think you will be captured, we’ve realized there is a snake early on and we’re are doing everything we can to protect you and your family.” 

“Thank you,” you whispered. 

“Let’s change the subject,” he smiled, “it too good a day to be talking about ragdolls,” James offered his arm to you, “I hear you like to paint?” 

“I do,” you smiled. 

“I have just the thing.” 

********

The gentle spring day set the scene for the small pond presented in front of you. 

The water was close to clear and as you stepped forward you could see a rippled reflection of yourself, there were lily pads and flowers floating on the surface of the pond, a few fish creating circulation. There was a shimmer running along the gently flowing water, it would sometimes reflect straight into your eyes but you wouldn’t mind, just slightly adjusting the angle you were looking at yourself from. 

A calm breeze moved the trees above, shaking out a few leaves which were caught by the thick and healthy grass and water. You stood with your eyes closed and breathed in the rich air, feeling how clean it was and the way it opened your lungs just a little wider. 

It felt as though you were already staring at a painting, the spring sun lit up the grass and trees perfectly. There was no flaw in this little patch of space and you felt a certain ownership of it. This was not your land or your kingdom but you knew you could paint this very well; that painting would belong to you. 

The pond and trees were in a valley, there was a hill which is where James stood, giving you time to look by yourself. 

“It’s beautiful!” you called up to him, making your way up the hill. Your shoes had come off and you picked up your dress which caused you to show your calf, “it’s only my leg, Ser James,” you laughed as you saw him look everywhere but you. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered as you made your way up to him, slightly out of breath. When you stood beside him you let your dress cover your ankles again, he slowly looked at you to make sure nothing was on display. “Do you like it, Princess?” 

“I love it,” you looked back to the pond again, “I’ll have to go and get my supplies and begin painting right away, I haven’t been this inspired since my last project which was so long ago.” 

He could have cut you off in the middle of your sentence but he chose not to, “you won’t need to grab your supplies, your handmaid is on her way.” you found it charming that he let you talk, no one really did that before. 

“Thank you, Ser James.” you bowed. 

“If we are to be friends I hope you can call me by my name,” he leaned in with a smirk, “call me James, just James, and maybe one day you’ll call me Bucky.” 

“Who’s Bucky?” you laughed, covering your mouth as you giggled. 

“Still me,” he laughed as well, “just a different name for the same person.” 

Your fingers toyed together in front of you, something no lady should ever do. “I have a small request as well…”

“I am at your service, Princess.” James smiled and slightly bowed his head, thinking you were going to send him off or you were going to request the most abstract thing in the world. 

“I am not a Princess,” you spoke slowly and saw the way his brow creased, “I’m just a Lady, I’m Lady Y/N and I would prefer you’d call me that instead of Princess.” 

“Pardon my confusion,” he shook his head, “but how are you not a Princess?” 

“Because I am not set to marry,” your eyes flickered to his and expected him to laugh or begin to question who you really were. Women who were high-born are promised to marry someone before they are even born, Natasha was promised to marry Steve before she entered womanhood. 

“Pardon my confusion again,” he rubbed his forehead as his head continued to shake slightly, “but how on Earth are you not set to marry?” 

“Because I-...” your eyes moved over James’ shoulder to see Bellona, your handmaid walking up with your art supplies wrapped up in her arms, “I should help her,” you stepped past him but he caught your arm, his hands grasping around your forearm which was covered by silk, you could hear Bellone stop and gasp at the sight of a Knight gently holding your elbow. 

“We will finish this conversation, yes?” he was not mad, more concerned. His blue eyes flickered between yours to try and search for an answer, when he found nothing he slowly let your arm go, “pardon me for such aggression,” he whispered and wiped down the front of his tunic and chainmail though it was not creased. 

“You’re forgiven…” you paused, “James.” 

When you walked up to Bellona she was worried, having just seen a Knight grab your elbow, “do you need me to find-”

“I’m fine,” you smiled, “he’s a friend, don't worry,” you gathered the supplies and thanked her before turning back and setting up your easel so you could begin to paint. 

“It had been a great afternoon…” James smiled when you looked at him with a nod, “if you need anything, let me know, alright?” 

“Thank you,” you whispered. 

“It is my duty, Lady Y/N.” 

EPISODE 3

Taglist: tag list: @maybeimart​ @imtherain @jackiehollanderr @redneckstrash @tylard-blog1 @readingbooksdrinkingtea @linzc-reader @honeybunchesofbucky @sky0405 @striving4averagegirl @seybox @yaszx @happyt0exist @honeybunchesofbucky @munsonette @searchf0rtheskyline @aya-fay @emi11ie @prettywhenicry4 @theluvcafe​ @whatsmylaneagain​​

(21/30)

if you would like to be added to the taglist please send an ask, I won’t reply but know I’ve seen it!

[bitsandbobsofwriting]

A new servant desperately struggles to understand what exactly Merlin is:

A cryptid? Arthur's boyfriend? Simply a dude? The court jester? Something else entirely? Who knows, certainly not the new guy.

The first time the new kitchen-hand, Tristan, saw The King’s dark-haired servant sprinting down the corridor, he couldn’t tell if the man was laughing or crying.

He was fast, faster than Tristan thought possible for someone whose arms were so full of laundry, but he politely steps out of the way, coming to the conclusion that he must’ve been late for something. At least... he did think that, until he turns the next corner to see three of The king’s most trusted knights peering out of windows and into random doors. Tristan freezes in the corridor, he’d heard that servants were treated extremely well here, but he’d only been employed for a few days and he didn’t want to risk anything by pushing past or addressing his betters.

One of the knights, Sir Leon, his brain helpfully supplies, spots him stood there, and his annoyed frown quickly morphs into a friendly smile:

“Pardon me, sorry, I don’t suppose you’ve seen Merlin around anywhere, have you?”

Tristan’s eyes go wide and the grip he has on his tray tightens, but he forces himself to take a breath and answer, trying his best to keep his voice even:

“Merlin is... The King’s manservant? Tall, with dark hair?”

Another knight pushes forward, he looks to be the oldest, with dark hair falling in an almost deliberately tousled way around his bearded jawline. His charming grin seems just a little too wide to be genuine, but Tristan isn’t quite sure if that’s because he’s about to take pleasure in punishing someone, or if he’s just being polite to a stranger:

“Yeah, yeah that’s him, seen him? Arsehole turned our shirts pink in the wash, and something tells me it was deliberate.”

Tristan gulps at the accusation and he takes a shaky step back, but before he can even think of defending the stranger that he now thinks must’ve been crying, the last of the three knights, a giant, if Tristan believed in such things, steps forward:

“Don’t worry, we won’t beat him too much.” 

He says it with a grin and a quirk of his eyebrows, but once again the kitchen-hand can’t tell if it was cruel or genuine, if he was being sarcastic or not.

“Uh... yeah, he turned left at the end of this corridor, but I didn’t see where he went after that, I apologise.”

Sir Leon waves away his apology with a smile, looking to the long-haired knight with a raised eyebrow:

“The stables?”

The man grins widely, nodding his agreement as he turns his grin to the giant. Sir Leon offers Tristan another soft smile, murmuring his thanks before moving past him, elbowing the other two to prompt them in to thanking him as well. The three of them march down the corridor with almost vindictive smiles on their faces, and Tristan prepares himself to see a vacancy note, or possibly a funeral invite, posted on the notice board by the next morning.

When he passes a window that evening to see the King’s manservant being carried on the giant’s shoulders as five other knights pelt them with gloves, a grin on every face, he decides that... well... it’s probably best to just not to ask.

~

The next time he sees Merlin, a few days later, The King is also there.

This is the first time Tristan has been in Arthur Pendragon’s presence, and though the other servant’s all rave on about how awkwardly kind he is, he’s a bundle of nerves. Not even Cook’s stories about how often she whacks The King’s knuckles with a wooden spoon when she catches him about to pilfer something stops Tristan’s heart from racing. 

The King was overseeing a few of the servants decorate the main hall for a feast, and whilst Tristan is certain that that’s not something The King normally does, he doesn’t question it, just thinks that maybe the other servants had been telling the truth, and he was a genuinely nice, but normal man. 

Merlin stands at his side, and though Tristan can’t hear their conversation, the two of them are clearly bickering over something. The servant can’t help his curiosity, wanting desperately to move closer to find out what sort of things The King allows his servant to bicker with him about; luckily, the table right next to them has yet to be laid, so he moves towards it quickly. He doesn’t even glance at them, terrified of being caught out, but perhaps Merlin surviving the knights non-wrath the other day is encouraging him, and his steps don’t falter. Their words come in to focus, and he has to stop the confused, and slightly horrified, frown from spreading across his face:

“Arthur, I swear to the Gods, if you make me wear that hat again, I’ll piss in your wine and serve it to you in front of a crowd.”

The King scoffs just as Tristan shakily begins laying down the cutlery:

“That’s treason, Merlin.”

“Do I look like I care? Not only will I piss in your wine, I will not hesitate to push you over a balcony at the first opportunity. This hall is high up and it’s a long way down to the gardens. He drank toxic wine and turned loopy and tipped himself off a balcony and went splat! That’s what people will say. I’m not wearing the Godamn hat.”

Tristan has to focus extra carefully to stop himself from gasping; Merlin just threatened to kill The King... that’s got to be a death sentence. Pissing off some knights that he’s obviously friendly with is one thing, but threatening to kill The-

“Ha ha. Very funny. If you can’t tell, Merlin, I’m being sarcastic, I know you struggle with complex concepts like that.”

Merlin just rolls his eyes, crossing his arms as he says with no hesitation:

“My mind is more than capable of coping, My Lord, it’s your belt I worry about being able to cope nowadays.”

Tristan bites his tongue to stop himself from yelping and turns away so neither of them can see his horrified face. The King just makes an outraged noise in the back of his throat, and Tristan can hear Merlin snort in laughter at whatever expression Arthur was wearing to match such a noise:

“Go to the stocks. I want you there for three hours.”

Tristan lets out a confused breath; Merlin threatens to kill The King, and gets playful sarcasm, but he implies The King might be a tad overweight, and gets sent to the stocks for three hours? How is that-

“Yeah... no. Not happening. The feast starts in less than two hours and I still have to help Guinevere organise some stuff in the courtyard, do Gaius’ rounds for him, then put an extra hole in your belt and help you get dressed because, despite being a grown man, you’re still an idiot who’s incapable of putting clothes on in any sort of decent manner.”

Tristan finds himself relaxing a little. This seems to be the norm for them, but surely... surely The King had a line somewhere, and a servant just flat out refusing to be disciplined must be where it lies?

Arthur just scoffs, and Tristan angles his head in such a way that he can see him roll his eyes:

“Fuck off.”

Merlin grins, seeming to cast a suspicious gaze over the room to make sure no one was watching and somehow completely missing Tristan stood just there, before saying quietly:

“You love me really, you prat.”

With that, Merlin reaches up to yank at a lock of The King’s hair before hurrying off in the direction of the courtyard before Arthur can react. The King jumps slightly, clearly caught by surprise as an annoyed flush rises on his face, but Tristan just frowns in confusion when his shock gives way to a softly amused smile.

Huh.

~

The next few times Tristan saw Merlin made him fear for the servant’s safety. He was being taken on hunts by The King and his knights, that’s meant to be for squires, to learn the ropes and gain experience in tracking and riding. 

He supposes it isn’t entirely unheard of for a servant to follow their master on a hunt, but with the way Merlin complains without pause, and The King in turn complains about his complaining, he thinks it would better for everyone if Merlin just... didn’t go. When he brings it up to another servant, a lovely woman named Guinevere who had helped him get unlost at least three times in his first week, she just laughs and smiles at him pityingly:

“I wouldn’t worry, those two have been like that forever, they’re practically inseparable.”

Tristan responds with a rather intelligent sounding:

“...What?”

Gwen laughs softly again, shaking her head and patting his shoulder consolingly:

“You’ll get used to it, they’re just... like that.”

She gives him one more smile before turning to wave the boys out of the gates and walking back to the castle as if this were the most normal thing in the world. Tristan supposes that it probably is.

The next time Tristan sees Merlin leave the city gates with the knights, Sir Elyan, Sir Mordred, and Sir Lancelot this time, it’s distinctly worse. Because he’d caught sight of the patrol rota last time he ran food down to the training ground, and he was certain that those three had a city patrol right about now.

Before he even has time to gape in shock, he hears Merlin’s pleading voice as he trails Sir Elyan like a lost puppy:

“Please, El, I promise to stay out of the way, I will do anything, but I swear to the Gods if I have to spend one more minute around that prat, I’ll hurl myself from the battlements.”

Swearing to the Gods and threating to hurl various people, including himself, from significant heights seems to be some sort of theme for The King’s manservant. Before Tristan can consider the implications of that, Sir Elyan turns to Merlin with a wide, teasing grin on his face:

“You know, I would’ve let you tag along for free, Merlin, but now that you’ve promised me something I feel the need to take advantage.”

Tristan tenses at that, a shot of ice spiking down his spine. He has keen eyes and sharp ears, he knows that Sir Elyan is the lovely Gwen’s brother, Sir Mordred seems to have an... odd worship for the servant, and he’s definitely picked up on the close bond between Merlin and Sir Lancelot, but is this where Camelot’s image comes crashing down in Tristan’s head? He knew that it was better here for servant’s than other Kingdoms, but there are always people who’ll take advantage of their position, no matter where you are. Merlin’s shoulders just drop and he asks in a sulking voice:

“What do you want?”

Tristan grits his teeth, moving his gaze so no one would catch him glaring at the knight as he tries to figure out a way to help, a way to get this virtual stranger out of being... abused, in such a manner. If he’d carried on glaring, he would’ve noticed Elyan’s soft smile and amused raised eyebrow:

“Next time you gather herbs for Gaius, bring back some more of those flowers that you got for Gwen. She said they added vibrancy to the house, whatever that means, but they make her happy, so...-”

Merlin just giggles and nods and Tristan relaxes, looking back to them with a confused smile on his face. That was... actually kind of sweet, he can definitely see the resemblance between the knight and his sister:

“-AND I want whatever Arthur’s having for dinner tonight, his food always looks way nicer than ours.”

Merlin lets out a faux annoyed groan, but then rolls his eyes and grins, nodding:

“Consider it done. Can we go now? I really don’t want to risk him seeing me and giving me some stupid chore to do.”

Elyan laughs and nods, and the four of them begin making their way out of the courtyard and into the city. Sir Lancelot finally joins the conversation, clearly amused as he says:

“You know it’s literally your job to do chores, right?”

Merlin turns to glare at him as Sir Mordred and Sir Elyan laugh, and Tristan only just hears his reply as the castle gates shut behind them:

“Fuck off.”

Tristan decides it would be pointless to bring this up to anyone again, he figures he’ll probably just get the same answer as last time.

~

The next confusing incident happens only a few days later. But Tristan supposes that at this point... it really shouldn’t be confusing. Gwen was right, he did just... get used to it.

He heard the steps pounding down the corridor before he saw him, but they were coming fast and hard, so he presses himself against the wall, holding the tray to his side to protect it as best he could as Merlin comes skidding round the corner. 

He stops just long enough for Tristan to calm himself by spying the wide grin on his face, but he’s quickly sprinting down the hall again, laughing as he waves whatever it is he’s got clutched in his hands. The second set of loud, rapid footsteps stops Tristan from stepping away from the wall quite yet. Just a moment later, Sir Gwaine follows Merlin’s skidded path around the corner, though the heavier man overshoots slightly and he runs into the wall opposite Tristan with a crash and a deep groan.

The rebellious knight gives a wide-eyed Tristan an awkward nod before pushing himself off the wall and following Merlin’s blazing trail, screaming down the corridor:

“I warned you Merlin!! Don’t come between a man and his ale, now give that back you bastard!”

Tristan hears Merlin’s laughter grow louder, even from the two corridors away that the other servant had managed to race to.

He shrugs to himself, waiting for a moment to see if anyone else was going to come barrelling around the corner before sighing, and continuing his journey up to the visiting Lord’s chambers.

It was unusual, he thought, how quickly he’d come to terms with the fact that a servant was sassing The King and pranking the knights and inviting himself on various hunts and patrols that he really had no business on. Unusual indeed.

~

He’d learnt to ignore it. Or at least brush it off.

In the two weeks since Merlin had (presumably) stolen Sir Gwaine’s skin of ale, he’d seen the servant call The King a long list of imaginative insults (what the hell is a dollop head?), walk around with Sir Leon’s cloak on because he was a little chilly, accuse someone of treason (and somehow been right about it), and threaten to kill at least seven people; including, but not limited to: The King himself, The King’s already dead father, some stuck up Noble (though that was under his breath, Tristan just happened to be stood next to him), and Sir Percival.

And Gwen was... absolutely right. He's just... like that. He's Merlin, and that’s what Merlin does.

So when he turns a corner in a rarely used to corridor to see him pressing The King against a wall, snogging the life out of him, Tristan simply turns around and walks back the other way. Both of them look fairly happy with the arrangement, and they’d probably chosen this corridor for the exact same reason Tristan had: it was out of everyone’s way, and was unlikely to be inhabited.

He thinks it’s odd, how... un-odd he finds it. He absent-mindedly thinks that, with the way they acted around each other, he really should’ve seen this coming. A sudden thought occurs to him, and he ducks into a storage cupboard, laying his tray down carefully as he rummages through the boxes. He lets out a quiet “Yay” when he finds what he’s looking for, carefully picking up his tray with only one hand and nudging the door open again with his hip. 

He walks back towards the corner he had just turned (and turned again) making a conscious effort to keep his steps quiet; he places the danger sign, usually used where walls had collapsed or windows had been smashed, in the middle of the corridor, a clear indication of “Do Not Enter”.

He nods smugly at his quick thinking and easy handy work before mentally planning the quickest route to the kitchens and following it hurriedly.

He casually wonders if he has time to circle around to the other end of the corridor so he could put another sign down before Cook gets angry at him for being late. Probably not. At least, not before they... finish up and move on. Hmm. He suddenly panics about the thought of them seeing the sign and knowing that someone had spotted them but... well. Hopefully they would just appreciate it and move on.

Yet again, he decides not to bring this up to anyone. He may or may not have overheard a few of the knights making some sort of bet, and he may or may not want to watch on with amusement as they fail to realise that all of them have already lost.

Tristan smiles to himself; working here had turned out to be rather entertaining, in the end.

~

THE END

I know it’s short, but I really didn’t know what else to add without it sounding like I was just repeating myself over and over😅

I hope y’all enjoyed it!!

[angelsandarsenic]

Colors Angst with the DreamSMP >:)

------------

Imagine Tommy waking up after a nightmare and Phil is immediately there to comfort him but they turn the lights on and all Tommy sees is green.

Green like Dream and suddenly he's right back in the nightmare again and doesn't realize its his father by his side.

Phil wears black for a long time after that. It looks like he's in mourning, which is fitting, he supposes; after all, he lost his son.

——————

I want Tommy to to be delirious and on the verge of blacking out and while trying to keep his eyes open he sees pink. He thinks Techno is here to protect him and begins to let himself go to sleep, even calls out for his brother-

-but its not Techno. Techno isn't here because Tommy betrayed him. He doesn't even know his brother's in danger.

-----------

Quackity's world when Charlie dies is in four colors.

Blacks and greys and a bit of brown that really don’t matter.

Angry orange tinged with red that's everywhere. It's far too bright and far too hot and scalds his skin worse than he's ever felt. But he's not leaving--he won't leave without Charlie.

Green, except it's quickly--too quickly-- melting into sickly yellow and Quackity's throat is raw already from screaming to someone who can no longer hear him.

And Purple.

That's how his world stays. Blacks and greys and browns that don't matter. Orange and yellow and red that fuel his wrath and yet make him feel constantly exhausted and overwhelmed. Green...doesn't exist to him anymore. If it did he would cry, and he's not allowed to cry. Maybe in front of Charlie, but he’s…

And Purple, that disappeared, but he would find it, and he would make sure he never saw it again.

-----------

Nowadays, Tubbo can’t stand colors.

Everything is either too bright, too much at once and too loud, or just black and white.

His life was full of color once, until those colors were the last thing he saw and excruciating pain was all he could feel.

After that, there wasn't much until he found his liking for a stark black and white contrast. It was gentle and kind to his eyes and his scars and he decided he would love it forever. Until death did they part.

There's only one color he can stand now. Only the soft piglet pink that he had almost lost, but he swears nothing bad will happen to it again. It's all he has left.

------------

Wilbur and Eret were both blessed with a plethora of color in their life. Gentle, vibrant, earthy and light--they had it all; from rainbow castles to maple fox cubs, red, yellow, pink, green and everything in between. Even a bright, new flag, bold and vibrant in the sunrise of a new day.

It was just never enough.

[stxleslyds]

Also, the writers' failure to understand, every crime Jason committed had a motive. Attack other criminals? Holy warrior destined to purify the world of evil. Attack Bruce? Joker's still alive. (Oh, Jason, it's much worse than that.) Attack Tim? A parody of what he once was. He wasn't just a "bad boy". He was dangerously insane.

Hi, Anon! Yup, there seems to be a lot of things that writers have gotten confused about Jason Todd/Red Hood and the biggest one is his motivations to kill certain criminals.

Let’s be honest, Judd Winick set a golden path for the upcoming Red Hood writers. But each and every writer that used Red Hood in their stories completely missed the point of Jason’s character. All of them. It’s so incredibly wild to me that every other writer read UtRH and came up with whichever version of Jason they came up with.

Let’s list the writers that completely missed the point.

Geoff Johns in Teen Titans vol.3 #29.

Geoff Johns was one of the first to completely mischaracterize Jason, why on earth would Jason go to the Titans Tower to beat up Tim? This is not me saying that Jason would never do that because Jason thinks of Tim as his brother or a friend or the person that he can trust the most from the Bat-Clan (can you believe Lobdell tried to sell us that one?), this is me saying that Jason wouldn’t have done that because he couldn’t have given less of a fuck about Tim’s existence.

When Jason found out that Bruce had another Robin he wasn’t bothered by his “replacement” he was mad at Bruce for having another child playing hero after he lost his life as a fifteen-year-old. Jason didn’t even think of Tim as his replacement as fandom likes to make us believe, Jason called Tim “pretender”. And that was that, but to go from minimal recognition to go out of his way to beat him up at Titans Tower is a massive mischaracterization.

Paul Dini in Countdown (to Final Crisis).

Paul Dini in Countdown did absolutely nothing with Jason, I am sorry but that’s all he did. Him writing Jason was like watching a dog trying to catch their own tail. He started with a pretty basic take on UtRH Jason, then he added a bit of Jason being an annoying man with Donna, then we had the jealousy arc because apparently, Jason had the hots for Donna but she didn’t want anything to do with him and he was all angsty when she paid attention to Kyle instead of him, and then, later on, he had that whole Red Robin bullshit (I am sorry about this, but I absolutely hated that, it was so dumb, I am so glad it didn’t last long because it was just too bad), and after all that mix of just not interesting stuff he went right back to the Jason that he had at the very start. It was a waste of time, but I guess that he had to be there because he was an anomaly and all that. I just think that was DC’s first try at making Jason Todd/Red Hood something more than just a street-level vigilante and they failed miserably.

Tony S. Daniel in Batman: Battle for the Cowl.

Even though the first two did make mistakes with Jason’s characterizations, this man was the first to just throw UtRH out of the window and make up his very own version of Jason Todd. And his version was horrendous, that Jason had no problem with attempting to kill children and innocent people, he also really wanted to be Batman because Gotham needed a Batman and he wanted to be the person to wear the Cowl and he was looking for a Robin for himself.

I know, the whole concept is the perfect opposite of what Jason Todd and Red Hood were in UtRH. Every aspect of BftC Jason is based on nothing.

Jason wanting to be Batman because Gotham needed Batman is just the beginning of what’s wrong in this book. Jason became the Red Hood (in part) because he believed that Batman and his ways weren’t what Gotham needed so he made a better version of Batman with Red Hood (according to him) because Red Hood did what Batman refused to do. Another thing that is just wrong is Jason wanting, Damian, Tim or Dick to be his Robin, there is just so much wrong with this, first of all, Jason wanted Batman to stop having Robin because child soldiers ran the risk of dying at a very young age and that’s exactly how he saw the whole thing because that was what had happened to him. Second, if Jason was mad at Bruce for getting another Robin why would he now want one of his own to team up with his Batman? Damian was a child, Tim was someone that apparently Jason hated (because Jason beating Tim was mentioned in this event), and then Jason actually asked Dick Grayson, Nightwing, to be his Robin? Listen, there is no way that was Jason, nothing about him makes sense, even taking into account that Jason had beaten Tim already in this event Jason actually tried to kill both Tim and Damian (it might have been just one of them but yeah, it still doesn’t make sense).

I just don’t think that Tony S. Daniel knew who Jason Todd was, maybe he got confused but the thing is, his “villainous” and deranged version of Jason Todd allowed a villainous and deranged version of Red Hood to happen with the next writer that I will be talking about.

Grant Morrison in Batman and Robin vol.1 #3-6.

This was the birth of the villainous, deranged and bloodthirsty Red Hood. There is absolutely no trace of UtRH Jason here, not even if we are looking at the opposite of things like we could do with Daniel’s Jason. Grant Morrison wanted Dick and Damian to have a villain to match their Batman and Robin and they decided to give us a red-haired-pill-headed-red hood. Everything from Morrison’s characterization of Jason is crazy, from the red hair (hello pre-crisis) to the awful Joker’s Red Hood looking suit, everything was just weird.

I still don’t believe that was Jason, to be honest, I would rather think that version of Jason was actually a rouge Skrull that came all the way from the Marvel Universe and lost his way in Gotham City. Maybe when he made the jump between universes, he got too much information and got confused and took the form of the wonkiest Jason Todd he could come up with.

This Jason was absolutely deranged, he knew exactly what he was doing and he didn’t care if innocents died. This Jason was the one that got locked up in Arkham. This is the Jason that Dick put in Arkham for Jason and everybody else’s safety.

Dick putting that Jason in Arkham wasn’t a bad thing or something that anyone can use to shit on Dick Grayson (not on this house). This Arkham was reformed and that Jason knew that if he stayed in that new Arkham he would stay away from trouble, but here is the thing, that Jason loved trouble, so he took all the tests to prove he wasn’t insane and asked to be transferred to Blackgate (where all the Red Hood’s enemies were). That Jason didn’t ask to be sent to Blackgate because the Joker was a cell away from his in Arkham, he did it so he could go on a killing spree in Blackgate (which he did when he got there).

Skrull Jason was just bloodthirsty and nothing like UtRH Jason, he had no motive other than just killing for fun or whatever. He didn’t want to protect Gotham and he couldn’t have cared less about the drug trade in Gotham. In Batman and Robin vol.1. Jason Todd was unrecognizable. And luckily, we never saw him again.

Scott Lobdell in Everything that he ever wrote about Red Hood.

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Lobdell was the king of overpowering Jason, he was the one that drove Red Hood farther and farther away from his street-level vigilante status. He continuously added more to him, he was a big deal because he was meant to take down Ra’s al Ghul, he was a big deal because he was the only human to train in the All-Castle and learned to summon the All-Blades.

This Red Hood’s morals and ideals were kind of gone, there just wasn’t any kind of interest in Jason to get rid of drugs or try to control its trade in Gotham, he just had no interest in street-level threats, everything was extraordinary in both New 52 and Rebirth. If he wasn’t in space he was in some mystical land. His friends and allies became even more and more powerful, his level of power was completely off compared to the others. His personality was ever-changing and quite honestly you could barely see the Jason that he once was.

This Jason also was very inconsistent in the way that he felt towards people (obviously because Lobdell is a shitty writer), he wanted to follow Batman’s rules and was shown as someone that still had fond memories of his life with Bruce before he died but was also willing to let those memories go, to move on? Maybe? I don’t know. But he changed his mind about Bruce and following his rules or not for a very long time. Jason was also a little bitch about Dick, and he was a little bitch because he (Lobdell) never gave the reader or anyone a concrete reason as to why he hated him so much and then in Rebirth he decided that Dick wasn’t that bad. Also, Jason went from “Willis Todd, abusive husband and father that deserved to die” to “Willis Todd abusive husband and father but he sent me letters when he was in prison and Penguin had him killed so now, I really want to avenge him”. Yeah, I don’t really know why that happened and like most of Lobdell’s arcs and stuff it was never really completed or well thought out.

Lobdell’s Jason characterization was a mess for ten years and that’s the prime reason why Jason is a character with no solid background, story or future.

James Tynion IV in Red Hood and the Outlaws.

Tynion’s Jason Todd was a hero, he was like a mini Tom King Batman. Everything he did was right and there was just no way that you could bamboozle him. This Jason was able to hold to Blades that drained his soul as well as hosting the Untitled in his body (that were able to drain his soul too) and on top of all that he completed his journey of the Chosen One by making those ancient martial arts moves that he learned before he was Robin even though Talia hadn’t been able to master it yet.

Scott Snyder, Tim Seeley in Batman Eternal and Batman and Robin Eternal.

A mess, this was pure New 52 levels of bullshit and they all just wanted to push the “Batfamily” and while Dick was gone, they were trying to make Jason fill the void that Dick left in Batman events. It didn’t work at all and all they did was mess around with Jason’s characterization more.

Geoff Johns in Three Jokers.

I have talked enough about Johns’ takes on Jason Todd and Red Hood, but let me tell you something real quick, if a writer thinks that the best they can do with a character is make them give up their morals/ideals for an unrequited love interest, then they can keep that idea for themselves. Geoff Johns wrote a book that was absolutely not needed and then proceeded to butcher every characterization that he could, Three Jokers was three issues long and he managed to add more trauma to Jason’s torture, push the narrative of Jason being at fault for his own murder and make Jason’s motivations to be the Red Hood weak enough to make him want to give up his work for a woman that he barely knows (and doesn’t like him at all).

Joshua Williamson in Future State: Red Hood and Robin #5.

Now, with Williamson I have issues only when he writes Jason, not because his stories are bad, don’t get me wrong, I would have completely enjoyed FS: Red Hood if it weren’t for the completely unnecessary Rose/Jason side plot he had going on. Jason was clearly working undercover for some people that he hated working with. He had to arrest or kill “masks” (vigilantes, just like he “used” to be) for the Magistrate.

His ideas were pretty solid, Jason did the job but he never killed the masks and actively didn’t trust the Magistrate but he was working there to tear them apart from within, and that’s amazing if Williamson had given us Jason Todd/Red Hood working undercover to dismantle an organization I would have been really happy.

But that’s not all he gave us, even if I just forget about his failed attempt at giving Jason a relationship, I can still see that Williamson is the kind of writer that wants (or is just following DC) to make the “Batfamily” happen no matter how dumb and out of place it looks in comics’ canon. So, I am a little bit weary, any writer that leans too much towards making Jason and Bruce work together and become a family makes me want to scream, but I do understand that is just me, many people want those two to be buddy-buddy, I, personally, would love to see Jason kick Bruce in the balls and tell him to lose his number.

Chip Zdarsky in Urban Legends: Cheer.

Ah, yes, I remember the days in which I thought that this could have been something good. Well, I was utterly wrong and I suffered all the way through this mini. I feel like now I can safely say that Zdarsky only wanted to write a Batman book but DC told him, “Hey you can write Batman but it has to be within a Red Hood story, but don’t worry, you don’t have to know much about the Hood guy, just come up with something and write Batman around that”.

I know that’s what happened because I read that story and all we got from it was horrible characterizations for pre-Robin Jason, Robin Jason, Jason Todd and Red Hood. I don’t know how he did it but yes, he managed to mess it all up.

From Jason not really wanting to be Robin and acting recklessly every step of the way, to secret desires of a perfect family with Bruce and so many other people that he couldn’t care about, Urban Legends: Cheer is the perfect book to avoid at all costs if you believe that the concept of “Batfamily” is the biggest lie, DC is trying to profit off this time around.

Zdarsky also nerfed Jason in ways that I thought DC only wanted to nerf Dick Grayson. But I was able to see that I was wrong. Zdarsky’s run also pushed some of the most disastrous narratives that DC really wants readers to believe like: Robin Jason wasn’t good at his job, he was too reckless and ultimately his death was his own fault. Yay! I want to cry!

I will give Zdarsky two points for at the very least showing that Red Hood wants to protect children and that he has a huge issue with how the drug trade is controlled and abused in Gotham City, it had been a while since we had seen that aspect of Jason’s Red Hood make an appearance.

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It’s just too many writers completely missing the point of Red Hood’s character or simply writers agreeing to destroy Jason’s uniqueness in the DC Universe so DC (as the publisher) can further push the abomination that is the “Batfamily” in comics’ canon.

I do agree with you Anon when you say that Jason isn’t just a “bad boy” but I also don’t think that we can call UtRH Jason “dangerously insane”. Personally, I will only use that last description for BftC and Batman and Robin Jason, those two were dangerously insane indeed.

UtRH Jason was very meticulous in who he wanted dead and who got to live. He entered Gotham’s most dangerous world and he had to make a big entrance, he invited the eight most prosperous street dealers to a meeting, showed up with the decapitated heads of each of their right-hand men and an AK-47 and said:

“I am offering you a deal. I will be running the drug trade from now on. You will go about your business as usual. You will kick up forty percent to me. That is a much better deal than the Black Mask will give you. In return, you will have total protection from both the Black Mask and Batman. The catch? You stay away from kids and schoolyards. No dealing to children, got it? If you do, you’re dead.”

This was Red Hood! Red Hood wanted to control the drug trade in Gotham because he knew that Gotham is far too corrupt and filled with drug lords for him to just want to eradicate drugs from Gotham. If he had tried that he would have been a dumbass, but he wasn’t. He didn’t want to start a gang war and get innocent people killed because of it, he wanted to set the rules of his new Empire and he had to start with the street-level drug dealers, from there he grew until he became a major pain in Black Mask’s ass.

We went from Jason wanting to control the drug trade and take over Gotham’s underworld so people like Black mask couldn’t have people work for him (or being dependent on him) when they were still in high school or were in a vulnerable position, to Jason fighting a war for a mystic land because he was their “Chosen One”. DC really wanted to do something grand (yet boring) with Jason instead of sticking to a street-level vigilante that could have become a Drug Lord to control the drug trade of a city that is so filled with crime and corruption that it can’t be saved by anyone.

Batman doesn’t eradicate crime, he “controls” it, puts a blank it over it, lets it nap up until it wakes up once more to make more mess.

Red Hood had other plans, certain criminals didn’t get to nap, or, better said, they would get to nap forever.

So, no. I wouldn’t call that “dangerously insane”, I will call that “vigilante that believes himself judge, jury and executioner” of a city that is drowning in crime and corruption.

Anyway, I hope you have a really nice week Anon and thank you so much for sending me this ask!