#but i don’t know how to draw a dragon and if i did learn the dragon would look like shit + i would lose motivation really quickly

[junos-cacophony]

aren’t they just a bit silly

just the background:

[its-cartooncrazy]

[Image description: a list of all tarot cards in the major arcana, along with their meanings. They have been matched to a vessel from slay the princess, using the drawings from the memories page. Full text ID under the cut.]

Hello I spent like a week being abnormal about this (no I did not know the tarot cards by heart before this, yes I do now) so here is my definitive list of which princess matches which tarot card. If you disagree with me then you're wrong (joking, please feel free to tell me with your reasoning, I'd love to hear it!!)

Full list of my reasonings under the cut (scroll to the big text saying "Reasonings" to skip the ID)

[Full ID: three columns, listing first the tarot number and name, then card meanings, then the princess. They are as follows:

0. The Fool. cycle of life, birth & death, hope, optimism, childish, spontaneous, lateral thinking. The Damsel

1. The Magician. practical, success, witty, at home, central nervous system & lungs & senses, unemotional, over analyses. The Moment of Clarity

2. The High Priestess. heightened perception, unknown, mystery, occult, patience, intuition, strong independent woman, unable to control or dominate. The Wraith

3. The Empress. powerful women, creativity, growth, beauty, birth, fertility, warm, loving, sensual, enjoys life to the full. The Adversary

4. The Emperor. structure & power, competitive, achievement, authority, hierarchy, dominance. The Tower

5. The Hierophant. status quo, appearances, marriage, teaching, interpreting, structure, routine. Happily Ever After

6. The Lovers. love, romance, union, soulmates, resolved inner conflict, choice. The Wild

7. The Chariot. reward, victory hard won, don’t give up, try again, vehicles, overcoming obstacles, self discipline, hard work, focus. The Beast

8. Justice. logical decision, balanced mind, negotiation, truth, honesty, integrity. The Spectre

9. The Hermit. Solitude, thinking, introspection, learning, teaching. The Prisoner

10. The Wheel of Fortune. Fate, coincidence, luck, cycles, confusion. The Stranger

11. Strength. generous, loving, courage, conviction, optimism, resolve, generous, antagonism resolved, animals (loving). The Den

12. The Hanged Man. unable to move, temporary pause, patience, self limiting, trapped, sacrifice, wait for info. The Cage

13. Death. cycle of death & rebirth, transformation, something is ending, confronting smth alarming, major change. The Eye of the Needle

14. Temperance. balanced, adaptable, see both sides, calm, solve disputes, works well in a team, mixing opposites, blending, time. The Princess and the Dragon

15. The Devil. material world, buying love, material security, mental health, powerlessness, violence, obsession, secrecy. The Witch

16. The Tower. disruptive, violent, necessary change, enlightenment, trauma, loss, upheaval, tragedy. The Fury

17. The Star. hope, new life, fresh insight, phys or ment wounds heal, heal & inspire others, help, human rights, nature, equality. The Thorn

18. The Moon. dreams, imagination, subconscious, illusion, vagueness, deception, fear, anxiety. The Nightmare

19. The Sun. happiness & vitality, energy, confidence, children, freedom, fun, self expression. The Razor

20. Judgement. decisions, awakening, rebirth, healing, homesickness, celebrate success, self evaluation, blame. The Grey

21. The World. end of a cycle, accomplishment, journey, belonging, wholeness. The Apotheosis

End ID]

Reasonings

The Fool I put the damsel down for pretty early, just because of the childish optimism, but later I was thinking about the damsel route and why it wouldn't fit the Lovers and I said the damsel is more about how they are rushing into it. And then I remembered the Fool is about rushing in lol. I couldn't really consider anything else after that

The Magician mentions the central nervous system and lungs, so I considered putting the nightmare here for paranoids mantra, but the card didn't really fit her that well and the central nervous system is different to the autonomous nervous system anyway so. The Moment of Clarity gets this spot for her practical breaking of you, and the success it brings her. Not one of my easiest placements but I'm still pretty happy with it

The high Priestess was hard to place because she's about the occult, and powerful women who don't need a man. If only there was a princess who fit that mold... (/s if it wasn't clear) so yeah. Half the princesses were written down here at one point. The Wraith gets this spot because I found other places for all the others I guess and also because "She could not find her strength in others, so she found it in herself."

The empress is again a powerful woman, but a loving and nurturing one, who encourages growth. It was both the growth and the partnership she has that gave her the adversary

The Emperor is about hierarchy and dominance. I knew very early on that the tower would fit best here. "This one is dominance."

The hierophant is about structure, appearances, and also marriage. Happily Ever After is all about being trapped within this structure, with ties specifically to marriage. Literally tell me I'm wrong?

The Lovers. Okay. So there's a few this could be. The Damsel, with the voice of the smitten? Not really as equal a partnership, as I mentioned in the Fool section. They don't really know each other. The Thorn, where you can kiss her? Well that ignores like. The entire rest of the route so no. Happily ever after? Maybe, but I prefer her in hierophant. The adversary, with your equal partnership in kicking each others asses? Easily, but I also put her elsewhere. Ironically, the Lovers was one of the last two cards I placed, and the only princesses left were the wild and the grey, and unfortunately I couldn't agree with the drowned grey going here. The wild has you literally being one, achieving a common goal. It's not my favourite placement but I dont hate it so.

The chariot is about putting in the hard work and seeing it through, and she does make an effort to capture you (swallow you whole) and bring you to the door so she can escape. Also it's about vehicles, and she literally acts as a vehicle for you. That idea was too funny to not do tbh

Justice is one of three cards that mention balance, so I wanted one of the ones where you merge to go here. Much like the scales of justice, it is about considering all sides and picking fairly, so it had to go to the spectre, who gets justice for her murder when you help her out. The spectre was written down for like half the cards on this list though my god

The hermit is about solitude and self introspection. The prisoner, sitting in silence for millenia, felt very fitting. I also wanted the cage to be here, because the image of the hermit is him holding up a lantern, and having the cage holding her head like that would be fun, but she fit better in the hanged man so.

The wheel of fortune was one of my later picks. Fate, and also cycles. Its a little vague, and can fit with quite a few princesses, but I put the stranger here. Is it the vibes? Something about coincidences and not meeting her feels similar, but I cant put my finger on it so if you can explain please do.

Strength, but of the inner sort. The Den didn't really have anywhere better to go, I don't know if instinct matches with any of the cards. I felt confidence in ones self was pretty similar to instinct, plus it has ties to animals.

The hanged man is self restrictions. I would have liked to put the thorn here, honestly, hanging from her vines. Ultimately it was the best choice for the cage, though, and I had another good option for the thorn. Anyway, the cage can be hanging from all those chains and hooks. "This one is a body that convinced herself she was only a set of eyes." Sounds like her limits are self imposed for sure!

Death and the tower have similar meanings in that things are coming to an end, and both of them I felt were good fits for both eye of the needle and the Fury. Ultimately I put eotn here because its more cyclical, and when she was the adversary she wanted to continue fighting over and over again.

Temperance is the second balance card, specifically about blending this time. Opposites merging, solving disputes. Felt very much like the princess and the dragon chapter. "This one is perspectives bleeding into one."

The Devil is a person tricking you, but also material security. I only ever put the witch down for this one, and I only ever put her down for one card lol. The mutual trickery and betrayal in her chapter felt too fitting. "A trick behind your back, and a trick behind mine."

The tower, like I said, is similar to death in that they are both about things ending. But the tower is more dramatic, about the sudden upheaval, so I thought thematically it matched with the Fury better, who is very upset and very taking it out on you. This is one of the cards I knew the meaning of from the beginning, so unfortunately there was never a point in which the tower was matched with the tower :(

The star is hope and healing. One of many that the spectre could have matched with. (I wanted to make her star shaped wound be the star... oh well). The Thorn fits well here, if you both choose to end the cycle of violence and leave together. The star also has ties to nature, which fits with the thorns... thorns... I would have preferred her at the hanged man for her self limiting, being trapped in her own thorns, but this is also a very good choice so I'm not too mad lol

The moon is fear and anxiety. Plus the moon only comes out at night, when everyone is sleeping, when you have nightmares! But mostly it's the vagueness, mystery and anxiety stuff.

The sun being joy meant I knew I wanted the razor here from the beginning. I briefly considered putting her at death (for the cycles, and also the uh, death) but I think the dying part of her route is not actually that important? Anyway the razor is my wife and I'm glad she's enjoying herself. "She is cruelty. But she is also joy." See, shifty gets it!

Judgement is where you look back on everything and judge yourself. It was one of the last two cards to be assigned, and the wild did not fit here at all. Plus the grey sort of punishes you for your actions? It's unavoidable, is my point.

The world is accomplishment, wholeness. She is as close to becoming the goddess she truly is as any vessel ever comes. "This one sits at the cusp of awakening." Shifty says. Also Apotheosis literally means climax so I had to put her at the end of the tarot, you understand.

So yeah that's that. Thanks for reading, if you managed to get through all that. Feel free to debate different interpretations at me, I'd love to hear em!

[sugudoe]

⋆ ˚ ཐིiཋྀ ˚ ⋆ 𝗟𝗘𝗧 𝗠𝗘 𝐈𝐍𝐊 𝗬𝗢𝗨 ── ✎ ₊· 𝗷𝗷𝗸

✶ 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: in desperate need of a skin, you, a talented beginner tattoo artist, decides to test your partner and his love for you in a comical way — “ can i tattoo you ? ’’

✶ 𝐚. 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: i’ve been drawing for a couple of days now, and this is inspired by my sibling ( a tattoo artist ) and their influence on me, cause i too wish i could tattoo myself whenever i’m bored. ALSO i know we all see geto as tough but i had to!! and nanami surprised even me but the vision is visioning, you can not deny. I KNOW you can’t do many tattoos in one setting but please it’s just for plot. divider by: @cafekitsune

✶ 𝐬𝐲𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐬: fluff / crackfic / smau with writing / reader has no gender / english is not my first language / there is mistakes because the app beat my ass sowwy / mentions of needles and pain / foul language / suggestive theme and horny police for nanami

✶ 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: gojo ﾉ geto ﾉ nanami

──── ✎ ° ⋆ 𝐆𝐎𝐉𝐎 𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐔

Satoru is sitting in your chair, ankles fully on display for you, but you’re actually occupied with keeping everything sanitized in the makeshift space of your boyfriend’s spacious room. He is laughing and acting tough until he hears the buzz of the machine, then he stops and gulps.

“Shit, sweets. Don’t know if I’m ready for this.”

“It’s too late.” You answer with a devilish smirk, before laughing and putting the pen down. “It’s okay if you don’t want anymore, no pressure.”

Maybe it’s the combo of your puppy eyes with small pout, but Gojo falls for your antics and let you have your way in his skin, it’s takes just a few minutes before you end the drawing of the little ants crawling his ankles. He, obviously, has the limitless off, and that scares him a bit — to feel pain, see dots of his blood. But when he looks at your concentrated face, pain dissolves, and he is happy to have something permanently his made by you, his only love.

By the end, though, he grins at you and asks for another one, bigger, blue! And you make the design and ink him again, before realizing you did not gave him the Suguru cat, but you fall for his dragon. Bitch.

──── ✎ ° ⋆ 𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐔𝐆𝐔𝐑𝐔

Geto can see black dots in his vision when he lays belly down on the bed. He is a tough guy, been through stuff you have only an ideia about. You could guess by the minimal details and the fucking huge scar on his chest, he has been deeply cut by something. Still, he is scared of the needle you are holding.

But here he is, presenting his blank large and sexy back to you, making you rethink of doing another thing instead of the tattoo, but you have your opportunity and need to grab it.

“My love, are you ready?” You voice has the buzzing sound of the machine in the background, Suguru groans at that.

“Please, beat me to sleep.” It’s all he says before you touch his face. Before you can say anything, he talks again. “I’m fine, I think. I trust you a lot, baby.”

Suguru soon learns how soft and weightless your hand feels, because although something is burning in his back, he thinks is just you rubbing alcohol — that is until he wonders why are you rubbing alcohol for twenty straight minutes now, and then he shifts his face a bit to stare at you. He almost passed out again when he realized the tattoo is already in progress, but he is fine, and simply goes back to his original head position, before deciding to sleep.

Suguru wakes up hours later with this intricate tattoo on his upper back, he smiles and flexes his muscles on the mirror before staring at you, seeing you googling him. Yeah, if you keep looking at him like that and your hands feeling like feather, he may enjoy this whole thing — he does! By the end of the year, his whole torso is designed by you.

──── ✎ ° ⋆ 𝐍𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐈 𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐎

Nanami presented you what could be called a slideshow of tattoos he would like to have. Basically he made a pinterest board and added you to put the tattoos you would think he look nice with (basically all you’ve seen).

By saturday, he is wearing a white shirt, showcasing his big arm’s muscles, you get occupied with a little thing before you even start to prepare the living room. Now, he has no shirt anymore.

“So, what did you choose for me, love?” His soothing voice asks you, he is sitting by your dinner table and you smile at him, showing your tablet with the many arts you made based on what both he and you liked.

“Now you pick one and we start.”

“Can I have all of them?” Oh.. “I like the art, you are so talented, love. Let me be your canvas, do what you want.” Yeah, you get occupied again in the day.

It’s nighttime when you crack your bones and look at both of your boyfriend’s arm, all inked up. He stares at you normally, no pain, no heavy breathing. He really was a punk in high school.

“So, since we already did all 12, can we finish the chest as well? I think legs would be nice too, or neck… I can have neck tattoos now!” Nanami says with a energetic voice when both of you are eating pasta later.

“Damn baby, you are getting addicted.” You sit on his lap, eyes focused on the ink all over him. “Yeah, we can do all that.”

[charmed-quill]

Burrow Bound// B.W x Reader Chapter 9

Authors note at end.

originally requested by @littlegreenteacup

summary: Y/N, an American half-blood witch newly arrived in Muggle London, stumbles into the warmth of the Weasley brothers after a serendipitous meeting in Diagon Alley. Drawn into their world, she finds herself at the Burrow more often than not. Meanwhile, Bill Weasley is learning to navigate life as a single father, relying on his mother’s help to care for Victoire. Though their worlds orbit each other, Y/N and Bill’s paths never seem to align—until one evening when fate finally draws them together. Will it be the start of a love story, or will they be left with nothing but heartache?

Next Chapter

Last Chapter

word count: 2.2k

The late afternoon sun cast warm, golden light over the yard as Y/N sat cross-legged on the grass, surrounded by Victoire and her assortment of new birthday gifts. The little girl was gleefully sorting her dragon figurines into their new treasure chest, her curls bouncing as she moved from one pile to another.

“Look, Y/N!” Victoire said, holding up a sparkling purple dragon. “This one’s guarding the treasure because it’s the bravest!”

Y/N grinned, leaning closer. “A very wise choice. Every treasure hoard needs a brave protector.”

Victoire beamed and carefully placed the dragon at the center of her makeshift scene. Y/N glanced over her shoulder to see Bill and George in the distance, gathering discarded plates and cups from the party. George was talking animatedly, while Bill appeared to be listening with an expression somewhere between amusement and exasperation.

“Alright, darling,” Y/N said, brushing some grass from her jeans. “You keep sorting your treasures. I’m going to grab some water. Be right back, okay?”

Victoire nodded seriously, fully engrossed in her task.

Y/N headed toward the house, passing George, who gave her a sly grin as she went by. She caught the tail end of his comment to Bill

“I’m just saying, mate, she’s brilliant.”

Bill groaned audibly, his shoulders tensing. “Not you too, George. What is it with everyone today?”

George raised his eyebrows, feigning innocence. “What’s what?”

“You know exactly what I mean,” Bill replied, tossing a crumpled napkin into a trash bag with more force than necessary. “Charlie, Mum, Ginny, and now you. It’s like the whole family’s conspiring against me.”

George held up his hands, mock-surprised. “Conspiring? Against you? That’s a bit dramatic, even for you, big brother.”

Bill stopped and turned to face him, arms crossed. “You’ve all been dropping hints about Y/N since she showed up. It’s not subtle.”

“Hints?” George said, smirking. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just making observations.”

“Observations,” Bill repeated flatly, narrowing his eyes. “About how great she is? How wonderful she is with Victoire? How I should, what, sweep her off her feet?”

George laughed, leaning on the table he’d just cleared. “Well, I wasn’t going to say it, but now that you mention it…”

“George.” Bill’s voice carried a warning, but there was no real heat behind it.

George straightened up, his expression softening. 

“Look, no one’s trying to meddle, okay maybe Mum is, but the rest of us? We just really like her. She’s... different.”

Bill frowned, picking up a few discarded cups and stacking them absently. “Different how?”

“Different like... she fits,” George said simply. “She’s been around for a few months now, and it feels like she’s always been part of things. She’s kind, funny, doesn’t take herself too seriously. And let’s not forget how she handled the Canary Cream incident. That’s rare.”

Bill let out a short laugh despite himself, shaking his head. “So, what, you think I should, what did Charlie say, ‘open the door’? Let her in?”

George shrugged. “I’m not saying you have to do anything. But I am saying that if you don’t at least consider it, you might regret it later. She’s a good friend, Bill. One of the best I’ve ever seen.”

“That’s not enough of a reason,” Bill muttered, though his voice had lost its edge.

“No,” George agreed, leaning in slightly. “But maybe the way she makes Victoire laugh is. Or the fact that she genuinely listens when someone talks, like she actually cares. Or how, even after a whole day at the party, she’s still out there playing dragons with Victoire like it’s the best part of her day.”

Bill followed George’s gaze back to the yard, where Y/N was now pretending to be a treasure-stealing knight, much to Victoire’s delight. The little girl was squealing with laughter, waving her stuffed dragon in the air as Y/N “surrendered” dramatically.

“She’s great with her,” Bill admitted quietly, his expression softening as he watched them.

“Yeah, she is,” George said, clapping him on the back. “And maybe, just maybe, she could be great with you too.”

Bill sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “You’re relentless, you know that?”

“Part of my charm,” George said with a grin, grabbing the trash bag and hoisting it over his shoulder. “But seriously, mate. Don’t overthink it. Sometimes good things are just... good. You don’t have to question everything.”

As George headed toward the house, Bill stood there for a moment, his gaze lingering on Y/N. The awkward tension he’d felt all day was still there, but now, it was tinged with something else, something warmer, quieter, and far harder to ignore.

–

The kitchen was quiet now, the echoes of the party long faded. Bill sat alone at the table, staring at the dregs of his tea. The steam had stopped rising ages ago, the mug gone cold in his hands. The silence pressed in around him, but his mind was far from still.

Through the window, he could see Y/N in the garden. She was sitting cross-legged on the grass with Victoire, helping her arrange the little treasures she’d collected from her party: tiny dragon figurines, a shimmering plastic tiara, and the little treasure box Y/N had given her. Victoire’s giggles floated faintly through the open window, and every so often, Y/N’s soft laugh joined hers.

Bill closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his hair. The familiar battle in his chest raged again, stronger this time. He’d been so careful to keep his distance, to stay guarded. Letting someone in, even someone like Y/N, felt like opening a door he’d worked so hard to keep shut.

She’s just a friend. She’s good with Victoire, that’s all.

The thought was sharp, a desperate attempt to keep the walls he’d built intact. But it felt hollow, even as he repeated it to himself. Because the truth was harder to ignore now. He wasn’t just watching Y/N because she was good with Victoire. He was watching her because he couldn’t seem to stop.

Her laugh, her kindness, the way she looked at Victoire like she was the most important person in the world, it had all woven itself into his mind, tugging at the edges of his carefully guarded heart. And that scared him more than he cared to admit.

What are you doing?

The question echoed in his head, heavy with doubt. 

What do you think is going to happen? That she’ll just, what? Fall into your life and fix everything?

He shook his head, huffing a quiet laugh at himself. 

Ridiculous.

And yet…

He glanced out the window again. Y/N was leaning forward now, her hands gesturing animatedly as she told Victoire a story. Whatever she was saying had his daughter in stitches, her high-pitched laughter ringing out like a bell. Y/N’s own laugh followed, softer but just as bright, and Bill felt the corners of his mouth tug upward despite himself.

She fits, a small voice whispered in the back of his mind. She fits here. With Victoire. With you.

He clenched his jaw, forcing the thought away. It’s too soon. Too complicated. What if it doesn’t work? What if I let her in and it all falls apart again?

But then another voice, quieter but stronger, crept in. 

What if it doesn’t?

Bill exhaled sharply, the weight of the question pressing against his chest. He had spent so long being cautious, so long holding everything together on his own, that the idea of letting someone else in felt almost impossible. But Y/N wasn’t just anyone. She was kind and patient, and she didn’t seem to shy away from the chaos that came with his life.

Victoire adores her. Mum adores her. Hell, even Charlie’s been dropping hints left and right.

But none of that mattered if he couldn’t take the first step. If he couldn’t get past the fear that kept him rooted to this chair, staring out the window like a coward.

He ran a hand over his face, frustration building. 

You’ve faced dragons. Curses. Death Eaters. And yet, here you are, too scared to walk outside and ask someone to dinner.

The thought stung, cutting through the haze of his doubt. Slowly, his hand dropped from his face, and he sat up straighter, his gaze locking onto Y/N through the window. She glanced up just then, her eyes meeting his, and she smiled, a simple, warm smile that made his chest tighten.

Maybe it’s worth it, he thought, the tiniest flicker of hope breaking through the fear. Maybe she’s worth it.

But as quickly as the thought came, the doubt followed. 

And if she’s not? If this ends like before? Can you handle that? Can Victoire?

His fists clenched against the table, the tension in his shoulders growing unbearable. He didn’t know if he could do it. If he could risk the fragile balance he’d built for himself and Victoire. If he could let himself hope for something more.

But as he sat there, torn between fear and possibility, one thought lingered above the rest, soft but insistent:

You’ll never know unless you try.

—

The house was quiet as Y/N and Bill reached the door, the soft creak of the floorboards beneath their feet the only sound breaking the stillness. Y/N turned to face him, adjusting the strap of her bag over her shoulder. Her expression was warm, but Bill could feel the nerves simmering just beneath his skin.

“Thanks for inviting me today,” she said with a small smile. “Victoire had such a great time.”

“She’s been talking about it nonstop,” Bill replied, his hands buried deep in his pockets. He paused for a moment, his throat tightening as he glanced at her. “And I’m glad you came. It wouldn’t have been the same without you.”

The words felt heavier than he intended, but he pressed on, his pulse quickening. The moment stretched between them, and for once, the silence felt unbearable. 

Just ask her. It’s not that hard.

Clearing his throat, he tried to sound more casual than he felt. “Y/N, I was wondering… would you like to have dinner with me next Saturday? Just the two of us.”

The words were out, hanging in the air like a fragile thread. For a second, Y/N froze, her eyes widening in surprise. She blinked at him, clearly caught off guard, and her lips parted as if to respond, but no sound came out.

Bill’s chest tightened, the silence hitting him like a blow. 

Oh no. 

This was a mistake. 

You’ve just made it awkward. 

His mind spiraled, each second of hesitation fueling his doubt.

Of course, she doesn’t feel the same. Why would she? She’s kind, smart, and beautiful. What could she possibly see in someone like me, a single dad who barely has time to sleep, let alone offer her what she deserves?

As Y/N stammered slightly, searching for words, Bill felt his stomach drop further. 

She’s trying to find a nice way to let you down. Merlin, why did you think this was a good idea?

He stepped back slightly, forcing a small, tight smile as he glanced down at the floor. “It’s fine if you don’t want to,” he said quickly, the words rushing out in a weak attempt to save face. “I just thought I’d ask. No pressure.”

His heart was pounding now, his breath shallow as the embarrassment curled hot in his chest. He’d overstepped. He’d ruined the easy, friendly connection they’d shared, and now he’d have to watch her walk out the door, knowing he’d made things awkward.

“Bill, no,” Y/N said, her voice breaking through his spiraling thoughts. She shook her head quickly, stepping forward. “It’s not that at all. I was just surprised.”

Her words made him pause, his eyes flicking up to meet hers. The warmth in her expression was unmistakable, a faint pink tinge coloring her cheeks. “I’d love to have dinner with you, Bill,” she said softly, her smile returning. “Saturday sounds great.”

For a moment, he couldn’t quite process her words. “Really?” he asked, his voice hesitant, as though he didn’t quite believe it.

“Really,” Y/N said, her smile widening, her tone steady.

Relief hit him like a wave, the tension in his shoulders easing as her words settled over him. The earlier turmoil in his chest dissipated, replaced by a cautious but undeniable flicker of hope.

As Y/N adjusted her bag and reached for the door handle, she glanced back at him. “I’ll see you then,” she said gently.

“Yeah,” Bill replied, his voice softer now. “See you.”

She stepped outside, the door clicking softly behind her, leaving Bill standing there in the quiet hallway. The air felt lighter somehow, and yet his heart was still racing. He let out a shaky breath, his lips curving into a faint, disbelieving smile.

She said yes.

The doubt still lingered, a quiet voice whispering that he might not be enough, but for now, it was drowned out by the simple truth of her answer. And as he turned back toward the kitchen, a small, hopeful spark settled in his chest, glowing brighter with every step.

tagged: @navs-bhat @neenieweenie @buendiabebeta

a/n: OH MY GOD GUYS!!!!!!! from here on out its just fluff i fear. i know the orginal request asked for some angst and i will definatly try to add that in, but i'll make it more internally.

[the-apocrypha]

Cottagecore Series DVD Bonus Features

By popular request: the deleted scenes of how Dream and Hob ended up confessing their respective Big Secrets to one another. Below the cut are a series of conversations that take place a few days after Dream announces his pregnancy with Orpheus, and they are incredibly angsty. They also heavily feature abortion as a conversation topic. These were originally written to intercut with at least two miracles but didn't end up working out due to tone issues, and also don't really work as a standalone fic, so. If you're interested--enjoy!

The possibility of a child—their child, their own, of them—had occasionally crossed Hob’s mind, in the same way that other fantastical things like dragons and public libraries did. Fleeting. Unformed. Simple, wonderful little daydreams. 

The reality of it was both impossibly more exciting and terrifying than he could have ever imagined. 

Hob thought of a beautiful child with tiny pointed ears and glowing amber eyes. He thought of a babe born to the world still and pale, never to draw a single breath of life. He thought of all the stories his mother used to tell him, the skipping games and the toy swords and songs that lived inside of him, waiting to be passed down to someone small and new. He thought of a fae child, enamored of the forest and magic and books of learning, with little use for its mortal father. 

Once, when Hob was young, his mother had been called to help an ewe who had been laboring for the better part of the day. Twin lambs, both trying to emerge at the same time.

They’d had mutton for dinner, that night. And for many nights after that. 

Hob could not stop thinking about it. About everything.

What if the child came out completely human. 

What if the child came out completely fae. 

“You told me once,” Hob said, the words leaving his mouth even as lead weights sank pits into his stomach, even as his heart said don’t ask this don’t ask this don’t do it, but he had to, he had to know. “You told me once. That it took you a very long time to grow up.” 

Dream paused. “Yes,” he said, at length. “But time in the realm of the fae is not so… linear as it is here. It is—it was subject to neither law nor order. Time was fickle. Changeable.” 

“You said that it was almost a hundred years.” 

“That was… a guess,” Dream said. 

Hob stared. 

“It was unusual,” Dream added. He did not meet Hob’s eyes. “It. It was a choice I made. The rest of my siblings came of age much faster than I.” 

“How fast?” Hob asked, heart in his throat. 

Dream swallowed. 

“How fast?” 

“The child is half mortal, Hob it should not—it will not age as a fae child would. It cannot, it—it will not have the same power, the same gifts, and moreover, the laws of this universe would not allow—” 

“Oh, you know that, do you?” Hob asked, eyebrows raised. “Like you knew that a mortal man couldn’t get you pregnant in the first place?” 

Dream flinched. 

Hob sighed, and scrubbed at his face. “I’m just. I’m just thinking. We don’t know what we’re going to get, eight months from now—” If they were going to get anything at all. “—and we’ve got zero precedent to go off of, here. It. It could be anything. It could grow like a human and take sixteen years and be done. But, it could also…” 

“It will not,” Dream said, but there was a traitorous wobble in his voice.

“It could,” Hob insisted. “It could, Dream, and we just. I just want to be prepared for that. I want you to be prepared for that.” 

Dream stared, like the whole world was crashing down around him. As if he had not considered this at all. “No.” 

“Yes.” 

“Hob—” 

“But, listen—listen, it’ll be okay,” Hob said hurriedly, and took Dream’s hands into his own. Put on the bravest face he could muster. “Whatever happens, it’ll be okay. I promise. I’ll be with you every step of the way, for. For as long as I can be. Even if it means being stuck in the terrible twos for an entire decade. You just might have to do the teenage years on your own, that’s all. And. You know. The thousand years that come after that.” 

Dream closed his eyes. 

Hob tried desperately to rally. “And, hey! The good news is, at least I won’t be around to give any dodgy sex talks when it comes time for that, since I obviously—” 

“Hob,” Dream said. 

“Though clearly pregnancy prevention isn’t your strong suit either,” Hob allowed. 

“Hob.” 

Dream’s eyes were open again, and they were full of tears. 

“Hob,” Dream said again, and it caught in his throat. “Hob, I—I am not going to live for another thousand years.” 

Hob frowned. “But—”

“I made,” Dream said, and with the next blink the tears spilled over, “a bargain.” 

The reason that Hob had kept it a secret for so long (was because he was a coward) was because, in his opinion, there had been no good that would come of the truth. 

Dream had assumed that the people of Eskham had turned against Hob for being a hedgewitch. He’d assumed in turn that mortals were prejudiced against any being with magic, which was a category that happened to include the fae but more importantly included Hob, who did not have the ability to summon tornadoes or fell ancient oaks. Dream still sweetly seethed about the injustices Hob’s own people had done upon him. He had yet to even once seem concerned for his own safety. 

This was fair. 

Dream had, after all, taken out an entire village of mortals in one wrothful fell swoop. 

Now, Dream had confessed what had happened in the aftermath of that massacre—what he had so readily sacrificed, to save Hob’s life—and it had been devastating in its own right. It had left Hob awake at night, imagining what it would be like to grow older and older and older, while his child did not. 

But it had also pulled on the string that unraveled whatever remained of their tapestried joy at the possibility of impending parenthood. The happiness was gone. The happiness should never have existed in the first place, because the ache of its absence was far worse than to have never known it at all. Hob could not believe he ever felt such simple, mindless elation at what had quickly become a question to which every answer was more horrifying than the last. 

Hob thought of a babe with perfectly pointed ears, stolen away in the night, drowned in the river. 

Hob thought of a child with huge, phosphorescent eyes, tied to a stake above a pile of dried tinder. Screaming.

Hob thought of black-nailed teenager who had had forty-odd years of childhood with its parents before they succumbed to old age, and left their child alone in a world it did not belong in. Orphaned. Ostracized. Hunted. 

It filled Hob’s stomach and left him unable to eat. It pressed down on his chest at night, and he could not sleep. 

And he knew what he needed to do. 

At the same table where Dream had confessed not three days ago, Hob sat himself heavily on the bench. 

Dream stared back wanly. He’d spent most of the morning vomiting copiously, which perhaps made this timing even worse, but Hob knew if he did not say it now he might never say it at all. 

“Dream,” Hob said carefully. The words stuck in his throat like glass, and they tore him open one by one as he forced them out. “There’s. The other day, when you told me about the bargain you made. I—there’s something that I should. Something I should have told you, before—something. Something.” He swallowed. “Something I. Something.” His nails dug into his palms. His heart was pounding in his ears. “Something—” 

“Hob.” 

Dream’s hand splayed across his chest is like ice on fire. Hob sucked in a breath, and relished the burn. 

He seized Dream’s hand in his own. Looked Dream in the eyes. Prepared to pull this one last thread of sanity for the person he loved more than anything in this world. 

“Something,” Hob said unevenly, holding onto Dream like a lifeline, “that I should have told you a long time ago. About. About Eskham.” 

Dream tilted his head, brows drawing together. “Eskham?” 

Hob nodded. 

“What about it?” Dream asked. 

He had no idea. He had no clue. 

“That day,” Hob said, and he was gripping Dream’s hand hard as if he could prevent the inevitable withdrawal. “When they came for me.” 

And Dream nodded. He reached out with his other hand to rest it on Hob’s forearm—a gesture meant as supportive that only served to make Hob’s stomach drop to new depths. 

But this was not about him. This was not even about Dream. It was about their child, carried one day into a town square with pitchforks at its throat and devil spawn in its ears. It was about deserved truths. 

“That day,” Hob said again. He swallowed against a dry tongue. Against the heart that was trying to escape through his throat. “That day. The mob. They weren’t looking for me.”

Dream stared. 

Hob’s heart was pounding so hard he thought he might be sick. 

He watched, as Dream’s face went from confusion, to realization, to—

Bloodless. 

Grey. Dead eyes and parted lips. Staring, but not seeing. 

“I—defended you,” Hob made himself say. “I wouldn’t tell them. Where you were. I told them that I loved you, that you were just as natural as any other creature in this realm and that I would rather die before I let any of them hurt you, and—” 

Dream yanked his hands back. 

Hob tried to hold on, but he wasn’t quick enough. Not strong enough. 

“You,” Dream whispered. 

“I don’t regret it,” Hob said frantically, almost angrily. He was losing control, the tidal wave of panic and horror sweeping him out to a roiling sea he could not swim in, and he barely knew which words would leave his mouth when he opened it again. “I haven’t regretted it for a single second, Dream, not once, not ever, I’d have burned on that stake a thousand times over before I let them touch you, I’d—” 

And Dream bolted. 

Hob leapt to his feet to follow—but his calf muscle seized, and he careened to the side and just barely managed to grab the table at the last second. Stood there, panting, gripping the table as his calf cramped hard enough to render the entire leg useless. Staring at the empty doorway. 

He deserved this, he supposed. 

It didn’t make it hurt any less. 

The summer air was thick and sweet beneath the canopy of the forest. The trees mostly blocked the breeze, but so also the warmth of the sun, which made it about as pleasant as any place was during the midday heat. They were sat at the base of an ancient yew tree that Dream favored, not far from the cottage, and had been for some time. Ravens chattered and rustled softly overhead. A large halo of bird shit was slowly accumulating around them. 

Dream inhaled as if to speak, for the third time in about as many minutes. This time, though, the words came. 

“I do not want. Our child. To be hunted.” 

Hob closed his eyes. “I know.” 

“We do not know what powers it will be born to. What features it will be born to.” 

Unspoken—the slimmest chance, the highest hope, that it would somehow be born wholly mortal. 

A mortal body. A mortal magic. A mortal lifespan. 

“We’ll do whatever we have to, to protect them. Whatever it takes. You know we will,” Hob said, and even as anxiety turned his stomach over, rage flared through him hot and fast. “Anyone that tries to lay a finger on our child, I’ll—I’ll kill ‘em. I would. Anyone. Everyone. And if they think I’m terrifying just wait until they meet the thirty-foot forest nightmare right behind me that can summon hail and rent the earth.” 

Dream swallowed. “Hail and earth. Did not save you.” 

Hob tightened his grip around Dream’s waist. “Yes it did.” 

“You—” 

“Yes it bloody well did. You saved my life that day, you fought, and if you hadn’t been there I—” 

“If I had not been there,” Dream interrupted darkly. He barked one harsh, bitter laugh. “If I had never inflicted myself upon you in the first place, then no mob would have ever come for you at all. You would be—” 

“Lonely,” Hob said. He tried desperately to keep the frustration from rising. “I told you. I would have been lonely, and bored, Dream, and I would have died in that house feeling as if I’d never truly lived at all. You are the best thing to ever happen to me.” 

“I nearly killed you,” Dream said. 

“You saved—”

“And now,” Dream continued, staring into the depths of the forest, “I have attempted to thrust a child upon you, without your consent. I have tried to sentence you to spending the rest of your meager years consumed in the care of a creature that will only suffer as a result of my own hubris—my own selfishness—and it will resent us. It will hate us. It will hate me, and it will be right to do so for—” 

“Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey,” Hob said, scrambling around in front of Dream, and cupping his face. 

Dream stared determinedly to the side, with eyes that were red-rimmed and shiny. His breaths came uneven and jagged. 

“You and I both know that you didn’t get pregnant on purpose,” Hob said fiercely. “You didn’t know better. I didn’t know better. Right?” 

“Hob—” 

“This isn’t something that you’ve done to me. To us. Neither one of us is to blame here. Not one little bit. And it wouldn’t matter anyway if it was, because whatever happens, you know that we’re in this together. We’re going to do what we always do, and make it work. Figure it out. Pregnancy, childbirth, parenthood, all of it. Together. Yeah?” 

Dream set his jaw, and at last met Hob’s eyes. Slowly, he reached up, and pulled Hob’s hands away from his face. 

“You argue. That we are absolved of any guilt, for what strife our child may face in life. Because we held no intention of conception, in our couplings,” Dream said. 

“...Yes?” Hob said, eyebrows raising. “I don’t think we can be blamed for bringing a child into the world when we didn’t know it was possible in the first place.” 

“Incorrect,” Dream disagreed. 

Hob opened his mouth, but Dream continued too quickly. 

“Ignorance acquits us from blame in the conception of this child, yes.” Dream’s hand moved, in the periphery of Hob’s vision, delving into the folds of his robe. “But we are not without agency, in these early months of pregnancy.” 

Dread swung sudden and hard into Hob’s chest, like a fist. 

“...What do you mean?” 

Dream held out his hand between them, and uncurled his fingers. A cluster of flowers rested there. 

Tansy. 

“It sings to me of… release,” Dream said. His thumb brushed over golden petals like spikes. “Of choice. Liberty. Of the harmonization of poison and medicine, as one.”

Hob took in a deep breath, because he was, for the first time in days, hopeful. 

Hob was also terrified. 

Hob was sick, sick, sick, sick. 

“I believe,” Dream whispered, eyes boring in Hob’s, “that it would be enough. To—take care of it.” 

There was a cup of water on the table, steaming and yellow with tansy. 

Choice, Dream said it sang. Release. Liberty. The harmonization of poison and medicine, as one. 

But to Hob, it was silent as a grave. 

Dream was holding the cup so tightly his knuckles had gone white. The steam had long disappeared from the cup, leaving only a stagnant yellow tonic. Hob had offered to leave the cottage twice and allow Dream some privacy, and on the second time Dream had grabbed his hand, hard, and he hadn’t let go since. 

Hob’s fingers ached where they were threaded through Dream’s, but he did not complain. 

He sat in silence, and watched Dream raise the cup to his mouth. 

Watched him inhale. 

Watched him close his eyes. 

Watched him press the rim of the cup to his lips. 

Watched as Dream froze, and was perfectly still for an eternity save for the tremble of the cup in his grasp—

And the cup slammed down onto the table, sloshing poison everywhere, and Dream gasped, “I cannot. I cannot, forgive me, Hob, I—” 

Hob grabbed him and pulled him in hard. “It’s okay—” 

“—I cannot do it, I cannot—” 

“—you don’t have to—” 

“I should,” Dream snarled, gripping the fabric of Hob’s tunic and pushing back. There were tears streaming down his face. “I should end it, I should be rid of it. It is. It is the only humane option, the only option that guarantees that—that—” 

“I know, love,” Hob said miserably, his own throat going tight and hot. “I know that. But—” 

“Hob,” Dream choked out. He tried to inhale, but could not. “Hob, I can—hear it.” 

Hob’s heart skipped a beat, and his mouth went numb. “Y-you—” 

“I can—” Dream slapped his hands over his mouth. He stared at Hob in horror. 

Dream, who could hear the songs of river stones and the herbs in the garden. Who communed with foxes and ancient oak trees alike. Who had come to Hob with news of this pregnancy but without explanation as to how he knew. 

“You can hear it,” Hob repeated blankly. 

“I should not have told you,” Dream said, shaking his head. His eyes were blank and unseeing and wet with tears. “I. I should not have told you, I told myself I would not, I—it should not matter. It does not matter.” 

“What does it sound like?” Hob asked. 

Dream looked up at him. His mouth opened, but no words came out. 

“Dream, what does it sound like?” 

He shouldn’t ask. 

He couldn’t not know. 

“Like. A songbird,” Dream whispered. 

A songbird. 

“The most beautiful—” Dream choked on a sob. “The most beautiful songbird, Hob, the most wonderful songbird in the world.” 

And Hob. Hob, quite abruptly, could not imagine a world where he did not one day get to hear that song. He could not imagine a world in which he did not get to hold their child in his arms this winter and instantly fall in love with whatever features the world had seen fit to give them, mortal or fae or some splendid combination of both. 

He could not imagine what it would be like, for Dream to sit at this table and drink down poison and then listen to the song of their child go silent. 

Dream sobbed in his arms. He begged for forgiveness—from Hob. Their future child. The universe. I have failed, he said, over and over again. Selfish, and weak, and worthless, he named himself, and he would not be consoled with any combination or repetition of words Hob had to offer. 

But still, the tansy sat untouched. 

Eventually, it went out the window. 

And the songbird lived another day.

[innytoes]

The call came in just as he was sticking more photos to his board. He was so close to cracking this case, he just needed a little more evidence. Maybe find a source willing to talk to him. Either willingly or unwittingly, at this point he didn’t even care. He wouldn’t reveal his sources anyway, and if he could just figure out where to find something damning…

“Boldheart,” he said into the phone, attention still mostly on the board. Maybe it needed some string. Or at the very least some of those flames Nimona had drawn and cut out for him to add.

“Mister Boldheart, this is Principal Conroy from Gloreth Elementary School.”

Oh no.

He didn’t quite manage to keep in his sigh.

“What happened this time?” he asked. He refused to say ‘what did she do now’, if only because Nimona usually had a reason for whatever chaos she wrought. Like trying to free the pet gerbil from ‘his stinky, tiny prison’ or punching a kid who made fun of her because ‘you couldn’t even get two normal foster parents, you ended up with two foster dads’.

Of course the school hadn’t done anything about the other kid. He was a legacy at the private school, and he’d ‘just been stating facts, after all’.

“It appears Nimona bit another child.”

Well, that was new.

“What did the other kid do?” he asked, knowing he wouldn’t get a straight answer until he talked to Nimona.

“Mister Boldheart, this school has a zero tolerance policy,” the principal started, and he pulled the phone away from his ear, mouthing along the words mockingly has he got his keys.

Part-way through her little rant, he cut her off. “I’m on my way,” he said, hanging up the phone before she could answer.

Nimona was sitting in what Ballister was coming to think of as ‘her’ chair. The one furthest away from the principal’s door. Her face was like thunder, arms crossed in front of her defensively. But it eased a little when she saw who was picking her up.

As much as he and Ambrosius tried the old Good Cop, Bad Cop routine, Nimona had very quickly learned they were both complete pushovers. And that while Ballister could be stern when it mattered, he wasn’t about to punish her for no reason. He’d always hear her out, and he’d always explain why a rule was a rule and why it shouldn’t be broken. (Or when it could be, under certain circumstances.)

Also, he was fifty per cent more likely than Ambrosius to take her out for ice-cream when she got suspended for no reason, again.

“What happened?” he asked, crouching down in front of them.

“Chad wouldn’t stop trying to poke me,” Nimona said. “I told him to keep his hands to himself or I’d bite him. It’s not my fault he didn’t believe me.”

“I never touched her!” Chad shouted from the other side of the hall. His hand was bandaged rather dramatically all the way down to his elbow. “I even said ‘I’m not touching you!’”

Ah. Ballister knew that game all too well from his own time at Gloreth Elementary. Being the scholarship kid had made him an easy target.  

“Come on,” he said, putting his hand on Nimona’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”

“Don’t you need to talk to the Principal first?” they asked.

He did, but he really didn’t want to. Instead, he looked at the ancient secretary, who’d always had a bit of a soft spot for him when he went to this school. “How long is she suspended?”

“Just the rest of the week,” the secretary answered. It was Wednesday, so not too bad. “The Principal wants to have a serious talk with you, though.”

Ballister knew exactly what talk she wanted to have. It was the same one she’d had when they enrolled Nimona, suggesting that Gloreth Elementary had a rather rigorous curriculum, and perhaps ‘someone like Nimona’ would be better suited for a ‘less demanding environment’.

Another thing he remembered all too well from his own time at this private school.

Never mind that Nimona’s grades were at the top ten per cent of her class. Well, when she remembered to hand in her homework. And it was legible between the drawings of sharks and dragons and who knew what else. But still, it wasn’t the curriculum that was bothering her.

“I’ll send Ambrosius by tomorrow morning, after his shift,” Ballister said. Because suddenly, when The Golden Boy Legacy Kid himself stopped by it was much harder to say no, or that their kid didn’t belong here.

They walked out of the school, Nimona’s fuzzy pink book bag hanging from his good shoulder, her hand clutching the wrist of his prosthetic arm. They were already too far down the hall to hear the Principal call them back, and Ballister knew she was too dignified to run after them.

“Look, I get it,” he said once they were outside, because he really, really did. “But you can’t go around biting people.”

“Why not? He deserved it,” Nimona said, sulkily kicking at a pebble.

“Because you don’t know where his hand’s been, it’s gross.” Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best argument for not biting people, but it was one that was probably most effective for this particular kid. He and Ambrosius could sit her down and explain why biting people was morally wrong some other time.

Nimona was silent for a moment, before sticking out their tongue and running her own hands over it. “Blergh, you’re right!”

See? Effective parenting.

“How do you feel about milkshakes and a stake out?” he asked.

“A stake out?” The hunched shoulders and frown disappeared, replaced by a bounce and a bright, sharp smile. “Who’re we taking down?”

“Nobody just yet,” he said. “But I could use a sidekick following one of VerdAgra’s employees.”

“Yes, boss!” Nimona cheered, all but throwing herself into the passenger’s seat. “Can I have a chocolate-peanut butter-caramel milkshake?”

“Sure thing,” he said, even though that sounded like a lot. Nimona beamed and rummaged in the dashboard console to find their Stake Out Sunglasses, handing him his own. Because you couldn’t do a stake out without them, of course.

Tonight, he’d have a talk with Ambrosius about how maybe Gloreth Elementary and Gloreth Prep weren’t the best place for Nimona. Not because she couldn’t handle the curriculum, but because the school had no interest in stopping the bullying of anyone they deemed lesser. He didn’t want her to suffer the way he had. Sure, he’d gotten into a great university at the end, but had it really been worth it?

Maybe homeschooling was an option. Or another school. Anywhere that didn’t try to crush his kid’s amazing spirit, natural curiosity, and sense of self.

“Can I tase him if he tries to run?”

“No!”

[angstywaifu]

Black Dahlia - 9. 10 Gold Pieces (Garrick)

One tragic day changes Dahlia's life forever. Despised by her father and brother, she's spent her entire life trying to be the child and sister she use to be. But nothing she ever does is good enough. She joins the Rider's Quadrant to prove them wrong. Garrick now in his second year has proven he is more than the mark on his skin to his fellow riders, and taken leadership of his own Squad alongside Xaden. Little does he know the girl walking across the parapet is about to send him on a rollercoaster of a year.

Set Pre Fourth Wing/Books

Garrick Tavis x OC (Dahlia Aetos)

Black Dahlia Masterlist | Masterlist A/N: I just wrote her threshing part. And I can't wait for you guys to meet her dragon.

The snapping of twigs and crunching of leaves announces the arrival of the rest of the group. Xaden and I turn to see Eya leading the very small group of first years over to us. One by one they lower their hoods, their faces illuminated by the moon overhead.

”So, how did you all go in challenges?” Xaden asks as if he doesn’t already know.

He had watched every single fight we we’re in. He already knew what everyone needed to work on and improve. But he wanted to hear it from them. Needed them to figure out their strengths and weaknesses on their own.

”Well I don’t know about you guys but I kicked ass out there today.” Imogen says confidently as she crosses her arms across her chest.

She had done good. She’d clearly ended up in a home where she was allowed to train and fight. Her technique was a little sloppy, but it was something we could work on and fix.

”Yes, we all know you did well.” Ciaran mutters as he leans up against a tree.

Imogen’s head snaps towards him, eyes locking onto his instantly. I watch as Ciaran cowers slightly at her stare. A stare I couldn’t help but compare to that damn Aetos girl now. Fuck.

”Yes I did, unlike you two. What the hell was that footwork? I’ve seen babies taking their first steps have better footwork than you.” She snaps back at him without missing a beat.

”Not all of us got sent to homes where we were allowed to train.” He grumbles back before turning his head away from her.

Bodhi rubs the back of his neck nervously. He had won his fight, but barely. “I won, but I definitely could have done better. Pretty sure I was a few seconds off losing.”

Xaden nods in agreement. “You just need to get use to different fighting styles again, refine your technique. Which is why we’re doing this. Having these meetings so we can help each other instead of insulting each other.”

Imogen huffs at Xaden’s words, fully knowing the last ones we’re directed at her. Deep down she did care, and would help anyone who needed it. She just needed to stop having such a short fuse.

”Which is why we’re also going to start shuffling the groups up for training, that way you guys can learn off each other.” I announce, everyone nodding in agreement.

”We’ll keep the same nights per week, you’ll just change who you’re with every day or two so you don’t get use to fighting the same person.” Xaden adds.

Bodhi clears his throat, drawing our attention to him. “Am I still able to keep my one night per week for the other training?”

He doesn’t say her name, but I know who he means. Dahlia. He’d been training with her and two others from his squad. Similar to what we we’re doing with the other marked ones. Making sure they survived.

Xaden nods. “Yes, I want to make sure our squad has a good chance in challenges, and hopefully squad games later in the year. And honestly training with her would be very beneficial.”

A growl rumbles from my throat before I can stop it, everyone turning to look at me. Everything about her infuriated me. The way she’d proven me wrong today in her challenge, her attitude, and of course that damn last name.

”What’s his problem?” Imogen mutters to Bodhi, causing him to smirk.

”He doesn’t trust Dahlia. Think’s she’s going to rat us out to her father if she finds out what we’re up to.” He tells her happily.

Imogen looks at me and cocks her eyebrow. “Really? Have you seen how she is with Dain? They hate each other. Pretty sure that extends to her father to.”

”Yes, but as I keep saying it could all be an act. She’s probably waiting for us to slip up.” I growl out before clenching my jaw.

”Someone’s just salty he under estimated her fighting ability.” Xaden teases from next to me as he leans back against the tree.

”I am not!” I grumble back at him.

”Oh, so you weren't ranting to me earlier about her making you eat your words?” He challenges.

I narrow my eyes at Xaden, my nostrils flaring as I huff at him causing him to chuckle at me. Out of the corner of my eye I catch Bodhi smirking at me. He wasn’t wrong though. I’d very much under estimated her. Thought everyone had talked her up because of who she was. But today she had only solidified the talking I’d heard about her. How she had definitely taken down that third year without breaking a sweat. I’d even laughed as she’d pulled out a staff she’d kept close to her side. A very rare weapon choice, especially for dragon riders. But she’d made it look so easy. Made that damn staff look like a deadly weapon. And something told me she would be just as talented with any other weapon she touched. She’d literally made me eat the last words I’d uttered in her ear before she stepped onto the mat.

”Damn Tavis, she’s really gotten under your skin.” Imogen teases, not even phased by my temper.

”Oh you have no idea.” Xaden mutters causing the others to snicker.

”You lot done? Because last time I checked we weren’t here to talk about her.” I say angrily, trying to end the conversation.

”We’re done. I’ll let you know who you’re training with tomorrow.” Xaden says, promptly ending the conversation topic.

Everyone nods in agreement before placing their hoods over their heads, turning to head back up to the quadrant. Xaden and I hang back, taking place at the rear of the group, ready to hang back so we don’t arouse suspicion heading back into the quadrant together. Now that there were more marked riders, we’d noticed Professors and any leadership that were around were becoming more strict on us sticking to the hanging out in groups of three or less.

A few steps a head Imogen leans her head towards Bodhi. “How much you wanna bet he ends up fucking her?”

”What did I just say!” I roar, causing everyone to burst into fits of laughter as I push past them.

”10 gold pieces.”

Taglist: @imtoanonymousforyou @simplyme-fornow @omalmal @lalaluch @wolfbc97 @leptitlu @fullmoon-94

[t00tsmcgee]

Rook as a companion banter episode 5 : Taash

Banter written with my Rook in mind, read more about him here!

Part 1 (Neve) | Part 2 (Bellara) | Part 3 (Davrin) | Part 4 (Harding) | Part 5 (Taash) | Part 6 (Emmrich) | Part 7 (Lucanis) |

-

Taash: “Cal.” Cal: “Taash.” Taash: “You want food tonight?” Cal: “Ideally. What are we eating?” Taash: “Hearty chum. It’s fish stew.” Cal: “Oh, I don’t think I’ve ever had that. That'll be exciting!” Cal: "I liked that Hearty chum. You wanna do food again sometime?" Taash: "Sure. Your turn to cook though." Cal: "Sure. Nevarran flatbread with yogurt dip and candied sage leaves, how does that sound?" Taash: "Make it spicy." Cal: "Hmm.. maybe I can add some spices to the flatbread, sure." Cal: “Taash.” Taash: “Cal.” Cal: “You seem tense, around your mother.” Taash: “Yeah.” Cal: “I think she’s just trying to be supportive, in her own way.” Taash: “I know.” Taash: “So Cal, are you interested in dragons?” Cal: “Yeah. Who isn’t?” Taash: “Your death mage colleague.” Cal: “Oh, what? I’m so disappointed in him.” Taash: “Well, at least not all necromancers are boring.” Cal: “Will you tell me about them? Dragons, I mean. Not necromancers. I know about those.” Taash: “Uh, yeah. Of course!”

Taash: “So, blue and white scales, red markings, frost breath, no horns.” Cal: “Uhhh.. Mistral?” Taash: “Nope. Mistral has yellow markings.” Cal: “Damn. Come on, think...Oh! Kaltenzhan!” Taash: “Nice, you got it!”

Taash: “Wide horns, copper hide, green accent, firebreather.” Cal: “Sandy Howler?” Taash: “Nope, that has downturned horns.” Cal: “Then it’s an Abyssal.” Taash: “Yeah, nice! Getting better.”

Taash: “Curved horns like a ram, dark purple scales, orange markings, lightning breath.” Cal: “Gamordan Stormrider.” Taash: “Yes! Good job, got it in one go!”

Taash: “So what’s your favourite dragon?” Cal: “Hivernal. I love it’s colours, it’s flat head is kinda cute, too. That whole genus without horns is so unique. The Kaltenzhan, the hivernal, the mistral..” Taash: “You like the hornless dragons?” Cal: “I guess I identify with them being a little different.” Taash: “Huh. I guess I get that. My favourite is the Frostback.” Cal: “Good choice. Is it because their horns look like yours?” Taash: “Yeah. And they’re the biggest!”

Taash: “Cal. You ever struggle with your gender?” Cal: “Oh yeah, I grew up telling Vorgoth I was a boy. Transitioned when I was pretty young.” Taash: “So.. you understand struggling with your identity.” Cal: “Yeah. I still do, sometimes, even if I’m happy with myself now.” Taash: “Huh. You mind talking, later?” Cal: “Of course. But only if you bring snacks.” Taash: *chuckling* “Sure.”

Taash: “Cal?” Cal: “Yes Taash?” Taash: “What do you see when you look at me?” Cal: “I see confidence. I see power. I see a dragon who has been tied down all their life and now they long to spread their wings. And your cooking isn’t half bad either.” Taash: “...Thanks.”

Cal: “You know Taash, I think your mother was just trying to relate to your struggle when she compared it to- what did she say- ‘Qun Atok?’” Taash: “Aqun Athlok, yes.” Cal: “So what does it mean?” Taash: “It means to be born as one gender but live as another. Like you.” Cal: “Still a little one or the other, isn’t it?” Taash: “Right, that’s why it doesn’t quite apply to me. I’m neither. There’s no word for it.” Cal: “Well did you know certain mushroom species have over a thousand separate sexes? Maybe we can find a word with one of them.” Taash: “Huh. Yeah. Maybe.”

Taash: “So you like mushrooms huh?” Cal: “Yes! I love mushrooms. Both to eat and to learn about and study. In Nevarra, it’s common to be vegetarian, so mushrooms are used often as a substitute for meat.” Taash: “But you do eat meat.” Cal: “Yeah, I don’t identify as a vegetarian.” Taash: “Good, ‘cause tonight is Armada Special night.”

Taash: “I think you’re right, about my mother. She was trying to relate to my issue by drawing from something she knew. It just wasn’t what I wanted to hear from her at that moment.” Cal: “What did you want to hear?” Taash: “I accept you as you are. I love you as you are.” Cal: “I do.” Taash: “Thank you.”

Taash: “So, you banging Lucanis?” Calais: “Banging? Bit of a crude descriptor. We’re in love.” Taash: “Aww. What about Spite?” Calais: “He’s there too, usually.” Taash: “Kinky.” Calais: “He goes away if we ask.” Taash: “Do you ask?” Calais: “Sometimes."

Taash: “So, Lucanis. How big is he?” Calais: “Maker’s breath, I will not be telling you that.” Taash: “Alright. How big are you?” Calais: *chuckling* “5’5.” Taash: *laughing* “Perfectly average.”

[floofanflurr]

Meet Ink Frisk and Chara, an UTMV redraw

(Ink Sans belongs to Comyet)

My friends helped me figure out a whole bunch of character mashups for me to draw! I’ll be doing the rest of UTs main cast as different UTMV characters.

(Bonus image and more ramble under the cut:)

@humankk and @bee-the-aroace-dragon said that Ink Sans would take Ink Frisk and Chara under his wing (and would keep them away from the more 18+ AUs) so have a sketch of that. Because I love the thought of Ink Sans mentoring little Color Drop.

Now for ramble! This was supposed to just be a reimagining of Ink Sans’s role in the Multiverse, though I’ll admit that I’ve named them and have a few head canons… so for anyone curious, here we go!

Color Drop:

- They prefer going by Frisk and Chara, but if there’s multiple Frisk or Chara around, they go by Color Drop.

- If you have need to refer to only one of them, (Why would you, though? We’re pretty much the same.) Chara answers to “Color,” and Frisk answers to “Drop.”

- Similarly to Ink Sans, they come from an abandoned AU, where Frisk was the main character, and Chara was attached to them as a ghostly narrator. Frisk was the only completed being with a soul in that world, though Chara was also fully aware.

-Frisk, however, was not originally aware of Chara’s presence as an aware being, as Chara was stuck only narrating things.

- By nature of Chara’s death, they do not have a soul of their own.

- When Frisk almost destroyed their soul in hurt and confusion and despair, Chara latched on and took it for safe keeping. It’s now stored in a recreation of their locket. This was when they both fell into the nothingness.

- Being stuck in the nothingness is where Frisk learns more about Chara and that they are aware.

- Neither of them know how to return Frisk’s soul.

- Frisk can still feel because of the proximity of their soul, but it’s more numb than they were used to. They need the paint to feel as strongly as they once did.

- Due to Chara’s lack of soul, they use the paints to help them feel things. Being closer to Frisk also helps them feel because of their mental link.

- Chara is tangible in the doodlesphere, void, and antivoid (when they want to be)

- When visiting AUs, Chara is intangible. They can also go back to just being in Frisk’s mind where no one else can see them if they want.

- Frisk is the one who makes most of the choices and actions, but they don’t talk a lot. Chara prefers to leave things to them, and mostly narrates and provides commentary.

- Chara and Frisk share a mental link where they can talk telepathically.

- Despite having different and distinct personalities, sometimes they struggle to figure out where “Frisk” ends and “Chara” begins.

- Frisk is selectively mute and uses ASL or a tablet to write out what they want to say. They speak aloud on occasion, but it’s rare.

- Frisk’s colored hair isn’t consistent. It’s constantly changing which strands are highlighted.

- Frisk’s favorite character in the AUs is Papyrus. It’s why they chose the red scarf.

- Chara’s favorite is all of the Frisks. (They also love Sans and his jokes and pranks, though they won’t admit to it, especially considering how many Sanses out there hate them)

- If you manage to separate them somehow… Things will not go well. For anyone.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hello! Just found your blog and I love how you explain yourself here :] Also, your oc is so cute 😭

I'm here for some advice, since I'm still learning about the lore (started playing some months ago). I was thinking of making an oc who's a half fae, and I was thinking of the age thing similar to how Marcille from Dunmeshi ages (she's a half elf). But I didn't know Sebek was a half fae... And I read your post about him and his aging process, and he seems to age pretty similarly to humans...

So I was thinking: do you think that's a "All Half Faes age like this" thing, or could it depend on the type of fae one of the parents is? Basically I want to know if I could still make him age like my original concept or if I'd have to change it HAHDHSBABD

(my other idea is to just make him a full fae, since he'd also be a 3rd year I could just make him the exact same age as Malleus... but I'm still not sure, it doesn't convince me 😵‍💫 Do all faes age in the same way? Could he be "younger" than Malleus in fae years but still be in the same maturity/age range in human years? Idk if you have any info on that 😭 sorry if these are difficult questions! You just seem to know much more about it than I do and idk who to ask 😭😭😭)

[Referencing this post!]

Hello and thank you very much!! 🙇‍♀️

This may not be what you’re looking for, but I don’t think we can conclude one way or another right now. We just don’t have enough information; Sebek is the only half fae-half human character we know of in detail, and 1 is not a good sample size to draw our answers from.

A few other half-fae we’re aware of are Sebek’s older brother and sister, which we know next to nothing about. The older brother is a graduate of NRC, but we don’t have a value for how long ago this was (or even what Big Bro Zigvolt is like personality-wise) so this can’t be used as a reliable metric for how they physically age or emotionally mature.

We know there is life span variance among fae themselves based on the type they are. Whatever kind of fae Lilia is (it has yet to be entirely specified but I think he’s a bat fae?) can up up to 1000 years old. For dragon fae like Malleus, 1000 is considered the age of adulthood (so roughly 18ish for humans) and can live much, much longer. It’s not stated what the maximum age for Sebek’s kind (theorized to be crocodile) is, but we know it must be 500+ since his grandfather Baur was in his prime (as an adult) in the war era of ~500 years ago and is still alive but retired today. Again though, we can’t be sure how this variance would factor into the lifespan of a human-fae child.

The current lore seems to suggest that Sebek and Silver aged similarly, at least as young children. They say that the other boy was one of the few close to their age in Briar Valley (most others are long-lived fae), and they share many childhood memories. That’s the only “evidence” I have of Sebek aging like a normal human. Even then, we cannot be entirely sure since it’s possible Sebek just stops physically aging once he hits a certain point.

It’s also difficult for us to gauge how long-lived races age compared to others. Like, did Malleus age like a normal human up until a certain point and then his physical appearance plateaued at an older adolescent form??? Malleus looks like an older teenager/young adult even though he’s still “a child” by dragon fae standards. Then we have Lilia, who looks the same at 200 and at almost 700… but he looks way younger than Malleus. It’s implied that Lilia is getting up there in age but doesn’t appear elderly at all. Is that just their individual differences or is that the result of their species’ traits?? Again, we don’t know because we know so few fae to compare with.

We also don’t know for sure how this aging impacts their mental and emotional maturity. Currently, Lilia is nearing 700 and Malleus is said to be 178 years of age; the maturity between those two is significant, but that’s probably because being 200 is considered “still a child” for dragon fae (500 is adolescence, so ~13ish?). The gap is too wide for us to discern anything about their development in the time between childhood and adulthood. It’s can also be hard to discern what is “immature” and what is general fae mischief or individual traits, as both Malleus and Lilia can be pranksters but Sebek isn’t.

For now, I’m personally running with the idea that half fae-half human individuals have regular life expectancies until new lore is introduced which disproves it. I’m not going to draw any conclusions about the fae aging or development process, since that’s also left vague.

If you’re making an OC, I don’t think you need to really sweat the details 😅 People bend canon lore all the time for fun, so…

[heaven4lostgirls]

a slice of heaven

artist!james potter x fem!reader

tags: fluff, friends to lovers, james being cute<3

summary: james drawing on you<3

james had always been an artist, he had developed his skill through school as he spent most of his classes doodling in his notebooks rather than listening to slughorn drone on and on about whatever potion they were learning.

when he met you, you had noticed his little doodles taking place in his notebook rather than his notes so all you did was slightly slide your hand over and tap the pen motioning it was okay for him to draw on you.

slowly but surely you would leave your classes with little snitches and dragons drawn on you, sometimes they were related to what the teacher was talking about, other times he just drew what came to mind.

it had become a habit for you to lean your hand out whenever james would sit next to you and when you didn’t he would grab your hand from your side of the table and drag it to his.

you had figured out that although it seemed like he wasn’t paying attention, his drawings told you differently, it helped him focus. his brain couldn’t keep up with the noise so drawing had helped him centre himself.

you weren’t a shy person but you didn’t have it in you to bring up to james the little situation you both had going on, however it seemed you didn’t have to as james waved you over to sit next to him and his friends.

the famous marauders, you had seen them walking around school however you had never directly spoken to any of them for more than five minutes and that alone would mostly be about group projects or classes you were both in.

“y/n! how are you? i wanted to know if you wanted to sit with me and my friends?” james asked shyly as he smiled up at you, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“yeah, sure! hi i’m y/n, i share potions with you guys” she smiles at them and remus smiles back kindly as sirius smirks, seemingly coming to a realization.

“say you wouldn’t be the one who lets prongs’ draw on your hand would you?” he asks slyly

james blushes and you nod somewhat confused on how he’s realized, i mean the idea isn’t entirely perplexing as you would walk around hogwarts with little drawings on your hands but you didn’t think you had made it that obvious.

“that’s me, that’s a bit stalkerish that you know that sirius” he gasps as if he’s somewhat offended by your words as remus snorts a laugh.

“i just wanted to know who the girl is that james always goes on abou-“

“RIGHT! that’s enough out of you mate” james quickly states as he flushes and pulls you away from the group.

“sorry about them, they’re not usually that annoying” he sighs.

“it’s alright, they seem really nice” you smile and you see his eyes drop to your hands which are still interlocked. you try to pull away out of embarrassment however you holds them tighter before his eyes widen.

“holy shit, is that a tattoo?” he questions and you’re suddenly confused before you smile to yourself.

“yeah, it’s-“

“the deer i drew on your hand” he says shocked.

“yeah it was really cute so charmed it to stay there” you smile as he rubs his finger over your ‘tattoo’.

“that’s sick, i didn’t think that you’d like it that much”

“it reminded me of my patronus and i thought it was cute-“

“wait what?”

“i thought it was cute?”

“no the part about your patronus-“

“oh yeah! it’s a doe! it’s kind of odd but i really like it”

james is shocked. his hands still and you think you’ve said something wrong before he looks at you.

“mines a deer”

you smile to yourself again.

“coincidence hm?”

“yeah, definitely…do you wanna maybe, i don’t know go to hogsmead later? i mean you don’t have to if you don’t want to but i would like to take you out-“

“JAMES! relax, i would love to”

“really?”

“yes really, idiot.”

“now that was uncalled for”

[mareastrorum]

From the recent Rolling Stone article (which Tumblr insists the link is broken: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/rs-gaming/critical-role-dungeons-and-dragons-interview-1235188141/) regarding the animated series:

When adapting your campaigns into animated series, how do you boil down hundreds of hours of story into something more manageable? What story beats do you decide to keep or add? What do those conversations look like?

Mercer: I mean, it’s a protracted conversation. Before planning anything like this, we have extensive writers’ rooms where the cast gets together with the writers for the season of these projects. And we break down together over weeks the important things for us as players that happened to our characters, that happened to the story and essentially piece out what is necessary to tell the story in a very fruitful and important way. And then we have to decide which ones don’t make it or how we can merge things for the adaptation, bringing forth the heart of what we enjoyed about it originally. It’s a big challenge, but it’s also a really fun puzzle to piece together.

[Mercer: ]And then to the point of having the hindsight of all this world that we’ve explored since those stories were first told, we have the opportunity now to go back and even weave them tighter together. We’ve colored in some of those fog of war, dark spots in the world’s history since we first did this. And it’s a really cool chance to further tie it all together and make the world even that much more broad and detailed and expansive. It’s a wonderful puzzle to solve together.

What challenges were there in developing The Legend of Vox Machina? What lessons have you learned that you’re carrying with you into creating The Mighty Nein animated series and beyond?

Willingham: Ours is a very unique show in that we have a billion main characters. There are seven of us walking around at any time, which we found out in animation is hard to draw. It’s a challenge for animation studios. There was a bit of a learning curve in the first couple of seasons about how many characters could be in each shot. How would scenes work? Do we need to reduce the amount of faces that are there? Just so that the animation process is simpler. We’ve seen in seasons one and two was a more honest adaptation of the campaign.

[Willingham: ]And now in season three, what we’ve really been excited to explore, utilize and sort of reveal is a divergence from some of those story beats that happened in the campaign. We’ve told that story. And a lot of those moments, as Matt mentioned, that happened in the live stream are perfectly laid in that improvised live space. And we want to replicate those if we can. But in a lot of situations, we’re looking for ways to improve the story or give fans who think they know what is coming is something new. We want to unsettle them. We want to breach their expectations and make them guess and become new fans as well. In exploring new ways that we can approach this story and sort of deliver the same sort of oomph, that ability to make you laugh one second and cry the next, that’s what’s really been exciting about the animated series.

[absolutelynooneaskedforthis]

Life Lately…

nico hischier x reader

short little insta edit for my pookie who scored TWO OUT OF FOUR GOALS LAST NIGHT GO BBG ❤️🙏🏼

y/n.user

liked by nicohischier, jackhughes, lhughes_06, and 8k others…

y/n.user Life lately…❤️

view comments…

jackhughes why is she learning swedish

nicohischier just asked her; this just in: she doesn’t know!!!

y/n.user LUKE DARED ME

lhughes_06 Okay let’s all just relax

jackhughes two questions 1.) Why not choose a more useful language? and 2.) how much money was on the table?

nicohischier you don’t want to know.

y/n.user …$300…

jackhughes WHAT

nicohischier and she’s kept her streak for like a month

lhughes_06 idk i did it so i could watch her do her duolingo in the middle of the bar every night to get guys to stop talking to her

y/n.user works every time

user18 she loves him so much my heart 🥹

nicohischier slide seven 😞

y/n.user was gonna put the picture of you in your fatigues after but i chose to be nice

nicohischier yes…nice…definitely

y/n.user you’re on thin ice cap.

jackhughes literally and figuratively

y/n.user 😐

user13 this is the most y/n post ever posted

nicohischier without a doubt

user13 OMG HEY Y/N’S BF

nicohischier 🤭

user16 @/y/n.user if you were to assign a song to this post what would it be 🎤

y/n.user maria by justin beiber

jackhughes you need to stop with the JB.

john.marino97 jack’s fav song is that should be me don’t lie rn

nicohischier all three of you are banned from team outings for the next 10 months.

y/n.user can i change my mind bc i want the song to be margaritaville by jimmy buffet

jackhughes somehow that’s not any better

john.marino97 who drew the dragon..?

y/n.user jack while drunk

jackhughes WOW REALLY?!

lhguhes_06 i asked him to draw his favorite animal.

nicohischier good choice.

[randoimago]

Day 13. Selkie Rohan x Reader

note(s): Rohan and Selkie is definitely an interesting combo and I hope I wrote this alright!

requested by anon

Rohan wasn’t really looking for romance or anything of the sort. Humans fascinated him and gave inspiration for his stories. So shedding his skin and living as a human was easy for him where it may be difficult for others of his kind.

Of course, once he started growing famous from the manga he’d write and draw, he needed someone to manage his schedules and things. There are still many human concepts that he doesn’t grasp or care to take time to understand. And that led to him hiring you.

He didn’t really speak to you in the beginning, figuring you’d be like other humans that saw him as a pretty face. Rohan would sometimes give you specific orders, but besides that he let you handle things. Your resume was good enough that he had trust in you, so long as you listened.

Over time, Rohan grew more curious about you. He’d ask questions, learn about things you enjoyed. Sometimes he’d bring up ridiculous hypotheticals just to see your reaction. Although none of your reactions were as funny as when he’d “waste” money on things like a third house somewhere that’s supposedly haunted.

Rohan should’ve known that your curiosity as his… maid? Manager? Whatever job title you had. He has enough money and your resume is good enough to handle a lot of things he doesn’t have time for. But, he should’ve known that your human curiosity would get the better of you.

There was one room he told you to stay out of. But his trust grew in you and so he asked you to get him some art supplies from the room, so long as you didn’t snoop around. Maybe it is partially his fault for not specifying where the supplies were.

Rohan heard you muttering before you came back into his office, holding up his shedded skin with a look on your face like it was gross.

“Is this from another animal you killed just for inspiration?” You ask him and he rolls his eyes.

“You make it sound like I steal people’s pets and kill them.” He ignored the pointed look on your face. “That’s just my skin, go put it back.”

“Your… skin?”

“Yes, I’m glad you can hear.”

He recognized the annoyance on your face from his lack of clarifying. Rohan just let out a sigh as he finally gives you his full attention. “It’s a long story. We’d need to go to the beach for me to explain.”

“Did you kill a seal?” A smirk crosses Rohan’s face at your question.

“You’re getting warmer, but I promise I hadn’t killed anything.” He watches as you seem confused, annoyed, then finally tired of dealing with him being cryptic.

“Fine, don’t answer my question,” you say and turn away. “I have half a mind to throw this away.” He hears you mutter and a look of panic crosses his face. You have thrown away the remains of some mice he’s had as well as snake shed. He would not put it past you to throw out something else you deem as him not needing anymore.

Rohan stands and before you can blink, he has you against the wall, his hands on either side of his head. He’s not trying to intimidate you, especially with the look in his eyes.

“Do not throw it away. I can’t lose it,” he tells you, an almost pleading in his voice. While he has lived most of his life as a human, the sea still calls to him. The idea of losing his skin and being unable to ever go home is torture.

“Rohan, you’re acting weirder than usual.”

He lets out a sigh and looks at you. For a second, he’s curious about the reaction you’d make if he leaned in. But there are more important things to think about and so he steps back, giving you your space.

“How versed are you in mythology and folklore?”

“… Like dragons?”

Rohan makes a face. “Dragons, really?” You look annoyed again and he sighs. “Do you know what a selkie is?” He asks, deciding it’d be easier than having you tell him whatever myths you know of.

“Selkie? I think I’ve heard some people mention something about them living in the water.”

Rohan nods at your words. Considering how close the water is to this town, he’s not surprised that there are murmurs of selkie.

“Well, it’s what I am. That skin you’re holding is mine. I had to shed it to be able to pass as a human.” You look unsure about his words. You probably think he’s lost it.

“It’d explain how eccentric you are.” Rohan makes a face at your words.

“Eccentric? I’m perfectly normal.” He ignores your look again. “If you don’t believe me, we can go to the ocean and I can show you,” he adds, reminding you of that option. You still look unsure.

—

“It’s too cold to be at the beach, Rohan,” you complain and he ignores it as he holds his skin and walks closer to the water. A sigh of relief hits him as he steps into the water, always feeling relief when he comes back, and the skin in his hand begins to stick to him.

The transformation takes a moment and as Rohan treads the ocean water, he looks to where you’re standing on the beach, wide eyed and looking as if you’ve seen something unbelievable.

“This is my true form,” Rohan tells you, unable to help a smirk at your reaction. If he knew this is how you’d act then he’d have taken you to the beach years ago.

“What the fuck, Rohan.” Well you’re still functioning at least.

“Like I told you, I’m a selkie. Go to a library or something to learn more,” he says and rolls his eyes playfully at you. The water always does make him feel a bit more mischievous than usual. “I’m hungry. Want me to catch you a fish?”

Oh your reaction is priceless at that.

It’s rather amusing trying to answer your many questions. Especially when he finally sheds his skin again and you still don’t know how to react. Perhaps it’s still his mischievous nature but he lets out a long sigh, feigning annoyance.

“And now that you’ve seen my true self, we have to get married.” It’s not quite true, but he deeply enjoys your reaction at that.

[hugsandchaos]

So I’m starved for Smiling Critters content, but I don’t exactly have a oneshot in mind to write nor do I exactly have an AU. I do, however, have some headcanons that are definitely canon divergent, especially since I imagined it in the cartoon-like world they were in during the tape recording. I don’t know if it’s enough to build up an AU, but I’m posting them anyways.

•Bubba is fluent in English and Portuguese, and is currently trying to learn sign language from Catnap

•Dogday has 2 sisters and 3 brothers, and he is also the runt of the litter (most of his siblings don’t really care, but one of his brothers likes to pick on him for it and is upset he got “special treatment” when they were younger — that special treatment was mostly just medical treatment and their parents and siblings being responsibly worried about him)

•Bobby and Picky share a favorite way of showing her friends love; by making them their favorite/comfort food for them

•Hoppy doesn’t usually like going slow, but she adores running with her two younger brothers to no end

•Bubba strongly believes Hoppy might have seasonal allergies due to her falling ill for a few weeks when winter turns to spring and pollen levels rise, but Hoppy has her suspicions due to the fact that she’s never been diagnosed to be allergic to anything

•Picky always looks at the nutrition labels at the grocery store

•Picky is thinking about starting her own garden

•Crafty prefers to draw rather than write, but enjoys a good book (she definitely doesn’t have a small library in her living room, I don’t know what you’re talking about)

•Crafty isn’t the best at magic, but she’s learning and her friends are very encouraging

•Bobby’s house is a cozy two story cottage that she keeps nice and clean on a daily basis

•Bobby and Bubba both have a closet in their house full of extra blankets, pillows, towels, and winter clothes

•Kickin’ loves to teach anyone who asks how to surf, how to skateboard, or how to ski

•Catnap almost never talks or makes any sound, but it’s not because he can’t, it’s because he simply prefers not to

•Kickin’ has a great sense of balance

•Catnap is a light sleeper

•Bobby and Catnap sometimes work together to get the group to bed, but in the end, Catnap “turns on her” and gets her to bed too before going to sleep himself

•Kickin’ and Dogday love to plan hiking or camping trips for the group (Hoppy has to stay within someone’s sight so she doesn’t run off, Bobby and Crafty like to stop and look at flowers, Picky likes to pack healthy snacks for everyone, Bubba enjoys telling facts about plants, and Catnap keeps an eye on the whole group by walking in the back)

•Catnap has a surprising amount of knowledge surrounding sleep, even Bubba didn’t know a lot of the things he did

•Bobby has made a plushie for everyone except Catnap, who already has a small, odd plushie resembling a blue creature with yellow hands and feet (Crafty has a flower, Dogday has a bone, Bubba has a dinosaur, Picky has a strawberry, Hoppy has a star, Kickin’ has a dragon, and Bobby has a heart)

•Bobby can actually be scary when she’s protecting her friends

[countrymusiclover]

7 - Smells like Fire

Part 8

The Lion Knight and Dragon Princess

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Days later things had seemed to get better between Sansa and I but she didn't know the truth. I knew she had enough on her plate rather than deal with my current situation. Entering Tyrion’s chamber I shut the door behind me hearing it click and lock behind me. Looking around I found him and a swordsman named Bromm standing at his table near the window. 'Why don’t you just use that on them instead of fighting the lot on the battlefield?’

“Because I'm not certain it will work. And if it does we can only use it once to be a surprise attack.” Tyrion responded leaning his palms on the table.

I finally made my presence in the room known to the pair. “What’s the one time attack?”

“Vaella! Um, it's nothing you should worry about. You'll be in the crypts with Sansa.” Tyrion spun around trying to hide the map with his body.

“Tyrion, what is it?”

He avoided my question with a compliment. “Doesn't she look nice, Bronn. I think she does.”

“Tyrion!’

He watched my movements and held his arms out blocking me. I ran forward and he threw some punches at me holding me back for a second till I twisted his wrist and threw the lord down onto his back. “Vaella - agh!”

“Woah, I'd never think a princess would land you flat on your back.” Bronn mocked with a proud smirk.

Tyrion groaned, pushing his body up from the stone tile. “How did you manage that, princess?”

“Jaime briefly taught me defense in secret.”

Bronn's smirk grew bigger on his face. “I’m beginning to like this girl more than I like you.”

Pushing over my hair out of my face I huffed going to the map seeing a bright green jar beside it. Slowly picking up the jar in my hands concerned if it broke onto the floor. “You’re going to use Wildfire on them. That’s why you didn’t want me to see this.” Glancing over my shoulder I felt tears welling in my eyes thinking back on the many times I’d seen it used.

“I wasn’t sure how you would react if I told you what the battle strategy was. Your - your father was obsessed with it. I - I - I’m sorry for not telling you in the first place.” Tyrion nervously responded standing behind me next to Bronn.

Sitting the jar down on the table I eyed the map behind me recalling the section of tunnels I would use to sneak out for Jaime and I to spend time alone without my father or other guards realizing we had gone. “It’s okay, Tyrion. I shall wish you luck that your plan works. Wildfire is unpredictable, just like me.” Walking around him my dress swaying with my hips and I closed the door behind me.

“What do you think she meant by that?” Bronn asked, rather confused.

The youngest Lannister eyed the door where she had left, he hoped that one day he would get to know more of the Targaryen princess. “I don’t know but hopefully I can find out.”

Amber had fitted me into a black tunic shirt, red trousers and black riding boots figuring that a dress of any sort wouldn’t be suitable for sword training. Tying my hair up into a ponytail Jaime and I snuck our way through the secret tunnels. “So what does your lady in waiting think of you doing this?” Jaime asked, laying his sword on the ground and drawing out another blade for me from his belt.

“She thinks that I’ll beat you.” I teased with a smirk in his direction.

Jaime smirked a cocky look my way, handing me the handle blade. “Oh, she does. Well I’m sorry to disappoint her and say that a beginning like you can’t.”

Closing my fingers around the blade handle I sucked in a breath raising the sword beside my head before we started charging at the other beginning to fight one another. “Don’t be so cocky, Lannister.”

"Relax your dominant arm, Vae." Jaime instructs as I swing with my right arm out more even though I'm holding the sword in both hands. "If you use the same move all the time your opponent can learn which arm is the weakest."

Our swords smack against each other before gently shoves me backwards in the training yard that overlooks the water outside of the Red Keep. "Jaime?" I grunt, taking another swing at him.

He swung back circling me to make our sword press against one another for a moment. "Yes, my princess." He steps back a little sword still raised as I get back in a fighting stance.

I raise my sword trying to strike him but he lightly elbows me in my side to strike me from below. I switch my sword to my left hand for a moment to knock him away. "Your form is better than the last time."

He complimented my reply. "Thanks -uh!" I grunted out, pressing my sword against his. He pressed his sword against mine, never losing gaze with mine.

"Jaime, I-uh..." He started to loosen his hold on his sword when we pushed the other back but suddenly he knocked my sword from my left hand, knowing we both are dominant in our right hands. I dodge his next attack to reveal a dagger from inside my boot and block his sword coming down on me.

"Impressive, princess." He parts his lips when I push his sword down getting up from being on my knees.

"Thank you. But don’t call me that.” I aimed the dagger up, tapping the tip against his chin.

Jaime placed his sword into his holder, closing the distance between the two of us. “You know you love it.” He smirked, connecting our lips together. He was secretly right about, yet I wouldn’t ever tell him that was the case.

I had told Sansa that I wouldn’t be joining her and the other ladies in the bottom of the castle. I needed to see Tyrion’s plan go through otherwise the entire city would be taken down. Tugging a black cloak over my head I peaked my head around the corner seeing nobody was there. Running through the streets I climbed up one of the nearest ladders of a building top that allows me to see the ship ports.

Looking over the shortest column I saw hundreds or maybe thousands of ships coming towards the land. An arrow on fire flew over my head landing onto a ship that had Wildfire liquid pouring out of it and circling the ships so that when the arrow hit the water green flames grew so quickly there was no way of stopping it.

The familiar haunting fire spread before my eyes with multiple explosions shaking the ground that was near the area of water. I gasped feeling a tightness inside my chest seeing bright green before my eyes after all these years. “Burn them all - Burn them all!” Those three horrible words through my ears where I covered them, stumbling down the ladder and running wherever I could trying to escape the loud sound of men screaming and flames filling the sky above my head.

Cutting through the empty hallway I came out into another area filled with the king guards fighting Stannis’s where I had to duck underneath some of the attackers, rolling onto the ground. “Vaella! What are you doing out here?” Whipping my head around I saw Tyrion coming towards me in battle armor.

“I saw your attack.” My gaze shifted quickly seeing a Stannis soldier running straight up to us carrying a knife in his hand attempting to stab me until Tyrion stepped in the way getting cut across the face and collapsed to the dirt. “Tyrion!”

Dropping to my knees I touched his chest seeing fresh blood coming from the cut not sure what to do for him. “Get - out of - here.” He coughed before I felt someone grab my shoulder causing me to draw the blade I had hidden inside my boot. I stabbed the soldier in the chest that had cut him and drew the knife quickly frantically looking back at the lion on the ground carrying the blade in hand.

It took me an hour to get back to the castle and up to my chamber room. Slamming the chamber door behind me and pressing my body against it I sighed sliding down onto the floor trying to catch my breath until I heard footsteps come around the corner. “Clarisse, are you alright?”

“Sansa - what are you doing in here?” Lifting my head up from my knees I saw the young girl a few steps away from me.

She lowered her intertwined hands in front of her gown. “I was worried about you.”

“You don’t have to worry. I can handle myself, my lady.”

Sansa eyed something laying at my feet. “Where did you get a dagger from?” The dagger she was talking about was at my feet covered in blood from when I had stabbed one of Stannis’s men and fled back here. I hoped that Tyrion would be alright.

“It doesn’t matter. You should head back to your chambers. It is getting late-“ I scrambled to my feet to the chamber pot feeling instantly sick to my stomach. Leaning over it I emptied my stomach raising my head back up I collapsed down beside the pot.

Sansa poured me some water and handed it to me. “Here, drink. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“That’s not really what you wanted to ask me is it? Why don’t you just ask me what you really want to know.” I slowly downed the drink.

She parted her lips, muttering. “Who are you really? Because you know this place far better than a lady in waiting would who just came here, you snuck out tonight to watch the battle and you look like someone I read about in one of the old books.”

“Seems to me that you already have an answer so just say it.” I trailed off seeing she was a lot smarter than I had first given her credit for.

Sansa shook her head no in defiance. “I’m not sure I should.”

“Then I will.” Raising myself to my feet I curtsy to her in my handmaiden gown, my gaze holding intensely with hers. “Vaella, daughter of Aerys II and Rhaella Targaryen. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Seven hells.” Sansa for the first time in her life uttered a curse word from her mouth.