#but sadly they were meant for slimmer men

[99simproblems]

KKsims' new shirt was calling his name, so I paired them with pants from one of their older sets and this outfit was born.

[nastybuckybarnes]

Of Kings and Beasts  -  Seven

Pairing: King!Bucky X Princess!Reader X King!Steve

Summary: Born a bastard of the King of Orlen, you’re thrust to the West to marry the Kings. However, the greeting you get is anything but warm, and your life with the King is far from enjoyable. He knows it isn’t your fault his husband is gone, but that fact alone won’t prevent him from taking it out on you.

Warnings: Angst, Injuries, Violence, Language (Maybe)

Word Count: 3.7K

A/n: hello friends! Enjoy this plz. also idk what’s wrong but I’m having a hard time remembering things and my brain is just super mush. I think I’m like, malnourished and exhausted but I really don’t know. Goodnight though, I love you all!

THIS SERIES CONTAINS SMUT AND DARK THEMES THAT MAY BE TRIGGERING TO SOME AUDIENCES!!! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!

Series Masterlist

~*~

“How many times must I explain this? I hardly remember anything. I could barely see his face through the snow. I know not his name nor his rank, all I know is that he was wearing the armour of a Knight.” You’re getting frustrated now as you explain for what feels like the thousandth time what happened before you ventured out into the snow.

James and Steve exchange glances.

“I did not send for her. And I know you would not trust her safety in the hands of anyone who has not fought alongside you in battle. I believe-” James stops speaking abruptly, shaking his head. He’s not sure who is trying to sabotage his marriage, and he doesn’t want them to know that he knows.

“What?” You ask softly, stepping towards him. He takes a step back and you frown. You’d thought that after the night you had spent with the man that he would be more open to having you, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

“Nat!” The redhead is in Steve’s office as soon as he says her name.

“I want you or Sam with (Y/n) at all times. You may only leave her side if you are directly dismissed by one of the three of us. Do you understand?” She nods, guilt heavy in her gut at the fact that you could’ve died because of her carelessness.

“Have Clint bring the stable boy here. I want him to give me details. I need to know who the traitor is and why they want my wife dead,” Steve says after a moment, his eyes hard at the thought of someone wanting to bring you harm.

“I’ll go,” James pipes in, avoiding your eyes as he walks to the door, closing it tightly behind himself.

Your shoulders slump and you shake your head sadly. “I had thought that after our night... we may be starting to rebuild our relationship. However, it seems as though he does not wish for that to happen.” Steve sighs, walking around his desk to wrap his arms around your frame.

“He is sad and afraid. He has not been himself for a long while, but he will come back.” Your bottom lip quivers and you curse yourself for being so emotional.

“I do not wish to be the cause of his unhappiness. At times I wonder if it would be better if I stayed away. If I allowed the two of you to continue as if I were not here at all.” Steve turns you around and lifts your chin, forcing you to look up at him.

“You are very important to both of us. If he truly wanted you out of the picture he would not have gone out to find you. You matter far too much to the both of us. He will come around again, he just needs some time.”

A knock on the door pulls your attention from him and you sniffle, wiping a stray tear off of your cheek.

“Come in.”

The door gets pushed open and a red-faced young man scurries in, his eyes focused on the ground as he bows.

“Y-you called for me, Your Majesties?” Your heart warms at the obvious nervousness.

“What is your name?” You ask, cutting Steve off. He raises his eyebrows at you and you simply smile, taking a step away from him and towards the boy.

“P-Peter, Your Majesty. A-and I did not mean for any harm to come to you. I was led to believe that the man was indeed a knight of the king and that the business transpiring was none that should involve me. I ask that you are lenient in your punishment, for I truly enjoy my position and I am so grateful that you have given me the opportunity to work here. I-” You raise your hand, silencing his rambling and looking every bit like the queen you are.

Steve watches from behind you, never having seen you truly take control of the title you have.

“You will not be punished for following the orders of someone who seemed to be an honest man. No harm came from it. We simply would like to know if you have any recollection of his name or his rank. Or perhaps a description of his appearance.” The boy stares at you in shock before looking to the King. Steve simply nods and the boy inhales deeply.

“I did not gather his name nor his rank, Your Majesty. But he seemed tall. Not as tall as the King, Mind you, but still taller than most knights. And his build was slimmer, which I found surprising. I should’ve questioned it and I will spend my days regretting that I did not because our Kingdom could have lost its queen due to my carelessness and-”

“Peter, please stay focused,” Steve says. The boy swallows hard and nods, clearing his throat before speaking again.

“He had... dark hair and dark eyes... bared no resemblance to any knight I’ve ever seen before. He lacked the composure of a knight as well. It almost seemed as if he were trying to mimic the actions of one.” You turn to Steve, brows raised at this new information.

“Thank you, Peter. That will be all.” The boy bows again then hurries out of the room.

“So someone was able to pose as a knight? But who? And why? I hardly have a purpose in the kingdom. Why did I become a target?” Steve shakes his head, wishing he had the answers of which you seek.

“I know not. But I will be bringing this up when James and I meet with the council next. Any threat against our wife is a direct threat against our kingdom, and justice needs to be served.” The mention of your other husband has your heart aching.

“Do... do you think he would talk to me were I to find him?” You ask. Steve purses his lips. James seemed so comfortable with you the other night. He hates the thought, but maybe it’s his presence that is making James so distant.

“There is no harm in trying. Have Natalia accompany you.” You nod, gathering your skirts and hurrying out of the room, the redhead hot on your heels.

“I offer you my sincerest apologies, your majesty. I should have been there.” You shake your head at her, smiling softly.

“Do not apologize, Natalia. No one was harmed.” you pause just as you’re about to walk past the glass doors leading to the gardens, a glint of silver catching your eye.

“You may wait here. I fear having any more of an audience will only have a negative effect,” you whisper, pushing the door open and venturing into the snow.

Natalia stands just outside the door, watching with her hand on the hilt of her sword as you walk down the path towards the brooding king.

“James?” You call, waiting until he looks at you.

“You should not be here,” he murmurs, his eyes closing tightly and his hands clenching into fists. He huffs out heavy breaths through his nose, the air forming a misty cloud that dissipates slowly.

“James, please. I cannot stand the distance you put between us. I am begging you to let me in.” He grinds his teeth together, his face contorting in what looks like pain before suddenly going stoic.

He’s quiet for a long moment, long enough for you to slowly approach him, fingers prickling in the cold winter air.

“James?” You ask softly, hoping he’s ready to open up to you again.

His eyes snap open and in a flash of silver, he’s got his metal hand wrapped around your throat, fingers flexing and nearly crushing your windpipe.

Your eyes widen and you instinctively grab at the metal appendage.

His face is devoid of emotion as he lifts you nearly clean off the ground, the tips of your toes hardly brushing the ground. Your lungs burn and tears of pain and discomfort well up in your eyes.

There’s a whooshing sound and then he grunts, toppling to the left and dropping you to the ground.

You collapse in a heap, hands grabbing at your throat protectively as you draw in huge lungfuls of air between painful coughs.

The sound of metal clanging against metal has your eyes shooting upwards just in time to see two swords connect above you, one belonging to the king and the other belonging to Natalia.

“Your Majesty, get back!” She shouts, her eyes on you for a brief moment.

You scramble through the snow, trying to get to the palace and call for help.

James overpowers the redhead with practiced ease, and then his murderous gaze is focused on you again.

Fear freezes you in place and you stare up at him with wide eyes while Natalia is screaming for him to stop, for someone to come to your aid.

His sword comes down right as a powerful hand jerks you to the side.

The blow that was meant to kill you draws a red line across your cheek, blood spilling out and trailing down your chin.

The hot liquid splatters against the frozen snow, melting a hole and staining the white.

For a moment you’re reminded of your place in the world. A stain against purity. A mistake.

You’re wrenched back to reality by hands yanking you backwards, away from where the two Kings fight each other, Steve with desperation and James with determination.

“Come, Majesty.” Nat helps you inside but you don’t move past the doors, heart hammering in your chest as guards rush out to help the blond king.

“Your Majesty, you’re injured. We must-” you shake your head at her, eyes far too focused on the fight.

James manages to knock Steve’s sword away but is quickly distracted by the other men, giving the blond an opportunity to deliver a nasty blow to the back of his head.

The brunet collapses in the snow, groaning and grabbing his head.

You watch with nothing but terror and tears in your eyes as he slowly pushes himself to his knees, familiar blue eyes looking around in confusion.

They land on you, blood on your cheek and fear in your eyes and he nearly throws up as he realizes what he’s done.

“James?” He shakes his head at Steve, stumbling to his feet and hurrying into the Palace.

“James!” He runs straight past you and down the hallway, disappearing after a few moments.

Steve stands in the snow, blue eyes narrowed and pink lips parted. He pants, trying to gather his thoughts while the cold air bites his cheeks and the tip of his nose.

Steve is at your side in a flash, his hand cupping your cheek and angling your head to allow himself to inspect your wound.

“Just a scratch,” he murmurs, brows drawn together as he glances to where his husband was.

Your eyes, however, are drawn to a movement in the garden.

A familiar pair of muddy brown eyes stand out against the snow and you inhale sharply.

“Steve, it’s him.” He follows your gaze to the garden,

“Guards!” He shouts, grabbing his sword and hurrying out into the snow.

“Please, your majesty. I need to tend to your wound.” You finally allow Natalia to drag you away, but not before hearing Steve mention something about the dungeon to one of the guards with him.

~*~

You toss and turn all throughout the night, missing the warmth of your husband and beyond afraid at the events of the day.

Not only were you attacked, but you also potentially caught the man who wants you dead.

The worst part? Steve has given you zero information. No matter how much you asked, he refused to say a single thing about James or the stranger in the garden.

So that is how you have ended up here, pacing through the dark palace halls in search of your blond husband.

As you’re leaving his empty office you hear a whisper of your name, followed by a soft laugh.

You frown and follow the sound, the voice beckoning you closer and yet getting further away every time you approach.

The voice leads you through the halls for what feels like hours until you find yourself in front of a wooden door that nearly blends in with the walls around it.

Steadying yourself with a deep breath, you push the door open. It creaks loudly and you instinctively look around to make sure that no one heard.

Once deeming the coast to be clear, you slowly walk through the doorway and nearly fall.

It’s a spiral staircase going downwards.

Your heart beats loudly in your ears as you take the steps one at a time, getting reminded of all the times you snuck around the Palace back home.

Through the darkness, there’s a yellow glow that you identify as candlelight.

You dare not step into the light, so instead, you stay tucked safely around the corner, ears straining to hear... anything.

You make out two voices, one of them far more familiar than the other.

“I am going to ask you one last time: who is it that is plotting against me?” Steve demands.

The other man sounds weak, his breath coming in ragged pants.

You risk a glance around the corner, eyes finding the two in the dimly lit room. Th man on the ground is bloody and bruised and you can hardly recognize him until he speaks.

“You’d best be careful who you allow into your circle, your Majesty. I serve my Kingdom, but not all who are close to you are true to their word. Is it not suspicious that so many terrible events have occurred so soon after the Queen was brought here?” Steve's hand comes down hard against the man’s face and you hold back a gasp.

“If you do not cooperate and answer truthfully, I will rip your teeth out one by one and force them down your throat.”

The man spits blood onto the ground then chuckles weakly.

His bloodied face is too much for you, and you turn on your heel and run up the stairs as silently as you can, hands trembling with fear and disgust as you realize that both kings are brutal in their own sick ways.

“You know I speak the truth. The change in your husband has only occurred since your wife has been here. Has Orlen always been a friend to us? Or have they been trying to get into our Kingdom to take what they wish?”

Steve is silent for just a moment too long, long enough for the man to know he struck a nerve.

“If you wish to kill me, do so. But remember my warning. And do not be surprised when she turns on you, too.”

~*~

He doesn’t return to his chambers for nearly an hour after that, and as much as you try, you cannot fall asleep after what you witnessed.

Sure, you expected there to be consequences, but you never imagined that Steve would torture the man with his own hands.

When he finally returns to you, he climbs into bed without noticing your stiff figure.

His arm comes around your waist as it usually would, and you try your hardest not to flinch away from him.

A single glance down shows you his split knuckles and you have to bite your lip to stop from making a noise of fear.

He falls asleep quickly behind you, and you’re horrified at how comfortable he is with being so brutal to another human being.

~*~

The King paces in his office, the question of the prisoner echoing in his mind.

He had not even considered the possibility of you being responsible for the change in his husband’s demeanour, but it only started since you came to the palace.

A weight settles in the pit of his stomach and he takes a few deep breaths to try and calm himself down.

He needs to speak to you immediately.

Just as he pulls the door to his study open, you raise your hand to knock.

“Oh!” You gasp, grabbing your chest and taking a sharp breath.

“You startled me. I was just coming to find you. H-have you any news of James?” Your eyes stray down to his split knuckles and Steve takes notice of the tension in your shoulders.

“He’s locked himself in the east wing. He refuses to speak to anyone but doctor banner,” he says, voice stiff and mechanical.

You nod slowly, stepping into the room when he steps aside and motions you to come in.

It’s silent for a long moment, the pressure nearly making your eardrums burst.

You want him to say something, anything. Explain what happened last night or what’s going on today. You’re far too terrified to ask him, however. After witnessing what you did... you do not want to anger him.

That seems to be a futile wish, however.

“Is he alright?” You try, hoping that this is a safe topic.

Steve doesn’t reply. No, instead he paces slowly around the room.

“Do you take me for a fool?” He asks, eyes finding you for the first time.

“What are you talking about?” You’re genuinely curious, trying to think of what you could’ve done to make him ask you this.

“I will ask you again, and this time you will answer. Do you take me for a fool?” He’s walking to you now, steps purposeful and intimidating, a walk that he has practiced and perfected.

You back up a step, fear coursing through your veins. “N-no, of course not. What is this about, Steve?”

“You will address me properly.” You’ve never seen this side of him before. Except for last night.

“I-I don’t think I am understanding... Your Majesty.” You’re not sure if you are more disappointed or sad, but you drop your eyes to the floor.

“Rumours have been spoken, words whispered of a traitor among us. Someone who wishes for the kingdom to fall. Someone close to myself.”

You furrow your brows, taken aback by the accusation.

“And you think me capable of that?” You demand.

He shrugs but his eyes are anything but calm. There’s a fiery storm in his blue eyes, accusation and rage simmering just beneath the surface.

“I hardly know you. It would be foolish of me to think you are anything more than a spy sent by Orlen.” Your heart hurts and you need to take a few deep breaths before you speak.

“I have been nothing but loyal to you, your husband, and your kingdom. Who might I even have to conspire with? I have not been allowed near the people, and I fear my own ladies because their loyalties lie with you.”

Your words ring with truths that even you didn’t consider until now. Steve opens his mouth to speak but you do not allow him a turn.

“I have not breathed a word of the brutalities I have experienced at the hand of your beloved. I have not even dreamed of leaving the castle walls for fear of what consequences would await such thoughts. From the moment I arrived, I have been treated like dirt and yet you stand here with the audacity to question my loyalties!”

He’s taken aback for a moment. He wants to trust you, he really does, but he just can't. Not after what the man said last night. It makes too much sense that you would do this.

“You speak of rumours... as if you do not have your own to worry about. Your brutality is spoken of throughout the continent. Clearly, the rumours hold true, for your brutality extends far beyond the lines of the battlefield. The kings show no mercy, not even to their wife in the privacy of their bed chambers.”

He grabs your forearms tightly, face full of fury.

“You will watch your tongue, woman!” You huff out a breath and shake your head, face contorting in pain as his grip tightens.

“You are so quick to accuse me when you were nowhere to be found in a time that I needed you.” His brows raise nearly to his hairline.

“Are you implying that I had a hand in that?” He demands, a vein in his forehead throbbing as he only gets more furious.

“I imply nothing, your majesty. I am simply taking note of the fact that you were conveniently away during a time when I was in peril.”

His hand comes up before he can register what’s happening, and then you’re tumbling to the floor, the crisp sound of a slap ringing in his ears.

Your hands tremble and your cheek burns. You stay rooted in place, eyes squeezed shut in fear as he towers over you.

He stands before you, chest heaving and eyes wide with horror at himself.

“Your actions only further prove my point,” you whisper, blinking your eyes open to suppress your tears.

“And do yours not prove mine?” He counters, glaring at you as you rub your aching wrists. Seeing you cower beneath him, so small and so fragile, his anger starts to melt away.

“I would like to remind you, Your Majesty, that I do not benefit from being here. I have only traded one prison for another, and I am not sure how much longer I will endure such treatment.”

He opens his mouth to speak, one hand extending to help you to your feet. His eyes find a line of red on your cheek and he glances down at his hand, the mark on your cheek matching his wedding band.

Now you have matching scratches on either side of your face.

“Do not touch me,” you hiss, glaring up at him with wet eyes.

He’s crouching down when there’s a knock on the door. Sam pushes it open without waiting for an invitation but the look on his face is enough for Steve not to snap at him.

“There’s been an attempt on Doctor Banner’s life.”

[mysoftboybensolo]

The Alienist and the Soprano

Chapter 6: The Disturbance

A/N:  This was inspired by Laszlo’s love of opera and my thought on what if he fell for an opera singer. Multi chapter. Canon divergence, there is no Mary Palmer here (I loved Mary and Laszlo, so I don’t feel like I could have her here and have him be with another woman). A mix of show and book canons. No Y/N, OC named Evelina Lind.

A03: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32029150

Pairing: Laszlo Kreizler x Fem OC!

Summary: The last thing Laszlo Kreizler ever expected while investigating the death of children was to fall in love, and with an opera singer no less!

Warnings: Age gap, a child is harmed, creepy break in of apartment.

Special shout out to @arizemo​​ for giving me encouragement to continue to write when I felt like giving up. You were the best and this is dedicated to you, even though I know you haven’t seen the show.

The sky didn’t look as promising as Laszlo had hoped, and was grateful that one of the staff members insisted that he’d bring an umbrella just in case, but he could swear that when he saw Evelina, the day seemed brighter and to him, there weren’t any clouds. “Good morning, Miss Lind. I trust you had a good night’s rest?”

“I did, thank you. I have not had the pleasure of walking this park yet, thank you for inviting me.”

“Of course, shall we?” He asked, gesturing with his umbrella, making her chuckle. For a while, they walked side by side, exchanging pleasantries, Laszlo pointing out the different birds, even the ones he couldn’t see but only hear.

“My goodness, you do know everything!” she laughed.

“When I was in college, I studied ornithology first, not quite sure what I had wanted to do, but then I had come to realize that psychology was even more fascinating to me. That was when I had met Moore and Roosevelt, I suppose they are the longest kept friends I have. This was in ‘77, so nearly twenty years.” He faltered for a moment, then said, “That must make me sound very old, doesn’t it?”

“Old? Nonsense, age was what you feel. Do you feel old? You don’t look it, if I may say. You are lean and fit, and you keep yourself in good condition.”

“I’m middle aged, Miss Lind.”

“Silly word. You are a man of the hills.”

“You may tease me as much as you wish, but I cannot help my age.”

“Your age?” she asked, surprised. “I never dreamed-” she stopped herself. I never dreamed that you’d ever think yourself as old, was what she would have said, but she saw the shadow in his eyes and decided to not further probe the topic. “You know,” she says, “It has come to my attention, that you still refer to me as Miss Lind. I believe we have come to know each other long enough to move past formality. Don’t you think?”

He paused to think and realized that she was right. They have known each other for a little over a month, and certainly their introduction was under a certain case of duress that helped bring them closer together. “I-I suppose so. It would be nice to hear you call me by chosen name.”

“Very well, Laszlo.”

Oh God, he thinks, how wonderful it sounds! As they walked, they passed a pair of ladies who stared at them with contempt and made a gesture of turning their noses at them, silently but effectively showing their distain for the pair.

“Do you think that was for me?” Evelina asked, trying to keep her voice light, though she was hurt by the gesture.

“I am certain that was for me. I am not the most well-liked man, and my profession is as frown upon as…” he paused, fearful he’d offend her.

Evelina smiled and nodded understanding. “As an opera singer. It’s alright, it can be said. A month ago, I had difficulty bearing the judging stares and snide comments, but I like to think I developed a thicker skin to bear it, even though it still hurts. I am sure they don’t bother you anymore, the comments on your profession I mean.”

He stopped completely then says, “Evelina, this is wrong.”

She looks at him incredulous. “What is?”

“That I should take up the time and friendship of…of someone so young and good as you.”

She sighed and grinned. “Oh, Laszlo, I am so glad I’ve met you.”

Now he looked at her incredulously. “But why?”

“Well, that’s just it. I am not sure why. I never met anyone that surprises me as much as you do, and yet, someone that I feel I truly understand. And the young ones are so boring. I am never bored with you!”

He huffed out a smile, shaking his head. “I didn’t think I was at all interesting.”

“Of course, you are! You put on this air of being steely cold and distant, but really, you are gentle and kind, and warm.”

“Do not be mistaken, I am nothing more than a cold, aging alienist.”

She shakes her head. “That’s what you try to make people think. And I know why. I may not know the details, but I know you did not have a happy childhood, and it made you feel as though you had to protect yourself from the hurt, but it also stops you from the joy you want.” Looking down at her gloved hands, which fiddled for a moment, she said looking back up, “Now, I told you why I like you, it’s your turn to say what you like about me. You do like me, don’t you?” She asks, her voice soft as she hoped she wasn’t wrong.

He speaks not a moment, then says, “Yes, I like you, very much. I like…that I feel safe with you. It’s a feeling I’ve not had much in my life. You make me think and smile, and, want to live.”

Evelina smiled and her eyes tender. “I’ve never met anyone quite like you, Laszlo.”

“And I-I’ve never met anyone quite like you.” He feels his heart race at her words, those blue eyes filled with an emotion that no one ever gave him before, and it filled him with many different emotions.

“Laszlo?” A voice breaks the moment, making Evelina and Laszlo turn to see where the voice came from. Approaching them were two young men, one tall and slim with a cheery disposition and the other a few inches shorter and sturdier with glasses. “Laszlo, we may have a lead!” spoke the sturdier man, who sounded quite excited.

“Oh, forgive us,” the slimmer man said, “We hadn’t meant to intrude.”

“Gentleman allow me to introduce to you, Miss Evelina Lind. Evelina, this is Marcus and Lucius Isaacson, they have been working with John, Sara and I on investigations.” Laszlo introduced them, pointing out to Evelina which man was who.

“Oh, yes, I do remember you. I recall Laszlo mentioning the both of you.”

“Likewise, Miss Lind. In fact,” Lucius spoke with a smile, “Laszlo has spoken of you on many occasions. It almost feels as if we know you.” Marcus gave a small but clear jab in the rib, making Lucius look at him in confusion.

Evelina blushed, pleased at the thought of Laszlo speaking of her to others. “Uh, yes, well,” Laszlo intervened, “Follow the lead and when we meet tonight, we’ll go over it. Good day,” his tone of voice may have been a bit curt, but it was understandable.

Marcus nodded and bid the pair a good day before guiding his brother away, trying to explain to him what it was they had interrupted.

Evelina felt her cheeks grow warm at the idea that she was talked of by Laszlo, that other people have heard him speak of her, she wasn’t just some secret friend he didn’t wish to be associated with. The soft rumble of thunder made them both look up at the gray sky and with a few drops falling, Laszlo opened his umbrella and held it over them both. Without thinking, Evelina had slipped her arm around his, allowing her to be sheltered more from the rain.

Laszlo gulped. Yes, he had escorted her a few times, he even escorted Sara, but how close her body was pressed to his side, the scent of rose and iris filling his nose, it made Laszlo feel like a schoolboy in the throes of his first crush. “Um,” he cleared his throat, “I should take you back home.”

As much as she was disappointed that the walk was cut short by the rain, she was pleased at the progress they had made. She felt certain that now with formalities pushed aside and the sharing of first names would lead to the next big step. But still, she was not certain. Did he just humor her since he had saved her and thought that she was a lonesome young woman, or did he have the same feelings as she did? His attitude at times made it difficult for her to decipher, but she wasn’t one to give up.

Reaching back her place, Evelina thanked him, and both felt the absence when her arm slipped away from his. But he had to return to the institute, and she had to be ready for rehearsals tomorrow.

Laszlo hurried back to the institute, and once he had returned, he noticed a group of children sitting on the floor along the wall, looking rather glum. “Oh, now why the long faces?”

“We were going to play outside, but then it began to rain, and sadly the children were very eager to go out,” Mrs. Gorenko, one of the teachers, explained to the doctor, helping him with his coat.

“Well, we can’t have disappointed children. I am sure that the great hall can be a perfect substitute.”

He smiled when he saw the children brighten up and exclaimed in excitement as they were led to the great hall to play. And as he returned to his office, he allowed the good mood to overcome him and he now smiled because of Miss Lind, or rather, Evelina. To say her name aloud was as much of a pleasure as it was for him to hear his name on her lips. Perhaps, he thinks, perhaps it is as he could hope it to be.

His mood was so high that he thought nothing could spoil this feeling, but a sudden crash and sound of children screaming broke his dreams. He got up and ran towards the sound, leading him to the great hall where children huddled in a corner, having been led there by Mrs. Gorenko.

He looked over and found Mrs. Gorenko knelt beside a crying child, his leg bleeding. Rushing over and falling to his knees, he looked at the child. “What happened?”

“I am not sure, doctor. We were doing our morning exercise, then suddenly, the window broke, and something flew into the room. Alastair tripped and his leg landed on the glass.”

“Check on the children, I’ve got him.” Mrs. Gorenko went to the other children, looking over them, while Laszlo examined the little boy’s leg. Alastair was only eight, smaller than the other boys, and it broke Laszlo’s heart to see him sobbing and shaking with fear. Other members of the staff came rushing in, wondering what the commotion was and came to help. Two of the nurses rushed over to Laszlo and they carefully carried the boy, rushing to the ward. “Get to work on his leg, he may need stitches,” he softly tells one of the nurses as he got up from the floor.

He went over and looked down at the little ones huddled, many of whom were crying, frighten by the disturbance. “Is everyone alright?” he asked gently and gave a quick scan over their persons. “Take them to their dormitories, no more lessons today for them, they’d have quite a shock as it is.”

Once alone, he inspects the window, followed the broken glass to where a large rock sat. Picking it up, he saw that tied around it was coarse yarn and a folded up piece of paper. He managed to slip the note out without tearing then opened it. The words sent a shiver up his spine.

I have my eye on you, Dr. Kreizler

John never got word from Laszlo to hurry due to great urgency, so when he arrived back home and received the message, he was quick to hurry right back out, despite his grandmother calling for him. He was led by one of the nurses to the big hall and his heart dropped to his stomach to see the sight. “Good God, Laszlo, what happened?”

Laszlo, who had been pacing back and forth, the look that John has seen many times of contained fury, and he knew it could not be good. “Someone threw a rock through my window, with this note attached.” He gestured to the note in his hands, stopped only to give it to John.

John read the note and he too felt his blood run cold. “Do you think it is the killer?”

“Who else? We must be getting close, if he could do such a thing. We need to get him before anything else happens.”

“Are the children alright?”

“Yes, for now. But,” his voice began to rise, “He intruded in their sanctuary. How am I supposed to explain to the children, that the one place they thought they were safe is no longer the haven they were promised? How can I take care of them if I can’t protect them from people like this?”

“We will catch this man, Laszlo, and all will be well.”

“You don’t get it, do you John?” Laszlo stopped pacing, yelling, “They came after my children! One of them got hurt, he may need stitches! What if the rock hit and killed one of them? My children were put in danger John, my children!” His voice cracked at the last words, forcing him to turn away from his friend.

John rarely ever saw Laszlo express an emotion that came from a place of caring, and it broke him to see how upset Laszlo was when a threat came to close, not to him, but to those he cares for deeply. John stepped up and placed a hand on Laszlo’s shoulder, gently, comforting. “We will get him, Laszlo. We will protect your children. I promise.” As much as Laszlo was touched by John's willingness to help, it did not ease his fears or disturbance.

But Laszlo was not the only one to be disturbed.

Going up the stairs to her room, Evelina hummed softly, thinking of the way he said her name, and stopped completely when she saw her door slightly opened. Her blood ran cold, and she carefully kicked the door open, but found no one there. Evelina looked about her room, nothing valuable was taken, but what sent a wave of fear over her was that her dresser drawer was open, and a pair of her knickers was missing. Her heart began to beat furiously and without thinking, she rushed out of the building and went to the first person she thought of.

Sara was shocked to say the least when she saw Evelina standing at his door, looking half out of her wits, desperate. “Evelina. What on earth?”

“I need help.”

She let her in and brought her to the drawing room, offering a whiskey, not thinking of how most women wouldn’t drink it. But Evelina gladly accepted it, downing the whole of it. “Are you alright? What happened?”

“My apartment has been broken into.”

“Oh my.” Sara sat beside her, offered a comforting hand. “Did they take anything valuable?”

“No,” Evelina said, and at first she hesitated, unsure if she should mention it, but then said, “They…they took a pair of my knickers.”

Sara stiffened, feeling shocked and a second hand fear. “What compels a man do to something so disturbing? Thank goodness you were not there, and that no one else was harmed.”

Evelina nodded, agreeing, but still shook. “I do not feel safe staying there. I am not sure what to do or where to go. Forgive me if I am a burden, but you were the first thought of when remembering our first conversation.”

“Not at all. I am glad you came to me.” Sara thought for a moment, then said, “If I came with you to your apartment to collect your things, would that make you feel better?”

“To collect my things?”

“Well of course. I can’t imagine you’d want to stay there much longer, so we shall have all your things brought here.”

Realizing what she meant, Evelina immediately began to protest. “Oh, I couldn’t dare ask. It is too much.”

“Nonsense. Even if you did feel comfortable staying, I wouldn’t feel right with sending you back alone. You shall stay with me for as long as you wish.”

Evelina’s eyes watered and she reached over to hug Sara, who at first was taken aback by the gesture, but welcomed it as she figured that Evelina was in need of comfort. “Thank you so much. I’ll pay you back,” she said, pulling away, “Whatever you’d like. I am not afraid of pulling my weight around here.”

“Really, it is alright. If the situation was reversed, I am sure you’d do the same. Now,” Sara stood, “Let us go and get your belongings.”

It was short work as Evelina did not have much, but Sara looked around the room, searching for clues, for anything to give a clue to who would do this. Whoever it was, knew how to return everything back to where things were, so he was smarter than your usual criminal. The sooner she’d get her away from this place, the better. Sara’s footman helped carry the trunk into the house and Sara brought her to the guest room. “You are free to stay as long as you wish. And I promise, I shall do what I may to figure out who did this.”

“No!” She quickly said, but then tried to explain, “I couldn’t drag you into this. What if this perpetrator is mad, a violent criminal?’

“It will take more than a pervert to stop me from helping you. Truly. And after all, if I intend to have my own agency to solve crimes, I will need the opportunities.” Taking her hands, she looked Evelina square in the eyes and said, “No woman should ever have to live in fear of being born a woman. And I meant what I said, we women must help each other. I am keeping my promise.” Giving a reassuring squeeze, she released her. “I’ll let you get settled in.” She turned to leave, but then stopped and turned back. “Oh, I nearly forgot. Tonight, a few men will be here to discuss a case.”

“You mean, John and Laszlo?”

“Yes, as well as the Isaacson Brothers. We are trying to solve the case of the murdered children. If you do not feel comfortable with the subject, you do not have to stay.”

“Thank you for the warning. At this point, there is not much I cannot handle.”

Evelina found herself situated perfectly and with enthusiasm hurried to join the gathering. All of them had arrived at the same time and were surprised to see an extra member of the group. “Evelina. You are joining us?” Laszlo asked, surprised.

“Evelina is staying with me indefinitely, so you shall see a great deal of her. And don’t worry John, I’ve already warned her of the nature of this case. No need to defend any ladies’ delicate natures tonight.” She teased, making him flustered. Evelina noticed and smiled, it was not difficult for her to see the attraction between the two.

“I shall get the tea,” Evelina offered, wanting to help as much as she could.

“Any news?” asked Marcus, as the team settled in their seats.

“Perhaps. Earlier today, a rock came hurling through a window of my institute, with this note attached.”

Sara took the note and looked at it. “Do you think he is closing in on us?” she asked as she passed the note along to the brothers.

“Who knows?” Laszlo said, taking the note back from Lucius once he was done examining it, stuffing it in his pocket, “But it unsettles me greatly to think he is close to my children.”

Evelina walked in at the last part and gave a quizzical look as she set the tray down. “Something is wrong with the children?”

“Thankfully no,” Laszlo answered, taking the teacup from her.

“Someone threw a rock through Laszlo’s window, we think it might be the killer,” Lucius filled in.

“No one was hurt, I hope?”

“One, he needed stitches, the others were just frightened, but they should never have been frightened in the first place.  Which is why it is imperative that we close in on this murderer.”

The evening passed in a feverish haze; Lucius and Marcus sharing their lead, everyone eager to work out the possibilities, and Evelina was there, trying to help keep things neat for them to work efficiently. She wished she was cleverer to help in their case, to actually do something worthwhile. But she also knew that any little bit could help them figure out why such a madman would want to hurt children in such a terrible way. Her eyes pricked with tears and she had to turn away at one point to dab her eyes with her handkerchief. At least the end of the evening seemed to be satisfactory enough for everyone had left with newfound hope and eager to start the next day. Laszlo and John were the last to leave. Evelina watched with amusement of how Sara and John danced around their feelings, and she wondered if she and Laszlo looked that way. She did sympathize with John, for he clearly adored Sara and Sara seemed to feel the same, but held incredible restraint from her feelings.

Laszlo didn't talk much around Evelina, as if company made him shy, as if everyone was watching him. But she understood, he no doubt had his mind on the case and he spoke her given name when he bid her goodnight, making her mind settle as she worried she offended him in some way. Both ladies retired for the night, and as Evelina laid down, she tried to wrestle with the nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach. Will she really be safe with Sara? Should she tell the whole truth of what she knows?

Tagging: @monsieurbruhl​​​ @flutterskies​​​ @sokoviandelights​​​, @cazzyimagines​​​​, @rumblelibrary​​​​, @fictionlandslanddreams​​​​, @violetmuses​​ and @barnesxnobles​​. If anyone else would like to be tagged, please let me know!

[ibijau]

Arranged marriage viking AU edition but make it Xisang I know you want it 👀

b i t c h. You know me too well. I basically kinda ignored the prompt and went for my own thing (prompt:  Person A is traded to the Vikings for safe passage and is subsequently married to the jarl’s oldest child, Person B). They’re not viking (sadly I checked, and that would have been unlikely)

Also on AO3

"I think he said brother," Lan Xichen pointed out, trying to help. 

This, of course, earned him a nasty glare from Su Minshan, who never liked to have his competence challenged, and from Lan Qiren, for aggravating their translator when they were in such a dire situation already. 

"Those languages don't always differentiate well between genders," Su Minshan explained. "But of course he meant sister, since he's asking for a husband to marry into his tribe." 

Unconvinced by that explanation, Lan Xichen glanced toward the king of the Nie people, who seemed mildly annoyed at their reaction to his offer… Or perhaps amused? He was a hard man to read. King Nie Mingjue was an impressive man, all the more so because he had ambushed their little group quite easily with his horse-riding warriors. He could have easily killed them all in their sleep, and would have been in his right to do so since they had entered his territory in secret. He had looked ready to do just that, in fact, but Su Minshan had hurriedly explained why they were there, and managed to placate the terrifying barbarian. 

"It wouldn't be a bad deal," one cousin of Lan Xichen's father noted. "Right of passage in the future, and if we give them someone clever, he might give us inside information in the future. I pity whoever will marry one of those shrews and give her half breeds, but even those will have their use in the future." 

A few eyed darted toward Su Minshan, who pretended not to notice. Although he claimed to be of full Han origin and professed great disdain for foreigners, he had still spent most of his childhood among barbarians, and spoke a few languages of the area. He apparently made a decent living as a guide, but it was said he was saving money to move away from the border and open a shop in the capital, where his past might not follow him. 

While the older men argued for and against the deal offered to them, Lan Xichen looked again toward the barbarians. This time, more than the intimidating Nie Mingjue, he observed the young man at his side, a frail boy hardly younger than himself. He did not look like a warrior, but a few times already he had whispered things to Nie Mingjue’s ear that the king seemed to have taken in consideration. In fact, Lan Xichen was almost certain that he'd come up with that idea of demanding a groom for the king's sibling (the king's brother, Lan Xichen knew he'd heard right). 

Right then, the young man was listening intently as the merchants discussed the offer, his smile growing more and more entertained, almost as if… 

"I think we shouldn't speak so loud," Lan Xichen remarked. "That one, next to the king… I think he understands us."

The older men glanced at the boy, and immediately scolded Lan Xichen for bothering them with nonsense. Certainly the young man didn't look nearly as impressive as the other warriors, so it was easy to think him unimportant. 

Still, Lan Xichen shivered when the young man suddenly winked at him before turning to king Mingjue who leaned toward him, and nodded to whatever the boy told him. Then, confirming all of Lan Xichen's suspicions, the king spoke again. 

He spoke, and pointed right at Lan Xichen. 

"We want that one," Nie Mingjue announced, which Su Minshan promptly translated. 

This sparked a new debate within their group, more heated than before. Lan Qiren had been in favour of accepting the demand, but only until his own nephew was requested as a sacrifice. At the same time, most of the others were suddenly more open to the idea now that they didn't have to fear losing their freedom to go live with some backward barbarians. 

As for Lan Xichen himself, he wasn't sure how to feel about this. What he knew, though, was that their family would make a fortune if they could cut through the Nie kingdom to trade with the west. He knew also that he had no previous engagement to tie him down at home, and that he had a younger brother who could continue their line and take over their father's business. No matter what he may or may not have wanted, Lan Xichen knew there was only one possible answer when his uncle asked him his thoughts. 

"I'll do it," he said, keeping his voice as devoid of emotion as possible. "If it can help our family, I don't mind taking on this hardship." 

As he said this, Lan Xichen couldn’t help looking at the boy next to the barbarian king, who smiled without waiting for Su Minshan’s translation.

Lan Xichen shivered again.

Nobody noticed though. His uncle, helped by Su Minshan, had started negotiating the finer details of this possible agreement, demanding guarantees. Lan Xichen felt rather touched when his uncle insisted that there would have to be proof of his good treatment. The barbarian king, in turn, had demands of his own to make, notably to demand taxes and determine how many people he would allow to traverse his territory. The talks went on and one for hours, from sunrise to mid-afternoon, until at last both parties were satisfied with what they would be getting.

Lan Xichen was hugged by his uncle, and by some of his other relatives as well. What few belongings he’d brought on this journey were handed to him, with the promise they would try to send him his books and other things once they made it home. Then, with very little ceremony, Lan Xichen was offered a horse by the Nie and rode off with them. It all happened so fast that he didn’t even have time to feel scared or sad, and his horse turned out to be so unruly that he didn’t have time for self-pity, lest he be thrown off in front of those barbarians.

He only had a shaky grasp of their language, having learned from the employee of another trader, but he was half sure he’d heard them bet he would fall. He wouldn’t give them that pleasure.

The sun was starting to set when at last their group reached what appeared to be a city of tents. If he hadn’t been so exhausted, Lan Xichen might have allowed himself a moment to be impressed. He had never imagined the Nie people could be so numerous. Although they were known to be fierce warriors, and even raiders on occasions, they were rarely seen in groups of more than twenty of thirty, so it was speculated there had to be few of them. This city, though, looked nearly as big as the one where Lan Xichen’s family lived. He would have to let his father know when he’d write home.

After riding so intensely, and for this long, Lan Xichen’s back was starting to hurt and when he hopped down from his horse, he nearly fell, his legs too tired to carry him anymore. He was only saved from that humiliation because someone caught him in time.

That might have been worse than just falling, because the person who caught him and helped him stand was that boy he had noticed at Nie Mingjue’s side. The young man, who turned out to be even shorter than he had appeared to be while on a horse, was also much slimmer than expected, most of his bulk coming from his clothing rather than from his body. And yet, even like that, he was holding Lan Xichen upright with great ease, as if he weighed nothing at all.

“You no fall,” the young man said with a smirk. “If hurt, how wedding?”

Hearing this, Lan Xichen was startled enough that he pushed himself away from the young man, stumbling against his horse and clinging to its saddle to keep standing. Around them, this display got them a few curious looks, as well as some laughter, but Lan Xichen ignored it all. Although his vocabulary seemed lacking and his accent was atrocious, there was no doubt possible: that young man spoke his language.

Seeing him so shocked, the young man’s grin widened. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the approach of king Nie Mingjue who threw Lan Xichen an unimpressed look. If the young man was shorter than expected, then Nie Mingjue turned out to be a giant of a man, towering over Lan Xichen who wasn’t used to ever seeing people taller than him. He did not much care for the sensation of being small. He also did not like the disdain in Nie Mingjue’s voice as he started saying something which the small young man clumsily translated.

“King says, be good. No take thing. No hurt horse. Need thing, ask. No leave. Important, you…”

The young man stopped translating for a moment as he and all the others burst out laughing over something their king had said. With appalling familiarity, the boy slapped king Nie Mingjue’s arm, which only made the terrifying man roll his eyes.

“King say, be good husband for sister,” the young man explained. “Funny. King has not sister. King has brother,” he announced, proudly patting his own chest. “Good husband. Tonight, you rest, you prepare. Tomorrow, wedding. Good?”

Stunned by that revelation, Lan Xichen’s eyes jumped a few times between king Nie Mingjue and the young man who claimed to be related to him. He failed to see any resemblance between the two, save for what a similar hairdo and style of clothing might cause. The low light didn’t help of course, but Lan Xichen still suspected that a prank was being played on him.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Huaisang. You Ziqen?” Huaisang inquired.

At least, Lan Xichen thought his name was Huaisang. Considering how his own name was being butchered, it was difficult to be sure.

“Xichen,” he confirmed. “Lan Xichen. Is… Is the wedding really going to be tomorrow?”

Huaisang enthusiastically nodded, while Lan Xichen could only feel apprehensive. Aside from the fact that he didn’t know what to expect, hurrying like this meant that they couldn’t check if the day would be auspicious for it or not. Not that it would have helped to have time, he realised with growing anxiety. There was no way this future husband of his would know his own eight character, so it would be impossible to do things properly. But anyway, an union like this, wasn’t it inauspicious by nature?

“Tomorrow wedding, Ziqen,” Huaisang repeated. “Today, you prepare. Happy day! Huaisang, good husband. Many horse. Good to Ziqen.”

Clearly delighted at the prospect of their marriage, Huaisang turned to his king and started cheerfully chatting with him, while Nie Mingjue nodded here and there, sometimes barking orders at some of the men around them who diligently ran off to obey. Maybe they really were brothers, even if they didn’t look anything alike. At the very least, it was clear that Huaisang had to be someone close to king Nie Mingjue, since he treated the giant with such playful familiarity.

It made Lan Xichen suddenly miss his own brother, whom he would most likely never see again. His father, though the man was rarely around. It made him miss his uncle too, though that sentiment was quickly drowned out by resentment toward Lan Qiren for having sold him off so easily, just for a chance at profit. Of course Lan Xichen himself had agreed to it, and they’d had little choice when surrounded by heavily armed barbarians, but it still would have been nice if his uncle had at least pretended to be a little more concerned over his safety.

Of course, it was too late for regrets now.

At least his soon-to-be husband wasn’t too ugly, for a barbarian.

[nadziejastar]

Sora: Don't worry. I've got a friend out there who will help. He's always picking up the slack for me.

I think if it was pulled off well, and Isa was properly differentiated from Saïx, then I don't think most diehard fans would oppose it. Among the general KH fandom, the biggest obstacle in my opinion is that Saïx is extremely unlikable (deliberately so). We never got a big reveal showing how Isa was Norted, like we were supposed to. It's left to the realm of innuendo and subtext.

It's not like it wasn't obvious he was possessed, but it was never stated outright. Still, I thought it was very easy to see where they were going with Lea and Isa ever since BBS. Saïx was very nasty, yet Isa was Lea's best friend. You can just tell that they were originally planning to give Isa an extremely endearing personality, if he was supposed to make up for how bad Saïx was. I'm sure if his backstory was shown in detail, he'd be way more popular. Isa was done dirty.

Riku: Sora can find the brightest part of anything, and pull off miracles like there's nothing to it. It's pretty hard not to smile around him.

Huge Akuroku fans might not like it, but I doubt it would cause a huge backlash or anything. I mean, let's face it. There never was any canon support for that pairing anyways. People are still free to ship it if that's what they want, just like they did when Xion was created as the obvious object of Roxas's affections.

And simply put, yaoi pairings are the most popular ships in KH. So LeaIsa has that working in its favor. SoraRiku is the most popular ship overall, and Lea and Isa were actually pretty similar to them in BBS. Two boys with cute character designs, complementary opposite personalities, and who are really close? KH fans eat that stuff up. I wouldn't be surprised AT ALL if LeaIsa was conceptualized, in part, based on the popularity of SoraRiku. I personally think that Nomura wanted to move away from AkuRoku as much as possible due to the inappropriateness of it, so he tried to create an appealing alternative ship.

“That Genie we met seemed really worried about his friend Al,” Xion remarked eventually. “But then he said he’d respect his friend’s wishes. I guess you can’t just jump in and do everything for them, even if you want to.”

Idly swinging her legs, she took another bite.

Axel leaned his head to one side. “Your friend’s wishes, huh…” It feels like I have heard that before, a long time ago, when I was human.

IMO, LeaIsa is what SoRiku would have looked like if it was actually specifically written to be romantic in nature. Sora and Riku had a very strong bond and Riku was very protective of Sora, but it also had that competitive rivalry aspect.

“He worries too much. Thinks he has to help Sora do everything…” Axel grimaced in irritation.

“But, Axel, aren’t you the one worrying about Riku and Sora?” Naminé giggled softly.

“Me, worry? You think I need to be worried about those two?” He stretched backward and rocked the chair back and forth, like a restless child.

LeaIsa had no such thing. It seemed like it was going for a purely protective dynamic, with Lea wanting to step in and do everything for Isa because he constantly worried about him.

“Say something. Have you even thought that maybe I can’t erase Roxas?” Axel said, in a playful tone, and Saïx finally looked up. “It’ll be all right. Cause I’m tough.” Axel puffed out his chest.

“How stupid,” said Saïx, and for a moment he smiled.

Also, not only was Lea protective, he apparently liked to show off for Isa. I just can't read this interaction as anything but flirtatious. It reminds me of how Sora and Riku were showing off for Naminé about protecting her from a shooting star. No other male characters in KH interact this way with each other. And Isa was a shy and softspoken boy who only came out of his shell for Lea. If they managed to emphasize these characteristics and successfully carry them over to the adult version of LeaIsa, then I can't see any reason why it would not be widely supported. I imagine most shippers would find it very cute.

“Why are you talking to me? There are heaps of other people to talk to.”

“I don’t want to talk to rough old men,” Larxene clearly intoned.

“If that’s so—there’s Demyx, or Marluxia, who joined just before you did. And then there’s Zexion. There’s also Saïx, in a way—”

And I think that's exactly the direction Nomura wanted to take them: cute. It would be a surprising but charming twist, considering how rough Saïx was. And I think it's why he specifically gave Saïx a different character design. Axel is very attractive. He is youthful and kinda looks like he's wearing eyeliner, too, which is neat. He was always fangirl bait, basically. Saïx was handsome, but he was still originally made to look like a villain. More rough around the edges compared to Axel.

I have no doubt that Nomura wanted an adult Isa to look more like he did in BBS. That's how he looks in the illustrations that were made after he was changed into Axel's best friend. And I mean, Isa's design is definitely going to be a lot more appealing to most shippers than Saïx's original design. That was no doubt intentional. IMO, Isa was created specifically with shipping in mind. He was obviously designed to look distinctly feminine and pretty. Softer facial features, slimmer build, etc. He has even softer features than Riku, who is also a pretty boy and huge fangirl bait.

IMO, Isa is the single most feminine KH male. I think this was intentional and based on the Sun/Moon theme. Sun is masculine, moon is feminine. So, Isa was also intended to be yaoi fangirl bait, no question. He was meant to be a very cute character. Both in looks and personality. It's why he has the Bunnymoon Mystery Gear and why Axel's fondest memories involve ice cream. He even has cute clothing, like that jacket with the little moon on it. It's just...cute. Basically LeaIsa was going for an adult yaoi vibe. They eat ice cream, play frisbee, and act cute together, since they want to relive their childhood. Done properly, fangirls would eat it up, of that I have no doubt.

In general, there is huge support for same-sex pairings in anime things. Sure, there will always be some opposition, but I don't think it's really a huge issue in these types of niche fandoms which love slash and shipping in general. Look how much demand there was for gay romance options in Fire Emblem. Korrasami was the most popular ship in TLoK and actually became canon. It was warmly received in general.

And KH2 had a very bromantic ending with Sora and Riku. And the series skyrocketed in popularity after that game, so it obviously wasn't a huge turn-off for that many people in the KH fandom. Female KH fans tend to like yaoi and male KH fans are already playing a Disney JRPG with a bunch of pretty boy heroes. In my experience, most male KH fans online don't seem to mind gay characters or anything.

And you know, KH isn't really heavy on romance anyways. Friendship has always been the most prominent thing in Kingdom Hearts. That wouldn’t change. The most canon pairing is Sora/Kairi and all we see between them is paopu fruits and hand holding. Even if LeaIsa were unambiguously canon, I still think it would be depicted in a very subtle way. It's not like it would have to be shoved in everyone's face, or become a distraction.

IMO, Nomura originally intended for them to be an ambiguous (but heavily implied) gay pairing. If the series didn’t have so much corporate interference, it would have remained that way in KH3. They even kept Isa’s outfit the same. The little star and crescent pin that Isa wore in the epilogue is a sun and moon symbol. All the games were building up to Lea using the power of waking on Isa in KH3. 358/2 Days was able to imply that Axel/Lea loved Isa, and that was fine because it was a smaller release that flew under the radar. 

Then suddenly in KH3 their relationship was not okay and had to be downplayed. I don't think that was a coincidence. KH3 had more than just the JRPG audience in mind. KH Days was a JRPG with Disney elements. KH3 was a Disney game with JRPG elements. Disney was a lot more strict with KH3 since it was a bigger title and had modern stuff like Toy Story and Frozen in it. Even if LeaIsa was ambiguous, who knows if Disney had any objections to it or not. They can be very conservative.

I think Square and/or Disney was definitely worried about casual fans disliking it. KH3 had a much stronger push to appeal to casual fans than any other game in the series. And let’s face it: a large percentage of people playing KH3 probably only played KH1 and KH2 (or it’s their first one). They didn’t play BBS or the “spin offs”. They don’t know Isa, they only know Saïx. 

And I can see many of them disliking the ship if it became canon because of that. KH3 clearly wanted to keep things familiar to causal fans. Incorporating Lea and Isa’s REAL backstory into KH3 was not a priority. Familiarity was. So sadly, Lea had to go back to being Axel and Isa had to stay Saïx. Then there’s people who just play for the Disney aspects and don’t even like the story. They might not like it, either. 

[jaxian19]

A Metroid idea

-5 years after fusion-

“Stand ready men” the general shouts, “today we will unveil our greatest weapon against the scourge know as Samus Aran”

Up from behind him rises 4 suits of armor, each slightly different than the last and much different than the original

“These are what the nerds down in the science division have been working on, we would ask you to come forward when we call your name.” He looks over to the woman in a lab coat who proceeds to take the microphone.

“Sargent Jake Deadwood,” a young man with dark hair and a focused look about him comes up. “Corporal Nicole Tafe,” a woman with red hair and slender build walks up head held high. “Private Ned Jackson,” a thin man with blond hair walks forward who seems terrified of their predicament. “And finally... Specialist Amy Reed,” upon hearing this, a muscular dark haired woman comes forward a stone faced.

“These four are to wear the power suits, and will finally defeat the bounty hunter.” After this, the four are taken to a side room for further briefing, as they are led down the hall, they can hear the general give a speech to the rest of the troops about other upgrades they will be getting in their arsenal.

They soon arrive at the room where they are introduced to head scientist Linda Hawkins, “Oh this is going to be so much fun, I can’t wait for you all to try them on.”

“That’s all well and good ms. Hawkins, but can I ask why we were chosen?” Asks a reedy voice. All turn to Ned, surprised that he would be the first to speak up. “Sorry, just wanted to know.”

“No that’s quite alright, you see you four seem to be afflicted with a strange virus. I know you were all on the same exploration team to one of th-“

“Virus, what virus” Nicole nervously asks. “I have heard nothing about this in my check up the other day”

“Oh don’t worry, it’s not harmful, it merely means your bodies will be able to accept Chozo DNA even in your adulthood, we believe you all came into some sort of contact with the X-Parasite, in a viral form.”

“Ms.Hawkins, enough with all this why and how, can we get on to what these suits can do,” states Amy, eyeing the displays of the suits on the screen in front. “I’m itching to try one on”

“Ah yes, well all have Varia and Gravity functions, as well as the grapple beam in the left hand as normal and we have made it so the arm canon can fold back for functional use of the right arm, sadly, we could not figure out how to add morph ball functionality, but we are still trying” the screen focuses in on the arm canon, “each suit comes equipped with Ice, Wave, and Plasma beams along with Power and charge functionality is enabled.” The screen then zooms back out to show all four suits in a row.

“But that is where the similarities end, we shall begin with what I have dubbed Power Blue, this suit, unlike the original, is a bit more melee focused, which will prove in valuable in the fight against her.” The blue suit is enlarged and the arm canon folds back, and a sword shoots out. “As you can see, the suit has a blade that can be pulled out when need be, and it can acces the beam types to give the blade strange effects, we have also added a shield to the left arm, so that you can increase defense should her attacks become to much. This is to be worn by Jake” jake gives a small nod in acknowledgement.

The blue suit shrinks back down before being replaced by a purple one, “If the Power Blue was meant to be a knight, then Power Purple is to be the rogue, it has been outfitted with stealth and camouflage capabilities, is slimmer in design, and utilizes two grapple beams, one in each hand. This suit is also the only one able to truly shine spark, and is to be worn by Nicole.” Nicole’s eyes light up at this.

“The next suit is called Power Red, as you can see it is the largest of the four,” up displays a fairly large power suit with a red color scheme, it loooks like it was made for strength, “as you have gathered it is also the strongest, able to lift 20,000 pounds, it also can fire missiles from shoulder mounts to best maximize its damage output. To be worn by Amy” Amy unsuccessfuly tries to hide her excitement.

“And finally we have Power Green, meant to play a more support role, by deploying drones to monitor the field above it can deliver valuable data when needed, an can have those drones fire from power cannons inside each. This is to be worn by Ned.” Ned then proceeds to shakily smile, though everyone can see the terror on his face.

After the presentation is over Jake looks at his teammates before looking back at Hawkins “When do we get started?”

[griffinsandpeacocks]

Loony Two’s Writing Challenge Week 2 Prompt 2: A Dragon’s Treasure

Oberon grumbles as he shifts against the precious stones and metal he’d collected mostly just superstitious humans hoping if they presented him gifts he would leave them be. He did, though it was mostly a matter of honor, though not an official agreement he was a creature of deep seated pride in his reputation and though he could care less of the humans thoughts of him for him to break an agreement would greatly irk him and stain his honor and thus pride. He lived in a cave deep within a delve that was over a small narrow valley, it was both a risk and an ideal roost. The only way to his cave was through the narrow valley and if he were to fly over any army would be cinder and ash in the wind. 

A dragon was judged by his treasures, and his oaths held, if a dragon were to break even a single small oath he would be considered lowly even if his treasures were vast his honor and pride would be stained and other dragons would sneer and ignore him. Oberon was among the eldest of his kind few of his kindred phantom dragons were his size and strength let alone his age. They’d been hunted like others of the dragon race and they were slimmer in build easier pickings given how pale they were though few were as pale as he. 

He looks out of his cave an odd commotion catching his ear he walks to the lip that would allow only a few men on foot or possibly two horse riders up side by side at a time. Smoke rises from the human kingdom that has long sat near his den. He grumbles uneasily as if that kingdom had fallen, he would be hard pressed to make the new king bow to the old agreement. He sits and watches the smoke spotting a white horse galloping over the valley he chuffs a plume of smoke and waits a man, a knight, ride atop the beast and he seems to carry a bundle. Oberon wonders if it was a last ditch attempt to entreat his help, so waits red eyes gleaming in the shade of his roost there’s a red gleam upon the silver steel of the armor and Oberon realizes the man is wounded. 

“Great Dragon of the Verdant Delve, I entreat you, please, as a dying man who remains loyal to his slain King, I beg and beseech ye take care of our prince... I was to guard him but I am dying I cannot but with my dying breath I beg you fulfill my oath that I have failed. Our Prince must live... I beg you...” The man wheezes almost falling off his horse he clutches the reigns to stand shaking and stumbling to collapse to his knees before Oberon who growls low in his throat feeling a pang in his heart. An oath unfulfilled... It was a fate every dragon detested. He lowers his head to gaze into the man’s eyes seeing a sleeping babe against the man’s chest. 

“I accept to see your oath fulfilled Knight, I see your honor and grief and accept this sworn task in your stead. Rest now. You’re journey ends.” Oberon extends his claws his fore paw offered and the knight hands over the small bundle shaking terribly he smiles at the sleeping child and looks up at the dragon. 

“I thank you... May the gods above ever watch over you and my Prince... Griffin... His father called him... I refuse to give those snakes my death... Please I ask a death at your hand so that they cannot boast of it.” The knight gestures to the smoke and Oberon can see a group enter the valley and sneers.

“I will do you one better. Have you strength yet?” Oberon asks the knight struggles but he stands swaying on his feet. Oberon holds the child close in one massive paw and he picks up the knight carefully in the other he gazed at the horse and it watched it’s master not wavering. He chuckles and sends it off into the cave with a soft word it nickers and stands by the entrance nickering sadly at his master who waves to the beast calling him Gilrand. A young fine steed meant to be the Prince’s. He was a young horse and would be a finer steed in time. Oberon dives off the lip and soars into the air with a roar that echos through the valley sending those on dark horses scattering as their steeds panic Oberon swoops low and his breath scorches a swath of the men to dust as he wheels back he lands still careful of the babe he lets the knight stumble out of his claws.

“They won’t leave alive Knight die with honor and sword in hand.” Oberon says and a determined gleam enters the once defeated eyes. He draws he blade and takes out every enemy that besets him Oberon clearing away the others with crushing blows he sits at the end the Knight collapsed leaning against the white tail of Oberon he gasps his chest had been crushed by a mace his breath was short and his death nearing. He gazed up at the red eyes and smiled.

“You swear... he’ll be safe?” He asks breath and voice a wisp. Oberon nods and lowers his head.

“Aye... I swear upon my honor. A dragon is loath to break an oath. Your people left me alone though it was never an official bargain, I swear to see your Prince safe. Sleep now Knight you’ve fulfilled your oath.” Oberon says watching as the man closed his eyes looking up to the sun and with a soft smile his breath stops. Oberon sighs and looks to the child who is wide away but silent eyes wide and scared Oberon has little idea how to raise a human child. They needed milk right? They didn’t eat meat at an early age... Humans ate a variety of things but babes had no teeth. He sighs digs a grave and placed the knight in it burying him he rears back and scorched the patch then he carefully seared the word honor in the dragon tongue over the spot filling it with the melted steel of the invading knights armor. He looks to the sky hearing a faint call echo over the land he looks down at the child and holds him close rumbling low keeping his fire steady to keep the babe warm. 

The call of The Elder Council, a call he could not ignore due to his place within it. He flies low over the land hoping to find a safe place to leave the child as he doesn’t wish to possibly fight others of his race to keep the child safe. He finds a small cottage with a Shepard and lands the man panics and runs but Oberon brings his tail around to stop him.

“I have no wish to eat you or your flock. I have a request. I was given this child by his dying guardian and asked I protect them. I must go do an important but dangerous journey and wish to keep this child safe. Will you help me?  He needs to be fed but I lack the ability to provide on that front. You’ve my word I wish no harm on you or yours.”  Oberon says lowering his fore-paw to reveal the babe that’s starting to fuss. The Shepard is pale but nods moving closer he picks up the babe and goes to his hut talking with a woman that must be his wife. They nod and take the babe inside. Oberon walks forward going to a ridge he’ll use to lift off.

“I’ll be coming back for him. If he isn’t well or here when I return I’ll burn this entire region.” Oberon grumbles as he passes lifting into the air he flies off. Once he reaches the old roost he lands on an edge snarling at another dragon a younger coal dragon that hisses at him in turn. He hates the brats they scuffled among themselves it was the last one standing that came to the Council rather than their oldest members. He swats the younger dragon and snarls pinning him down and spitting fire singing his flank as a reminder he was older and stronger. 

“I’m an Elder you insolent pest learn your place!” Oberon snarls letting him up and whipping the coal dragon towards the cave they’d need to go into with his tail. He walks in and they enter the great cave and Oberon looks about finding a suitable perch under a Sapphire dragon.He curls around the rock perching on it he waits watching the coal slide about but the growls and hisses dictate he stay as the sandy floor of the cave. He’d made the mistake of irking Oberon and thus a majority of the other old dragons. 

“We’ve gathered due to the movement of a human kingdom. They’re known to hunt us for our treasure and hide. Oberon they are near you. Have you news?” The leader of the council an ancient Angris dragon named Ra asks. Oberon growls low, displeased greatly. This will greatly complicate trying to raise the prince. He looks down then sighs.

“I do. The human kingdom I nest near fell to invaders, the prince was delivered to me by a dying knight I took on his oath to protect the prince and raise the prince, he’ll be waiting for me at a shepard’s cottage once I leave here. So the invaders are known to hunt us?” Oberon asks and Ra nods and sighs. He thinks and looks around. 

“We shall need to help you move your roost or, help you defend it. I’ll assume you’ll move?” Ra asks and Oberon grumbles. He’s lived in the Vale for ages he is loath to move. He sighs.

“Aye for the oath I took on it shall be best to move. My hoard has grown but I can move it with the help of five others. I refuse to have that coal near my roost.” Oberon sneers as the other goes to open his jaws to speak. Ra nods and looks about at the others who grumble softly among themselves no one is settled the news of hunters was never good. Often at least one of their number never returned after the hunters made an appearance. A gold dragon and the sapphire offer to help and a stone dragon as well Oberon nods and sighs unsettled he stands and then Ra stands and gestures them on.

“I will help we’ll move faster if you use a magical net to carry the riches that will free you to take the child. Or we can first move you then retrieve the child.” Ra says walking with them and then flying with them as they leap into the air one at a time circling the peak Oberon takes lead and sighs.

“We should move my hoard first, there’s a stallion I wish to take with us unharmed. It is meant for the prince.” Oberon grumbles the stone dragon snarls.

“Why even take on the brat? You had no oaths with that Kingdom.” He asks Oberon growls.

“Even though a deal was never struck they left me well enough alone. The knight that brought him was dying and had I not taken on the oath would have died with it unfulfilled. He risked his life to delver the babe to me, a true knight to the end. He died after fighting, I buried him with honor. Let’s first focus on gathering my hoard and leaving this Vale...” Oberon sighs they use a magical net around the treasure and move it out of the cave Oberon carries the horse as they leave he idles a moment staring at his long time home and grumbles at the thought of not returning. He flies after them unhappy that they find a tunnel system with other Phantoms to place him with he presses the treasure back into the back of the cave as he had had it with some along the floor he grumbles and nudged the horse to stay near the back as well. 

“You’ll need to know the rules.” An old female says walking up and Oberon growls. He’s not some hatchling.

“Don’t go into another’s personal area unless invited and hunt for myself. I’m one of the oldest phantoms, please be kind enough to not act like I’m a hatchling. I need to go retrieve a babe I swore to raise.” Oberon grumbles and the female hisses and Oberon looks back at her raising his head and baring his fangs.

“We were told you’d be bringing a human. How will you feed it?”She asks and Oberon growls at her.

“I don’t know but I made an oath I refuse to break it.” Oberon growls and she just snorts and goes back to the end of the cave. Oberon goes to the shepard’s hut and sees the man holding the child and sitting on a rock humming. Oberon lands and sits not going closer afraid he’ll startle the human. He doesn’t know what to do. If he takes the child he’ll need a way to feed him. How would he do that?

“Ah you��re back.” A feminine voice says and Oberon sees the woman from earlier. Oberon nods and watches the man the woman stands near him but wasn’t a threat. He lowers down to lay there and watches contemplating what he’d do.

“Might I ask how you got the child?” The woman asks and Oberon sighs.

“A dying knight asked I raise his prince. I took the oath out of pity as having such a burden is something no dragon wishes on any being. To have an unfulfilled oath upon death is seen as sad in dragon culture. It is said the spirit lingers trapped until another renders the oath null or another takes on that oath. I took his so he could die in peace with his honor unstained. We’re creatures of honor. Well most of us.” He sighs seeing the coal swoop down he growls and gets up as it stalks towards the Shepard who’d sprung to his feet and was stumbling back terrified but holding the child close. Oberon walks forward and snarls at the coal flaring his wings as a warning. The dragon goes to get around him and Oberon lunged claws sinking into his side Oberon grabs the other’s neck in his jaws and pins him to the dirt snarling.

“Leave or I’ll kill you.” Oberon growls low in his throat and the other spits fire and Oberon twists his head hearing a crack he drops the now dead dragon snarling and huffing fire into his mouth to clear the taste out. Coals tasted like burned coal and Oberon never understood the smaller dragon breed’s obsession with the cheap mineral. It matched their hide sure but still, he didn’t obsess over opals or other milky white material like bones. Though Graves as sick as their eating habits made him were powerful and terrifying. Anything that could spit acidic fire was a steer clear priority for him. 

“I came to collect the little one but I am uncertain how I’ll keep him fed...” Oberon mussed looking uncertain and the Shepard and his wife are pale but give nervous chuckles. 

“Well... There’s old legends of a mighty King that was suckled by a wolf... Perhaps a she-wolf would be willing to help you?” The Shepard asks and Oberon hums softly. Wolves had helped the dragons before as both had a great dislike of humans. He nods it was the best option. Even better if a pack was already helping protect the Phantom tunnels. He takes the prince and flies back to his new home uneasy as others stare at him in confusion and disgust. He sets the baby in a snug crevice he carves into the stone wall as a makeshift crib and then nudged the horse closer hoping it might help keep that spot warm enough as he walked to his alcove’s entrance.

“You will leave the child alone?” A phantom female asks confused and Oberon sighs he’s a loner he doesn’t like gatherings like this. It made hunting easier for certain humans. He’d grown up in a similar setting and he’d almost starved to death as a young hatchling because of this kind of set up. His parents had gathered all they could and fled he’d been the smallest. He’d been left behind. 

He had gathered all the hatchlings left like he had been and he’d hidden them behind a treasure pile and had caught rodents to fed them never eating much himself and waiting for any of the adults to come back. Ra had found him. He’d kept the others fed but they were all little better than scales and bone. Ra had fed them and reared them. He had never ventured far from the cave afraid the hunters were still close but Ra had swept the area and assured them the hunters were gone. He shivers and growls.

“No. I need a suckling mother wolf to help feed him. So I am leaving for only a moment luck willing.” Oberon says and she nods laying in the entrance to her own alcove he sees seven hatchlings of various ages playing behind her.

“I know there’s a wolf pack that stays in a cave near our tunnels. It should only be a little ways to the left once you leave, a dragon of your size would get there quickly. I can watch your place while your gone, since were right across from one another.” She says and Oberon hums glancing back he grumbles uncomfortable with leaving the babe unguarded. But her offer was as good as her word. He nods.

“Thank you. I’m Oberon, what’s your name?” He asks softly she smiles and bows her head.

“Nira.” She says and Oberon bows his head before looking back one more time and walking out to turn and weave through the forest. Finding the pack he grumbles a greeting lowering his head and rumbling softly asking if there are any suckling mothers willing to help. An older mother walks forward and agrees and he takes her back and lifts the child out of the make shift cradle and is relieved it works. He thanks Nira and the she wolf.

It takes years and Oberon is constantly reminded how quickly children grow even if human they grow as quickly as hatchlings they’re less knowing than a hatchling though. Where hatchling garble their words at first they at least talk, humans had to learn. He teaches him both the dragon tongue and the human ones he knows. Nira adores Griffin and encourages her hatchlings to play and make friends with him and Oberon is grateful he can leave Griffin with Nira as he hunts for himself. When Griffin’d reaching the age of fifteen Oberon knows he’ll have to answer the questions Griffin has. The child wasn’t stupid.  

“Why am I the only human in the phantom hold?” Griffin asks and Oberon sighs he’d taken Griffin out having him ride on GIlrand and he sighs again as he leads them to a meadow and lays down.  

“A knight had rode up to my roost on Gilrand. He asked I raise his prince as he was dying. I agreed and took his oath unto myself. You were a babe and I felt terrible given your sires were men that held little fear of me. Going back nine generations of your forefathers they would come to my roost and deliver trinkets in hopes I would leave the kingdom be. I did. Never did they steal from me. You’re the only human here because a nation of hunters invaded your home and I fled here to keep you safe and raise you as I promised.” Oberon explains and Griffin thinks quietly a while. 

“So my family was taken away by dragon hunters and you had to move because of them taking over my home.” Griffin muses and Oberon nods. He hears a branch snap and his head whips around a snarl erupting from him to hopefully scare whoever dared come near them. A man steps out and he keeps his hands raised in peace. The man looks fairly like the knight Oberon remembers burring.

“I’m sorry for intruding, it’s just... You’re the Dragon of The Verdant Vale, right?” The man asks and Oberon growls and moves so he’s ready to fight he keeps his tail in Griffin’s way to keep him back.

“Aye. The roost there used to be my home until the invaders came, they’re known to hunt my kind. Why have you come here to the Forest of Ghosts?” Oberon asks and the man chuckles nervously.

“I actually came looking for you. A wizard in the court that was imprisoned when the new King took over told me if I were true to the True King, and if I wished to restore my Kingdom’s Honor and that of my father then I must find the Prince. He must destroy the False King or all will fall under the tyrant and the dragons will fall. So I asked my mother where I might start she told me the king requested he raise his son far away should the worst come but he was gravely wounded and thus there was no hope in finding the prince. She mentioned you had left the same day our kingdom fell. I was hoping that maybe you would know where Prince Griffin was.” He says and Griffin starts laughing. 

“I thought you were joking!” Griffin says walking up to Oberon’s tail to try and get a look at the new comer. Oberon grumbles and moves so the two can see each other. The man blinks at Griffin in shock before he kneels almost tripping in the process. Oberon sighs.

“What use would I have to lie?” He asks and Griffin looks up amused.

“Me shutting up.” He says deadpan and Oberon hums softly.

“Good point.” Oberon chuckles as Griffin swats his side. 

“Erm...” The man looks nervous and is watching the dragon and prince interact with slight trepidation. His prince would get eaten and die all before he could even reclaim their home. Oberon smiles and Griffin smiles back.

“So why should we trust you?” Griffin asks looking at the other human wearily. He’d heard only bad things about humans and had once gone to Oberon in tears saying he didn’t want to be a human, they were all vile treacherous creatures. Oberon had been furious but instead of maiming the other dragons he instead sat down and started tell Griffin stories of Honorable knights and kings. Yet Griffin still harbored a mistrust of other humans. Oberon supposed it was a good thing. 

“Well... I mean... I have nothing but my word and I understand those are cheap but... I came all this way praying I’d find something. Whatever it takes I’m going to prove I’m here for good intentions!”He says and Oberon sighs now he had two tag-a-longs. Great. Oberon watched the distance and grumbled something wasn’t right... He snarls and lunges forward. 

“Both of you get back to the hold and tell the others there’s an issue!” He shouts and roars out a challenge as a large Drake bursts through the tree line. The man goes pale and backs up.

“I thought I lost that thing!” He shouts and Griffin swings up onto Gilrand’s back. 

“Come on! We need to tell the others! Drakes are pests and where there’s one there’s several sure to be following.” Griffin says holding out his hand the man looks at Oberon wrestling with the drake then grabs Griffin’s hand.

“I’m going to die.” He grumbles and Griffin snickers.

“You might.” He says and spurs Gilrand into a gallop, the horse suddenly rears back lashing out with his hooves and dropping both young men onto their asses. A snarl and Griffin’s on his feet with a cry of fear.

“No!” He shouts trying to grab Gilrand but the horse shrieks as a drake bites into his leg. Oberon bellows and several howls start up and several roars of other dragons answer. Griffin looks furious and yet like he’s been cut and the hopeful knight grabs Griffin and pulls him past the fighting horse and pulls them in the direction the horse had been charging.

“If you try and save him you’ll die too! Griffin stopped fighting tears pouring he stopped fighting and turned pulling the hopeful man along shouting something. 

“Nira!” Griffin shrieks as loud as he can fearful they won’t make it to the caves. There’s a roar that shakes the ground but Griffin keeps pulling them on and a shadow passes over them Griffin throws himself to the side dragging the other with him. The hopeful hadn’t escaped as well as Griffin had a gash was in his side and he was unconscious. Griffin drew his sword and rounded on the drake that had crashed down on them. He’s never wielded a sword he just knows the pointy end faces away. The beast swings it’s head towards him and Griffin lifts the sword and brings it down in as powerful a swing as he can and rakes it’s eye. It shrieks rearing back away from the metal and Griffin backs up grabbing the would be knight and pulling him over his shoulder he drags him away as quickly as he can looking around frantically.

“Nira!” Griffin shouts again feeling hopelessly trapped and this fear wasn’t something he was used to he’d always been safely tucked away with the other children when drakes were spotted in the forest. He’s afraid she won’t answer him and he starts to panic. He is blinking away tears and pulling the other as far as he can when he feels heat at his back he throws the other forward screaming as teeth sink into his sides. He turns the sword stabbing at where eyes should be and he’s dropped he lands with a thud gasping as the blade clatters against rocks and roots next to him and he’s gasping in pain. 

“You’re safe child.” He hears and he faints. When he wakes up he’s in Nira’s cave the other man is next to him. Oberon is no where to be seen and the hatchlings he’d grown up with are clustered around him switching between watching him worriedly and looking over the new human with interest.

“Momma said we couldn’t eat him.” One of the newer hatchlings chirps at Griffin who laughs then winced groaning in pain. The other man groggily opens his eyes and gives a confused hum flinching as one of the hatchlings looks down at him curious. When he whines in pain the hatchling hops back looking a bit ashamed. Griffin laughs softly groaning again as the stabbing points of pain in his side return. 

“Momma doesn’t want you lot getting sick, human leaves your system feeling yucky. Well at your age. Oberon could eat us and be fine. He says we taste stringy and grisly like fatty leather.” Griffin says wincing as it hurt to move at all it sent waves of pain over his side. Nira walks in with a wizard that lived near them out in a cave further south. he carries a bucket and is softly talking with her. This wizard typically came to heal Griffin if he got hurt while out playing. Griffin realizes Gilrand isn’t to be seen and feels his throat tighten up as tears spring to his eyes. He looks at Nira.

“Gilrand... He didn’t make it did he...? He asks and Nira looks saddened at the little human she looked at like a hatchling. She shakes her head not wanting to go into detail but she would at least remark on the fact the stallion had gone down fighting.

“He gave the drake that got him a fight. The thing was beaten bloody and missing an eye from a lucky kick. You did well as well little one you’d gotten both it’s eyes, well done.” She says trying to comfort him and Griffin sniffles lifting a hand to rub stubbornly at his face. The wizard kneels down and grabs his hand.

“Not all tears are evil little one.” He says gently and carefully cleans Griffin’s wounds using magic to heal the pierces though the wounds would stay tender and sore for some time then he went to the new comer and gently cleaned the cuts down his back from claws. He heals those then keeps the man on his back with a warning to stay that way.

“Those are harder to knit closed and easy to reopen. Stay on your back as long as possible the next few days.” He instructs and he looks at Griffin and smiles softly upset the boy had lost the horse he’d grown up with.

“Gandrim, what happened? I thought drakes were supposed to avoid the forest?” Griffin asks and the wizard sighs and shrugs looking tired.

“A number of things could have happened that fool shouldn’t have been able to get this far without being terrified. I’ll need to recheck the safety spells and wards I have woven near the forest edge. I’ll take you and your new friend with me when I do. I have a feeling those drakes were spurred this way. That racket they caused was sure to be heard for quite a distance. So I’ll take you two and have it seem lie I’ve a bodyguard and apprentice, if anyone is close to the forest edge. It’s unlikely but I’m worried.” Gandrim sighs and Griffin nods he sits up wincing and looking at the blood on the sandy floor he cringed. Nira scoffs at him.

“Don’t look like that, I’ve cleaned the floor plenty and I will plenty of times later you and the hatchlings see to it.” Nira chides and Griffin blushed. He struggles to stand and feels dizzy he braced himself against the wall and took deep breaths with his eyes closed. Oberon comes in and lowers his head to watch Griffin with worry and he smiles when Griffin opens his eyes and jumps. The large dragon could be silent when he pleased and Griffin would forget at times Oberon was silent on his claws most of the time.

“I couldn’t get to Gilrand in time, I’m sorry Griffin.” He says earnest as he knows Griffin loved that horse. Griffin nods sniffling a bit he moved over and hugged Oberon around the muzzle feeling miserable. The dragon rumbles blowing warm air over the human holding him as he brings his claws up to gently hold the human closer. It’s as close to a hug as they can get to given one is larger than most homes humans built. 

“I’ll take these two once they’re healed and check the forest line for the wards. Though you should know that recently the birds have been sharing troubling news. The Drathienian kingdom’s been expanding and more and more often dragons are either relocating or facing constant hunts. Several within the last few years have been slain.” Gandrim sighs and Griffin grits his teeth feeling angry suddenly. If it was those bastard’s fault those drakes had come... He concentrates on healing helping the other man who he learned was named Corvin. They became good friends over the few days Griffin’s naturally warm caring demeanor winning the other human over. And the man felt partly responsible for the horse’s death as he’d been chased by the drakes a while before finding Griffin and Oberon. 

When they venture out they find the wards and spells are stressed but with some maintenance they’re strong. Gandrim pursed his lips.

“If this continues the forest will soon be overrun with whatever that kingdom scares this way.” At the wizard’s words Griffin grits his teeth and looks at the man who admitted to being trained with a sword. He’d commented how lucky Griffin had been to get a moving target’s eyes with two separate attacks no matter it’s size. Griffin had shrugged and laughed ‘I’ve always been lucky.’ He’d said. Now he wants blood.

“Train me with a sword.” He says to Corvin who blinks. in shock.

“As you’d like.” He replies grinning at seeing that fire he’d heard so much about. The wizard grins softly.

“Then we’ll need to get you a blade.” He muses and they go to Oberon who finds a suiting blade for the human to train with out of his hoard. Oberon would watch them coaching Griffin with tricks as Corvin helped him with his stance and the basics. Griffin grew restless. He paced about the cave he was now matching Corvin and he was slowly starting to win more and more rather than ending in draws. The wizard walks up and is holding a bundle and news there was a tourney taking place. He gives the bundle to Griffin revealing a sword that had a shine even in the dimly lit cave.

“This blade is only said to glow in the hands of a royal heart. Take this to the tourney and win and challenge their King. If you can best him you’ll have you’re kingdom back, and leave them distracted long enough we’ll be able to come in with the gathered might of the dragons. This must stop.” Gandrim says with conviction and Griffin nods feeling a prickling of fear as he’s never fought like this. Corvin nods to him smiling.

“I’ll be right with you, you’ll do great!” He says and Oberon talks with Gandrim and they walk off. When they return an albino man with ruby eyes is next to Gandrim. Griffin watches him in confusion. 

“Oberon?” He asks in shock and the smirk on the face makes Griffin grin as it’s definitely Oberon. He is suited in leather armor and a heavy grey cloak. He has fangs and his nails are longer and sharper than a humans. Yet so long as Oberon keeps his fangs hidden he looked human. His eyes only becoming dragon like when he’s going to breathe fire yet even them Oberon can bluff being a wizard as they were known to have strange quirks. 

“We’ll both be with you.” Oberon promises and Griffin hugs him as he and Corvin get suited up Oberon finding specific things in his hoard from Griffin’s family. Within a few days they were traveling to the tourney. They rode on wolves for most of the way but sent them back to the forest far before reaching the city Griffin has been distracted lately both the anxiety of what was coming mixed with emotions he’s never felt before and he isn’t sure how to cope with them. Corvin takes him aside to try and figure it out realizing Griffin’s struggling with his own heart he puts it together.

“You’ve got a crush on a dragon.” He says and Griffin sputters bright red.

“No! I... I do don’t I?” Griffin asks sighing covering his face. Corvin shrugs.

“Better than a goat at least.” Corvin laughs and Griffin goes quite wondering if there was a chance even the slightest bit better than a snowball in hell that he could catch Oberon’s attention. He was so much lower in comparison to the dragon. He’d adored Oberon since he could remember and the dragon cared for him sure but... This was ridiculous he should focus on the tourney.

“You three here for the tourney?” A man asks at the gate and they nod, he gestures inward from the gates.

“Head to the castle and they’ll have ye sign your name. Corvin glade to see you back we’d worried ye died.” He says nodding at Corvin who smiled and waved and as they walk in Griffin can hear whispers start up about the crest he displays on his arms and armor. He sees many look suddenly excited and it spread like wild fire and the crowds began to gather around the tourney and Griffin looked at Corvin and felt the anxiety redouble. 

“How many people here know?” Griffin hissed and Oberon leans close to the other knowing full well why he goes tense and how it has nothing to do with fear.

“All of them know their Royal Families Crest.” He whispers and moves them along Corvin snickering at Griffin’s red cheeks.

“Good day all the grand tourney is about to begin the best men here will be chosen to become the dragon guard of The High King Varion!” A man shouts to the crowd which cheer and the fights start Griffin doesn’t remove the cloak he uses it as cover and distraction and Oberon and Corvin do the same they group together and they battle savagely back to back. Once it’s down to a few people a halt is called and Griffin is almost exhausted he’s panting and shaking. Oberon is worried he won’t last much longer. They sit at a table and Oberon gets him some cool water and removed the cloak.

“We’ll get through this.” He says and Griffin nods panting and sipping at the water. Corvin dumps a jug over his head and Griffin shouts and tries to tackle him but a man standing there freezes Corvin and Griffin looks at the man in confusion.

“You’re the one that everyone’s whispering about.” The man says and Griffin shrugs.

“I’m sorry to say I’ve no idea why.” He says playing stupid. Something he could do well when he felt like it. 

“I’m High King Varion, and you are?” He asks and Griffin feels his body tense up.

“Griffin.” He answers and the man tilts his head his icy grey eyes cutting.

“Just Griffin?” He asks and Griffin shrugs.

“Never knew my father he was slain during the war. So I don’t know if I had a surname.” He says and the man stares at the crests.

“The arms and armor you have have crests.” He says and Griffin nods.

“I got them from a dragon horde.”  He answers honestly and the man looks suddenly approving.

“So you’ve slain one of the beasts. Impressive.” Griffin grits his teeth.

“All challengers are to return to the arena.” The man calls and Griffin follows Corvin and Oberon back to the arena and the two work to keep as many as they can off Griffin. Once it’s down the six people a stop is called. Griffin is heavily leaning on Oberon at this point as he can hardly stand.

“You six will be given a few hours rest then you can challenge the king himself to earn a place in his dragon guard!” The man says and Griffin groans.

“I’m not gonna last...” He sighs and Oberon grabs his chin making him look him in the eyes.

“You will.” He growls and Griffin feels a shiver run down his spine he swallows and nods. Oberon lets him go and goes to get them drinks and Corvin gets them to a table. They take the time to rest and Griffin devoured the chunk of roast a woman gives to him saying thank you for coming back. The others tuck into the chunks given to them as well. When they are called to fight again the King tells Griffin and Oberon and Corvin they don’t need to fight as the dragon guard was for those brave and skilled enough to hunt dragons and they’d slain a beast already if they’d sacked it’s horde. Griffin looks at Oberon and the dragon looks back at him.

“We can challenge him now or you can kill him later.” He says softly. Griffin grits his teeth and moves forward.

“You killed my father with this war I never came to join your guard I wanted to contest your claim on the Crown of this Kingdom of Armillidian. I challenge you as the Prince.” Griffin retorts drawing his sword and the King sneers.

“Ah I see so you what made friends with the beast that lent you those toys then?” He asks drawing his own blade and marching down and Griffin sneers right back.

“I made friends with more than just him, A Dragon has more honor and pride than you’ll ever have than any human could. We back-stab and lie and cheat; a Dragon gives their word and never strays from that oath. A Dragon never backs down when those they care about are in need a dragon stands against any that would try him.” Griffin says getting ready to fight and the King scoffs.

“They pillage the same as us to collect their hordes you foolish brat.” He sneers and Griffin spits and holds his sword tightly in front of him drawing it back as he slides his foot into place the sword level with his eyes he sneers.

“A Griffin soars to it’s last breath on the same winds it was born to, a dragon lights even the darkest delves with the fires born in their hearts, I will back down for no one, I will bow to none but the Elder Council, I may not have been born to a dragon but I was raised as one.”

Griffin says and they lunge for each other a scream of steel heralding the beginning to the end.

[filipinawives]

Bukas na lang! Impulsive Filipinos

  I write many an article about life in the Philippines and about understanding Filipino culture and mindset, and I can see a positive side to most things. Wonderful, kind-hearted people who have a lot to teach us hard-hearted “foreigners”, as I’m sure most involved in Australian Filipina relationships learn to realise. But this is one area where I must admit I find myself struggling to understand, and that is why Filipinos tend to act with impulsiveness with little to no thought of long-term ramifications and sometimes tragic results that hurt them more than anybody else.    

  “Bukas na lang” means “Ahhhh, leave it for tomorrow.” Let’s not think about it today. Again, I love this place and I love the Filipino people here. This is my home. But my goodness, I find this so difficult. What I’m talking about is Filipinos making decisions to suit right now, and to hell with the consequences. Sometimes this is tied-up with pride, hurt feelings, etc. See the previous article on “onion skin” and how easy it is for Filipinos to get their feelings hurt, and how this can lead to careless decisions. But it’s not just that. It applies to so many things. There’s a lack of forward planning, and decisions are made without considering consequences in the short or long term.  

Impulsive behavior - Filipinos AND Australians

We can all be impulsive. Our emotions and our hormones can make us do stupid things which we later regret. Those Australian men who’ve got themselves involved with a pretty girl who’s just plain wrong for them because her attractiveness made our brains switch off, yes I’m sure they (We? Yes, I’ve done it too!) can relate to the folly of impulsiveness. Fear can be a motivator too, ie. fear of losing what appears a great deal. If we’re angry we can say things we wouldn’t normally say. But most of the time we try not to do this, and we try to consider the medium and long terms. Filipinos though? I suppose maybe its emotion (ie fear, pride, love/desire, anger, embarrassment, etc) which motivates a lot of short-term decisions. There just seems to be less decisiveness in trying to avoid rash decisions than you will see in your average Aussie. Emotions tend to rule the day, and very little is done to fight this. Little in the way of internal struggle, or even useful advice beyond the clichéd mutterings of “He/she is not thinking of his/her future!”  

You are not thinking of your future!

Has everyone heard this one? This is what they say when the teenage girl drops out of college because she’s pregnant to her boyfriend. Their situation caused not only by sexual attraction, but by a lack of planning…..family planning! He didn’t bring condoms. She never insisted on them! But whether it’s that, or the kid simply not taking studies seriously, or tossing in a job opportunity because it meant would miss the family and friends, that’s the common response. Everyone says they were not “thinking of their future”, but this often lacks weight because the person who says it rarely thinks of their own future either. Before I came here permanently, and when I had just been a frequent visitor, I still thought mostly as an Aussie. How else could I? I grew up in Australia! In Australia I was always acutely aware of the “wolf at the door”. Always aware that the world was a scary place, and that it would eat you alive without you having security and stability. House….money in the bank….safety from the elements and from “bad guys”, etc. Yet Australia has safety nets that the Philippines doesn’t have. You can’t “get the dole” or be placed in a nice housing commission house if you find yourself on the street with no money. Here? No money and no house means you go hungry and you may sleep in the rain. Is that enough to motivate the average person, especially those with family to support, to work hard and to hang onto a job? Not necessarily. I can remember a job I had years ago in Sydney. Had wife and baby at home at the time. I was in my 20’s and it was the late 80’s. And no, I didn’t have a mullet hairstyle. I was just a whole lot slimmer. I had a manager at work insult me, and he did it in front of others. And I sat there and took it. Would have liked to have got up and told him to stick the job where the sun didn’t shine, but no I sat there in silence. Because if I had done so, I would have let my family down and our future plans to move up to QLD when we had enough money for a house deposit would have been put off for maybe years. And that would never have been OK.  

Here? Let’s think of some occasions of Filipinos not “thinking of their future”:

Had a driver (with wife and two kids) try to side-swipe a motorbike in our car (with child passenger) because the motorbike driver had given him “the dirty finger”. I shouted at our driver and told him never to do a thing like that again. Later had his wife text message us with his resignation, because his feelings were hurt. He went back to driving his tricyle.

Same driver it seems had a few arguments with a subdivision guard. Went home…got a gun….pointed it at the guard’s head. Fortunately his late-father was in the NBI, so his old mates collected his home armory and no charges were laid, or he would have been in jail now over hurt feelings.

Office security guard learns someone is squatting in his house in the province. Gets on the bus. Gets a gun. Fully intends shooting the squatters. Not sure why he didn’t succeed, but nearly did. Also a family man, and would have dumped his family because his anger won the day.

Domestic helper with six kids, useless husband (doesn’t work, and has mistresses). Lived in poverty, and resembled a broomstick. Worked with us. Good salary. Had plans for building a proper house. Husband tells her to come visit. Fakes having a stroke (yes, I’m serious!), which the doctor identified in examination as fake. Did all this because she loved him and missed him, and lost what would have been long-term employment and a good future for kids.

  Basically, we’ve had to learn how to talk to staff very carefully and at the same time expect to see good employees throw everything away if they feel embarrassed or get their feelings hurt. Hang the consequences. Forget about taking it on the chin, because life is just like that. Forget what ol’ Malcolm Fraser said about “Life was not meant to be easy”! We already have to put up with staff needing to take days off because it’s their birthday, or it’s their child’s birthday, or someone asked them to be a bridesmaid at their wedding which is taking place on a work day. We’ve had staff telling us they wanted to visit their mum for her birthday in the province the evening before. Me? I sit here and work when I have a fever, or with a bad headache, or when my back is giving me merry hell. Because if I don’t do what is required, then my business will suffer and my clients will go elsewhere. Who could blame them? And that’s just reality. Yes, getting a little off-track here onto work-ethic issues, but it’s all part of it. I really do wonder why so many Filipinos take the path of least resistance. There is a wolf at the door in Australia, but there’s a whole pack of Filipino wolves here in the and they have rabies! Let your emotions get the better of you in the Philippines, and you lose out badly! And no, sadly I don’t have any answers. If you intend to have dealings with Filipinos, you can expect to come across this difficult phenomena.  

The following article Bukas na lang! Impulsive Filipinos wasRead more at: Filipina Wives Blog