#but she wants king to participate in running the family business

[theworlds-stage]

Tbh I wish they had explained the reasons why King was willing to go on that arranged match in the series, though I'm guessing they are using it as a more powerful angst tool and according to my theory on the number of episodes it's going to be explained in episode 8. I'm pretty sure that at that point in the novel, King was already vocal about his main reasons, and it was simply Uea being filial that stopped him from understanding that King meant what he was saying.

Anyways spoilers in the tags if anyone is interested, because I need to talk about it 🤷‍♀️

[dixons-sunshine]

Trick Or Treat | Daryl Dixon x Fem!Reader

Summary: It was that time of the year. An event you loved celebrating as a child, one you wished to teach your own daughter about. You wanted to make her first Halloween memorable. Meeting a potential new friend was only an added plus to that.

Genre: Fluff.

Era: No apocalypse.

Part of the Shopping Spree, Hangout Dreams AU.

Warnings: None, really. Small mention of death.

Word count: 1.6k

A/N: Hi, hello @dix0nvix3n. Thank you for allowing me to add your AU into my AU. I hope I managed to capture your reader and her daughter at least half decently. Also, this fic concludes my participation to @lazyneonrabbitt’s Halloween challenge. I hope y’all like this!

“Trick or treat!”

“Oh my gosh, you two are adorable! Power Rangers, right?”

You smiled at the children that beamed up at you, their expressions screaming that they only wanted candy, but they were polite nonetheless. The kids’ mom smiled at you, her gaze drifting down from your face to the little girl in your arms—yours and Daryl’s one year old girl, Hazel River Dixon, dressed up as a little hazelnut, in honour of the affectionate nickname given to her by her father.

“Aww, well isn’t she just the cutest little thing!” the woman cooed to the baby girl in your arms, successfully coaxing a small smile from Hazel.

“Thank you,” you replied to her statement with a smile, acutely aware of how cute your daughter was, before chuckling when you noticed the impatient looks on her two kids’ faces. You picked up the huge bowl of candy that rested on the table next to your rocking chair, and extended it towards them. “Here you go.”

The kids laughed and reached forward to grab multiple candies from the bowl, before placing them in their respective pillow cases. “Thank you!” the both of them echoed in sync, before giggling and running off down your porch steps.

The mom laughed lightly. “Sorry. Have a nice Halloween!”

You waved to her as she walked away. You sighed and leaned back in your rocking chair, holding Hazel close to your chest as she closed her eyes. You smoothed your palm over her back, pressing a soft, tender kiss on top of her head.

“Tired, Baby?” you asked rhetorically. She did not say anything—not that you had expected her to—but she nuzzled her face into your chest in response. You chuckled fondly at her. “I know, Sweetheart. Daddy and I will put you to bed in a bit, okay?”

Hazel opened her eyes and looked up at you, before her eyes drifted to something over your shoulder. She smiled happily, her chubby cheeks pulling up to reveal her adorable dimples. You did not have to turn your head to figure out who was behind you. The familiar touch of your husband soon rested on your shoulder, along with a soft press of his lips to the top of your head.

“How’s my girls doin’?” Daryl inquired in an affectionate tone of voice, a softness reserved only for you and your daughter evident in it.

You turned your head to peer up at him, sending him a small smile. “We’re good. Hazie is tired, though. I think after the next family comes up, it’ll be time to call it.”

“That’s probably for the best, yeah. S’gettin’ pretty late,” Daryl agreed. He reached forward and gently ruffled the wispy hair on Hazel’s head, smiling fondly when he successfully elicited a giggle from her. “How ‘bout I get her a bottle?”

You nodded in agreement to his suggestion. “That would be great. Thank you, Dar.”

“Ain’t nothin’, but yer welcome.” He leaned down and pressed one last kiss to the top of your head, doing the same to Hazel, before disappearing into the house with his task in mind.

You turned your attention back to the busy streets of your neighbourhood in King County. You felt content as you watched parents walk around with their happy, bubbly children, waving to one of the mom’s and her child, who was in the class you taught. You had a few regrets in your life, but if there was one thing you did not regret, it was agreeing to buy this house in the small town. It was a big adjustment to the bustling city life you had grown accustomed to whilst living in Atlanta, but you did not mind the change. The move was needed, especially after all the bad things that happened over the past two years.

You shook your head to rid yourself of the unwanted negative thoughts. You did not want to dampen the good mood you had sported the whole day. Daryl was fine now. You did not need to worry anymore.

Your salvation from your steadily wandering thoughts came in the form of a mom and her daughter. You smiled at the outfits they were wearing, thinking to yourself that it was truly amazing. Morticia and Wednesday Addams from The Addams Family. They absolutely nailed the outfits.

“Hi!” you greeted the pair enthusiastically, getting up from the rocking chair and smiling at the mother and daughter duo. “Morticia and Wednesday Addams, right?”

The mom smiled at you brightly, and nodded. “Yeah!” She nudged her daughter slightly, who giggled and looked up at you with a bright smile. “It was her idea. She even got her dad to dress up as Gomez. I wish you could see his costume. He had to run into the corner store for something, though.”

“It’s okay. If your outfits are anything to go by, I bet his is just as amazing.” You jiggled Hazel slightly when she began fussing, shushing her quietly with whispered words of reassurance. “Sorry. She’s tired. She usually has no trouble falling asleep around noises but she wants to stay up and greet all her new friends, it looks like.”

The woman waved you off with a reassuring smile. “It’s fine. I get it. My husband and I did something like this with Delilah when she was about her age. She got a bit fussy towards the end, too.”

“The Halloween when I was a pumpkin?” the girl—Delilah—asked with a big smile, laughing softly when her mom nodded. “Awesome.”

You grabbed the bowl from the table with one hand, extending it towards Delilah. “Here you go, Sweetheart. Take as much as you want.”

“Really?” Delilah asked with a bright smile.

You nodded. “Of course.” Delilah reached forward and grabbed a handful of different candies, placing them in her basket. You noted that she did not go back for a second handful, and you smiled. “That enough, Sweetie?”

Delilah nodded. “Yes, thank you. I don’t wanna take more than my share. Other kids might want some more.”

“That’s really considerate of you. You’re so sweet,” you complimented her, placing the bowl back on the table.

Delilah’s mom smiled at you. “We try to raise her right.”

“Well, you’re doing an amazing job.”

“Mama, I see Daddy!” Delilah exclaimed excitedly. She turned back to you momentarily, not forgetting her manners. “Thank you, ma’am!” Then she sprinted away, rushing towards her father. You could vaguely make out his figure, but other than that, you could not see anything else.

The mom smiled at you and shook her head. “I should probably go. It was nice meeting you… I never caught your name.”

“Y/N,” you replied. The woman repeated her name to you as well, and the two of you exchanged handshakes. “It was nice meeting you too. I’m sure I’ll see you around. Hit me up if you ever wanna go for a drink or something. You know where I live.”

She chuckled and nodded. “I’ll definitely take you up on that offer.” Almost instinctively, her eyes drifted down to Hazel, who you had cooed at quietly a moment ago to soothe her fussing, successfully coaxing a giggle from her. “She’s absolutely precious.”

You looked up from Hazel and looked up at the woman. You noticed a look in her eyes, one that you could only classify as nostalgia. It was a look you were all too familiar with back when you had visited your mom when she was still alive. Your heart went out to the woman. You could see how much she loved her daughter, and seeing Hazel must have transferred her back to the days when Delilah was Hazel’s age. You got emotional looking back at pictures of Hazel when she was a newborn, almost a year prior. You were sure you would be in her boat soon enough.

“Thank you,” you thanked her with a smile. “She’s my absolute pride and joy.”

“I can tell,” she replied, a sweet smile on her face. “Well, I have to get going now, for real this time. It was nice meeting you. I’ll see you for that drink soon. I’m not letting that one go.”

You chuckled and shrugged. “I don’t mind. Just tell me when.”

“Will do.” She sent you one final smile. “It was really nice meeting you. I’ll catch up with you another time.”

With that, she walked away and met up with her husband and daughter, leaving you alone on the porch once more. With one last wave at her and Delilah, you turned around and grabbed the bowl from the table again, deciding to call it a night. Hazel had rested her head against your shoulder during your exchange with the mother and daughter duo, but she had not fallen asleep yet. However, you were sure she would do so after her bottle.

You walked into the kitchen, where you found Daryl testing the heat of the milk against his wrist. He looked up when he heard your footsteps, and sent you a small smile.

“Done for the night?” he asked softly.

You nodded and placed the bowl of candy down on the counter in your kitchen. “Yeah.” You walked towards Daryl and leaned back against the kitchen island, rubbing Hazel’s back soothingly. “We’re both beat, her probably more than me.”

Daryl chuckled and reached forward to gently take Hazel from your arms. Hazel made no protest, melting against her daddy’s chest almost instantly and making grabby hands at the bottle in his hand.

“Let’s get her settled down for the night,” Daryl suggested, bringing the bottle up to her mouth and laughing when she eagerly latched onto it. “I think she agrees.”

“That sounds like a good plan.” You pushed yourself away from the kitchen island and motioned over to the leftover candy in the bowl. “And then we can overeat on a bunch of stuff that’s probably not good for us.”

“Now that,” Daryl began, “sounds like a good plan.”

Taglist: @holdmytesseract (comment/DM me to be added/removed.)

[thecountesstribe]

HOTD Ep 2x7 Spoilers and review.

So this was one of my favorite episodes this season and also one of the coolest imo.

Seasmoke being protective of Addam and looking proud he terrorized Addam into being his rider was too funny. I love that dragon 😂. Come through Addam the Loyal, all Rhaenyra had to say was she's queen and he immediately acknowledged her and bent the knee, I loved that. He's really about to become my other favorite boy.

Corlys being shook and acting like he doesn't know Addam, like sir if you don't tell the truth already. He's never gonna beat the deadbeat allegations. Although when he told him “Well done” I did whoop a little. I would've kicked his ass had I been Addam though.

Oscar Tully! That's it. That's the fuckin post. He gagged Daemon and stood on business. I love to see young kids bullying arrogant adults, he reminded me of the OG lil boss Lyanna Mormont. That's my lil nephew now.

Daemon didn't take the crown. We saw him hallucinating again, this time with the sick version of Viserys and Viserys holding the crown which he didn't take. I mean anybody with a brain could summarize that he never wanted the crown, we didn't need to spend so much time in his delusions in Harrenhal to tell us that. We certainly didn't need a scene of him feasting on his mom to tell us that, yuck. For all his faults he really was about his family. He went about it the wrong way but that's Daemon for you. His stupid self destructive ass.

We had an unnecessary scene of Alicent running about the woods after leaving King's Landing. Chile anyways. Larys is totally protecting Aegon now and he's essentially crippled atp. I fear for Baela's storyline.

Rhaena is looking for Sheepstealer. Her and Jeyne are still tussling but they waited until the final 2 episodes to give her something, Baela had no lines besides looking pretty and staring at Jace. I fuckin hate it here. Could we bully HBO AND THE WRITERS SOME MORE. WTF!!

Vermithor and SilverWing looked so cool. What did that old bum feed Vermithor though? He's big asf. SilverWing just might be the coolest looking dragon. I can't rank them anymore cause I like them all 😭. Literally my favorite thing about the episode. Like the directors cooked. The dragons are funny asf 😂😭😭😭. There were a lot of parentage reveals, I don't believe for a second Saera sired that ugly man but anyways. RhaeRhae led those people to their deaths. Rhaenyra deadass gave this big ass pep talk, she reminded me of Erwin before he led the scouts out on what would be their suicide mission except she didn't stay to see the outcome or participate in it. Vermithor saw an opportunity for a buffet and took it, Hugh claimed him. Fuckin cinema. Still gonna hate his bitchass but I can't lie that was badass. SilverWing was bullying Ulf. Why do people I hate always win sometimes?! Ulf literally failed upwards. Can't be mad at it. I mean if I was a dragon I would've done the same shit. How dare mediocre specimens come before me who is essentially the next best thing after the Gods!

We got Rhaenyra speaking High Valyrian. She had her dragon squad quit on her though and gave her a warning (foreshadowing). Her also being able to calm Vermithor, that's the Dragon Queen of her era y'all. We saw a little movement with her and her protective spoiled cat Syrax too 😍.

Not people hating on Jace now. Listen that argument has been brewing since season 1. He just finally let it out of his brooding body. I don't think many people understand the implications that argument meant. He sounded classist and maybe he was, highly doubt he is but he's being realistic and in the future he was proven right (unless they scrap the book canon). Rhaenyra paralleled Viserys in that entire scene. She really is her father's child in some ways. She did to Jace what Viserys essentially did to her. The one thing that could've upheld his ascension to the throne was him having a dragon and she essentially gave a free pass to anybody to do the same, the same thing was done to Rhaenyra when Viserys decided to marry Alicent and sire more children when he knew damn well that if he had a son, her claim to the throne would've been compromised. Jace knows he's a “bastard”, a legitimate one but a “bastard” ntl (I'm not calling him a bastard in a derogatory sense either, he isn't. Laenor claimed them as his sons and that's the end of it to me) , it shouldn't matter considering the throne is not passing from his father's side but his mother's. Sure his last name would've changed the minute he was named heir and ascended as stated by Viserys but what weight does that hold now? They briefly touched on it when he spoke to Baela about his fathers but he had always been insecure about his parentage. No he didn't call his mother a whore, he's been fighting that battle all his life, she just made it worse. In the dire situation they're in, the sacrifice had to be made but I could understand why he's angry and hurt over it again. She literally just made him illegitimate in the eyes of the realm. His anger is valid. Was his tone harsh yes, try dealing with the whispers and the jeers and everything else for the past 16 years of your entire life and seeing the same proof of what everybody else sees everyday and tell me that you wouldn't hold some kind of resentment towards it. I liked how Rhaenyra was patient with him though, just wished it wasn't as rushed as the scene felt.

The last shot of the episode was fuckin brilliant. Aemond turning his bitchass around knowing he can't handle that kinda pressure. Also Vhagar and Aemond's bond may not be as strong as it should be. She clearly does not listen to him sometimes. He's still responsible for Lucerys death IDC what y'all got to say. The episode got a 4/5 stars from me just for the dragons. I'm here for Jace, Baela, Addam and the Dragons!

Until next week guys for the finale. We're going to see Tessarion and Sheepstealer next week. I'm so excited.

[surftrips]

game on

pairing: rafe cameron x female reader

summary: y/n runs into rafe at the bar.

word count: 802

a/n: haven't posted in a while but i figured with the new season finally out i would publish this draft i had, might do a part 2 depending on the feedback!

Y/N didn't even want to go out tonight. She was only here because her roommate dragged her, completely ignoring the fact that she had class tomorrow morning.

The nightclub was dark and crowded, but the energy was electric. She could tell that most people were here for one thing and one thing only: a hookup. Despite being in college for a few years now, the hookup culture was one thing she never got used to. She respected people that could participate in it, but personally, she had a hard time with the idea of sleeping with a stranger and never seeing them again (or worse, seeing them in the elevator and having it be awkward).

Her roommate dragged her into the middle of the dance floor, because "that's where all the fun happens!" It was also where people got trampled if they weren't careful, but she didn't think her friend would appreciate her bringing that up.

As soon as they made it on the dance floor, the music started picking up and it was getting harder to keep up. However, Y/N tried her best to dance to the songs and stay close to her friend, knowing that the night would go by a lot faster if she at least tried to have fun.

About two hours in, Y/N had to excuse herself from the floor and grab some water from the bar before she passed out. She signaled to her friend that she was leaving and began weaving her way through the crowd.

"Y/N? What are you doing here?" A familiar voice asked her. Startled, she turned around with her drink in hand to be met by.... someone from her business class.

But not just anyone, the Kook King himself, Rafe Cameron.

"Hey, you're from my business class right?" she said, deciding not to give him the satisfaction of knowing his name.

"Uh yeah, sorry if I scared you there, I just thought you looked like a girl from my class and I was right."

"Would've been very awkward if my name wasn't Y/N. I'm sorry, what's yours again?"

He looked a little disappointed, "You don't remember?"

"Agh, sorry. It's embarrassing, but I'm really bad with faces and names so don't take it personally," you responded.

"All good," he reached out to shake your hand, not seeming to notice the sarcasm in your tone, "Cameron, Rafe Cameron."

"Oh! Rafe, that's right. How could I forget? You're always showing up late to class."

"Woah... I came out here to have a good time tonight, not to get made fun of." Rafe put his hands up in defense.

"Sorry, haha. People have told me I come off a little too strong sometimes."

"Hey, it's no worries, I appreciate your assertiveness."

It wasn't that she hated Rafe, she had nothing against him personally, but he was Rafe. Spoiled, privileged, and entitled, he lived in an entirely different world from the majority of the island. Even next to other Kooks, he stood out. The Camerons were by far, the most affluent family on the Cut.

So, she couldn't help herself when it came to taking jabs at him, masked as sarcasm or banter.

Fueled by the drink in her hand, she continued, "You here alone?"

"Well, I came with Topper and Kelce but I'm not sure where they are now. Hoping to leave with someone else though..."

Again, Y/N knew that everyone here was looking for a hookup. Still, she paused for a second at hearing Rafe being so blunt. Normally, she would be unfazed by his actions, in fact she had been dodging people's advances all night, but whether it was the alcohol in her system or sleep deprivation messing with the chemicals in her brain, she decided to keep entertaining him.

"Oh, yeah? Seen a couple blonde girls around that might be your type."

If Rafe was taken aback, he did a good job of hiding it. "Thought you didn't know my name, but now you know who my type is?"

"I only remember the important stuff," you took another sip of your drink.

Rafe was used to getting what he wanted. Most girls that he approached gave in almost immediately, but Y/N was not most girls. She was going to make him chase her.

"Alright," he nodded. "Do you want to play a game to test your memory?"

"Depends, will there be a prize if I win?"

"Of course, but I have a feeling we'll both get something out of it."

He was being a douchebag. Y/N knew all this, and yet, she couldn't help but be amused by his perseverance. If there was one thing she loved, it was the thrill that came with chasing someone. Game on.

"Okay, I'm in. What's the game?"

[copperbadge]

@bibliofran wrote (regarding King's Boon)

"Eddie is like 'Just herd anyone who wants to open a restaurant into my office....'" Are Boon-seekers sorted by the palace staff, or do they get someone mostly at random? You mentioned the person with the nightclub drawing Jerry, which sounds fairly random, but there might be more organization behind the scenes than most people think.

Little from column A, little from column B...

The way I had pictured it working was that you usually see the next available person, but the Royals can make general requests. (This is somewhat inspired by how jury selection began with some people being dismissed immediately based on their responses to a little two-page questionnaire we had to fill out determining our fitness to try the specific case we were there for.) So Eddie can ask for the chefs, Jerry can ask NOT to have people with mathematically complicated issues but to get as many farmers as possible, Alanna is best suited to handle bureaucracy, etc. So Eddie might see someone randomly, then a person wanting to open a kebab shop might need to wait ten extra minutes but get to see Eddie, who can provide more expertise than, say, Gregory would. Jerry would see Nightclub Guy and then skip someone with Parking Complaints to Alanna so that he could see a fellow olive farmer next.

And sometimes they'd hand off certain people to someone more appropriate after an initial talk, of course. Eddie and Gregory have adjoining offices, and Al and Jerry are both across the hall, so it's relatively easy to do. Michaelis takes over the family dining room as a makeshift office, so he gets to handle larger groups if any appear, which, you know, he's probably best for anyway. So for example Eddie could get someone struggling to export goods to Galia and knock on Gregory's door, find he's probably busy for the next half hour with a lively discussion about beach nudity codes, and then run across the hall to Alanna, who can call Milo and put the person on the phone with him so that they can get everything squared away.

Gregory has a policy of not making any requests, so your odds of getting the King over one of his family/staff is actually a bit higher than it otherwise would be. He enjoys the uh, diversity of challenges this presents to him. ("I'm not going to regulate nudity on the beach. If Americans feel weird about seeing someone with her nipples out, they can go to Florida.")

In theory Alanna would be in charge of the event but since she also has to participate, the execution of it falls to her assistant Darien, who thus haaaates King's Boon sessions. There's a line item in the budget for a spa day for him afterward. If I ever write Darien's novel, it'll open with him being such a fixture running the King's Boon that he ends up a Photogram celebrity via a meme, titled something like Hot Royal Secretary. ("I'm not a secretary!" "Dee, I think you may be missing a bigger picture here.")

[a-world-in-grey]

Sola/Little Nox Dissidia au

@raven-6-10 @secret-engima

The promised trainwreck under the cut!

The Citadel's been a wreck of tension ever since Spitfire and the prince went missing. Abyssus yowling fit to wake the dead brought the on-duty glaives running to find Sola's bed empty, phone still on her bedside table and all her shoes still in her closet, all signs pointing to an unwilling departure despite a clear absence of any sign of a struggle.

They'd raised the alarm, checking on the rest of the royal family and their retinue-

-and found Prince Noctis' bed as empty as his sister's.

Then, while Citadel security was swarming like a kicked anthill, spearheaded by a blackly furious Marshal and King's Shield looking for their godschildren, those guarding the Crystal had sounded the alarm.

Which is when they'd found their missing royals, via the Crystal putting out a hologram of the two like something from a bad science fiction movie.

Tredd hasn't gotten a decent night's sleep in four days.

If it's not the palpable worry radiating from the King racking up the tension, then it's the fact that the royal children have been summoned to a desolate world to participate in what's essentially a glorified death match on opposite teams, during which Prince Noctis is in nothing but his pajamas.

No one is ever again calling Sola's insistence on keeping her deployment bags in her armiger frivolous.

Though, if Tredd has to be completely honest, Sola's younger brother's lack  of proper attire is only a fraction of what's causing the tension. No, the bulk of it goes to Spitfire's newest Uncle and now youngest brother. The once-Chancellor of Niflheim and Captain's kid. Captain's kid who's apparently the Crown Prince's clone, created from a sample Niflheim stole how knows how many years back.

Luche had dipped out to make a phone call to Axis, because those are Arra braids in Ardyn and Nox's hair, and Axis had completely neglected to mention that his recent adoptees were Lucis Caelums, leaving Tredd to watch Axis' clansmen on this fucked-up version of reality TV.

Nyx has been teaching Spitfire the Ulric Dance ever since her Rage a few months back clued them all into the fact that Spitfire's as Sky-born as anyone can get without being an actual dragon - and seriously, Tredd is this close to shaking Nyx, the idiot needs to adopt her already, for Ramuh's sake - so he's in the room whenever he's not sleeping. Which means Libertus is also here, making sure Nyx does take the time to sleep because the last thing any of them need is the twitchy Ulric doing something Dumb, aided by Abyssus literally carrying Nyx out of the room when it's time to catch some shut eye.

Crowe's anxiously watching her girlfriend fight off various monsters and champions, fingers plucking at the rubber band Crowe's worn on her wrist ever since the Burning. This hadn't been how Sola and Crowe had wanted Sola's family to find out about that particular relationship, but Crowe had adamantly refused to be barred from the room for a second until Sola came back.

Luche, like Tredd, is there as Axis' braided brother, leaving the rest of the Fourth Regiment to attend in shifts depending who's on break, with Pelagia and her Third Regiment counterpart running everything because Captain is also busy watching this clusterfuck.

The Marshal's not left since the whole thing started - has he even slept? - but the King and Shield have to leave for short periods to make token appearances lest the entire country learn the royal children have disappeared into the ether. Gladiolus and Ignis have to be forced out of the room for their studies, which has apparently resulted in temper tantrums worthy of a Raging Sola, but the two young teens have yet to convince the King, Shield, or Marshal otherwise so the process repeats every day without fail.

Sola latching on to her new uncle and brother isn't a surprise. She's Sky-born, they do that. Especially because for all that the ex-Chancellor is clearly missing more than a few lines to his sails, he equally as clearly cares for and is protective of his niece and nephews, despite his distaste for Regis and Mors.

Were it not for the danger to her brothers, Sola would probably be having fun. The chance to cut loose against other skilled fighters? No one looming over her shoulder, scrutinizing her every action and deeming anything not up to their standards as 'monstruous'? Sola would have loved that in any other scenario.

But Spitfire has two brothers to protect, and Tredd swears under his breath when Sola assigns herself to Noctis and Nox's guard team, instead letting Ardyn join the strike team. The self-sacrificing dumbass.

"Care to explain that?"

Whoops.

Tredd cringes away from the Marshal's displeasure, silently thanking the Storm-Father that the King and Lord Amicitia are off in an unavoidable meeting with one of the Councilors.

"Sola is better suited on the strike team, sir." Luche says politely, before Tredd can stick his foot further in his mouth. "She's not usually charged with guard duties in the field."

The Marshal eyes them both severely. "Izunia is stronger than Sola." He says sourly. The revelation of the former Chancellor's heritage and all it's unpleasant implications hasn't been fun for anyone. "He can take a smaller strike team, freeing more people to guard Noctis and Nox." Unsaid is the fact that neither Sola nor Ardyn will leave the princes alone with strangers.

"Yes, sir." Luche demurs. That had been the argument Sola used to convince Ardyn.

(Tredd hadn't thought anyone could be more protective than Sola of her brothers, but Ardyn has her beat by a mile. Ifrit have mercy on whoever tries to harm either of the princes in the future, because Sola and Ardyn sure as Pyre won't, and Tredd doubts there'll be enough of the moron in question afterwards to scatter their ashes.)

Tactically, the assignments have merit. As Tredd exchanges a glance with an equally grim-faced Luche, he knows tactics aren't what they - or any of the glaives - are worried about.

Spitfire doesn't do defense. It's not a matter of skill. Tredd wouldn't be worried if it was, skill they can compensate for.

No, the issue is that Sola's a damn dragon of a Sword. Her first, second, and third instinct when dealing with threats is to kill it. She can't do that on defense - her priority has to be Noctis and Nox's safety, even if it means letting her target escape.

It's not impossible. Not when she's got help.

And yet Tredd can't shake the feeling that this isn't going to end any way but badly.

.

Tredd's right.

Two days later, everything goes to Ifrit's Pyre in a gift basket.

The strike team is away, trying to complete whatever the objective is that will send them all home.

(Ardyn is a force of destruction to contend with, tearing through enemies like they're tissue paper, making the King pale with an anguished epiphany he refused to share.)

The ambush catches everyone off guard. The strange dragon-like creatures swarm the protective detail. The healers push Nox and Noctis behind them, the champions better suited for close quarters combat struggling to keep the creatures off their more vulnerable companions.

In the commotion, Tredd doesn't see what sparks it, but he sure as Pyre sees when Spitfire loses it.

A low snarl rips from her throat, gaze and focus narrowing down on the threat in front of her.

Crowe swears. "Pyre-damn it all, someone back her up-"

But none of the other champions are watching Sola's back. They're too busy with their own battles, too busy keeping the kids safe. They don’t notice how Spitfire's been drawn away from the rest of the group, don't see the blind spot left vulnerable without a glaive or Abyssus there to cover her.

If Sola's family hadn’t known before, they've sure as Pyre realized it now. It's impossible to miss the glaives' reactions - Luche's grim certainty, Libertus' hand a physical restraint on Nyx's shoulder, Nyx's hands clenching and unclenching as he resists the useless instinct to grab his kukris and throw, Crowe's snarling at people who cannot hear, the way every muscle in Tredd's frame coils as he fights off the Fury rising like a wave-

-and crests, as Spitfire staggers, the attack she doesn't see ripping through her. Magic erupts throughout the room as Sola's eyes widen and her face twists in an agonized cry that has no breath to voice.

Sola hits the ground, and Nox s c r e a m s.

Ghostly weapons tear through the remaining creatures, a constant stream of light and steel that is nothing like any armiger they've seen. Champions startle as weapons pass through them harmlessly only to shred the creatures around them, until nothing remains.

The healers rush to Sola's side, but even from here, Tredd can see that it's bad. Really bad - he doesn't know if Spitfire's going to make it even with three healers and her own regeneration trying to save her life.

There's another burst of magic and Ardyn arrives, terrified and protective - Nox's magic must have alerted him, but Tredd doesn't know what the ex-Chancellor can do that the healers can't, Lucis Caelum magic just doesn't heal…

Ardyn takes in Nox, boneless with exhaustion and sobbing in Noctis' hold. Noctis, trying to keep it together. The champions doing their best to shield them from where Sola is laying on the ground between the healers.

(None of them can see it in the blue of the Crystal's hologram, how Sola is too pale against the shock of red hair haloed around her face, nearly indistinguishable from the blood staining the grass.)

Something in Ardyn's spine steels. He strides forward, ignoring the champions' attempts to keep him back, shedding his upper layers before he kneels and gathers Sola against his bare chest.

(The scars hit Tredd like a sucker punch. They've all seen some gnarly scars, no one survived the Burning unscathed, but these… these are torture scars. Torture scars and death blows and the glowing sigil of the royal family that can't be anything other than a brand.)

(The King is white as a sheet. Tredd wants to throw up. Parents are supposed to support you, not… not this.)

(Six, no wonder Axis kept Ardyn and Nox's heritage a secret. That Ardyn is able to trust and care for any of his Kin is astounding.)

It's not until magic rises from Ardyn's skin that Tredd realized what's happening. That he realizes what the tint of the Crystal's magic had disguised. But he's seen Spitfire heal others dozens of times out in the field, he recognizes this shaping of magic, and Ardyn is so much stronger than Spitfire-

It doesn't make it any easier to watch as Ardyn's skin splits, his blooding pouring out to join Sola's painting the ground. Doesn't make it any easier to watch as his wounds close, Ardyn gasping and trembling from more than just pain as he curls over his healed but unconscious niece, even as Noctis and Nox barrel in to comfort him.

Tredd's almost relieved when the Marshal turns to them and demands, "What the fuck just happened?"

As one, every glaive turns to Nyx. He's the only Chief present, he's the only one who can make the decision to share Galahdian lore with Outsiders as he has been with Sola.

Nyx stares a few moments longer at Sola's too-still form, hands flexing. Finally, he turns to face the Marshal and the King, expression dark as a thunderstorm. "We call it the Draconian's Rage."

"We?" The King's eyes are sharp. Tredd thinks he sees something of the warrior the King must have been when he visited Galahd twenty years ago.

"Galahd. The Draconian and the Infernian weren't the only Astrals to Bless humans. The magic disappeared long before the time of the Founder, but we still Remember." Nyx glances back to where the healers are fussing over Sola and Ardyn and Nox. "You have the Draconian's Blessing. But the Draconian isn't human."

Nyx turns back to the King, storm-blue locking with armiger-blue. "The Astrals aren't human, and sometimes their Blessed aren't either."

The King's lips thin. "You're saying my daughter isn't human." Treading on dangerous ground - the King's never taken kindly to the rumors painting Sola a monster.

"Physically, she is." Nyx says, steady as the cliffs against the storm-swept tides. "In her soul? Her instincts? She's no more human than I am."

That startles the King. "You are-?"

"Ramuh's. Storm to Sola's Sky."

There were rumors that the Ulrics were Ramuh's Blessed. Coeurl-Kin. Shape-changers and Wind-Walkers and as Black as the storms in their souls.

Tredd never thought he'd hear the rumors confirmed. This is Clan History. Private Clan History only ever shared with Clan Allies. If that.

"We thought you knew." Tredd says, trying to buy some leeway for Nyx. Tredd can't reveal that he's also not-quite human. Not without his Chief's permission. He might be able to get away with telling Sola - it's only a matter of time before she joins the Clans - but King Regis? Tredd would be in serious trouble. "You have thousands of years of history. Family customs as unique as any of ours." Customs catering specifically to those non-human instincts, Tredd doesn't say.

Tredd suspected otherwise after Sola's Rage in HQ. Sola didn't know anything about her Rages, only that she'd get so angry she couldn't think beyond needing to kill something. She was terrified that she'd try to kill anyone near her, hence her retreating somewhere secluded until she could regain control over herself. When she'd come out of her Rage to find Nyx and Tredd at the end of her weapons, injured but otherwise in one piece, she'd been horrified that she might have tried to kill them.

She hadn't known that she wouldn't. That even in the deepest Rage, her instincts would recognize the difference between hers and threat. Sola would never harm an innocent bystander. Not on purpose. Not unless they provoked her first.

So Tredd had suspected. He didn't want to believe it - how could the Lucis Caelums not have any information of the Draconian's Blessed? He knows Mainlanders don't keep Tales like the Clans do, but they do keep records! Sola cannot be the first Lucis Caelum to be Skyborn!

But no. The royal family has no clue.

What a mess.

"What does that mean for Sola?" The Marshal asks while the King processes Nyx's revelation.

"She's protective." Crowe says. Tredd snorts at the understatement of the century. "She'll react violently to anything threatening her Claimed. Lethally, if she can - Skyborn don't like leaving threats alive to try again."

"Prince Noctis and Nox are her only vulnerable Claimed. Prince Nox has his uncle to protect and care for him, which will satisfy Sola's instincts." Because nothing short of an Astral will be able to get past Ardyn to harm Nox, and even then Tredd would still put his money on Ardyn. "But Sola's Sword to Prince Noctis, and the oldest and strongest of his Retinue. She's his primary protector. Not being allowed or able to kill anything threatening him will stress her instincts."

The Marshal grimaces, glancing at the King and Shield. Tredd wonders if he's thinking about how Sola came to join the Kingsglaive. She'd eventually told them the circumstances behind her joining their training, one night out on deployment. Knowing now that Sola's Skyborn, that was a really Stupid decision on the King's part, banning Sola from protecting her disabled brother. The King was lucky Sola didn't try to sneak out of Insomnia after them.

"When she's under a lot of stress, she'll lose her grasp of human language." Tredd tells them. Tredd's never had that happen to him, but he also knows that as far as Seaborn instincts go, his are fairly tame. Sola, unfortunately, is way out on the extreme end of the scale. "Sign language she can comprehend, and that empathic thing she does with her magic. She'll lose her words before she Rages, so if it's that bad don't bother talking to her. She won't hear it."

Another glance between Sola's relatives. Six, how many signs had they missed?

Tredd determinedly ignores it. "When she's Raging, either give her space to work through it or spar with her. Sola won't hold back, but she won't try to kill you. But if you need to step out of the fight, make it physically clear that you surrender. Weapons away, hands down and open, on your knees and throat bared if you have to."

The King frowns. "That seems… dangerous."

"Not with Sola." Nyx says before Tredd's temper leads him to say something snarky and unwise to the King. "She'll always recognize her own."

"Shit's starting up again." Luche suddenly says.

Everyone turns back to the Crystal, conversation tabled.

For now.

[lordgrimwing]

Shape and Form

“Ah, Nerdanel, there you are.”

Nerdanel looks up from the block of greywacke, chisel and mallet falling silent. 

Indis steps through the beaded strings in the doorway to Nerdanel’s stoneroom. 

Today, she’s wrapped herself in a soft pink and green gossamer skirt with matching open front bodice over an airy shift—a fashionable choice for a warm summer day. The queen was always at the peak of fashion; a creator of it, Nerdanel might go so far as to suspect, given the way preferences in Tirion tend to follow where Indis leads. She’s been mixing Noldor sensibilities with more Vanya attire as of late and time will tell if it catches on.

“When your housekeeper told me you had gone out, I thought he might have meant you left Tirion on some errand,” Indis says. She trails a finger through the stone dust that settled on Nerdanel's drafting desk in the time since she's last cleaned. 

“I only came here to work,” Nerdanel says, folding her arms to rest against her leather apron and watching as the King's wife inspects her space with keen eyes.

“Yes,” Indis finally says. “It is nice to have something to do outside of the palace, on occasion.”

Without looking at Nerdanel, she strolls over to a bench pushed up against the wall which holds a row of half-began, child-sized busts.

“Who are these?” She asks, curiously running the tip of a forefinger over the vague impression of a round face.

“My children,” Nerdanel answers, hands itching to push the Queen's away, tongue twisting with the effort of not telling her to keep away from her children her art.

“They will be beautiful,” the Queen judges. Her gaze moves across the rest of the room, taking in the tools, clay mock ups and stone blocks.

Nerdanel stays where she is, one hand resting on the speckled graywacke, the other holding the mallet and chisel. She doesn't know what to make of Finwë's wife. Indis has never been overtly disagreeable, but neither has she been particularly warm. She'll carry small talk and ask after Maitimo, Makalaurë, and baby Tyelkormo, but they see little of each other outside of formalities. 

Perhaps that is expected. Fëanáro and Indis are distant, their relationship strained by old hurts, and she has her own children and grandchildren. There is nothing unnatural in her lack of interest in Nerdanel or her children, only…

How can she not know?

Indis has a keen mind and an eye for detail. The king did not marry her for her beauty alone. How can she not know what her husband does?

“Thank you,” Nerdanel finally says with little warmth. “May I help you with something?”

Indis removes her hands from the bust. “The Celebration of Western Light is approaching,” she says. “Fëanáro’s household should participate in the planning and hosting of festivities. Can I expect to see you at the committee’s next meeting?”

All perfectly polite and proper to ask but underneath it there is something else, Nerdanel is certain. Indis hadn’t needed to come all this way to deliver the invitation personally: a note or letter would have sufficed. At the very most, this could have waited until Nerdanel was back in her family’s wing of the palace. There was no reason for Indis to come all this way—unless she wanted to meet out here? To speak somewhere where there was no risk of being overheard by sharp ears attached to tattling tongues?

But why? Not a single phrase out of her mouth would have raised eyebrows at the court.

“Of course,” Nerdanel says with a small bow, more of a head bob. “I will be there.”

Why did Indis want to meet her out here?

“Good,” Indis says, turning to leave. She pauses on the way out, reaching out a hand to trail one fine finger over a nearly finished statue of Varda in miniature near the door. “I might commission something of this sort when you are not so busy.”

She leaves before Nerdanel can respond to that.

The sculptor stands in the middle of her work room, tools held loosely in her hands for some time after that.

What does it mean?

[boundless-iridescence]

Random Asks | Always Open

@demonofchaos asked: Asgard, 2011.

Nyx Lokisdottir was a strange child. She knew it. The horns and devil tail she had were from a strange mix of genetics. Her mother being the daughter of Hades, and a demon, and her father being a frost giant. But she never let other peoples opinions get to her. The nine year old was raised better. She was better. She had to be better. She was the Princess of Asgard. Yet she was still a child. She had less responsibilities than the adults in her family. But she was always there. She never really got time to herself. She was always being watched in some way. Whether it was by a Guard or her family. Her parents were extremely loving. She loved her mother and father. She was especially close with her father, though. She loved when Loki would read to her, or show her his magic. Despite having so much…Nyx was lonely. The other children do not seem to like her, aside from her one friend. So Nyx made a decision to leave Asgard from time to time. Maybe find a place where she won’t be judged for what she is.

On this particular morning, Nyx was very very bored. The young princess had finished her studies and wandered the hall aimlessly. She had managed to avoid her guards. She didn’t see why she needed them. She was nine. She wasn’t helpless, either. She had her own powers. She could just use her magic. She knew she would likely get in trouble for running off through the halls. But she couldn’t help it. Did everyone just expect her to sit around and do nothing all the time? That was lame..and boring.

Nyx wanted to see what her Uncle was doing. She could bother him if she so chooses. But she also knew he was fairly busy preparing for his upcoming role as king. As well as saving the Nine realms. He was very important and busy. Nyx wanted to grow up and be just as cool as important someday. No matter what anyone says, she would do it. Nyx spotted her father, finally. She tugged on his cape. “Daddy. Daddy.” She chirped. She wanted his attention.

Loki had been deep in the library as was his best position when it came to the stirring events of the Kingdom. Thor's coronation would be coming sooner rather than latter, and not for the first time, and as it were, Loki still felt another delay was needed. Not that the delay before had been...entirely intentional. But, now? Thor was a great warrior, a decent hearted Asgardian at his core, and an admirable person that Loki adored. However...when he looked to his brother, he did not yet see a King. He saw a man too ready for a throne, without any thought for what that throne will bring.

And Loki bore the weight of seemingly being the ONLY one to be aware of such. So, his wits and his knowledge would be his tools, to find his way to delay yet again. If he could not manage to teach Thor, he would do what he could to save the realm.

But he heard the pitter patter of feet, a sound he was very familiar with. Adorned in his regal wear after just participating in a meeting (participating being a generous term as he more simply sat there to be present), he looked down with a grin that grew and spilled warmth at a rapid pace. As the young girl tugged at his cape, he easily set aside his study material, and knelt down.

His dear daughter, precious and beautiful, had the look of restlessness. He knew it well. She was supposed to be committing to her studies with her tutors and guards, but he imagined she must've grown bored. Sometimes, she was far too like him. He scooped her up with a soft chuckle, standing once more.

"Yes, my dear? And just what are you doing? Running about by yourself again?"

[empressofthesunwriter]

The Stick of Truth

Codename: Dovahkiin Part 1!

N.K. is angry at her parents. Not only did they move again, no, but they moved into a snowy hicktown named South Park! She was sure she would hate it there, yet surprisingly she gets to participate in the epic RPG the kids play and falls for the human princess and the elf king. Who is friend, who is foe and which side should she choose?

Main Pairing: New Kid/Kenny McCormick/Kyle Broflovski

Chapter 10: How to Sneak in on a super-secret government Meeting

I had time today and thought let’s write this chapter in one go! It’s a bit short, like Chapter 9, but these two chapters are there to set up things for the next big chapter, chapter 11.

I still hope you enjoy it!

Apparently having cig and coffee on me and looking Goth, isn’t enough for my dark-spirited friends.

It’s a frame of mind, I sadly lack.

It’s been against society's rules, which I don’t.

Being born a girl in a patriarchy and being bi in a queerphobic land isn’t enough.

This hurts me.

Deeply.

Is this Goth enough or too sarcastic?

Anyway, to prove I’m goth I have to go to the big PTA meeting in the community center, walk right into the middle of that meeting and tape this wonderful sign with written on it “Fuck the conformists!” to their table.

What one due’s for their plans…

So I make my way there all alone since my co-conspirators against King Big Ass are all busy with preparations for our plan.

The PTA meeting is a bomb to go off any second as I walk in. The adults literally talk over each other. They are angry, all right.

I feel kind of awkward standing so randomly there with my stupid sign and even more stupid Goth clothes.

I’m thinking about how to best tap the sign on the table and take the photo, as proof, without anybody seeing me when I hear Mr. Mash saying my name: “Thank you for coming, N.K. Everyone, this is the girl whose family just moved to town.”

A lot of preps stared at me.

I put up my middle finger at them.

No of course not, I waved awkwardly at them, but I got you all for a second, hehe.

“We've become very close friends.”, tells Mr. Marsh everybody. “This child and I witnessed something last night, and I'd like you to hear her story. Go ahead, kiddo.”

I blink.

What happened again last night?

Oh yeah, the space adventure.

“Some alien fuckers kidnapped us to probe us in the ass. Me and my best friend saved anybody on this ship and you Mr. Marsh just left us there.”, I deadpan.

No way, I gonna tell them, we girls crashed the UFO.

“N-Not really what I meant, kiddo.”, awkwardly Mr. Marsh rubs his neck.

It’s still for a few seconds.

“This is a waste of everyone's time!”, shouts a brown-haired man…I think it’s Leo’s dad. “If the PTA isn't going to do something about Taco Bell taking over then the rest of us parents will!”

“YEAH!”

“THAT'S RIGHT!”

 “Let's go!”

“COME ON!”

Following Leo’s dad all, besides the PTA members, leave.

Well, that could have gone better for them.

Not my problem.

I have to fulfill my quest.

As I’m about to tap my sign on the table, Mr. Marsh runs up to me and takes it from my hands.

“Look, I know how you're feeling, ok? But this isn't gonna solve anything. We've got to get inside that "Taco Bell" and find out what's really going on. Help me with that and I'll help you with this.”, promises Mr. Marsh.

“What do you want?”, I ask frowning. “That I do it like a Ninja and break in and search for some dirt on "Taco Bell"?”

“Exactly!”

He can’t be serious!

“I saw you on the ship - you have pretty good control over your farts and you have your Magical Girl Powers!”

….Magical what Girl powers?!

Heh?

What does he mean by that?

Last I checked I’m not Sailor Moon.

If I was Sailor Moon I would be soooo happy.

“Meet me in the bathroom. It's time for you to learn some REAL power.”

Still confused about what Mr. Marsh meant, I follow him to the bathroom.

And I need to learn a new fart technic.

Okay, I get that it’s useful, but still, bah!

Anyway, I master it and Mr. Marsh sends me off to my new quest.

Quests for quests and no end in sight.

Stupid game mechanics.

Frowing with crossed arms I stand before "Taco Bell".

I saw with my own eyes how a man got shot in the head just for asking questions.

Mr. Marsh was right.

It’s more than just to hide the fact that this "Taco Bell" is on UFO. This rip-off Man-in-black are hiding something.

I feel it.

It’s too dangerous to break in alone.

I need backup.

So I try to get someone to join me.

All besides Tammy are busy with preparations, but she tells me Stan can come along if we first help him with something.

This something is to get his phone back from his older sister.

Another quest?

Sure why not.

Not like I already have 30 or so!

Signing, I make my way back to the Eleven Kingdom.

“Your sister is a crazy nasty bitch!”, I tell Stan, as I, he, and Tammy make our way to "Taco Bell".

“Disgusting, absolute, disgusting!”, adds Tammy, checking her new cool fighter armor, courtesy of the elven, for any menstrual blood.

Yes, you read right.

Stan older sister used as attack bloody tampons on us!

“I’m sorry, girls, but imagine living with her 24/7!”, apologize Stan. “At last I have my phone back, really again, thank you.”

“Your welcome, but next time warn us.”, I make clear.

Finally, we are back at "Taco Bell" and I use Sneaky Squeaker, I fucking hate that I have to use it, to lead the two heavy armor soldiers away from the entrance.

Tammy sends me I look and I shrug just.

I know it is nasty, but we don’t have other means.

With the soldiers busy being distracted by the fart we three Ninja our way in.

“This place doesn't really look like a Taco Bell.”, points Stan out.

“It isn’t.”, answers Tammy. “It’s a UFO and they build a Military complex around it.”

“How do you know that?”

“You don’t see the giant UFO?”

“Also, it may be that Tammy and I got abducted by aliens last night and had to fight our way out of it.”, I add.

Stan just stares at us and lets out a long okay.

I have a feeling he saw and heard weirder shit in his life.

Must be a South Park thing.

Anyway, there is a lone soldier whom I lead with Sneaky Squeaker to the electrocuted puddle of water and then use my alien probe-thingy to teleport us to the roof.

We crawl all in the air conduction. After a few seconds, we find a meeting room full of people. We stop and listen.

“...but so far we have been unable to stop the UFO from leaking the toxic waste.”, say’s one of the Men-in-Black. “We've contained all we can but there are no guarantees an outbreak will not occur.”

An older man with an eye patch asks: “And does the alien liquid appear to have the same effect as... last time?”

Suddenly I feel how I shiver and my heart starts to race.

That voice…

I heard it somewhere before…

And if I look more at the Eye-Patch-Grandpa…the more I’m sure I saw I somewhere before.

I don’t like this feeling.

“I'm afraid so.”, answer him Men-in-Black. “When the alien waste reacts with organic material on Earth it turns things into... Nazi zombies.”

A window opens and a man in a Hawaii shirt is in a room behind it, walking really like a zombie and shouting in German.

…I’m imagining things or does he sound like Hitler?!

 “Nazi zombies, what a cliché!”, whispers Tammy.

Stan and I nod, and even the government guys are so done with this too. How often did they encounter this to be so dull about it?

Eye-Patch-Grandpa walks over to a whiteboard which has a drawing of South Park on it and explains to his men and woman: “All right, we're going to have to completely obliterate EVERYTHING in a three-block radius. Find locations for the bombs and bury it all. Then make up a fake story about an earthquake. We can contain the outbreak this time if we act quickly enough. Let's MOVE!”

All stand up to get out of the room.

Suddenly one of the government guys turns around.

He points at a little record on their table.

“Everything we've just talked about has been recorded onto this tape. I'm going to leave it alone here for a few minutes, then come back later and have it encrypted and locked away so nobody ever hears what was said in this meeting.”

“Yes. Good idea.”

With that, all leave the room.

“Well, how practically for us. That’s exactly what the PTA wants.”, I whisper to my friends.

Tammy and Stan nod.

“Adults are so stupid.”, points Stan out.

We start to crawl again, to find a way out of the air conduction.

I’m the first to jump out of it…at the same time as the Nazi Zombie breaks free and kills the soldiers before me!

Oh shit!

Stan, Tammy, and I need our collected forces to kill this overused cliché, but we manage.

“Oh my god! Why?!”, shouts Tammy.

“You guys stay here.”, I tell them. “I get the record and then we get out of here!”

“Hurry, dude!”, pleads Stan.

Fast I snatch the record up and then we three run out of the military complex.

What we see and encounter on our way back to the Elven Kingdom is fucking nuts.

The Nazi Zombies already spread!

So much for containing them!

I hope the adults can at least stop somehow the plan at bombing South Park.

Tammy decided to go with me to the PTA meeting, but first Jimmy ask us if we can help him get a flute.

Seems like we have to do some quests first.

And I still need to place Al Gore’s little machine underground.

The PTA can wait for a bit.

“Okay, we fought Nazi-Zombie-Cows to get Jimmy the flute, beat up an ex-vice president, then him again dressed up as ManBearPig and we meet a talking Christmas shit and his family.”

“Don’t forget all the hobos and Nazi Zombies we beat and/or killed up, Tam.”

“How can I when the Nazi Zombie cat nearly scratched me?! Do you think they can give rabies too, N.K.?”

“I sure hope they don’t.”

Yeah, as you can see Tammy and me had quite the adventures.

On one side it was good because we both level up and Tammy got with any fight better in our RPG, on the other side we both are stressed out.

And we still have our big plan for Cartman, when we just wanna chill and maybe watch a movie and eat some junk food.

At least, not only we gave the record to the PTA, but we also got the goddamn picture the Goths want, and after showing them how Goth I can dance, drink my coffee, and smoke they agree to participate in the RPG!

Yeah!

All is coming perfectly together.

Tammy and I hug each other before Cartman’s house.

Now we must separate before we can rejoin sides again.

“Good luck, with Cartman, sis.”, wishes me, Tammy. “I will see you on the other side.”

“I will see you on the other side.”, I repeat and we hug each other tight.

With that, I enter Kupa Keep.

First I see how Princess Kenny gives me a wink and a nod.

Okay, this means on her side all is according to plan.

Leo gives me a thumbs up, while I see how Token, Tweek, Craig and even Scott nod at me.

Awesome, they are on board too!

“My king.”, I call for Fatass. He is surely in the war tent. “I’m back with good news.”

King Chubby steps out of the war tent, a smile on his face.

“Ah, you have returned!”

“Yes, my lord. The Goths are on our side.”

“Awesome, come, Sir Douchebag, it is time to summon our forces! Simply call them here and your dedication to Kupa Keep will be complete! Climb the signal tower, Sir Douchebag. Call forth your new recruits!”, commands Cartman practically.

If all goes to plan this will be one of the last times he will give me a command.

I play my part.

I climb the carton tower and send with my phone a message to the Goth Kids.

When I climb down again, Cartman calls out: “Everyone gather around!”

We do as he says.

“While the rest of you have been picking your respective arses, Sir Douchebag has gone out and brought help to our kingdom.”, berates them Cartman. All play their role, looking disappointed at themselves. “Sir Douchebag, it is time to give you a title worthy of your deeds.”

“Will you finally use my real name?”, I ask with pretended hopefulness.

“I have something better! By the power of Mandaloth, third-born of the Redguard, and by the glory of Christ, I hereby anoint thee -- COMMANDER DOUCHEBAG! With all the rights and privileges accompanied therein!”

“Goddamit, Fatass is N.K. so complicated!”

And again I get ignored.

“Eric! ERIC!”, runs up Leo to us. He sends me a quick wink. This means we and the elven are ready for our plan or should I say trap for Cartman. “We know where the elves are hiding the Stick!”

“What? Really?”

“We just intercepted their messages on Twitter!”

“You mean you shot down their message raven.”

“R-right - w-we shot down their raven a-and the evil Elf King ha-has hidden the Stick inside his desk at school!”

“Of course! Kyle hid it in his desk! CITIZENS OF KUPA KEEP! WE KNOW WHERE THE ELVES ARE HIDING THE STICK! I told you they were cheating! NOW WE SHALL MARCH ON THE SCHOOL AND MAKE THE HALLWAYS DRIP WITH ELVEN BLOOD!”

“HUZZAH!”, we all shout.

It’s time to get this show on the roll!

Cartman will not get what hit him.

I’m already laughing inside gleefully imagining his stupid face.

He will pay for being such an enormous bastard to anyone!

I used JRPG Heroine: Dragon Master dress-up game for Tammy’s outfit. She has a purse with her since her class is a fighter and she fights like Tifa Lockheart from Final Fantasy. In the purse are things like smoke bombs or glitter to give a status effect on the enemy or stun them.

Next

[alsjeblieft-zeg]

329 of 2023

Created by livelaughlove05

You have brown hair. You straighten your hair a lot. You have green eyes. You wear glasses. You love going to the movies. You love baseball. You love Les Miserables You read for fun. You've read a classic book for fun. You've read The Outsiders. You hate math. You want to go to Italy someday. You have been out of the country. One of your best friends is of the opposite sex. You can't skateboard. You have a friend that's gay. You're addicted to tumblr. You think MySpace is overrated. You like history. You hate research papers. You like acting and/or singing. You want to go into medicine. You hate chemistry but love biology. You like to ice skate but aren't that good. You like hockey. You hate football. You like(d) school. You're easily frustrated. You're annoyed by know-it-alls. You're a night person. You participate(d)in a sport/extracurricular in high school. You have performed in a play You do not play an instrument. You are a dog person, not a cat person. You have a big family. You try to stay out of drama, not cause it. You're crazy around your friends but quiet around people you don't know. You're usually polite. You've been lied to a lot. You've had your trust broken. You've been hurt. You've gone/go to church. You've never drank alcohol. You've never smoked. You've never done drugs. You should be doing something else right now. You want to go to sleep. You love sleep. You love pizza. You hate seafood. You dislike over dramatic people/attention seekers. You dislike disrespectful people. You tend to argue with people. You've been in the emergency room/hospital before You've failed a test. You've copied homework. You've done something stupid and regretted it later. You've done something wrong and never got caught. You've taken a foreign language class. You're fluent in more than one language. You've been in a relationship. You've been in one of those junior high relationships that last a day. You love helping others. You have a bad relationship with your siblings. You have an ok relationship with your mom. You have a bad relationship with your dad. You have contemplated running away. You have cried in a movie. You have cried in a song. You aren't super emotional. Your friends mean everything to you. You've pushed away the person that cared the most. You think the progressive commercials are getting lame. You like the movie She's the Man. You're afraid to speed. You love NASCAR. You have taken an honors class. You like science. You wish to be somewhere else right now. You're tired. You're sick. You've gone to prom. You've gone to a high school football game. You've gone to another high school game. You've gone to at least 2 schools. You love traveling. You prefer flying over driving. You know someone that's a pilot. You know someone who's been adopted. You love Imagine Dragons. You've been hit on by someone younger than you. You've been hit on by someone older than you. You're bored. You love roller coasters. You've been to Disneyland/Disneyworld. You love Disney movies. You like The Lion King. Belle is your favorite Disney princess. Nutella is amazing. You know someone named Sidney. You know someone who's addicted to sports. You watch crime shows on TV. You've been to Europe. (lol never left) You sometimes want to change the past. You like Back to the Future. You think Miley Cyrus is messed up. You try to think positive all the time. You agree that Asians are smarter than White people. You have worked in a family business. You have babysat. You have tutored someone. You've been in marching band. You've sung at a professional sports event. You've gotten a happy meal past the age limit. You hate bugs. You have a philosophical friend. You have a friend who thinks he/she is perfect. You've never gotten in trouble at school. You text a lot.

[liaromancewriter]

A Year of Kisses: September

Series Premise: It’s twelve months of memories as they celebrate one year of wedded bliss.

Book: Open Heart (post series) Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Cassie Valentine) Rating/Category: Teen. Fluff. Words: 625

Series Masterlist

Chapter summary: Quiet weekends are made for romance and slow dancing in front of the fireplace.

A/N: Submission for @choicesmonthlychallenge March Day 15 prompt “Ides of March”. I’m also participating in @wackydrabbles​ prompt 138 which will appear in bold.

The ticking of the clock on the wall was loud in the otherwise silent living room. Outside, dusk had descended and city lights glittered like jewels amidst the dark sky. A full moon was rising over the Charles Basin and the night felt full of possibilities.

Ethan Ramsey set aside the empty glass of scotch, glancing over at his better half. Cassie Valentine lay on her back, head propped up on the arm of the couch, legs stretched across his lap and engrossed in a medical journal on her tablet.

The last couple of months since their wedding had been busy for both of them between work and family commitments. Last weekend, they had been in D.C. for her mother’s charity benefit and next weekend they were attending a hospital donor event at the King Charles Country Club.

But this weekend was just for them.

For the first time in weeks, they were not working, on call or socializing. They’d spent the day with their realtor reviewing listings for a new condo, something that would be theirs and not his. Tomorrow was for running errands, but tonight he wanted all those possibilities.

Whether it was the full moon or the way she looked, her face free of make-up, dressed for comfort rather than seduction in a blue tee shirt and black yoga pants, he suddenly had the urge to romance his wife.

The things I do for love! He laughed silently at the thought of what he was about to do.

He pulled up the music app on his phone, connecting the device to the Bluetooth speakers on the mantel above the fireplace. 

The first notes of the melody had Cassie peeking at him above the tablet, her eyes going soft as the woman started to sing their song.

Stars shining bright above you Night breezes seem to whisper, "I love you" Birds singing in the sycamore tree Dream a little dream of me

He held out his hand for her to take, drawing her off the couch and into his arms. Slipping one hand behind her, his fingers splayed across her lower back; he took her left hand in his and she set her right hand on his shoulder. 

She smiled up at him, her green eyes glistening as he led her in a slow dance in front of the fireplace. Lost in each other, they let the rhythm take over, moving in perfect harmony as they did everything else.

Much like their first dance as husband and wife, he twirled her in his arms, smiling wide when her laughter rang out as he dipped her before drawing her back up. 

She turned her back to him and he wrapped his arms around her waist, their bodies swaying to the music surrounding them.

Cassie angled her head to the side and he took her cue. Sweeping her long blonde hair back, his lips skimmed down her neck, leaving goosebumps in their wake and on the top of her shoulder where he pressed a gentle kiss.

As the song reached its bridge, he gave her one more twirl and a last dip before holding her close. Her arms circled his neck as she set her head on his shoulder, tucking it neatly under his chin.

The music was fading when she raised her head to meet his gaze. Stretching on her toes, she planted her mouth on his in a sweet kiss that was butterfly soft, a mere brushing of lips.

He hugged her tight, savoring the scent of her and the feeling of contentment spreading inside him. 

Ethan wasn’t wholly convinced of the concept of soulmates, but there was no denying that there would never be anyone else for him.

A/N 2: Their song is “Dream A Little Dream” by The Beautiful South. It was their first dance at the wedding.

@choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics​

Tagging in reblog

[crvwnfought]

i.    AEGON TARGARYEN    —    seven months passed.

the  sins  of  the  father  stain  the  son’s  hands  red. 

THE WEDDING

the minute the attack started, aegon’s priority was getting his wife and children to safety. he panicked when he couldn’t find aerys, prepared to run into the fire himself with no thought of him, until ASTER TYRELL emerged with his son. once his family was safe, aegon focused on helping others escape and make their way to safety. he was, thankfully, not wounded during the attack.

he briefly met up with his sister, AEREA TARGARYEN, and informed her of aster’s and vasila targaryen��s injuries. it was then he learned that she was leaving for dragonstone with their brother. despite her pleadings, aegon refused to join them, wanting to return to his home at summerhall, which was both familar and safe while dragonstone was foreign territory. the two siblings didn’t part on good terms, which grieved aegon terribly and would haunt him in the days to come.

while some of the targaryens left king’s landing immediately, aegon remained behind with the nobles, ensuring they found places to stay in either the city center or the one remaining tower. he barely slept the first night, too busy helping the injured, looking for the missing, and assisting in whatever else the nobles needed or asked for. he didn’t leave the city, or really rest, until the nobles had left king’s landing for their own homes.

he then made his way to summerhall where he reunited with his wife, children, and, much to his surprise, his sibling, VASILA TARGARYEN, and also his cousin, GAEL TARGARYEN. he had plans to stay at summerhall for the foreseeable future, but his father had other plans.

THE FATE OF THE ARRYNS

news of his mother’s death had impacted aegon but due to decades of living at a distance from her, he wasn’t as affected as some as his siblings. he mourned, grieving both the woman and the relationship he never had with her and now could never, and the desire for justice burned within his chest.

however, the manner in which lucerys elected to go about it frustrated aegon. while the arryn involvement was undeniable and he supported those involved being executed, albeit after a trail, he disagreed with condemning and annihilating all of them without determining first that they were all equally guilty. he almost refused the summons to the eyrie, but in the end knew he must do his duty and therefore flew on rhaellara there and participated in his father’s mad campaign. he tried reasoning with his father but quickly realized lucerys wasn’t listening.

aegon mainly fought on the ground alongside his cousin, GAEL TARGARYEN, and participated in strategy planning with the army. he did use his dragon when necessary, but did his best to avoid carelessly burning things or people. for the most part, he focused his attention on using dragonfire to cut off escape roots and destroy the arryn army’s supplies rather than burning people. 

the one time he used rhaellara against the people was after a man he’d cornered spoke poorly about house targaryen and in particular the queen. rhaellara was hovering overhead, constantly protecting her rider, and aegon gave the order for her to rain fire down on the man and those with him. when the flames cooled, leaving aegon amongst the ashes, he immediately felt immensely guilty for letting his anger cloud him and vowed to not use rhae’s fire against the people for the war.

when RHAEGAR TARGARYEN cornered POPPY ARRYN, aegon was only a few steps behind his brother and his dragon. he was about to intervene, ready to kill the arryn lady after she said that “the only good targaryen is a dead targaryen” and aegon recognized it for both the admission of culpability and the threat that it was, but rhaegar acted first, calling upon daenys to burn poppy alive. while he was utterly surprised, aegon didn’t hesitate to comfort his brother and kept a watchful eye over him for the rest of the time he was in the eyrie.

it was also during the war that whatever strain had entered his relationship with his sister, AEREA TARGARYEN, began mending. the two were able to talk through what had happened and with thethreat of losing each other so high, the former conflict felt small in comparison. aegon was saddened by aerea still choosing to stay at dragonstone but assured her that she was his sister, he loved her no matter what, and that aster and her had his full support.

aegon didn’t leave the vale when the targaryens claimed victory. once more, he turned his attention toward THE PEOPLE OF THE VALE and offered them whatever aid he could in helping them rebuild and recover. 

SEVEN MONTHS, SEVEN SINS

aegon returned to summerhall and remained there for the months following the war. during the initial weeks following his homecoming, the prince was prone to bouts of melancholy, the guilt over acting against his conscious and honor weighing heavily on him and the screams of war haunting him. however, the support of his wife and visits from both friends and allies helped him recover. 

summerhall’s gates were open to all who wished to visit over the months. some noticeable visiters were THE TYRELLS, HISHAM TARLY, and others (tba). 

aegon did leave a few times to visit his tyrell relatives at highgarden. it was during on of these visits that he gifted his good brother, ASTER TYRELL, with a golden hand after the man lost his saving baby aerys. 

GAEL TARGARYEN was also officially made aegon’s sworn shield following the war.

when tragedy struck regions of westeros, aegon extended his hand and offered aid, knowing his father would not. he wrote letters to both the TULLYS and the STARKS offering summerhall’s aid during their crises but was mainly met with refusals much to aegon’s distress.

aegon traveled to highgarden when it was almost time for the birth of the ruling tyrells’ child and thus was with his extended family when SENYA TYRELL was murdered. he ended up staying there for almost the entire month and doing whatever he could to support his family during their time of mourning.

in the month prior to leaving for new valyria, the targaryen group at DRAGONSTONE made a brief (and very quiet) visit to summerhall. aegon was delighted to see all his siblings, including his twin brother, before they were summoned to what was once the vale for whatever his father had in store next.

THE DAWN OF NEW VALYRIA 

aegon arrived to new valyria even more wary of his father and more concerned about house targaryen’s standings in westeros. he suspected the war with the arryns only damaged people’s trust in the crown and with so much other chaos happening in the realm, he worried that the tension was only waiting to explode. he is absolutely more on guard, but determined to put his best foot forward and show that he is still nothing like his father.

[thatcartoonnetworkblog]

Cartoon Network Hotel Review

WHAT TIME IS IT????

If you don’t find yourself screaming this when you get here, even just in your head, then you’re in the wrong place.

But after a nice drive through Amish Country, the Cartoon Network Hotel is nice and visible right outside of Dutch Wonderland. Coming in, you see images of some of your favorite characters, right before Finn and Jake welcome you at the front.

Granted, it looks like I came off season- with fall and school just starting, Dutch Wonderland is only open on the weekends, and the hotel wasn’t exactly packed from what I can see. Which made for a good time for the indoor pool to be under renovation, so I sadly didn’t get to check that out. But hey, the outdoor pool was running just fine, although it was mostly empty, just myself and a family.

I didn’t take any pictures of the pool, since I didn’t have my phone (but a couple of Ice King’s penguins are playing life guard duty, alongside a pretty cute girl), but I did snap a photo of the Powerpuff sprinklers! They look pretty cool, right?

But that’s jumping ahead. Anyway, as mentioned, today it didn’t seem so busy, so despite arriving a couple of hours before 4 PM check-in, I was able to get a room right away. It must have been busy enough that I didn’t get the Gumball room I asked for, but instead I got my second choice, Steven Universe.

But I mean, look at this. I can’t complain. I was just thinking that I wanted the SU room instead, anyway.

The rooms are themed to one of six shows/franchises, the other four being Powerpuff Girls, Ben 10, Adventure Time and We Bare Bears. The former two seem to be primarily inspired by their recent series however, not their classics, so your mileage will vary there. I asked a receptionist which show tends to be the most popular choice, and she says that it rotates. Apparently PPG does get picked often by those who grew up with it, which makes sense, although those aren’t my Powerpuff Girls.

So, some things of note- there are four exclusive channels to the Hotel. Gumball and Teen Titans Go get their own 24/7 channels, which seems redundant since they’re basically all CN shows anyway. But they also have a FanFavs channel, which shows various episodes from various series, and New Shows, which I’m not sure if it shows currently unaired episodes or not. I couldn’t get that one active for long, but I did see part of a Victor & Valentino episode. I did have FanFavs on a bit as background noise, and they seem to mostly show:

Adventure Time

Regular Show

Steven Universe

Ben 10 (2016)

Mao Mao

Thundercats Roar (seriously...)

It seems like they mostly rotate from those shows, but I’d like to believe there’s more. Griz is on the cover bar for it when you connect to wifi, and you’d think they’d also show at least the 2016 PPG show as well, as that’s all over the resort.

They also do showings of cartoons in the kitchen at 3 and 9 PM, as the kitchen is closed during those times. My flight was very early, so I missed the 9 showing, as well as the Summer Camp Island-inspired bonfire that happened before, but I caught the 3 o’clock cartoons. They played episodes of Craig of the Creek, Total Dramarama, Teen Titans Go, and Gumball. Pretty cool, although these are basically the only four shows the channel plays anyway, The intro they use for the screenings shows clips from classic Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, and Scooby-Doo cartoons, but none of those were shown today. Maybe they’ll throw one in at another time? Probably not Scooby... or maybe just a movie, since they apparently play movies as well sometimes.

I didn’t stick around for most of the TDR cartoon though, as I was participating in the Craig of the Creek scavenger hunt. They hunt various CN characters around the lobby vicinity, and you try to find them in the right spot.

This is what you get if you win- a COTC pin and a Hershey bar. But hey, you can’t argue with results, and this is about it for Craig merch.

The gift shop almost exclusively focuses on the six shows with featured rooms, and a lot of merch isn’t exclusive. I did get a couple of things though.

The beach towel is based on the designs you see all over the hotel and has a couple of series not otherwise represented in terms of merch, like OK KO, Summer Camp Island, and the aforementioned COTC. Oh, and Clarence! Almost missed him in the bottom.

I got the stickers because there are more COTC characters, and again, the designs are nice. The SU pin was cool, and if there was a similar one for AT or Gumball, I would have got that as well. And I got the Anais keychain because Gumball merch is strangely rare despite its popularity, especially for her. There were also some pencils, notebooks, a couple of T-shirts and a hoodie. I almost got some pencils.

There’s also an arcade and an activity center, but those do seem mostly for kids, plus you have to pay for most of the crafts. I think the coloring is free at least, and there are a couple of nods to classic shows I found that I’ll share on another post.

Just as there are some nods to classics around the place, primarily the elevator and kitchen, but the people who want to see Dexter and Johnny and the Eds aren’t the target audience for this resort. Which is unfortunate, but the thing is, besides the fact that we’re getting old and today’s kids need their own shows, Cartoon Network has become a big deal internationally over the past decade, moreso than during their supposed heyday in the late 90′s-early 00′s. The six shows featured aren’t just picked for being the most popular, they’re all big draws overseas. We Bare Bears sells a LOT of merch in Asia and parts of Europe, even if it doesn’t seem that big of a draw stateside. Hopefully they can make this a tourist spot.

That said, I do hope that they consistently update things in the years to come. Part of the problem with the Nickelodeon Hotel over in Orlando was how stuck it was in the mid-2000′s. Sure, SpongeBob has remained a big draw over the years since, but when I visited the place around 2010 (didn’t stay, but took a tour), it was apparent that if your kids weren’t big fans of Rugrats or Jimmy Neutron, and they probably weren’t around that place until its last days, there wasn’t much reason to stay over.

I do think that Craig deserves his own themed room, and it may be time to swap out Powerpuff for it. Let’s admit that the 2016 reboot was a failure and move on. Or maybe just double down and replace the reboot designs with their classic look.

But hey, my final thoughts on the Cartoon Network Hotel? I had a lot of fun, and got the best sleep I had in ages. I’m not sure if I’d go again, though. At least unless it changes things up a little. Part of the thing is that this is really for the kids who love today’s new shows. And I do really love three of the six shows heavily featured here- four if you count the original Powerpuff. But I’m just not the right age for this place.

If you love any of these shows and/or Cartoon Network’s brand as a whole, I recommend checking this place out, but only if you’re near the area. Don’t make it a pilgrimage. Unless you have enough friends to make grouping up on the Steven Universe Dream Suite worth it.

That said, look at these Bear macrons. So damn cute, and tasty, too!

[tvkla]

IMPORTANT OOC NOTE: dming people wore me out. if your country hasn’t been a war aggressor (defence is fine) and you want it to be involved in the conception of this re: cooperation/building/funding/participation, you can assume so! war refugees in war criminal countries, are not being shut out, but for optics this just won’t happen in the first games ! & now onto the article!

DENMARK, COPENHAGEN: HRH Tekla Croÿ Glücksburg addressed the media, in conjunction with the official launch of ELUCTARI Games, a multi-sport event for war refugees that will take place once every two years. Amidst unrest around the world, the princess explained the lack of motivation and opportunities to encourage war-torn families and individuals to rebuild. Sports forges camaraderie, community, routine and structure. Through collaboration with other nations, provision of facilities to train and play, the Princess hopes the Games will use the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect of all those who have been victimised by senseless war violence. She credited HRH Viggo Glücksburg as CFO, for his work in the business and financing aspects of the project, and making the vision of the games a possibility. 

The media also saw building plans for a massive arena and complex with state of the art facilities to house the first Games. Its exteriors will reflect Greek columns, and a sculpture resembling the Glücksburg crest. Designs are said to be released to the public in the coming months. The facility is expected to draw renowned athletes who will volunteer their time to help train, and train alongside the teams formed by the ELUCTARI movement. While the cost of the building’s monument is being shouldered by the royal family, facilities and equipment are being funded by Danish-owned sports corporations, and notable names from around the world who have released statements to pledge their support. If successful, an event like this will generate an influx of revenue from business, advertising and tourism into the country.

Prince Viggo and Princess Tekla named HRH Olimpia Croÿ of Hungary, the project’s Pioneer Ambassador, who has been “instrumental” in garnering interest, securing sponsorships and encouraging her generation to get involved. Every two years, a new ambassador will be appointed.

The launch comes after much excitement on social media in the last few months and has reignited conversations around the vitality of diplomacy and the need to end war atrocities.

Notable names involved in the project include, Athletes: Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Fernando Alonso, Maria Sharapova, Venus & Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Daniel Wass, Simone Biles, Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, Allyson Felix, Ronda Rousey  etc etc Coaches: Michael Laudrup, Morten Olsen, Marcelo Bielsa, Zinedine Zidane, Jürgen Klopp, Ted Lasso (: , Mike Krzyzewski, Natalie Nakase, Jennifer King etc etc Celebrities: I don’t wanna accidentally name future fcs in the group you guys can namedrop as much as you want! ( Dibs on Daniel Craig & Rachel Weisz, Danai Gurira though xo ) Foundations: Jelani & Kendrick Lamar’s Inuku Foundation, insert-your-char’s-foundation here. Corporations: Some Really Recognisable Ones I’m so tired. ( Emerson Whitmore running point maybe? )

[maddie-grove]

Little Book Review: Spinning Silver

Author: Naomi Novik.

Publication Date: 2018.

Genre: Fantasy YA.

Premise: After her family is driven to the brink of poverty, young Miryem Mandelstam takes over her father's moneylending business and makes a success of it. Unfortunately, the Staryk, a parallel civilization of wintry fae folk, are listening when she tells her mom that she can turn silver into gold...and they are a literal bunch. Now Miryem's on the hook to turn their large quantities of silver into gold, and that's just the beginning. Can Miryem deal with these difficult ice people, garden-variety bigots, and a complicated political situation involving a fire demon?

Thoughts: I went into this book more or less cold (pun intended). I knew that it was inspired by "Rumpelstiltskin," that the heroine was Jewish, and that @forthegothicheroine liked it. The first two elements intrigued me, but, more important, I'd already discovered two terrific books in 2021 because @forthegothicheroine spoke well of them. As a result, I wasn't prepared for just how much great stuff is packed into this novel.

Most notably, it's a fascinating exploration of economics; that is, the complex web of resources, transactions, favors, and debts that exist in a society. Miryem has multiple irons in the fire even before she finds herself making high-stakes deals with the Staryks: lending money, taking the villagers' goods to the city to sell, and bringing back goods to sell in the village. (The gentile villagers, of course, see their own role in this economy as necessary and natural, yet resent the Mandlestams' participation regardless of their financial status; such is the nature of scapegoating.) The two secondary heroines make their own deals; Wanda, the Mandlestams' stoic hired girl, always arranges her affairs to avoid financial exploitation by her drunken father, while mousy boyar's daughter Irina must navigate the ever-shifting ways in which she's used as a marriage pawn. Everyone trades: peasant girls and tsars, ice kings and fire demons. I often thought of Margaret Atwood's Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth while I was reading.

I also really loved the novel as a riff on "Rumpelstiltskin," one of the more peculiar well-known fairy tales. Like the excellent A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce, the novel takes bargains and debts more seriously than the original. (I don't think that Rumpelstiltskin should've gotten that baby--enforcing such a contract would be unconscionable--but he kind of gets jerked around.) While A Curse Dark as Gold concentrates on righting past wrongs, though, Spinning Silver focuses on the important of integrity. Miryem can look after herself, but she doesn't leave others behind. In this way, she gets to know the Staryk world, an icy, alien realm that still has its own complex needs and values, and grows to care about its people. Something similar happens to Irina; initially a scared girl whose only obligations are to herself and to her old nursemaid, she ends up saving countless people, including one who seems beyond all help. The story is full of fairy tale logic of the best kind: reversals and renewals everywhere.

Hot Goodreads Take: "If you are a part of the [J]ewish faith who understood the holidays the main character was celebrating, or the prayers she was saying, the power to you! I was reading this book for fun, and, therefore, didn't want to run to my phone to figure out what exactly was happening every time an instance like this occurred." I'm also not Jewish, but I'd be ashamed of myself if I whined about having to learn some basic facts about another religion, culture, country, etc., to understand a YA book.

[zaffrenotes]

[TRR] Kairos

Kairos - Part 12

Pairing: Liam x Riley, Liam x OC Series Rating/Warnings: 18+; language; series will include ns*w 🍋 scenes Chapter Rating/Warnings: G Author’s Note: * All main characters belong to Pixelberry, I’m just borrowing them * Kairos (καιρός) is a word in Greek that translates to “the right time” or “the right moment to act” * Liam’s wife asks about “the one that got away” one night over dinner, and Liam recounts a relationship from his past * This is my submission for @wackydrabbles​​ Prompt 89: This isn't what I had in mind, but okay. * Author’s Note 2: * I apologize if this chapter feels choppy; I haven't updated this story since January, and writing is H A R D, but I want to finish this AU. I know how it ends, I just have to *gestures at the air* get there. * Word Count: 1708

Catch up with previous chapters here

Taglist (let me know if you’d like to be added or removed for this series): @ao719 @blackcatkita @debramcg1106 @ofpixelsandscribbles @callmeellabella @smalltalk88 @aestheticartsx @bbrandy2002 @burnsoslow @choiceskatie @darley1101 @dcbbw @gardeningourmet @iplaydrake @liamxs-world @rainbowsinthestorm @riseandshinelittleblossom @superharriet @texaskitten30 @theroyalheirshadowhunter @the-soot-sprite // @alyssalauren @clairexoxo100 @cordonianroyalty @cordonian-literature @gkittylove99 @gnatbrain @jared2612 @kingliam2019 @mom2000aggie @pink-diamond13 @princessleac1 @queenjilian @sfb123 @txemrn @yourmajesty09

The evening carried on, and it was nearly impossible for Liam to pull himself away from one conversation to the next. Most of the new suitors vied for his attention to make a good impression, various nobles edged their way into conversations to discuss official business, and his friends made every effort to steal him away for short reprieves. He was dancing when he caught a flash of Max’s dress near the edge of the dance floor.

Brief glimpses and glances of a link to Liam’s almost-love was all The Fates seemed to grant for the duration of the ball, despite his best efforts to carve out a moment with Max. The irony wasn’t lost on him; having found a connection to Elia after years had passed, without a way to speak with her sister. His hand warmed against his dancing partner’s palm as they waltzed with other couples.

“What’s troubling you tonight? Besides the obvious farce of this whole ordeal.” A pair of cherry red lips curled into a sympathetic grin, and Liam nodded in silent agreement. “Something other than counting steps is running through your mind.”

Liam adjusted his grip on Olivia’s hand as he led her across the floor, quickly scanning the crowd for another glimpse of Max. “I require the assistance of a dear friend,” he answered quietly, twirling her in a circle. “Someone who knows of secret passages in the palace to remain undetected, who can also speak with one of the new ladies at court.”

One of Olivia’s brows arched in Liam’s direction. “Has someone managed to catch your eye already?”

“Not the way you think,” he replied. “It’s a long story, and right now I’m grasping at straws, but it’s…something.” As Liam twirled his childhood friend in another circle, the expression in his eyes conveyed the seriousness of his request.

Olivia’s back tensed when she looked up to meet her friend’s gaze, though they moved effortlessly through the song. “What do you need me to do, Li?”

“There’s a young woman here, wearing a peacock ballgown. Her name is Max.”

“There’s some irony,” Olivia giggled. “Maxwell’s probably talking her ear off over her dress alone.”

“I haven’t been able to speak with her since we were introduced.”

“Tell me when and where, I’ll make sure you converse with her before morning.”

Liam shook his head at the suggestion. “That’s not the kind of conversation I need to have, Liv. I do need to speak with her though. It could mean cancelling the rest of the social season before it’s had a chance to begin, in a good way.”

Olivia arched her brow at Liam again, as the music began to come to an end. “I’m going to need a full story about this very soon, if she’s a means of ending the season.”

Liam let out an anxious laugh. “Soon enough, of course. Get her as close as possible to my office without being seen.” He looked over Olivia’s shoulder to see Bastien by the ballroom doors, nodding at him just before Bastien said something to another member of the Kings Guard. “Enjoy the rest of the ball, I’ve got to go over details for tomorrow’s events. Shouldn’t take longer than an hour.”

--

Nearly an hour after Liam departed the ballroom, he sighed with relief to enjoy the silence in his office once Regina and her team of event planners were satisfied with preparations for the garden party. He poured himself a bit of scotch in a glass as a nightcap, glancing at the clock on the wall. Most of the guests had ventured home while he went over checklists with Regina, minus the suitors and their sponsors that would live at the palace for the next several weeks.

Another weary sigh slipped past Liam’s lips as he returned to the ornate desk in the office, and he removed the cufflinks Madeleine had given to him as a gift. He rolled up his sleeves, trying to ignore the soft ticking of the clock, wondering if Olivia had managed to get a hold of Max. Princess Maria Amelita Xamira Basilio, who had a sister that went by the name Elia. There were too many similarities in her siblings names and the fact that Max looked so similar in appearance to Elia.

He’d opened the laptop on the desk and was about to type Elia’s real name into the search window, when there was a knock at the door. Liam rushed out of his seat to answer, loudly whispering a name when he turned the knob. “Olivia? Is that you?” He was surprised to see Max in the hallway by herself. “Your Highness, please, come in,” he said, stepping aside to let Max pass. “Did anyone see you?”

Max bowed her head to Liam as she stepped into his office. “No, Lady Olivia led me through a number of passages from my room, and distracted the very tall, silver-haired guard down the hall.”

Liam chuckled softly. “That would be Bastien. He’s always had a bit of a soft spot for Olivia, ever since we were children.” He closed the door shut before walking towards the liquor cabinet. “May I offer you something to drink?”

“No, thank you,” she replied, taking a seat in one of the small couches. “To what do I owe this clandestine invitation?”

Liam sat down in the matching sofa across from Max, clasping his hands together as he carefully chose what to say next. “Max, you and I are both aware of the reason you’re here, participating in the social season. Under other circumstances, I’m certain you would have caught my eye, just as you did earlier this evening.”

Max chewed a tiny spot of her inner cheek. “There’s a ‘but’, isn’t there?”

“The reason you caught my eye was because you bear a striking resemblance to someone I met several years ago, before I met and married my first wife, Riley. Someone who, until tonight, I thought was lost to me.”

“Are you saying I’ve got a secret twin you’ve already met? This isn’t what I had in mind, but okay.” She grinned conspiratorially at him. “Who’s this doppelgänger that’s stuck with you?”

Liam sucked in a breath before answering. “As it were, it’s your sister. Elia.”

Max blinked at him silently, her eyes welling up with glossy tears at the mention of her name. “You…you knew Elia? When? When did you see her? Have you heard from her?” The questions tumbled out all at once, as Max tried to compose herself.

He picked up a gilded box of tissues from a side table, offering it to her. Max pulled two from the box, dabbing at the corners of her eyes, waiting for a response. “It’s been a number of years,” he began. “She was vacationing in Greece, just before she was supposed to return to university to study law.”

Max stopped dabbing at her tears to look up and study Liam’s face. “Oh my god, it’s you. You’re the guy.”

Liam’s brows pinched together. “She mentioned me?”

“Very briefly,” she responded. “Only that she met someone that gave her a reason to laugh every day, and seemed to understand what she – what we,” she paused, motioning to herself, “were going through, being…high profile?”

“That’s one way to describe it,” Liam chuckled softly. “She never said outright that she was a princess, but after we parted ways, many of the things we shared in our conversations made sense.” He looked up to see a puzzled expression on Max’s face. “Her fluency in languages, the way she could tell stories about growing up in vivid detail while overlooking things like ‘I grew up in a palace’ or ‘my parents were especially strict with me and my siblings’…”

“Oh by the way, that’s because they’re the king and queen?” Max scoffed lightly, shaking her head.

“I tried to look for her, for quite some time after that trip,” Liam added. “Only…my efforts were in vain, as the names she used were all nicknames. Even her own name wasn’t fully hers. Elia de Leon.”

Max sniffled and the puzzled expression returned to her face. “De Leon? That’s…our great-grandmother’s name.”

“I suppose that makes sense as well, now that I’m familiar with your family name. Had I searched for Elia Basilio, I might have found out about the royal connection, not that it would’ve changed my opinion of her.” Liam ran a hand across his face, his jawline and chin already rough with stubble. “You haven’t heard from her since that summer either? Anyone in your family?”

“No,” Max answered. “When her personal guard called the morning he was supposed to escort her home, he told my parents the apartment was empty…that she must have snuck away the night before.”

“But I was with her until morning.”

“What?”

“I…” Liam hesitated, taking in a breath. “I had dinner with Elia the night before she was supposed to leave. We talked long into the night, and I told her I was a prince. I even offered to let her stay with me here to take more time and consider alternative options to create some distance with your parents.”

“Because they wanted to marry her off, right?”

“Correct,” Liam nodded. “She only told me it was for a political alliance, to put your family name in a positive light after Mariela’s marriage to someone caused trouble.”

Max sighed with indignation. “That guy, ugh. That’s a story for another evening.” She began to wring the tissue between her hands. “But you saw Elia the next morning?”

“Yes, in fact I was the one that slipped out while she was still sleeping, long after dawn. I stopped for a coffee in the café below where she’d been staying, on my way to return home as well, and I…” Liam paused, recalling the man in the café that morning, remembering the other patron. “You said she had a personal security guard assigned to her?”

“Beni…Benigno, yes,” Max replied.

“Do you have a photo of him?”

“I can do better than that,” Max answered, pulling her phone from the pocket of her cardigan. “He’s here as my security and chaperone for the duration of my stay.”