#for anyone who read this far……. this post is about winter king

[death-limes]

animated shows stop making characters specifically engineered for me to simp over and hate myself the entire time i’m doing it. please i’m so tired

[fkinkindagauche]

Not A Fish, Out of Water

Another fill for @harringrovewinterbingo, square B3 - "a Santa outfit you shouldn't wear around kids".

Set in the Mer universe from the first fic in this series, The First Taste, but it can be read as a stand-alone.

Thanks to @dame-zoom-a-lot for continuing to beta, and continuing to egg me on with this AU.

Please check out their awesome Tumblr posts of Murray's field notes, set in this AU! Day 0 Day 1 Day 2 Day 3

Rating: Teen and Up | WC: 3,308 | Tags: Billy Hargrove Being an Asshole, Alternate Universe - No Upside Down (Stranger Things), Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Enemies to Lovers, eventually

Ocean divider by @/saradika-graphics

Summary: Mermen Billy and Steve get sent above the water on a mission. The first order of business, finding clothes, doesn't go great for Steve.

Steve had never been this cold. He stood naked on the lake shore, trying to get used to the physical sensations of having legs and using his lungs. The frigid air assaulted his wet skin, now a strange peach color instead of its usual green. His only consolation was that Billy was shivering just as much as he was.

"Fuck," Billy exhaled, wrapping his arms around himself. "How is it this much colder above the ice?"

Steve knew the answer, because he'd listened to Dustin ramble one too many times. The water in the lake beneath the ice layer stayed a constant 4 degrees Celsius throughout the winter, a temperature their mer bodies adjusted to every year with the lake turnover. The temperature in the air could get far below that in the winter, and the wind made it feel even worse.

But he wasn't about to say any of that to Billy, who already thought he was enough of a loser without adding "nerd" to his list of shortcomings.

Billy shook his legs out and looked down at his body. "And why is our junk on the outside? This looks ridiculous."

Steve ignored Billy's question, though he did agree that having external genitalia was distinctly uncomfortable. "I thought Hopper said Murray was going to meet us," Steve muttered, teeth chattering.

"Hopper? You on a non-honorific basis with the King now? Figures." Billy turned away from Steve, looking down the lake shore.

Steve mentally castigated himself for the slip-up. Billy never hesitated to remind Steve of his privileged status as nephew to the King. As the two strongest and most attractive mermen in their age group, it seemed like Steve and Billy had been in direct competition for something for most of their lives. Every time Steve prevailed over Billy (which was, admittedly, a relatively rare occurrence) Billy claimed it was due to nepotism.

Steve sighed, looking the opposite direction from Billy for any sign of movement. There was nothing, just an empty stretch of sand.

"I don't think we can stay out here very long like this," Steve ventured.

Billy didn't reply, he just started to walk away from Steve. Or he tried to. He crumpled to the ground on his first attempt.

"Shit, you okay?" Steve asked, rushing to help him up, moving with more grace than Billy. Steve had been topside once before, a few years ago with his father, and was ready for the way the legs that Owens gave him would feel.

Billy shoved away Steve's proffered hand. "I'm fuckin' fine, man," Billy grumbled. "Not all of us have gotten a chance to practice walking with daddy." He stood up on his own and took a few shaky steps, getting used to the legs.

Steve followed as Billy wobbled down the shoreline. He scanned their surroundings, looking for Murray or anyone else. He knew people weren't actually allowed to walk around naked up here, something to do with the external genitalia situation, so he was really hoping Murray would be the first person to find them.

"I cannot believe I agreed to this," Billy complained as they walked. "Why should I have to freeze to death up here to keep the King's little twerp from tanking her entire life?"

"You seemed pretty excited about it when the King asked you to come," Steve pointed out before he could stop himself. Always poking the bear.

"That was before I knew you would be coming. And before I knew how fucking cold it was up here."

They trudged along the beach for another few minutes, Steve growing increasingly worried about the effect the cold was having on their human bodies. The sun was getting low on the horizon, close to setting. Steve knew it would get even colder then.

Finally, just as the sun was setting, they saw a figure in the distance - a man, bundled up in many layers of clothes. The man frantically waved his arms at them and shouted something. Steve couldn't hear it over the crashing of the waves. He quickened his pace, Billy falling into step beside him.

"Well if it isn't the fishy wonder boys!" the man announced when he was closer. "Or are you just a couple of crazy nudists out for a winter stroll?"

"Hi, Murray," Steve said. He'd met Murray on his previous trip up.

"Oh, Hop sent me little Stevie Harrington, all grown up?" Murray asked, recognizing Steve and clapping him on the shoulder. "And who's your hunky friend here?"

"I'm not his friend," Billy growled, pushing himself in front of Steve. "I'm Billy Hargrove, and I'm leading this mission." Steve rolled his eyes. The only way Billy had agreed to let Steve come as well was if Hopper said he was the leader. Hopper, only thinking about getting his daughter El back, didn't give a shit about Billy and Steve's ongoing ego competition, so he'd agreed in a heartbeat. Steve wasn't enough of a bitch to protest.

"Oh, great, he sent me a pair of warring adolescents," Murray said sarcastically.

"We're 19!" Steve protested.

It didn't look like that changed Murray's opinion at all.

"Alright, first step, put these on." Murray threw a large coat at each of them. "My car's just over this dune, so hopefully you won't get frostbite before we get there."

Steve hadn't known the frost could bite. He glanced apprehensively at the ground, then grabbed the coat and put it on. He relaxed a little once his core was adequately warm.

They followed Murray up over the dune. The walking immediately became difficult, sand shifting treacherously under their feet. The muscles in his newly formed calves started to burn. Thankfully, the dune wasn't high, and they crested the top in just a few minutes. They ended up on a brief forested trail that led to the concrete of a parking lot. A large sign at the head of the trail read "INDIANA DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE".

"Is that a car?" Billy asked with something approaching reverence. There was one car sitting in the parking lot, which Murray approached with a set of keys.

"Yeah," Murray replied. "A really crappy one."

Billy didn't seem to care. Steve knew all about his obsession with cars. Billy had gotten hold of a book on cars from one of the clan's trips up top a few years ago, and hadn't shut up about it since.

The inside of the car was slightly warmer than outside, and Steve was grateful to sit down. Steve had ceded the passenger seat to Billy, not wanting to come to blows this early on in their mission. The car warmed up further after Murray started it and pulled onto the road.

Billy fiddled with all the controls he could reach from the passenger seat, pressing any button and turning any knob he could get his hands on. He pressed one knob, and music filled the car. They had plenty of human artifacts underneath the lake in their dry cave system, but they didn't have electricity, so the only music they were able to listen to was music they made themselves.

Billy's mouth dropped open. "This is the radio?" he asked, in awe.

"Yeah, kid," Murray confirmed, amused.

Steve stared at Billy as Billy stared at the radio. It was rare that he got to see Billy's face completely devoid of negative emotions.

"The fuck are you looking at, Harrington?" Billy demanded, catching sight of Steve staring at him in the rearview mirror. His face resumed it's natural disposition, teeth bared in a snarl. Steve looked away, but didn't give Billy the satisfaction of a response.

"So, what do you two know about what's going on with El?" Murray asked. "Hopper didn't tell me shit."

"Right, so," Billy began. "We got what we know about the whole situation from my dumbass little sister, Max, who finally spilled the beans on El now that she knows how much trouble she's in. Over the summer, El met some kid who was out kayaking on the lake, and claimed she fell in love with him."

Ah, to be fifteen again, Steve thought to himself, when you could fall in love with someone after just a few minutes of talking to them in a boat.

"El apparently wouldn't give it up, thinks she's really in love with this kid," Billy continued. Steve could hear the disdain in his voice. "Eventually she went to see Vecna, who agreed to turn her human. Apparently, if El can get this kid to tell her that he loves her before the winter's over, Vecna will turn her into a human permanently. But if she can't, she'll lose her human form, and be Vecna's thrall. Either side of the deal is not something Hopper is pleased about."

"Who's Vecna?" Murray asked. "Another witch? Wait, did Owens get canned? Is he alright?" Murray sounded like he was nervous for Owens.

"No, Owens is still there. Vecna used to be the clan witch, before Owens," Steve explained. "He got exiled after he attempted to kill a few kids for some weird ritual."

"Huh." Murray relaxed a little on hearing that Owens was okay. "Why doesn't Hopper just come up himself and get her?" Murray mused.

"He needs to stay down there to keep an eye on Vecna, make sure he doesn't try to interfere up here," Billy replied, "but he wants us to bring El back ASAP to make sure she doesn't somehow get turned into a perma-human before they figure out how to break the contract."

"Did Max have any idea where she would have gone?" Steve asked.

Billy shook his head. "Not that Hopper could get out of her. But this is the closest town to our village, so Hopper wanted us to start looking here."

Murray's house wasn't far from the lake, only about a fifteen minute car ride.

"Make sure your coats are zipped," Murray instructed before they got out of the car. "Can't have you flashing the neighbors. I don't need to give them anything else to call the cops about."

They followed Murray into the house, both of them looking around with wide eyes. It had been summer the only time Steve had been above the water before. Everything looked completely different now, the whole world covered in a layer of snow.

After Murray had given them some of his clothes to put on, Billy said, "Alright, let's go find the princess."

"Slow down there, cowboy," Murray said. "You're not gonna be able to do much of anything but attract unnecessary attention going around at night. Rest up, we'll start in the morning." Murray overruled Billy's many protests, refusing to be their guide this late at night.

His guestroom was small, with only one bed. Steve groaned when he saw it.

"You can take the floor," Billy announced, stripping off his clothes and sliding naked into the bed. He flung his arms and legs wide, taking up the entire surface.

"Seriously?" Steve responded, hands on his hips. "That bed's plenty big enough for the both of us."

Billy threw a blanket and pillow at him. "Oh? Too soft and coddled to sleep on the floor? Or you trying to get another round on the Hargrove love machine? I told you I only did that because anyone looks pretty when you've had enough lake 'shroom."

"Fuck you," Steve muttered, face flushing bright red. He'd thought they were agreed on never mentioning what had happened at the party on the solstice, but Billy couldn't resist the chance to needle him. Steve threw the blanket and pillow on the ground. He hated how easy it was for Billy to goad him into doing what he wanted, but he wasn't about to insist on sharing the bed after that.

He settled on the floor as Billy chuckled to himself, satisfied. Billy shut off the lights, and Steve heard him start to snore just a few minutes later.

The floor was hard and cold. Steve pulled the thin blanket up over his shoulders, huffing miserably. He missed the soft bed of algae covering the rock he'd slept on beneath the lake.

He could hear Billy's snores deepen above him. Billy was presumably very comfortable in the large bed after their first day of walking. Steve hadn't thought that legs and feet would hurt so much. They were made for walking, so why was using them for their intended purpose so painful?

Steve stretched out his legs, rolling over and trying to get comfortable. It wasn't happening. The floor was too hard, and he was too cold and sore. He sat up, peaking his head over the side of the bed.

He could see Billy clearly in the dark, his eyes used to piercing the darkness of the benthic zone. Billy was clustered on one side of the bed, not even using all of it anymore. Steve grabbed his blanket and crawled in beside him, careful not to move the bed too much.

"What the fuck are you doing in the bed?"

Steve was roused from his slumber by Billy's irate voice, and several very hard whacks on his shoulder.

"Ow!" Steve yelped, rolling away from Billy and falling out of the bed in a tangle of blankets.

He hadn't woken up before Billy. He rubbed his shoulder, glaring at Billy.

"The floor is fucking uncomfortable, and that bed could easily fit three people," Steve grumbled.

Billy rolled his eyes. "You can't even survive one night without a cushy sleeping situation, princess?"

"I didn't see you sleeping on the floor," Steve shot back. How did every conversation with Billy turn into an argument so quickly?

"Whatever," Billy mumbled, sliding out of the bed. He still hadn't quite mastered his legs, and almost fell over when he first stood up. Steve snorted back a laugh.

"Oh, fuck off, Harrington."

Steve's eyes were drawn, as they so often were, to Billy's broad shoulders and strong chest. It was truly a tragedy that Billy was so attractive, but such a fucking dick. Steve turned away, pushing himself up off the ground. Thankfully, Billy was turned away from him so he didn't witness Steve's own difficulties with his new legs.

Steve stared at the clothes Murray had given them the day before. They didn't fit either of them right, and they were scratchy and distracting. Steve had only had to wear clothes once before. It was a uniquely distressing experience. Judging by the look on Billy's face as he pulled a shirt over his head, he agreed.

Murray was waiting for them in the kitchen. "How'd you sleep, fish boys?"

Steve groaned. "I wish you wouldn't call us that. We're human-phytoplankton hybrid merpeople. No fish involved."

"Yeah. Fish boys," Murray repeated. "What d'you eat, by the way? Do I need to get you Miracle-Gro or something?"

"I don't know what that is," Steve admitted. "We can just eat like humans while we're in fully human bodies."

Murray got them something he called cereal, which they both ate after he showed them how.

"How are we gonna find the princess?" Billy demanded as soon as they were finished eating.

"Hold up a sec. Ol' Papa Hopper sent you up here totally unprepared for human life," Murray said. "Left it to me to orient you. So you're gonna sit down and be oriented."

That was unfortunately true. Hopper had completely lost it when he found out what El had done. He'd gotten his own lake witch, Owens, to give Billy and Steve fully human bodies. Then he sent them topside with no instructions other than vague directions to Murray's house and the demand, "Bring me back my girl."

Billy snarled at Murray. He hated being told what to do.

"First things first," Murray continued, ignoring Billy, "we're gonna need to get you some clothes that actually fit, so you don't stick out so much when we go looking for El."

Steve didn't understand what was wrong with the clothes they had on now, besides the fact that they were clothes, and they were rubbing horribly against his skin.

Murray pointed to the couch in the living room, where a huge pile of clothes was sitting.

"I pulled these from the donation bin at the church around the corner," Murray said. "Try to find something in there that makes you look less like you've been living on the streets."

"What the fuck does that mean? Don't you all live on streets?" Billy asked, face scrunched up in angry confusion.

"Just find something that fits," Murray said with a sigh, leaving them.

They dragged the clothes into the guest bedroom. Steve immediately started to dig through them, not wanting to let Billy get everything good. His eyes were drawn to a flash of bright red. He pulled out a pair of shorts that looked small enough to allow for maximum freedom of movement. They were a garish red color, with an attached white belt. He found another bright red garment to go with them - a vest with soft white trim along all the edges.

"Stop hogging the pile," Billy said as he shoved Steve away, but Steve had found what he wanted.

He retreated to the corner, taking off the baggy clothes Murray had lent him. The tiny red shorts fit like a glove, conforming beautifully to his human thighs and ass. He even kind of liked the way his dick looked, a nice lump in the front beneath the belt. The vest was also comfortable, exposing much more of his skin to the air than Murray's clothes had.

Billy threw another red object at him. It hit him in the middle of the chest. "I think that goes with your outfit," Billy said. Steve looked down at the red cap with a conical shape and a white ball on the end. He put it on his head, and moved to look at himself in the mirror.

Seemed like a good outfit. It definitely fit, so it should meet Murray's criteria to let them go out searching.

Billy had changed into a fitted shirt and a pair of the pants Murray had referred to as jeans. The blue of the shirt brought out the color of his eyes, brilliant and sharp. The jeans hugged his ass, putting it on display. Steve looked away, pushing those thoughts down.

"Oh, absolutely fucking not," Murray said immediately after he walked back into the room. He was looking at Steve with a sort of horrified fascination on his face. "You getting ready to go audition for the Chippendales holiday show?"

Steve felt like he didn't understand half of what Murray said, even though it was ostensibly in English. "What's wrong with it?" Steve asked, looking down at himself. "It fits."

"Yeah, it sure does," Murray said with a manic laugh. "But you can't go around looking like that. You're showing off a few too many of the goods. Need to cover yourself up more. Like him." Murray motioned to Billy, who smirked at Steve. Of course Billy had somehow completed this impossible task appropriately.

Steve sighed and started to strip off his clothing. "Whoa there, sailor!" Murray yelled, covering his eyes. "You can't just take off your clothes in front of people."

Steve groaned. "Why are there so many rules?" he grumbled.

Billy threw a pair of jeans at him. "Try these. Should fit your skinny ass."

Steve tried not to be insulted on behalf of the ass he hadn't even possessed 24 hours ago, and went back to the pile of clothes. He'd figure this out somehow.

Also on AO3.

[heroesoath]

SINDAY HEADCANON ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

in alphabetical order under the cut because i'm not a heathen.

ALEX

Alex takes orders really well, tell him what you want and he will comply with a little smile or smirk and he'll get to work! And I need it to be known that there is a REASON Lorna and Madelyne keep letting him back in and it's 100% because he's good at using his mouth, and his jaw almost always has some stubble so it's great for sensations and stimulation.

Alex is hot, I mean that literally, his powers makes energy and plasma store inside his body so he runs hot. If it's winter? He adds an extra layer of comfort during sex since he's just a blonde weighted blanket.

Likes being pegged, look at his Goblin Prince era.

When it comes to men he's a versatile king, he can be a submissive bottom or a eager top, best of both worlds - Hannah Montana.

When he was younger he did have issues of using his powers during intimate moments but it was ONLY when he was solo. He's far too terrified of his own abilities and how dangerous they are to ever accidentally use them in bed now. He keeps that control no matter what. ( Eyes might glow blue though )

*PULL HIS HAIR* He will moan and it's a delightful sound.

He likes fucking in the X-Jet lol ( it's leftovers from Alex and Lorna's time in space where their most favorite pastime was banging because there wasn't anything else to do idhfjks did )

Weird asf but he enjoys when people tear clothes from him, especially his uniform.

CLINT

Alex might be good at taking orders, but Clint is the ORAL KING. Bobbi makes numerous remarks about how long Clint can hold his breath, that man eats pussy / sucks dick like a ROCKSTAR.

Clint grew up in the circus and because of that he's very bendy, he can do lots of different positions, like go crazy babes.

Not sinful, but he's strangely good at after-care, he'll make coffee/tea, order pizza, clean up. A mess in real life does not translate to post sex, man has a reputation.

Because he is deaf, he prefers positions where he can see his partner's face. He wants to see them enjoying themselves since he can't hear them. On the other end, Clint is loud as he has no control of his volume so feel free to gag him!

Clint has very strong fingers from his archery so do with that info what you wish.

Enjoys being tied up.

DANI

Reminder that my Dani is a lesbian.

She's a dominant top, reading everything about her even from the early days of New Mutants, this woman will not take orders from anyone. She takes charge, she knows what's she's capable of and that's the tea.

She will unironically call someone good girl in bed and I hope this awakens something in all the sapphics out there.

She can and will make sex toys with her powers. You think those psionic arrows were all she can make?? Nah.

Because of her powers she can also make it seem like they are at any location. Wanna bang on the beach but can't fly there? No problem. Five class Paris suite?? Just relax and let Dani work her mirages.

Despite her top energy, Dani is a supreme cuddler, she enjoys showing affection and that translates into sex. Lots of kissing, lots of desperate grabbing, lots of face caressing.

JAMIE

Jamie has more control of his powers now, but he does sometimes lose control, so if the sex is intense don't be surprised if another Jamie pops out fugdvhfjd So if your muse is into a sudden threesome with two Jamies then you're golden.

He really is just a walking orgy so if you're super freaky just ask and he'll pop out a few duplicates and they can all have fun.

From his detective era, he does love sex on a desk. He "Thinks it's so NOIR."

JEAN

Already alluded to this today, but sex in the sky is so real. She can keep you both afloat with very little effort ( though if she gets with someone who flies she'd love to give some control up )

Jean's eyes glow pink during sex. She has enough control that she doesn't fling things around, but the room may shake a bit.

Her favorite lingerie is black, a call back to her Black Queen moment. She also wears a lot of backless dresses.

KISS HER NECK, MAKE HER FEEL DESIRED. She'll never admit this, but Scott cheating on her has left a scar. Jean wants to feel loved and desired, that she's enough.

She can be dominant or submissive, a versatile queen.

Because Jean is a cosmic entity at times, she loves powerful lovers, if they can be like two stars colliding into a big bang she'd be ultra satisfied.

She likes riding, yee haw.

Jean can cook breakfast and bake a bit, but she's not a great cook, so expect her to offer to go out for food after. A little date after a bang is just as valid as cooking in the kitchen! She's also just fine with coffee, cuddling and leftovers.

Woman is loud. Like she'll shout a name so loud the cosmos will hear because she's fire and life incarnate.

Random, but in my verse where Jean is still the White Phoenix of the Crown, the nexus of life, death and rebirth itself, I once read a fic where she brought someone into the White Hot Room just so she could bang because she wanted to feel human again and . . . idk that's a plot right there.

JOHN

MAGIC IN BED. John will do some absolute unhinged shit in bed via spells, sometimes even on accident.

Submissive. This man is not dominant in the slightest, he will if he finds like a submissive demon, he might TRY, but more often than not he's a pillow princess who curses and is loud.

He does love a power bottom though, ride him!

Probably uses such utter insane names in bed, he's NASTY, A FREAK, ROLL HIM INTO A BALL AND SLAP HIM AGAINST A WALL LIKE ONE OF THOSE STICKY HAND TOYS.

Sex for spells? Hot. Draw incantations on his chest and fuck him like it's a ritual.

JULIAN

Unlike Jean, Julian has less control over his powers so he absolutely lifts and throws objects with his mind if he's really into what's happening. His eyes glow green, the room is a lava lamp.

Because of his lack of hands, he uses his telekinesis for grabbing, psychic massages, and those psychic massages happen anywhere. Ever been fingers by someone's mind? He'll do it. Telekinesis sex is INTERESTING.

Julian loves chests, he's a boob man, whether it be women's or men's.

He has daddy/mommy issues, everyone who has followed me on his solo blog knows this. He's into it I fear.

Call him good boy to make his toes curl. He likes praise in general.

He might pretend to be someone casual, but in reality Julian might be one of my muses who gets attached the hardest? It makes it so his heart is easier broken, but he loves feeling a connection, he loves feeling loved and wanted on an intimate level.

Still enjoys casual sex, but the above is for those he's feeling HARD.

When he's with a man he's such a bottom. Fuck him and put him in his place lmao

KISS HIS STUMPS!! When he doesn't use the prosthetics after becoming comfortable with you, if you kiss where his hands used to be he's going to melt and the sex will be even better, I promise.

Women should always it on his face. ( And men lowkey ), but he loves performing oral.

If you're anti mutant you're not getting any. He's the most radical of my muses, humans more often annoy him than anything.

MARC

The three men all fuck differently, I'll need to do some #soulsearching to really find the differences, but I bet Marc fucks like the world is ending and his dog tags swing from around his neck.

Steven is the romantic one, candlelit tub time, roses and shit. He's a rich man with a desire for passion.

Jake is more of a mystery but he might just be a mixture of how Marc and Steven fuck, he's more of a casual / friends with benefits kind of guy though. Comes with his job as a cab driver.

Marc 100% fucks in the suit.

Do not call them by the wrong name. You will know who you're with based on their personalities, but it's an instant turn off if you get it wrong.

Marc is a daddy, I said what I said.

All of them eat women and men out like it's a meal and they are a starved victorian child F*UYDGHFUIO

PIOTR

He big, he will make that bed SLAM if he gets into it.

Despite the above, he is very careful. Piotr is a gentle man and will only get more rough with permission, but if someone wants it that way? He'll oblige.

He loves painting people when they are naked. It's not sexual at first, but if someone gets turned on by his skills and his gaze and his working artist hands then SO BE IT.

He's submissive by nature, but will absolutely be dominant if the mood call for it.

Same goes for being top/bottom, shorter men topping him?? A win.

Manhandling comes with the whole package, Piotr is strong, and he's just bigger than 90% of other people. But hey, if you just want to be picked up and banged?? He can do it.

The Steel form . . . might come out, but he's extremely reluctant. He never wants to hurt anyone, but if you ask for it, then it'll happen.

He's super about communication tbh, I'm noticing it as I write this down, he's just all about it and being a soft spoken king.

SURPRISE ANOTHER ORAL KING

He loves mapping lover's bodies with his mouth and hands

His pecs jiggle, grab them FUYDHFKJDHDH

His ass jiggles, grab it.

His (censored) -- I'm not finishing that

He likes sex in nature, in water, stuff like that. Anything that can give him artistic muse.

ZATANNA

MAGIC IN BED! But less freaky than John.

When you get her going and she starts speaking backwards you know you're doing a good job.

THE FISHNETS STAY ON

She dominates John Constantine, but in pretty much every other relationship she's a submissive queen.

Enjoys being tied up, enjoys giving herself over to another person and letting them take control since she always feels like she needs to be in control in other aspects of her life.

A romantic at heart, she loves inviting people to her giant bubble bath. Lots of sensual moments actually, she wants massages.

Bite her.

She also enjoys air sex, whether it's just her floating from her arousal or full on flying.

[katshuya]

wtf

elua did not deserve the winter rose crown at all!! it belongs to queen Lyanna Stark! your fake princess exists just to get between the best ship like the brown whore she is. there is no mention of flowers and elus in same sentence yet i see you fans draw her with flowers that rightfully belong to queen Lyanna. shows how desperate your side are. elia never lifted a finger to save even herself much less anyone else. why should she get crown over Lyanna, when flowers as motif belong to Lyanna (and Arya, yet sandra fans keep using it too in fake ugly arts).

Do you see this shit, people?

I love how they expose their true colors while hiding who they are.

The obvious hate for Elia in their posts as they pretend to try to give her identity by saying she only cared about becoming Queen and her son the next king while also saying Ashara probably loved more lyanna and was simply just one of many handmaidens for Elia and Rhaella probably wasn't close to Elia.

Yes, winter rose is lyanna's. I was talking about the crown, you idiot. So what? It doesn't change the fact that even your oh so great self insert, not like other girls character was reduced to glorified womb. Greenseer or not. With Rhaegar's love or not. It's not pretty at all.

But I guess that means nothing to you compared to screwing Rhaegar in your imagination.

Elia wasn't able to save herself, no thanks to your stupid prince charming, but your dear lyanna didn't save herself either. In fact, Rhaegar is also to blame for what happened to her, as well as she was complicit in her fate, too.

Elia will always exist to show how much this ship is disgusting, selfish, and cruel. That's why you are so angry. Otherwise, why did you say Elia was there just to get in between your self insert perfect ship where Rhaegar is in love with you?

You all know it shows the ugliness of this ship. Oh, sorry! I mean the GrEYnEss.

You want to blame someone and then blame the author.

Because Elia being there shows not only Rhaegar as a selfish monster but it doesn't paint lyanna as a nice girl at all if she went willingly no matter how much GRRM would talk about what a lovely winter rose she was. Age can excuse actions to how far?

Get out and touch a grass. How long can this fantasy of special oh so different girl swinging sword and making most handsome men fall for her and other girls jealous of her could continue to please you? If anything, it's making you mad because of how badly written it is.

A reminder, Sansa is Arya's sister, you ugly heart. I doubt your Arya would be happy reading what you wrote.

[autumnwoodsdreamer]

Unsinkable

Chapter 38 : Oh, Who Would Ever Want to be King?

. . . . .

Characters: Din Djarin, Fenn Rau

Words: 2419

Summary: Din seeks advice from the Protector but doesn't hear what he wants to...

Read on Ao3 or below the cut

. . . . .

The saturated colour and warmth of sunset faded into mellow lavender and honey tones as the night prepared itself. A few overly eager stars crept into the sky while there was still plenty of light to walk by; they wouldn’t be alone for long—winter had released its icy grip but the days hadn’t regained their strength and stamina yet, the nights still swept in fast.

Far in the distance, wolves howled softly across the distance to their brethren, their voices not so melancholic as they were searching, seeking, the sound a little eerie but in a strangely calming way: they knew they were not alone. A few frogs and a few shy crickets supplemented the ambience but they wouldn’t carry on for much longer.

The food was made and everyone was lining up to get their plates, settling down in tents or parts of the caves sectioned off with makeshift partitions. An atmosphere of community and rest coagulated with the growing chorus of soft conversation and the accompanying noises of mealtime, Marida’s monstrous batch of sweet-curry and flatbread flavouring the cool air.

But not everyone was sitting down to eat. 

Some were assigned as sentries, some were still busy getting things in order for the camp.

Din wasn’t on watch duty, neither was he sorting or setting up things; he was making his way through the camp, looking for Fenn Rau.

After giving his promise to Sabine not to face Bo-Katan alone, she told him to go find Rau and discuss the situation with him, seek his counsel. As disinclined as Din was to speak to anyone for the remainder of the day, he saw the logic in such a course—frankly, he knew he would have to speak to Rau at some point anyway: Ursa knew Bo-Katan the longest but the Protector was a more impartial, more circumspect voice and he held a more extensive knowledge of their history.

Feeling aimless despite his defined path, Din followed reports of sightings until he found the older man stationed at a guard post at the very edge of the camp, where the dirt ground ended and the grass began rising and spilling out over the plains.

“I need to speak with you,” Din said, plainly.

Rau bowed his head in a nod, the waning sunlight sliding along the gold detailing on his helmet. Swiftly, he arranged for his place to be taken, and then motioned for Din to follow him.

There was no question, no prompt for explanation. In a way, Rau seemed to have been anticipating this moment.

He led him to the Kom’rk. Din saw and appreciated the prudence of such a location—they couldn’t control the way their words might escape and travel in the caves or how the wind might carry their voices over the plains. Here, in the cockpit, they could sit and speak and whatever was spoken could stay within these walls, seen only by a sliver of the fading sky.

Rau sat down in the well-worn pilot’s seat with a groan, his joints stiffly taking the new position before relaxing, accepting and appreciating that he wasn’t demanding anything strenuous of them. Without hesitation, he removed his helmet with a soft, relieved exhalation.

“Am I right to assume this is about Kryze?” he asked as he produced a cloth and dabbed at his brow.

Din gave a small nod. He flexed his hands and, drawing a breath, reached up and removed his own helmet; he felt unweighted without it and he had to muster his suddenly flighty courage so he could lift his gaze and meet Rau’s eyes.

Pale and piercing, they saw through everything and everyone like books he had read a hundred times over, but they were not without kindness.

“She’s not going to stop sending hunters,” Din said, his voice still set at the volume he could rely on his vocoder to enhance and carry but now, without it, he hardly disturbed the air.

He watched Rau’s expression carefully, reading everything he wrote in every line, wrinkle or corner. He wasn’t cryptic but neither did he pour every thought onto his face. He thought and pondered and sieved and then, finally, let his mouth thin and his eyes soften.

“I’m afraid not,” he confirmed, grimly, subtly shaking his head. “Her family took the responsibility of leading their house very seriously. She and her sister were groomed for the throne, but what Bo-Katan once perceived as her duty, she has come to see as a right. This is not a fleeting desire.”

Unsurprised, Din nodded to that.

He wasn’t interested in another history lesson nor a character assessment—he had collected enough pieces of the puzzle to understand the string of events that brought them here today as well as the kind of person Bo-Katan had devolved into. Now he just had to close this chapter she had written him into.

“This only ends if I fight her,” he heard himself say.

Rau sat back, brow lowering, eyes narrowing ever so slightly as he regarded Din in the manner of a teacher trying to find a way to guide their student to the realization they were wrong.

“You have not laid claim to the throne,” he pointed out.

Din shook his head, wearily. “No, but I won the saber in combat with the one whom Kryze lost it to so it is rightfully mine,” he droned.

“Your possession of the sword is not in question; your claim on the throne is.”

“I don’t want the throne.”

“Why not?”

Din looked at him, his jaw tight, eyes sharp.

This was not what he had come to discuss. This was not the issue. 

But Rau did not back down.

“Humour me,” he prompted, evenly.

Din let go of a sigh. He let his gaze fall to the helmet in his hands. The last rays of sunlight painted the silver a pale gold, the raised jaig eyes catching softened glints that slid along the curves and ridges.

He had already had this conversation—with Sabine, with Ursa, with Boba. He was well-practised with his answers and they queued neatly on his tongue, ready to march forth and make another understand.

But this time he paused and wondered.

Why did everyone keep asking him the same question? 

He recalled the look on Koska’s face when he separated his possession of the Darksaber from the role it automatically rendered on the bearer. She had been bewildered, her eyes wide like a child who had just faced the reveal of a lie they had believed so fully for so long.

Boba’s response was different. He wasn’t surprised or in any way offended. Though their lives followed very different courses and served very different purposes, he understood the brutal practicality of a hunter; he knew Din sought no such greatness as a crown.

Ursa seemed to accept Din’s rejection of the title of Mand’alor but in a sly way, like a parent smirking at the stubbornness of a child, saying without saying: Just wait; you’ll change your mind.

Responses and reactions aside, Din wondered why they even asked. 

Why could they not just accept that he didn’t want this, that he was not meant for this, that he hadn’t set out to gain this? Why couldn’t they see that this was all just an accidental twist of fate? Why did everyone always want some grand explanation for why he wasn’t parading the sword around and calling himself Mand’alor?

“I am no king,” he said now to the Protector. He spoke simply—too simply: his voice did not hold as much defiance as he felt it should.

“Yet you lead,” Rau countered.

“Only out of necessity.”

“That is not what I have seen, and that is not what I have heard. Why is it that you said this only ends if you fight Bo-Katan? It would end just as well if you gave it to her.”

“She cannot have the sword.” And there—there was his defiance, rearing up like an agitated snake.

Rau leaned forward as if to lock Din on this road. “Why not? She had it before. It was given to her before; why can’t it be again?”

“Her rule hasn’t helped anyone. She’s shown what she is and I don’t—I don’t believe she should have it again.”

“And what will you do if you win the fight?”

Din turned his head sharply to look out the viewport. They faced west, where the sun set, the last glow of day burning a line across the horizon.

He couldn’t see it from here, but the sea lay in that direction.

On the other side of it, he used to go swimming with his father.

The water was usually calm and quiet and welcoming.

But, sometimes, dangerous rip currents formed—silent, deceptive, formidable.

He remembered his first encounter with a rip. He was a strong swimmer but he was still  small, still young and inexperienced. As the water dragged him further and further out to sea, he fought with all his might, kicking, clawing at the water and accomplishing nothing.

His father saved him and taught him a powerful lesson, though, at the time, it made no sense.

Don’t fight.

Fighting the rip current would not bring you to shore; it would only exhaust you. To beat it, you didn’t surrender so much as you sought to get free of it, not by going against it but by escaping it, then you could make your way to shore.

It took time.

It took faith.

You had to endure, you had to keep your head above the water, you had to hope and believe you would make it, and you had to fight, not the rip, but the exhaustion and despair.

“It won’t matter if you fight Bo-Katan without laying full claim to the Darksaber,” Rau told Din, his voice level but solemn. “You cannot hold it and ignore what it brings with it; when you do so, you leave the throne and the people vulnerable. As things stand, Bo-Katan lost the saber to Gideon, but he never took the throne. You now rightly hold the Darksaber, but if you continue to only half-hold it, Bo-Katan remains the undisputed Mand’alor. Fighting her won’t solve anything if you do not accept what the blade means,” he concluded, stressing the point, driving it home.

Din felt like he had just reached into his chest and clamped a fist around his heart.

He recalled what Rau had said when he found him on Tatooine. 

You may not want the responsibility that comes with the blade, but you will still face its trials.

At the time, he had taken it as advice, a friendly warning, letting him know that he was in store for trouble from ones seeking to gain possession of the Darksaber, foremost being Bo-Katan Kryze.

Now, however, he heard the decree, like the knoll of a bell at a death march.

There is no way out of this.

“You’re saying—you’re saying I have to become Mand’alor?”

“You have already become a leader. And I know this tribe will follow your lead just as they did today. Once you claim the Darksaber fully and publicly, Bo-Katan will have only two options: either she must accept your role or she must choose to challenge you. However, if you do not, even if she loses the duel, she can still claim the throne.”

Abruptly, Din stood. 

Clutching the lip of his helmet in his fist, he turned and paced the short, cramped length of the cockpit, his back to the viewport. The light had gone, making the cold internal lights seem to brighten though they were only compensating as was necessary.

It felt like the ship was barrelling and spiralling, crashing, though he knew perfectly well they hadn’t even left the ground.

He whipped around, desperation sprouting into something with heated, jagged edges. “If it was that simple all along, why did she have to hire those bounty hunters in the first place?” he questioned, aware his voice was rising but cracking.

Rau’s steady countenance did not so much as quiver. “She does not know you. She has no way of ascertaining whether or not you have claimed the throne without bringing it to the attention of all and that is something she cannot risk. The legitimacy of her rulership has always been… tenuous,” he said, partly like a fact, partly like a confession. “To a degree, that was the fault of circumstances: everything to do with the leadership of Mandalore has been in a state of flux since long before the Purge or the Siege, tracing right back to the Civil Wars. When Sabine gave her the Darksaber, it was the first time her rule had a tangible seal. Since she lost it in combat with Gideon, she has only one chance left to earn it. Though she has been untruthful and her methods are dishonourable, she is still within the bounds of our laws and customs if she has you killed and takes the sword off your corpse because you have made no public declaration of taking the throne.”

He never rose to his feet as he spoke yet his physical position of sitting did not diminish his words or his view; Din, though standing his full height, felt like a child as he listened to his elder’s account.

He couldn’t take a full breath. 

He couldn’t swallow. 

His mind was just a wall of noise.

Through that, Rau continued speaking, striking him, piercing him with a nail and hammering it in deeper with every word.

“I am not the only one who believes the blade has come to you for a reason. You are not fighting for yourself anymore, you are not even fighting for your clan or your tribe; the fate of all Mandalorians—present and future—hangs on this. It is true, you don’t want to be Mand’alor; it is true this is not what you were trained or groomed to become, but, regardless, you have stepped into this role and the Darksaber has come to you and brought a unique opportunity: the chance to save Mandalore. But the choice is still yours. Will you accept this, will you be what you have become or will you let go and let our people continue to fade and wash away until we are nothing more than children’s stories?”

Author’s Notes

I gotta tell you: whenever I read anything about a wolf howl, my brain supplies the sound-bite from the Rugrats Movie, you know the one with Tommy and the other kids getting lost and then there’s wolves and a bridge and it’s raining and I think the dad almost dies or something, can’t remember, gotta watch it again, anyway—the wolves’ howls are eternally drilled into my audio memory

. . . . .

Regarding Bo-Katan’s age: I know in s3 they retconned it to late 40’s/early 50’s, but it seems, originally, she was supposed to be either a few short years younger than Satine or, possibly, her twin (which would make the dialogue between them in the Clone Wars episodes make a lot more sense)

When I first saw Clone Wars and all her subsequent appearances, I was under the impression that she was Anakin’s age—somewhat working on the idea that Bo-Katan and Satine were supposed to be like a mirror of Anakin and Obi-Wan: a sort of age-gap siblings, older one takes on a parental role while the younger one becomes the prodigal child who zealously joins the bad guys and ultimately gets their older sibling dishonoured, exiled and killed, while completely decimating their people type deal (but, you know, the Mandalorian version—Death Watch/Sith, Pre Vizsla/Palpatine, Great Purge/Order 66… lots of parallels)

If she’s Satine’s age or thereabouts, that makes her roughly Obi-Wan’s age (Satine is supposed to be within a year of his age). So, currently, she’d be late 60’s (Obi was late 30’s by Order 66 and we are approximately 30 years on from that). I’m a little inclined to run with the idea that she’s a few years younger than Satine, but not very much younger.

TL;DR: Bo-Katan is roughly 60 in this story and dyes her hair red (always has. She’s actually blonde like her sister)

. . . . .

Regarding the Darksaber lore: I’m pantsing the living daylights out of it. It’s all made up in-universe anyway, so what does it even matter?

But, that said, I do think some stipulations and boundaries have come about over the centuries because if you’re going to shift this thing from weird thing your grandpa made because he joined the Jedi to family heirloom to kingmaker, I feel like you’re gonna have to set some rules.

So, okay, we’ve got the whole you gotta fight for it in a duel to earn it thing. This can end in either a yield or, ya know, death. ‘Kay. Cool. (I think maybe there should be some rules there, too, like you can’t keep trying. Maybe twice but that’s it; you keep losing, it’s just exhausting to watch and you’re embarrassing your clan. Stop it.) You can, of course, have it just given to you, which is probably just viewed as a yield or forfeit.

I feel like gaining the Darksaber and the rulership are simultaneously connected yet separate. You can win the Darksaber without becoming Mand’alor—it gives you a right to the throne but you have to take that extra step and actually claim it to become Mand’alor. If you win the Darksaber but don’t claim the throne, the last guy keeps it. (Putting this one in place partly because of some of Fenn Rau’s wording in the Rebels eps and because Gideon had the saber but never seemed to call himself Mand’alor or attempt to lead them like Maul did)

However, if you have the throne but not the Darksaber, I can imagine you’ll always have the issue that the guy who holds it could come in any time and kick you out. Which, for the sake of this story, is precisely what Bo-Katan is worried about. She hasn’t heard news of Din declaring himself Mand’alor, but it could happen at any point

TL;DR:… Mandalorians are crazy.

. . . . .

Chapter title from the song “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay

[ionlymadethissoicouldleaveanask]

Has anyone asked about Ringworlds and Reclaimers yet? If not, asking for a friend.

Yes! I wanted so badly to talk about this one!

So I haven't played a ton of DnD, but I do enjoy it quite a bit. Even more than that, I loved the DnD movie. So, being the massive, gigantic dork that I am, I decided to make a Halo/DnD crossover! The name was suggested by my friend and I LOVE it.

The idea behind the story is that there is a kingdom of Humans who have been at war with a kingdom of Dragonborn for many years. Finally King Jacob managed to broker peace with the enemy... but then he went missing. As a result, Queen Catherine's favorite knight John was called upon to quietly lead a small team to try to find the errant king before war gets reignited.

The party composition is:

John - Paladin - Soldier in the army, Queen Catherine’s favorite, sent to find the king after he disappears

Linda - Rogue - Not an army regular, but her tribe of woodland dorks come to the aid of the Kingdom in times of war. She is a renowned sharpshooter. She’s also a total klepto. She is fascinated by John because he finds it so easy to be open with people, and she is unable to do that. Lots of gags involve her stealing things and John “Goodest Boy” 117 getting after her for it. Very dry sense of humor, but she gets along well with her team.

Kelly - Tiefling Druid - Regular human appearance, but with some dope horns that poke out of her hair (think the druid from DnD movie) - Saved by John when they were children, she was raised in Catherine and Jacob’s court alongside him as siblings (kinda like the orphanage in Ranger’s Apprentice). There is distrust of anything that isn’t human so she has to constantly hide her nature whenever she is in the kingdom. She turns into four-legged speedy-bois. Ofttimes said speedy-boi is a rabbit.

Fred - Bard - A former Paladin and comrade of John’s. He took command of their platoon when John was reassigned, and in a terrible battle most of the platoon was slaughtered. Disillusioned with himself and the war, he left the army as soon as he could and became a traveling bard. Lots of “Laugh so they don’t see you cry” vibes. Shockingly (because I am the way that I am) he and Kelly are secretly in love with each other

I'm including the first chapter because I am really far from writing enough story to actually be able to post it, but I really want people to read this story because I love the idea of it so blasted much.

Chapter 1 - The Harvest Treaty

Ever since he was a boy, Jacob had loved the woods. He loved the mystery held within their dark branches, the adventure within their hidden glades. As he grew and came into the responsibilities of a man, he became further and further separated from this love. Then he was made king of the United Nations of Sheton Crassea. Almost immediately thereafter the Covenant - a conjunction of Dragonborn tribes that lived on the border of his nation’s land - had declared war on his kingdom.

For many years, his people waged battle after bloody battle. They were a small group of nations, and their warriors were greatly outnumbered by the Covenant’s vast armies. However, King Jacob was a cunning strategist and he succeeded in fighting the invaders to a standstill. Finally, they had come together to negotiate peace. Trade would be established between the two kingdoms, and they would become tentative allies - as much as that could be said of any two nations that had previously attempted to eradicate one another.

“I didn’t think I would see the Field of Harvest so peaceful again in my lifetime,” his riding companion, the stalwart knight Sir Avery, said quietly.

King Jacob had to agree. The Field of Harvest was once a meeting place for his people. Every spring they would gather in the hundreds to celebrate the end of winter and to trade goods and supplies for the coming spring and summer months. It was here that the Covenant first dared to strike - during the very festival for which the place was named. Many died that day, but were avenged in equally brutal fashion.

Shaking his head to clear the painful memories, the king smiled at his protector. “I forget that you have fought this war since its outset,” he said amiably, resting a hand on his companion’s shoulder. “To think that today it ends with negotiation, not extermination . . .” he let the implication hang heavy between them.

Avery grunted. His distrust of the Dragonborn was evident, and well-founded. Years of bloodshed did not simply erase themselves with the eloquent promises of one monarch to another. Looking around them at the various Dragonborn warriors that served as protection for their own ruler, it was clear that the distrust was far from one-sided.

“This is a good day,” the king said warmly, as much for his own benefit as for the captain of his guard. “And with the gifts we exchanged, I didn’t even have to promise my daughter’s hand in marriage,” he added with a wry grin. Of course, he couldn’t have told Miranda what clothes to wear to any given diplomatic meeting, much less who to marry. He loved her far too much to do such an archaic thing in the first place.

At the mention of gifts, the men turned in unison to study the item to which he referred. ‘The Halo,’ the Covenant delegate had called it. To Jacob it seemed little more than an ornamental ring, but it was clearly of grave importance to the Dragonborn. As such he treated it with the utmost respect and care, and had placed it on a thin leather cord that now hung around his neck. 

The Halo was but one of the facets designed to perpetuate their tenuous peace - the ring would be exchanged each year in the very field where they now stood as a sign of brotherhood between the two peoples.

“All the same, I think we should get going.” Avery said after a moment’s contemplation. His voice was gruff. Though the thick mustache that adorned his face hid the deep frown lines, it was clear that he was uncomfortable. “The more time we spend here, the more at risk we put ourselves if they decide to renege on their new-found willingness to cooperate.”

Jacob nodded. “Our work here is concluded,” he agreed, taking one last look around the clearing before turning to his men and issuing out his order; “Mount up!”

On the king’s word, a dozen men swung onto their horses. Avery alone remained afoot, waiting for the king to step into the saddle of his own mount. As soon as Jacob was situated, the knight followed suit. On the cue of a whistle and a hand gesture, the group turned in unison and paraded away from the peaceful campground. As they rode past the tent of the Covenant delegates, King Jacob raised a hand in friendly farewell. The monarch of the Dragonborn mirrored his gesture.

Though in theory they were now allies, the friendly motion sent a chill down Jacob’s spine. Diplomacy was undoubtedly the best course of action for his people, he assured himself. So long as the Covenant held up their end of the effort for peace. Whether or not that would happen remained to be seen.

With a heavy sigh, the king resigned himself to a long while of restless nights.

By the time they neared the place designated by his scouts as a secure area to make camp for the night, the king’s knees ached with every step his horse took. He was glad to see that the three riders Avery sent ahead were already setting up the tents and had a fire started by the time the remainder of the group arrived. They still had two days’ ride ahead of them, and the king was eager to stretch his legs and realign his aging joints before continuing their trek.

Still, never one to waste time being idle while there was work to be done, the king helped to finish the preparations for camp and even assisted in tending the horses. Several of the younger knights were seemingly appalled and confused to realize that their king was aiding them with menial tasks, but Avery simply watched on with a bemused grin. Soon the camp was set, the meal was warmed, and the soldiers reclined about the waning flame as the night encroached, dark as pitch, around them.

At Jacob’s behest, one of the younger soldiers - a man by the name of Chips, interestingly enough - regaled them with stories of his childhood. The animated nature of the young knight’s storytelling had the entire group laughing uproariously before long, and the night stretched on calmly. 

Finally, it was Avery who rose from his seat and barked, “That’s enough yammering, ladies. I want three men on watch, standard rotation. The rest of you, get some sleep.” The man turned his gaze on the king and added with a smirk, “That goes for you, too.”

“You’re no fun,” Jacob fired back, but rose to his feet all the same. Avery was right - they had plenty of leagues yet to travel, and he didn’t want to be tired from the road by the time he finally returned to his wife. The king bid his men goodnight and made his way into his tent to disrobe and prepare for sleep. He made sure to keep his sword nearby - even though peace had been promised, one could never be too careful in such proximity to a nation that had so recently been their enemy.

In spite of his wariness, however, nothing seemed to be out of place. He lay on his bedroll for several minutes, staring into the darkness above his head and listening for any sounds that might indicate danger. Nothing came to him. He finally resolved to sleep.

Which, naturally, was when things started happening.

“To arms!” he heard a distant shout, growing louder as whoever yelled drew closer. “To arms! To arms!”

In an instant, whatever fogs of sleep had crowded his mind cleared away. He was on his feet, hand gripping the familiar hilt of his blade, Iroquois. By the time he was out of his tent, Avery and the nine men who weren’t on watch were all outside, lighting torches and strapping themselves into their armor.

Avery was finally in his element. He shouted orders almost with glee, the men rushing to follow his commands. It took a moment before Jacob realized that something was wrong - amidst all of the noise of the troops preparing for battle, there was one noise missing.

“Where are the sentries?” he asked. At first his voice didn’t lift above the general din, so he    shouted again, “Avery! Where are the sentries?”

The old warrior paused, taking stock of his men. “Mackenzie!” he suddenly shouted, turning into the darkness. “Bisenti!” He paced a few steps beyond the safety of the torchlight, “Report!” he barked.

Something was moving out beyond the light. Jacob couldn’t see it clearly, he could only detect its silhouette. At first he thought it was one of his men, but something about it was... different. Larger. Somehow menacing, even though it had yet to make a sound or even move threateningly. Slowly it ambled toward them.

Until suddenly it wasn’t moving so slowly anymore. In a flash, the thing was sprinting toward them. With one massive arm it lifted two of his men and threw them out of view. Chips brought his sword down on the creature’s exposed arm with enough force to sever the limb, but the blade rebounded as though it had collided with a stone wall.

Then something else started moving. A man from the other side of the formation was yanked backward into the darkness. Then two more. Jacob tried a wild swing at one of the shadows, but it was gone long before he could reach it. One of his warriors was shouting. “What is that... no! No!” he shrieked as he was pulled away from his fellows.

Suddenly, the large beast that had first attacked them was before him. Jacob put all of his strength behind his sword, thrusting it into the creature’s midsection. Even as his sword sank into flesh, the thing swept one large paw and batted the king aside like a bull swatting flies with its tail. Jacob tumbled end-over-end, finally sprawling out on his back with enough force to drive the breath from his lungs. He scrambled to his feet as quickly as he could, searching through the underbrush for Iroquois.

Behind him, the king could hear the screams of his men. O’Brien cried out in pain, Fitzgerald in fear. Avery was cursing - while the younger men reacted with terror, the grizzled warrior sounded more angry than anything. Finally, Jacob’s hand clumsily found purchase on his sword’s hilt and he raced back to support his soldiers. By that time, however, their voices had all fallen silent.

When the king made his way back inside the circle of tents and the single torch that still provided illumination, he found himself alone. For a moment. The hairs on the back of his neck stood when he caught sight of one more silhouette. This one was far smaller than the others he’d seen, its build slight and its stature no more than that of an average man. Something dark and primal within the king’s very core told him that this creature was more dangerous than all the others combined.

So transfixed was he by the unsettling figure before him, Jacob didn’t realize that he was being surrounded until two large hands seized him by the arms from behind and others wrenched his blade from his grip. Something passed its hands over him in a cursory inspection before turning to the final shadowy figure and growling, “He does not have it.”

Jacob could only stare at the figure just out of the circle of dying light. Try as he might to catch a glimpse of anything else, his mind was fixated on this creature, unable to tear itself away from the thing’s mental grasp. Then it spoke in a deep, rumbling voice. A voice that echoed through Jacob’s very soul far more than it managed to penetrate his ears.

“No matter,” rumbled the voice that scraped through the king’s core, seemingly built from the very fabric of nightmares. Slowly, the phantom turned its eyes on Jacob. “Do not be afraid. I am peace; I am salvation,” it promised. Then it turned to the creature that held Jacob fast and lifted a hand. “Bring him.”

Unseen by the king, a grim smile came to the vile creature’s wretched face as its newest captive was dragged, kicking and screaming, into the darkness.

[thatonefananticinclass]

Lore Olympus Tumblr Reaction [1-4]

I've never read it before, but I keep getting criticism youtube videos recommended to me, and webtoon advertisements for it, so I'm reading it now and sharing my thoughts with you, my fellow tumblr losers <3

Also I do know a chunk of simplified Greek myth, Persephone gets kidnapped by horny ass Hades which obviously pisses off her mother Demeter who searches for her & neglects her duties as Goddess of the Harvest. But when she finds Persephone, she has already eaten 6 pomegranate seeds and is now tethered to Hades' underworld for 6 months a year. And during those months she's with her husband we have winter + autumn, But when she's chilling with her mother we get Spring + Summer. I know a bunch other myths but I definitely won't claim to be an accurate expert so I'll probably be looking up names/words if I need to.

I usually enjoy trashy online media [Example: Helluva Boss] while still seeing the obvious issues with the writing, so I doubt I'll hate it all that much despite the problems. But I will still be posting small criticisms, things I love, things I don't love and a few predictions for what happens next in the story. Now, let's get into this, "modern retelling" of the Hades Persephone myth!

Please, no spoilers!

Episode 1: Stag, You're it

Ok first things first, this art is beautiful 😍

Like ZOO WEE Minthe <3 All of the girls so far look amazing 👏🏾

Minthe is rejecting the main love interest, Hades, on a date to the panathenaea [A festival for Athena] Strange for Minthe to be all red, since in the myths she gets turned into the Mint plant by Demeter after being catty to Persephone, but maybe Lore Olympus will be changing it up or it just won't happen in thus story. I've heard people say this webcomic not really all that accurate to the og myths.

So Hades goes stag & Hera immediately greets him. She's also racist/classist to Minthe which makes sense, most God's are disrespectful as fuck to the majority of non-gods. But then Zeus pulls up and they're surprisingly lovely dovey on some Disney's Hercules vibes.

I was SO surprised by Zeus' design, he's purple? Not yellow like his wife?? It's definitely gonna be hard to remember that the PURPLE guy is Zeus, but whatever, maybe it's to make him look like thunder clouds or because purple is a royal color and he's king of the gods. Whatever.

We switch to see Artemis & Persephone getting ready, and Artemis is BEAUTIFUL, especially with her violet-black hair 🖤💜 And here's the main character Persephone, the pink face girl who's been hijacking my YouTube recommendations. What a cutie 💓

Episode 2: Who is She?

Artemis has dressed up Persephone in a up-to-waterline dress with her ass about five seconds away from saying peekaboo. Total downgrade imo Persephone does NOT know how to move in that thing lol.

We get more beautiful artwork of the party.

And then there's this hilarious scene where Poseidon is beefing with Odysseus, which I'm conflicted on because I want to laugh, but wdym that's Poseidon?? I guess Hades already had the color dark blue so it's not that bad, the sea can often be green so it's fine. But then we have this pose by Persephone and I'm laughing again, why she look like that 😂

But don't worry the artist makes up for it in the next drawings as Hades is immediately enamored by her beauty. Also I love her hair in the first image <3 It kinda changes in the next panels but whatever, I'm not too surprised by the lack of consistency since it's a webtoon.

Episode 3: Who is She? [Part 2]

Artemis helps her friend up and tells off Odysseus, and looks so fucking amazing while doing it <3

Meanwhile Hades puts on glasses just so he can simp better.

Hades gets told she's the Goddess of Spring and just moved out from her mom to the city.. And then he says this dumb shit:

...Hades you fool. That's like, #1 thing that gets you fucked up is comparing anyone to Aphrodite. Now Aphrodite's gonna have to fuck up the whole damn party because Hades can't keep his pervy mouth shut.

This episode ends with Aphrodite calling in back up so she can start ruining lives. The texts with her son, Eros, are hilarious. It's giving Prince Charming & the Fairy Godmother in Shrek 2.

Episode 4: Who is She [Part 3]

So Zeus plays wingman & gets Artemis away from Persephone and we get these 2 hilarious comics. I really like Zeus playing wingman because I'm pretty sure Hades had asked Zeus permission to marry her before he kidnapped her, the jerks. Also I love Artemis <3 Aroace queen <3 [I'm aegosexual/greyromantic btw, so I guess that explains why I'm obsessed with her lol 😅]

And here comes Eros all like, "Don't be suspicious, don't be suspicious"

He is VERY suspicious looking imo don't touch her! Bad touch Eros!

So Hades is upset cuz Eros beat him on creeping up on Persephone and now he dont know where she went. And then we see Persephone getting roofied by Eros! Total bastard! And it's really pitiful reading Persephone's thoughts about how she wonders where Artemis is, she's uncomfortable & dizzy, her words are blurred and she feels lonely 💔 Eros when I catch you 🗡

So she passes out and wakes up in what I'm guessing is Hades' bed because of the cerberus dog on the wall. She don't where she is. Probably kidnapped 💔

ANYWAYS Tumblr says I can't add anymore images so I'm ending this post here at Ep 4. Persephone did nothing but mind her business and got kidnapped, per usual.

I'm going to assume their romance will play out Beauty & the Beast style where the imprisoned woman teaches the perverted jerk how to not be a perverted jerk. Let's see!

Next:

[bookaddict24-7]

REVIEWS OF THE WEEK!

Every week I will post various reviews I've written so far in 2025. You can check out my Goodreads for more up-to-date reviews HERE. You can friend me on Goodreads here.

Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts?

___

Lord of the Fading Lands by C.L. Wilson--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I've been excited to read this book since reading THE WINTER KING. Something about Wilson's writing style just tickles that right spot when it comes to romantic fantasy and this one didn't let me down.

I'm glad I was able to start the year with this one because it had magic and intrigue, but also a woman that everyone judged and looked down on because of her perceived lineage (but we learn otherwise as the story progresses). And as we learn more about her, I'm excited to see what else she is capable of. I'm a little wary that this is a series that spans their romance and growth through more than a couple of books, but I'm also intrigued and curious.

This book also tackled how dangerous perceptions can be and how manipulative evil can be. I know that this is just book one, so I'm sure the evil will step up its game the further we get into the series. But I'm excited to see how that goes because these two characters have some good communication going between the two of them.

If you're looking for something to feed that Maas addiction, this is the series for you. It's got the misunderstood and angry/grieving Fae King, and the underestimated girl who is more than anyone expects. Plus, also, I can still that when these two are married, that spice is gonna be SPICY.

Cheers to reading in 2025!

___

2. The Games Gods Play by Abigail Owen--⭐️⭐️⭐️

I actually really enjoyed this for the most part--I just thought it kind of went off the rails for a bit near the end and did some things I wasn't expecting.

I went into THE GAMES GODS PLAY blind. I had no idea what it was about, but did, however, fall in love with how beautiful this book was physically. That special edition is drool-worthy. Once I started the book, I really enjoyed the concept of it. I love a great competition fantasy book that gives me a competition where some characters could die and the main character has to constantly prove that they are worthy of being a part of the competition. Those parts of this book were FUN.

Owen also writes very short chapters and that really helped with my attention span (even if I finished half of the book via audiobook--thanks, Libby, for coming through).

I thought the main character was a good character. She wasn't perfect, which made her more relatable and readable. Her struggles felt more realistic and I really wanted her to come out and beat out all of the naysayers. She made some questionable choices and at times was stubborn to a fault, but ultimately, she wasn't a bad character.

My issues are more with the plot and where it took me, some of the choices Owen made as an author with the plot, and how the story started to peter out after the halfway mark. There's a point in the book where certain things are skipped and I felt almost cheated? I wanted to see those scenes, not be told about them after the fact. It felt cheap and like the author just wanted to get to the juicier bits quicker. That and the slowing pace were the things that really took me out of the story. I can see why so many readers end up loving this (Hades is delicious in this), but stylistically, I think it was a little bit on the weaker side.

Will I be reading the sequel? Hell yes. That cliffhanger left me craving more. I want to know where these characters go from here--but I will say that if that hadn't happened, this could have easily been a standalone. Let's hope book two doesn't fall into that curse!

I think if you want a romantasy with competitions, mythology fanfic in the form of traditional publishing, and a badass MC who strives to succeed despite everything being against her, then I think you'll like this one. Also, there's a male best friend who is ruggedly handsome but isn't a part of a love triangle.

___

3. The Wizard's Dilemma by Diane Duane--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oh man, this book was the most emotionally impactful one in the series so far. While I was always a bit detached from this series through my reading experience, THE WIZARD'S DILEMMA really brought me back in.

There are also some scenes in this book where Duane's writing really shines through and creates some seriously beautiful imagery. The exploration of life, grief, and that helpless feeling we sometimes get when life gets out of our control is very well written out in this one.

I think it's also important to remember that these are young teens coming to terms with some of the harder lessons in life, but also ones who are still trying to come to terms with their unspoken feelings. The FMC not only was struggling with the emotional effects of her mother's illness, but also with her own self-confidence with her wizarding partner. It's a strong reminder that though they get put into very mature situations, these are still kids.

I'm curious to see where the series will go from here! Hopefully, I will be listening to the next one soon!

___

4. Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Honestly, I'm glad I listened to the audiobook. I started EPISODE THIRTEEN as a physical read last summer and sort of abandoned it because it was just a bit on the slower side and it wasn't holding my attention as much anymore.

Then my library hold for the audiobook came in.

If you're on the fence about this one, know that the audiobook is what saved this book for me. The production level was top tier and made the story ten times scarier than if I had just physically read the book. There were sound effects, music, a full cast, and this underlying sense of dread that was brought in during the last couple of hundred pages.

I think DiLouie's book would benefit from being turned into a movie. It gave very strong AS ABOVE, SO BELOW vibes. What happens when a group of explorers go where they shouldn't and mess around with things they definitely shouldn't? Absolute chaos.

The characters each added their own unique vibes to the story, even if one or two characters were more annoying than others. Here's looking at you and your annoying and selfish ass, Claire.

If you're looking for an unsettling haunted found film type of story, then I do recommend this one. Just try to get your hands on the audiobook!

___

5. Bhai for Now by Maleeha Siddiqui--⭐️⭐️⭐️

I thought that BHAI FOR NOW was a fun read that would definitely be thoroughly enjoyed by any middle school child that would have loved seeing THE PARENT TRAP from a boy's perspective.

One of the things I really liked about this book was the exploration of culture and how both boys were brought up differently in regards to their culture. It was nice seeing them both have that opportunity to learn more about who they were through each other.I especially liked how one of the brothers was able to discover a part of himself during these moments of growth.

The dynamic between the two brothers was great--both in the sibling way, but also in the "I don't really know you" way. The author did a good job in balancing those things out. Watching their relationship grow and shift was fun because at one point I thought, "Wow, they're really acting like brothers now."

One of the things I wasn't a big fan of was how quick the pacing was. Everything happened so quickly that it was almost unbelievable that these two could form such a connection in such a short amount of time. I think this type of pacing was something that reminded me how young the characters were.

Another thing were the parents themselves. These two were incredibly immature--to the point where the mom says something to her kid that really made me angry: "You're a kid, so you won't understand." Seriously, what is it with parents patronizing their children just because they're kids? Kids are smarter than people think. It's one of the things I dislike about this age category and I've seen this kind of parent in a lot of middle grade novels. It also worries me because kids will read that and assume that that is the correct mentality to have. But I know this is the consequence of having an adult write a book geared towards kids.

Overall, the story was fun, not wholly original, and great if you want something quick and interesting. If you like books that explore other cultures and their religions, and complex familial relationships (in middle grade), then this might be the book for you!

___

Happy reading!

[bleachbleachbleach]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you to @recurring-polynya my beloved for the tag!

I tag everyone who writes fanfic who hasn't done it yet! because I love reading these kinds of things

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

203, 11 under bleachbleachbleach.

2) What's your total AO3 word count?

827,868

3) What fandoms do you write for?

I currently write for Bleach!

4) Top 5 fics by kudos?

I use a site skin that hides kudos/comment count/bookmark/hit data on all of the fics on AO3, because they make me feel bad about myself.

5) Do you respond to comments?

Yes! I post my fanfic on the Internet because I want to talk to people about these characters and these stories. Of course I’m going to take the opportunity. If someone comments on a fic of mine, chances are I’ve probably re-read the whole fic before replying, because, again, I’m going to TAKE that opportunity.

6) What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

All my fics are fairly dour the entire time, but I don’t think they tend to end badly. I’m most interested in the afterwards of something having ended badly (and/or something that is probably going to end badly, but hasn’t yet and maybe it won’t).

7) What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

All my fics are fairly dour the entire time (she says, again), but happiest overall and happiest ending is probably Some Things, because nothing hard is obviously about to happen right after it ends (e.g. Aizen, the Winter War, the rest of TYBW, etc.).

8) Do you get hate on fics?

Hate, not usually. Passive-aggressive dismissiveness or unsolicited critique, yes.

9) Do you write smut?

I’ve written sexual content, but idk if it’s technically smut? In that the point of it is often not arousal. Like, I’m not expecting anyone to want to read it because it promises to be sexually satisfying and scorching hot. Usually the characters are Going Through It and either the sex is incidental or it makes everything worse. I love either an inconsequential bathroom fuck or sex that exists somewhere on the spectrum of Weird. All of which can be kink in itself, yes! But I’ve never written anything and thought, "yeah, THIS, this is gonna make someone nut."

10) Do you write crossovers?

No, but if I did it would be about Iba being great friends with King from Run with the Wind. This is THE crossover canon of all time, mark me.

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not as far as I know. 

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

I’m not sure? I’ve had people offer, usually never to be heard from again, but I think it may have happened once, a long time ago.

13) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes, but I didn’t really enjoy the process. Or didn’t *get* it? I guess I don’t really understand how it works? I barely understand how RP could work, lol. 

Obviously we run this blog in tandem, and have co-written posts. I regularly hop into docs with multiple authors for things like abstracts, copy, organizational statements, etc. But fanfic is, to me, a completely different creature. That’s between you and the characters.

14) What's your all-time favorite ship?

I don’t think I’ve ever thought about a ship in this way. This is not about fandom or fanfic, but I will say I’ve reliably cried about David/Patrick’s wedding (and entire courtship) EVERY time I’ve watched Schitt’s Creek. S-tier.

15) What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

I used to be someone of many fics and many WIPs, but in Bleach I am someone with one WIP and a selection of other posted fics, all of which have been pinched off of my one WIP, like little spider plants.

16) What are your writing strengths?

My strength is that I enjoy the process of writing fanfic. Like, obviously it’s frustrating when something isn’t coming together, or is just bad (though sometimes it’s still enjoyable even when I know the product itself is bad). Sure, it’s often DISTINCTLY UN-FUN if this is happening while the fic is on deadline, but overall I like writing fanfic, and I find I don’t relate to most "writers avoiding writing" memes I see. (Well, with work writing, I find them highly relatable. I’ve heard there are people in my profession who enjoy work writing. COULDN’T BE ME.) By god, I did not wrest away this time to write fanfic, only to NOT enjoy it!!

Product-wise, my strength is that I know my taste, at least, so I usually like the things I post, even if I don’t think they did everything well. Craft-wise, my personal favorite trait of my own writing is the rhythm and repetition, and the layering of metaphor that results.

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

How badly I want to hear from people after I have shared something. My father once told me (not about fanfic lol) that "not everything requires a response" but man, if I’m going to put my heart on the line, my heart requires one, regardless of whether the greater balance of the universe does. 

Craft-wise, I think my weakness is sometimes leaving too much to implication (and the opposite, overwriting or overmechanizing, executed out of fear of leaving too much to implication).

18) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

For Bleach, I consider all dialogue as already in-translation, even though the only language these fics exist in is English. Depending no how important I think the dialogue is or how well-versed I am in how the character speaks in Japanese, I will sometimes spend a lot of time thinking about how the scene would go in Japanese, and what the best translation would be for that in English. I’m nowhere near fluent in Japanese; I just really like translation theory. In practice, the way this works is like, I’ll have a certain grammatical construction in mind, or an order of phrases in mind, and then I spend a lot of time deciding if what I want for the scene is a "Nabokov does Onegin" translation (literal, "pure," estranging), or a "Pushkin does Shakespeare" translation (in the artistic idiom of the target language). This kind of playground is one of the things I love most about Bleach, and one of the reasons I started writing for Bleach in the first place. I really enjoy it!

I am not fluent enough in any language other than English to want to write dialogue in it. I think all of you who write fanfic outside of your primary language(s) are phenomenal.

19) First fandom you wrote for?

Online and disseminated to others? Inuyasha, back when you had to also build the website to host it. (We discovered FFN later, lol.)

20) Favorite fic you've ever written?

I really like most of the fic I’ve written, to be honest. I think that’s probably less true of things pre-2009, but probably some of that stuff, too. Some are more take or leave, but of everything I’ve written in the last five years, there’s only one where I looked at the title just now and thought 'ehhhh.'

On this blog, I try to avoid talking in the specific about things I’ve made that aren’t for Bleach, but How Many Thousands is my top favorite. It was written for one of my best friends in the world, before we were actually friends. I consider it my love letter to her.

For Bleach, it’s probably my East Rukongai Soul Train fanfic, which I have  read more times than the entire rest of the planet combined. I have read it many times. Thank you to those of you who also read to the end, because you are one of the highlights of my entire 2023!

[msjansaccountant]

Get ready for a Ned Stark appreciation post.

I love Ned. I don't quite understand what a 'babygirl' is, but I'm a firm believer that Ned is so 'babygirl'. I think what I find most interesting about Ned as a character are his insecurities. His insecurities that came with being Brandon's younger brother are specifically what I want to touch on. I can't quite remember the quote, but I remember at one point in a Game of Thrones Ned thinks about how he wasn't cut out to be the Lord of Winterfell. That was Brandon's job. And every time I think about that I want to shake him and say "no 'babygirl', doing say that about yourself!"

I get why Ned feels so sensitive about this. I mean, Catelyn literally thought of Ned as the plainer version of Brandon. I'd feel a bit sensitive too if I was the dour brother of an absolute stud who consistently outshone me at everything. However, I contend that Brandon would've been a shit warden of the north compared to Ned. Or at least, he wouldn't have been as good. I'm going to use Robert Baratheon as a case study for why Brandon would've been an ineffectual leader. I'm doing this because I think that Brandon parallels Robert in a lot of ways. They're both hot headed, they're both relentlessly horny and will fuck anyone regardless of the consequences (see their respective relationships with Barbrey Dustin and Delena Florent) and they both seem more or less indifferent about the responsibilities that come with ruling a kingdom/kingdoms.

And look at how things turned out for Robert! Everybody loved him, but that love didn't matter for shit once he died. Literally the day he died the Seven kingdoms descended into civil war. Now it may be unfair of me to assume that if Brandon ruled the North he would be as incompetent as Robert, but I think it's fair to assume that many of the issues Robert had as King Brandon would also possess as Lord of Winterfell. Now, compare these two to Ned. Ned held himself to a higher standard. He didn't sleep with whomever he wished (he was too shy to even talk to Ashara Dayne), he didn't act on every emotional whim he had and he treated ruling with the respect it deserved. The man was humble enough to seat the small folk right next to him at dinner because he cared about what they thought. Fucking hell, the only time Ned ever 'broke the rules' was by fathering Jon, which doesn't even count because Jon isn't his! And look at the way people treat Ned after he died. The North is fanatically loyal; the mountain clans march on Winterfell as winter sets in just so they can save Ned's girl. Ned cared for his people and they cared for him.

Ned might be a bit solemn, he might look a bit plain, he might even be a bit boring compared to his older brother. But damn it, he was a good man, and if anyone should feel pride in what they achieved, it's Ned.

Thank you if you read this far! Good night Australia.

[masterghandalf]

MG Reads Embers: Chapter Sixteen

Note: This is a continuation of my reread and commentary of Embers by Vathara, originally posted last fall and winter on my Dreamwidth account.

Chapter Sixteen We open with an author note. A/N: NaNoWriMo eats your soul. I have a limited number of chapters worked out and beta'd at the moment, so I'm posting them slowly. That way, you'll have at least one new chapter for each week of the write-til-you-drop time! Yes, Zuko knows darn well the Fire Navy was Up To No Good at the North Pole. Technically, Min was perfectly correct about the Water Tribe defending themselves. However. Zuko loves his people very much. And displacing your anger onto someone else is a very human reaction when you yourself feel horribly guilty. Which Zuko does. After all, if it weren't for one masked marauder getting in the way of Zhao's plans, Aang never would have gotten to the North Pole, would he? And for everybody who wants to see the Gaang... we're getting there. The chapter proper opens with Toph, vowing to never let Katara take her out for girl stuff again. Still smarting from how the rich girls made fun of her, she’s gone out into the city, escorted by a Joo Dee and saying she’s looking for interesting stonework that might be useful in teaching Aang. The Dai Li are following them, but Toph thinks about how she’s the greatest earthbender in the world, and she can wait them out. Finally, after several hours out, Toph’s earthbending leads her to some jade at a shop. Showing off a piece of jewelry she wore to the Earth King’s party, she says she’s looking for the carver who made it; she wants to talk to them. The owner leads her through the shop and to a garden out back, which is full of kids, and sensing the shop’s architecture and all the people nearby makes Toph all the more certain she hates Ba Sing Se. She thinks about how she left home for adventure, and to test her skills against real opponents, not to get dropped into the middle of a city and left there. As far as she can tell, all Aang cares about is looking for Appa and waiting for the Earth King to finally read his position, when anyone can tell that Long Feng is the one really in charge and he has no interest in going along with their plans. She blames it on Aang being an airbender – anything to avoid dealing with a problem head on. She’s shaken from her thoughts by being introduced to the jade carver – it’s Huojin’s wife, Luli. Putting on her best aristocratic manner, Toph waves off the owner’s not-so-subtle request for more money and sends him away; she asks Luli if he’s always that bad, and she says he’s often worse. Luli introduces Toph to her daughters, and to Suyin and Jinhai, who she’s looking after today as well.

Toph wants to know how Luli found the flaws in the jade to shape her carving when she’s not a bender; Luli starts describing her process, and Toph realizes that this is something she has to teach Aang – not just how to bend your element, but how to know it intimately. Listening more to Luli’s descriptions, Toph realizes that she’s someone who doesn’t just pity her for being blind or tries to ignore it, but actually tries to let her see what they see, and she’s impressed. Luli, in turn, realizing how Toph senses the earth, thinks she needs to trade notes with Tingzhe Wen, who’s an earthbender and an archaeologist. She explains that he’s Jinhai and Suyin’s father, but they’re with her today because both their parents are tied up with dealing with their older siblings’ university issues. Toph says she’d be watched if she tried to visit the university, which gets Luli’s attention. She explains they’re being watched right now, or at least Jinhai is. Luli’s husband’s in the guard, so she knows how to spot trouble. A moment later, Huojin himself comes in; Luli introduces them, but Toph picks up subtle hints in Huojin’s accent and realizes that he’s Fire Nation. He explains about how his parents were from the colonies and he came to the city young; Toph realizes he’s nervous, but honest, and he wants to know if she has a place to stay in the city. She assures him she’s fine, but he lets her know it’s always best to have people around you can rely on; he reminds her a bit of Iroh. Huojin then discusses his work a bit, noting that apparently even “Lee” can go a few days without causing a disaster, piquing Toph’s interest. Huojin goes to look for his kids, and Luli offers Toph more help if she needs it, even if it’s just someone to help her think, and tells her that her husband has a big heart and a hard head and is good to have around. Toph thinks this definitely sounds Fire Nation to her. She leaves, still thinking about the elements, the city, and Long Feng – she knows Aang won’t go after a problem head on, Sokka and Katara are adaptable but can’t plan around someone who already has all the angles covered, and while Toph is good, she can’t take on all the Dai Li. She decides they need to attack, and wishes she had a firebender – Iroh or even Zuko – here to help – but she can’t imagine either of them is in the city. But, thinking of Huojin, she decides that there might be more Fire Nationals in the city than she realizes…

We cut to Shirong keeping watch for the hostile spirit, which so far hasn’t shown itself again. Still, from the human remains that have washed up at Lake Laogai, he knows it’s out there, and it’s eating people, and the Dai Li are angry about it. And, if it can travel through water, it could potentially be anywhere. Suddenly, Shirong is joined by Zuko, who asks if he’s watching everyone, or just him. Apparently, Iroh is getting some maps out, and wants to know if Shirong can join them; he can also make Shirong’s favorite tea. They head down into their apartment, where Shirong admits that Iroh’s tea is good; he wants to know how they knew he was up there, but Zuko had assumed someone would be and thought he’d check. Iroh says he’s too old to be climbing around rooftops, but Shirong has no doubt he could if he had to. Shirong wonders some more about what he’s pieced together about their pasts, determined to get more details, but not yet. Glancing around the room, he determines that they’re clearly ready to run again, if need be, and finally spots Iroh’s maps and wonders if they’ve really been all those places. Iroh admits they have, pointing out Kyoshi Island and comparing the Unagi to the Serpent; Shirong thinks the people there are crazy, not because they teach girls to fight, but because they think they can stay out of the war. Iroh and Zuko start discussing various locations, beginning with the Eastern Air Temple and then going through various other places in the Earth Kingdom. Shirong watches with interest, especially after overhearing that Zuko apparently got into some trouble on Kyoshi Island. Iroh suggests trying to recruit the Kyoshi Warriors, but Zuko is against it, as well as the suggestion of the Southern Air Temple. Particularly since Sozin’s men didn’t bother to give their victims proper pyres – places like that are especially dangerous. Shirong realizes that they’re not just talking about places to casually travel to and is also rather unsettled to notice how personally they seem to feel about Sozin’s action, as if they feel a need to make up for them somehow. They continue their discussion, and Shiron realizes that Zuko apparently broke into Pouhai stronghold. He demands to know what exactly Iroh’s been teaching his nephew, but Iroh admits he can’t take credit for that one. Zuko himself, meanwhile, is rather embarrassed to realize that Iroh had apparently put two-and-two together and deduced that he was the Blue Spirit.

The conversation continues through more locations, and at last turns to a particular stretch of island not far from the North Pole. Shirong is amazed Zuko would want to go back there, but Iroh makes some veiled comments about it being warm on the mountains there. From the air currents… but also, there’s potential volcanic activity in the area. It’s also not far from the Northern Air Temple, which Shirong is stunned to learn is still inhabited by refugees. Finally, Shirong asks what they’re planning, and Zuko asks him what he’d do if Ba Sing Se fell. Shirong tells them that will never happen, but what if it did? Shirong’s lived his whole life in one city – he doesn’t know what sorts of things are out there in the world. And, for the first time since the Dragon of the West, one of the Fire royal house took the field against the Earth Kingdom recently – not Prince Zuko, who is indeed banished, but his sister, who was the one in command of the Drill. She may be young, but Zuko warns Shirong to never underestimate her; Iroh adds that even the Dragon of the West might be wary of taking her on. So, they ask Shirong again – what happens if Ba Sing Se falls? Shirong realizes they’re more afraid of Azula than they are of the Dai Li, which explains a lot of their previous actions. Zuko says he’s tired of running – but sometimes, you have to retreat. Shirong realizes they’re trying to find a location for some sort of outpost, and if they wanted to evacuate people from the city, they might need help from local authority figures… someone like him. And they’ve clearly been making other allies, too. Zuko doesn’t think Azula would destroy Ba Sing Se – it’s too big, and too valuable. Still, there are people they might need to get out, who they could at least temporarily hide in the catacombs. Shirong realizes that while he doesn’t have a family, other Dai Li do, and they would be in danger if the city fell. He still thinks what they’re describing sounds impossible, but Iroh would rather plan for it anyway. For now, he wants to hear about the Air Temples.

We cut to Shirong later, thinking about the things he’s learned; he recalls the old adage about knowing your enemy, and while he doesn’t consider the Avatar his enemy, he is potentially a problem. He, Zuko and Iroh had gone over all of the Air Temples in turn, though they were evasive about the details of the people living at the Northern. Shirong is left wondering again just who these two are, and why they’ve traveled around so much of the world. Though he thinks it does explain why Zuko is so determined to learn to heal, if he’s seen so much violence. Eventually, the conversation did turn to the spirit, and the idea that it might be lairing in Lake Laogai. Shirong wonders if the Dai Li’s activities there – brainwashing, execution, imprisonment – might have drawn the spirit, though they’ve been doing that there for decades and nothing happened. Then it occurs to him that they have something else there – Appa. He recalls attending Tingzhe Wen’s lectures on Avatar Kyoshi and Chin the Conqueror and learning about the connection between earthbending and badgermoles – he wonders if the sky bison might be more than he appears. He knows Roku had a dragon and heard that Kyoshi had a badgermole companion – if the Avatar is being kept from their animal, he fears bad things might happen. He thinks that the Dai Li should serve the people, not put them at risk, and thinks that Long Feng surely wouldn’t be holding Appa if he knew the risk. Finally, Shirong decides that his mission right now is to worry about dealing with the spirit itself, and work on cultivating recruits. He recalls how Zuko, after they were done with the maps, had shown him a waterbending move that sheathed his hands in claws of ice, and asked about how the Dai Li’s stone gloves work. Shirong was impressed by the line of questioning and worked with him a bit on adapting the technique for waterbending. Thinking about how much potential Zuko has, Shirong decides it would be a shame to lose him and is pleased that Zuko had him in for tea – and then he realizes something. He’d thought of Zuko as a lone pygmy puma living by its wits when he first met him, but it’s also true of him. To even socialize in the city, he has to hide the fact that he’s Dai Li – Zuko and Iroh have befriended him without forcing him to hide anything. He realizes that he might be trying to recruit them… but they’re also trying to recruit him. He’s impressed by their boldness, and still curious about some of the things they’ve let slip and decides it’s time to really start investigating who they are.

We end with a brief Author Note: A/N: Written in part because, given what we know Sozin and Iroh did in canon (and I'd bet Azulon was no slouch), the reaction of any sane person to somebody out of that family taking the field should not be the Gaang's, "oh, look, crazy ladies with blue fire". More like, "Aaauuugh! Sephiroth! Run away! Run away!" MG’s Thoughts This chapter… is kind of transitional in some ways. We do get to see a member of the Gaang (Toph, in this case) for the first time in a while, and while there are some things I like about how Vathara writes Toph’s POV and her sightless view of the world, I do have some quibbles. First off, this is another part of the fic that relies entirely on knowing the canon, and that canon having happened in Embers exactly the way it did in the show. Which wouldn’t bug me as much if “forget canon and take the fic as its own thing” isn’t a refrain I’ve seen repeatedly from the fic’s defenders, when I really don’t think it’s something you can do. For another, while canon Toph was initially resistant to her girls’-day-out with Katara, she ended up having fun in spite of herself and the two of them bonded a bit. Embers Toph hated the whole thing and resents Katara for dragging her into it – I guess because Vathara has to remind us she likes Toph and hates Katara. Also, I’ll note that in canon Aang wasn’t just waiting around for the Earth King to maybe notice him. As soon as the Gaang were reunited with Appa – and Long Feng no longer had leverage on them – they immediately broke into the palace to tell the Earth King the truth. Now, maybe Toph’s just supposed to be wrong here, but considering she’s one of Vathara’s favorites, and how the fic treats the rest of the Gaang in general, I’m not betting on it. It’s also a bit of a coincidence that Toph just happens to meet Huojin and his family, but… it’s not bad enough to really be a problem for me.

The scene with Shirong, Zuko and Iroh – I really can’t help but think that it’s part of Vathara’s overall softening of the Dai Li, considering I’m pretty sure that if a Dai Li agent in canon overheard half of that, Zuko and Iroh would have been at bare minimum hauled off to either the palace or Lake Laogai to be questioned as either potential spies or potential seditionists (I can’t imagine Long Feng would look kindly on anyone trying to, from his perspective, steal some of his people and take them to a new settlement somewhere outside his control). The conversation does lay some pretty important foreshadowing for things the fic will be doing down the road, though, if you know what to look for.

Finally, about the ANs. The one at the beginning of the chapter seems like it’s trying to backpedal on some of the “Koizilla was the worst” bits from the previous chapter as just Zuko’s POV, but, well, the fic will continue to treat Koizilla as the worst, from the perspective of people other than Zuko, and add on more reasons why it was the worst, so… I’m having a hard time buying it. As for the ending AN – yeah, the Gaang did take Azula seriously as a threat, absolutely. She was the most dangerous bad guy they’d run up against yet, and they very well knew it. But I guess that’s not good enough for Vathara to not insist on presenting them as naïve kids, and that a “sane” person would have reacted differently. And really, I can’t imagine the Dai Li would have missed a trick like not knowing who was in command of the Drill – it’s not like Azula’s presence was a secret.

[tllgrrl]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thanks for the tag @missamyshay !! Sorry for the delay. Some of these questions were hard to answer, so I ran away, then came back, and ran away, and I apologize for the ramblings.

If anyone has any questions/asks, feel free to…well…ask.

* * * * *

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

70 (Note: Many, of them well under 1K words and one shots. When something starts on Tumblr, it pretty much also goes over to AO3. Even drabbles.)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

163,518

3. What Fandoms do you write for?

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier - Marvel Cinematic Universe

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. One Quarter of a Year, 2. Language Lessons, 3. Welcome Home (the sequel to One Quarter of a Year), 4. A Front Yard Situation, 5. Bucky, Cass, and the King of Mardi Gras

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes. I don’t always immediately respond, but I eventually do. Why respond? Because I’m already surprised that anyone reads a thing I wrote. No one is required to leave a comment. They can read and go on to the next, and they do. But if someone reads something I wrote, and wants to tell me that something about it made them want to tell me about it what they liked or what touched them and/or ask a question, or in one case complain about it? It’s an amazing thing to me, so much so that a comment always sends me back to read WTF I could have possibly written that made someone feel this.

6. What is a fic you write with the angstiest ending?

I haven’t written one with an angsty ending. Yet.

7. What’s the fic you write with the happiest ending?

Hmmm…lemme think…

They’re all pretty happy, I think, but the most hopeful, heartfelt ending I think is at the end of Ndinawe when Sarah walks out of the therapist’s office building after her first ever session post-Snap/post-Return, and finds Bucky waiting for her with a little bunch of flowers.

I will leave it to readers to tell me what they think my happiest ending would be.

8. Do you get hate on fics.

There’s that one time someone liked, but complained about 6 words (2 short phrases) in a 300 word ficlet/triple drabble where Sarah and Bucky are in a very quiet and intimate moment, and he says something to her in isiXhosa, which we know he speaks. Then he says it in English, and then in Kreyol, which, in my headcanon, Sarah learned from her parents, who spoke Haitian Creole (Darlene’s family) and Louisiana Creole (Paul’s family). Because Louisiana.

This person was annoyed and couldn’t understand why anything other than English was being spoken even though the translation is in the story and a little Glossary is in the notes..

And when I tried to explain why I chose that and that in canon, Bucky and Sam both speak more than one language, the person commented back that didn’t want to read an explanation…which is why I wrote one anyway.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I write erotica. To my mind, smut is different. And I don’t like the word “smut’. Like how some people don’t like the word “moist”.

I write two middle-aged grownup adult people for whom Communication is important. Even if things are difficult or awkward, they still at least try.

Also, they’re perfectly able and willing to grab a Quickie, and I’ve written at least one Quickie, but in my stories so far, like to take their time when they have the opportunity. Someone once described it as making love “like adults: long, slow, luxurious”.

I think that’s the kind I write.

Maybe that didn’t describe the kind of “smut” I write. If anyone can describe it to me, please do!

10. Do you write crossovers?

Not yet. But I do have something in mind.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of and I hope not.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I know of, but I would actually like to try to do that myself with help from Google Translate, Language Tutorials on YouTube, and the assistance of native speakers.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

Yes!! Bucky, Cass, and the King of Mardi Gras co-written with The @btwxsixesandsevens. The Paul & Darlene Ship Logs is a A Talk Like a Pirate Day day-long speed write, where @btwxsixesandsevens, wrote Bucky’s Journal entries and I wrote Captain Sarah Wilson’s personal ship logs. And also Snitches which was born from a funny “what would happen if” conversation with @shellyac75. I asked if I could embellish it, stretched it out and make a fic, and was given permission to play.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Bucky Barnes & Sarah Wilson (aka SarahBucky or BuckySarah) from the minute Bucky made it a point to let Sarah know that he was there, and he saw her. And she saw him, right back.

That having been said, if I’d known, when I was a kid, that I could make up my own stories about characters I liked, there is one ship that I would have filled my PeeChee notebooks with: Lt. Nyota Uhura & Spock. Yes, long before JJ Abrams made them a thing, I, in my tweeny brain, felt like something was possible there with those two. Nurse Chapel be damned.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I don’t have one of those. I have a couple of Finished For Now stories that I have plans to revisit and continue, though. They’re not WIPs though. Plus, I’d never not finish a story.

16. What are your writing strengths.

Beats me. Someone who knows about writing techniques will have to tell me. I have been told that when reading my stories, a reader can see where they are and what’s happening.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I overthink and I think I get in the weeds when I write. I’m hyper critical, so I find fault with everything I write. Someone else will have to tell me what my weaknesses are in my writing. I know what they are in my process.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic.

(See #12j I’m not afraid of it.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

The only fandom I’ve written for: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

That having been said, I may have inadvertently written a drabble/ficlet/thing as an answer to a question that was posed in a Firefly forum on Ravelry (a multi-use community website for knitters and crocheters) probably 20 years ago. People enjoyed it and one commenter said I should write fan fiction, which, at the time, I thought was ridiculous. If I can find it, I may post it on AO3 for shiggles, though the show is long gone. (I know that there are still Browncoats around.)

20. Favorite fic you’ve written.

This is a really hard question because I find fault with every thing I’ve written. Every single thing. And my answer can change sometimes a couple of times during the span of a day!

I’d rather people tell me their favourite, and why, (Soft suggestion: Please feel free!!) but if I had to pick one today right now:

One Quarter of a Year / Welcome Home

I consider these two a single story that has yet to be joined on AO3.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Whew.

I am soft tagging @khululekile , @philtstone , @btwxsixesandsevens , @spinachgarden, @sarifinasnightmare and anyone who wants to jump in and play. Come on in! (If you’ve already been tagged, apologies! )

[merlinnski]

Bloodstained Snow

Moshang fic - 3.7k words Hurt/comfort, mild blood & injury, angst with a happy ending

This fic has been cross-posted to AO3 if you would prefer to read/support it there!

---

The winters within the Northern Desert were harsh. 

The winds always howled, soft snowflakes were more akin to small shards of ice against bare skin, and the sky was pitch black more often than the soft hues of blue during the day. The climate was far more unforgiving, yet the ice demons of the Northern Desert were completely unfazed. This was hardly a change to them. 

To Shang Qinghua, it was unpleasant. 

The innumerable stacks of papers on his desk seemed more daunting than usual, a flood of obstacles he no longer had the energy to tackle. Despite the warm furs wrapped tightly around him he shivered near constantly. There was only so much Mobei Jun could do to help him during the difficult winters he still had yet to grow accustomed to. Thus leading him to his current predicament. 

He was shut away in his chambers, burrowed underneath multiple layers of warm, thick blankets that he’s hoarded. His hair was untied, the clothes he wore were unruly. The usual bags under his eyes seemed darker than usual. To put it frankly–he looked like a mess. Shang Qinghua felt like doing nothing.

He knew he had to get up and work, he just couldn’t get himself to. 

There was a soft knock at the door. He groaned, pushing his blanket burrow off of him slightly to sit up properly. He waited in silence for a moment until another knock came. If it was who he thought it was, it was an incredibly bad time. 

“Who is it?” He asked, loud enough to be heard from the other side of the door. He hoped the response was from anyone but the person he thought it was. 

“It’s me,” A familiar gruff voice responded, muffled by the door. 

Shang Qinghua wanted to hide back under his blankets and act like he didn’t exist. 

“One minute, My King!” He tossed the blankets off of him quickly and rolled out of bed, nearly tripping over himself in the process. 

He ran a hand through his hair, tying it back hastily. It was a messy bun, but still better than simply leaving it down. He then rushed to the door, swinging it open swiftly to be greeted face-to-face with Mobei Jun. The demon was looking down at him with a quirked eyebrow, scrutinizing his appearance. “Sorry for taking so long, did you need something?” He apologized, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. 

“Is Qinghua not feeling well?” Mobei Jun asked instead, a mildly concerned look on his face. 

“Huh..?” Shang Qinghua looked dumbfounded for a moment before hastily shaking his head. “Oh! No, no no, I’m perfectly fine, My King. Nothing to worry about.” Mobei Jun narrowed his eyes, though it seemed he decided against rebutting. “If you insist.” 

He breathed a sigh of relief. It was a mercy that Mobei Jun decided not to pry. 

“I was wondering if you would like to go for a walk with me,” The demon said after a moment of silence, keeping his expression neutral. 

“A walk? Where?” That caught Shang Qinghua off guard. Mobei Jun rarely asked for him to do much during the past winters they’ve spent together, what could have changed? “There’s a demon clan in the mountains that’s been causing trouble. I mean to scope it out and decide the next course of action,” He explained, lowering his gaze slightly. “This king wondered if you would like to come and get some fresh air.”

‘You look like you could use it’ was left unsaid between them. There was no mistaking that look on Mobei Jun’s face. He wanted him to come along regardless of his answer. Shang Qinghua sighed, the corners of his lips turning upwards slightly into a tired smile. 

“Alright, My King. I’ll come along. When are we expected to leave?” He was already creating a mental checklist in his head of things he needed to prepare before setting off. A set of extremely warm clothes included.

“As soon as Qinghua is ready.” Was all Mobei Jun had supplied as an answer, crossing his arms against his chest. 

That was not helpful in the slightest, he thought to himself dully. 

“Um… Is a blizzard still going on outside? It’s not dark out, is it?” He asked anxiously, fidgeting with his hands in the process.

He really didn’t want to suffer hypothermia mid-walk. Not even the expensive–and quite heavy–fur cloak Mobei Jun gifted him would save him from the below freezing temperatures of a winter storm. 

“The winds have calmed down. It should be safe for travel,” He supplied, which was enough of an answer for Qinghua. 

“...Okay. Just give me a moment, My King. I’ll be right out.” Shang Qinghua lightly closed the door, scanning the room for his dresser.

He changed quickly into something warmer, an outfit that was selected specifically for him by Mobei Jun a few years ago. It was light blue in color and a soft fabric that he particularly enjoyed. Qinghua then quickly untied his hair, running a brush through it to make himself look slightly more presentable. Once he was satisfied, he nodded to himself.

He still looked paler than usual, like an absolute mess, but at least he looked better than before. That was enough.

He slid the heavy cloak over his shoulders, the fur-lined collar tickling his cheek lightly. He opened the door again, greeted with the sight of Mobei Jun leaning against the wall. At the sight of him, he stood up straight, tilting his head inquisitively. “Ready to go?” He asked, maintaining his cool demeanor. 

A few demon servants passed by in the halls behind him, carrying a variety of different trays and papers with them. Seemed like they were busier than usual. “I’m ready,” Shang Qinghua confirmed, exiting his room quietly. 

Mobei Jun took off in long strides towards one end of the corridor, keeping his speed slow enough to allow Qinghua to keep up behind him. He stayed as close to the ice king as possible, keeping his head down.

He could only mentally prepare himself for the cold journey ahead of them.

—

‘Safe for travel’ my ass, Shang Qinghua thought bitterly, shivering aggressively underneath the thick layers of warm fabric he wore. 

The snowflakes that littered the sky were blown into his face and onto his hair, melting on contact and chilling what little skin he left uncovered. They felt like small shards of ice stabbing into him, mildly painful but still barely tolerable. Though the moon had yet to rise, the darkened clouds that covered the demon realm’s sun left little light for them. You could almost mistake the day for night with how hardly visible the world around him seemed to be. 

Mobei Jun was a few steps ahead of him, maintaining the same slow pace he had earlier. Shang Qinghua was hardly keeping up as it was, his legs knee-deep in the powdered snow beneath them. It hardly seemed to faze the ice demon, however, given that he moved around as if it were nothing more than a mere inconvenience in his way. 

One trip up, and Qinghua believes he may end up buried underneath the snow and unable to get himself out without falling over again. Remind him again why he designed such an unforgiving land? 

“My King, how much longer until we’re at the tribe?” He raised his voice loud enough for Mobei Jun to hear him, trudging through the deep snow in a hurry to keep up. 

Mobei Jun paused to look over his shoulder, his brows furrowed. “Not too far from here. Is Qinghua cold?” 

Cold is an understatement! I’m freezing my balls off! Shang Qinghua forced a small smile. That–and his rapid shivering–was enough of a hint for Mobei Jun to reach over and take his hand. 

The minute Mobei Jun’s hand came in contact with his, a feeling of warmth flooded through him. His eyes widened subconsciously at the feeling, realization dawning upon him. He lowered his head, sighing a breath of relief. The shivering was slow to cease, but it eventually faded away into a light tremble. “Thank you,” Shang Qinghua said quietly.

They began walking through the snow again, this time hand-in-hand. Every time Qinghua was close to tripping over himself, Mobei Jun was there to keep him upright. It was a bizarre feeling, being given so much care. 

With how many years they’ve been together, he should’ve been used to the attention by now.

“You should have said something sooner,” Mobei Jun reprimanded lightly, tightening his hold on Qinghua’s hand. “I would have helped.”

“I didn’t want to inconvenience you.” Shang Qinghua frowned.

“Inconvenience me? Qinghua, you shouldn’t be afraid to ask if you need something.” Mobei Jun paused again to turn and look at him, his usual stoic expression changed into something… Soft. Concerned. 

Shang Qinghua lowered his head, biting his chapped lip hard. “I’m just… Not used to it. That’s all. I’m usually the one pushed to help others, not the other way around.”

“I’ll help you get used to it. Qinghua deserves to be helped as much as he helps others,” Mobei Jun said with determination, turning away to continue his trudge forward.

Qinghua could only stare at the back of Mobei Jun’s fur-lined cloak in shock. How had he become so lucky? Was this a cruel joke the system was playing on him after who knows how long of silence? He almost fell forward as his arm was tugged by Mobei Jun–a sign that he should keep moving forward. He was standing still for far too long. 

He rushed forward, his mind running a mile a minute. There was so much he wanted to blurt out, to fill the silence between them with his mindless ranting. Yet the minute he opened his mouth to speak, nothing escaped his lips. He truly was rendered completely speechless. 

The ice demon’s actions shouldn’t be a surprise to him. Through the dense fog of his self-loathing, he knew that Mobei Jun loved him. This was how he was always treated since the day he was confessed to. Nothing has changed. 

Perhaps the loneliness of his room during the dark winter truly affected him more than he thought. 

After a while of walking, the mountains that dotted the horizon seemed far closer and bigger than before. Shang Qinghua could hardly feel his legs after all the walking, exhaustion weighing his body down significantly. He groaned, tugging Mobei Jun’s hand lightly to get him to stop.

“My King, can’t we take a small break?” He asked, his expression as tired as he felt.

“If we stay out for too long, we won’t make it back before the night settles in,” Mobei Jun explained with as much of an apologetic look as he could put out.

Shang Qinghua shook his head in dismay, a frustrated look in his eye. “The last time I walked this much was when I had to go up and down Qing Jing peak repeatedly. It was miserable.” 

Mobei Jun seemed to tense, narrowing his eyes. “Qinghua.” 

“Like, I know it’s healthy and all to exercise like that, but come on. Isn’t it some odd torture tactic for someone like me who sits around all day filing paperwork?” He rambled on, dropping all sense of formalities near instantly.

“Qinghua,” Mobei Jun tried again, his stance growing more tense by the second.

“And I know My King had good intentions, but can’t we please just take one of your portals? Surely that would be so much faster and less time consuming-” He didn’t have a chance to finish. 

“Qinghua!” He was quickly pulled aside, his balance lost as he tumbled into Mobei Jun’s chest.

A sharp shard of crimson ice was deeply embedded into the snow they were standing at just a second ago. Shang Qinghua felt his blood run cold. “We’ve been followed,” Mobei Jun hissed, pulling Shang Qinghua behind him. 

Shang Qinghua squinted, looking out into the distance in front of them. A group of around five figures were blurred by the snowfall, yet their silhouettes were distinguishable. A bead of cold sweat slid down Shang Qinghua’s forehead, a nervousness setting in. Mobei Jun could handle them for sure, but that last attack was a little too close for comfort. 

They flung a few more ice shards their way, prompting them to keep dodging each strike. It was difficult to move fluidly with how sluggish he felt after their long walk, but not impossible. 

“Qinghua, I’m going to take care of them. I need you to stay here. Don’t move. Understand?” Mobei Jun kept his sharp gaze trained on the enemies, not giving Shang Qinghua a second glance. 

“I understand. Please, stay safe.” He watched with helplessness as Mobei Jun pulled his hand away, leaving him to the freezing cold once again. 

He almost immediately began shivering, his arms wrapped around himself subconsciously as he watched the fight before him go down. 

Mobei Jun had summoned his sword, a murderous glint in his eye. It was a five versus one, but something seemed off to Qinghua.

Four of them seemed to focus on keeping Mobei Jun distracted with innumerable quick attacks, the clashing of their blades slicing the former stillness of the air. The fifth, however, was undetected. 

He was sneaking behind Mobei Jun, preparing a strong attack that had Qinghua up and running towards the middle of the fight. He couldn’t let that happen. 

If Mobei Jun got struck by that… The fight would be over. 

“My King! You need to move!” He weaved between the enemy and rammed into Mobei Jun, shoving him to the ground just in time to avoid the sneak attack. 

A sharp pain coursed through his side, forcing him to see stars for a good moment. He winced, peeling himself up and off of Mobei Jun to get a better look at him. He didn’t dare look at where he was injured out of fear of what he’d see. Splotches of red stained the blue of Mobei Jun’s robes where he had just been. That was enough.

“Qinghua-” Mobei Jun was swiftly interrupted. 

“Let me help you. I can fight too.” He murmured, standing up properly.

The enemies that surrounded them seemed to have been dumbfounded by Shang Qinghua’s sudden intrusion. The minute he stood back up, they were already prepared for another attack against them. 

He drew his blade, getting into stance. The adrenaline he felt at the moment kept him from feeling the brunt of the pain his injury gave. Mobei Jun slowly got back up behind him, bracing himself a second time for another fight. 

With their teamwork, the five demons that came after them were dead within minutes. Their blood stained the white snow red, a gruesome sight for anyone who wasn’t used to the violence Mobei Jun often exuded.

Shang Qinghua dropped his sword into the snow, his breaths heavy. The adrenaline was wearing off, black spots invading his vision. Mobei Jun turned to look at him, a slight smile on his face. 

“Qinghua, I had no idea you were so resilient,” He praised, walking closer to the smaller man. 

Shang Qinghua almost didn’t hear him. …Have I just been wife plotted in my own novel?

“Is it… Is it over?” He spoke softly, his body swaying. A light breeze could knock him over. 

“Qinghua?” Mobei Jun paused, his eyes narrowed quickly as he scanned his appearance. 

He couldn’t hang on. His knees gave out, his body plummeting to the ground as quickly as his consciousness faded. Mobei Jun rushed forward to grab him before he could fall into the piles of bloodstained snow beneath them. 

“Qinghua!”

—

The first thing he felt upon slipping back into consciousness was pain. 

His waist was killing him, a constant throb that distracted his thoughts every chance it could get. It was hard to think with the pain fogging his mind. The most Shang Qinghua could tell was that he was no longer out in the wilds of the Northern Desert. There weren't any howling winds to freeze him to the bone, nor were there snowflakes dampening his face. 

He was actually warm.

He could feel the weight of a blanket covering his body and a firm mattress beneath him. Fire crackled in the distance, keeping the room he was kept in a comfortable temperature. Shang Qinghua could almost delude himself into thinking what had happened was just a horrible dream. It all came back to him like being hit by a truck. The walk. The fight. Protecting Mobei Jun. Blacking out. He opened his eyes abruptly, sitting up in a panic and regretting it immediately. He hissed loudly, another stab of pain coursing through his body at the sudden action. Cold hands were pressed down on his shoulders, attempting to push him back into a lying position. 

“Qinghua.” He was greeted with the sight of Mobei Jun, who looked considerably more tired than usual. 

There was a concerned frown on his face, with a hint of fear in his eyes. It was an unusual sight for him. “You shouldn’t move around so abruptly. Your wound might reopen.” 

“Sorry, sorry.” Shang Qinghua laid back against the pillows behind him, his voice hoarse. “How long was I out for?”

“A few days.” Mobei Jun lowered his head, sitting back down on a chair that he had pulled up next to the bed. “This Mobei Jun was… Scared.” 

Shang Qinghua nearly choked. What the fuck?! Scared?? Mobei Jun was scared because of me???

“Scared?” He asked softly, tilting his head slightly. “Mobei, there’s no need to be scared.” Mobei Jun’s pointed ears lowered, solidifying the saddened look on his face. “You weren’t waking up after I brought you back and patched your wound. I thought I was going to lose you.” “Oh, My King…” Shang Qinghua inhaled, forcing himself back up into a sitting position. “Come here.” The small action brought more pain upon his weak body, but he forcefully ignored it. He waited patiently for Mobei Jun to get a little closer to him. 

“Qinghua, stop moving,” He admonished lightly, the words dying in his throat as he was pulled into a hug. 

It was by no means a comfortable hug. It was about as comfortable as you could get when one person was sitting in bed while the other was leaned over. But it was exactly the sort of comfort Shang Qinghua knew Mobei Jun needed. He could feel the demon’s muscles relaxing in his hold, his forehead resting on Qinghua’s shoulder. 

“I’m not going anywhere. It’ll take more than that to kill me.” He smiled warmly. “Besides, I really thought I looked pretty bada- I mean cool. I thought I looked pretty cool back there! Did you see how I fought them off with you? I haven’t been able to do that in a while!”

“Yes, Qinghua looked very cool.” Mobei Jun smiled back, pulling himself away from the hug to give Shang Qinghua a moment to rest. “A little reckless, but this Mobei Jun is proud.” 

Shang Qinghua short-circuited. He paused, his eyes widening. Nobody’s ever said they were proud of him before. It was almost enough to bring him straight to tears. “Are you… Are you genuine?” He stammered, his mind running faster than his mouth could handle. 

“Of course. I wouldn’t lie to you.” Mobei Jun shook his head, crossing his legs. “I mean it.” “That… I-” He cut himself off, speechless. He fiddled with his hands, unsure of what to do. “I’m happy. I’m happy I could help.” Mobei Jun stood up from his seat, pushing the chair back slightly. He approached the end of the bed and bent down to give Shang Qinghua a gentle kiss to the forehead, closing his eyes in the process. Shang Qinghua could feel his face flush bright red, his heart beating faster. He wanted to hide under the blanket until he could calm himself down again.  

“It’s getting late, you should rest some more.” Mobei Jun stood straight again, the gentle smile tugging his lips upwards. “It should help you heal quicker.”

Woah, woah, wait. He’s just leaving like that? Shang Qinghua felt as perplexed as he looked. 

“Wait, hold on,” He paused, unsure of how to word what he was going to say. How ironic, huh. “Uhh… Would it be okay if I stayed with you? After I recover, I mean.” 

“Stay with me? Aren’t you already living in the Northern Fortress with me?” He raised an eyebrow, confusion written all over Mobei Jun’s expression. “Well, yes, but I mean… Like sharing a room.” He averted his gaze to the wall, embarrassment flaring up. “It’s just a little lonely. That’s all.” 

Silence descended upon them, incredibly uncomfortable. Shang Qinghua tensed, quickly looking back to face Mobei Jun. He flailed his arms around in a panic, ignoring the innumerable spikes of pain that shot through him. 

“But of course, you don’t have to if you don’t want to! I’m perfectly fine sleeping alone! Winter is just incredibly dark and depressing and there’s not a whole lot to do besides work and… more work so-”  He was interrupted swiftly, his mouth shutting almost as fast as it opened. 

“Qinghua, you’re perfectly fine to share my room with me. Please, just relax,” Mobei Jun stressed, placing a hand on his shoulder to nudge him back down into the bed. “At this rate I’ll have to call the doctor again to patch you back up.” 

“No need, no need.” Shang Qinghua quickly dismissed the idea. “I’ll rest.”

“Good.” Mobei Jun turned his back to the bed, approaching the door on the other side of the room. “I’ll return in the morning, rest well.” 

“Oh, before you leave!” Shang Qinghua called out, before sharply inhaling. “I love you, Mobei.” He didn’t see the way Mobei Jun’s eyes widened in shock. He quickly composed himself before replying, “I love you too, Qinghua.” 

The door clicked shut, and he was left to his thoughts once again.  What used to feel like a lonely, depressing room no longer felt as lonely as it once did before. 

[siriannatan]

Arranged Rearrangements - chapter 1/?

It was supposed to be a one-shot as I said in an earlier post but things happen and now it'll be longer. We'll see how long.

AO3 link for anyone who prefers to read there.

Mythland Great Winter Ball was probably the most boring from the wide selection of the events fWhip has to attend. He wished Mythland wasn't as closely connected to Grimlands as it is, he really did but their empires were probably the closest among the Wither Alliance. And all that for one, simple and incredibly annoying reason - since before either of them was born fWhip has been engaged to Sausage, the current king of Mythland. And yes, he could technically recall the whole thing, being the Count of Grimlands and the leader of the Alliance but his advisors always got annoyed whenever he mentioned it. Mostly worried about what Mythland's council would get their king to do... Not that Sausage liked the whole engagement himself.

And has been ignoring fWhip for the past four hours and did not think to have any blood available for the vampire. Was he planning to starve him to death or have a rampaging starved vampire crash the party? fWhip was not about to check that so he set off to find a member of the Mythland's council and say he was not feeling well and going home. 

Not that he had any intention of going home.

"But..." the councilman tried to keep the count at the party once fWhip said his piece. And glanced where Sausage was laughing loudly with some of the younger nobles. Completely ignoring his responsibilities. 

"I'm sure he won't mind," fWhip grinned, restraining a sigh and with a polite bow left the ballroom and instantly went to the gardens. He was not running into any more councilmen, nobles and advisors Sausage kept in his far too big court.

The gardens were nice. Quiet and pleasantly cool to the undead count after that stuffy and boring party. He would much rather be stuck at one of Katherine's parties and fey parties were known for being incredibly boring. With a sigh, he let his wings out and flew not to Grimlands but to... Rivendell. If he had any luck Scott was still awake and reading in one of many rooms in the castle. Much better company than Sausage and his constant ignoring of fWhip unless he annoyed the Cod Father and needed help... Ugh.

His relationship with the elven king, known for being neutral and staying out of conflicts - maybe unless they involved a certain forest elf his brother eloped with... - was a strict secret only the two of them knew about. fWhip's council of course had their suspicions about it with how often fWhip came home with snow still in his hair and looking more nourished than his usual diet of blood bags and animal blood let him be. But they were smart enough to not question a vampire that could easily kill all of them. Or an elf able to swing a blade at least as long as he was tall. A runic blade but fWhip was impressed anyway every time he saw Scott with it.

Speaking of, as fWhip closed in on Rivendell and the castle only one window was lit up. The drawing room window, with a balcony about big enough for fWhip to land comfortably. Once he landed he dusted a bit of snow that settled from the gentle snowfall on his shoulders and hair and knocked, least he scare Scott.

The elven king did not make him wait long and opened the door with a smirk tugging on his lips. "Shouldn't you be in Mythland, enjoying a party?" he asked but let the Count in.

"It was even more boring than those usually are," fWhip sighed and as soon as Scott closed the door pulled the elf into a hug. "I really should just cancel the damn engagement. Ignore what my damn council thinks about it..." he mumbled into Scott's hair. It was so nice and soft and slightly curly and always smelled so nice. He really wished he could keep the elf like this forever. And it wasn't the dragon part of his brain talking.

Scott giggled at it. It was rare either of them could just relax and not care about manners and decorum. "Tell me about it?" Scott asked, freeing himself from the hug and pulled fWhip to the mess of blankets on one of the couches. Where he was before fWhip knocked. "Or would you rather listen to me talk about the complicated history of our ancestors?" he added at the pained expression that crossed fWhip's face. "And let you bite me, I'm guessing Sausage did not feed you."

fWhip sighed, falling onto and relaxing into the couch. Thank you elves and your love for comfort. "I was there for four hours and he barely even looked at me... I really don't want to talk about it..."

"It's okay," Scott smiled, settling close next to fWhip. And worked his right sleeve open. Even his more casual evening relaxing clothes had many buttons and golden embroidery. "You do look good in dress clothes if it makes you feel better. Really handsome," he smiled and gently pulled the vampire into a short soft kiss. And offered him his wrists after pulling back. 

"You're the handsome one," fWhip protested and pressed a kiss to Scott's wrist. "And you're not even dressing up... And you don't need people to help you get dressed," he added before biting down. Scott's gasp followed by a quiet moan had him smirking around the bite. He always did his best to be gentle with Scott whenever the elf offered him his blood and Scott was nice and gentle to him in return. Offering a shoulder to lean on and listening to his complaints. He really wished he could be engaged to Scott instead...

"Are you sure it's enough?" Scott asked when fWhip pulled back and kissed the already slowly healing bite mark. 

"Yeas, I have blood at home, don't worry about it that much," fWhip chuckled and kissed the elf once more.

"I know you do but I also know my blood is better for you," the elf huffed. "Anyway, I found out why Rivendell is no longer part of the Wither Alliance."

fWhip hummed in response, leaning back and pulling Scott into his lap. He'd hold him like this until the elf fell asleep, carry him to his bed, stay with him a bit and then go back home. As unfortunate as it was they both had empires to run and could not have a lazy morning, not with how their relationship was.

"Yes, my grandfather insulted your great-grandfather by marrying him to my mother and not your grandfather. I have their angry letters," he chuckled, leaning into fWhip as if he was a pile of his comfiest pillows.

"Was the engagement completely called off?" fWhip asked a bit curious. Could it mean... no. 

"Well, I can't talk about Grimlands law by by our law... I'm technically engaged to you now," Scott giggled. "I wonder what your advisors would say about that since it was technically agreed first."

fWhip was a bit shocked and pretty sure his council would be more than happy to have him marry Scott instead. They always told him to be nice to Scott in case Rivendell ever wanted to rejoin the Alliance. And if they saw those letters and whatever Scott has on the engagement... They would be overjoyed. And Sausage would be happy to not have to stand next to fWhip on any official occasions. 

"I think they would be interested. They like you more than Sausage..." fWhip chuckled.

"Meaning I can go by tomorrow to ask them for your hand by the elven law?" Scott grinned.

"Sure, my council should not have issues with an impromptu meeting... I'm pretty sure they already figured out where I run off to escape having to hang out with Sausage," he shrugged and patted Scott's back when the elf yawned. "Should we move you to bed?" he offered and Scott nodded, clinging closer so fWhip carried him to the royal bedroom. 

By the time he reached his huge and filled about a third of the way with fluffy pillows and warm blankets, Scott was pretty much too asleep to change on his own so fWhip helped him and tucked him in. "Stay with me?" the elf asked, barely still awake, weakly pulling at fWhip's sleeve. "Just a little longer?" he added and fWhip sighed. There was no way he could say no to Scott's pretty eyes.

"I always stay a bit after you fall asleep," he smiled and sat at the edge of the bed. "Now get your sleep snowflake, tomorrow's gonna be busy," he added while gently petting Scott's hair. "I'll see you at my mansion," he hummed as Scott slowly drifted to sleep.

He stayed by Scott's side, watching his calm slumber with some envy before he decided it was time to face his council. Likely waiting for him. Already informed he ran away from Sausage's party. Very displeased even if it was Sausage that insulted him... he really hoped the prospect of a close alliance with Rivendell would get them excited.

[nerdularnerdence]

I've never been happy with how little info Wikipedia has on Charles Brandon.

Here are bits from Winter King, a book about Henry VII by Thomas Penn. I don't really recommend reading unless you are a severe Tudor nerd. It's pretty dry. I hope this will help anyone who daydreams / writes fics about Charlie (maybe @rmtndew ?)

(As this is a book about Henry VII, the "prince" mentioned below is baby Henry VIII.)

~~~

“Another familiar face in Essex’s household was Charles Brandon. Brandon had an impeccable pedigree as far as Henry VII was concerned. Back in 1484 his father William and his uncle Thomas had fled to join Henry in France after an abortive uprising against Richard III in their native east Anglia, and later that year they had spearheaded the special-forces style raid on Hams that had liberated the Earl of Oxford. Henry’s standard-bearer at Bosworth, William Brandon had become one of the regime’s first martyrs. Thomas had become one of the king’s intimates: royal counselor, Master of Horse, and trusted diplomat. His nephew Charles, meanwhile, had grown up in the royal household, working as a sewer, or waiter. A job in which you needed to have your whits about you, full cunning, and diligence, it involved descending into the ‘veritable hell’ of the royal kitchens to liaise with cooks, taste the innumerable dishes, and supervise their presentation. It was also a role that needed an awareness of the minutia of precedence, as well as courtesy, impeccable manners, charm, and good looks, attributes that Charles Brandon had in spades. In his spare time he had ready access to the royal stables through his uncle, and had evidently become an exceptional horseman. By the age of 17, when he jousted at Arthur and Katherine’s wedding, Brandon was already the consummate courtier. In 1505, around the time he became one of the king’s Spears, he landed the prestigious post of Essex’s Master of Horse. Seven years older than the prince, Brandon was frequently around him at court, in the tilt yard, and probably his own small household, where Brandon’s uncle was the prince’s treasurer.

Brandon, though, had inherited a distinctly unchivalrous approach to women. His father’s own behavior made contemporaries wince. One one occasion, William Brandon had raped an “old gentlewoman,” and “not there with eased,” moved on to her older daughter, and was only narrowly prevented from doing the same to the younger. Charles, it seemed, was a chip off the old block, though his behavior was altogether more calculating. Sometime around 1503, he confided to a friend and fellow servant that he was in love with one of Queen Elizabeth’s gentlewomen, Anne Brown, the daughter of Sir Antony Brown of Calais castle and the troublesome lady Lucy, to whose company he “much resorted.” His resorting was so enthusiastic that she was soon pregnant. In the ensuing scandal, Brandon was hauled in front of the Earl of Essex’s council, where he pledged to marry her. Shortly after, though, he broke off the engagement, instead marrying Anne’s aunt, Dame Margaret Mortimer, twenty years older than him, a shock which apparently induced Anne to miscarry their child.

Charles, however, only wanted to get his hands on Dame Margaret’s assets., Selling off his wife’s portfolio of property, he pocketed the proceeds to fund his extravagant life at court: clothes, horses, and, undoubtedly, the organization for the spring 1507 jousts, into which the participants plowed their own funds.”

“…Henry Guildford was a fully paid up member of the jousting set. Both Compton and Guildford, in their different ways, were vital conduits to the world from which the prince was by in large insulated, bringing the news and gossip he craved. The talk of the town, more often than not, was Charles Brandon. Brandon’s behavior had gone from bad to worse, having jettisoned the pregnant Anne Brown to marry her aunt Dame Margaret Mortimer, Brandon, flush with the proceeds of the sale of Dame Margaret’s lands, had annulled his marriage on ground of consanguinity, and transferred his attentions back to the more fragrant Anne. As the inevitable court case ensued, late in 1507 he rode into Essex, where Anne was living in traumatized seclusion, and whisked her away. The witnesses to their shotgun marriage in Stepney Church early the following year included Brandon’s partners in crime Sir Edward Guildford, and the Earl of Surrey’s belligerent second son, Sir Edward Howard. With his limited freedom, the prince probably viewed the dashing Brandon’s liaisons with something like a scandalized, envious admiration, but there was, and always would be a strong romantic idealism in him. Brandon’s grubby, exploitative behavior may well have acquired a chivalric luster in the retelling, an adventure story in which he swooped to carry off his damsel in distress, heedless of the consequences. This, after all, was the way the prince’s own parents’ love story had been portrayed in verse, with the dashing Henry Tudor “banished fullbear” in Brittany behind the scenes coming to rescue his golden-haired bride from her lecherous uncle Richard III…”

~~~

My goddamn two cents:

These pieces of writing pretty much call out Charlie for being a total creep, and I think I love it. He was too hot and charming to give a fuck, and it sounds like he sure didn't. It's interesting that Henry VIII was so obsessed with the idea of being Chivalrous and Kind and Good, but was BFF's with someone who clearly didn't value those things. Well, not when it counted, anyway.

[atpaftmoom-bily]

Thoughts about Erik, why Wilhelm wasn't allowed to come out, and more.

Be warned, this is long, confusing, and I'm not even sure if I made any valid points. But I had thoughts on Young Royals, with no one to talk to, so here you go.

I've seen various different takes on Erik and what people thought his reaction would have been if Willie had come out to him, most of them being positive, and some as well saying how sad it was that Willie never got to come out to his brother. I have a different take, but bear with me it's gonna take a second to get there.

Something that I found interesting in the first place was that when August found out it was Simon and not a girl, he just seemed shocked, but not in a homophobic way that I had kind of been expecting.

Additionally, let's take a look at the comments on the video, I've split them up into three different groups. General comments (disbelief, surprise, pity, etc.), comments sexualizing them, and negative comments. (I've translated these as well as I could as they were not all captioned, but if I've made a mistake feel free to let me know!)

General Comments "OMG Have you seen this?? The Prince is gay!!!!" "Who's the other guy?" "I'm dead" "Finally some news to put Sweden on the map!" "Poor boys, I feel sorry for them" "So clumsy to get caught on film" "I know where he lives!" "I think the video is fake" "Love for the boys"

Sexualizing Comments "Royal porn" "Sexy" "Love" "Sexiest video ever"

Negative Comments "How will the monarchy survive this?" "The end of the royal family, time for Sweden to become a republic!" "Never been ashamed about being Swedish until now" "Class traitor! Your mother cries for your sins"

Now, there are quite a few things I want to point out about Sweden that I feel should be taken into account here. Of course, we don't know the exact dates that the show took place, but we do know it is modern-day, and though it is a work of fiction, I am going to assume that anything that is currently true in Sweden at the moment, give or take a few years, would also be true in the Young Royals universe.

The first point I would like to make is that Sweden is one of the most LGBT-friendly countries, even being named the most friendly country in 2019. Looking back in history, 1944 was when Sweden decriminalized sexual relationships between consenting adults of the same sex, though it was still thought to be an illness. However, in 1979 it was no longer considered an illness. Fun unrelated fact, but Sweden was the first country to legalize gender change in 1979. (If you'd like to read more on LGBT rights in Sweden here are some resources. One. Two.) If Sweden is that progressive and is that LGBT-friendly, then I wondered what the problem was with Willie coming out, so I dug some more.

I'm American, so my understanding of many parts of the world is unfortunately skewed or incomplete, but I'm working on changing that. However, because of this, one thing that surprised me in my research was that the monarchy in Sweden is more of a unifying symbol than anything else. They have no political affinity or formal powers, but rather "the King’s duties are mainly of a ceremonial and representative nature." Of course in the case of Young Royals, the Queen inherited the throne, and Wilhelm would after her.

Something else I found interesting about the monarchy in Sweden is that the current Queen, Queen Silvia, did not come from a line of nobility, so when Queen Silvia and King Carl Gustaf married in 1976, it was highly unusual. (See more on the Swedish monarchy here.)

There is one last thing I want to point out about the current King and Queen. "In summer 2000, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden made history when they ate under the rainbow flag at Djurgårdsterrassen, a Stockholm restaurant owned by gay owner Arto Winter. At that time, the decision was seen as controversial, and played a valuable role in moving conversations forward – while making the royals’ position abundantly clear." (Source)

Now, of course, I understand the difference between a fictional work and real-life situations, but at least in my opinion, these same ideals should carry through to the show that we see. If the King and Queen in real life have been openly supportive of the LGBT community since at least 2000, then although specifics might not be the same, some of those ideals should carry through to Young Royals, so what is the problem, right?

I'm not trying to erase the reality of homophobia altogether, because of course, that exists. We even see in the show through comments that there are some people who are worried about the state of the monarchy, are disgusted, or downright still think that not being straight is a sin, but we also see other comments as well. If Wilhelm were to come out, what would happen? Would there be some backlash? 100%. Would there be people who would support him? Also 100%. Would it make his life harder? Probably, but would he be happier? In my opinion, yes, but I guess that's a question that Wilhelm would have to gauge on his own.

Now I want to look deeper at the conversation that Wille has with his mother, the Queen, in the car on the way home so he can give a statement to the media. Below is an excerpt from their dialogue.

---

Wilhelm: Why can't I just have a relationship with him? And not say anything. Just live a normal life.

Queen: You're the crown prince. And that's a privilege, not a punishment.

Wilhelm: Yes, but I didn't ask for this!

Queen: Well, nobody has ever, ever asked for this! You are the only one who can take over the throne after Erik. Don't you understand that? You are so young. When you're young, love feels like the most important thing in the whole world. When I was your age, I too had an unfortunate romance. That was before I met your father. What I mean is, is it worth it? If you feel that the attention you've been getting so far is unacceptable, it's nothing compared to what you will endure for the rest of your life. We have a chance to cover this up, I urge you to take that chance. You may not get another."

---

Something I find interesting is how much Willie just wants to live a normal life, which I get. He is under so much pressure, from being a role model, his brother's death that he hasn't even had time to process, preparing to be king someday, and (kind of) being outed to the entire world, but at least his school. It's enough to make anyone want to live normally. I think the biggest thing we have to think about here is the Queen's question as well. Is it worth it? She is right of course, the attention he will get will always be there, but I do think that Willie would be able to find a way to be happy along with being King. It shouldn't have to be a case of either-or, and ultimately I don't think it is.

Now I'm going to move back to Erik, and really, this ties everything back to the start where I mentioned I had a different take on Erik's reaction to Willie being not straight. I think that Erik already knew. It would make sense for a variety of reasons. In the show, it is obvious that the two of them have a good relationship. We also hear Erik tell Willie, "you can trust him, he's like a brother," in episode one when speaking about August, showing that trust is something strong between them as brothers. I'm not exactly sure how old Wilhelm is meant to be in the show, but I estimate somewhere around sixteen. I would like to assume that sometime before attending Hillerska, he may have had a crush or felt some attraction to a guy. We also can see from their phone call in episode three, that they're not afraid to joke around with each other about such things, meaning that Erik would most likely be the first person that Willie would go to about such things.

Another thing that makes me believe Erik already knew has to do with people assuming that Simon is the first guy that Willie has liked. Now, I know things are not the same for everyone, but if we consider what happens when the video is posted, and Willie had to deny it is him, we can conclude that being anything other than straight in their family is not okay, simply because they are royals, and the media attention will be too much. Imagine you've known your whole life, you can't be something, the first instance you encounter that, you're probably not going to give in right away. I'm talking at least some minor internalized homophobia here or something.

So put that into the context of Simon and Willie's first kiss in episode two. Simon kisses Willie twice before Willie says "Well, I'm not... I'm not... Stop! Wait, wait, wait!" and immediately pulls Simon back towards him. Let's reflect back to episode one where Willie says "I’m not… I’m not allowed to speak about political issues." I'm not allowed. Of course, there are TONS of restrictions on what he can and can not do, kissing guys, probably being one of them. But if he was going to say I'm not gay or I'm not like that, why would he instantly pull him back in, contrasting what he was just going to say. In episode three, Willie does say, "I'm not like that," which makes sense. He's had time to think and isn't in the heat of the moment. What other explanation can he give? Sure, he could say he's not allowed to be like that but saying that would admit that he is. It's a circle, a very messy circle, but it is a... loop.

Going back to what I'm supposed to be talking about here, Erik. This isn't Willie's first rodeo, but Erik was there for the first. One last thing I want to talk about is the phone call that Erik and Willie have in episode three. Below is an excerpt from their dialogue.

---

Erik: You've met someone.

Wilhelm: I, uh... Yes, okay, but I... I don't think we're a couple or anything. I don't know what it is but can we just...

Erik: I get it. I get it. You don't have to tell me any... I don't wanna hear any details. Hey. Willie, enjoy yourself. Soon enough people will start having opinions and-

Wilhelm: They don't care about me. 'Cause you're the Crown Prince that they have opinions.

Erik: I don't get it. Why are you sitting in your room sulking when you have a crush to hang out with?

---

Firstly, Erik refers to Willie's crush as completely gender-neutral. "You've met someone" could very easily be "you've met a girl". The same goes for "you have a crush to hang out with". Very well could have been "you have a girl to hang out with". Sure, it could be completely coincidental, but we live in such a heteronormative society that it would just make sense for Erik to use female-gendered words. Unless, of course, he knew.

Secondly, "Hey. Willie, enjoy yourself. Soon enough people will start having opinions". This sounds very much to me like, enjoy your time while you can be yourself without backlash because soon you won't have that privacy. While I feel that, yes, the same may happen with anyone Willie was to date, him having a same-sex partner multiplies that, by a lot.

In conclusion, Erik knew Willie was not straight, Willie should come out, but when he is ready, and August is a really deep character that people don't give enough credit to. Gosh, I hope I covered everything, I probably forgot so much, but it's fine. Please let me know your thoughts if you've made it this far into the post.

One last thing. I hope you'll notice how in this post, I never referred specifically to Wilhelm's sexuality, and I did that for a reason. I often see gay used to label him, and though I am unsure if that's being used as an umbrella term or specifically as in he only likes men, I think it's really important to realize that they're specifically making him unlabeled. In this youtube video Edvin Ryding, the actor who plays Wilhelm, says "What we're trying to do... We're not labeling Wilhelm's sexuality. I think that's good because it's like, it portrays that it's okay that way too. You don't have to. You shouldn't have to come out. It should be allowed to be a bit fluid, a bit out there." I just think that it is important as it's another type of representation that is not seen often.