#i love garnet so much i wish i could wear her wedding dress

[antlerx-art]

July 2020

March 2023

My improvement after almost three years!

I was really proud of the first illustration in 2020 and I don’t want to mock the way I used to draw. I don’t think there’s a time when we stop learning and I’m looking forward to getting even better

[katsukikitten]

Just some general warnings and disclaimers, this is an aged up Victorian era AU that I did a sort of collab with @bakugotrashpanda, so please check out BTP’s work as well. We had so much fun discussing this idea and breathing life into it, we would love to hear how these stories made you feel. Please also note that the woman in the banner is NOT the set skin tone for reader so please feel free to have that match your own skin tone! Also this is one of my bigger works coming in at a little over 14,000 words! (maybe a part two idk) but enjoy~

The room ebbs in the low light of flickering candles, people gather in clusters like lost geese as they honk their gossip at one another causing you to sigh. It would be another long night of mental games as your cold eyes fail to warm from the eccentric sights. Silk dresses, long gloves, shimmering gems, and endless drink and food. 

Yet you hated how little power you had over your choice of being here or not. 

Countless eyes rake over your long dress, always choosing a color so deep in hue it is often mistaken for black. They often murmur curiosities as they ponder over what exactly you are mourning.

Little do they know it is your freedom. 

Tonight you are in blood red with matching gloves to your elbows, diamonds, garnets and rubies drip from your throat and ears. A sight to be seen in your bold dark colors that are often frowned upon during the bright season of spring and summer. 

A bold male approaches and yet the closer he gets to your stunning form the more meek he becomes. He nods his head and reaches for your hand, pressing his lips to your gloved knuckles. 

"May I have your first dance?" He peers up at you as you stare down with an icy glare. Removing your hand with deadly precision from a man you know of but could not care less about. 

"You may not." You say simply and all he can do is stew in his rejection, affirming your wishes with a small nod. Another male in a smooth storm grey suit approaches. His large hand grasping onto your fingers, bringing your knuckles to his lips. 

"You look exquisite my dear. Would you honor me with your first dance?" 

"I shall not." Another subtle yet swift removal of your hand from his, wishing you had worn two pairs of gloves for this sniveling little asshole. Not everyone knew his secret love for abusing women but you did. He would never get the pleasure of dancing with you and in the two years since your introduction into the market you've made sure he had no one to wed. Using the power and respect people had towards your Father's name, towards you for guidance, ultimately steering them away from this pathetic sack of bones. 

And with your power you were dubbed the icy hot debutante of Alryne, fierce as a flame so hot, it felt cold. 

You wear a neutral face, but you do not smile, making yourself a touch unapproachable. This already weeds out the weak men who want nothing more than to suck the blood and money from your father's estate. 

But it wasn't as if the neutral face was easy to achieve, oftentimes you had to fight a scowl. For two years you've hated every second of every ball, party, or soiree since the Queen smiled in your favor during your first debut. She often praised, as did your mother, your cold precision, quick wit, and intelligent political decisions that were so well disguised that men just thought you modest. 

When in actuality you were playing the game, and since you were being forced to play by your father then by Hell's flames you would win it all. 

The first half of the ball drags in stupor of tedious repetition as you idly chat with women of various titles to gather any information you could without revealing your own hand. 

Besides all of the pestering gnats, everyone knows that your first dance is always reserved for important males, to never approach until after the two of your six stamps have already been taken. Even then there was a high chance of rejection, as there were no men of value to be seen. 

At least not yet. For as long as you could remember the higher ranked males arrived a touch late, "fashionably late" they claim. Abhorrently annoying is what you call it.  

Fashionably late men such as Lord Bakugou, son to the Duke of Summer or his distant cousin Lord Kirishima, son to the Duke of Spring. 

Bakugou arrives first, his grin wolfish as he scans the crowd, women flock to his arrogance in troves, although he ignores them. He has one woman in his sights yet it is not the woman he stands before. You give a small courtesy as you speak. 

"My Lord." Offering your hand gently. 

"My Starlight." He presses his lips to your silky glove for a long moment unable to keep his cocky smirk off of his face, "May I take your first dance?" 

Fighting to keep the delighted smile off of your face you offer a flutter of your lashes. He kisses your knuckles once more as if you needed convincing but the two of you know what you are doing. 

"You may." And with that his wolfish grin returns as he sweeps you onto the dance floor, showcasing your abilities as he shows off his own. Not to mention the dance floor is a great place to talk in private. His hand lingers just above your lower back, firm in his grip as his other hand holds yours almost delicately. 

"We match tonight, my Starlight. A brilliant touch." He guides you along the floor with ease, his eyes gesturing towards his vest and tie. 

"I only took an educated guess as to what you would wear, my Lord." 

"Do not sell yourself short. I know how sharp that mind is." Another wolfish grin, his eyes never leaving yours while feeling the court gaze upon the two of you. You give him a knowing smile before asking. 

"Any luck with her majesty, the prized diamond?" You ask, eyes blazing with curiosity. He smirks again, only his eyes revealing his true scoff as he twirls you in your jeweled slippers. 

"I did as you instructed and went with my father to that dreaded stay at the countryside Manor, how did you know her Majesty and Princess Amila would be close by." 

"I took an educated guess." A blatant lie that has him grinning from ear to ear. He leans closer, pulling the attention of the ladies especially as his ember eyes burn into you. 

"Far more than an educated guess." He spins you again and you fight the tightness in your gut. Enjoying the dance as he parades you around the room as if to say look at what I have that you could never. 

Even if the two of you agreed you would never be his. The two of you having struck up an arrangement of sorts on your first dance. He was forced by his Grace to ask at least one woman to dance and he had only chosen you with hopes that you would say no. 

But you loved the honest, irritated look that lingered in his eyes and on his lips. So of course you said yes as misery loves company. It was then he told you not to fall for him as he had his eyes set on the Crown, you laughed loudly and said "As if I would ever fall for an arrogant pig such as yourself, my Lord." His smile was wild as he enjoyed your insult, it was then you told him you would help him with the Crown, only if he made you his first and last dance of the evening at every event. 

Back then he had hesitantly agreed, now he can see how far your scheming mind went. Saw the numerous callers and suitors who loitered in your parlor, the extravagant flowers that they sent in excess. The rings they bestowed to you as they dropped to one knee, bold enough to peacock the large diamonds in front of other callers. 

And all after Bakugou had done as you asked for only three parties. He got a front row seat to rejection every single time, which in turn started the talk, the gossip, that this city loved.  You were desired because of how you painted yourself and in turn made Lord Bakugou desired as well. Talked about, all because he was the only male who had your approval. 

He loved your scheming mind so much he could kiss you, but alas you did not wear a crown. Although you often had a braid of jewels atop your head, sadly you were not kin to royalty, only a Baron's daughter after all. 

Bakugou wonders what you could have done as a queen. He would think you an empress.

"Is that all the detail I get? Just a confirmation that I was correct about their holiday?" He spins the two of you in step, hand guiding you although you did not need it. Having memorized every step to every dance there was since before your debut. 

"She saw me." 

"And?!" You can hardly keep up the façade of calm collection as you wait. 

"And she flushed. Her cheeks were as red as any rose, Starlight, she was a rare red diamond sparkling by the lake. She must already be in love with me."  You snort, unable to stop the smile on your lips. 

"I've never heard you so poetic before. Normally you leave that to Lord Kirishima. How many times did you run into her? Not more than three I hope."

"Oi, I am a well versed student and I listened to my teacher. I made her wait for the fourth and denied it. Left her in wonder and hope as you said." He rolls his eyes, fingers sliding up to your dress line touching your bare skin with his beneath your guise of hair. The sensation of his warm fingers against your cool skin does not go unnoticed. 

"Are you practicing for your dance with the 'rare red diamond' now?" You taunt, earning that chest tightening wolf grin. 

"I'm only doing as my teacher has instructed." 

"Well the Princess will fall for you the moment you kiss her hand." 

"One can only hope. Her official debut is less than a month away. I want it to be perfect." His eyes shimmer with plotting mischief as does yours. 

"So it shall." 

The music flows and ebbs to the end of the song as Bakugou deposits you right back where he got you. Bringing your hand to his lips, kissing your knuckles as he holds your gaze once more. 

"My Starlight." When he straightens you curtsy.

"My Grace." With that he leaves, heading towards the table of sweets and beverages, you were sure he would be ordering bourbon. Your mother clears her throat from her chair, the out of season silk blanket over her thick skirts pulls at your heart. She sits on that plush chair as if it were her throne. 

"You dance with Lord Bakugou often." An observation. 

"Indeed." A dry retort. 

"I am sure Lord Kirishima will be your next dance, correct?" 

"One can only hope." 

"So you have an eye for a Duke's son?" 

"I am happy to dance with those deserving, Mother." Your mother keeps her eyes on the turning bodies on the hardwood floor, Kirishima makes his way through the crowd once he spies you. Your mother turns to face you as she says 

"Is the Duke of Winter's son deserving?" 

"Hmm, he has three sons, mother." You keep your eyes away from her until she finally looks back into the crowd. 

"Ah yes but only one is ever at these events." You follow your mother's gaze and they fall upon the Lord, he is the third son, he opted to chase after the world of medicine rather than women. Earning his doctorate much faster than his peers, he only just returned to conduct his practice in Alryne. 

Pity he returned at all. 

He catches your eye and you make a point to turn your cheek, unable to stomach his heterochromatic, condensing gaze. Your turned cheek was as close to fuck you as you could ever say to the high and mighty Lord. Still the words burned on your tongue as if you swallowed acid. 

"It is not as if he ever dances mother. Therefore, how can I give him my attention? As you taught me a woman must wait to be asked as it is every woman's dream to be wed to a handsome, skilled dancer." Out of the corner of your eye you can feel her displeased look before she straightens. 

"At least do not string along Lord Kirishima, that boy is not as zealous as his cousin." She says just as the large man slips through the last throng of the crowd. 

"My shining gem." He smiles with sharp teeth before he places a chaste kiss atop your hand. 

"My Lord." A curtsy before he asks. 

"May I have this dance?" His smile is plastered on his face as he knows your answer. 

"You may." Kirishima sweeps you across the floor in a different manner than Bakugou. Lord Kirishima is more flirtatious in the way that he guides you. Always choosing more of the upbeat dances as opposed to his cousin's serious selection. You do not hesitate to go in for the kill. 

"So when do you plan to ask Lady Mina for her hand?" He blushes at your words. Biting the inside of his lip subtly, a habit you could only notice from being up close. 

"Have you even attempted to court her? What fear plagues you, Lord?" Confusion dots your features as a sad smile paints his soft lips. 

"I am not sure she would- That we would be an ideal fit." Kirishima admits, turning you gracefully, pulling you close to his body. Scandalous some would say had the two of you been an inch closer. 

"Well my Lord, I believe, had you actually talked to her while the two of you danced, as I suggested, then you would come to find out that she is lovely. Pure hearted as she is honest in this game seeking love. Most women here are making attempts to move up in position, my Lord. As a Duke's first son the title of Grace is yours to master. She is a delight and air is not the only thing between her ears as some of these…"You survey the room as everyone watches with greedy eyes, "Vultures." 

He laughs never used to your own unwavering honesty. He knows you are not participating by your own free will, he knows because you are helping himself and his cousin when he was sure you could have had anyone in this room.

If the Majesty's nephew, Prince of the Yarrow were to attend even one ball this season, Kirishima was sure you would have his attention too.  

He twirls your body away from his and brings you back to the safety of his sturdy form. Your eyes are molten determination as you all but hiss 

"Ask her to dance next. You know the host prefers the set to be serious, flirtatious, and then a slow dance. It will be the perfect time to talk." 

Lord Kirishima sighs, squeezing your hand as he guides the two of you closer to your mother so he can leave you in her company. 

"You could turn any dull man into something more. Whoever wins your hand is getting a precious gem indeed." He kisses your hand as the music begins to change into something slower as you had predicted. 

"One shall only hope." You curtsy as he takes his flushed neck towards a certain Countess. Your mother gives you a knowing look and you offer her a cat smirk. She shakes her head but even she cannot hide her own satisfied smile.

A blonde male approaches, as he does every third ball after he ensures your first two dances have been taken. The flamboyant male has not once asked for a dance first, trying to be just as calculating as you. Although he is much more obvious. 

You suppose it was not half bad for a male. 

"My lady." He bends lower than he should for his station in life, but he is obviously copying the cousins before him having seen how it makes you smile. 

Lavender eyes shine up at you as the Viscount brings his lips to your gloved hand. You debate if you should say yes tonight. Having left him in the dark as your desire to dance with him solely depended on your mood. 

"May I show the room the grace in which steals the breath from my lungs?" Your eyes smirk as your lips form a small smile. It seems flattery would earn him a dance tonight. 

"You may." 

The Viscount smiles with delight as he gently takes you to the dance floor, holding you to him as he takes you across the hardwood. The candle lights play along your features as Monoma's face grows soft. Had he been anyone else his gaze might have brought a flush about you. The two of you shared a few dances before, he has sat in your parlor in the time he has attempted to court you and the flowers he sends are always the most expensive. 

He has even brought you chocolate from a month's long trip. Even you had to admit that was thoughtful, not too many people knew of your Achilles heel. A small part of you thought that if no one else would do, at least this man would bring you luxurious chocolates. 

"No trips this season?" You smile politely, he blinks as he seems to come to. 

"Only if I can take you with me." He smiles, a hint. You pretend yourself modest and look away to fight the roll of your eyes. 

Maybe chocolate would not be enough to sate you. 

His eyes flicker to your mother as a question forms on his lips. 

"Neither your brothers nor the Baron attended tonight?" 

"Ah unfortunately no. My mother is my chaperone tonight." You say tilting your head, he turns so you can face her, stepping slowly as the song lulls on. 

"I am elated she is well enough to attend." He smiles, you cannot tell if it reaches his eyes so instead you offer 

"As am I." 

The rest of the night is filled with rejection tumbling from your rouged lips as champagne flutes seem to find their way into your hand. 

"Not too much of that dear or you will not be able to enjoy the company of your suitors." 

"Truly a pity." You say taking another from a passing waiter. Eyes trained on Lord Iida and the lovely dancer in his hands, a blue dress sweeping across the floor and a white carnation nestled in her hair. 

A beautiful touch and it pays homage to their first dance before they were even wed. 

The love that embraced the couple could turn anyone in the room green with envy. 

You down your flute as you reach for another. 

Night brightens into morning much too soon as curtains are ripped open in your room. 

"My lady callers will be here soon." Rose, your handmaiden says softly, "I have a bath waiting for you."

You groan in response having not had enough sleep after pouring over your drafts for your book until your candle snuffed itself out. 

"Turn them all away Rose." You growl turning away from the irritating light, could it not have rained this morning to delay the suitors as it always did in this forsaken town?

"She will do no such thing." Your mother says as she walks into your room with her cane, her hand gripping onto the golden beak of a bird. 

"Mother, why not marry off Hendrix or  Hideki?" 

"Hendrix must apprentice under your Father for a period of time while Hideki can do as he pleases for now. He is only 20, besides he makes an excellent chaperone does he not? He isn't too nosy nor does he neglect his duties to intimidate pushy men." She pushes some of your hair back as she sighs, "Although I doubt you need help in that manor." 

"I deserve a strong bloodline, so I will do what I must to ensure that. Even if my face has to be scary at times." You and your mother share a laugh before she adds. 

"Your face is far from scary my dear." She touches your cheek softly rising from the bed to allow you to get ready, "The suitors shall arrive within the hour. Make haste." 

"Yes mother." You half groan rising to wash. Enjoying the warm water that Rose has so kindly added aromatic flora and citrus to. Once you enter your bedroom Rose has a dress picked out for you, waiting for your final approval. You nod allowing Rose to assist you with your corset and strings of your dress before you pick out jewelry to match your silver finery. You choose a silver bracelet with little diamonds as stars that Lord Bakugou had given you for your birthday this past year, smiling down at the small thing before assessing yourself in the mirror. 

"What do you think Rose, should I add some rouge to my lips?" She gives you a smile of delight. 

"And your cheeks too, my Lady." 

Breakfast is served in the parlor as it consists mostly of fruits and finger pastries that will be served to the other guests. Hideki comes down in a fine and deep sapphire suit. 

“Sister.” He gives a smirk to which you nod.

“Brother.”

“And what trouble will you get into today?” He stage whispers, causing you to cut him a glare as your father comes around to loom in the arch way of the parlor. 

“Remember, you need to pick a husband this season or I will pick for you. It is disgraceful to have gone through two seasons at your age.”

“I am only twenty four, dearest Father..”

“That just proves my point. You have a month before I extend an offer to the Duke's-.” He takes in a sharp breath to chide you further only for his Grace to swoop in and save the day.

“Baron.” Bakugou says, his eyes challenging as your father bows his head. As Bakugou makes his way towards the delicate foods. Father cuts you a knowing glare. As if to say I know your games child.

You offer a sweet smile as you make your way towards your small writing desk, fighting off the urge to groan outwardly. You just wanted to work on your manuscript or read for that matter. Instead you would have to entertain men who cared not what you thought only what your pretty mouth would not say. They would swarm you, demanding attention as you waved them off gently, half you had never even spoken too.  Bakugou gives you a wicked smile from beside you as if he could read your thoughts. At least he always sat closest to you, saving you in a way although you never instructed him to sit close. 

He just always had. 

"Do you not want to play the piano today, my shining Gem?" Kirishima asks from the door. 

"Ah I am not sure I am in the mood for it, my Lord." 

"Easier to avoid people as the bench is only meant for one." Bakugou gives a devilish smirk, Kirishima almost pouts, his sullen expression does not go unnoticed by his cousin. 

"It has been an eon since you last played for us." Bakugou adds. 

"Am I to be your song bird today?" You cut a glare at him. 

"Yes, Starlight I believe you are." It seems it had no effect. Sighing you stand, collecting your skirts as your wrist twinkles in the morning sun. Garnet eyes bore into the delicate wristlet. Your fingers pluck a key here or there until you begin to play. Losing yourself in the music as you sing ballads from ages ago, melding them into songs you've written until it all sounds like a cohesive piece. Each old song is lost in transition to the new one, time ticks on but you do not notice the string of men who come and go from your parlor. Resting your voice for the time being as your fingers fly across the keys to something you composed while thinking of your father and his ever pushing hand towards a Duke's son you had great distaste for. The notes are sharp, almost jarring at times yet still the piece is stunning.  In that time you had not noticed the lavender eyed man who sat closest to you, right in front of the piano in the corner of the couch. The finger cramping song ends on a somber, harsh note. 

"What a beautifully charged song." Monoma says breathlessly. 

“Well I was thinking of my enemies when I composed it.” You smile at the sunshine blonde with a devilish grin, he feels unsettled by it but says nothing nonetheless. His lavender eyes glance over to the wolves at the back of your den. Hideki gives him a small nod, Kirishima a soft smile but Bakugou gives him a glare that feels like Monoma is gripping needles. 

He swallows thickly, adjusting himself on the plushed silk of the couch before your small piano. 

“Ah before I forget.” He smiles pulling out a box setting it atop the polished wood. Gifts were a natural part of courtship or so your mother said. You offer a smile, grabbing for the box with poised eagerness and yet not overly so. 

Not that you were excited but you had to pretend to be. You unbox the obvious jewelry and fight back the distaste as you stare down at a gaudy, overly large necklace. The colors are a soft green and yellow, colors you avoid for many reasons. 

“Thank you.” You think to add a chord or two to your unnamed song in honor of Monoma. Bakugou laughs loudly from the back of the room, feeling how much you hate the gift, you look over your shoulder to send him a glare that he can only smile at. 

After hours of trepid and boring conversation Monoma takes his leave. 

“Another evening my Lady.” He smiles softly and you return it half heartedly.

“Another evening.” Lavender looks over your shoulder before Monoma clears his throat

“Your Grace and your Grace.” He bows his head, the ash blonde and redhead nod in unison. 

"Shall we go and drink my high friends?" Hideki asks, hoping for an excuse to leave the stuff house. He was more than over bearing witness to  gag worthy stares and compliments some of these men gave you. 

"An excellent idea!" Kirishima exclaims, standing before stopping by you. He takes your gloveless hand with a sharp, flirtatious smile. 

"My shining gem." He presses his lips to your skin and you return his smile. 

"My Lord." He nods and takes his leave, Hideki at his heels as Bakugou approaches. He does an exaggerated sigh unable to hide his smirk. 

"Little songbird how will I ever get through the night without my Starlight?" He holds your hand, lowering his upper half as did his cousin before him. 

"I suppose you will fumble in the dark."

"If only I had the pleasure." He purrs as he presses his lips to your bare skin. Suddenly his fingers are too warm as he holds your gaze, he looks as if he could devour you. 

Lest he forget he is staring down a panther himself. 

"Have fun fumbling in the dark by yourself, my Lord." You remove your hand and look out of the corner of your eye at him. He backs towards the door of the room. 

"I should hope to have thoughts of Starlight." He calls before he disappears into the hall. You tap a key as your mind wanders before you rise, famished and ready for dinner before you would take a long night of writing. 

A month passes by faster than you'd like and you find yourself outside of the ballroom in the grand hall of the castle. Soft music filters in through the doors as your Father insisted the family be a bit late this evening. 

For he wanted to make a statement and one at your expense. 

"If Duke Enji's son asks you for a dance you will oblige." Your father hisses, his large hand curling around your bicep. You bare your teeth, stepping out of his grip as you collect yourself. 

"He has three." Acid drips from your tongue as sure as morning dew. 

"The doctor. Not the failure first born and not the inadequate second. The third. Shoto. Think of your ailing mother...would you abandon her for such vile, pointless ambitions?"

"I think you will not weaponize her. So do as I please and decline." You hold his burning glare as you add, "If the Duke's family is as bad off as you make it seem." 

"Oh I think you shall accept his dance. Or so help me God I will burn every book your ill, grief stricken mother ever shoved into your scrubby little hands." He leans closer, a nasty smile forming as his lips, "And if that is not enough I will throw your manuscript into the fire for fodder." 

Your eyes blaze with a rage that ignites beneath your skin, burning your blood as your eyes make unspoken promises. When I am through with you 

You part your lips to retort but your eye catches Hendrix and Hideki, their eyes filled with pity before your mother slowly approaches. 

Father chose his battleground well, knowing you would be unable to react as you pleased and with Bakugou already at the party there was no other male to save you. You bite your tongue until you taste blood. 

"Is everything alright?" Mother asks tentatively, fussing with your hair, "Darling you must mind your face, my love." 

You swat her away, breathing through your nose as if you were a dragon. Heat still dancing in your veins as you allow your feet to move on their own. 

"Announce me. Only me. And do not announce another soul until I am beyond the last step." You hiss to the harbinger whose eyes grow wide before he nods. His voice booms over the murmurers of the crowd and once eyes begin to land on you they are silenced. 

Your eyes are set hard and as cold as stone as you look over the crowd, slowly descending the steps in your deep ombre gown. Starless night black from the bodice before it lightens gradually into a charcoal grey, glittering crystals sewn into the material shine in the candle light like miniature stars. Your gloves followed the same gradual pattern except it seemed as if each finger was dipped in glittering silver and atop your wrist was your favorite piece, diamonds winking in the low light set into silver pointed stars. Woven in your hair were diamonds and pale citrine alike forming a crown in its own nature. 

Had Her Royal Highness not have already been announced and seated it would be easy to mistake you for the Crown. Considering how you commanded attention and held yourself, eyes looking at no one but seeing all. 

The envy, the awe, the lust. 

A pivotal moment was coming, the last three stairs is where a woman would normally hold out their hand, expecting their favorite suitor to take action but you did not hold out your hand. Keeping one firmly on the dark wood of the banister while the other was eloquently posed beside you. Even if you had held out your hand the men in the room were too stunned to step up to help you. This allowed a soft, devilish smile to form on your painted lips as they performed exactly as you had planned. Finally your gem encrusted slipper touched the hardwood, parting the crowd before the spell was broken by the announcement of the rest of your family. The room let out a collective breath and instantly erupted in hot gossip. All of it falling on deaf ears as you grabbed onto a flute of trusted champaign. 

From across the room you felt burning garnet eyes on you, you met them briefly before sipping at your bubbly beverage. He begins to cross the sea of bodies when a large man steps into your view. 

His eyes are cold as they bore into you, a shining sapphire paired with a smokey quartz. Distaste curdles your stomach as you fight to keep your face neutral and your eyes trained on him. Fans block painted lips as they spread more gossip about the man before you. 

"Is she ensnaring another Duke's son?" 

"She is becoming too haughty for a Baron's daughter." 

"Do you think she insulted the Crown with her entrance?" 

"Would you allow me your first dance?" His deep voice cuts through the vultures' cries pulling you back to him. He has your glittering left hand in his. Brining the dazzling glove to his lips in greeting, there is no joy in his gemstone gaze. 

The hot rage bears its teeth again as it surges through your blood like liquid fire, burning so hot it felt cold as it licked at your bones. Your lip barely twitches, No poised on your tongue as your father's grating voice echoes in your head. 

"Think of your ailing mother...would you abandon her for such vile, pointless ambitions?" 

And so your mouth finally forms the words. 

"You may."  He looks surprised, surrounding faces mirror his own before he fully takes your hand. Guiding you to the floor during one of your favorite songs that you always sat out as no dance partner ever dared the secret, advanced steps. You were steeling yourself for disappointment 

Shoto's grip on your body is tight but not uncomfortable as he sweeps you across the dance floor, twirling you, guiding you as he holds your gaze. His stare is heavy and intense in a different manner from Bakugou's with a hint of something that could be mistaken as flirtatious. But you saw it for what it was, discontent. 

As the song pushed on the discontent seemed to change into something new entirely as he showcased your skill while hiding his own. Allowing you to twirl away from him in several rotations that would make even the most skillful dancer fearful of misstep and yet you breathed in the music as if it were precious air. Neither of you notice how the other dancers give you room, allowing for more twirls and advanced steps as the two of you are becoming lost to the music. His fingers brush your bare skin as he pulls you back to him for  guided, sharp steps as the music heightens. His skin brushes yours again, electricity thrums beneath the pads of his fingers before he sends you into another dizzying rotation but to you it was nothing. Briefly you wonder if this were a test until you see the soft smile on his lips when you return to his arms safely for the final set of guided steps before the music were to abruptly end, just as the dance was intended. His eyes were glued to yours the entirety of the dance, softening with each step. 

Both of you stop in beat with the last soaring note panting as the movement seems to catch up with the two of you. Neither of you realize how quiet the room is until clapping comes from the royal dais high above the room, the rest of the crowd follows suit. Shock melts into a smile as your eyes return to his. A sharp pain rings out in his chest. 

"Not bad for a Baron's daughter." Disgust settles on your face faster than you can stop it spewing from your lips. 

"Not bad for a recluse of a Duke's son." You tilt your head up, fighting the snarl of your lip as his face becomes so mind numbingly neutral while his eyes darken. Shoto drops you off by your mother only for Bakugou to approach, swiftly bringing you to the floor for a slow song. 

"Starlight. How did I not know you could dance like that?" He is astonished by your skill, "I've never seen you so happy. Maybe the Duke of Winter's third son will do you justice yet." 

You scoff but all Bakugou can do is offer you a deadly smile. 

"Enough about my dead end dancing." Your eyes glance towards the dias, the Princess cannot look away from the two of you, "This should be enough for the Princess to want to dance soon." 

It is Bakugou's turn to scoff. 

"Are you sure she is even going to have the opportunity to dance? No one is even allowed on the stairs to their enclave." 

"Ah but this is her debut. The Queen will allow it, besides the princess cannot keep her gaze off of a certain ash blonde." 

"How could she ever?" Your laugh rings out, it warms even the coldest hearts as Bakugou pulls you closer to him. Heat radiates from his body in a calming manner, your fingers squeeze his. 

"Arrogant as ever." You smile, thinking how you will miss dancing with him or even having him at the back of your parlor to laugh with over sad attempts at your hand, "Remember once you take her one dance for the night, she must be your first and last dance of the night in the future, if not your only." 

Bakugou cannot hide the dejection in his eyes even as he feigns cockiness. 

"I am a well versed student, remember?" His fingers brush over your skin, his middle finger tracing a small circle. 

"The best student I could ask for." The music comes to a close on more than just the song as Bakugou returns you to your family. He presses a long kiss to your glittering glove. 

"Until we meet again, my Starlight." He holds your stare. 

"Until then my Grace." With that the night sets into motion as you turn down dances left and right. Eyeing a ruby haired man who twirls a certain countess in his hands. As the music ends the Queen stands earning a hushed crowd. 

"My daughter, the Royal Princess shall take the dance floor, she will only allow one dance on the night of her debut." It is not a shock that she is allowed so little but there is no worry on Bakugou's face. The princess straightens at the top of the stairs, trying to exude the same commanding energy you did. She falls short in power but outshines you in other wordly innocence and grace. As if she were a lily that only bloomed for the moon, her beauty unmatched in her pale pink dress. Carefully she guides the layers of it down the steps as diamonds and pearls drip from her hair and throat. She tries to keep her eyes from sticking to a broad shouldered man and yet at the same time from wandering, as she stares at the back wall of the room. 

As she nears the third step Bakugou struts towards his prize with the ease of a relaxed swagger, glaring at men as he passes before he reaches the bottom of the steps. Extending his hand to the Princess just as she hits the third step from the bottom. She cannot keep the smile off of her face as her gloved hand claps onto his bare fingers. He bows deeply, raising her hand above him to look from beneath long lashes before he brings his lips to the silk. 

"Your Royal Highness, my shining diamond. You are truly the envy of the night." A flush gives the Princess' lack of experience away, "May I have this dance?" 

"You may." It is a breathy answer before Bakugou sweeps her off of her feet. Charming her with each calculated step and  arrogant quip. The princess smiles wide and almost pouts once the music begins to ebb. Bakugou returns her to the stairs, supporting her hand as long as he can before she rises out of reach.

But to Bakugou she never was and never will be unattainable. 

Before the night is over an envelope is pressed into your hands with the Crown's seal pressed into the wax. You quirk your brow, tucking it away to be read at home. 

"I am so elated you came." Her voice is like honey as the butler opens the doors to a parlor so large it could hold your entire home. She guides you towards a small table and fights with the layers of her silk dress before sitting.

"How could I reject a personal invitation from her majesty?" You sit across from her, eyes going over the deck of cards and a set of tea. 

"Well, believe it or not, I do not have the pleasure of friends, so please call me Amila." 

"Everyone would desire to be a friend of the Crown, your Royal Highness." You counter, quickly she points her fan towards you, tapping your side of the small ornate card table. 

"Ah but you do not have the desire to befriend the Crown, so I have high hopes that you will befriend me for me." She smiles, a certain gleam to her eye before she says, "Now let's talk about handsome Bakugou and how well you played me." 

Your face gives nothing away as you look up from the cards you've been dealt. Your mind rushes down all possible avenues but you know to avoid the one of playing dumb. It is obvious that the Princess has a keen eye. 

"Surely you'll reveal to me what gave us away." 

"After that dance Bakugou had with me, had I been anyone else he would have returned to you. He either has his only dance with you or his last dance with you. I figured him or Lord Kirishima to be heavily interested in you. You are a sparkling gem amongst the coal down there so I know you have many callers and suitors. But the last to leave are always Lord Bakugou and Lord Kirishima. That is what has thrown me off the scent."  You laugh at her honesty of the knowledge she has obviously collected about you or was tactful enough to guess. 

"This is what we do, your Royal Highness." Your gloved hand gestures to the table, "I take them for all that they are worth." An honest giggle leaves Amilia's lips.

"For that I am grateful and some would dare say I am in your debt." 

"A brazen statement." Your eyes return to your cards, "I would not state it as a debt although I am happy to receive your gratitude. Especially since it is in the form of cards and cake." 

A laugh falls from her lips as a smile settles on yours. The round of cards continues. You win the first few rounds and then Amelia has a lucky hand. Winning the last white tea macaron. 

"Did you allow me to best you?" 

"Lady Luck just happened to take favor of the Crown." 

"Or maybe she took pity. " She smiles, fingers fidgeting nervously, "Would you care to admire the art? Mother allows me to have this as my own personal parlor so I decorate it as I wish." 

"I would love to admire some of these lovely paintings. Starting with the one behind you." You stand, heading to the large piece you had been eyeing for some time during the games. You could tell by the stroke of the brush that the artist was newer to painting but they were quite talented, the strokes almost went unnoticed even by your sharp eye. 

Most importantly were the emotions the work of art evoked from the viewer. 

Silently the two of you drank in the large oil painting. The canvas colored in deep pinks, reds and oranges as the sun laid to rest to allow its lover the full scope of the sky. Shadows stretched far and towards the viewer and if one paid close attention they would notice the black cat in the corner with two large moon eyes. 

You especially liked this painting, the ease it made you feel even earning a small smile. 

"I can already tell this one is by far my favorite, your Royal Highness you have a fine eye for art." She blushes at your compliment, twisting some of her low hanging hair. You keep your amusement of her flustering to yourself, eyes trained on the swirling colors of the rippling blue mirror of the sky, looking for a signature. 

Odd, there isn't a looping set of initials in the corner like most have. As if reading it on your face she speaks. 

"I- I am the artist…" It is shy and soft, unlike the Princess and you realize the weight of the truth. That she had not heard one genuine compliment of anything that she had ever done. 

All she would ever receive is flattery and only for the hopes of kindness from the Crown. Finally time swallows up her sudden meekness as she blurts out.  

"Are you sure Lord Bakugou is not in love with you? I know you fancy Lord Todoroki, Doctor Shoto." 

"I do not fancy the Doctor, he simply is the most logical option I have currently, he would make a fine partner and husband. The seasons have not brought anyone new and my days of spring are limited." You idly move to the next painting as you speak, "As far as Lord Bakugou, he and I are too much alike. Too ambitious for our own good, we'd either explode or implode I'm afraid. Like some tragic star in the vast galaxy." 

"You would not marry for love?"  

"It is best to marry for a strong partnership, love is a possible byproduct, however it proves to be a rarity. Love comes with time, your Royal  Highness, a luxury us women do not have." You glance her way, "Not even a Princess is immune to this unfortunate condition from which all women suffer." 

"But he looks at you with intense burning, with...love." 

A quiet moment passes between the two of you before you offer your honesty. 

"He would learn to look at you that way, more than he would see the Crown. Especially with your mind and artistic skill. He would be a fool not to fall for you." Her eyes water at your response, "Come, let me teach you how to best Bakugou at his favorite card game, Amelia."  

When you return home later that afternoon Bakugou is fidgeting outside of the manor causing your brow to furrow. Then it dawns on you that one of your brother's has a big mouth and told his Grace where you would be. 

"My Lord." 

"Starlight." He offers you a strong arm and you take it as he guides you up the stairs and into the parlor just off the foyer. 

"Are you here to gossip?" You trust Bakugou enough to go without a chaperone, besides the doors to the parlor are wide open. You sink into your writing chair as he takes his normal seat by your side. The plush cushions do not ease his twitching fingers before you give him a playful shove. 

"Out with it then!" You giggle, the sound pulls a devilish smirk from the blonde seemingly easing whatever troubled his mind. He leans back into the cushions. 

"So, how much did her Highness speak of me? Endless compliments no doubt." His teeth flash white as you roll your eyes. 

"And here I thought you had a pressing matter." You move to turn away from him to focus on writing but he grabs onto your knee. Giving it a gentle squeeze as his face gives him away. The tips of his ears burn before he clears his throat. 

"I have to show you something and I need your honest opinion." Silence is his answer as you patiently wait for him to produce the mystery item. Slowly he reaches into his pocket, a black velvet box is in his hands. A smile blooms on your lips as you anticipate the ring he must have picked for the princess. He opens the box and your heart free falls into your stomach. 

It is a pear shaped black diamond flanked by silvery diamonds that wink in the afternoon sun. At the top of the circle of diamonds was a deep red garnet that looked like a drop of blood. The ring felt powerful if it could make one feel such a thing. You fist your skirts as you collect yourself.  He watches your face contort as you look over the ring, his jaw ticking with worry as you assess what is essentially both his ego and pride. 

But the ring is breathtaking, perfect really. 

"Katsuki, it is a gorgeous ring…" Your voice trails as you admire it, "But I believe the princess to have less...moody tastes. She does not normally wear dark colors." 

A small silence stretches between the two of you, almost as if he expects something else, quickly he snaps the box shut. 

"This is why I ask you things, my stunning Starlight." He pulls out a red velvet box popping it open. This ring is beautiful as well but does not have your heart as much as the first. 

It is a stunning and giant marquise cut white diamond. Blinding in the light with a halo of pale pink diamonds. It is vibrant, radiant like the princess. Katsuki always did pick out the perfect jewelry to match a woman's tastes. Bakugou watches your face carefully, the sad smile that pulls your lips upward causes a deep ache in his chest. His jaw ticks again but you answer before he can even think to lash out. 

"Your Grace, this will surely win her heart." He looks you in your eyes, a flash of an emotion you cannot quite catch before his arrogance returns. 

"Indeed it shall. We can discuss the best date to ask another time." He closes the box and tucks them both away, he grabs your left hand, fingers ghosting over the bracelet he gave you, "You seem tired, you should get some rest." 

"I believe that to be a grand idea." You say softly as he kisses each knuckle. He squeezes your fingers. 

"My life would be dark without you my Starlight." You fight to keep the bitterness out of your voice as you reply. 

"Soon you will have a shining diamond to light up your life." 

"Only thanks to you." With that he takes his leave. 

With burning eyes you add to your manuscript, foolishly writing a love story as your other novels have been completed. The candle dwindles as the hours pass before your hunched shoulders ache from the poor posture and lack of movement. You stretch, yawning as you do before you decide to head to bed. 

Expecting an empty foyer you are surprised to see your father looming in the hall, your mother standing solemn by his side. Her fingers clutch at her pearls as your eyes catch sight of bags at their feet. It is not unusual for them to leave in the middle of the night in order to keep the severity of your mother's health from the limelight. 

"Is there troubling news?" Anxiety twitches in your fingers as you clasp them together. Although your father's next words make your fingers want to wrap around his thick neck. 

"We have been invited for an extended stay at Duke Enji's manner in the countryside in hopes the two of you will court one another." 

"Father that is scandalous in itself." 

"Not if an engagement comes of it. Which one will, whether you fall for him or not, young lady. The matter has been decided among the men." His words sting like a slap in the face. Where most would cry you lash out. 

"Oh, I get it. Per usual the men can think with nothing more than what hangs between their legs, fearful that theirs is not long enough. So the men do all that they can to control everything but their own fragility." You step towards your father and he takes a step back, "Or is it more gruesome than that? One blackmailing the other? I just cannot imagine the ambitious Duke wanting a Baron's daughter for his son. Unless his family is so far in decline he must place the weight on his new heir and bride." 

His eyes widen unnaturally before he is frothing at the mouth. 

"YOU WILL NOT SPEAK OUT OF TURN. YOU WILL LEARN YOUR DAMN PLACE. " He slaps you, causing a hush to fall over your family. Your eyes are wide with animalistic rage as you lunge only for Hendrix and Hideki to hold you back. Both strong men begin dragging you away.

"Forgive her, Father." Hendrix starts before Hideki finishes, "You know how the heat gives women a touch of hysteria."

"We will help her pack her bags." 

All the while your mother looks at her husband in horror.  The sight falls beneath the stairs before you are shoved onto your bed. 

"Sister!" Hendrix roars while the youngest brother looks flustered, worried, "What were you thinking? You know how closed minded father is." 

Hideki cuts the eldest a look before he adds. 

"We are just worried. Normally you keep your wrath at bay." 

"As much as it may come as a surprise. I am only human." You rise from the bed asking Rose to prepare you a trunk. To pack anything, that you did not care as you sat at your desk furiously writing. Your bothers watch you with curious eyes as the tension seems to subside before they take their leave.

Minutes tick by before you're standing in the foyer. Father and mother were already sitting in the carriage that waited outside under the cover of misty rain. Hendrix and Hideki stand awkwardly by the round table in the middle of the foyer. Pretending to fuss over lavish flowers Lord Bakugou had sent that morning. A beautiful arrangement of roses and hydrangeas, two of your favorites, the Lord knew of them through observation alone. You wait patiently until one brother makes eye contact with you. Hideki breaks first, guilt shining in his eyes as it threatens to spill over. It is obvious he does not want you to leave the house, his normally crooked smile falters. You cup his cheek, smiling up at your sentimental younger brother, he acts as if you will never come back. 

Maybe there is some truth in that. 

"Cry not, for I have an iron will while father's is but made of glass." You swipe the tear, before pressing two letters into his chest, "Besides I have an important task for you." 

"Is it your scheming?" Hendrix chides and you laugh in answer before continuing. 

"These are for Lord Bakugou and Lord Kirishima, it is imperative you deliver these letters." The paper contained important instructions for not only a successful proposal but a marriage as well. 

You'd be damned if all three of you would turn out miserable. 

"I'll put them in the post." 

"No hand deliver them." Your eyes turn icy causing both brothers to go rigid, "And should I find out the seal has been broken before their arrival I shall take the family jewels from between your legs."

"Is that any way for a lady to talk, my dearest sister?" A jest in an attempt to lighten your souring mood. 

"Yes, it is."

"They will be in their hands by this evening. We are wagering on a fight tonight. Enjoy your stay." Hideki leans in close with a tease but his voice almost cracks, "Make sure the rock is huge." 

"Indeed." Hendrix agrees with an almost sad look in his eye, leaving you to wonder what it is that they know and you do not. 

Well, you do know why they have such long faces, you just do not care to admit. You wave to them and their eyes catch on the silvery reflection of diamonds on your wrist. 

The manner is stifling to say the least. The large, grand thing is as your trunk is set in your room that overlooks a small garden and the long sweeping hill that leads home. You pace your room before a knock comes at your door. 

Hoping to ignore it, having not the desire to speak to a soul, your feet quiet. You listen for them to retreat but instead a louder knock sounds out. Before his grating voice floats from beneath the door and through the keyhole. 

"I know you are in there, my lady." 

Ugh, that stupid doctor stood on the other side of the door. Still you ignore him. 

"It is rude to ignore your host."  It ignites something in your stomach before you rip the door open. Eyes ablaze as Todoroki stands perfectly still in his onyx black suit sans jacket. White sleeves rolled up showcasing his strong forearms. 

"Surely, a good host would not force his guests to his estate?" 

"A good host would not mention how unwanted their guest is." His smile is sickeningly polite, eyes as cold as yours. It is hard to keep your composure as you breathe in deeply through your nose, eyes widening before you slam the door in his face. 

Only once you hear his footfalls retreat and the moon shines long on your floor boards do you finally make your way towards the door. A woman on a mission as you yank the door open, uncaring that you were not in much but a thick white nightgown that could be mistaken for a dress.  You rush for the stairs and through the door just off their back parlor, having memorized it from the long winded tour both your father and his Grace Enji insisted the small party take of the grounds. 

A cool summer breeze whips your hair this way and that as it dries the sweat that sits at your nape. Normally people would describe this feeling as miserable, that even the breeze had a bit of heat to it, but you. 

You lived for it. Twirling in the moonlight you allow yourself a moment for vulnerability you often cannot afford before you go deeper on the grounds, closer to the woods that lie just beyond the manor. 

Once you are at the edge you give the grand home a glare with your back towards the woods. The creatures of the night sing their symphonies well into the late hour. A twig snaps behind you cause you to turn about face, your eyes meet with lavender framed beneath light lashes. 

Ice runs through your blood as you faintly recall him speaking of these trees by his own countryside manor. He often went to these grounds to hunt. 

So why was he standing on the Todoroki grounds? 

"So it is true?" Monoma chokes out an ugly sound. It is between defeat and a snarl. He takes a step closer, "Whisked away in the night. Did Todoroki steal your maiden head from me?" 

Your eyes widen at his scandalous accusation and it is then you see how truly disheveled he is. Hair plastered to his forehead, his canary suit stained green from foliage. The fabric even darkening beneath his armpits and at his collar, it sends a sort of frantic look to his eye. He steps forward and for once in your life you yield, stepping back. 

"That is a damning accusation." You fight to keep the cracking rage from your voice, the small fear that blooms in your belly like poison nightshade. Swallowing thickly he steps forward. 

"He, he can't take what's mine. I- I was going to propose today. But that damn Bakugou is always lingering around like toxic gas. Poisoning your mind with his….ambitions." It is then you see red. 

How dare anyone thing you were so fucking fragile and innocent some young blonde could corrupt you. Your palm strikes his cheek with enough force that he is facing away from you. You strike again and then as you rear up your fist he pulls you to him. Pressing his whisky soaked lips to yours as he swallows you whole. Mouth extended over your lips, sloppily engulfing you as he makes sounds that make you want to retch. His tongue slides past your lips and you bite.

Not enough that he loses it, although you wish you could afford to do such a thing. But you still lived in a society where a man's word was far more valuable than that of a "whore." Shaking you pull back, so much rage that you do not see the flash of light until it is too late. 

"Fucking bitch!" He slashes at your nightgown, cutting the fabric away as you think you've doged, he goes to slash again, "God damn whore!" 

His voice echoes through the trees and that scares you more than the knife in his hand, his sloppy demnor creates an opening as you kick him so hard between his legs he falls to the ground, puking up his belly full of liquor onto the moss floor. 

Suddenly the summer night is too hot, the frogs and crickets too loud as an owl calls deep within the wood. Thunder roars overhead before the clouds become too heavy. Panic slicks your skin before the pounding rain as you turn to run, hopping you kicked hard enough to rupture something in this cowardly man. 

If you lived in any other world, you would have tried your best to seize that knife and plunge it into his chest. 

But you didn't, so you ran. Vision blurring as the pain finally catches up to you. Hand instinctively flying to your stomach only to come up wet. 

"It's the rain, it's just the rain." You gasp out rushing into the house and shutting the glass paned door as quickly and quietly as you can. Fumbling for a lock before you give up all together, arms outstretched in the dim room looking for a candle or a mirror. Shaking fingers find a match that you light using the wallpaper, uncaring of the risks as you frantically look for a stick of wax. Lighting the wick once you've found one and taking it to the mirror above a small runner table. You set the wax down, close to the glass, thunder shakes the windows and the house as you pull the fabric from your torso. It reveals an angry red slash that weeps crimson, a choked gasp leaves your lips as lightning flashes illuminating the whole room. Still you do not see the reflection of the man in the mirror. 

"What happened?" It sounds animalistic as it comes from the corner. Your whirl to face him, pulling the cloth back down to cover your decency. A lie falls from your lips as easy as breath. 

"Nothing." Your rasp, feigning embarrassment, "My-my courses have come early. Your Grace this is not something you should witness." 

"Do you take me for a fool?" He steps closer, eyes burning in the candle light, "I may not be an expert of female anatomy but I know the basics." 

You swallow thickly, trying to jest. 

"Then my Lord you are far more experienced than myself. I am bashful to be in the presence of a skilled womanizer. This truly is nothing." He closes the distance, wrapping his deadly hand around your small wrist. Pulling it away from your body.

"That laceration does not look like 'nothing'." He mocks, "I will not ask again." 

Silence engulfs you as the storm rages on, it competes with the roaring in your head. Your knees slowly buckle as Shoto keeps you up right. His winter's night by the hearth scent floods your senses. 

"I feel a bit faint." Your voice sounds so small, so far away that it stirs something in Todoroki. In the year that he has watched you, he has not once seen your falter or become meek. He makes way to scoop you into your arms and is a mixed of relieved and agitated as you swat him away. 

"I-I can walk." You straighten your back, smoothing the reddening fabric over your bodess and for once you're thankful the blasted nightgown is so thick. He gently guides you to your room. 

Once there he prepares a basin as you try to sit on the plush bed. 

"Aht!" He whispers harshly, "Change." 

You relax into the foot of the bed anyway, unable to hold yourself up right any longer. He sucks his teeth, bringing the supplies to the bedside table before searching through your trunk. 

"A Lady's things should not just be rummaged through." 

"Hmm is that so?" He finds another night gown before he hovers over you, face pinched as he asks, "Can you undress yourself, truthfully?"

Moments pass before you admit that you are not sure that you can with a shake of your head. Slowly he eases you out of the damp fabric, dabbing at your wet skin with a towel. He avoids looking at your breasts and as much as he would love to stare a weeping wound commands his attention. He places the gown just enough to hide your breasts before he lies you down on your back. 

"From beginning to end, tell me what happened." When you do not answer he forces your chin to face him, "Tell me, now." 

And your name slips off his lips like poisoned honey, a truth serum you swallow whole. You retell the quick exchange, including the damning kiss as you watch rage blister across Shoto's handsome features as he silently begins to work. 

"We must  prosecute him."

"We must not!" You exclaim as he dabs antiseptic at your wound. He gives your an exasperated

"What would have happened if he had nicked an internal organ?"

"I suppose I would be free of this wretched world." A nonchalant shrug as best as you can manage.a glare cuts your way as his roar turns soft.   

"Why would you say such a thing? Do you think no one would mourn the loss of you? Do you think he would not weep at your service?" Shoto touches the bracelet of dancing stars and you pull your wrist back. Tears burning your eyes, you do not allow them to fall. 

"He is not up for discussion!" It's a loud whisper before you grip Shoto's jaw with enough force it grinds, "I am more than capable of taking care of myself, Lord. You can take your leave as I do not need a soul."

He melts as he watches the pain flutter in your eyes, a long sigh escapes him as he melts into your touch. His fingers feathering over your forearm.

"Pride is a deadly sin. Allow me to help. I will be quick." Slowly you drop your arm away from him. He digs around in his bag before you change your mind. He disinfects the sutures before he sends the needle through tender flesh, your tears dry as you allow your mind to retreat. Shoto takes quick notice. 

"You do that a lot…" He comments softly, pulling the suture through your skin, you glance his way, "You seem to disassociate." 

"Well, feelings hurt so it is better to not feel at all." You grind your teeth as he pulls the widest part of your wound together. 

"Is that why you push him away so often?" He holds your gaze before returning to his work.

"Did I not tell you that he is not up for discussion. No matter, I do not have feelings for Lord Bakugou." He scoffs at your lie. 

"Ah so then it was not you who suggested the Princess in the form of flattery? Lord Bakugou is a smart man but you played into his blind spot, stroking his ego and enticing his ambition." Your gritted teeth say it all. 

"And how pray tell would you even guess at such grandor things when you are not in attendance at even half of these events?"

"I am privy to this knowledge because I too keep everyone and everything at arm's length. It is much easier to see the moves when one is far enough away from the board." He dabs at your abdomen, "And you my Lady are by far the best player." 

"Flattery does not go far with me." You sigh softly,  fingers idly playing with the wrinkles in the sheets,  "Father wants me to set a final round."

"Mine wishes for me to begin and end in the same turn." He slowly places your nightgown down, "Which is why we should make an effort to at least get to know one another. With your wound I suggest staying an extra week or two to ensure it closes properly. I can convince our Wardens that the extension is for an attempt to win your hand."

He leans back in his chair, sweat on his brow from fusing with your wound, from worry as it furrows. Your chest tightens and suddenly the urge to be in control sinks its teeth into your skin. Quickly you unclasp the birthday present Lord Katsuki had given you, setting it on the nightstand beside Shoto with dramatic flare. His eyes widen as he reads between the lines, the silent vow of "I will make an effort...for now". The promise seems to pierce his heart. 

"Fine. I enjoy picnics, I suggest we do that on the grounds so that we may be chaperoned from afar and yet have privacy. My expectation is unbashful honesty from both parties." You turn over to give him your back as you pull the fine blankets to your shoulders, "Furthermore you must come up with some sort  of endearment for me. Anyone who has ever tried to seriously court me has. I have come quite fond of them as titles bore me. Something lovely so give it thought."

Shoto is stunned into silence for a moment before he lets out a dark laugh. 

"I see, this is still your game"

"Precisely." You say, he stands, lingering in the doorway before shutting the heavy oak. 

It was difficult to sleep to say the least. Still you were grateful to have risen before Rose. Dressing yourself before she could see your wound. More grateful still when Rose set down some tea claiming Lord Shoto sent it.  

You downed the scalding liquid in three swallows, surprising Rose, before she passes you a folded note. 

Meet me in the back garden for lunch. 

-Shoto 

A muscle ticks in your jaw as pain blooms across your stomach as you stare at his lovely script. 

Shoto hates to admit that the first thing he looks for is that bracelet on your wrist, when he does not see it he lets out his held breath. Drinking in your deep, sapphire dress. It sparkles as if covered in stardust, his heart clenches. He looks towards your stomach, worry etched on his features. 

"How are your stitches? No corset right?" He asks, gently guiding you to the plush pillows on the ground. Maybe he should have asked the butler to bring out chairs instead. 

"I feel naked without it." You admit, he sees a bit of nervousness you have normally schooled away. 

"You look lovely." His eyes are gentle, lips formed in a soft, genuine smile. Your heart tried to skip a beat. It's the heat you tell yourself. 

"Flattery will not get you far remember?"

"I'm only being honest, my sweet petunia." You give him a puzzled look, was this going to be his nickname for you? You were not a delicate thing. 

"A flower?" You give him a look but his smile does not falter. 

"Ah would you rather I say my dew kissed rose? My begonia?"

You both laugh at his last suggestion. 

"My sunflower." Your heart stutters, you glance away for just a moment and he takes notice. 

"Ah so you approve," He collects a strand of your hair between his fingertips, "Sunflower?" 

Heat rushes your cheeks as you fight the smile on your lips. You lose as he kisses your hair. Maybe you could be a delicate thing. 

"Did you know sunflowers can remediate soil? It is why they are planted after tobacco is harvested in hopes to use the fields once more." He is quiet as he waits for your admission. 

"It is my favorite flower, it is in season now. Alas not one suitor has sent them. Roses and hydrangeas are my favorites too but nothing quite says summer like a sunflower." You sigh, looking over the manicured bushes and flowers in the garden. 

"Is that your favorite season?" He is perceptive, you take  a moment to breathe in the sweltering breeze with closed eyes. Humming your answer. 

"Indeed." You kick off your shoes and place your feet into the grass, leaning back to allow your face in the sun. Not many women would be so open to sitting on only a blanket and with no umbrella or covering. And yet here you were soaking up the sun like a lazy cat. Heat rushes Shoto's cheeks as he realizes just how perfect his name for you is. 

"Have you ever had intercourse with a woman?" You ask, eyes still closed as Shoto flushes further. His cheeks are as red as part of his hair. 

"Sunflower." He gasps but you giggle. 

"Unbashful honesty, remember?" He lets small silence stretch between the two of you before he answers. 

"I have. My brother convinced me it was a good idea." His eyes look sad, it makes your gut clench as you look away for a moment. Question burning on your tongue. 

"What if I were to say my maiden head was taken?" 

"Who am I to judge after I have slept with another. Sadly I know some are stolen." He answers without hesitation. 

"This is true. Mine is still intact, I am grateful Monoma had only stolen a kiss." You sigh.

"You'd never kissed anyone?" His tone is curious although his eyes are dark with anger for you. 

"I tried to be a proper lady. More so because I do not like to touch people or feel their skin. Touching them makes them real, you know? And when someone is real they can have power over your heart." Shoto mulls over your words and realizes how much he relates. He places his hands near your fingers but does not touch them. You notice the gesture and scoff without the pretension you skillfully lace his fingers with his. Delighted to see the burning blush on his cheeks. 

Maybe life with Shoto would not be half bad, if only he gave you more moments like this. 

Moments like this last over the two weeks that drag into three. Days are spent  beneath the summer sun with exchanged and often heated, intellectual debates. Both of you feeling mentally stimulated for the first time as each of you allowed a few walls to come down, pulling each other closer than arm's length. While a few hours of the night are spent beneath the moon. His gem stone eyes raking over your abdomen in worry but nothing more than his checking on your wound as he was ever the gentlemen.

On Monday of the second week Shoto has come fond of his summer sunflower, so much so he brings a large black box to the next picnic, tucked away in his pocket is a matching, much smaller box. He presents to you the medium sized box as you giggle in delight. 

"My Lord, my shining Shoto. What could this be?" Your cheeks hurt from the width of your smile as he opens the box for you to see. Your face flutters into shock before joy returns as you hold out your wrist. Shoto takes the delicate golden bracelet that has several round onyx surrounded by citrine in the shape of petals. Sunflowers dance on your wrist as you twist it this way and that, unable to school your features into your normal distaste for guadry gifts from suitors. But this gift was far from gaudy, only one man before Shoto had earned this reaction. You bring your parasol to hide your face and his from the prying eyes of the manor as you gently press your lips to Shoto's cheeks. 

"I love it." You admit. It gives him enough courage to commit to ask you on Friday, the bigger question. 

Having you walk for "therapy" through the grounds, pointing over your shoulder to point out phantom ducks on the lake as he nervously sinks to one knee. 

"Shoto, love I do not see-" You turn to face him and see his loving eyes, wavering smile and shaking fingers holding open the box that reveals a giant oval ruby surrounded by diamonds.  He clears his throat. 

"My sunflower," You fling your arms around him, making him fall off balance as you land on top of him. Peppering his face with uncharacteristic kisses as excitement, for once, rushes through your veins like a second blood. He laughs lifting you by your ribs, careful of your slowly closing wound as he spins you before setting you on your feet. He fumbles for the momentarily forgotten ring before he slips it onto your ring finger. He presses a kiss to your cheek, smiling warmly. It reaches his eyes in such a way your gut clenches. 

And for a moment you forgot you were ever anyone's starlight. 

For one returning to the manor seems almost dreadful and not because of waiting suitors but because you would be without your own. He insisted the two of you be seperate as your mother and his, prepared to arrange the wedding, as you demanded the ceremony to be small. Despite your desire for to keep the engagement quiet for just a week or so, your mother and father took it upon themselves to spread word back home before you could even arrive. 

You exit the carriage as the house looks quiet, earning a soft smile. Your ring catches your eye and you remind yourself that this truly was the best possible outcome. 

The foyer is covered in flowers, from congratulations to a giant trove of sunflowers on the center table. 

You smile at the flowers Shoto must have sent this morning, they sit in a glass globe of a vase, their usually tall stems cut short. Their flower heads are large and vibrant even in the ambient candle light. You finger a petal as you reminisce over the past few weeks, your stomach hardly protesting as you stand on tip toe to look at them all. Relishing the moment of silence before you realize you are most likely home alone. Your brothers lost in some fighting match while your parents took their leave from the Todoroki manor to busy themselves with venues. You figured a change of clothes would do you nicely before you settled down over your much neglected work. 

A black nightgown and almost sheer robe clung to your frame as you stepped down the grand staircase, smiling once more at the flowers before slipping into your parlor. Lighting only one other candle by the door before taking yours to your desk. With deft hands you pull out one of your manuscripts and tap along the top with a manicured nail. A sigh leaves your lips, you finger with your bracelet, with the ring on your finger before a fresh page is found on your desk. You write furiously. 

About something as trivial as love. 

Still the quil seems to move on its own as if enchanted as words dot the parchment in ink. Suddenly your work is disturbed by someone entering your parlor. You assume it is a brother who has come home, glancing up you see locks of ash blonde causing you to grip at your robe to close it tighter. The moment you realize it is just Bakugou your grip on the fabric loosens.

"I wasn't expecting you at this hour." Fear of needing a chaperone barely crosses your mind since it was Lord Bakugou who was your company. You relax into your seat as he crosses the room to sit in his normal seat, on the corner of the couch, closest to you. His posture is poor as he leans his forearms on thick thighs, garnet eyes cast downward, he grips at his own hands as his knuckles turn white. You wonder if he did not heed your letter. 

"How did the proposal go with Princess Amelia?" Your voice sounds out over the silence of the room, still he remains quiet. It is unnerving how solemn and silent the normally wolfish man is. Something pulls at the strings of your heart. His eyes seem misty. He keeps them to the ground or so you think, as they rake over the ring on your finger, on the bracelet on your wrist. The onyx and citrine dance in the low light of your burning candle. Bakugou feels a sheen of sweat coat his hands, bile rising in his throat that he has to swallow down. 

You think the worst, you think the Princess rejected him but that didn't make sense either. She was so obviously in love with the ambitious man, you heard while away that she even turned down a dance with a forgein prince. 

"What's wrong, Katsuki?" The way your voice forms around his name, the way your eyes look with unbiased worry causes Katsuki's limbs to act on their own. In one swift motion he cups your face in his broad hands, bringing his lips to yours so softly. Once the plush of your lips touch his he cannot stop as his hunger for you comes to the forefront. He kisses you with a fervor unmatched as his lips move yours, his hand moves to the back of your neck. Tilting your head so he may deepen the kiss, tongue sliding over yours as the world falls from beneath your feet.  

But as quickly as it fell it returns, pushing him away while turning to face away from him. You keep your head held high as he pants on the couch beside you. He grabs your thigh, desperate for touch, for anything but rejection. 

"Starlight." His voice is deep, rough from what might be disuse as it cracks on the second syllable. A question runs rampid in your mind.  How long had he felt like this? 

"Please, my starlight." He squeezes your smooth thigh and you look towards him. Watch his force contort with pain, as if you held his beating heart in his hands and crushed it.  

Really it is what he had done to you, as you look down at him with hot tears. 

He is the first and only soul to see you cry in decades. It seemingly tears him about but he brought this among himself. 

The kiss is answer enough as to why he is here. 

It should not be this tempting to throw it all away. 

"Get. Out." You seethe, fat droplets catching on your sheer robe, falling down your cheeks as if you were an actress going through a tragic scene. He does not move, does not breathe as he hopes your temper will cool. 

Instead it heats. 

"Get out, Get OUT. GET OUT GET OUT!!" More composure lost with each increase of volume before you completely lose it, "FUCKING GET OUT!" 

He hardly moves and the ruckus calls alarm for your brothers who were home, who let Bakugou in at such a late hour. They come from the office across the hall in hurried steps, expecting to see an assailant, hoping that Bakugou could fight them off. 

They silently determine what they see is far worse. Bakugou gripping at your thighs with this pleading look while your face is now firmly buried in your hands. A sob racks through your body setting your brothers ablaze. 

Hendrix speaks first. 

"What did you do?!" His eyes are flaming as he sets them on Bakugou, who ignores the two men. Hideki begins to close the distance and his eldest brother follows suit. 

"What have you done to make my lovely sister cry?" Hideki's voice is full of hurt, disappointment and when they receive no answer they decide it is time to remove your true assailant. 

Both grab at Bakugou, pulling him away from the couch as you wet your palms with years worth of tears. 

Everything in your life, no matter how hard you tried to conduct it, was truly wrong wasn't it? 

The fresh swirling ink on the pages answered you enough, the love story you did not know you needed with a protagonist with soft ash blonde hair. 

"Please. Do not make me BEG!" He yells as your brothers' sad attempt at forcing him from the room topples furniture and the like. 

Still you weep your self pity away. 

His next words are deafening  as your heart finally cleaves apart, the pieces falling to the floor before shattering like glass at your feet. He brandishes the black velvet box with the black diamond ring tucked inside as you finally look up to him. 

"IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN YOU, STARLIGHT!"

[harrowharkboygf]

i want to see you, dressed all in white

a short catradora oneshot, set at the time of adora's future vision. requested by @nozomijoestar. read on ao3.

Catra could not believe she was wearing shoes for this. It was such a strange experience, hearing the click clack of heels coming from her feet as she walked, but alas! Such was the life of an ambassador of Brightmoon.

And, she thought privately, the life of the wife of She-Ra. Hopefully. If everything went well tonight. She subtly traced the outline of the ring in her pants pocket. The box itself would have been too big and clunky to fix in her pocket, so Glimmer had helped her out and given her a tiny leather pouch to hold it in.

“If she finds the pouch, just say it contains important ambassador information like…IDs!” Glimmer had suggested.

Catra had raised an eyebrow. “We need IDs for Princess Prom?”

“Well no, but…” It was Glimmer’s turn to raise her eyebrows. “You and Adora did miss half the planning meeting, so how would either of you know?”

Catra had smirked. “We were…busy.”

She gave her a decidedly unqueenly shove. “Of course you were, Horde Scum.” Then Glimmer pulled her into a hug. “I’m so happy for you both. Adora’s gonna say yes immediately.” Catra wasn’t worried about her saying no; she knew that Adora loved her more than anything, and they’d been talking about marriage for a while now. No, she was worried that somehow something would go wrong and it wouldn’t be perfect. Adora was as amazing as the moons and the stars—she deserved perfect.

“Catra? Catra!”

She snapped back to the present. Adora was waving her hand in front of her face, grinning. Even at age twenty-seven, she still hadn’t lost the adorable, dorky look on her face.

“Sorry, zoned out for a sec,” she said, taking Adora’s hand and jumping gracefully down from the skiff. She took a minute to admire how beautiful her girlfriend looked tonight—she looked like a queen in her own right, the tiara sparkling off her golden hair and the white dress making it all too easy for Catra to imagine her walking down a wedding aisle. Her stomach fluttered.

“Are you nervous for your second Princess Prom?” asked Adora; her tone was joking but her eyes softened in a way that made Catra feel instantly safe.

“Not with you by my side,” said Catra, pushing down her nerves and leaning forward to press their foreheads together. “Are you nervous?”

“Not with you by my side,” Adora mimicked, smiling against her lips.

If anyone was definitely nervous, it was Bow and Glimmer. This was the first formal event where they would be introduced as a married couple, and they had spent the whole skiff ride fiddling nervously with their clothes and asking to go over the schedule so often that Catra had asked Bow if he’d switched bodies with Adora.

“You two look amazing,” Adora told them for the seventh time this hour.

“Are you sure the capes don’t look stupid?” asked Glimmer. “I don’t wanna look childish.”

“What if I trip and fall on it?” Bow worried, toying with the edge of his cape.

“If you do, I will laugh and then kick all the asses of anyone else who laughed,” Catra assured him.

“And I’ll help!” said Adora gleefully, holding up her hand to be high-fived. Catra obliged her.

Glimmer and Bow both took a deep breath in sync. “Thanks, guys,” she said, a real smile spreading across her face.

Bow stuck out his hand. “Best Friend Squad!”

Everyone put their hands in the middle. “Best Friend Squad!” they cheered.

——

The former-Fright-Zone-now-renamed-the-Light-Zone looked absolutely stunning. Scorpia had really outdone herself. Unlike at Frosta’s prom, which had been decorated with gleaming ice sculptures, the ballroom was decorated with smooth, sleek black crystals reminiscent of the Black Garnet, giving the whole room a very sophisticated aura.

“Presenting Queen Glimmer and King Bow of Brightmoon!”

Bow and Glimmer did not, to their credit, trip over their capes or do anything else notably embarrassing. In fact, they were the textbook example of dignified, waving proudly to the crowd as they walked up to the dais, and then bowing low to Scorpia, who immediately jumped down from her throne to greet them.

And then it was their turn.

“Presenting Adora, Princess of Power, and Catra of Brightmoon!”

Catra offered her girlfriend her arm. It was partially an affectionate gesture and partially an effort to make sure she herself didn’t trip—she still wasn’t used to these shoes.

“Your Highness,” Catra said to Scorpia as she bowed.

“Oh, none of that ‘Highness’ crap!” Scorpia chortled, practically bouncing off her throne to envelop the two of them in a tight hug.

“All this stuff is so formal,” she whispered. “I’m so out of my depth.”

“You’re doing amazing,” Adora promised her.

The next hour or so was filled with so many boring conversations and introductions. It seemed like every diplomat and ambassador in Etheria wanted to talk to her and Adora. It was really cute when little kids came up asking for She-Ra autographs, but if Catra had to hear about the rising fish prices in Salineas one more time, she was going to be homicidal.

Despite coming as each other’s dates, Catra and Adora had to split up in order to divide and conquer all of their social obligations, a strategy that Bow and Glimmer had also adopted. That didn’t stop Catra from throwing as many longing looks at Adora from across the ballroom as physically possible.

She tried to seek shelter with Double Trouble, who would definitely not force her to ruminate on the state of “today’s youth”—a conversation that withered old advisers seemed to love—but their need to be the center of attention kept also drawing attention to Catra. This made it particularly hard to accomplish her goal of “only talking to people she wanted to talk to”. Glimmer, surrounded by a group of Mystacor sorcerers, gave her an arm squeeze in solidarity as she passed by.

Eventually she managed to escape yet another drab discussion of the pros and cons of a trade alliance between the Crimson Waste and the Kingdom of Snows under the premise of greeting Frosta. She was able to enjoy the beginning of a nice banter/advice session concerning Frosta’s love life before the princess was preoccupied with an adviser asking her opinion on intra-kingdom matters.

“I’m surprised you haven’t taken those off yet,” Adora said behind her, making her jump. She gestured down at the cursed shoes.

“I wish,” Catra grimaced, taking the cup of punch her girlfriend offered. “I was afraid someone would throw a fit.”

Adora wrapped an arm around her shoulders, which Catra leaned into gratefully. “Is it that advisor over there?” she whispered in her ear, subtly turning Catra’s head so she can see who she meant. “The one with an angry look on his face? Are you afraid of him?”

She snickered. “What, did you have to hear his monologue about decorum too?”

“He even made a comment about ‘last time’,” Adora told her, laughing under her breath. “A very pointed remark about breaking tradition.”

“Ooh, insulting She-Ra, is he? I’ll kick his ass.”

“My hero.”

Catra turned to face her fully, placing one hand on Adora’s hip. “You know it,” she murmured, leaning forward to press their lips together.

“Adora!”

Catra pulled back, groaning under her breath, as they both turned to see Perfuma waving at them. The flower princess held up her own cup and gestured at a group of stern-looking Plumerians. Adora pecked her cheek before hurrying off again.

At this point, Catra was beginning to get worried that she wouldn’t ever get the chance to be alone with Adora. She once again traced the outline of the ring pouch in her pocket, biting her lip.

Then, to her immense relief, music started playing. She grinned. It was time for the real party to start.

Adora easily found her on the dance floor. Catra leaned eagerly into her warm touch, let herself be rooted in her relaxed blue eyes. “Will you be my dance partner?” asked Adora teasingly.

Catra pretended to think it over. “Hmm, I don’t know. Are you any good at it?”

Adora winked. “Nope.”

Catra blew her a kiss, and then the dance started, everyone moving in sync. Adora kept her eyes fixed on her girlfriend, her steps steady and confident despite her previously stated lack of talent. “I love you,” she murmured.

“I love you too,” she murmured back. “Always have, always will.”

The movements of the dance pulled them closer, the tempo slowing down. Adora used this opportunity to cup her face and kiss her firmly—finally—before the pace of the music picked back up again and everyone switched partners.

The carefully-choreographed switch in the dance pushed her and Glimmer together, a move that made the both of them grin easily. Things really had changed since the last Princess Prom, Catra thought to herself.

“Do you have a specific plan?” asked Glimmer, nodding almost imperceptibly at her pocket.

Catra nodded. “I just need a way to get a moment alone with Adora.”

Glimmer winked at her. “I can do that.”

Then she was passed off to Mermista, who she hadn’t seen yet that evening. “Heard you knocked up,” said Catra in lieu of a greeting.

Mermista twirled her, a lazy smirk sliding across her face. “Yeah, just a little baby barnacle growing, nothing to see here.”

“Congrats,” Catra told her genuinely. Mermista would never be her best friend—that was reserved for Adora, and Glimmer and Bow—but she had the deepest respect for her, and they got along wonderfully.

A slight blush drifted over her cheeks. The queen had never been good at accepting compliments—one of the many things they had in common. “Bow told me,” she said, “so like, congrats to you too.”

Catra rolled her eyes, but there was no malice behind it. “What, does the entire Princess Alliance know?”

“Probably,” drawled Mermista, and then Catra spun her one last time before they parted ways.

“Catra!” Scorpia greeted her with just as much enthusiasm as before. “I heard the news! How can I help?”

As they began the waltz, Catra mulled it over. “Actually,” she said, her eyes lighting up, “I do have a request.”

——

“Greetings, Princess Prom guests!” Perfuma said in a trill, speaking into the microphone. “I hope you all enjoyed your first dance of the night! Now we will have a live performance by our beloved host, Princess Scorpia!”

The crowd cheered wildly. Scorpia stepped onto the stage, looking radiant and sure of herself under the spotlights. She tapped the microphone once to test it, before she began to hum the opening notes of a ballad.

Scorpia’s song wafted through the ballroom, filling the air. Perfuma sat behind her, strumming a huge string instrument made of wood and occasionally providing backup vocals.

Catra and Adora swayed together on the dance floor, saying nothing, just enjoying each other’s presence. Catra spun her around slowly as Scorpia crooned, occasionally pressing a light kiss to her skin as she drew her closer. Adora, in turn, just watched her, a soft look on her face.

After Scorpia finished her first song of the night, everyone cheered, clapping their hands and whistling in approval. The princess flushed a deep crimson, exchanging a delighted look with Perfuma over her shoulder. A shout of “Encore! Encore!” started up.

Catra took Adora’s hand. “Let’s sneak out for a bit,” she whispered. “Everyone’s entranced by Scorpia’s singing, so we won’t be missed.”

The gleam in Adora’s eyes was ever so familiar, a look that she hadn’t lost even as she grew older. “Lead the way,” she whispered back.

They snuck out through one of the many hallways branching out from the ballroom. The hallways were well lit and decorated similarly to the ballroom; it looked so different from the hallways they’d once scampered through as kids.

But they raced just the same, hand in hand, giggling as they chased each other. Catra mussed up Adora’s hair, cackling as her girlfriend playfully pulled her into a headlock. Their outfits were thoroughly disheveled by the time they reached the ladder, but Catra didn’t care.

“Do you recognize where we are?” she asked.

Adora touched the rail of the ladder. “Of course,” she said, returning Catra’s grin. “I’d recognize this place in my sleep, no matter how many times the walls are repainted.”

Catra kicked off her shoes, sighing with relief when the pads of her feet touched ground again. “Follow me, then.” She hoisted herself up onto the first rung of the ladder, and began to climb.

“Not fair!” shouted Adora below her. “I’m wearing a dress and you’re not!” But she heard her feet touch the ladder rungs anyway.

Catra offered Adora her hand on the top rung, which she took gratefully. The two of them stood together on the platform, in the exact spot where they’d spent so many hours as children. Catra inhaled, breathing in Adora’s sweet, familiar scent.

Adora stared out over the former Fright Zone, still wrapped around Catra. “The Light Zone is a good name,” she said finally.

Catra purred softly as she ran a hand through her hair. “It’s so much nicer now,” she marveled. “Scorpia did so well.”

Adora turned to look at her. “So did we,” she said, cupping her cheek. “We’ve rebuilt so much since the war ended seven years ago.”

Catra picked up on the double meaning of her words. “We have,” she said, pressing their foreheads together and smiling against her lips. Her heart pounded in her throat. This was the perfect moment.

Catra pulled back, just far enough to give her space to kneel. Quickly, she rehearsed her speech in her mind, She reached into her pocket and pulled the ring free from the leather pouch.

She began, “Hey, Adora—”

“Will you marry me?” blurted out Adora.

Catra’s jaw dropped. For a minute, she said nothing.

“I mean, you—you can say no,” Adora said hurriedly, clearly taking her silence as a bad sign. “I didn’t plan out an elaborate proposal or anything, I don’t even have a ring, but—”

“I have a ring!” said Catra, still shocked.

It was Adora’s turn to gape at her. “You—What?”

A grin split Catra ear to ear. “Yes, you idiot!” she exclaimed. “I was going to propose to you tonight—right now, actually! Glimmer and I have been planning this for months!”

Adora almost fell over laughing, clutching her stomach. “Wow,” she said, breathless, “we make quite a pair.”

“We do,” said Catra, throwing her arms around her neck and kissing her passionately.

“I love you,” Adora told her, her words slightly muffled against her lips.

Catra got down on one knee and held out the ring in her palm for real. “Adora,” she said, ignoring the happy tears that pricked the corner of her eyes, “will you marry me?”

Adora knelt down so they were level. “Yes,” she breathed out. “A million times, yes.”

[rotten-white-rose]

Well well, I will introduce the protagonist of this blog.

Name: Melody Gheata

Age: Apparently 19 (she really is millennia old although she is younger than Karl Heinz)

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Birthday: December 29

Zodiac: Capricorn

Nicknames: Mesubuta (by Yuma), Yuki-onna (by Laito), Watermelon (by Ayato), Lilith-san (by Azusa).

Blood type: -A

Status: Dead / Alive

Race: Demon (Succubus) / Vampiress

Height: 1'80 cm

Weight: 60 kg

Eye color: Garnet

Hair Color: White

Body type: Voluptuous

Occupation: 3rd year High School Student, Queen of Hell

Appearance: Melody's style ranges from casual to gothic. What she uses the most are dark colors, such as black, gray, maroon or dark purple. You will never see her in pastel colors or white, since for her, wearing white is wearing a funeral dress. She almost always wears cleavage. Also as an accessory, she wears a special necklace for her that is only removed from her when she goes to sleep, where she leaves safely.

Personality: She is an arrogant and broken woman. She has great pride and always boasts of her benefits. She is flirtatious, she likes to play with fire but she knows the limits and she never gets to the point of burning. Although she flirts more to make the person nervous than to get something. Despite covering herself with an arrogant, frivolous and immature attitude, she hides a woman who wants to be loved just as she is. She always hides her true intentions and feelings.

Hobbies: Studying constellations, reading and playing the piano.

Favorite food: Sarmale (Romanian food)

Relatives:

Father: Lucifer (deceased)

Mother: Rosemary (deceased)

Twin sister: Kuroko (deceased)

Good traits:

Loyal

Charismatic

Compassionate

Kind

Bad traits:

Arrogant

Proud

Immature

Liar

Powers:

Immortality: She cannot die, not even if she wishes it with all her soul.

Self-regeneration: If she receives a fatal wound, she will regenerate, regardless of how long it takes.

Power and custody over two dragons: She ended up ruling hell and with it, by her unwanted power from her, she received the blessing and loyalty of two dragons who rule life and death.

Change in shape or appearance: She can turn into a wolf or change her appearance to hers at a different age.

Clone invocation: She can summon a clone of herself, but said clone is a shell that will only repeat what she wants it to say. Pretty useful if she doesn't feel like doing something.

Story:

In a cold winter, on a night where the moon was bathed in blood, two twins were born who were to be immortal human beings, pure and immaculate beings, all according to the plan devised by Lucifer. However, the older twin was born still alive, with no heartbeat or temperature. A being that was not human, if not a monster corrupted by the demonic and vampiric blood of her progenitors. The younger twin, on the other hand, was born everything as Lucifer had planned, an immortal human. It can be assumed that the monarch of hell was not at all happy with the outcome of it. A plan that ended in disaster, all because of "that thing".

Despite everything, both girls were given love and affection, at least, by her mother, who loved her little and adored Melody with all her soul. From the moment she saw her huge maroon eyes watching her, she fell in love with her tenderness. She was sorry that her husband hated her eldest daughter so much, but she was calm when she saw that she paid attention to her youngest.

"Since Kuroko receives affection from my husband, I will give all my affection to my precious and sweet Melody." Those were her thoughts. However, the demonic blood that ran through the veins of the little one of hers did not take long to blossom, unleashing and corrupting her with only 3 millennia. With an incessant thirst for blood, she slaughtered the army guarding hell and this gave Lucifer the perfect excuse to imprison her. Melody spent 12 millennia imprisoned and tortured. She couldn't die, because her body ended up regenerating even if she didn't want to. She wanted the light, she wanted freedom and wanted with all her soul, her death. But not even that was allowed.

At 15 millennia, she got enough strength to be able to escape from her prison, ending the life of the one who had locked her up and getting the power of hell. Unfortunately, her mother had lost her sanity, due to her guilt and sadness at not being able to rescue her from such an ordeal. Melody fulfilled her mother's request and ended her life in the smoothest possible way. As for Kuroko, the relationship of both sisters was always complex. They hated, envied and at the same time, admired each other. They had a confrontation and the winner was the oldest, although it was not by her own hand. To this day, Melody regrets both the death of her mother and that of her younger sister, she regrets not having been able to do anything. As for her powers, she had become so strong that she ended up gaining the loyalty of the two dragons that today channel her powers. Said dragons were the guardians of life and death: Vitae, the blue-eyed white dragon that hated humans and Mortem, the red-eyed black dragon that, unlike its companion, loved humans.

She decided to stay in hell so she could take over both the kingdom and to investigate her father's writings. She was able to understand the objective that she had set herself to achieve and the reason for those visits with that man who called himself Karl Heinz. That plan ... without a doubt, "that man" had no qualms about using anyone to carry it out. She also found "plan B" and was surprised to see that she was precisely the main target of that plan. She burned the papers after reading them and decided that she would live as a human. It was what she wanted. Freedom and light. She wanted to feel humanity in her own flesh, to feel the warmth and to be able to live among humans. She wouldn't be Lilith… she wouldn't allow herself to be part of a stupid experiment.

Years passed when she had come to the human world and settled in a Transylvanian town. That town was the home of her mother when she was human. Melody achieved a few years of happiness, where she had fallen in love and committed to a human. Just on her wedding day, when she was 17 millennia, she learned secretly that her future husband was only going to marry her to get her fortune and status. She could see that he was with another woman. It was then that she understood that humans were selfish, cruel, capricious, and lying beings. She was carried away by her anger and sadness, letting her emotions speak for her. That is why her snow-white wedding ended up being covered in crimson.

"If my feelings cause this ... if my feelings cause me so much pain ... I don't need a heart!"

She decided to return to hell, where she got a coffin full of white roses. Those flowers were her late mother's favorites and they were her favorites too. She lay down among the roses and decided to sleep for two millennia ... until someone woke her up, for her to continue her reign and receive a visit. Apparently her father's great friend, Karl Heinz, had decided to talk to her about business.

"So, will you accept the proposal, dear?"

“Yes, after all, my life is already boring. Living again between humans and vampires ... fufu, I wonder if your children can really bear it ... I'll make you see that both the plan of "that man" and yours, are not going to bear fruit. Just as my birth was a mistake, the plan to get Lilith and Eve to find two Adam and start a new race… will end in error. "

"We will see if it really is as you say. Until then, I will be a spectator. I hope you don't disappoint me. "

Curiosities:

She has died in every possible way.

She is right-handed.

She has two bodies. The first is the real one, without self-regeneration and the second is the regenerated. Her real body is a decomposing corpse, but due to the self-regeneration that her body unconsciously exerts, she always has a young and immaculate body.

She loves cold temperatures as they make her feel "alive".

She hates and adores winter.

Her fangs are much longer, sharper, and larger than those of an ordinary vampire.

Although she doesn't admit it, she fears loneliness.

She has a great knowledge of the constellations and loves to see the starry sky.

Her hair is extremely long, as she reaches above her ankles.

She is lazy and loves to sleep.

She may feel pain, but she's so used to it that she doesn't notice it anymore.

She tends to woo cute girls, even though she's just kidding.

 When there is a red moon, her powers are increased, while in an eclipse she feels completely weak.

She always wears a necklace that her mother gave her before she died. It consists of a silver cross with five diamond-shaped garnet gems. Behind the cross, there is an inscription in Romanian that says: “You are my light. You are my life. Please live and be happy. " Melody feels extremely attached to that necklace and if it were to break, she would end up devastated, since it is the only memory she has of her mother.

[fericita-s]

The Bloom Is On The Rye

Henry was a man and none of his gifts were trifles, starting with the firm arm around her waist saving her from certain death and the blanket around her shoulders to keep out the cold now.  The ring on her finger that he had probably been saving for a woman he loved and admired rather than one he had to take care of like a tiresome beast of burden, even though he was too nice to say so.

An 8K-ish Mercy Street Emmry story (with a dash of Phoster) I’ll be posting in 6 parts, starting today.  Also on AO3.

@jomiddlemarch​  wrote In Having New Eyes for Mercy Street Advent, Oregon Trail crossover day.  When I freaked out about how much I loved it she encouraged me to write more, even sending me ideas and brainstorming about various directions the story could take.  So here it is! Thanks for letting me play!

@the-spaztic-fantastic​ continues to make everything I write better, from brainstorming to beta-ing to being an enthusiastic reader.  Thank you.

At night Henry read aloud from the Book of Psalms.  Their first evening together he had cleared his throat awkwardly and asked if she would like to hear.  Emma knew it was his way of telling her he didn’t expect a wedding night so she said yes, an easier yes than any of the others she had given that day.   Henry’s voice was measured, like he was considering every word as he spoke it, and soothing, like he wanted the words to comfort her in the way he would not with his touch.

The words reached her, more than they ever had inside the four walls of a church or though the short verses she embroidered on pillows.  Now she thought David’s words could be her own. Give ear to my words, oh Lord, and consider my groaning.  Let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them. Sometimes the psalms were angry and sometimes joyous and sometimes despairing, but always wanting to find hope.  

And Emma was all of those things too. The expanse of land was breathtaking in its beauty and she could hardly deny that the Creator God who made it was powerful. 

But the land was also terrifying and unfair, and she sometimes wondered if God was too.

***

“Thank you,” she said as Henry put a blanket around her shoulders.  He didn’t say anything in return but he did sit next to her, their sides touching just barely, their feet hanging over the side of the wagon.  The campfire was several feet away and the light from the stars and moon was bright enough that she could probably see his face if she dared turn and look.

“At home we had servants.”

“Oh,” said Henry, moving slightly so that their sides were no longer pressed together at all, and Emma mourned the loss.  It had felt warm, nice even to be touched, light though it had been.  There had been so little of it since her family died. “We’ll probably have to keep our own house, even after this trek is over. Though perhaps in a few years we could hire someone to help.”

“I only meant - that’s why I don’t know what to do.  But I’ll learn.”

“I should have told you more, before we married. And I don’t expect you to do all that.  I managed fine as a bachelor. I can do for us both.”

“Then what would I contribute?” she asked, now looking at him and smiling so he would know she wasn’t aggrieved.  It was a new world to her but she’d seen enough to know that everyone had to have a use.  Nothing could exist for only beauty and perhaps it was a mercy Alice hadn’t realized that yet before her end came. 

Perhaps it would have made Jimmy into a man who did more than ruin his family.  

“I’m sure you have many talents,” Henry said and Emma was grateful he spoke.  Not just for the confidence or kindness it showed, but for pulling her from the darker thoughts that had started to intrude.

“I can plan a party.  Embroider a handkerchief. Paint a landscape.” 

“Could you sew a dress? I can probably get some calico or muslin when we go through Fort Kearney. I know you’ve only the one dress since - “ he paused and took her hand, hesitantly covering it with both of hers. She smiled at him, so he would know it was welcome, and pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders with her other hand, shivering a little. 

“I can manage that.  And I can pay for it, too. My trunk with our sewing notions; I still have it. Mother hid some brooches among the buttons and I’m wearing the pearl necklace. We could sell them.  There’s a leontine watch chain too, but we had to sell the watch.”  Emma felt the drop pearl pendant warm against her chest and thought of the brooches carefully wrapped in bits of fabric.  The cabochon garnet in its decorative frame and the less valuable hand painted one, enamel and round, the size of a coat button. Her mother had painted it herself and kept it stowed away from the grit of their dusty travel, but Emma remembered seeing her sit with it that first night on the trail, turning it over in her hand and then bringing it to her cheek like a kiss. 

“No,” he said, and his fingers moved to his mother’s ring, loose on her finger. He ran his thumb over it and Emma shivered again.  “You keep that. You should keep something of your family. To give to your own children someday.”

Her hand fell gently into her lap as he drew his hands back and Emma wondered if he, like her, was suddenly thinking about what it would mean for her to have children someday.  Was he regretting this arrangement? This marriage where he barely touched her?  

“Your mother’s ring - was there someone you planned to give it to?”

“No. I brought a few of her things, without much of a plan for their use.  Small things to remember her by.  And you, was there someone for you?” 

“I thought so, before we left.  But when our family fortunes turned, he did too. I’m not longing for him.”  She could feel him looking at her and it made her feel warm. Like she had admitted too much.

“Good.  I mean, I wouldn’t want you to have more grief to bear than you already have.” 

Neither spoke as Silas Bullen began playing his fiddle from across the circle of wagons, a jaunty version of “Yankee Doodle” that Mrs. Brannan’s voice soon joined.  Emma could picture her parents listening to it - her father inviting her mother to dance, her mother complaining that a song with a Virginian like Washington in the lyrics would use the word ‘Yankee,’ but smiling and taking his hand anyway.

“I’m not crying about you. About being married to you. When I cry.  I just miss them, that’s all,” Emma said, wishing she was still wearing her bonnet so Henry couldn’t see the tears springing to her eyes.  

“I know,” he said. “I understand.” And she believed that he did, passing her handkerchiefs all day when her tears fell and not mentioning the cause. This time, after pressing a handkerchief into her fist, he also put his arm around her, running his hand up and down her arm, making shushing noises like she had heard him use with the oxen when he unyoked them for the night. She could feel his heart beating against her back as he pulled her tighter against his chest.

It was nice talking this way.  Like he was a friend and could maybe be something more soon. Like they could get through this together. Emma knew how to tease and cajole and even dare boys into showing their affection.  She had received trifles such as a paint set or a bouquet of flowers someone’s servant had grown in a hothouse.  

But Henry was a man and none of his gifts were trifles, starting with the firm arm around her waist saving her from certain death and the blanket around her shoulders to keep out the cold now.  The ring on her finger that he had probably been saving for a woman he loved and admired rather than one he had to take care of like a tiresome beast of burden, even though he was too nice to say so.

Author’s Note:  I did research but only included information that would help Henry and Emma in their romantic pursuit of each other, occasionally eschewing actual facts and realities to make the story more compelling.  For example, most travelers on the trail (called emigrants or overlanders) used tents or slept in the open by the campfire since their wagons were too loaded with supplies.  But I needed Henry and Emma to have some privacy or else he would never ever make a move and no one wants that story.  Henry reads here from Psalm 5, a psalm of David.  Emma’s jewelry was of the type popular at the time; the leontine style was named after a famous actress and was made of a woven golden ribbon with a tassel on one end and a watch hook on the other.

[avatarmerida]

Pros and Cons

Set between the movie and the start of Future because you can’t convince me these kids weren’t dating the whole time and we deserve to see more schmaltz from Steven. Wrote this on mobile, so I’ll fix all spelling and formatting things later. Enjoy!

——————————————————————

“Connie, Steven is here!” Called Dr. Maheswaran to her daughter, who hardly needed to be told since she was already bolting down the stairs at full speed.

“Bye mom!” Called the girl as she rushed passed her out the door.

“Be back by 10!” Her mother called after in a stern voice, though small smile found its way onto her face as she slowly closed the door, happy to see Connie so happy.

“Hey Connie!” Exclaimed Steven, grinning ear to ear once she entered his sight.

“Steven!” She sang as she ran to him, leaping to tackle him with a big hug. Steven returned the embrace and the pair laughed. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever!”

It had only been a few days. “I got you something,” he said, presenting a bouquet of flowers to her. A collection a vivid blue flowers, tied together with a matching bow, everything carefully selected and presented to be picture perfect.

“Aw Steven!” She swooned, taking the flowers from him and bringing them to her nose, the smell light and sweet. “Oh, they’re so beautiful! Thank you.”

She leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on his cheek before hopping in the passenger seat. Steven blushed wildly, and ran behind the car to his seat so Connie wouldn’t see. She had been doing that a lot more lately, not that he minded. It was often enough that it didn’t catch him totally off guard but rare enough that he still wasn’t quite used to it. Pro.

He jumped in the driver’s seat and snuck a quick look at her as she continued to fawn over the flowers. She was wearing her favorite blue dress and Steven couldn’t help but thank she looked like an angel. She carefully undid the ribbon from the bouquet and used it to tie up her hair and the simple act made Steven’s heart spin. Pro.

Truthfully, that feeling was nothing new. Connie had always made him feel this way, but lately there was something different. Every time she touched him he felt light headed. He suddenly noticed they touched so much. She’d rest her head on his shoulder when they watched movies together or they’d hold hands when they took walks, but now he felt himself hesitate to do the things that were once so second nature. Yet somehow, that made him want to do then even more. Pro.

“Um Steven?” Asked Connie and his daze broke, and he realized he had been staring at her in silence.

“Oh uh, right,” he laughed awkwardly, starting the car. Connie didn’t seem to notice his nerves and started playing with the radio as they began to make their way to Beach City.

“- oh it was so hard not stopping the instructor every five minutes,” said Connie, finishing her story. “I mean, he was only focused on this solar system, he wouldn’t even listen when I tried describing Homeworld! Sure, Jupiter is cool but I think a society of gems is much cooler.”

“I think have to agree,” laughed Steven. “But other than that, space camp was fun?”

“Of course,” she said. “I wish I could’ve spent more time with you though. Next time you should come, you could probably teach the class!”

“I’ll think about it,” he sighed, fighting the urge to stare at her again, knowing he had to keep his eyes on the road. She continued talking about space camp, though most of it he had already heard on the phone, but he just enjoyed hearing her voice. Pro.

He suddenly longed for the day when they would sit on the beach and she’d read aloud to him, nothing else to do and not a care in the world. Just the two of them. But of course they both had other responsibilities now, but that only made Steven think of the future more. He was never shy when it came to telling Connie how much she meant to him, but tonight he wanted to add something more. In his jacket pocket he had a list or pros and cons which confirmed his decision to ask (even though the pros side was mostly just tiny things her loved about Connie). His dad said it was ‘taking the next step’ and Steven kind of agreed. It did feel like a big step but at the same time, a natural one. But if marathoning Camp Pining Hearts with Peridot has taught him anything, it was that big feelings required a big gesture.

Finally, they reached Temple. Steven made sure his parking job was perfect (parallel parking even though it wasn’t necessary but Connie found it impressive) and then frantically ran around the side to open Connie’s door for her.

“After you, my lady,” he said in a mock fancy tone, offering her his arm.

“Why thank you, my lord,” she responded in the same tone, taking it and the two made their way down the beach “And where shall we be dining tonight?”

“Why, only the finest eating establishment of course,” He said and then ran ahead to present the setting to her. “Ta-da!”

“Steven...” murmured Connie with wide eyes as she took in his creation. He had brought out a simple folding table and with a long tablecloth and a few lanterns, he had transformed the beach into something from a fairy tale. Around the table, four poles displayed twinkling lights and glowing bracelets, like the one that had brought them together. It was like their own personal fallen star, a tiny spotlight on a calm night. Lion sat close by, fast asleep which somehow just added to the lore.

“Oh wow this is amazing,” she whispered as she marveled at the details. “This must’ve taken you all day!”

It had. “Oh, it’s no big deal,” he blushed, pulling out her chair. She sat down and continued to look astound, utterly enchanted.

“But wait! It get better!” He said as he excitedly leaned over the table to present the pizza box the gems had set out minutes before they arrived. Steven said they couldn’t watch but they wanted to be knocked anyway they could. “Ta-da!”

“Pizza, very classy,” said Connie with her fancy tone, though pizza was kind of a let down after the lighting display.

“Notice anything weird about the cheese?”

“What do you-?” Connie questioned as she looked closer, and sure enough she did. She reached inside and hidden amidst the cheese was a yellow envelope. “Steven, what is this?” She laughed.

“Why don’t you open it and find out?” He beamed.

She did and once she did her face lit up lighter than the candles on the table. She looked up at him with utter disbelief. “These aren’t-.”

He nodded, trying to keep his cool. “They are!”

“Tickets to the new Unfamiliar Familiar Movie?” She said still in shook as she read them small pieces of paper. “They sold out weeks ago! How did you get these?”

“I was the first in line to get them,” he said as if it were no big deal and he hadn’t camped outside the theater for hours. Then he admitted somewhat sheepishly. “I didn’t realize you could buy tickets online, but I knew how much it meant to you so I-.”

“Aw, you’re the best!” As she ran around the table to wrap him in a tight hug.

“Nah, you’re the best,” he blushed, luckily it was dark enough that Connie probably couldn’t see. “Lion can take us after we eat. Have any theories about how this one will be different than the books?”

“Ugh, so many!” She said as she sat back down. The two sat and ate their pizza as Connie discussed her theories. Steven, of course, was hoping they’d make sure the wedding cake was as accurate as possible which made Connie laugh which made his heart jump. Pro.

“Wow Steven, I just can’t get over how great this is,” sighed Connie, placing one of her hands on his.

“Well, you’re worth it,” he said, resting his chin on his other hand as he looked at her. “I really wanted to make sure tonight was special.”

“Why?”

“Why? Uh...” this wasn’t supposed to be when he asked, he had it mapped out so perfectly. “Because, well, with school starting back up soon you’ll be so busy studying and I just wanted to make sure that any time we spend together is extra special.”

Now it was Connie’s turn to blush. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and gave him a sweet smile. “Time with my jam bud is always special,” she said, tilting her head. “Wow, just wait until I tell the girls from camp about this. I told them all about you and Beach City and they all kept telling me how jealous they were of my magical boyfriend. If they saw this they’d-.”

His heart leapt at the word. “B-boyfriend?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, they would sometimes call you my boyfriend,” she said as her blush got bigger, trying to make the word seem like less of a big deal. “It was just teasing, no big deal. Nothing, I mean I didn’t-.”

“Did you correct them?” He asked sheepishly, hoping for a certain answer.

“Um, at first,” she admitted, averting her eyes from his. “But most of the time they called you ‘Steven’ so I didn’t need to to. I mean, it didn’t bother me when they called you my boyfriend. I mean, when you break down the components of the word-.”

“Connie it’s fine!” He cut her off with a laugh. “It doesn’t bother me.”

“Are you sure?”

“No, I mean actually...” he began to reach under the table to where the final part of the plan was carefully hidden: a box of donuts from The Big Donut in Connie’s favorite flavor with a customized design, one read “By My” and the other “Girlfriend?” Steven knew it was cliche and cheesy but Sadie assured him it was really adorable. “There’s actually something I wanted to tell you... or ask you? Okay, wait, there are two things-.”

“Steven do you feel that?”

“Well, even since-.”

“Steven, I think it’s starting to rain...”

“What? No, Garnet said...”

But sure enough, a roll of thunder cut him off and the rain came shortly after in buckets. Con.

“Oh no, all your work,” said Connie frantically, not worried about herself getting wet. “Steven, the lanterns!”

“It’s okay,” he insisted conjuring a shield to protect them from the rain. “Let’s just grab the tickets and Lion can teleport us to the theater.”

“Okay,” said Connie, reaching down to grab the, only to find they weren’t where she thought she had left them. “Wait, where are they?”

“They should be right by the centerpiece,” answered Steven as the rain came down harder. “Are they by-.” his eyes darted between the empty space on the table and Lion at the table’s edge and suddenly he realized what had happened.  He dropped the shield and went to pry open Lion’s mouth. “NO!”

“What?”

“He ate them!” he exclaimed not finding anything between his teeth, confirming his fear.

“Oh no!” said Connie, though it was hard to see with the rain coming down so hard. “Well, do you still have the receipt? Maybe we can try-.”

Con. Somehow knowing he was no longer needed, Lion turned and ran away from the pair. “No, wait!” pleaded Steven, looking back and forth between where Lion was running to, Connie was standing in the rain, and then he remembered the donuts getting soggy. This was no how this evening was supposed to go at all. Steven’s mind raced for a way to fix it but nothing came to mind, everything started getting blurry but he needed to focus on Connie. He needed to-

“Connie, I’m sorry!” he exclaimed, rushing over to her and suddenly the rain was o longer dousing them. He looked up, confused, and saw that he had summoned a bubble without realizing it. Luckily they were safe from the rain now, but still soaking wet. “Ugh, Connie I’m so sorry.” he said again.

“Why? Because it rained?” she laughed, wringing her hair out. “Steven, you can’t blame yourself for the weather.”

“No, I’m sorry for this whole night; it was a disaster,” he admitted as he sat down, defeated. “I was just really nervous and excited and I wanted everything to be perfect.”

Con.

“As long as we’re together, it is,” she insisted, sitting beside him. “Remember the last time we were trapped in a bubble? We still had fun. We can still have fun now. Look, the rain’s starting to let up.”

Steven turned and saw she was right, it was no longer down pouring and had downgraded to a faint drizzle. Pro.

“Oh, the beach is so pretty at night,” Connie whispered as the moon appeared from behind the clouds, reflecting majestically on the water.

“Yeah, it is,” Steven agreed, though he wasn’t looking at the moon. “Hold on, I have an idea.” He stood up and summoned a great amount of foucused, jumped up and hit the top of the bubble. He was stuck only a moment but soon the bubble rose with him and the pair were floating up into the sky. The hovered toward the water until the had a fantastic view of the beach and the whole town.

“Wow,” said Connie breathlessly, taking in the view. “Steven this is amazing!”

He shrugged and sat back down beside her. “I mean, I guess. I just wish I hadn’t left the snacks on the beach.”

“The candles might be helpful too,” added Connie with a shiver. “For an airtight bubble, it’s pretty chilly in here.”

Con.

Of course she’s cold, Steven thought, she’s still wet from the rain! “Here,” he said as he removed his jacket and placed it around her shoulders. “Better?”

She nodded, her eyes wide at the noble gesture she had seen countless times in books and movies. He did it without hesitation or flair and her own heart spun. He sighed as he looked to the ground, still upset that things hadn’t gone according to plan. But as far as Connie was concerned, this was better than anything he could’ve planned. She couldn’t help but smile as this moments brought back memories, Steven planning things as best he could only for some magical element to derail things. Every moment, no matter how small, was an adventure. Even just sitting there taking in the view, that was something only Steven could deliver. Pro.

She rested her head on his shoulder, half to reassure him that she was fine being there and half because it was such a natural action at this point. He relaxed a little and allowed his head to rest on hers as he truly started to appreciate the view. Pro. Pro. Pro.

“It’s not as good as the movies, but I guess it’s okay,” said Steven with a laugh, his positive attitude returning.

“Steven, it’s okay,” Connie laughed gently, looking up at him. “Really, it is. We can see the movie another time, or rent it later on. And Lion’s eaten worse things than paper, he’ll be okay.”

“Ugh! Of course he ate the tickets! They were covered in cheese,” Steven sulked at the memory, burying his face in his hands. “Can’t say I blame him.”

Connie laughed. “But... why did you put them in the pizza?” She asked with a raise of her eyebrow.

“I thought it’d be... romantic,” he admitted, hiding his face in defeat.

“‘Romantic?’” Connie repeated, half surprised and half flustered at the mention of the word.

“Pretty silly right?”

“No, not at all,” she said with a small chuckle. “It... it was kind of romantic.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” she said quietly. “But um, why did you want it to be romantic?”

“Well I was going to ask you... I mean, I was going to tell you...” he turned and saw how close her face was to his, her large eyes reflected the moonlight and the sight made his ears hot and his throat tight. He cleared his throat, trying to summon some courage and took a long, deep breath in and closed his eyes. “ConnieIwaswonderingifyoumaybewantedtobemygirlfrienditsokayifyousayno.” He said as fast as he could.

“What?” Asked a bewildered Connie. Before any further explanation could be offered, the bubble popped and the two found themselves hurting towards the ground. Steven quickly grabbed Connie’s hand and pulled her close as he controlled their descent and had them land safely.

Safe on the beach, the pair stood in a loose embrace as Steven searched his mind for what to say next. He didn’t know if should ask again, he wasn’t even sure Connie had heard him the first time. Or maybe she had? And she was looking for a way to let him down gently? Maybe she-.

“Lion, stop!” He suddenly heard her laugh as he snapped back from his dreamlike state. He looked and saw the creature licking Connie’s face, happy to see her. Steven smiled and reached out to pet him.

“Hey there buddy,” he laughed. “Where did you go? Usually you’re in bed by- oh no! Connie! What time is it?”

She pulled her phone from her pocket and gasped at what she saw. “It’s 9:57!”

“Your curfew!” Exclaimed Steven grabbing her hand. Con. “C’mon, we gotta get you home!” The pair hopped onto Lion’s back who knew exactly where to take them. They traveled through the portal and landed outside Connie’s house and instantly jumped off and headed to her front door, both panting from the mission’s urgency.

“We made it!” Breathed Steven victoriously.

“Yeah,” agreed Connie. “That was close.”

The two stood on the porch in silence for a moment, a very familar feeling in the air. “Steven, I-,” Connie began, only to once again be interrupted. This time by the opening of the door.

“9:59,” said Connie’s mom, looking at her watch. “Just in time, can’t tell if you’re pushing it or punctual. Either way, you’ve got tennis tomorrow so upstairs young lady.”

“Okay mom,” said Connie, entering the house. She offered Steven a small wave and her mother closed the store.

“Have a good night, Steven,” said Dr. Maheswaran as she gently closed the door, her voice stern but caring. “See you soon.”

“See ya soon,” Steven sighed as he looked at the closed door. He was worried he had blown his chance or if this was a sign they weren’t mean to be. So nothing changes, he thought as he walked back to Lion, so what? So we’re still friends, still jam buds, we can still be Stevonnie. She’s still in my life, that’s what matters. These were all true, but his heart still felt a twinge defeat and long list of cons.

Then, he felt his phone vibrate and the quiet air was filled with Connie’s ringtone. He couldn’t help but feel nervous as he answered the phone.

“Hello?”

“You forgot your jacket,” said Connie in a whisper.

“Where-?” He turned around and say Connie at her bedroom window, waving it like a pink flag.

“It’s fine, you can keep it for now,”

“Steven Cutiepie Quartz Universe, I gave you this jacket are you trying to regift it?” She said in a faux stern voice. “That’s very rude. I insist you come retrieve it right this instant.”

“Um, I’m pretty sure your mom is very strict about her 10 o’clock curfew, no exceptions.”

“You don’t need to go through the house, you have floating powers, silly.”

He couldn’t argue with that, so he quietly made his way to the side of the house and floated up to her open window.

“Pickup for ‘Universe’” he said, placing his elbow on the window ledge, casually. Connie laughed.

“Here’s your order sir,” she said handing him the folded jacket, but when he went to take it from her she didn’t let go. He looked up at her, expecting another joke but instead he found her face inches from his, filled with the same gentle moonlight from before.

“Yes,” was all she said.

“Y-yes?”

“Yes,” she repeated, and pulled the jacket back toward her and thereby also pulled Steven. As he went forward, she moved her face in front of his and their lips met in a kiss. At first, Steven was surprised but Connie was unmoving until he finally accepted it was real and placed his hands on her back to steady himself and hold her. He felt her smile as she moved one of her hands behind his head, the other still held the jacket, and brought him closer.

He felt like he was melting and freezing at the same time and he knew his entire face must be blushing but he didn’t care. He swore they were like this for hours but at the same time it was like no time had passed at all, like they were outside the world. When they finally parted, it was only because Steven found his body was floating upward. Connie giggled and reached up to pull him back to the window, giggling more when she saw the large, goofy grin he wore.

She attempted to stifle herself, worried her mother would hear, but her nerves combined with her giddiness made it hard. Steven was deliver to see she was also blushing and he joined her laughter.

“Don’t go floating away,” whispered Connie as she made sure he was holding on to the windowsill.

“I’ll try,” he said, feeling both shy and bold somehow. He wanted to stay right there and just stare at her, but he knew that was a pipe dream. He slipped his arms into his jacket. “I, uh, should probably get going.”

“I guess,” sighed Connie, though neither of them moved. “Text me when you get home?”

“Sure thing,” said Steven as he prepared to lower himself. Before he did, he lungded forward and gave Connie one more surprise kiss on her cheek, quick and light but it brought her blush back nevertheless. He used the ledge to kick himself backward and floated back to Lion. “I’ll text my girlfriend as soon as I get home.” He said, cherishing the word as he gave her finger guns.

“And I’ll be waiting for my boyfriend to text me,” Connie whispered back matching his giddy tone, watching him from the window. He landed safely on the ground and waved to her until Lion lifted him onto his back and teleported him home.

Once back on the beach, Lion lowered the lovesick teen to the ground and Steven later in the sand and marveled at the moon for a moment. He sighed, content, and went to get his phone from his pocket to text Connie. When he did, a piece of paper came out with it: his pros and cons list. He opened it up and saw that now the cons sign had a giant X through it and the pros signs was circled several times. Even though it was just Xs and Os, he recognized Connie’s handwriting anywhere.

[zebrabaker]

The Goddess of Life, The King of Death: Chapter Three

So, I really should be studying for my biology final tomorrow, but I got inspired, and, well, here. No tag list this time, since I lost the notebook it was written in. Sorry! Send me an ask if you want me to tag you.

Allegra was stretched out, beaming at the scrying pool before her. Her servants tittered at the images playing across the water. Everything was going according to plan.

XoxoX

Lila was in Elysium. How she had fooled this many deities was beyond her, but she knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. It was a little draining at times, maintaining all of the lies she had told. She hadn’t been feeling well lately, but that was likely just stress. After all, she was getting married in just under a year. Speaking of, here came her dope of a fiancé. He had privately spoken to her when it was ‘discovered’ that she was the next goddess of life. He was eating out of her palm, and Lila loved it. For a while he had been uncertain whether or not Marinette really was goddess of lies and deceit. Of course, when she began to cry, he caved. The lame little flower nymph had disappeared almost twenty years ago, and would most certainly not be coming back. Only the more powerful gods were required to attend the wedding, so the little fool wouldn’t interfere. She was currently being fitted by the one and only Audrey Bourgeois for a wedding gown. She planned to descend to the Underworld later with her fiancé to choose a gem for her wedding ring, and several more for her crown. Her life was perfect. She would be named crown princess of the gods, married to Adrien, and no-one would question her.

“It’s my best work yet.” Audrey stood, setting aside her bowl of pins.

“It looks lovely, Auntie Audrey. Lila, are you ready to go choose your stones? I’ve sent Gina ahead to tell them to expect us.” Adrien gave his aunt a brief hug before kissing Lila on the cheek.

“Absolutely, dear. I can’t wait. Just eleven months and three weeks to go.” She kissed him on the tip of his nose, and went to change out of her dress. Yes, this was perfect.

XoxoX

Marinette shuffled, anxious. Her usual pastel chiton was exchanged for a deep garnet one, with silver accents. She wore a crown of wrought iron with crystal roses, and a heavy garnet colored veil covered her face. Her usual slippers had been swapped for a pair of black heels, that were enchanted to look taller than they were. She was standing in a side hall, just off the throne room. She was to wait for Alain to come and fetch her. She heard the great door open, and placed her hand on a shrunken-down Cerberus’ head. In this form, he had only one, and reached her ribs instead of towering a good six feet above her. Alain, in full Thanatos garb, appeared beside her. She raised an eyebrow at him, and he shook his head. Not yet. He reached out a thin finger, affected by the magic of his cloak, and pressed a hidden rune. The symbol glowed silver for a moment, before the wall turned transparent. There stood Adrien and Lila, bowing to Felix, who was lounging on his throne. The two stood, and Adrien began to ramble.

“Thank you, lord Hades, for granting us this boon. No-where in the three realms can jewels of the same quality be found as those here in your domain. My fiancé and I are eternally grateful, in return- “Felix raised a hand, and Adrien paused.

“This is not a boon, it’s an exchange. You get some of the rarest gems in the three realms. In exchange, I merely wish to bring my wife with me to the event. She had not set foot on Olympus before and is most curious. Thanatos!” He bellowed, and Alain squeezed her hand before disappearing, only to step out of the shadows behind Felix’s throne. Lila clearly jumped at the large man suddenly appearing.

“Yes, Lord Hades?” He knelt before Felix, head bowed and massive black wings tucked tight.

“Fetch the Lady Persephone. We have guests she must meet.” Thanatos rose, and was engulfed in a whirling vortex of shadows. He appeared beside her again, and Marinette took a deep breath. Show time.

First, she activated a rune on Cerberus’ collar, making him grow to his normal height, second, she flipped up the hood of the silken cloak she wore over her elaborate dress. Thanatos tapped another rune on the wall, making it melt away in a silver glow. Thanatos offered his arm, and she settled her hand in the crook of his elbow. She adjusted her veil once more before gliding forward. She kept her head down until she reached the steps to the throne platform. She then tilted up her chin, and removed her hood.

“Hello, husband. It is good to see you again.” Felix stood, and walked over.

“Hello, my love. I cannot express how much I missed you. I have some people I’d like you to meet.” He guided her to the throne next to his, before removing her cloak. He draped it over the back of her throne, before kissing her knuckles and returning to his throne. “My love, meet my younger brother, Adrien, god of the sun. The woman with him is his fiancée, Lila, the goddess of life.” Marinette nodded to each of them.

“I’ve never heard of a goddess named Persephone before.” Lila said, head tilted to the side.

“I changed my name when I married. My old name bore only painful memories.” She clicked her fingers. “Cerberus, come here, pet.” Adrien and Lila tensed when the huge hound trotted into the room. Marinette pointed to the gap between the two thrones, and the dog settled onto the cushion that rested there for just this reason.

“Wife? When did you two get married?” Lila’s voice was sickly sweet, and her eyes held a disturbing gleam.

“Several months ago. It was a private ceremony, just us and Thanatos, Hecate, and Charon. We didn’t have time nor inclination for some big, flashy, over the top ceremony. Too much to do down here as is.” Felix reminisced, his hand resting atop Marinette’s.

“That’s wonderful! You’re more than welcome to attend the wedding, Queen Persephone!” Adrien was beaming and beginning to glow slightly.

“Let’s get down to business. Hecate.” Felix snapped his fingers, and Allegra appeared in a swirl of lavender mist. She stepped out, holding a tray of precious gems. Behind her came several spirits, carrying heavy trays full of samples of metals and more gems and jewels. Marinette stood, and summoned a long wooden table into the center of the room. The trays were all placed along it, and the spirits vanished. Hecate gave Marinette a deep curtsey, did the same for Felix, and nodded at Adrien and Lila, who’s eyes burned with anger.

“Hecate, my friend, thank you. How goes the newest expansion?” Marinette gave Allegra a long hug, ignoring her guests.

“Well enough, ‘Sephie. Are we still on for lunch next Thursday?” Hecate pulled back, and nodded to Felix.

“Always, ‘Cate. See you then.” Allegra winked at Felix and Marinette before disappearing the way she had come.

“Oh, these are all so lovely!” Lila gushed, running a hand over the peaks of a rather large trillion cut diamond. “Adrien, what do you think?” She was holding a large emerald next to her eyes. “The right shade, or no?”

“It looks great, but it isn’t very traditional.” Marinette walked the length of the table, before choosing a large sphalerite gem, roughly the size of her thumb nail and a vivid orange. “For the next goddess of life and crown princess of Olympus, I would choose this, set in a gold band. Orange and gold, to symbolize your husbands dawn. We could do a vine embellishment along the band as well. It would be quite stunning.” Lila took the stone between her thumb and pointer finger.

“It’s lovely! Oh, we’ll take it!” Lila gushed, twisting the large stone so that it glimmered in the light of the torches. Marinette couldn’t help but roll her eyes. It was actually traditional for the goddess of life to wear a plain gold band with a small jade as the only embellishment, but Lila had set this appointment to look at gems. Adrien slipped his hand into Lila’s, and smiled.

“This one, then. Brother, Queen Persephone, we’ll see you at the wedding.” Stepped forward from where she was waiting by the door. As the only goddess who had unrestricted access to all three realms, she was Adrien and Lila’s ride home. She double clicked the fob to her motorcycle, and it shifted into a Maserati. All three climbed in, and they roared off. Marinette pulled off her veil with a sigh, and rubbed her temples.

“That was the single most stressful moment of my eternal life.” She groaned, and let her head slump back.

“Yes, but now the hard part is over.” Felix stood from his throne and stretched.

“That was the hard part? We still have to go to the wedding!” Marinette ruffled Cerberus’ ears, pouting.

“Yes, but we’ve established the persona of Persephone. Now all we have to do is get through the wedding and any questions from curious deities who can’t mind their own business.” He snagged a glass of nectar, and took a swig. “If I’m right, you and Claude were planning a prank on Allain, yes?” She sat up and patted all three of Cerberus’ heads and made her way to the exit. Felix watched her leave and sighed. What was he thinking?! His wife?! Sure, he wanted her to be his wife, but to pretend? How were they going to pull this off? Creation above and below, her former friend and Lila’s maid of honor was the goddess of truth and journalism!! This was so chaotic Lady Trixx herself would enjoy it.

[odderancyart]

I told Kyuko I wanted to write something for International Women’s Day and she said “Lesbians” so here’s Edwardian Lesbian Edgeberry Coffee Shop AU (and how complicated that AU title is bring me joy)

The rain smattered against the windows of the small café as they hurried inside, letting out relieved sighs. Fell straightened, brushing waterdrops off her black jacket as she glanced at her companion. Razz grinned at her, drying off the Votes for Women-pin on her chest. Under her jacket, Fell wore a garnet-red dress: both she and her brother wore red a lot, it made a marvellous contrast to their brown skin and raven black hair. Hair that was pinned into an elegant bun beneath her huge black hat decorated with red flowers.

Together, they stepped inside the warm café, which smelled deliciously of sugar and fresh bread, before taking one of the circular tables closest to the counter, with a white tablecloth over it. Razz wore a light pink dress and a had a white hat with pink roses on her blonde head. Her eyes glimmered as she placed a hand on the table, drumming her fingers against the surface.

“Quite a successful protest, don’t you think?” she asked, sounding pleased.

Nodding, Fell wiped her hands off at one of the cloth napkins at the table. “At least no one got arrested this time. I do believe my dearest brother is getting tired of bailing us out. We’ve cost him quite the fortune.”

Razz snorted, her hand trailing down to her stomach. “That’s what he gets for marrying me. He knew what he was getting into even before he proposed, so he’s got no one to blame but himself.” Her smile softened. “But I do suppose I’ll have to calm down eventually. For a while.”

Once the pregnancy started to show, started to restrict her. Fell smiled, even as she grimaced on the inside. She pitied Red who would have to deal with Razz once the pregnancy turned into a hindrance, and the mood-swings set in. But again, she thought fondly, he’d probably threaten to disown me if I voiced that. He loves her and the child far too much to ever see it as a burden. And she could certainly not afford to get disowned: since she had no plans on marrying, she’d likely be financially dependent on her brother for many years yet. It was difficult, being a happily unwed upper-class woman. The opportunities to find work were few.

“Good evening,” a polite, light voice came from behind. “Can I take your order?”

A woman in a blue blouse, black skirt, and a white apron stepped up to them, smiling. Fell froze in her tracks as her gaze flickered up to meet the waitress’ bright blue eyes. The light from the lamps danced in them, causing them to shimmer like ice. A striking contrast to her mocha skin. And her hair, black as midnight, was in a neat bun just above her neck, but a few coils of curly hair had escaped, framing her face. Fell gaped. Then Razz snickered, reminding her of where she was, and her mouth snapped close and she straightened her back.

Her eyes flickered down to the menu on the table for a second before going back to the woman’s face: full lips, a wide nose, thick black eyelashes. Holy hell she was beautiful. “Black currant tea, please,” she managed to choke out, pursing her lips as Razz giggled loudly.

The waitress smiled, nodding as she scratched that down in a black leather notebook. “Thank you, ma’am.” She turned to Razz.

Smiling slyly, Razz pointed at an item on the menu. “A cup of peppermint tea, please. What’s your name, miss?”

She blinked, surprised at the question, before smiling, brighter than before. Fell’s heart made a somersault. “Blue, ma’am. Blue Debois.”

“Well, Miss Debois-” Razz pointedly ignored the panicked gaze Fell sent her. She knew exactly what Razz was planning and it was a dumb idea fucking hell “-I quite feel I need to sit in silence for a while – I’m pregnant, you see – so maybe you could hold my companion company for a while? Since the café is empty other than us. I’d feel terribly guilty if she had to be alone.”

Tilting her head, Miss Debois regarded Fell for a moment, and she could feel a drop of sweat slide down her neck as she smiled back, folding her gloved hands in her lap. Oh God have mercy on her. They were never a family gifted at emotions, she, her brother and their parents, and in all honesty it was a miracle Red had managed to marry someone like Razz. And Red was the family’s social butterfly. She wanted desperately to glare at Razz, but she also didn’t want Miss Debois to get the wrong impression.

“I’d love to.”

Razz smiled politely at her as she stood up, smoothing out her skirt. “I’m very grateful. But we’d like our tea first.”

“Of course, ma’am.” Curtsying quickly, she left the room for the kitchen.

Correcting the position of her hat, Razz ignored the furious glares Fell sent her. “What are you doing? I don’t know how to talk to girls. And she’s working.”

“Figure it out.” Razz turned her back to her, throwing a smug look over her shoulder. “That’s what you told me when I was first starting to see your brother. And we’ve got all day, dear sister. We can stay here until her shift ends.” Then she was gone, gliding over to the other side of the café where she settled into an aubergine couch in the darkest corner. Fell was going to kill her when they left. Or in a couple months, she supposed it’d be cruel to kill her brother’s unborn child as well as his wife. But kill her she would.

Soon, Miss Debois returned to the café, putting down a teacup in front of Razz before placing a white porcelain cup with a red rose painted on it in front of Fell. The purple tea inside steamed.

“Thank you.” Fell delicately picked up the cup, putting it to her lips and sipping. It burned on her tongue, which helped ground her and her fluttering stomach. She glanced toward Razz. “I apologize if you’re busy, miss. You don’t have to sit here.”

Letting out a giggle, Miss Debois shook her head. “Oh, don’t worry, ma’am. I’m quite pleased.” Her eyes glittered, though a stroke of anxiety flashed over her face before she added, “It’s not every day such a beautiful lady comes in here, after all.”

Blood rushed to her cheeks. Ducking her head, Fell suddenly wished that wearing her hair loose would’ve been socially acceptable, so it could’ve fallen to hide her face. In her embarrassment, she saw her late father’s disapproving face flash before her inner eye. We’re Blanchets. Act like it. Taking a deep breath, she smiled, holding out her hand over the table for Miss Debois to shake.

“How rude of me,” she said. “I’m Mademoiselle Fell Blanchet. The lady who just left us is my sister-in-law, Madame Razz Blanchet. And-” She hesitated. “You’re very lovely yourself.”

Miss Debois straightened, delight shining in her eyes as she blushed faintly. “You’re French?”

“Oui. We moved here from Paris when my twin brother and I were thirteen. And you, miss? I noticed you have a French surname.”

She nodded, and when she spoke, it was in French. “From Semur-en-Auxois in Burgundy, ma’am. My father remarried and we moved here when I was a child, but I’ve always wanted to go back and visit. Oh,” she said, pausing. Her smile shone like the sun in Fell’s eyes. “Call me Blue, ma’am.”

Very much pretending like she didn’t want to scream, Fell nodded, returning her smile. “I’m flattered. Then you may call me Fell.”

The other’s eyebrows raised so high they looked like they might fall off her face, which made Fell laugh. Her surprise was evident, which was understandable. After all, she was a waitress, and Fell was quite rich – on her brother’s, admittedly great, graces. Stars, she did need to find herself an appropriate job, but it was difficult, and doubly so with her having been arrested multiple times for being in the suffragette riots.

Blue’s eyes flickered down to the button on her jacket. “You’re a suffragette?”

“I am.” She pursed her lips, for a moment anxious as she waited for Blue’s response. Not everyone supported their cause, even if they were women.

She looked pleased. “Maybe… Maybe you’d like to accompany me to a protest someday, ma’- Fell?”

Eyes widening, Fell nodded dumbly. She shook herself to clear her head before nodding again, her cheeks straining from the force of her smile. “I’d love that.”

…

Stirring her teacup, Razz watched the two speak. Fantastic. She couldn’t wait until she came home and could tell her husband that he likely wouldn’t need to worry about his sister being lonely anymore, thanks to yours truly. Red would be delighted that Fell had found a potential lover, in the most innocent sense of that word. Though of course, if they did start seeing each other for real, it probably wouldn’t stay all that innocent for too long. Being completely uninterested in men, Fell had never made any pretences to care about doing the Biblical thing of waiting until marriage, since she wouldn’t ever wed.

She sipped at her tea, smiling to herself. Matchmaking had never been her thing, and in fact she had found her girlhood friends’ interest in it quite ridiculous. But there certainly was something satisfying in watching Fell and Miss Dubois chat. They were both smiling much too brightly for it to be mere polite conversation – especially with the occasional blushing.

Razz chuckled, placing a hand on her growing stomach. If things went well, maybe there’d be two aunts waiting for the little one once they were ready to greet their family. When she looked at the joy on Fell’s face, she knew she’d do what she could to ensure they would.

Plus, she thought, smirking, I get the entertainment of watching the normally so confident Fell fumble for words. How lovely.

[kyliehorsegirl]

All’s Fair in Love and War (Duncan Shepherd x Reader)

A/n: O wow the elusive Kylie comes out from hiding, is it spring? I am so so so sorry I have been MIA. School, work, life and writer’s block. 

This was a request I got a month or so back for a Duncan x reader romeo and juliet style. this is very long and very fluffy. I hope you enjoy!!

I will get back into the swing of things! Fear not, love you all.

*********************************************

The Shepherds and the Underwoods were the most elite group of families in the Country. After several generations of war, the two parties decided to come together in union. The current reining families would marry off their children to each other. The Shepherds presented their son, Duncan while the Underwoods presented their daughter, Y/n. In one year’s time, the two were to be wed, ending the years of war between them.

 Y/n was a young and beautiful girl, always adorned in the finest gowns, money could buy, at least that’s what her parents wanted for her. Despite what her family wanted, she was a simple girl. She spent her time wandering the forest and drawing things in nature that made her happy. Y/n was very found of music, taking up the piano, violin and the clarinet. Her talents were beyond the recognition she got for them. Most people didn’t know she was Perficient at multiple instruments and no one knew she could draw.

 Duncan, an extremely handsome man was secretive and mysterious. He was a bit of a rebellious youngster. He would argue the system, causing difficulty for his parents. He had taken up poetry as a small hobby, of course, his parents would think it was something rather un-masculine. Instead of letting the world know of his hobby, he would take charge in organizing his family’s events and galas. Some of Duncan’s other hobbies consisted of playing the cello and painting portraits.

 Both families were made up of extremely talented members. The Underwoods currently reigned in the region, while the Shepherds were Dukes and Duchesses of the highest order. It only made sense for them to come to a union. Their decision of a union came on the day of Y/n’s 21st birthday, when she truly became a woman. Duncan, who was a few years older was notified of the union on the same day.

 “Mother, I don’t see why I have to wed the Underwood girl.” Duncan said, making notes for their upcoming gala, Y/n’s birthday to be exact. The kingdom was invited to the Underwood castle for Y/n’s 21st birthday, which was being held the weekend she turned of age. The day of her real birthday is when The Shepherds announced to their son of his new engagements.  King and Queen Underwood along with Duke and Duchess Shepherd, had been discussing the union for quite sometime now. It wasn’t until now that they announced to their children that they were soon to wed.

 “Duncan, watch your tongue. You should be honored to wed the princess for a union. She will be a good wife as you shall be a good husband.” Duchess Annette said to him, sipping her wine as she gazed out onto their balcony. They had a beautiful view of the Kingdom, the Underwood castle painted into the view.

 “I barely know her mother. We barely interact, I haven’t seen her for quite sometime now anyway.” Duncan had rolled his eyes, undenounced to his mother. He continued to write out plans for the gala’s festivities.

 “Oh, Duncan don’t be crass. It’s not uncommon for our kind to be arranged, but this arrangement to unify our two regions. This is crucial for the kingdom. You know how long our families have been at war, we are trying to be better than our ancestors.” Annette sighed and walked over to Duncan, her long garnet robe glided across the marble floor. She sets her wine down on the oak table and rests a hand on Duncan’s chair, leaning down to give a kiss to his cheek.

 “Yes mother, I know, but do I not get a say?” He sets his pen down and turns to her, waiting intently. She smiles with a small chuckle.

 “No, love you darling.” She picks up her wine once more, exiting the room. He leans back in his chair and roughly runs his hands through his hair, groaning in displeasure.

 *

“Mother! You can’t be serious! The Shepherd boy?” Y/n threw her hands in the air, pacing the room as her mother sat at one of the thrones with her legs crossed and a bored expression on her face.

 “Oh, please Y/n, this is no time for childish behavior, Duncan is a handsome boy, he will make a fine husband.” Claire said, shaking her head at her daughter.

 “A fine husband? I don’t even know him! Who cares how handsome he is? What’s the point if I don’t even know him?” Y/n stomped throughout the room with anxiety.

 “You are being ridiculous. This union has been in the works for quite some time now. Joining our regions is good for the kingdom. Our previous generations made the mistake of fighting with the Shepherds. This will prove beneficial to the trade market and war alliances.” Claire got up to stop her daughter’s pacing form. She grabbed her by her shoulder, making Y/n faced her.

 “I just turned 21 Mother. Why can’t I just live my life?” Y/n asked her mother with defeat. Claire searched Y/n’s face until her eyes were at attention.

 “Because, aside from the obvious Y/n? You are a princess and it is your duty to help better your kingdom.” Her mother’s advice gave no reassurance. Her head hung in defeat. As her mother let go, she made her way to the balcony, the beautiful forest a greenery painted her vision like a piece of art and off in the distance was the Shepherd Manor.

 *

The eve of her birthday gala, Y/n sat in her boudoir being pampered by servants. She tried to shoo them away, insisting she could take care of herself.

 “Milady, please let us serve you, not only is it your birthday gala, but it is what we are her for. To serve.” One of the girls said, smiling genuinely. The poor thing only knew the servant life. Y/n wished for nothing more, than to treat the girl herself, or at least give her the means to leave the servant life.

 “Dahlia, please. You’ve done so much as it is, I don’t want to bother you.” Y/n looked at her reflection in sadness, before turning her gaze downward, suddenly more interested in her lap.

 “It’s your birthday. We live to serve you princess, it is our purpose.” The girls excitedly prepared her for an evening of festivities. They painted her face, up did her hair and dressed her in the most exquisite gown.

 She looked at herself in the floor length mirror. She was wearing deep ocean blue dress, strapless with a sweetheart neckline, attached to the back off the dress was a royal blue chiffon cape. Her hair was curled in a half up half down do with a small tiara, placed ever so precisely atop her head. Her eyes were dark like the night sky and her lips were as nude as her skin. Y/n stared at herself, so long that the girls asked if she was ok.

 She didn’t recognize herself. She was simple. If it were up to her, she would wear a loose-fitting top and some comfortable pants. Her maids help escort her to the top of the stair case, in preparation to descend into the ballroom.

 *

Duncan was casually sipping a strong liquor, waiting in boredom for the princess’s appearance. All of the subjects of the kingdom had mingled casually. Claire and her husband, and Annette and her husband, interacted to pass the time.

 Two men stood at either side of the staircase, they blew their trumpets to acquire the attention of everyone in the ball room. Their conversations silenced. Bodies turned and eyes gazed up upon the staircase.

 Another man appeared in the middle, dressed in a tailcoat and breeches.

 “Presenting, her royal highness, Princess Y/n Underwood.” He bowed and moved to the side as the trumpets blew once more. Y/n appeared at the top of the stairs, audible awes bounced through the open air.

 She began descending the stairs carefully, her head held high despite her current feelings. Duncan’s eyes were wide as he followed her every move down the steps. ‘Has she always been this beautiful?’ He thought to himself. She was absolutely gorgeous. He found himself speechless at the very sight of her.

 She nodded and greeted everyone that came up to her, wishing her a happy birthday, what a great gala. She made her way to her parents and the Duke and Duchess.

 “Y/n darling, don’t you look wonderful.” Annette smiled at her giving her hand a hold and a kiss to her cheek.

 “Thank you, Duchess, that means a lot coming from you.”  Y/n’s smile partially fake and partially real.

 “Oh, please Y/n, no need for formalities I’m going to be like your second mother soon!” She exclaimed giddily. Y/n did her best to hide the grimace on her face.

 “Speaking of Duncan, where is your son? I wanted to tell him what a marvelous job he’s done on the gala.” Claire said, bringing Annette’s attention to her.

 “I thought I just saw him, he- “As if his ears were burning, Duncan appeared at his mother’s side.

 “Hello, I’m sorry to keep you all. I was just checking on how things were going.” His deep voice right at Y/n’s ear, sending a shiver down the back of her neck. She kept her head down, not looking at him yet. Being in-tune to each other, Annette and Claire cleared their throats at their children in sync.

Y/n caught her mother’s correction, lifting her head to meet his eyes. Also understanding his mother’s minimal warning, he grabbed her hand and kissed the top of it.

 “Princess.”

 “My Lord.” They bowed and curtsied to each other before retreating quickly. The high families made their way to the head table. The Queen and Duchess seated in the middle, followed by the King and Duke and ending with Lord Duncan and Princess Y/n.

 The subjects enjoyed their dine, before Queen Claire stood and clinked her glass several times alerting her company that she had something to say. The sound of metal clinking against the fine china plates was put to a stop as all the attention was now on her.

 “My dear subjects, as you know we come together tonight to celebrate the 21st birthday of my daughter Y/n. Well, that is not the only reason we have gathered you all here tonight.” Y/n looked down, avoiding the looming gaze of hundreds of eyes on her.

 “For quite some time, the Underwoods and the Shepherds have had a historical quarrel. Times have changed, in effort to better our country as well as the kingdom and to move forward with alliances, Lord Duncan Shepherd, son of Duke and Duchess Shepherd, is to wed my daughter, Princess Y/n.” Annette stood up with Claire, grabbing her hand and raising it in the air.

 The subjects stood in applause and cheered. Y/n’s cheeks were pinched with a rose blush of embarrassment. The King and Duke stood as they ushered for the children to do the same.

 *

Upbeat classical music played, thanks to the talents of a live orchestra. The subjects danced in an outlined circle, while Y/n and Duncan’s parents ‘forced’ them to take their first dance as a newly courting couple. Duncan grabbed her hand, a little roughly holding it up in the air, as they made their way to the center of circling couples.

 He turned her to face him as they acknowledged each other. An opposite hand touched one another, walking in a circle. They faced once more, their hands clasped. His free hand to her waist and her free hand to his shoulder. They danced for quite some time before speaking.

 “You look beautiful tonight.” Duncan’s deep voice caught her attention.

 “Thank you, you did a wonderful job on the gala.” She offered a small smile.

 “Thank you.” Silence overcame them once more. What was there to say? Hello future husband, let’s talk about stuff? As simple as that seemed, it wasn’t for either of them. When the song ended, they pulled away from each other. Offering each other a smile.

 *

The party had ended and Y/n was keeping her distance from as many people as possible, especially Duncan. The servants had already started cleaning the ballroom as the Shepherds and Underwoods retired to a large sitting room. The parents were sitting at various lounge seats, sipping their wine. Duncan was standing at the balcony, drinking his liquor.

 Y/n was in her room, removing her tiara and dress, finding something simpler to wear. She chose a soft grey dress, nothing to heavy or fancy. She made her way into the sitting room.

 “Ah, there you are darling, we need to go over the arrangements.” Claire spoke up once Y/n entered the room. Y/n sighed and poured herself a drink.

 “Duncan come here, obviously this involves you too.” Annette spoke up. Duncan’s grip on his glass tightened, letting out a sigh he makes his way to sit at one of the couches.

 “Now, you two will be wed one year from now, until then you will court each other.” Claire said. “One month from now, Duncan will come to live with us. You two will be given your own wing in the castle, separate rooms of course.” She finished.

 “Duncan, it will give you enough time to gather your things and for Y/n to have time to get adjusted to your arrangement.” Annette spoke.

 “Do you two understand your duty to our country?” Claire spoke in all seriousness, the softness in her voice, gone and now stern.

 “Yes, mother.” Y/n said quietly.

 “Yes, your majesty.” Duncan says deeply.

 “It’s settled then. We look forward to your residency Duncan.” Claire spoke

 “Thank you, your majesty.” No one caught the bitterness, except Y/n. She knew he hated this just as much as her. Yet, she still felt a pang in her chest. Of hurt? Perhaps.

 *

The Shepherds began entering their carriage, the royal family waiting respectfully outside the castle, bidding them good bye.

 Y/n had gone to the stables for a late ride, in need of clearing her head. As she reached the long barn, she went to the stall that housed her black Friesian stallion, Allocer. She had spent time grooming him and braided his long mane. She threw her saddle on him and trotted him out of the barn before taking off at a gallop into the woods.

 Allocer was one of the fastest horses in the land, he was an import from the Netherlands, he was her pride and joy. She clicked to him encouraging him faster. The trees flew past her as his heavy hooves thundered against the forest floor.

 She didn’t realize she was crying until her salty tears stung the scratches on her face, whipped at her from the tree branches. She had eased him to a easy walk, patting his heavy shoulder. His thick breath was clouding up the air.

 Why did she have to be condemned to a life of solitude? In many ways, she was much like the servant girl, a servant to her people, to her country. The Underwoods and Shepherds had been at war for many years. Why now was there need of a Union? Why was it expected of her to marry a man she doesn’t know? This burden should rest on the shoulders of her parents, for they were the King and Queen as she was just a Princess.

 She took a longer trek home as she allowed Allocer to move at a steady walk, although, with his long stride he still managed to cover ground.

 After she had put him away, she retired to her room. She laid in bed, thinking of what is to come.

 *

It was the day that Duncan was to come live with them. Y/n paced throughout the castle with anxiety.

 “He is here Y/n, settle down and come greet him.” Claire called from the front door. Y/n slowly made her way down the steps. Duncan had been welcomed in by Claire, who embraced him in a hug. His servants were bringing in his luggage, heading up to Y/n and Duncan’s wing.

 “Hello Duncan.” Y/n smiled at him. He offered a small smile back.

 “Hey.”

 “Why don’t you show him to the room he will be staying in.” Claire gave a pointed look at Y/n.

 “Right this way Duncan.” He followed closely at her side.

 *

 “This is your room, mine is just down the way.” Y/n all but mumbled.

 “Thank you.” He bid her a goodnight and closed the door. Y/n stood just outside his door, staring, wondering, is this her life?

 *

 Day after day, it was the same routine. Breakfast, lunch dinner. Y/n and Duncan would sit awkwardly across from each other. Her mother and father would discuss the agenda for the day. Duncan and her hardly spoke to each other.

 One week, two weeks, one month went by. Still, hardly any words were spoken. Y/n know nothing about Duncan and Duncan knew nothing about her. Until late one evening.

 The day had been particularly difficult for Y/n, Duchess Shepherd and Queen Underwood bombarded Y/n with ideas on the wedding. What should the color scheme be? What flowers should they get? Question after question.

 Y/n clenched her jaw, humming along never giving a real answer. Claire and Annette talked as if she wasn’t there. It was her wedding, but it couldn’t even be her wedding? It was all so overwhelming. She didn’t know or even talk with her fiancé. Neither of them made an effort.

 Duchess Annette bid her son farewell and left. Duncan had retired in to his own room and Y/n’s parents left to their room as well.

 Her jaw clenched and unclenched with every step up the staircase. Her eyes watered, blurring her line of sight. She made her way to her room, quietly. She shrugged off her dress, throwing on a flowy top and riding pants. As she exited her room, she rubbed her eyes of the tears that burned them and grabbed a cloak.

 Duncan lay mindlessly on his bed, his balcony doors open wide, allowing for the cool evening breeze to kiss his skin tenderly. He is pulled from his thoughts as he hears a commotion down below. He gets up and makes his way to the balcony’s edge. He looks down seeing a large black steed running down the path into the woods, the princess atop him.

 Duncan was curious, he didn’t know she could ride, he had never seen her ride before. He promised himself he would stay awake until she was to return. He wanted to know about the horse and her riding.

 Allocer’s large hooves carried her fast along the path. Her eyes burned as fresh tears raced behind her. She slowed Allocer, hugging his large neck. She tangled her fingers in his long black mane.

 “I wish we could just leave this place Allocer.” She patted his large neck, sitting up straight. She walked home slowly as she had done in the past, dreading the return.

 She dismounted Allocer and walked him into the stable. She had put him away in his stall, when she heard a voice behind her.

 “I didn’t know you could ride?” A deep voice spoke. She screamed and turned towards the voice, hand clutching her heart.

 “You frightened me, what are you doing here?” She back up against the stall door.

 “I could as you the same. Why are you out so late?” His blue eyes twinkled with wonder. She looked him up and down, her brows furrowed.

 “I, I needed some air.” She locked the stall and walked towards the tack room, replacing the saddle and bridle in their spot. Duncan followed closely behind her.

 “Are you ok? Is something wrong.”

 “Why are you talking to me all of a sudden? You haven’t spoke this much to me before.” She questioned.

 “I heard a commotion and looked out the balcony to see you riding into the woods.” He titled his head with curiosity. “I ride too, we could ride together sometime?” He waited patiently and nervous for her answer.

 “I, that might be nice.” Y/n stared at him, confused. She turned and began to walk away. He trotted up next to her and held an arm out to her. She looked at it cautiously before she held the arm given to her.

 He stopped at her door.

 “Perhaps we could do something just the two of us tomorrow?” He looked at her with a new light. She was truly beautiful. She was rid of expense dresses, wearing her riding gear. He would never deny that he always thought she was beautiful.

 “I would like that.” She smiled carefully at him.

 *

 The next day, Duncan had planned a picnic in the garden. Servants brought a picnic basket to them as they sat atop a soft blanket in the middle of the garden. Rose hedges surrounded them and shielded them from everyone else.

 “So, I guess we should get to know each other?” Y/n asked as she took a bite of a strawberry.

 “Might as, well right?” He countered. She hummed in response.

 “Do you have any hobbies?” She started off.

 “I do, a few actually. I play cello, paint and don’t tell anyone this but I write poetry.” A small blush crept up his cheeks.

 “Poetry, really?” A small smirk played on her face.

 “Hey now, don’t make fun. What about you?” He smiled at her.

 “Well, I play a few instruments and I draw here and there.” She grabbed a piece of cheese and took a sip of her wine.

 “What instruments do you play?” Duncan took a sip of wine as well.

 “Piano, violin and clarinet.” Y/n smiled at him.

 “That’s amazing.”

 Their bond grew every day. Every day they found out more and more about each other. They always made plans to go outside and enjoy nature. One day she asked him to paint her and several hours later, there she was, her beautiful face painted onto a canvas.

 She found herself drawing him in her spare time. His features prominent in her sketch book. She found that he was rather funny and entertaining. He wasn’t the stoic and boring person she thought he was He made her laugh more than anyone had before.

 When Y/n came out of her shell, Duncan was quick to notice and he loved it. She was smart, beautiful and funny. She was such a strong person, she just needed time to shed those layers of insecurities and nervousness.

 They adored each other more and more with each passing day. This didn’t go unnoticed by Claire of Annette.

 “You know, your Duncan has really started taking a liking to Y/n.” Claire said with a genuine smile, taking a sip of her wine.

 “I’ve noticed. Of course, he doesn’t say anything to me or my husband, but we’ve noticed. It makes me happy.” Annette graced a smile herself.

 “I had felt bad for them initially, we never ask or want to be arranged, but in the end, we fall more in love with a person chosen for us rather than someone we find ourselves.” Claire said remorsefully.

 “I agree, I was very skeptical when I was arranged to the Duke. After lots of time, we got to know each other and grow together.” Annette looked off into the distance.

 *

Play “The Piano Duet” from Corpse Bride”

Annette and Claire made their way to the ballroom when hearing a beautiful sound echoing off the walls.

 *

Y/n sat at the piano in the large ball room. She began to play a melancholy tune. Duncan creeped in, he sat next to her and smiled, she gave a smile back. He played a few tunes of his own. She eyed him playfully, her fingers danced along the keys once more.

 They bounced off each other’s moment before joining together their fingers fought for dominance on the piano.

 Annette and Claire’s warm expression aimed at their children, their hearts enlightened at the sight of the two playing together.

 Nothing made the two mothers happier than to see their children grow closer and closer together. Duncan and the princess played until their fingers were tired. They smiled and laughed at each other as they played and played.

 The sound of the keys echoed beautifully in the ballroom, it was as if they were playing in a music hall.

 The two moms looked to each other before leaving their kids to themselves. When their song finally finished, Y/n sat there with her hands in her lap, smiling at the piano.

 “You know, that was really fun, you’re really good.” Y/n looked at him with a glint in her eyes, something different. Duncan’s blue eyes never left hers.

 “You, are incredibly beautiful. Your talent never ceases to amaze me.” Duncan smiled as he reached for her hand, holding it in his own. Y/ne looked to their hands, bringing her eyes back up to his.

 *

Y/n saddled up Allocer while Duncan tacked up a white Andalusian mare Nyx. They galloped out of the stable and into the forest.

 Duncan and Y/n raced the horses through the trees, fighting for first place. She laughed at him as she raced past him, the look on his face was priceless. He smirked as he urged the mare forward.

 They slowed the horses to a stop.

 “Ok, you win, your horse is very fast.” Duncan laughed, giving Nyx a heavy- handed pat on the neck. She shook her head as her long mane flipped back and forth.

 “Allocer is one of the fastest horses I know, but Nyx is a very close second. They both mean the world to me.” Y/n smiled, leaning down to give Allocer a hug.

 “I can see that, they are both beautiful animals. I am honored to be able to ride her.” His smile reached his eyes, warming Y/n’s heart.

 “Come on, I want to show you something.” With that she took off at a gallop.

 “Hey, wait!” Duncan urged Nyx to follow. They ran further and further until they came to a clearing. Y/n slowed Allocer to a stop. There was a wide-open view, they perched themselves at the top of the cliff looking out over the horizon.

 The sunset was painted across the sky, pinks, oranges and purples. Y/n grinned widely as she saw Duncan’s eyes wide with fascination.

 “It’s beautiful here.” He said immediately looking at her. He watched as the setting sun kissed her skin, shadows extenuating all the right features. She was beautiful.

 “I know, I love to come here. It’s one of my favorite places to be.” Her face was soft with content as she closed her eyes enjoying the warm light on her face.  She looked over to him, seeing all he could look at was her. His face was content, he was happy, at least that’s what she thought.

 “You’re beautiful.” Her eyes searched his for any inclining he was lying, her trust not quite his. She smiled shyly.

 “I think you’re just saying that.” She blushed.

 “No, I mean it, honest. I’m happy to have you as my fiancé. You are beautiful inside and out.” He saw how tender she had been to the animals, they were obviously important to her. The care she put into her instruments, he saw it all. With a small nod at each other they rode back.

 *

The pair grew closer and closer. Duncan dated her the way he wished he had the chance to in the beginning. After all that time together, they became best friends. They would take walks in the garden hands touching, but never holding.

 One instance in the garden however, he had plucked a single rose and handed it to her with a bow. She blushed as she took it gently from his hand, sparks. The spark she felt deepened her blush. As they continued their walk their hands got closer and closer. He gently opened her hand waiting to see if he was going too far, she slowly clasped her hand around his.

 Duncan’s smile grew, his heart was warm.

 *

They never walked the garden without being hand in hand. She slowly began to rest her head on his arm as they walked side by side. She stops and he turns to her. Their eyes locked in each other’s gaze. Duncan leans in slow and cautious. She carefully stretches to meet him in a kiss, their first kiss.

 *

On one of their rides Duncan and Y/n both said “I love you” at the same time, causing one another to blush and laugh.

 *

They were found laying on the couch together, Y/n in his arms. She would often fall asleep on his chest, in which he would wrap his arms around her in a protective hold.

 *

 One night, late one night. Y/n sauntered her way into Duncan’s room. This was the night they made love. It was soft and gentle. Of course, their parents didn’t know. It was forbidden. They loved each other. Their naked bodies tangled in each other’s grasp. The heat radiated to one another.

 *

“I want to take you somewhere.” Duncan said to Y/n.

 “O, is that so.” She said to him playfully. They rode out on their horses. Y/n recognized the place instantly, it was her favorite spot, the spot she took him to all those months ago.

 They dismounted their horses and looked out over the horizon.

 “I can never get tired of this view.” Y/n sighed with content, looking at the colors she was so familiar with.

 “Neither can I.” Duncan said knowingly. Y/n turns to him and gasps. Duncan is perched on one leg, a knew to the ground and a small black box in his hand.

 “Duncan!” She exclaimed.

 “I wanted to do this right. Y/n I loved you, more than anything. You have made happier than I have been in a long time. Y/n Underwood, will you continue to make me the happiest that I have ever been and be my wife?” There was a small plea in Duncan’s eyes.

 “Of course, I will marry you, I love you Duncan!” He smiled largely as he slid the sliver band on her finger. He picked her up and swung her around as she laughed and held him close.

 *

Duncan waited patiently at the altar. His nerves were starting to get the best of him. Almost half the kingdom had attended for this momentous occasion.

 He is almost brought to tears as he sees his best friend walking down the aisle. Adorned in a beautiful white dress that accented her figure. The train followed several feet behind her.

 As she met him face to face, she gave him the most genuine smile.

 “Dearly beloved-“ The priest was tuned out for the both of them as they stared deeply into each other’s eyes. The moment they came back to reality was when it was time to say I do.

 “Do you Duncan Shepherd take Princess Y/n Underwood to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold for as long as you both shall live?”

 “I do.” Duncan said.

 “Do you Princess Y/n Underwood take Duncan Shepherd to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold for as long as you both shall live?”

 “I do.” Y/n’s cheeks became sore with how wide she was smiling.

 “They I know pronounce you, husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride.” Duncan put a hand on Y/n’s waist and brought her into a deep kiss. The kingdom cheered for the newlyweds.

 *

And so, the arranged marriage between Underwood and Shepherd ended the centuries long dispute. The kingdom was at peace, finally.

 Duncan and Y/n lived happily ever after.

 The End.

*************************************

I hope you enjoyed! I’ll be writing more soon.

MASTERLIST

[horrible-monstrosity]

in this episode: ruby goes mgtow and amethyst has some sort of horseplay fetish. ye haw Ruby actually deciding she's okay without Sapphire, or not fused with her anyway, because she just kept to the fusion status quo because Rose said so, is actually somewhat insightful and interesting, and Steven's kneejerk "get back together love !!!" reaction is even curbed by Greg's entirely reasonable advice. It's great. how will they ruin it ... Man, Steven tells Ruby she can even love someone and still want time alone. The second Ruby started bawwing I was expecting them to crash the pendulum right back into the other end of the horseshoe (or... something) and the show would start shoving one of its usual bizarre post-aesop aesops down our cumholes. But instead not only does Steven say something sane, it's him applying what Greg told him earlier. Kind of. We never actually saw him process what he was told and decide to change his mind. But I can pretend it's good writing and that much is an improvement for this show This even brings the wedding thing into a sane context. Steven suggests it as a healthier alternative to their current situation. I mean the marriage and wedding thing itself is just boring pandering meandering and a waste of fucking time but they just skimmed so damn close to something good and insightful it's astounding. Talk about

saphr randomly starts angsting about the dead gems over wedding invitations why did no one ever cre unti now and then spahr fucking over wedding envelope numbers this is stupid ....and then stephen makes the huge fucking stupid mistake of letting bismuth out in the bubbe room and it immediately goes horribly wrong, what fuck was he expecting oh look that ornge monter gem wasn't jasper. lol nebvermind i'm not looking forward to anything anymore Although Bismuth stuffing her face in hot lava and gargling it is great And then Bismuth takes it... way too well. I mean it's almost interesting if you bothered to explore why her reaction is like this, maybe she was doubting her own convictions all along and this is that last push she needs to- what fuc you mean bismuth is surprised garnet unfused over that. she unuses over mad revelations all the damn time that reaction should be a "well no shit lol" I can't tell whether Steven is being smort by reassuring Bismuth that no one will care she's back or insensitive She has a damn good point, the gems could have come got her any time they wanted but the plot kind of fucking forgot her lol

wedding episode owow the female nonbinary women gem people are all wearing tuxedos and pants and shit wow is this show breaking the gener bindary by doing the exact same opposite thing as it always done?? and only yhen does amethyst think roses might have been a bad choice of flower. steven has a different flower on his lapel though, where'd that come from? Okay, but Peridop is wearing a sundress like a normal person. why I wish they had actually *done* something with Rupy and Sappire wearing *the exact opposite of what you'd expect exactly as you'd expet !!!" like have Ruby actually want to be the girly one this time and Sapphire honors it by being the groom- that is, have Sapphire be considerate of Ruby. Would make up for all those other times I bitched about where Ruby is made subservient to Sapphire in a like crypto-gynocentric fashion. (... That's probably the worst phrase I have ever typed.) Instead they just parrot the mediocre and obvious aesops from the previous episodes. how did rupy not set the dress on fire setting herself on fire

mn remember hiw llars wanted to be social n shiet and was really angst about it and now he's missing this major social event? lol who cares lol mayor and actor guy are a better ship than any other couple this show has ever produced, and it's all the result of Sugar's gender-nonbinary female-worshiping inability to quit shitting on men. reeeeeeeeee stev starts cri because the diamonds come, but he only did that the first time because blue visited pink's grave and cried... oh, never mind, she's just crying for no reason. why. why not have her arrival heralded by something normal, instead of making her cry so they can autistically and emptily call back to the other thing? we get it, you referenced the excel spreadsheet detailing the previous episodes and the cell for "Steven hears Blue Bismuth coming" said "crie". they have to stop and explain to bismut what the clsuter is with a dumb over-compressed single sentence that doesn't add anything or help anything except to paper-mache over the fact that the writers forogt bismut existed for way too long. Just... pretend she got caught up off screen and skip this dumb shit. It just feels so awkward. then steven has to sleep, which is double dumb (and wasn't even the case when he talked to the clussy last time, was it? when he was in the drill)- first by breaking the mood having him go "omg lol gotta take a naaap~~~", and then making him look pathetic for falling asleep that fast just because one second of lullaby, even though we're supposed to be watching him do something heroic immediately afterwards. You'd think he could at least go straight into a dream-state without actually falling asleep first, or something, because magic. so where was the cluster? deep in the earth, but near the surface somewhere, but now it's just hanging out right by the surface near beach city i ges and then clussy bitchslaps the diamondos because no shit it does steven talked to it once, nothing matters ... Wait, I've already forgotten, but he went to sleep just to check on the clussy, right? But it helped them anyway, because of course it did, so that was pointless. why

"it's... pretty interdasting when you think about it" I hate this. Why did they just shove this stupid little quirky line in in the middle of steven having a serious exposition conversation with blue? why did you fucking have to ruin the tone with it?who wrote this shit so why is lapis here? they're going to punish me like a crystal gem i'll be one, but the diamonds don't seem to give a single fuck about her. and then blue just gets nuked by the crashing ship anyway no one cares and then the cluster just goes back to its literal bubble no one cares and then peridop and lapis and no one else conveniently get poofed becuase that's the only way those two chan fucking change outfits in this autistic fucking show. wait, how did rupy and sap change into wedding gear earlier? and then steven has an out of body experience...?????? what fuck happening steven's mindblast peptalks would be fine in any normal context but like this it just comes off like he mindraped them into thinking positively. he just says the thing and without even responding to him saying it the gems parrot it. and then steven flails around blue and it just looks ridiculous and stupid and that's how they solve everything the end

Basically, the show is trying to finally have things happen, but the weight of all the absolute crap it has written up until this point, as well as its weird approach to its aesops/morals, is fuck. Even if the writers have started to take their shit seriously they'll have to spend a lot of damn time unraveling the shit they've wrought, digging themselves out of the shithole they dug themselves into, before they can get things moving properly again.

[clove-teasdale]

tick tock newlyweds

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

A/N: not a challenge! NEW YEARS PART 1. FINALLY THE 30th OF DECEMBER ON FIC TIME. End of the year. this is it y’all. get ready for the first part of this three-part fic (or it might be two idk, we shall see tomorrow). Thanks @brooks-schreave for the rp. OKAY, THERE MIGHT BE ERRORS OR TYPOS ON THIS IDK. SORRY. have some fun with awkward crooks conspiring in 3,334 words <3 

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

Columbia had always been a pretty sight at night, but it was very different from Angeles and it’s lively lights.

The only downside to such an active city was that the light pollution from it made the sky slightly less admirable, making the natural light a little duller. Standing next to Nate’s black Jeep, I watched the city and the sky to compare. This will be the set of stars when the New Year comes. I smiled at the thought but then my mind wondered if Nate’s car would be able to blend in for our purposes. My “date” arrived a few minutes after I’d started to consider how the night would go in general, carrying a bag in his hand and offering a small wave with the other.

“Ready?” I watched as Brooks shoved his things into the trunk. My dress was already on a hook inside the backseat alongside my other stuff.

“Yeah,” I ran a hand through my hair--the feel of it different, but not new. “I straightened it.” It hadn't taken too long with Eloise's help. She'd agreed to cover for us. Mostly me since I'd told Jacinda and the rest of my maids I'd be having a sleepover with her that night. 

If anything went wrong, she'd have to handle it and she said she would as long as I explained later what the whole mystery outing was. I loved how she always agreed with my crazy plans without question. She deserved some baby carrots.

Brooks lifted both eyebrows at my new look as if impressed before walking over to open my door. “I like it.”

I smiled, getting in. “I brought a hairbrush for yours.” I would never repeat the hand incident.

Once he'd walked over to his side of the car and sat in the driver's seat, he took a cap from his back pocket and put it on. Some glasses and a grin were added as he said, “No need. I'll be covered.”

I smirked at the absurdity of his disguise, but honestly, there was only so much we could do to hide. “I hope you take it off when we arrive.”

“You don't like it?” His jaw dropped, eyes turning to the mirror as he mumbled, “I think it's cool.”

Laughing was inevitable on my part. “You don't use that for a party.”

“I’ll replace it with a party hat when we get there, promise.”

Silence settled for a while as the drive began. With it, the awkward feeling I’d been having around Brooks the day before returned. Ever since the Christmas Ball incident and our talk about it, my head had been unable to forget. We’d agreed on it being a mistake, and after yesterday at the roof it seemed like we could try going back to normal...but part of me became more and more aware of my wish for the 'mistake' part to be, well, a mistake in itself. I’d even started to ask myself how much I really liked him. Was it one of those simple crushes I got back in high school? Because I had always managed those before.

Brooks, I’d realized, had grown to become more awkward in the years I was gone. It was hard to notice on the first day of my arrival, as arguing was still the first language between us, but it became more and more obvious with time and since the kiss, it showed in volumes.

His hands tapped the steering wheel before he asked, “Music?”

I continued to fidget with the ring on my finger even as I spared him a glance. I hoped spinning the old golden band with a garnet would help release some of the anxiety I felt, but wasn’t too sure it was working. By this point, it was a sort of a personal tradition to wear that ring around this time a year. My dad had passed it down to me as a New Year's gift when I was twelve.

Apparently, it had belonged to my grandmother--her red birthstone encrusted on the old metal as a gift from my grandpa for their 50th wedding anniversary. Their official wedding had been big, a 27th of January once upon a time. It was everything you could dream of, as Twos loved to show off, but my grandparents always took it a step further. They also had a smaller ceremony beforehand. Just family. 

According to what they had always retold, they kissed as the clock stroke midnight, commemorating a new year. That was the date they considered their anniversary. My grandparents had loved making things romantic but in the most dramatic of ways...meaning they loved one-upping people that much. The story had been crazy enough that it made me want to wear the ring at midnight every year after that.

Focusing back on the present, I tried offering Brooks a small smile. “Uh, yeah, sure.”

He didn't focus on it much, immediately averted his gaze and reaching to turn on the radio. I looked away as well, but as the first lyrics came out, I couldn’t help and drift my sight back to him to gauge his reaction.

...walls stood tall painted blue But I'll take 'em down, take 'em down and open up the door for you.

Flailing to reach for the button as our duet song rang out, he changed stations quickly.

--we've lost our minds I don't care, I don't care if they call us crazy Runaway to a world that we design.

I wished my seat would swallow me, focusing ahead and pressing my lips together as he changed it again with an “Ugh.” Then screamo music blasted and he just gave up. I did so too, closing my eyes with a sigh and leaning forward to turn it off. “Silence never hurt anyone.”

“Debatable.”

I let Brooks handle the brunette receptionist that welcomed us at the counter of the hotel. “Hello, how may I help you?”

“We need a room, please.”

“Aw, a romantic getaway?” Oh, for the love of...

My “romantic partner” did his best to get over the embarrassment as fast as possible. “Uh, yeah, sure.”

Nothing went past this one though and as she spotted the ring I couldn’t help but fidget with, she asked, “Newlyweds?”

“Yes?” was what Brooks decided to go with, but I could see the alarm written on his face. He was definitely screaming inside as I was.

“Adorable. Last name, please.”

We hadn’t considered what to say. A mistake on our part. Our plan had many flaws, but then again it was planned in one day. My mouth opened to say something, anything, but it became one of those moments when they ask you to say something and you suddenly blank out on the list of those you know. The conversation I’d had with Eloise as she straightened my hair was the only inspiration I could think of.

“Crooks,” I blurted out at the expectant lady. Brooks only gave me a confused look.

“Right. Mr. and Mrs. Crooks.”

This is embarrassing.

"You two are just the cutest. Here's your key.” She handed it over and, thankfully, Brooks took it without any weird looks in my direction. “Breakfast is at 7 to 9. Happy New Year!”

We wouldn't make it to breakfast, but Brooks quickly pushed me towards the elevator. After pressing the floor our card mentioned, he asked, “Crooks?”

I cleared my throat, focusing on the walls around me. “What? We needed a name.”

“Where did that even come from?” The elevator opened and I took my chance to flee.

“Um…” I lowered my voice. “Eloise..”

“Were you discussing criminals with her or something? I thought that was our thing.” His joking was as strained as my laugh when he followed.

“Yeah, obviously." He really didn’t need to worry about me replacing him.

Arriving at the room, he inserted the key and held the door open for me. I turned on the lights and froze at the sight “Shoot..”

He stepped in right after. “Wha-? Oh. Oh.”

We both blinked at the single bed in the room. Newlyweds. “Guess next time we should go with cousins.”

He gave me an alarmed look. It was back to internal screaming it seemed. With a sigh of resignation, he said he would take the floor. “It’s not carpeted,” I mumbled back.

“I'll deal with it.” He ran over to the closet and placed our bags away, taking a look at his watch. “We should change.”

5 hours until midnight.

“Ready?” Brooks called out, knocking on the bathroom door.

I stared at my reflexion in the mirror, the golden embroidery of my dress laughing at me--metaphorically speaking, of course. “Just a sec...” 

The zipper was still on my lower back. Another one of the things I hadn’t considered in my hurry was that no matter how much of a pretzel my arms tried to be, I couldn’t reach up high enough to close this dress.

The silence was too long for Brooks. “Clove? I'm sure you look very nice, can you come out now? We've gotta go.”

“Um…” Come on, come on... I let my hands fall to my sides with a sigh. “I should’ve gone for the purple strapless.” He didn’t say anything as I leaned on the door. “I... kind of need some help.”

“Did you fall?”

“What? No.. I need someone to zip up the rest of the dress.”

His pause made me want to stay in the bathroom the rest of the night. “I can help.”

“Okay…” I took a moment as well before reaching for the doorknob and opening the door. “It’s a nice dress, just not the easiest to zip alone.”

He made a spinning motion with his hand, saying, “Turn.”

I did as he asked and felt his hand take on the zipper as he set his other one on my back to pull it up. His voice was quieter as he added, “You're good.”

“Thanks.” I turned around with a quick nod, trying to smile as a sign of gratitude, but I could feel my nerves skyrocketing. “I guess we’re ready then.”

He avoided my gaze and checked his watch again. “Yeah, it's almost time.”

I gave him a once over. Now that his cap was off, I could see his hair was down, sweeping over his forehead. Kind of all over the place, so little messy if you will, yet being a guy that meant... “You look nice.” With the well-fitted maroon suit that had black lapels to match his tie, he was bound to catch some eyes tonight.

An awkward smile was all he offered as he opened the door for me. “Ditto.”

It was pretty early for the party to be that pumped, being only 8 pm, but the more people were excited for the New Year, the less they would care about a prince and a selected strolling next to them.

“Four hours until midnight. Remember, we're looking for Harrison Levi.”

I stepped out of the car with his help. “Excited?”

“No.”

How cheerful, I thought but pressed my lips together to stop myself from saying it out loud. “What do you mean “no”? It’ll be a New Year. Something to look forward to.”

“I don't know if you've noticed, but I've never been more stressed in my life.” He offered his arm and I took it with a nod when he asked, “Shall we?”

As we walked inside, hundreds of people surrounding us, I pointed out, “You seemed excited before.”

He didn’t look in my direction. “Keep walking Clove.”

“Fine.”

Three hours until midnight.

Our game plan ended up being to search for Levi first. Even though we had no idea of how he would be towards us, we hoped we could convince him of helping out in some way. We’d accept anything at this point. 

Brooks had gotten a considerably recent picture of him as a reference point, and as we talked he agreed with me that the man was probably pushed to resign when his career was barely starting. That meant his annotations hadn’t been for safekeeping, but for research like ours; not something that would’ve been welcomed on the King’s cabinet. 

It had taken us an hour of pacing around the party, pretending to be a couple talking about whatever, before I spotted Levi from afar and nudged Brooks. “Is that him?”

Brooks stopped looking around the room to focus on where I had pointed at, checking his picture for confirmation. “I think so. How do we approach him?”

I considering how the talk could go. “If he never agreed with the fixed raffle and all of that, maybe we’ll be able to ask him about it directly...or is that too risky?”

“How about we just try to make normal, honest conversation with him and then show him the journal to see how he reacts.”

“Fair enough. Do we wait until he’s a bit more caught up with the party or now?”

“No time like the present. Which one of us should go?”

“Shouldn’t we both go?”

“Right. Dynamic Duo.” He reached for my hand and walked us off to the white-haired man standing near the bar, calling out for him over the crowd, “Great party.”

The man took a swig of his beer. “It's alright.”

“Think you’ve done better before?” I grinned.

He shrugged. “It's too happy.”

Brooks spared the lively place a glance. “That's bad?”

“It's fake, son. Parties should be sad.”

What a jolly old man. He’d make a great Santa.

Brooks asked why he thought that only to get an even gloomier response after Levi finished his drink. “Then it would be reality. It's interesting to see people hide behind a holiday.”

I raised eyebrows at his view and exchanged glances with Brooks when he gave me a questioning look. “What a misfortune…” clearing my throat, I shifted, “Though I do agree what brings joy shouldn’t be a holiday, why bother hosting a party for something you consider unsatisfactory?”

“I don't consider it unsatisfactory, per se.”

“What do you consider it?” Brooks asked.

Levi stared at him before grabbing another drink from a tray. “None of your business.”

I tilted my head. “What would make it our business? It is merely the inquiry of an opinion.”

“You speak far too formally, young lady. Lighten up, will you.”

When Brooks laughed, I jabbed my elbow into his side, half-glaring as I muttered, “Sorry, it’s an old habit that comes and goes when I’m around people involved in politics.” It was a stupid habit I’d gotten when younger actually. Being around people that worked with my dad always put me on edge and I made dramatic word choices.

“I'm not in politics,” Levi argued.

Brooks raised an eyebrow. “Weren't you?”

Levi faced him. “Aren't you?”

What? “You think we’re politicians?”

“Not you, dear, but him,” he pointed his glass to Brooks, “Get a better disguise, princeling.”

We watched him walk away without another word.

“Well, I guess that was our mistake. I told you we should’ve waited until later tonight.”

He turned in my direction. “What difference would that have made?”

Ticking off  fingers, I listed, “It might've been darker, he could've been more tired, more distracted and maybe even a little drunk.”

“He seemed pretty drunk already. We'll find him again, don't worry.”

I worried anyway. The best way to start the year would be by having another lead. Thankfully, he liked my suggestion of finding his office. We would need to take a look around to find it though.

“Hopefully, it won't be too crowded--” I began to say, eyes skimming over the space as I spoke. His office would be around a closed off area, a hallway further down the house that wouldn’t be too crowded during a party. As I scanned around, I made eye contact with a confused politician watching us with narrowed eyes. Sort of recognizing his face myself, I realized he could recognize us too if he got closer and kept staring, so I changed my sentence midway and pulled Brooks into the group of dancing people, “--on the dance floor!”

“Nice save, darling.”

Turns out you can cringe at yourself. “This was a horrible idea.”

I was not entirely unaware of Brooks’ hand playing with the back of my dress as we danced. Still, I told myself it must be a habit of his. Something he did whenever he danced with someone and didn’t notice. Part of me hoped that wasn’t true, however. “We'll be fine. But only if you let it.”

“I don’t have the best track record with parties…” Punched a guy once. Pushed someone into a plant when I noticed they were about to puke in another. There was also the time I threw a drink at Cooper when he was annoying. Brooks hadn’t been too wrong when he said I was kind of aggressive.

He held me relatively close as we danced, his head next to mine. “It's the afterparties for me.”

I laughed a bit at that, wondering if my breath brushed his ear as his own did mine. “You last all the way to the afterparties, do you?”

“I'm pretty successful at parties. No one bothers me and I can keep to myself. It's after then that things go wrong for me.”

“Hmm, why is that?”

“Don't mess with me.”

I frowned but clenched my jaw when I realized what he was talking about. The kiss had been after a party. “I see you were on a different page than me.” Not meeting his gaze, I found myself feeling upset. “You have no right to be mad at me.”

“I'm not mad at you, Clove.”

“Then?”

He hesitated. “We've already talked about this.”

“We did.” A mistake. I focused on his shoes. “But you're the one who brought it up right now. I thought you were joking.”

“I-I am,” he looked down too, “I always am.”

My voice turned small. “I hope not always.”

The look in his eyes was hard to read. I couldn't place what it was before he replaced the expression with a smile and joked, “Not always. I'm a pretty boring guy.”

I managed to smile back for a brief moment, but everything felt off. We were trying so hard to go back to normal. Time after time, we weren't succeeding... I didn’t plan on giving up if he didn’t either though, so I smiled again. “Hey, you're part of the British Scooby gang. That's worth something.”

“Right. Which part of the Scooby gang are you?”

I only thought about it for a moment, trying to remember the show. “Velma.”

“I'm shocked.”

“I want to be the one who figures out the mystery.” Maybe I will. “That was usually her.”

“No way, it was totally Fred.”

Cocking my head to the side, I considered it. “Well, actually, out of all the group, the two of them were the ones that usually put the clues together.”

“How fitting.”

My head unnecessarily pointed out Fred and Velma were only friends on the show. “Yeah...do you consider yourself to be Fred?”

“I think I'm more a Scrappy Doo,” he admitted with a laugh. “Shouldn't have been there in the first place.”

“How dare you say the talking dog wasn’t essential?” I laughed, rolling my eyes. “Just don’t forget we already established you were needed for this to work, unlike the talking dog. There can’t be a Mrs. Crooks without a Mr…” I trailed off, regretting the sentence with a blush. “Anyway, how long till midnight?”

He checked his watch. “It's almost 10. Wanna try our luck with Levi?”

“Almost two hours away.” I nodded in approval. “Alright. Maybe we should start with showing the journal first this time.”

He nodded back. “Have you seen him?”

I searched the faces in the room. “I bet he’ll be wherever the dark cloud of pessimism is going.”

Brooks made a pretty good guess. “Where's the bar?”

[crystalgemimagines]

I loved your Jasper and Bismuth headcanons! Can you do the other Crystal Gems at some point as well?

Oookay this is a doozy, wedding headcanons for Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Lapis and Peridot! ***This is all implying the reader is human!! Sorry if you wanted to read this as a gemsona. You could tweak the words if you wish. Mini HCs for Steven, Connie and Greg at the end, not for marrying them but how they’d act during a wedding with you an the gems. 

I’m going to try and doodle the wedding rings later (including Jasper’s and Bismuth’s), so that’s why they’re not described in the post! -Mod Lapis

Garnet: 

She’s very at-ease the whole time, but also beaming and excited.

The wedding was indoors, in a large ballroom looking place. There was a hallway leading to the ceremony room, and another hallway leading to restrooms and other facilities. The decorations were simple, mostly darker maroon velvet covers on things with white as the accent color. It reminded you vaguely of red velvet cakes.

Surprisingly, she really enjoyed planning it out, she spends a lot of time planning her vows especially. 

If she wore a tux, it would be a very dark plum color with blue and red wrist cuffs. She wore a tie instead of a bow-tie. She’d wear her afro naturally.

If she wore a dress, she’d wear a fishtail dress with glove-like details. (Something like this!), her hair would be pulled back and pinned with flowers. (something like this is what I was imagining) 

Nothing really “goes wrong” at your wedding, it has a very peaceful atmosphere overall. 

You don’t follow the “you can’t see the bride until the ceremony” ritual, she assures you it won’t matter. You two spend the day together until it’s time to get ready, then you separate for a bit until the ceremony. 

Some of your relatives make off-hand remarks about Garnet wearing her visor the whole time. It irritates you but you don’t let it ruin the wedding. 

Come time for the ceremony, you and Garnet have dopey smiles plastered on your faces, she even giggles a few times which made you smile wider. 

Her vows are short, but genuine, her demeanor changed from giggly and happy to sincere in an instant. “Today, you and I make a commitment to one another. To stay together. To act together. To suffer together. To celebrate together. From this day forth, you will always have someone to put your faith into, to share your joy and your pain with.” She takes your hands- “I love you.” 

She takes her visor off to kiss you, looking you in the eyes before pressing a gentle kiss on your lips, smiling as she pulled away. 

The after party consists of lots of karaoke, dancing and chatting. Afterwards you went home with your wife, holding one of her hands as she carried a tuckered out Steven in the other. 

Amethyst: 

There’s lots of nervous laughter from Ame, her jokes don’t deliver well all day and she’s very affectionate- yet quiet. It’s pretty out of character for her. You could tell she’s got a lot on her mind. 

You and Ame let Pearl plan a lot for the two of you, so the decor was very elegant, lacy tablecloths with lilac and (favorite color) trimming or ribbons, even the flowers were color-coordinated. It clashed a little bit with the beach simple setting, admittedly, but it was still very pretty. 

If she wore a tux, she wouldn’t actually wear a tux at all. She’d wear a white collared shirt with a black vest and dark purple slacks. Her hair would be up in a pony tail. 

If she wore a dress, it would still but on the more casual side. (Something like this!) with her hair down, but pulled back out of her face. 

The ceremony starts off well, but midway through Ame starts crying, she tells you she’s okay. When it comes time for her to say her vows, she grabs you by the face and kisses you. She pulls back but keeps you close and whispers “I-I didn’t make any! I didn’t know what to say I didn-” you pull her back in for a kiss and assure her it’s okay. 

You two keep pecking little kisses across each other’s faces. 

She holds your hand as the two of you walk down the isle together, wiping her tears away and looking at you with glistening eyes.

During the after party, Greg preforms lots of his songs as the two of you just sit and listen, peacefully. There’s lots of actual partying happening, but you two just wanted to spend time with each other. 

Peridot makes a big dork of herself during her speech, telling you how you’re now legally fused with the “superior quartz”. Ame giggles and scoffs at it, so do you. Garnet takes the mic from her and expresses how happy she is for Amethyst, and gives you two her best wishes. 

The two of you dance together to cheesy pop love songs on the dance floor, giggling to each other again.

Pearl:

You both decided to have your wedding in a chapel. (She just loved the aesthetic of it so much)

The decor is all white and cream colors, she really stressed that “the light shining through the stain glass might make some colors unflattering to look at”, you agreed for her sake, she was pretty stressed.

If she decided to wear a tux, she’d wear a similar one to what she wore in Mr. Greg (It’s Over Isn’t It episode), perhaps a different color, like pale blue. The accent colors would all be pastels, of course. She’d wear her hair normally.

If she wanted a dress, she’d wear something simple with elegant details that flowed well. (something like this!), she’d wear her hair normally still, but would wear some sort of hair accessory. Very pale silver leaves, pearls, something simple but lovely like that. 

You did follow traditional rituals with her, more for the fun of it instead of actual belief in them. 

There was a light drizzle of rain before the reception, it stopped quickly and left little glittering water droplets onto the stain glass windows. 

The reception went over well, Pearl recited her vows without skipping a beat. “From this day forward, I, Pearl, take you, (y/n) to be my spouse. To have and to hold, in peace and in strife, I will stay by your side. So long as your heart still beats and my gem still shines, I will love you.”

The kiss was short and sweet, with Pearl’s nose bumping into your own briefly, making you smile.

During the after party, you and Pearl slow danced a lot. There was a dance where you traded off partners with someone else, which was a lot of fun. It broke off into more loose and dorky dancing afterwards.

Pearl took you outside to the church garden to walk around and be with you in peace for a while. 

Greg was the one to give you two the “good luck, I’m so happy for the two of you!” speech, he looked especially happy the whole time. You noticed he and Pearl talking a lot, too. 

The two of you stayed until everyone had left and cleaned up together, Pearl would give you little cheek kisses when you would pass each other to throw something away.

Peridot:

She was VERY excited, but terribly nervous. She’d ask you tons of questions about this “tradition” and how to celebrate, occasionally making off-hand “that’s weird” or “oh! that sounds fun!” remarks. 

Peri wanted to hold the ceremony in the barn after reading it’s supposed to be held in a “special place”. 

Lapis, Pearl, and Garnet helped remodel and redecorate for the occasion. Lapis had made a large ring of water around the barn, not in front the entrance of course. Garnet moved a lot of things outside and behind the barn out of sight, with some help from Greg and his van. Pearl and Peri took care of actual decorating for the most part. Peri made some wind-chime looking meep-morps out of tin cans and pieces of different colored glass, she hung them at the entrance of the barn. Pearl set up chairs in the barn, making a reception area in the back. A large piece of white tulle hung from the ceiling, creating a large upside down V looking shape, it was weighted down from moving by fabric flowers. There was more white tulle on the walls, mainly near the entrance, (looking like curtains) and hanging from the high points of the ceiling with more of Peri’s meep morps. It was odd looking, but very pretty. 

If Peri wore a suit, it would be green, with a bright green bowtie. She’d wear her hair as usual, but would make sure it was extra well kept. No pieces sticking out or out of shape!

If she wanted a dress, she’d wear something shorter and cuter, (ideal to walk and party in later, she planned it out ahead of time). (Something like this!) The top part of her hair would be pulled back and secured with a barrette, with the bottom still flared out a bit. 

During the reception, Peri kept looking at you, she’d smile and her cheeks would flush.

Her vows were incredibly dorky, but there was a lot of sincerity to them. “Fusion- it’s the most intimate a gem can be with another; or is it? They share their physical and mental state with each other, they become one. Here on this day, we become one, we’ll share our lives together from this day forward. Our physical and mental states combine, but stay separate, making us use honesty and communication. We don’t share a body, but we’re still one. Today, I fuse my life with yours.” 

Peri’s vows earned an odd look, a giggle, and an “awh” from Garnet within seconds of each reaction. 

She actually missed the first time she went in to kiss you, kissing you on the side of your mouth. She realized this and awkwardly laughed, you cupped her face and pulled her back in for a proper kiss.

The after party was a lot of fun, there was mostly dorky dancing, and a marathon of Camp Pining Hearts in a truck bed. 

She comes up and asks you if what she said was “okay”- of course it was, and you tell her she did great.

You learned Peri can’t dance. At all.

Lapis:

She suggested the wedding be held on the beach, you asked if she was sure, she said she was. “I have enough bad memories about the ocean. It’s time to make some good ones.” 

The wedding was held at night. Greg was kind enough to lend you his old light-up floor. (This one!)

Lapis heard the old saying “rain on the day of the wedding is good luck” so she made it rain throughout the morning so it would have time to dry before setting up.

Chairs had been set up on the flooring, the gentle whirring of Greg’s van made for comfortable ambiance while everyone else was quiet. There were flowers and flower petals scattered on the beach, but overall it was very simple, with the full moon overhead. 

If Lapis wore a suit, it would be a simple button up with dark blue slacks. She’d roll up the sleeves and wear a loose ribbon tied in a bow around her neck instead of a tie or bowtie. She still wouldn’t wear shoes. Her hair would be in a low ponytail. 

If she wore a dress, it would be simple in the front and backless with a bow at her lower back. (Something like this, the one on the left! sorry I couldn’t get a single image of it in a good resolution.) Her hair would be down like normal with the back of it in a flat braided bun, and she still wouldn’t wear shoes. 

She said her vows quietly, very softly. “After all this time, I’ve finally found a home on Earth. Home is being with you. So I guess I want to stay home forever now.” she laughed a bit, but she held you hand a bit tighter, you could tell she meant it. She pulled you closer into a hug, holding you there and pressing a kiss on your cheek before putting her hand on your chin and pulling you in for a kiss. 

The two of you half-heartedy listened to the speeches your friends and family gave, mostly just holding each other and appreciating the moment. Lapis paid the most attention when Steven spoke, recounting the day he met her and saying how happy he was to see you two together now. 

She took you out onto the ocean and danced with you there, smiling and pressing little kisses into your shoulders and neck. 

Steven/Connie/Greg:

They helped set up a lot, Greg always offering to play music.

Steven and Connie were always the flower boy and ring bearer. 

Steven wears a pink vest and pants with a white button up underneath, Connie wears an off the shoulder long sleeve mint dress with a white belt. Greg wears his tux from Mr. Greg. 

Greg almost always references his relationship with Rose in his speeches, saying how you need to talk to one another and be honest, communication is key, you should trust the other one to love you despite your flaws. No one is perfect until you see them as they are completely, and if you still love them as they are entirely, then they’re perfect for you.

Steven always says how happy he is that his friends/family is getting married, gives you the best wishes he can, makes a handful of jokes. 

Connie doesn’t give speeches, but she is very happy to be around and says congratulations when the ceremony is over. 

Greg, Steven and Connie do karaoke- Greg and Steven are happy to do back-up vocals for people, too. They all sing very well! 

Steven and Greg welcome you to their family afterwards.

[frattocri9724]

STEVEN UNIVERSE:

WHICH COULD BE CHARACTERS’ PERSONAL POKÉMON?

 I have a question, which many other fans would share with me: what if there exists a “Steven Universe”/”Pokémon” crossover? I know, I know: it sounds awesome. Two of the most popular and beloved franchises of all time, combined together.

A crucial starting point is this one: which Pokèmon should be the best first choice for a Steven Universe character? Well, believe it or not, but I managed to find many similarities and traits that both Steven Universe’s characters and Pokémon have in common, both in terms of lore, physical traits, personalities, symbology and, to some extent, even powers. Some characters and Pokémon look and act so similarly that the coincidences are simply staggering, considering the fact that there’s a 20-year gap between the franchises.

In this article, I will bring you some of my personal Steven Universe/Pokémon similarities. I have to mention that not every single similarity must be perfectly plausable: this is all for fun, both for you and me. I hope I will find other similarities in the future but, for now, let’s get started.

 -) Steven Universe and Chansey = We can begin this article with the protagonist of the animated series, the cheerful and friendly Steven Universe, and there wouldn’t be a better personal Pokémon for Steven than Chansey, the Egg Pokémon.

We are starting with an excelent pairing. Both Steven and Chansey are considered two of the most kindhearted and generous characters in their respective universes, and they are mostly known for their healing powers. Steven posseses the ability to heal any kind of injuries of both inanimated objects and living beings, with both his spit and tears, while Chanseys share the eggs they lay in their pouches with injured people and Pokèmon to heal them, and addictonal effects include the ability to bring luck and happiness to those in need. Both Steven and Chansey share pink color, the color of love, and, interesting to note, both Steven’s and Chansey’ source of power are placed on the area of the navel (Steven’s gemstone and Chansey’s pouch). Chansey is famous for being one of the best Healers and Tanks in the competitive aspect of past Pokèmon generations, considering her vast defensive, supportive and healing moveset and her high vitality and Steven, in RPG-terms, can be considered a Healer/Tank, since all of his powers, which he inherited from his mother, Rose Quartz, are all defensive and supportive. Also, some of Chansey’s moves reflect some of Steven’s own powers, such as “Sweet Kiss”, “Sing”, “Refresh”, “Healing Wish”, or “Light Screen”, the latter which is a move that Chansey learns only at level 46 (which is usually a high level to achieve in order to learn some Pokèmon moves), and in Steven’s case, the Rose Bubble and the Rose Shield are highly difficult powers to master.

Last, but not least, both Steven and Chansey are respectively linked to Rose Quartz and Blissey, but more about them later on.

 -) Pearl and Gardevoir = This pairing is maybe the embodiment of gracefulness and duty over someone very close to both of them. Aesthetically, both Pearl and Gardevoir, the Embrace Pokèmon, share an overal elegant appearence, their color scheme, which consist on white and green (Pearl’s “outfit” has a clear blue tint which tends to green), and an unusual large head. Pearl’s dance style is classic ballet, and Gardevoir’s pre-evolution Kirlia resembles a ballet dancer (actually, I initially wanted to pair Pearl with Kirlia but, as you will see, Gardevoir is a much better choice). Both are considered two of the strongest characters of their franchises, with Pearl being the 2nd strongest member of the Crystal Gems, and Gardevoir being one of the most powerful non-Legendary Psychich/Fairy type Pokèmon. Their combat styles are, also, the opposite of each other (Pearl being an excelent close ranged fighter and, only occasionally, a decent long ranged fighter, while Gardevoir is an extremely powerful long ranged combatant, but awful in close quarters). Their other major similarity lies in their relationship with their closest friends: Rose Quartz for Pearl, and Gardevoir’s Trainer. Pearl swore to serve and protect Rose at the cost of her own life, to the point of over-regenerating from her gemstone countless times back at the Gem War, and Gardevoir is described as an extremely loyal and protective Pokèmon towards its own Trainer, and it is said that it doesn’t hesitate unleashing the peak of its powers, even creating small black holes and distorting dimensions, putting its own life at risk. As I already said, Pearl dedicated her entire life serving Rose Quartz, admiring her unlike anybody else and, coincidentially, both Gardevoir’s base form and Mega Evolution “wear” a gorgeous seemy wedding dress, which looks similar to Rose Quartz’s own “wedding dress”. Last, but not least, Gardevoir takes some inspiration both from a guardian angel (due to its desire to protect its Trainer at any cost) and from a ghost that refuses to leave the physical world (due to its ghost-like appearence); concidentially, these inspirations may be considerd also in Pearl’s case, since not only she vowed to protect both Rose Quartz and the Earth, but also Steven Universe (her major role in the series resembles that of a protective nurse, the latter of which is also as well an inspiration for Chansey), and the ghost-inspiration may represent not only Pearl’s pale white skin but, most importantly, her initial difficulty to “leave the past behind her”, trying to overcome the loss of Rose, which she eventually manages to do.

 -) Amethyst and Ditto = I have to admit that this similarty has been very hard to choose, and that’s because they don’t exist many Pokèmon which look similar to Amethyst but, in the end, I think I did it and the result is both funny and depressing at the same time. Why? Well, let’s find out, shall we?

Amethyst and Ditto, the Transform Pokèmon, have the purple color in common and they both generally have a happy and carefree attitude. Their most famous abilty is the power of shapeshifting. Nearly every Gem posses, since their creation, the ability to transform into any kind of creature or object they could imagine, and Amethyst is mainly known for being the Gem which shapeshifts the most among the Crystal Gems, while Ditto has the innate ability to transform into nearly any kind of object or Pokèmon he encounters. Ditto is capable to copy the appearence of the objects/creatures it observes although, sometimes, when it tries to copy something by remembering it, it may forget some details, like the face. By the way, both Amethyst and Ditto retain some defects while transforming: Amethyst, like any other Gem, retains her original color palette (light and dark purple and black), while Ditto retains its original face (although only when it doesn’t remember the original one or when it laughs, which is, by the way, another trait in common with Amethyst). Speaking of defective appearences, and this is the saddest part of the pairing, both Amethyst and Ditto are considered “scientifically and biologically defects”, and their “origin story” is kinda similar. Amethyst, like all Gems, was an artificially created Quartz, however she’s much smaller and weaker than an averege Quartz, and that’s because she stayed into the Prime Kindergaten 500 years more than the Gems that fought during the Gem War, causing her usual short like appearence. This “defecive birth” is an issue that Amethyst herself will struggle to face over the course of the series, since she was supposed to look like any other Quartzes, like Jasper told her, but she didn’t manage to accept her identity, always hiding and faking her inner depression with her careless and irresponsible attitude. In Ditto’s case, its defective nature is more controversial, because it’s entirely based on an urban legend about the fact that Dittos are defective, discarded attempts to clone Mew’s DNA, in order to create Mewtwo, the “most powerful Pokémon ever”. According to this legend, Ditto and Mew actually posses a large number of similarities that give strength to this theory: they both have same color scheme (both normaly and shiny), they weight equally (4 kg), Ditto is the only known Pokémon which learns “Transform” via leveling and, finally, it’s possible to catch Dittos in 1st Genaration’s Pokémon Mansion, the laboratory where Mewtwo was created. All these similarities contribute making the pairing Amethyst/Ditto the best I could think about.

 -) Garnet and Scizor = Now we are going to talk about a less complicated pairing that, personally, is an overdose of coolness. Garnet and Scizor, the Pincer Pokèmon, both share an overal badass and edgy design, red and black as their primary colors, and hand-enhanching gears that drammatically increase their strength and the destructivness of their attacks (Garnet’s Gauntlets and Scizor’s clawed pincers). However, there’s a difference between these weapons: Garnet is capable to summon her weapons whenever she wants (they aren’t a part of her body), while Scizor’s pincers belong to his biological structure, evolving fom Scyther, with the pincers fused with its body. They are respectively considered two of the strongest characters in their respective franchises, with Garnet being the most powerful Crystal Gem nowadays, and Scizor being, according to its base stats, the strongest non-Legendary Bug Type Pokémon since now. Among their characteristics, both their bodies are considered nearly indestructible (Garnet, being a Fusion, develops near invulnerability to almost any kind of attack, and Scizor’s armor is harder than steel) and are also both resistant to electricity (Garnet is electricity-proof having developed Electrokinesis on her own, while Scizor is resistant to Electric type moves). However, the irony lies in the fact that both have completely opposite heat resistance capabilities: Garnet, being a Fusion, has heat immunity too, being able to survive insanely high temperatures, such as lava’s or lightning’s temperature, like it’s nothing, but Scizor, being a Bug-Steel type Pokémon, posseses a quadruple weakness towards Fire type attacks. Also, Scizor can learn “Bullet Punch” via leveling up, which is a move where the Pokèmon throws a flurry of punches at blinding speed, and Garnet does show the ability to throw lightning-speed punch combos quite casually. Lastly, Scizor’s pincers are designed to scare off some of Scizor’s preys, giving them the illusion of seeing three heads, while Garnet’s Gauntlets are capable to scare certain enemies, like the  Centipeetel Mother.

 -) Connie Maeshwaran and Tyrouge = The reason why Connie’ starting Pokèmon should be Tyrouge, the Scuffle Pokémon, is as simple as it is effective. Both Connie and Tyrouge are extremely determinated individuals. Both strongly wish to become stronger to fullfil their needs, however their motivations are slightly different: Connie, after befriending Steven Universe and after witnessing many of his adventures, slowly developses an inner desire to train herself, asking Pearl for help, in the art of the sword, in order to become strong enough to not let her friend Steven down when the hard times come; Tyrouge, on the other hand, hardly trains daily only for his selfish desire to become stronger, no matter the difficulty. Speaking of difficulty, both Connie and Tyrouge, despite having different views about why they want to become stronger are probably two of the most courageous and fearless characters in their respective franchises, and no matter what’s the situation, they will never give up: despite her look and her attitude, Connie eventually manages to overcome her fears and she learned how not to hesitate even against odds bigger than herself, facing Gem Mutants and Corrupted Gems alongside Steven and the Crystal Gems several times and she keeps forward, even if she doesn’t always succeeds: Tyrouge doesn’t hesitate to challenge anyone it meets, not even if the opponent is bigger and stronger than Tyrouge itself and, despite the injuries, it always gets up, willing to fight until the end.

Finally, according to the Pokédex, Tyrouge takes training regimes very seriously, and it can even become stressed if its Trainer doesn’t provide to its daily training; however, in this case, Tyrouge may be the luckiest Pokémon in the world, because Connie, by her side, posseses great organizational skills, which she aquired from her family’ strict discipline. Finally, Connie and Tyrouge share the fact of being two of the weakest characters in their universes, with Connie being just a 12-year old human girl and Tyrouge is actually the weakest Fighting Type Pokémon ever. Despite these flaws, I personally love this pairing, since both character’s determination could certanely help the each other out to improve their skills together.

 -) Peridot and Magnemite = Magnemite, the Magnet Pokémon, would be a perfect choice for a character like Peridot, a Homeworld Gem that’s typically associated with advanced technology and usage of electrical energy. The main reason why Magemite would be a great choice for Peridot is the fact that Magnemite’s round appearence resembles a Robonoid, a tiny sphearic robot which was used by Peridot, when she was still working for Homeworld, to keep informations and reparing Warp Pads with their “healing glue”, so it would be funny if Peridot chooses a Magnemite, pushed by the nostalgia of her Robonoids. Both Peridot and Magnemite show to have a specific power in common: magnetism/electromagnetism. Peridot discovered, in an instance of despair, the ability to levitate metallic objects with the movements of her body, while Magnemite’s body creates electromagnetic waves that allows it to defy gravity and even disrupting electronic devices with its mere presence (Magnemite even learns a move called “Magnet Rise”, which makes it immune to Earth type moves). As said before, both Peridot and Magnemite are typically associated with technology and Peridot, before joining the Crystal Gems, had access to highly advanced Limb Enhancers, which allowed her to create and launch electric attacks. These Limb Enhancers were also made of an advanced space metal, which is linked to the Steel type of Magnemite. Also, in terms of character, Peridot showed a cold and remorsless personality when she worked for Homeworld, and nowadays she sometimes shows an occasional aggressive attitude, and Magnemite usually shows no kinds of emotions but, occasionaly, it becomes aggressive against the humans it doesn’t trust.

Peridot, by herself, is considered the weakest Crystal Gem of the team, and Magnemite is not a particularly strong Pokémon (It even lacks proper arms, which could be reflected by Peridot’s poor physical strength), but that doesn’t mean they are helpless. Aside from their magnetic powers, they both posses remarkable physical resilience and durability: Peridot shows time and again to be one of the thoughest Gems in the series, being able to survive after being crushed by heavy boulders multiple times and after falling hundreds of feet without poofing, and Magnemite’s best stats, aside from its Special Attack, are its Defenses. Magnemite also posseses the ability “Sturdy”, which protects it from 1-hit KO attacks, which addictionaly links to Peridot’s unusual improved durability.

 -) Jasper and Arcanine = I personaly admit that this pairing has been very difficult to decide but I choose Arcanine as Jasper’s personal Pokèmon because I thought of being a cool pairing.

As for the similarities, both Jasper and Arcanine, the Legendary Pokèmon, share their color scheme, which consists on orange, black and white. Jasper’s huge, wild white hair may also look like a mane, just like Arcanine has a manhole, which happens to be white. Arcanine is usually described as a magnificent and beautiful Pokémon, and every time it appears to humans, they usually bow before it, as a sing of respect. Similarly, Jasper has been always praised by many characters in the series, both good and evil, as a proudful and powerful Gem (The Rubies are the Gems that admire her the most), and as the Ultimate Quartz, she really deserves such respect. They are also extremely loyal characters towards their “master”, since Arcanine always obeys the orders of its Trainer, swearing to protect it form anything, while Jasper used to be a die-hard loyal soldier of Pink Diamond. As for power, Jasper is one of the most powerful villain in the series, easely the most vicious menance the Crystal Gems have ever faced, being able to hold her own against many Fusions, like Garnet, Stevonnie and Smoky Quartz, and always surviving, while Arcanine’s power has always been praised too, since it’s capable to casually shoot huge streams of flame and, with its base stats reaching 555, it’s really close to rival the power of a Legendary. Their speed is also quite impressive, since Jasper’s own Spin Dash is one of the fastest attacks shown in the series, and Arcanine, aside from his trademark move, “Extreme Speed”, is capable of running 6,200 miles in 24 hours. Since Jasper is a Quartz, addictionally, these kind of Gems are specifically designed with a bulking appearence to intimidate their foes, and Jasper is perfectly capable to overewhelm her foes both physically and psychologically, while Arcanine’s main ability is called “Intimidate” indeed, which lowers the opponent’s physical attacking power.

 -) Lapis Lazuli and Kyogre = Oh yes, we finally got to Lapis Lazuli. Initially I wanted to give her the Pokémon Lapras; however, the only trait they both share is that their names nearly sound identical. That’s it. With that said, I started thinking about a better substitute and, personally, I cannot give to Lapis a better Pokémon than Kyogre, the Sea Basin Pokèmon, and I hope you will understand the reasons why I decided this pairing.

First of all, someone may argue that giving a Legendary Pokèmon to a character of the main cast may seem exagerated, but I’m pretty sure that Lapis and Kyogre may be the most overpowered pair of this hypothetical crossover as they have much more in common than you might think. In terms of power, this is the main reason why Lapis and Kyogre are so similar. Both posses the ability to manipulate the oceans of the planet with their mind, and they are capable to do it quite casually, since Lapis is capable to manipulate the oceans of the planet with her nearly god-like Hydrokinesis, being able to create a water tower taller than the Earth’s atmosphere, and Kyogre is the Legendary Pokèmon (with 670 as its base stats) that has control over the element of water and rain, capable to quench areas of the world and it’s known for having expanded the seas for centuries, while fighting his archrival, Groudon. Both characters also display the ability to fly, Lapis with her Water Wings, and Kyogre...I sincerly don’t know how it does it, but it can! In terms of combat capabilities, they mainly fight with their special powers and Kyogre’s highest stat is its Special Attack and, if Lapis were a Pokèmon, she may have an almost equal Special Attack. Their skin also have a light blue color in common, and their personalities are kinda similar: under normal circumstances, they show a quite and uninterested attitude, but when under determined situations, they show an aggressive personality, to the point of not caring about anything and anyone (Lapis nearly caused a worldwide environmental crisis by stealing the ocean because she was frightened and enraged for having been trapped inside a mirror for millenias, while Kyogre shows no mercy every time it engages a cataclysmic battle against Groudon, as it has done it since the creation of the world).

Sincerely, I’m both satisfied and frightened by these beautiful and overpowered forces of nature.

 -) Rose Quartz and Blissey = As I mentioned above when talking about Steven Universe and Chansey, Rose Quartz and Blissey wouldn’t just be their upgraded version: they would be the crown of both “evolution lines”, and I just love it. As Rose Quartz is Steven’s mother, a “stronger” version of Steven and the character which he should become when he grows up, Blissey, the Happiness Pokèmon, is the next evolution of Chansey.

As for their personalities, it’s almost unbelievable that both characters are the most kindhearted and gentle characters in their franchises, as Rose Quartz loved every life, considering them precious and worth protecting, and even showing compassion and respect towards her own enemies, while Blissey utilizes her pink furr to detect sadness and then she (as Blissey are exclusively female and, coincidentially, every Gem has a feminine like appearence) shares the eggs she lay, healing every malice and bringing happines to those in need. Despite being a Gem, Rose Quartz can be considered the living embodiment of maternity and motherly love, which are all valuable inspirations for Blissey as well. Speaking of maternity, as in Steven’s and Chansey’s case, their main source of power (Rose Quartz’s gemstone and Blissey’s egg pouch) are placed in the area of the navel, which is symbolical for the spiritual connection bewteen mother and child.

In terms of power, Rose Quartz and Blissey are considered, relatively speaking, two of the most powerful and resourceful characters of their respective series, both possessing nearly exclusively defensive and supportive powers/moves. They are mainly known for their unrivaled healing powers, since Rose Quartz’s healing powers were a total new for Homeworld and maybe non other Pokémon does have similar healing properties as Blissey. Blissey is considered the most powerful and used Tank/Healer in competitive game, and Rose Quartz definitively does have all the requirements for being an overpowered Tank or Healer in an RPG. As for Steven and Chansey, some of Rose’s powers and Blissey’s moves look very similar, like Rose Quartz’s healing powers and Blissey’s “Soft-Boiled”, or Rose Quartz’s Rose Bubble and Rose Shield look like Blissey’s “Light Screen”.

 -) Holly Blue Agate and Tsareena = Back at the episode “Gem Heist”, I was really irritated by Holly Blue Agate’s attitude and superiority complex towards other Gems. However, that doesn’t mean that I hated the character’s concept or role into the story, and I still wonder what happened to her at the end of “That Would Be All” and I sincerly hope we will see her one last time before the season’s finale. With that said, looking at her arrogant, egoistical and predominant persona, I started asking myself if there existed a Pokèmon equally bitchy as Holly Blue? Well, believe it or not but there’s actually a Pokèmon which personality and concept would fit perfectly as Holly Blue’s personal Pokèmon. I’m talking about Tsareena, the Fruit Pokèmon.

Their similarities don’t actually round around their powers (since Tsareena is a pure Grass type Pokèmon, and Holly Blue shows to fight using electricity based weapons, which would be ineffective against Grass Pokèmon...what an irony), but, as said before, their appearences and their attitudes are much more important in the pairing. Speaking of their appearences, Holly Blue and Tsareena show to have an overal elegant and stylish appearence, as both of them “wear” a pretty elegant dress and, the most important detail, is that both “wear” high heeled boots that go up to their thighs (Holly’s are white and Tsareena’s are purple).

Speaking of their attitudes, both show an arrogant, superb, and egocentric personality, while maintaining a composite and pompous posture all the time. Holly Blue shows a matronly and severe attitude towards lower-class Gems, like Pearls and Quartzes, the latter which she even rudely beats them, trying to organize their duties in order to make a good impression towards higher-class Gems, like Sapphires or the Diamonds; Tsareena, similarly, shows a pompous and high-class nature, punishing anyone that approaches it with evil intentions. This attitude can even be redirected towards its own Trainer, since Tsareena could even beat him if it doesn’t like its strategies or if he’s imparting flawed orders, so we can assume that she has a hatred towards humans, which is an opinion that Holly Blue shares too, since she considers human “worthless creatures”. Furthermore, both Holly Blue Agate and Tsareena show great determination to accomplish their duties: Holly Blue was assigned to supervise the Human Zoo with every mean possible, while Tsareena, knwoing that only the best Steenees can evolve, use their power to protect their pre-evolutions. Last, but not least, they appear to have their main power sources placed on their heads: Holly’s gemstone is placed on the back of her head, while Tsareena’s crown-like growth is her main weak point, since once someone touches it, it becomes defensless.

 -) Yellow Diamond/Zekrom and Blue Diamond/Reshiram = At this point in the article, I deeply wanted to give a decent Pokémon to the Diamonds, hierarchically the most powerful and important Gems of Homewold’s social pyramid. The Diamonds of which we know something are Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond, two of the original four Diamon Authorities, the supreme rulers of Homewold. Among these rulers, Pink Diamond was the first Diamond to be shattered by the hands of Rose Quartz (although there may be some issues and incostistencies of what actually happend back at the Gem War), Yellow and Blue Diamond are supposed to have equal roles in the society, and then there’s the mysterious “White Diamond”, an unkown character which has never been shown in the series, since now. Also, according to the Great Diamond Authority, the insigna of the Diamonds, the individual symbols of the Diamonds are placed according to a specific method, which is also linked to the placement of their own gemstones: Pink Diamond, whose gemstone is placed on the navel, is considered the lowest ranking Diamond; Yellow and Blue Diamond have their gemstones placed on their chests, and in the insigna their symbols are on the same level, meaning they have an equal role in the society (the yellow symbol is on the left while blue’s is on the right) and, finally, “White Diamond”’s gemstone is placed on her forehead, and her symbol is on top of every other ones, thus making her the most important Diamond of the Authority.

Now, you are wandering why did I exposed the importance of all Diamonds; the reason lies in the fact that, in order to determine the importance of choosing their personal Pokémon, it’s important to explain that, among all Diamonds, Yellow and Blue had the most complex and conflictual relationship, since both their points of views and goals greatly differ from each other. Coincidentially, in the “Pokémon” universe, there exist, among the Legendary Pokémon, many rivalries between equally powerful creatures (think about the aforementioned rivalry bewteen Groudon, the lord of earths, and Kyogre, the lord of the oceans, or Dialga and Palkia, the lords of time and space, respectivelly). That being said, you are probably guessing what I’m talking about and, finally, after this VERY long exposition, Yellow’s and Blue Diamond’s personal Pokémon should be, respectivelly, Zekrom, the Black Yin Pokémon, and Reshiram, the White Yang Pokémon, both from the Unova region. The similarities bewteen the two Diamonds and the Tao Duo don’t actually lie in terms of similar powers, but instead, they focus much more into the lore, the inspiration sources and the symbology that surrounds the myth of Reshiram and Zekrom. This is gonna be tricky, but I will try to be be as clear as possible.

Let’s briefly explain the parallels in terms of power: with their base stats of 680, Reshiram and Zekrom are two of the most powerful Legendary Pokèmon in the franchise and it’s been told that their power are perfectly equals, as no one can prevale on the other one; at the same time, Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond, having both their gemstones placed on the chest and having their symbols’ same reversed position into the Diamond Authority insigna, means that they too should be considered equals in terms of power and importance. Zekrom and Yellow Diamond also share the fact of being able to manipulate electricity, however, ironically, Blue Diamond and Reshiram should have completely opposite elemental attributes, since Reshiram is a Pokèmon associated with fire, while Blue Diamond should be more familiar with water. Don’t worry though: as already said, the most important reason for this double pairing lies into the symbolism of the inspirational sources of Zekrom and Reshiram, which kinda resemble both Yellow’s and Blue Diamond’s characters, purposes and points of view. Zekrom and Reshiram both take inspiration from the concept of Yin and Yang in Taoism. In fact, Zekrom’s black color and his more seemy masculine and aggresive appearence represents the Yin side of the Tao, while Reshiram’s white color and its more graceful and seemy feminine appearence represent the Yang side of the Tao. Zekrom’s masculine and more active attitude greatly resembles Yellow Diamond’s aggressive and ruthless character, while Reshiram’s look and more feminine-like appearence fit quite efficiently with Blue’s more elegant and innocent appearence. The Tao is the main symbol of the religion, and the Yin is placed on the left side, while the Yang is placed on the right side...which surprisingly coincide with Yellow and Blue’s symbols into the Authority insigna, as already mentioned, where Yellow’s symbol is placed on the left side, and Blue’s is placed on the right side, which is surprisingly astonishing, if I may add. But wait, because there’s much more for the comparisons! Zekrom, as an integral part of Unova’s own mythology, is described as the living embodiment of “ideals”, and Reshiram, on the other hand, is described, as the living embodiment of “truth”. These two creatures, alongside those who choose one of each side, fought for countless centuries, to determine which virtue was the most “fitting”. Well, believe it or not, but Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond actually embody the virtues of ideals and truth in their own context. In Yellow Diamond’s perspective, the “ideals” which she follows are her duties and responibilities to maintain the vigor and glory of her own race, since Homeworld’s main resources are slowly running out: according to Yellow Diamond, in order to overcome the grief for the loss of Pink Diamond, she forcefuly decides to leave the past behind her in order to move foreward. She always tries to do what it seems to be the best decision for the greater good, regardless of the rightness of what she’s doing: she even tries to avoid any other “inconveniences” during Steven’s trial, thinking about executing him instantly. All of these characteristics are perplexly opposite in Blue Diamond’s case. After Pink Diamond’s demise, Blue completely felt into a deeply depressed mood, constantly mourning over the loss of her “sister”. Contrary to Yellow, Blue seems to be much more attached to the past, since she keeps Pink Diamond’s legacy, by declaring the Earth as her own colony, and constantly bringing new humans to the Human Zoo. Blue also seems much more diplomatic and sympathetic with other individuals, and her deepest desire is to discover the truth about Pink Diamond’s death. Over the course of some of the most important episodes of “Steven Universe”, we aknowledge more about the conflict between Yellow’s and Blue’s purposes: in “That Will Be All”, Yellow tries to convince Blue to give up the idea of keeping the Earth, showing, even briefly, that she suffers too about the loss of Pink, but Blue strongly disagrees; in “The Trial”, we can see more clearly the conflict between Yellow and Blue, with Yellow wanting to quickly end Steven’ case while Blue still wants to know the truth.

Last, but not least, Reshiram and Zekrom could even take inspiration from famous historical rival siblings, like Romulus and Remus, the founders of the ancient Rome. Romulus and Remus were brothers who wanted to decide which one of them would be the best king for the city of Rome, with Romulus finally killing Remus, becoming the first king of the city. At the same time, I personally think that the last argument between Yellow and Blue would certanely change something in the future. Also, the context of monarchy is one of the major ones to determine the Diamond’s role, as the supreme leaders of Homeworld.

Anyway, this double pairing fits so well that the other Steven Universe/Pokèmon pairing would be ashamed.

[puppystorm]

Lesbian ask. 2,3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 37, 38, 43, 48, 49.

Woof this is a lot

2. Do you have a “type”? If so, describe itGoofy dorks

3. Plaid button-ups or leather jackets?Plaid

6. Favorite article of clothing?I love the cut of my Star Trek dress, and my favorite fancy dress has a wonderful cut too but the zipper just broke T^T and I got a new dress I’m really excited about but the fabric pretty thick and it’s all black so it’ll show all the fur real easy if I wear it at home so :/ oh and I actually really love the Rey Star Wars style dress I got recently too

7. Favorite pair of shoes?My tall brown boots are fun and cute and useful and easy to wear, but I really like my boots with the fur too

9. Any haircut goals for the future?idk, I’m scared/pretty sure short cuts would look bad on me

10. Describe the best date you’ve been onHmm, honestly the things that come to mind were adventures more than they were dates, but they’re what I wish my dates were more like I guess? But I haven’t really been on a whole ton of interesting ones either.

11. Describe the worst date you’ve been onNothing really comes to mind? Like sometimes I get taken to restaurants are supposed to be cool but turn out to be not veggie friendly at all

13. If taken, talk about your girlfriend/wife!Chel is my other half, a me pulled through from a mirror dimension, and the only person I’ve met who I can actually recharge socially aroundJackie is an exciting new adventure that it’s so dang hard to keep waiting to explore, someone who tries to be 

15. Describe your dream weddingIt’s like a theater production where a “villain” (3rd partner?) kidnaps my fiancée and we swing around a quasi steampunk airship sorta set in the woods sword fighting before I rescue her and we say our vows right there. Then maybe we do something like with color powder or paint and get everybody messy as hell and get our bridal gowns all unique and everyone plays video games and schmoozes for not too terribly long and goes home because I only have so much social energy

16. Do you want kids?Heck yeck!

17. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?Somewhere in Scandinavia, still sorting out which country I like better

18. Favorite lesbian movie?uh, I don’t really know enough to say anything interesting I guess :c

19. Favorite lesbian novel/story?um, same as above

20. Favorite lesbian song?Garnet/Ruby/Sapphire’s songs

22. What lesbian stereotypes do you fit into, if any?I tried to look up some and I don’t really fit any I found I guess? I used to be more tomboyish but I kinda lean more femme now?

24. If a woman wanted to woo you, what would a surefire way to accomplish that?Hmm, I haven’t been wooed much so I’m not sure, I think I’m easy, but I know I like hiding notes and things about, so maybe I’d like that for me too? Not sure

25. Be positive! What do you like most about being a lesbian?Soft snuggles, calm and caring partners

27. Turn ons?Gentle little kisses all over and moderately grabby makeout seshs

28. Turn offs?Above average lewdness?

29. Do you usually ask other women out or do you wait for them to ask you?I guess I wait? Still kinda figuring that out

30. What is your dream career?I wanted to be a pilot a lot, and that’d still be nice, but teacher is also acceptable

31. Talk about your interests or hobbies!I like fixing stuff and collecting tech junk!

32. What is the most attractive quality a woman can have?Fire and humor and sweetness and idk I like so many things

37. Favorite comfort food?Lately its been eggy toast

38. Coffee or tea?Coffee, just, like the taste more, sorta

43. What is your Myers-Briggs type?INTJ

48. Talk about how your day wentBeen busy

49. Talk about your dreams/aspirations for the futureI wanna have a ranch for disadvantaged trans girls to come live on, and also its a lighthouse tiny home apartment in the city, and I have like, 30 wives and I’ve figured out my energy problems so I can dote on all of them sufficiently