#i recently started to think that taking it from the princess' perspective would be more satisfying

[bookshelf-in-progress]

Springtime means that instead of writing, my brain is just cycling through my springtime retellings:

Four different ideas to retell "The Goose Girl"

Two ideas to retell "The Princess and the Pea"

My traditional retelling of "The Twelve Huntsmen"

A couple of the most springtime-y "Cinderella" ideas (thankfully my "Tattercoats" retelling counts as one of these)

Interspersed with the occasional:

I need to develop one of my original fiction ideas to prove I'm not just a hack who can only write retellings

[amelias-zelda-calamity-quintet]

Magic evolution, divine blessings, and the Gerudo :]

(I already had this drafted so it's going first)

Magic Evolution, Divine Blessings, & the Gerudo w/ Princess Zelda & Hamuus

Zelda: "A curiosity in how the different races came to be? That is an immensely complicated topic. I think perhaps it would be better if I handed this off to my colleague. With his experience, he could make this more approachable than I can. Hamuus, would you mind?"

Hamuus: "Not at all, my friend. I would be happy to illuminate these lovely people. But first of all, introductions! Sav'a and salutations, I am Jeif Il Hamuus of Dirjaan, professor of arcanum and practical magics at the University of the Forum. I imagine you have some questions. You have a...Hyrulean perspective on myself."

Zelda: "I think perhaps you will be the first Gerudo man most people meet."

Hamuus: "Ah, but can you imagine a world without a face this beautiful? The sky would be dimmer, eh? But I imagine there is expectation there. Normally it is fun, the little jokes with the Hyruleans when they learn there is a world outside their borders. But in these times, I think explanation would serve us better. Let me begin then.

"First of all, we need to start the discussion with a recent science out of the universities in Rahaal, genetics. It's a matter of traits, passed down between parent to child. You most likely think of these things in terms of hair and eyes and complexion. But there is another matter to it, and that is the matter of, for the sake of this conversation, species. And for that matter, we have reason to believe that divine traits are passed along genetically as well.

"What do I mean by divine traits though? Clearly in need of explanation or one would assume I have them all. I kid, only a little, but I kid! No. At the beginning of time, the Goddesses gifted their followers with certain abilities. These divine traits are most easily identifiable among humans and the branches from them, the Hylians, the Gerudo, the Sheikah, and the Dreeka. Where each is from is not quite relevant to this discussion, but for the point, it is important to know that these divine traits are always dominant, they'll always appear given two options. Which is why when you have a human father and a Gerudo mother, you have a Gerudo child. The Gerudo's divine trait will be dominant.

"Of course, then you ask 'But Hamuus, how has the world been blessed then with your beauty? I heard there is only one Gerudo man every hundred year.' A wonderful question, I love the enthusiasm from this audience. My students should take lessons, you should charge."

Zelda: "I'm sure."

Hamuus: "But to your question. Because there is not a singular lineage to the Gerudo. Let me tell you a story. Back during the Creation, the peoples of the world were created and then sent out to be. They scattered to the winds, and built kingdoms and countries and cultures all around. Some went to the desert. There, they petitioned Din for Her blessing. She gifted it to them and so became the Gerudo.

"But we are not one people, we are many. Some, within their caravans, traveled beyond the desert. Some went out to sea, some across it, others further beyond. And some went to a kingdom you know. Hyrule. There, before the Sacred Door was closed, the magic of the Sacred Realm still spilled out from the Creation. Thus came the Hylians. And, for the Gerudo who stayed, a second blessing.

"This, so new in the world, Din saw issue. She returned to these caravans who had stayed and She said thus 'To accrue Power demands the need for sacrifice. I will give you the chance to return to what you were, or I will give you a mantle to carry to keep both.'

"Some did, they abandoned the blessings of Hyrule and became Gerudo once more. But some, led by the Dragmire family, kept both. The price that the Goddess took was the Hundred-Year King, the story you know. But only a few carry it. Of course, with two blessings, Gerudo of these families will always have children, chiefly daughters, of their lineage.

"And that brings us back to the present, and how you have been blessed yourself to come to know me, my friend. The Dirjaani, my people, we have a word for this. We call it Ivarkah, a blessed person. It can be a lineage, like the Hylians or the Gerudo, or it can be an individual, like the Hero and the Princess. From there, you have the distinctions in Gerudo. You have those with only the blessing of Din, like myself, Ivarkaq'Saya. And then you have those you might call Hyrulean Gerudo, the twice blessed, Ivarkaq'Siyu."

Zelda: "There is another lineage, isn't there?"

Hamuus: "Ah, yes, there is. Though it is not so common. As I said, divine traits are typically dominant. In an instance where both parents have traits of equal standing, it can go either way. But, because the magic law exists for the Gerudo to be Ivarkaq'Siyu, there is a chance, a very slim one at that, that a child of a Hylian and a Gerudo might have both. Ivarkaq'Si'a. Chance-blessed. In the last generation, there have been maybe ten in all of Rahaal. I cannot speak on the rest of the world."

Zelda: "That would be quite rare. Of course, even rarer is the questions on our current Ivarkaq'Siyu generation. And their missing member."

Hamuus: "Zelda, I wish I could give you better news on this. I cannot confirm anything. The man who you ask after disappeared into the Barren Lands a decade ago. Now, someone claims to be him. I cannot tell if this is truth he speaks or one evading reason's beckoning, but I will let you know when I know more. Of this, I promise."

Zelda: "Your help is appreciated, Hamuus. And your lesson as well."

Hamuus: "I hope so! And perhaps a wider view of the world for the rest of you. Should you be looking to travel it any time soon."

Zelda: "Maybe I'll have the opportunity to soon. If not me, then someone at least."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mark of a Hero (Updates on Tuesdays & Fridays, 1 of 9)

Hyrule is at peace, or so the Royal Family would have its people believe. Something is afoot in the kingdom, and someone needs to do something about it. Least likely would be Marksmen Link Sayre- a mercenary and monster hunter doing his best to get by. Until a job goes wrong, and he gets roped into the secret plans of Hyrule's princess. Now Link must play the part of the Hero to dive deeper into the mystery, and maybe stumble into a legend of his own.

AO3 - Wattpad

[victoriouscabaret]

I was tagged by the forever lovely @chaeza! Thank you friend! <3

Do you make your bed? When I remember to/feel like it. Mornings are usually chaos for me, so getting dressed and making myself look presentable usually takes priority over making the bed.

Favorite number? 9

What's your job? Office Manager. I’m happy with it. Definitely not burnt out like I was when I did funerals. I do really miss being a mortician though. Helping people and taking care of them during a tremendously hard time was so fulfilling, and I don’t think I’ll ever not be fascinated by death from a psychological, cultural, and medical perspective. Alas…

Can you parallel park? With a good deal of swearing and asking myself why I’m even doing this.

Do you think aliens are real? It would be stranger if they weren’t.

Can you drive a manual car? Better than a few, worse than most.

What's your guilty pleasure? Hmmm… I don’t really like sweets or candy, but I could absolutely devastate a package of dark chocolate covered orange peels. Those little things are unfairly tasty.

Tattoos? A teeeeeeny tiny Tolkien illustration of Smaug above the crook of my left arm, a hand holding a candle and a flower with the solar system around it (the universe I guess according to the artist? That’s what she called it at least. Its dope and I love it) on my right thigh, a tribal-esque snake that I drew when I was 19 and decided I needed it on me permanently, so it’s between my shoulder blades and has aged terribly. Going to get that covered up with a Big Ass Panther or something probably. Aaaaand a tragic stick n poke on the inside of my left ankle that I did when I was 17 and thought I was edgy. It looks like nothing. Just a bunch of faded dots of ink in the suggestion of a circle. I love tattoos and held off getting any after my snake for so long because I was worried about family and society judging me, but I’ve recently realized how absolutely fucking ridiculous that is, so I’ve already got my next three planned out lol.

Favorite color? Green

Favorite types of music? Any and all. If it’s got a danceable groove or great lyrics, it’s for me.

Do you like puzzles? Hyperfocusing on jigsaw puzzles is one of my favourite pastimes, but I have two cats, and one of them especially likes to “help” so I just don’t bother these days lol. Some brain puzzles stress me out, and numbers don’t work properly in my brain so stuff like Sudoku isn’t for me. I really enjoy riddles and logic puzzles.

Any phobias? Spiders, enclosed spaces, and heights.

Favorite childhood sport? I really enjoyed most sports as a kid and am a naturally athletic person. I really wanted to do hockey, but certain people thought that dancing was more appropriate for a girl, so into ballet I went for years. I did enjoy dancing a lot, and after I quit ballet and jazz, I started ballroom dancing and competed in country ballroom and swing until I turned 18.

Do you talk to yourself? I think my head would literally explode if I didn’t.

What movies do you adore? Oh man… so many. Comfort ones that I’ll always be happy to watch are: The Princess Bride, Kill Bill Vol. 1&2, Only Lovers Left Alive, the lotr trilogy, Moulin Rouge, and Wristcutters: A Love Story

Coffee or Tea? Coffee, but have ventured more into tea over the past year or so. My caffeine sensitivity went bananas when I still did funerals - I think because the funeral coffee I drank all day, every day was so strong my body was eventually just like “nope” so I can have like… max one coffee a day now otherwise I’m just anxious AND tired but can’t fall asleep at bedtime.

First thing you wanted to be growing up? An acrobat lol.

Non-obligatory tags: @thefallenangelsgang, @preciouslittlebhaalbae, @allofthebarks, @myheartismadeofstars, @inkymoonbunny

[aconstantstateofbladerunner]

mental age and unfelt imaginations?

Mental Age - What if god's self-insert mary sue oc tried to take over your life because you're not as popular as your friends online? A villain with an all-powerful quirk wants to be a cool UA student, so she uses her powers to erase Hagakure from existence, take her place, and mind control everyone into loving her. But the quirk has limits, and Hagakure materializes after a time, but no one remembers her and she's re-erased if the villain realizes she's there. So Hagakure, arguably the weakest member of class 1A, has to find a way to take down a mini god by herself. This fic was inspired by the reality shifters of tiktok, who would be doing something very ethically dubious if it was as real as they claim. Imagine an interdimensional being that can change the state of the world on a whim, creating and deleting people as they see fit, and forcing everyone to love them? From the perspective of that reality's inhabitants, that's cosmic horror. For the record, I don't think they're actually shifting and hurting people, they're having vr fanfiction lucid dreams at most and op self inserts aren't a crime. But like, imagine.

Unfelt Imaginations - Princess Diaries meets Rebecca. Izuku turns out to be the son of a prince of a small kingdom. The original heir, a younger half brother Izuku didn't know he had, recently died under mysterious circumstances, and they need a new heir to secure the monarchy and prevent a faction of extremists from completely taking over the country. But being royalty is a lot of pressure and everyone openly talks about liking the old prince more, so Izuku starts to resent him. Until he finds out how he actually died.

[thebeesareback]

Almost everyone, I think, interacted with some form of media which wasn't age appropriate. For example, when I was about 8 years old, I was given a copy of The Princess Diaries. Not only was it targeted at girls about 6 years older than me, it was also incredibly American, so I was even more confused. I read it over and over again, and understood almost nothing. I decided to return to Genovia recently to see if I could decipher it any better now.

- I did not know how tall 5ft9 is. That girl is loooooooong!

- when one is described as a "freshman", how long does it take for one to ripen?

- "flunking" is an odd word, and from context I could tell that it wasn't anything good

- when I eventually learnt the FOIL method, I realised it was really easy. I also had to shut up and not mention that I'd heard of it through The Princess Diaries. My fellow students would not have understood

- in two paragraphs, there are the words "Bigelows", "alpha hydroxy", "Drakka Noir", "synapses" and "senior". I'm pretty sure I thought Josh Ritcher might be a pensioner

- not strictly relevant but Lilly is the worst

- I was also surprised to learn that British schools have Gifted and Talented programmes. Unsurprisingly, I was not selected

- Michael has a webzine called "Crackhead". I think this is noteworthy

- there is a joke about Michael making a bomb and blowing up his school. This clearly places the narrative as something which is set (and written) before We Need To Talk About Kevin was released

- Lilly and her parents have a "don't ask, don't tell" policy with Michael. I only just realised how fucking sad this is

- Michael has a dog named Pavlov. Solid joke

- ok I actually think Michael might be a bit creepy because he does start sexually harassing Mia. She is clueless and thinks he wants her to "take his mom's empty Tab cans back to Gristedes for the deposit money".

- I was confused by the whole "mom"/"mum"/"mam" thing. All are better than "mem" or "mim", I guess

- there are some homework notes at the back which I still don't understand. Perhaps that's the point

- Lilly and Mia make a list of hot guys. Including: Prince Harry (odd, I always thought Prince William was the late-90s hearthrob. Shoutout to those Princess Di genes); Timothy Dalton (just checked and I got him confused with Timothy Spall, who played Wormtail in Harry Potter); Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic (surprised Titanic wasn't mentioned earlier! Also, apparently he kept farting on set); a guy on a billboard (they think he should have his own TV show) and Joshua Bell (modern me had to do some googling because I wanted to know if that had anything to do with "Drake and Josh").

- Mia's parents are separated and she seems fine with it. She is upset about her mum dating her teacher and is hyperfixated on the fact that he teaches maths and she is struggling in his class. Shortly after I read this book my own parents separated, and I was FAR more confused and unhappy and destructive, so it was interesting/weird to see her perspective

- Mr Gianini actually seems really sweet. I guess that's the point

- Mia thinks about going to the Cultural Diversity Dance. Dunno what cultural diversity has to do with dancing, unless everyone starts doing Irish jigs? Also, what is the deal with homecoming? Who is coming home?!

That's just the first three days of diary entries. V v weird but kinda fun

[canyoufucksoniccharacters]

CAN YOU FUCK BLAZE THE CAT?

From one purple cat to the other. Strap in, this is when it starts to get a bit weird.

Alright, as always, we're going to start off by going to the Wayback Machine and digging up the unlisted character ages.

Funny enough- This time, Sonic Channel is our only source, as Sonic Heroes was the last time the character ages were EVER listed- outside of a specific internal guide book thing that Sega has where they list off... The Classic characters. With Sonic being listed as 15 there. Classic Sonic. Yeah, you can tell it was made in the middle of Forces' development.

That aside, let's take a look...

... What?

Ok, so, for reference, Sonic had been listed as 15 ever since the manual for Heroes came out- even after Generations, the game where his literal birthday party happened. Before and after the anniversary game where they celebrate Sonic's birthday in-universe, he was listed as 15. Which is stupid. But what's even more stupid is the idea that Blaze could be younger than Sonic. Blaze, on multiple occasions, shows a similar, if not slightly higher level of maturity than Sonic.

Her dialogue has a MUCH more refined tone very frequently- she is shown to be highly responsible, and despite her tendency to have a one-track mind, she's shown to have a pretty large sense of responsibility. Something that would be hard to buy if she's younger than sonic.

In fact, recently we've gotten artwork of her displaying said sense of responsibility, and the fact that, y'know... She's a princess. A literal one. Or well, more like a queen all things considered, but y'know- she holds actual political responsibility, and, well-

Nothing really seems to show she can't handle said responsibilities. She seems to be a competent, active political figure! Which I guess isn't impossible for a 14 year old in a fictional universe, but Sonic, despite its absurdity, has a lorekeeping team now for a reason. Having a preteen be an important political figure is just a bit too far for Sonic, considering all the political figures we've seen, human or animal, have been on the more realistic side.

To add to all this, the idea that Blaze's level of maturity is pretty well defined and definitely not as young as Sonic Channel says it is, I'd like to bring up a segment from a design document, from Sonic 2006.

Forgive the poor image quality, I couldn't find anything better. Text is in the image ID. While this is likely not canon, funny as it may be to assume it is, due to it being from a somewhat early design document for Sonic 06. However, the fact this was ever considered at all tells us one of two things, either Sega is full of freakos that think about underage people's chest size and their feelings on it, or maybe, just maybe, she's always been meant to lean more on the mature side. The latter seems more likely, but who knows.

Although there's a possibility that she's not an adult by the time Sonic Rush and/or 06 happen, she is absolutely not 14, and since those games, there's been both an in-universe birthday party for Sonic, and a 6-month timeskip in Sonic Forces. So with an age that was unlisted that completely contradicts her actual behavior, and time clearly having explicitly passed between and during games, it's highly unlikely she's still a minor. Remember, the ages were unlisted for a reason. Most of them were either plucked from the American manual for Sonic Heroes, or seemingly made up on the spot.

I believe that's what happened here- with the Sonic Channel age for Blaze. There's no other official documentation that refers to her age, only Sonic Channel. If I had to guess, since they had already listed the ages of the Sonic Heroes characters, they felt an obligation to list the ages of the other characters from games past Heroes. But, of course, Sonic Channel is just a website. It is not a published work, it is not a game, it is not anything of large significance from a company perspective. Likely thing is, some random employee at Sega was tasked to look at these characters and assign them an age, without any real consultation, and put them up on the website. After all- why else would they get removed? If they're accurate, reliable information, why would they randomly decide to remove them?

So, TL;DR- I don't think Blaze's listed age on Sonic Channel ever held any ground, due to a very clear and consistent pattern of decently mature behavior from the character, and a character document making reference to pretty mature matters regarding her, which would be EXTREMELY weird if she was, indeed, 14. That, combined with the passage of time within and between multiple Sonic games, makes it impossible for me to believe she's still a minor, if she ever was one.

In conclusion; can you fuck Blaze The Cat? Considering the aforementioned information, the answer is, most likely...

Yes, you can fuck Blaze The Cat.

Most likely, anyways. There is a small, pretty small chance of her not being 18 or above. That will go for a lot of our candidates. But, until Sega says otherwise; You can, in fact, fuck Blaze The Cat.

[greenlikethesea]

cause i just asked sparkly (& u 2 r the fanfic dream team 2 me) i’m gonna ask u too greenie if there are any fics you’ve read recently or been recommended that you’re dying to talk about?

ahhhhh of course! let me recommend a few here right now!!

@anniebass has written a few of my favorite fics as of late. Her series A Certain Type & other stories chronicles Eddie and Steve over a period of twenty five years, falling in love and out of love and in love again, with a whole lot of growing pains and addiction in between. it's such an interesting portrayal of both of these characters, as well as one possibility of how the future could unfold! (and, as you know I love a good future fic). she also just started writing a slice of life fic that's a Season 4 canon divergence called Cutting Close, and she's only posted one chapter but it is Mean Girl Steve at his fucking finest, as well as his most [to the tune of the girl is on fire] this boy is a queermoooooo (but he doesn't know it yet). it fucking blew my mind when i found out that she is (in her words!) not a native English speaker.

@sparklyslug wrote a fic for the big halloween exchange called As You Wish that is both Princess Bride themed in nature, and ya boi is a fuckin sucker for that, as well as an exquisite portrayal of the bumps in the road when you first start a relationship with someone. the honeymoon phase isn't always peaches and cream! they're still learning each other, and there are going to be gaps in that knowledge, but it's the tenderness of taking someone at their weirdest too. such a delight.

i've recced this before but i'll rec it again: the Pins and Needles series by @grandmastattoo is such a gripping, cathartic portrayal of how punk!Steve would actually play out, imo -- a natural progression toward someone reclaiming his identity for himself rather than getting stuck of the aesthetics. shaved head and wire rim glasses and built like a tank, with the shitkickers to match and the dildo on his nightstand when he can't bring someone home that night. eddie's path in this is also such a great romp, and i'm so happy they find each other.

more @laundrybiscuits love, but who would i be if i didn't talk about the best "horny twenty-year-old men think with their libidos first and their brains second" fic in the fandom, come alive in the neon light. it is so much more to it than that, primarily a fascinating look at steve's rich interior life, from a perspective of knowing he's bisexual but somehow not picking up on the fact that eddie's gay.

[ingek73]

Public Relations Pros Are Spilling Alllll Their Thoughts On The Kate Middleton Situation, And I'm Somehow More Intrigued Than Ever

"I did a lot of PR work in London, and from what I understand of the British press, this is not a fumble."

Julia Corrigan

by Julia Corrigan

BuzzFeed Staff

At this point, everyone and their mother knows about the mystery surrounding Kate Middleton's whereabouts. Why did William suddenly cancel his appearance at his godfather's memorial service? What was up with the whole Photoshop scandal? And don't get me started on the discourse about the TMZ farm shop footage.

@princeandprincessofwales / Via instagram.com

But no matter which way you spin it, you can't deny that this whole thing has been a PR disaster. So, when Reddit user u/butteredgrapes asked members of the subreddit r/PublicRelations, "What are your thoughts on the Kate Middleton situation as a PR professional?" I couldn't help but read through all the commenters' opinions. Here are some of the most interesting:

1. "I would have never issued that short statement signed by 'C' (Princess Catherine) owning up to editing the photo. Bad move. [It] would have been better to let it fade to the next news cycle."

"What was already weird was made weirder, and provoked more criticism. They are also adding gasoline to the fire by not being transparent about her stomach condition or King Charles's cancer. Transparency is key to avoid speculation."

2. "Their strategy here is baffling; they're acting like people are asking her to post a video of her colonoscopy or something, when a vast majority of people want to know if she's okay."

"Charles's team handled [his medical issues] great! They said, 'It's cancer, but we're not going to tell you what kind! Get your prostate checked!' and posted pictures of him reading 'get well' cards, confirming he's alive and okay. Chef's kiss.

The obfuscation and weirdness from Will and Kate's team only created a vacuum that started this whole mess in the first place. Signs [indicate that] the most recent paparazzi shot in the car was at least tacitly approved by Will and Kate, and I can't for the life of me understand why she wouldn't just wave to the cameras to be like, 'I'm alive, move along!'"

—u/DifferentTea934

3. "On the PR side, [I think it's] totally idiotic that [the palace] released such a botched photo. This tells me they either have people around them who are just seeking to please them and say yes to everything, or Kate and Will are handling more of the day-to-day on their own than we think."

"To make this blow over, Kate needs to make a public appearance, but again, my sense is she is personally resisting. She has been such a trooper for so many years. One human can only take so much."

—u/Leading_Caramel9684

4. "Just goes to show you should not capitulate to Twitter mobs. They should have never posted a photo in the first place. If they were going to post a photo, it shouldn't have been doctored. If they were going to post a doctored photo, they shouldn't have admitted it was doctored. Stop trying to appease the mob."

—u/Creative-Disk563

5. "The statement admitting to the doctoring of the photo was absurd. Why say that? It’s like they're liking this cat and mouse game with the public."

—u/BeaGilmore

6. "CNN is now reporting that they are reviewing all past photos submitted by the palace for fraud. This is so much worse now. [The] truthfulness [of the palace] is now being called into question."

—u/purplelikethesky

7. "I roll my eyes every time I see someone blaming the 'PR team.' Internal politics [are] generally [what] dictate an organization's crisis communications decisions, and competing interests within that organization are generally invisible to the public. We can talk about the best way to handle this from an external perspective, but we have no idea what the true goals of the most powerful people within the institution (i.e. the King) are."

—u/crinklyplant

8. "I did a lot of PR work in London, and from what I understand of the British press, this is not a fumble. They always purposely create big discussion points and controversies to keep the general public distracted from something else, often at the expense of one of the women in their ranks, [like] Meghan [and] Kate."

—u/smolperson

9. "If I were her publicist, I would have had her make a 15-second video a few weeks after her surgery, in her garden, that said don’t worry everyone, I’m fine and just need to rest and recover. I’ll see you soon. Boom. Done. These vague statements, weird sightings, and long periods of silence are making it soooo much worse. Be first, be right, be credible. They have done none of those things."

—u/d_in_dc

10. And finally: "While I understand that the palace wanted to control the narrative, and gambled that the current action of saying nothing might have been (marginally) workable, things were changed by a raft of bad news from other family members: The King’s cancer, Sarah Ferguson’s cancer, and most tragically, the death of Thomas Kingston. This has led to a lot of speculation in general that has grown to the point where it was used as fodder with US chat show host Stephen Colbert. Hence, I think clear and plain communications from the start would have been (and still would be) best. Instead, what exists now is a furor amongst the press and the public who have been excluded."

—u/WesternTumbleweeds

Overall, it seems that with the Royal Family right now, about five stories are unfolding at once, and the details look messy. Hopefully, Kate's okay. Tell me your thoughts in the comments below!

Note: Some comments have been edited for length and/or clarity.

[marciabrady]

what’s your take or do you think disney fans can still like pocahontas even though it’s faced MUCH criticism for going so far off the original story and being extremely disrespectful? or even if she should still be in the disney princess line? i grew up with the movie and still like it but apart of me thinks i shouldnt because of how (again) disrespectful it is to the original story as well as her ancestors

This is honestly something I think about a lot and- just as a disclaimer, I am not a Native American person so my voice contributes nothing to this conversation, but...personally, I like seeing Pocahontas's inclusion in the Disney Princess lineup. I think she substitutes as a gateway for people to start researching about her and Native American culture and I think, as the years go on, the inaccuracies of her film just make people that much more motivated to learn from history and not repeat it, but also make sure they do know what the true stories were? There's honestly little to no Native American representation around and...I understand pulling her, because there have been descendants of hers who have asked Disney stop using her likeness...but the voice actress of Pocahontas for her speaking parts, who is Native American and has played Pocahontas more than once on film, has said that- while inaccurate- she thinks the film captures the spirit of Pocahontas and the messages in the films are positive ones. Plus, again, by pulling Pocahontas, you are limiting the representation for Native Americans drastically both in Disney and in media in general so it could really go both ways in terms of whether the repercussions would be positive or negative.

Ultimately, I honestly think Disney is still messing up in major ways (having a white British Prince Eric in a live action Little Mermaid that's set in the Caribbean is so tone deaf and I honestly don't know why Disney is allergic to portraying black men or men of color EVER and this is an issue that's literally still going on in 2023) and, ultimately, supporting a character of color is never a bad thing in my opinion? Pocahontas brings a fresh perspective, a great design, incredible music, and- again- allows people a gateway to interact and learn more about Native American culture. I, personally, don't think they should cancel the movie- what I think they should do is make a television series about her, as they're doing with Tiana and Moana, and set it in pre-colonization times (please lol) and have it focus on Pocahontas's history and her tribe, their customs, fun moments with Nakoma, and that would be a beautiful way to depict appreciation for the culture and the people and would totally avoid the whitewashed history. I hope it retains its mature tone from the movie though and doesn't resemble the recent projects that Disney has come out with, that feel very immature, so that adults can get into it mostly and then children can use it as an educational tool. Also, if Disney really wanted to show us they were serious about respecting her, I think they should hire a majority- if not entirely- Native American cast and crew, both for the speaking parts and for other parts of the creative process. Because, again- I'm over Disney using minorities in their marketing but never putting their money where their mouth is.

[titlemewickedwonderland]

His Starlight Her Firefly (Chapter 10)

AN: So I know recently a lot of the chapters have been more like fillers but trust me they are not useless! They are building up to something big so please be patient! I know there are a lot of other characters because Daemon x OFC right now taking place but as a long-going series it is important to note what goes on behind the scenes for later chapters! :) Anyone who's read this chapter I thank you so much for the constant support!

Workshop

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"Where. Have. You. Been?!" 

She blew a stray curl of ink from her forehead and patted the glittering scales of Noimrei before she turned her attention to the irate woman standing with her hands on her hips looking more and more like an irritated mother than the queen she was. A slow quirk of the princess's lip was all it took before the silver-haired woman to pop off in a tirade as Astraea casually handed over the reins of her dragon to the Dragon Keeper as if this was just any other normal day.

"Not a single word for a month! A month Astraea! I was worried sick, if Rhaenys hadn't sent me a letter telling me all was well I would have dragged an army out to find you!"

"I wrote to Rhaenyra. I had assumed you and uncle had known of my absence from your princess daughter or at the least Daemon much sooner as he had known where I was. Had he not told you? Nor Gilthunder?" she raised a brow inquiringly and Aemma looked ready to swat her like a child again

"Rhaenyra and Daemon?!" the queen spluttered. "I have not heard one word from either!" she frowned deeply before attempting to calm down. "Although, I must confess I have seen little of Daemon the past month and Rhaenyra does not speak very often to me anymore even when I do see her," she mumbled to herself. 

Astraea frowned stepping forward to place her hands on the queen's shoulders. "Queen Auntie I promise you I was not trying to worry you. I did not have time to write a letter to every single person who may not have known of my absence. I was visiting Cousin Rhaenyra because she had some urgent matters she needed to speak to me about. I'm sorry if I scared you, truly." she peered into the warm violet that swam with worry and felt a pang of guilt stab her in the chest.

"Well," Aemma sighed and hugged the girl. "I suppose you are here now and that's all that matters. Come, Viserys is eager to see you after you've been away for so long. I swear that man lives off of your dry humor and antics more than any man I know." she laughed lightly as she led the princess back toward the Red Keep.

When they walked inside Astraea felt odd as she gazed at the familiar paintings and tapestries that she grew up knowing. Funny how a month's worth of time changes one's perspective on life. Truly the days had gone by so fast as she worked with Zycul. It was difficult at first because of the language differences but in imaginative ways, Astraea managed to get some sort of understanding between them as they learned from each other. She spent most of her days reading or studying work that Zycul wrote out for her as they practiced together earlier in translations and although they still did not understand the language each spoke fully they understood the bare minimum from sounds alone and that was always a great start. They had much to go through still but when Rhaenys had told Astraea she had been there for nay a month she had to make a hasty retreat when she realized her family must think her dead or something when she hadn't gotten a reply from Rhaenyra in awhile. 

When Astraea finally entered the throne room she found that she was not the only one in attendance as many of the court people were and others of nobility. She shot Aemma a slight glare that she hadn't warned her or at least allowed her to bathe and dress properly but the queen refused to meet her gaze so instead the princess looked straight ahead towards Viserys whose face literally melted in relief at the sight of her even dressed in her riding leathers and hair a wild mess around her face where it had come undone from her braid. She gave him a tight smile but followed as he raised his hand to beckon her forward; she dutifully walked up to stand in front of the throne awaiting to see what he would say. 

"It is good to see you are doing well. You had us worried; I was about to send Daemon to go find you." Viserys voice was pitched low so only himself, her, and those closest could hear. 

Astraea bowed her head with a regretful look. "I'm sorry uncle I didn't mean to worry you. There seemed to have been a sense of miscommunication while I was away." the elder princess shot a glare from the corner of her eye to where a shock of well-pinned braids stood that she knew belonged to no one but Rhaenyra.

The girl was still very young so the eldest could not be too cross with her. Children often forgot reason or wisdom in certain areas. Rhaenyra was no different. So Astraea allowed her glare to soften before returning her stare to her king; absently noticing Daemon was not among those who gathered but there were a lot of unfamiliar faces amongst the groups that watched and whispered on occasion to one another. 

"No matter, you are home now and we can proceed here after a short break." Viserys's voice rose to allow others to hear before motioning for Otto to disperse the group.

"We have much to talk about niece of mine." the king's playful eyes twinkled at her behind a slight smile and Astraea instantly felt more at ease as she nodded

"But first..." she held up a finger with a raised brow

"You're bathing." the king pointed a finger back at her with a bigger grin. "Right you are. Go on! Meet me in the council room when you are finished but be quick about it! We have much to discuss." he told her a little more seriously this time and the princess nodded curtly before turning and making her way from the throne room.

She ignored everyone as she walked and headed straight for the bed chambers that thankfully had been left untouched except for a hot steaming bath awaiting her in the bathing chambers that a maid no doubt just left for her. Grateful for the foresight she stripped and slipped into the warmth; truly it was almost as hot as Noimrei's breath but she enjoyed it nonetheless. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back against the edge of the tub. The fire that crackled within the hearth warmed the room as much as it lulled the princess into a sense of security and safety. But it was the shifting in the air that caused her eyes to start opening to check her surroundings but before she could a hand covered her eyes and tilted her head back. Breath ghosted along her wet neck causing shivers to erupt along her skin as she inhaled deeply the scent of sweat, leather, blood, and something familiar.

"You didn't write to me. I feel wounded." a silken voice mumbled and Astraea let out a sigh as he felt his lips tickle her ear.

"You knew where I went. If you missed me that much you could have written to me first." she quipped back 

The hand slipped from her face and she turned to watch as Daemon's lean frame began to unravel itself by each article of clothing he allowed to drop after undoing the ties. A part of her warmed to the idea of seeing so much pale skin on display; his body was absolutely chiseled but not the buff way most men. Another part of her screamed at her to be sensible and realize just what was going on; the rogue prince was about to step into the bath with her!Her!If anyone were to catch them it would be rumors flying off the tongue for sure!

"What are you doing?" she raised a brow feigning disinterest

"Going to bathe. What does it look like?" came the equally nonchalant voice 

Astraea bit her lip as she lowered her gaze to the water's surface while Daemon's distorted reflection moved into the water as he stepped inside the tub. With the extra added volume within the water, the liquid sloshed overboard soaking the floor and suddenly Astraea found her knees tucked between his own. He looked filthy with smudges of dirt and grime all over him and was that blood caked to his hair and face?!

"Why couldn't you have bathed in your own chambers? Don't you know it's indecent for the family to bathe together like this?" she tried to find her voice and look anywhere but his piercing violet stare

"I haven't seen you in a month. Heard not a single word either. The least you can do is allow me your company for a few moments while we kill two birds with one stone." he shrugged as he idly played with the water

"Besides, we aren't a normal family aren't we?" the princess finally met his gaze but it was brief. 

"We Targeryens do have odd traditions." she finally conceded after a moment. "Although, I suppose in all technicality I'm not a true Targaryen." was she making excuses now for having him in her bath?!

"Targeryon isn't always by blood. Issa dōna mēre" Daemon's voice was low as he tilted his head at her. "Haven't I taught you that yet?"

Astraea's heart constricted and a sad smile grew on her lips. "I haven't heard you call me that since I was little. I can't say I hadn't missed it." she confessed as she turned to make herself busy by grabbing a sponge and some soap to begin lathering herself up; avoiding his eyes even as he nudged her legs with his as if trying to gain her attention.

"Ao emagon va moriot issare issa dōna mēre hae ao jāhor va moriot ondoso issa qēlos ōños." (**You have always been my sweet one as you will always be my star light") his hand closed over hers causing their eyes to meet and the look within them made her heart beat a little faster.

Daemon slipped the sponge from her limp grasp and grabbed her hand with his free one; tugging her so sharply forward that not only did more water slosh to the floor but she was practically straddling him in this position. The gasp that slipped from her was lost between them as her fingers curled around his biceps for stability.

"Daemon-" he placed a finger to her lips with a smirk. 

"Let me wash your back for you. We only have a few spare moments before you must go see my brother." the way he spoke was dismissive but the way his hand glided along her skin while the sponge wiped away the sweat and grime from her skin was anything but.

When he finished the bath he helped her rinse off before washing himself and getting out to dry by the fire. Astraea averted her eyes to his nakedness as she wrapped herself in a robe and searched for another to toss his way.

"Alright, now go. I have nothing here for you to wear. You've had your fun." she huffed trying to sound annoyed despite the red that tipped her ears and cheeks.

She watched from the corner of her eyes as he gathered his clothing and made his way toward her. He bent down without a word and pressed a cooling kiss to her cheek causing her eyes to flutter closed at the familiar sensation.

"Find me in the library when you're done with Viserys; I believe there is much we have to talk about, starlight." his words were as much a caress as the feel of his lips as they left her skin

"And if I don't?" she couldn't help but tease him as she looked over his shoulder; stifling a laugh at how ridiculous he looked in her pale blue robes

"Then I'll have to come to find you myself and you will not like it when I do...or perhaps you will." he shrugged before he sauntered out of her chambers as if he feared no rumors or wandering eye that could catch him leaving the princess's room so indecently clothed

~

He looked a lot more stressed now than he had been when she'd left him in the throne room not an hour before and the look on his face made him seem twice his age. He honestly looked ill - feverish even and it worried her gratefully as she silently took a seat at his left side. His right side was reserved for Otto who was looking over some papers in front of him while his highness sipped at whatever wine was in his chalice and stared at the table as if he could see every single grain of wood that it was made up of. When her soft tapping shoes echoed in the room while she entered Viserys gaze lifted to meet hers and she flashed him a brief smile before taking her seat and reaching for his hand.

"You don't look, well uncle. Are you sure we can't postpone this meeting for another day?" she questioned.

The king squeezed her fingers fondly with the briefest of smiles. "No dear girl it cannot wait."

Astraea frowned peering at him but did not question but instead changed the topic at hand. "So what is it that you needed to speak to me about? Is it because of my absence?" she let go of her uncle's hand in favor of leaning back in her chair

"Because if it is I have some news for you regarding that which you may find most interesting as I had upon discovering it." her eyes twinkled with delight and excitement

"It is the matter of a proposal of marriage, princess," Otto spoke up looking up from his papers

"Marriage?" Astraea repeated feeling as if a bucket of cold water was dumped over her head. "Marriage to whom exactly?" her smile was tight as the panic rose in her chest.

"We haven't decided yet. The candidates are trickling in every few days as the news of Princess Astraea's availability gets out. We will be holding a tournament for the guests to participate in honor of this and from those you may choose a husband." Viserys stated slowly watching the metaphorical gears turning in the princess's head

"Marriage?" she repeated like a parrot. "Uncle please tell me you are joking and this is simply a punishment for my absence without word-"

"Astraea you are beyond the age that normal girls would have already been betrothed and wed; by the gods, they'd be giving heirs already by your age. Don't you think it's time for you to settle down?" Viserys questioned vehemently

"Uncle if you have forgotten I am not a normal girl. And until I became a lady of the court and shown favor of being...being used for something no one wanted me! They still do not want me! They simply want me for your favor, your money, and probably your goddamned throne!" the princess rose sharply to her feet as she jabbed a finger into the wood of the table beneath her palms.

"I will not be sold like a broodmare to the highest bidder just so they can tarnish the Targeyon name! I'm not going to wed some...some bastard or lowlife who thinks they can ruin me and get closer to you! I am not a shy obedient wife material girl who will just take what you say and do as bidding!" her voice raised sharply.

"Astraea you will wed! Just as Rhaenyra will wed when she comes of age! It is tradition-" Viserys rose from his chair to face off with her 

She puffed her chest out and raised her chin stubbornly at him as she met his gaze. "I am not your daughter Viserys. I am not your blood! You do not have the right to pawn me off like a chess piece." she hissed

There was a flash of something in his eyes as he gazed down at her. "Am I not the man who helped raise you and gave you a name? Am I not the man who convinced my brother - the man you seem so fond of to keep you instead of tossing you to the dogs of the village?!" 

Her chin trembled a bit and she dropped her gaze. She couldn't argue with that. "If you remember uncle. I was just a baby. I had no choice in the matter and I still hadn't a choice in anything as I grew up. I own nothing of what I possess in the Red Keep. Perhaps not even my dragon. But I will not stand here and be made a fool as if I was nothing more than a servent who owes you something. You gave me a home Viserys and you opened your heart to me when I probably did not deserve it. But what gives you the right to choose what my heart wants or deserves? When will my life be mine to decide of what I do?" her voice ended in a whisper through clenched teeth.

 "Astraea..." Viserys sighed heavily. "I am not asking you the world. It's just marriage...you can still live your life as you see fit. If it so displeases you you do not have to give an heir. I just want you to be happy. True happiness in love that you otherwise have not found living here with us." he reached out to cup her cheek as he smiled down at her with sad eyes.

"You have taught me much about being a father, sweet girl. It gives me the perspective that I needed to raise Rhaenyra. But you are family regardless of the blood that runs through your veins and I just want you to fulfill your heart's desires to the fullest and live a good life that is away from the judgment of the court."

Astraea closed her eyes briefly before giving a nod. "I do not know what my heart wants uncle. But I know it's not marriage to some oaf." she opened her crimson eyes to look at him before she took a breath. 

"Regarding the matter at Driftmark. Lord Corlys and Lady Rhaenys had found a stranger washed up on their shores a month prior and he is of my kind." she lifted her chin firmly. "There are others who look like me out there uncle. And if your true wish is for me to fulfill my dreams and be true to what my heart tells me then I beg of you to release me to the care of the lords of Driftmark so that I can follow the path that leads me to my heritage through the man who is a guest there," she told him in a voice firm and resolved. 

Viserys blood ran cold for a moment as he stared down at the woman in front of him. As if ice ran through his veins. Oh, he prayed to the gods a day like this would not come. He knew it would be hard enough to do his kingly duties to wed her off to a well-placed suiter but he had never imagined that a day would come when one of her own kind would wash ashore- quite literally, in this case - to take her from them. At least then, if she were to be married he could still contact her or sent a request for her to visit. If her people are still out there she has every right to return to them - perhaps to stay there indefinitely. 

"Uncle." Astraea's hand reached up to hold the one resting against her cheek. "For as long as I can remember I have always been the outcast among my peers no matter how much you and Daemon or others have tried to shield me. The harsh truth is I am not of your rightful kin and now that I found my own...I have to learn more about where I come from."

The king nodded slowly almost painfully as he allowed his hands to drop to her shoulders. "Of course you do. I know this. I just never thought..." he trailed off with a harsh swallow. "Yes, if it is what your heart desires then you must follow it and go seek the truth." he finally conceded

The smile of relief was painful to witness as the princess lifted up to her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Thank you, uncle! I will write to Lord Corlys and Lady Rhaenys to see what can be arranged to achieve this goal," she said pulling away before turning to leave the room.

"Astraea!" Viserys called out to her when she was nearly at the door and she paused to turn and look over her shoulder at him

"Be careful, I beg of you. Take care child. And if it ever is a need you can always come home." he told her with a soft smile that trembled just a bit at the edges. 

Astraea's features softened and her eyes misted before she nodded. "No worries, dearest uncle. Westeros will always be my home." she vowed before she turned and disappeared through the doors out of sight.

Chapter 11

[jemimaland]

took a break for exams 🕊️

but i’m back and i’m still trying to improve so let me update you on some of the things i’ve been doing lately:

started crochet! ohmygosh it’s so fun, i’m making a little blanket with some pink ribbons on it, and i’m making a miffy plush - it’s so much fun and i’m so proud of myself for sticking with it and learning how to do it 🧶

started running more. this is still very new, but running has always felt really scary for me and it’s big that i’ve decided i’m going to start running every other day or so. i tried doing it every day but i really burned myself out so i’ve decided every other day with pilates in between is good for now. i really recommend the nhs couch to 5k app if you’re a beginner like me 💕

being a princess. this has always been an obsession but recently it’s really cranked up. i’ve been watching so many disney princess movies, listening to jane austen, listening to classical music and dancing around. i might to a full post about this but i’ve been having a bit of an existential crisis about what to do with my one chance at life, and it sounds silly so don’t laugh but all i really want to do is have a little cottage with a cat and a dog and some chickens and wear pretty dresses and dance around and have a family someday. that’s all. i just need to figure out how to get there ☁️

sanrio (but not just sanrio, bear with me) i really liked hello kitty when i was younger so i thought i’d rewatch some of the cartoons one day when i was feeling nostalgic. and it reminded me how lovely it is to see things from a child’s perspective. kid’s cartoons like hello kitty, strawberry shortcake, ever after high, etc. just sort of tell you to be kind, keep going, and push through hard times and everything will be okay. it’s a nice idea and it had a real effect on me. we consume so much sad shit all the time, i think it’s important to take time out of every day to listen to a positive message like that 🐰

doing things intuitively. for example, instead of being on a calorie deficit like i usually am, during exam season i tried eating intuitively because i’ve heard so much about it. at first it sucked bc i ended up feeling full and bloated more often, but soon i started to think: am i really hungry, or am i just worried the food won’t be there when i really want it? am i really hungry, or am i just bored? do i really need a sweet treat right now or am i just craving it because i’m walking past a shop? and soon i started to avoid overeating because i didn’t want to feel full, and whenever i was scared of my sisters eating something i would want to eat at some point i’d remind myself that i can go to the shops and get it if i really want to. and when i’m hungry i eat, and when i’m full i stop. it sounds so simple but it’s difficult to tune into your body that way. my relationship with food isn’t fixed by any means but i’m proud of myself for listening to my body 😁

so very good things over here from me. exams aren’t over, but i’ve gotten the worst out of the way. i’ve got so many fun plans for my last summer living at home and i’m so excited!

how are you guys doing? if you’re out there and you’ve found my blog recently, because i’ve noticed more activity over the pasts few days, who are you? what brought you here? what’s your journey?

kisses hugs and kisses 💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💋😚😚😚😚😚😚😚😚😚😚😚

[angclnumber]

"RECENT IS COOL ! WHERE ARE YOU AT EXACTLY ? if you're like, close maybe you can come over sometime ." haven says passingly then, always more than willing to have company . the house felt too empty otherwise . she laughs brightly at charlie's incredulity, nodding in agreement as she says, "right ? it's crazy ! she's, like, the hottest woman alive basically . and also barbie !" haven's giggles only continue as charlie goes on, her gaze taking on a surprised edge as she looks at them as if seeing them from a slightly new perspective . "... you're funny ." haven comments genuinely, her eyes crinkling with her grin before she's jokingly adding, "but now i gotta know where you were when i was dating that goalie earlier this year . i could've used the tutoring in jockese ." haven lowers her voice comically with the word, like a wrestler or a footballer, combining the voice with a shaking fist before she's laughing brightly again even as she arches a brow and adds, "maybe if i spoke his language he wouldn't have cheated on me with my second cousin . everything could've been different ! the universe would've shifted !" haven makes silly dramatic gestures with the words, honestly feeling like a cool movie announcer or something for a minute there before they're smiling at charlie and adding, "i love high school musical though ... i had the world's biggest crush on troy ." a tilt of her head before she adds, "and gabriella ." haven listens to charlie with her head bobbing in a nod as they continue, their smile widening as charlie mentions standing up for the little guy . "well, i think that's very brave of you ." haven toys with her fingers distractedly as she listens, that is until her eyes brighten at the mention of chainmail and a sword . "no way ? you're like, a knight in shining armour but like, real ! can you use the sword ? can i see ?" haven's excitement is palpable then, eyes bright with enthusiasm as she leans into charlie subconsciously . "y'know, i kinda always wanted to do like... the whole ren faire or larping thing and like be ... a fairy or elf or princess or something ! but none of my friends were like ever into it, and i wouldn't have wanted to go by myself you know ? that's not really the kind of thing you do by yourself ... " haven isn't exactly sure what's happening here but it kind of feels like fate in a weird way . like the universe has aligned itself for her to make a new friend . she's beams as charlie accepts her as hitgirl, feeling so excited she can barely contain it . "really ? that's, like, the biggest compliment ever . i'm so flattered ... " haven starts twisting her fingers nervously again before she blinks at charlie's offer then, startled but still jumping at it as she says, "are you kidding ? i would love that ! like, more than love that ! you're sure it's not gonna be too much trouble ?"

"yeah, i, uh... i actually just moved, so it's, like, a recent thing." lie on top of lie on top of lie. surely it would be easy for haven to fact check that one somewhere down the line, but charlie really wasn't thinking long term. all they wanted was to say what they needed to get their foot in the door, and they'd deal with the rest later. "wait... margot robbie isn't hot? is there, like... a second margot robbie i'm not aware of?" it was impossible not to feel smitten as she continued to humor them, only stumbling just slightly when she bumped them with her shoulder before they righted themselves. hopefully she wouldn't see that and question their ability to protect her, or all their good natured white lies would be for nothing. "i'm actually bilingual! you didn't know that? fluent in english and jockese." their cheerful expression faltered once she brought up charlie's made up history on the wrestling team, but their uncertainty only lasted a brief moment before they corrected their demeanor, chuckling at the well meaning question. "i'm kind of a jack of all trades, actually... i did theater in my off seasons. i'm like troy bolton." maybe if they infused some truth within the artifice, it'd soften the blow should haven ever catch on, making her see that they hadn't completely fabricated their persona. it was a major ego boost to hear her gush over them in a way that charlie actually resonated with, not used to receiving praise of that nature from anyone, let alone a crush. "oh, well, y'know... we live in a society, and all that. i'm here to stand up for the little guy." by all accounts, the little guy was charlie, and they weren't even able to stick up from themselves in most instances, but haven didn't need to know that. "it's not at all the same, but i do have some chainmail and a broadsword back at home... i could be the medieval kick-ass." eyes widened as she further played into their interests, taken aback by how well they genuinely seemed to click and only falling deeper by the second. "are you kidding? of course! i could definitely see you slicing and dicing some bad guys up with a butterfly knife." a wide grin had taken over their features, itching to reach out for her hand, though they resisted. "i could teach you some moves... if you wanted. nothing crazy, just some basic stuff."

[streets-in-paradise]

For A Love Like This - Paris x (fem)Warrior!Reader

Troy (2004) Oneshot 

Requested by Anon 

Omg bestie I love ur writing!!! 🥺 could I request something?! I was thinking maybe something Paris of Troy x reader where maybe the Trojan war didn’t happen bc of Paris, bc Paris and the reader are together. Maybe it could be during the Trojan war and the reader is a warrior! And Paris always gets worried bc the reader is always by Hector’s side bc she’s super skilled?

( So sorry for the delay but I hope the result will compensate. It took me ages to post this but, trust me, I got a lot of inspiration for this concept. If you see this and happen to like it, tell me because I am considering making a continuation for which i already know how to start.)

Word Count  + 3.5 K

Warnings: Reader is a trojan woman whose character is slightly inspired in Penthesilea, the amazon queen who fought in the war according to the epic cycle. For so, this features some tension with Achilles bringing the conflict that worries Paris. 

Summary: Your first act of involvement in the war against the greeks leaves the city acting as if you would have sealed your fate for a certain death on the next sunrise, what leaves you on the task of calming the worries of your husband. Paris doesn't know much about fighting, but the concern Hector shows is enough to make him guess you got yourself in danger.

Tags: @mysticaldeanvoidhorse​ @spideyanakin​ @spideyanakin-interacts​ 

​

The enemy surrounded you and there was no upcoming help. The battle for the temple of Apollo was already lost and Hector ordered the retree of the trojan troops, but you wouldn’t go without him. Achilles caused a general panic on your people, but nothing would be enough to make you leave your dear friend behind. He knew that, but he didn’t want you to follow his chaze of the myrmidon warlord and so you were taking another mission. The rescue of Briseis, his cousin, a newly chosen priestess of Apollo that was most likely to have been caught in the massacre. 

The corpses of the priests made your horrified companions guess she must have been slaughtered, but you didn’t believe that and Hector allowed you to trust your instincts. From your particular perspective, you imagined she must have hidden somewhere despite the confusion and horror. Through your knowledge of the uses of war, you knew that an army coming from across the sea to fight at your shores would see women as a scarce resource. Even if she would have been found, there were chances to find her alive and made captive as part of the looting. Your self taken duty was saving her from that fate and stripping the greeks from the pleasure of capturing a trojan princess on their first day of stay. 

It didn’t go too far. There were too many of them and while you got to show some more of your exceptional courage by killing a few in the search, it wasn't enough to accomplish your goal. The irruption of your friend and their leader heading outside stopped the combat and the man you were fighting against rushed outside following their actions. So did you, but surrounded by a multitude of myrmidons impeding you to get beside Hector. Your most recent rival, who you guessed as Achilles’s second in command, gave them the order of keeping you surveilled. He quickly found out that you were dangerous, even all on your own. 

Taking risks was your thing, you couldn’t get recriminated for that because it served many times in victories of the past. Neither would you recriminate your leader for venturing alone against the blond myrmidon of abhorrent arrogance, even if it worried you as a friend. Perhaps the indignation made you both careless of your individual luck. You were used to witness many horrors, faced many defeats and handled the pain of losing friends before, but the men beating you were simply despicable in levels you have never seen before. Unfortunately, some were also shockingly talented. 

Hate at first sight was what you found through your meeting with Achilles, he was simply the worst. At the gates of that temple, through his word exchange with Hector, he was letting you both know you were kept alive just to brag. There were a hundred different ways in which he could have declared the end of the battle, yet he had to pick the most annoyingly arrogant. 

“ Go home, prince. Drink some wine, make love to your wife. Tomorrow we will have our war.” 

Never in a long time you wished to slaughter an enemy with such visceral hate. Smacking him for such disrespect wasn’t enough, you wanted his blood on your sword. Through a furtive glance your friend was seeing it in your eyes, but wordlessly indicating you to calm down because the context was against you. Since you were at a disadvantage, standing powerlessly as Achilles would finish to praise himself was the only option to get back home. 

However, Hector’s reply served as a display of your shared indignation. 

“ You speak of war as if it was a game, but how many wifes wait in Troy’s gates for husbands they will never see again?” 

Perfectly delivered, it made you remember once more of how proud you were of following him as your warlord and that almost served to calm you down a bit. The complementary effect you had on each other was no mystery and many trojans in the past have considered it proof for a viable romance. Your closeness as friends inspired some to fear you could have abandoned the lifestyle to marry him, a significant loss for the army given your skill, claim you both always found ridiculous. 

The exhortation to calm you found in his words could have worked, if Achilles wouldn’t have awakened the worst of you with his comeback. 

“ Perhaps your brother can comfort them, I have heard he is good at charming other men’s wives. “ 

Any glimpse of civility left on you faded. 

“ …. You shameless greek BASTARD, THAT IS MY HUSBAND!” 

Confusion reigned in the ambient, since the myrmidons were quite sure you couldn’t be Helen. Wasn’t that the reason they were fighting for? A pretty boy prince seducing a married queen and stealing her away to his kingdom?

Only then Achilles deviated his attention from Hector, in direction to the callout and being one with his soldiers regarding the intrigue. 

“ Nobody told us Paris is married.” He commented while pacing in your direction in order to face you. “ My condolences, no one must be waiting for you behind those gates. The coward you got married to is cheating and the world knows it.” 

The fire of your hate was growing with every gesture and every word coming out from his mouth. You couldn’t choose which part of that sentence was the worst, but you opted by starting with the assumption of your marriage being an arranged one. Angered to the core, you took your helmet off because he wasn’t wearing one. It was your own way to show that you weren’t afraid of him, even if common sense would indicate you should. 

Teasing aside, Achilles seriously wondered how it was possible for you to be the wife of the hedonist fool who started the war. You were covered in dirt, sweat and blood; visual proof of how you busted your ass in combat. Your hair was a mess and the hate in your eyes as you challengingly stared at him was making you look crazy. He loved it, you seemed the most passionate woman he had come across in some long time. It was like standing in front of a daughter of Ares, an impression that made him also wonder if there could be an amazon at some branch of your family tree. 

“ Keep your pity, I have a loving husband who has never chazed other women in front of me while the same can’t be said of Helen. I am aware of my privilege and that drove me to help her. The spartan king brought this on himself because his wife is escaping him, not following my Paris.” 

“ Your Paris is hiding underneath the skirt of her dress while you fight their war, isn’t that unfair?” 

The more aggressive replication was delivered so he could see your anger escalate because he liked it, but he also hoped to dig into some unspoken truth taking you over the edge so you would lose filters. He couldn’t accept the explanations you were providing, those were unbelievable to him. His best guess was thinking that you were ashamed of admitting your family or the trojan king forced you to marry that fool and you were defending him for your own honor. 

“ I find it unfair that you are still breathing… What do you seek to achieve with these provocations? If a fight is what you want, I can give you that anytime.” 

He couldn’t wait to fight you but, at the same time, he didn’t want to kill you. It was similar to the opinion he was forming of Hector on those first instants, only impulsed by something else. A different sort of curiosity, maybe stained with a bit of want. 

Achilles smirked at you, a slightly flirtatious way of implying he would take the challenge. 

“ How did your brother get her?” He asked right back at Hector. “ Who let that happen?” 

“ Paris is, indeed, amazing at charming women.” The prince answered, turning the previous mocks against the rival. “ Nobody knows for sure how he made it, but I can tell you it wasn’t arranged. She became my sister by choice, if you knew her you would understand that commanding her is as easy as it looks right now.”

The implications, despite ruining his main theory, seemed to be of his like. 

“ I see and I really want to try what she is made of.” The blond commented to him so he could later get back at you. 

“ Get good rest, princess. Tomorrow you are mine.” 

The menace kept wandering your mind for the rest of the day, your companions in the army interpreted it as a death sentence and they weren’t discreet about their impressions. Although Hector helped you through the moment and engaged on the less serious aspects of it, he was evidently concerned too. The pain of losing Tecton intensified to the thought of you facing his killer in the next battle. The spear throw that killed him was something neither of you have seen before. The precision and strength required for it were extraordinary, inhuman. 

Your lovely husband read your friends’ preoccupation with horror. If the warrior you encountered was good enough to make them say all of that, to make Hector fear, then you were in serious danger despite how much you would insist him not to worry. He asked Helen for references on that greek  and all he got to hear were horror stories. She didn’t want to frighten him; but those things were too much for him. The cultural concept of what greeks considered a hero was nauseating in his eyes, as was the description of some of the war feats that made that crazy man great among them. 

The weirdest thing for Paris was noticing how her narration seemed neutral from a valorative standpoint. Helen wasn’t necessarily horrified by the actions in her tale, as if she was used to it, and there was no detractive intentionality in her words about the myrmidon. There was at least one thing she affirmed to like about Achilles: he hated her brother in law and she was respectful of him upon that hate. 

When questioned about the situation at the temple, and how you both allowed the madness to escalate into a point where you ended up surrounded at the enemy’s mercy, Hector attempted to follow your route of lighthearted joking so Paris wouldn’t overworry Andromache. 

“ We are still unsure if that was a death threat or if he was trying to seduce me.” You were commenting, referring to the awkward undertones of the altercate. “ In either case, I think I am fine.” 

“ It could be both and it wouldn’t surprise me, that man is insane and you caused quite an impression among his men.” Hector added, supporting the anecdote. “ Not to mention how he reacted to the news of your marriage.” 

The reminder made you throw a playful chuckle and Paris got an approximate idea of why. 

“ Did you get in trouble for defending me again? “ 

“ He insulted your honor, called you a coward and a cheater. I’m sick of hearing people even here in Troy accusing you of bringing Helen as your lover. Now it turns out that Menelaus is using that narrative to portray himself a victim. I couldn’t stand it, so I called Achilles out.” 

He was moved by your confession, a reckless but incredible soft gesture showing how much you loved him. 

“ You made yourself a target of the most ruthless killer in the greek army just to prove I am a good husband? 

You admitted the guilt with an innocent looking smile. 

“ Nobody wanted to believe she is yours, Achilles is very curious about that. “ His brother continued. “ I think your honor has been avenged, at least on that front.” 

“ We made it again, my darling!!” You cheered, seeking for his usual approbation. “ They are all so confused, just like Menelaus and his men were in Sparta. I knew right then I was going to hate that man, maybe judging the greeks based on their reactions to us will become my new pastime.” 

“ Can’t you see the risk? Tomorrow Achilles will wander the battlefield looking for you, what will happen if he finds you?” 

Paris was very serious, an unusual attitude for him and proof of how much he was suffering. 

“ Rage is going to keep me alive, I fight better when I am pissed off and that happens all the time when he gets close to me.” You attempted to justify yourself. “ I will be alright, many others claiming to be better than us have passed by but your brother and I have proven them wrong.” 

That wasn’t enough to calm him down, but you didn’t have time to discuss more because a call for council interrupted you. All you got to do was kiss your husband goodbye before he would go to attend his duty and that got a brief smile out of him. 

Despite you being a respected warrior, you still haven’t earned a spot among the most notable citizens of Troy for the discussions. You didn’t mind not having a word there because Paris and you were a team. He would usually deal with the talking while you would get to do the fighting and the only regrets you had about that was your incapability of witnessing each other in action. That time, however, you wished you would have been there to stop what was later referenced to you. 

An unfortunate comment coming from one of the present citizens pushed Paris over the edge and into a reckless choice that was an exact match of yours. Knowing him as much as you, Hector saw it coming but couldn’t stop it in the same way he couldn’t control your tongue that morning. Claiming that there were trojans burning in the pire for a youthful indiscretion, that man implied the very same thing Achilles did and Paris wanted to put an end to the insidious rumors. It wasn’t even about his honor, but of yours. You deserved better than being accused as a complicit wife who allowed her husband to bring a mistress under fears of being abandoned for her if you would have refused. 

The shame you weren’t facing in your role as a soldier, you were getting in the domestic one. According to societal expectations, being a warrior should have anulated you from becoming a wife and you were once willing to pay that price pretty much as Briseis did when becoming a priestess. Paris was the one who proved you wrong, who did everything in his power to win your affections while showing himself absolutely careless of the warnings. He shocked the city asking for your hand, begging your parents to understand that he was in love with you and didn’t mind any of the presented atypicalities.They knew he was being serious when, after being asked if he would accept the mother of his children to abandon the household for war, he claimed he would. It served as an ultimate proof of his love for you, but the rest of your society wasn’t convinced of how long that could keep going. 

Gossips, like the one summarized in that comment, claimed that Paris was getting himself another woman to cover up for the aspects in which your performance as wife would be neglectful. Because you were recklessly trying to live two lives, your husband wasn’t well served and Helen was supposed to fill that gap. A neglected spartan wife came across a neglected trojan husband with a turbious past as a woman chaser, making their adventure everyone’s doom. In short terms, the whole city was paying for the problems of an impulsive marriage that the young prince should have never ventured into. 

He was going to fight to prove them wrong, one encounter with Menelaus putting an end to the war before Achilles could get to fight you. Paris was going to stand in front of the entire greek army and tell them that it was his love for you that made him offer Helen a chance to escape her husband, leaving the horrible man out of excuses for his mistakes. There was no passion of lovers justifying his anger, he lost Helen to no man other than himself. Paris was only guilty of not controlling his indignation to the mistreatments she was suffering, out of his own moral code but also because he was unable to stand how angry and frustrated it made you. 

" You know you don't have to do this, ríght?" You softly reminded him while in the privacy of your shared room, insisting on it hoping it would dissuade him. " Not only you don't need to prove yourself to me, it will solve nothing." 

" Agamemnon didn't bring fifty thousand greeks in vain, that's what Andromache says. " Paris commented to you what was a fraction of a conversation he had with his sister in law, since both were pretty much in the same state of desperation. " I can't let you fight tomorrow, not while I know what awaits. Let me do the fighting for once instead."  

The vanity driven jester the outside world knew him as was completely gone. Seeing the worry in his sweet face was killing you. 

" Did you lose all the trust in my skills you once used to have? Back when Hector took the lead of the army and gave me the chance to prove my worth, you were the first voice raising in approval. I remember you declaring your admiration for me, Briseis had to stop you from offending the gods by comparing me to Athena." 

The mention of his beloved cousin brought the topic back by itself. 

" Did you go inside that temple searching for her, or were you there only seeking to kill Achilles?" 

You decided to be honest, he deserved it. 

" A bit of both, the same can be said about Hector. An ambush of two against one could have worked, but you know your brother: he played fair even when the enemy was playing us. I believe in that, I respect his code, but the greeks were so ruthless that I would have consented to using questionable tactics. He made me stay out of it, but there was no way I would have gone back to the city knowing he was still there so I tried searching for her. I didn't succeed, we lost so much for nothing and that son of a bitch made fun of our suffering. Even that, I could take, but I lost my mind when he insulted you. " 

" Was he shocked to find out your husband is a man widely judged as a coward and effeminate? " Paris asked, the self deprecation was more a repetition of things being said about him. " I bet he wasn't expecting that, no one does." 

" They all thought the woman you are calling your wife is the adorable blond flower we brought home." You snarked back. " I am not precisely the ideal wife in the mind of most men." 

" Yet I love you more than life itself and I want the whole world to get it clear. I want to expose the spartan king, set yourself free from those awful rumors, then walk straightfoldy to that myrmidon beast of a warrior and tell him you are mine." 

You let out a soft gasp, the intensity of his phrasing would never stop amazing you.  

" That sounds beautiful, but impractical. " 

" You have fought alongside my brother for years and I have never felt as fearful as I am now. People say Achilles is a demigod, invincible from birth. Hector himself seems terrified to the thought of fighting him and that is unusual enough to be a bad sign."   

" The bastard is very good, I don't deny it, but ' invincible from birth' sounds like a stretch. No one is, even gods lose battles from time to time. " 

Unsure of how to proceed, Paris begged you in the most desperate way he found. 

" Please, don't go. You don't have to, plenty of other soldiers can defend the city." As he said so, he abandoned his position to literally beg on his knees embracing your hips. " I'm desperate, my love, absolutely defeated. I don't know what to do or say in order to make you stay. Isn't my devotion enough for you to consider valuing your life like you should? I have no life without you, that's why I don't mind fighting tomorrow.." 

You caressed his cheeks before his tears could begin to fall. When one of your hands reached closeness with his mouth Paris placed a kiss on it and that made you lose reason. 

" That's what you don't understand: I fight with the strength of your love in my heart. I fight for you, to come back into your sweet embrace and get more of the kind of love I never imagined I would have. Whenever you await me at the gates, or here, laying on our talamus while looking more handsome than usual just for me. When you order to get my bath ready on time just to be the one helping me get clean, when you trace my scars with your fingertips and still dare to say my skin is beautiful. I am a better fighter because of you, in all those moments I get a strength I didn't have before you." 

He looked at you with the sweetest disbelief and you were in awe with yourself regarding how much you adored him. 

 " Paris, I was not made for a love like this. Warrior women aren't meant to love or be loved as wifes, we are supposed to remain virgins like the daughter of Zeus. The intensity of your feelings is a blessing that I used to think was forbidden for me. Maybe the gods sent us this war because we crossed the line, but I prefer to fight a thousand more before letting you go. "

" Aphrodite shaped you for me in likeness to her greatest love. " He followed you, losing himself in the sweetness of your words. " I will keep praying to my goddess, begging her to get you the favor of Ares." 

Intense staring between the both of you and he stood up slowly, letting a trail of kisses over every section of your body on his way up even while you were still dressed. The action concluded with a desperately passionate kiss that you initiated once his líps got to your reach.

" Love me." You sweetly begged him ríght afterwards, purring close to his ear. " Please, Paris.... just love me. " 

Your pleading helped him get a bit cocky, what was sensed in the kind of teasing he delivered while getting in bed with you. 

" Should I believe in those strange jokes you have with my brother? Deep down, that despicable greek craves to ruin you for my caresses?" 

" Well, he advised me to rest after mocking Hector with the opposite. The idea of you making love to me must be uncomfortable for him." Was your honest and quite playful reply. " Yet he didn't shy away from suggesting you were hiding underneath the dress skirt of Helen." 

Paris chuckled against the skin of your neck, what felt to you as relief on his part. 

" He wants you, fighting is just the way to awake passion." He casually added. " Too bad for him that you are all mine. " 

" It's just a joke, that happens when you are the only woman of the enemy troop. " 

That explanation was unsatisfying to him. 

" Don't discredit yourself, the sweat looks incredibly good on you."

[karalora]

On Disney's Live-Action Remakes

A thought occurs to me, as I read all the emphatically well-deserved snark aimed at the Cruella movie, especially the aspects that make little sense in connection with the original animated film…what Disney is counting on, when they release these live-action remakes and perspective flips, is that the majority of the audience hasn’t watched the original any time recently. That we have fond memories of watching as kids and instantly recognize the characters, but aren’t actually what you’d call familiar with that source material. In fact, they are relying on us being more familiar with the pop-cultural osmosis version of these movies and characters—with the discourse—than the actual portrayals.

Why make an origin movie about Cruella DeVil? Why, because she is the MOST EVIL of all the Disney Villains—she wants to kill puppies!—and wouldn’t it be just fascinating to discover how she got that way? Never mind that anyone who actually watches Disney movies and thinks about it for more than five seconds will realize that most of the Villains want to kill people at one point or another, and that any decent system of morality rates killing people as worse than killing puppies (at least if, like Cruella, you don’t know the puppies are sapient beings)…puppy-killing is memetically The Worst Thing, so Cruella’s backstory is deemed The Most Intriguing.

How about Maleficent? Well, people have seen a lot of well-meaning but superficial discussions about the Disney Princess brand and sexism much more recently than they have watched Sleeping Beauty, so what they remember is “the Princess sleeps through her own movie” and therefore it is Unfeminist and Bad. Therefore, they are primed to accept that turning the story on its head to be about the wicked fairy, who is an empowered woman, AND making it a rape-revenge story on top of that (awareness!), is More Feminist and also The Truth All Along.

Never mind that Sleeping Beauty, on its own, is a perfectly serviceable feminist movie, because the major movers and shakers of the story on both sides are all powerful women (and indeed, Maleficent can’t reckon entirely without the Good Fairies…so it makes them cowardly buffoons, diminishing three women in order to elevate one. Much empowered. So feminism. Wow).

Or take Beauty and the Beast. Now, that is one that adults actually watch frequently enough, so they couldn’t get too screwy with the plot and characterization, but boy oh boy did the internet discourse rear its head. You know how people are always noticing that Disney Princesses never have moms? Well, we’re gonna explain what happened to Belle’s mom! (She died. Of a disease. This of course changes our understanding of Belle on a fundamental level oh wait no it changes literally nothing) You know how modern people living in individualistic democracies criticize the Enchantress for punishing the Prince’s servants for his jackassery? We’re gonna explain that too! (See, it was sort of their fault he turned out so rotten, because they didn’t raise him better, which is definitely something the hired help in a monarchy has any control over). And on and on it goes, laser-focused on addressing what people think they know about the movie rather than being any sort of meaningful examination of its themes a generation later.

Hell, this mentality is even seeping into the animated features now. People are wondering where Elsa’s powers came from? Fine, make a sequel that explains it. Any sensible and confident creator would be able to say “It’s not important why she has powers. That’s not what the story is about. You don’t need to know where her powers came from anywhere than you need to know where Peter Pan’s powers came from.” (Except that apparently people have been asking where Peter Pan’s powers came from, because there’s an entire cottage industry dedicated to writing Peter’s origin story.)

I’m starting to drift, so I’ll wrap this up. Not only is Disney buying up every media empire under the sun to mine for new material since they can’t be bothered to make up their own anymore, they’re doing the same thing to their own back-catalogue. But that only works if the audience doesn’t have any more respect for the back-catalogue than the company does. So do yourself a favor, you with the Disney+ account that you only use to watch the new stuff as it comes out: Go back and watch the classics. When you hear that Disney is gearing up for another live-action remake of a decades-old animated feature, watch the animated one. Take it as it is, on its own terms, instead of looking for stuff that Cracked.com would have a field day with.

Disney can’t skin the puppies if people are still petting them. Go pet those puppies, and you’ll know to say no to the fur coat.

[mysterioushogwartsrequests]

Hello! Can I request an imagine with Draco and a Slytherin! Reader where they both are totally in love with each other and maybe one day in class Draco is being particularly needy/frustrated one day and she’s his partner and sees he’s super hard and she teases him but when class is over he asks the reader to give him a blowjob because he loves her mouth and he’s just so whiny and he later spoils the hell out of his girl at Hogsmeade!

This is literally SOOOO LONG!! I don’t know why I wrote so much, but I just really wanted to include all that stuff, lol. My excuse for the length is that I hit a 1,000 followers about two days ago so this is the celebratory piece! 

This goes without saying, but this piece contains a lot of sexual content so please do not read if you are underage or uncomfortable with said topics. I also wrote this in a different perspective because I wanted to try it out so I hope you enjoy!

Warning: SMUT, Oral (Male Receiving)

Title: Princess

                                                 ϟ ϟ ϟ

It was a warm summer’s day, close to the start of the new term. These past few weeks at Malfoy Manor had been tense and Draco often found himself rather stressed . A large part of him felt guilty for leaving his mother at home in the presence of Lord Voldemort, but another part of him felt grateful to be out of his sight. Finally, he could escape the Dark Lord’s watchful eyes, but he could not escape the plan set for him to complete.

Draco’s eyebrows knitted together as he squinted towards the merchandise wall inside Twilfitt and Tattings. Even when he was not around, Draco could still sense the Dark Lord’s influence and the constant reminder of the outcome if he were to fail. However, as he thought of better ways to mend the vanishing cabinet, something caught his attention.  

“Draco darling,” You called to him, stepping out of the changing room with a small smile on your face. Draco’s eyes widened in an instant, a lump forming in his throat as he examined the champagne dress clinging to your body. It was a delicate number with thin, spaghetti strap sleeves attached to the cowl-neck gown, the silk fabric shimmering softly as you stepped onto the podium.  

With a content hum, Draco pushed himself off the wall, his grey eyes locked with yours in the shop mirror as he walked towards you. He rested his hand against your waist, his fingers tenderly sliding down to feel the smooth silk against them, “You look ravishing,” he whispered against your ear, pressing a kiss against the shell of it before stepping back to get a better view of you.  

You smiled satisfyingly, taking a moment to admire the all-black ensemble he wore and how it slimmed him down in all the right places. He stood in a black turtleneck and a fitted suit jacket, his left hand in the pocket of his slacks while the thumb of the other swiped over his bottom lip. A string of questions crossed through Draco’s mind, “When would you wear this?” he thought, tapping his finger against his chin.  

Surely, there was no surprise ball this year, he would’ve heard by now. “Would you wear it on a date?” he questioned, imagining a scenario where the two of you ate dinner at a fancy restaurant, illuminated by just candlelight. “Even better,” Draco trailed off, his eyes lingering over your arse as you admired yourself in the mirror, looking over your shoulder to see the diamond detail that connected the open back, “What would such an expensive piece of clothing look like on his dormitory floor?”  

Draco recalled the conversation he shared with his mother a week prior, where she had counseled him after a particularly difficult day. Narcissa Malfoy had an interesting way of comforting her son. Of course, she sat and listened to him, holding him as he cried, a mixture of guilt and failure coursing through her veins as she fought against the Dark Lord’s plans for her beloved son. The next day, however, she entered Draco’s room with a smile and presented a brand-new wardrobe for him as a start of term gift.  

Pulling himself away from his thoughts, Draco gave a gentle smile and looked up at you, instantly meeting your hopeful eyes.  

“Oh, those eyes” 

“I’m not sure if I should get it,” You admitted, your bottom lip jutting out in a pout as you hopped off the podium and halted in front of the platinum-haired boy. Closing his eyes, Draco took a deep breath, captivated by the intoxicating smell of vanilla radiating off your body. An exquisite aroma, packaged in a —hand-blown— glass perfume bottle with delicate golden leaves painted onto it, finished off with your initials carved at the bottom of it.  

Another one of Draco’s thoughtful gifts.  

“And why is that?” asked Draco, his hand resting against the side of your neck, his thumb rubbing small circles against your jaw. The dress was cut just right, the tight, draped bodice granted him a wonderful view of your breasts, but he looked away to halt the tightening of his pants.  

“I’ve got no occasion for a dress like this,” declared a slightly defeated (Y/N), taking another glance in the mirror, “Well, we’ve still got the goodbye dinner with your parents” You recalled, running your hands down your hips, unintentionally catching Draco’s attention as he remembered the family dinner he had forgotten about. 

“That settles it then,” announced Draco in a chipper tone, “I’ll buy the dress,” he grinned, stepping towards his girlfriend, but halting by the display of diamond accessories. With a glance over the merchandise, he pointed at a necklace set with a pair of earrings, receiving praises from the shopkeeper. Taking the necklace from the older wizard, Draco walked over to (Y/N), “turn around,” he uttered and you happily obliged, watching him as he placed the delicate piece around your neck.  

“Draco-” you began to protest, but he only pressed a kiss against your cheek, clasping the necklace and letting his fingers linger at the back of your neck. The necklace was a breathtaking, diamond necklace with seven glittering emeralds spread evenly across the center.  

“The bracelet and earrings will do nicely as well,” Draco said, nodding his head in approval and signaling for the shopkeeper to begin ringing them up. You opened your mouth to protest again, but Draco placed his finger against your lips, “I believe you recall what I’ve told you, hm?” he teased, raising a questioning eyebrow as (Y/N) nodded, fighting back a smile, “Then, let Daddy spoil you, Princess.”  

There was no denying the power Draco’s tone held over you. His words shot straight between your legs, the feeling of his lips pressed against the side of your neck making you fall against him, finally becoming aware of his erection now pressed against your thigh. 

“Let's finish up so we can go back to the Manor,” you proposed, shifting your thigh ever so slightly to provide him with some much-needed friction. Draco bit his lip and gave a stiff nod, stepping away from you before you could tease him further.  

“Go change,” he ordered, the cocky smirk returning to his lips, “You’ve got five minutes.” Running back towards the dressing room, you peeled off the dress and stepped into your usual clothes, practically sprinting out of it once finished. After a hasty checkout, the two of you exited the shop hand-in-hand, the bag containing your gifts swinging in Draco’s other hand.

                                                             ϟ ϟ ϟ

This school year proved to be the most difficult one yet. N.E.W.T.s we’re now less than a year away and it was never too soon to begin revising. You, however, found it quite difficult to focus on school these last few days. Despite his constant reassurances that he was all right, (Y/N) found some of Draco’s recent behavior quite odd. This strange feeling first arose the week you stayed at Malfoy Manor, where the four of them sat cautiously at a table with Draco’s aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange. You had always had a good relationship with Draco’s relatives, but it was clear to you something was occurring under wraps, something Draco did not want you to know about. Noting his hesitation whenever you brought up the subject, you decided against prying any more information out of him and returned to your studies. Your dedication to academic achievement, much to your surprise, did not go unnoticed by the new Potions Master at Hogwarts, who had heard all about you and Miss Hermione Granger, the two top students of the sixth year.  

Horace Slughorn was a portly, older man, but very gifted with potions and an excellent Professor. Upon arrival, he sought out some of the school’s most promising students and invited them to his office for an elegant dinner. One morning, during breakfast, your owl dropped the intricately decorated envelope right in front of your plate. You had no chance to conceal the envelope from your curious boyfriend, the same one that had tried, without succeeding, to get invited to said dinner.  

However, to your surprise, Draco was not upset. Instead, he pressed a gentle kiss against your temple and muttered the words, “You deserve it, baby girl.” The pet name sends chills down your spine, a smile playing at your lip as his hand rests upon your knee, the cold metal of his rings easing any sort of tension in your body. His left hand rested against your jawline, his slender fingers twiddling with the pearl earring, admiring the small ruby motif encrusted right above the hanging pearl.  

(Y/N) leaned her cheek against his palm, setting the invitation down on the dining hall table, “Are you sure, Darling?” you questioned, taking the time to rest your hand over his, “I might not be able to fit it into my schedule...” you admitted, thoughts of Draco’s mysterious disappearances crossing your mind. Bringing your hand up to his mouth, Draco pressed a soft kiss against the back of it before leaning to press one against your lips.  

“I think,” he started, a sparkle of mischief in his eyes, “You should go show them what the brightest, most caring, and, without a doubt, sexiest girl in Slytherin House has to offer” Draco praised, giving your thigh a small squeeze before dipping to steal another kiss from you, “How does that sound?” He asked sweetly, showering you with yet another kiss, this one against your forehead.  

It was no secret that Draco Malfoy and (Y/N) (L/N) were truly and undeniably in love. Often, the corridors were filled with the incessant whispers of jealous girls who longed for Draco’s attention, but he paid no attention to them. The Slytherin Prince only had eyes for you, the only constant ray of sunshine in his life. Whenever he looked at you, he reminded himself of his vow to keep you completely satisfied, and the only reward he wanted was seeing that gorgeous smile on your face. You were everything to him. You were the only one who knew about his previous family troubles, the one who would hold him when he cried during the late hours of the evening. The one who would fix his tie the second it seemed out of place, the one who would rub his shoulders whenever you noticed him bent over his assignments.  

He would do everything and anything to ensure you felt like the luckiest girl in the world because he knew you, out of all people, deserved it the most.  

”You make an excellent point, Mr. Malfoy,” You grinned, nodding your head in agreement, and flinging your arms around his shoulders. A soft smile crept up Draco’s lips as his arms wrapped around your waist, holding you tightly against his chest and placing a kiss at the top of your head.  

“Don’t I always?” teased Draco, running his fingers through your hair as the other students exited the Great Hall and made their way towards the classes. Rolling your eyes at his response, you placed your hand against his cheek, stealing a kiss from him this time and rising from your seat.  

“We should go,” you announced, stretching your hand out for him to grab, which he happily obliged, rising from the bench and escorting you to your classroom.  

                                          ϟ ϟ ϟ

 A week had passed since Slughorn’s dinner party, the memory of the evening still fresh in Draco’s mind as he tapped his fingers against the wooden desk. Needless to say, he was not particularly pleased with the events of last Saturday. One of Slughorn’s guests had taken quite the liking to you, practically undressing you with his eyes during breakfast hours, something Draco found incredibly disrespectful. He recalled the way Cormac McLaggen eyed you this morning when you bent over to kiss your boyfriend goodbye, skipping out of the Great Hall without a care in the world.  

Draco clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white as his eyebrows knitted together, sparks of frustration igniting within him. Not only was McLaggen ogling you like you were his last meal, but he was also casually brushing up beside you in the corridors, shooting Draco arrogant smirks when they locked eyes.  

Oh, how he would love to jinx that insufferable look off his face. Yeah, that’ll show him.  

He should have been paying attention to Professor Flitwick discussing the proper hand movement for the Gouging Spell, but the thoughts of McLaggen badgering you when he was not around boiled his blood. In hindsight, it was a good thing he was neglecting this lesson because the prospect of gouging a large hole through Cormac seemed very appealing. 

You were particularly busy this week and did not have a lot of time to spend with Draco. Sure, the two of you bid your usual goodnights in the Slytherin common room, but your studying had kept you away from Draco. Due to this, Draco Malfoy was left very touch starved and found himself daydreaming of your earlier rendezvous around the castle.  

Draco turned his head towards you, his face relaxing at once as he watched you diligently taking notes, as usual. You had your bottom lip between your teeth, gnawing it softly as your quill scratched against the parchment. With a content sigh, he admired your concentration and wondered how a person could be that gorgeous. He was, truly, the luckiest man in the world when it came to you.  

He supposed that one could not blame McLaggen for falling for you- I mean, who wouldn’t? Any person would be swept off their feet if you entered the room wearing those silk dresses you were oh so fond of. Draco glanced down at those pretty, pink lips of yours, his eyes practically rolling to the back of his head as you parted them, tongue swiping over your upper lip as you added the final details to your diagram.  

Biting his lip, Draco forced his attention towards Professor Flitwick, but it was already too late. The thoughts of you, sprawled across his bed at Malfoy Manor were enough to replace his earlier frustrations with feelings of lust.  

“Stop,” thought Draco, closing his eyes to contain his feelings, but it was no use. Your lips made an “O” shape when you finally grasped the Charms concepts, making goosebumps appear on Draco’s skin as he shuddered.  

What he would do to have you begging for him right now.  

His pants grew considerably tighter and he couldn’t help but feel grateful towards the school uniforms. The robe he was wearing did a decent job at hiding his current problem, but he knew it would be noticeable when he stood. However, that did not stop him from hearing the way you called his name in the back of his head.  

“Please, Draco...”

“Fuck,” cursed Draco under his breath, shifting uncomfortably in his seat, a slight touch of pink dusting his cheeks. Unable to keep his eyes away, Draco looked back towards you, scanning the soft skin of your neck, and noting how awfully bare it looked. With his self-restraint wavering, he subtly slid down the bench you shared and rested his hand on your knee, something he did quite often. However, you did not question him until you felt his lips against your neck and a hand wrapped tightly around your thigh. Turning your head to face him, you were surprised to see him with his hand over his mouth, his eyes averted from yours as his fingers danced against the smooth skin of your inner thigh.  

“Draco,” you cooed, but the only response you received was a rather harsh nip at your neck, “Draco, someone will see…”  

“I don’t care,” Draco snarled against your ear, “I need this bloody class to be over…” He murmured in a much softer tone, his hand rubbing circles against your thigh and inching closer to your clothed heat. But once you turned to scold him, you noticed the dark, red blush that painted his cheeks and felt his hot breath fanning against your face.  

“Are you alright?” you asked cautiously, innocently rubbing your thumb against his thigh, but that only made Draco twitch in his seat, and his reaction suddenly lit the bulb over your head. Your lips curled into a smirk as your hand moved closer to the bulge on Draco’s pants, turning your attention towards the front of the class as you continued your movements.  

Luckily, the two of you sat at the farthest end of the Charms classroom, away from any overly inquisitive eyes. You were certain nobody would notice, if Draco kept his cool, the two of you would be in the clear.  

“Couldn’t even wait till class was over?” You tutted, delicately tracing your fingers over his crotch, and smirking as he shifted in his seat, “Be careful, I don’t want us to get caught.” You added, firmly cupping his erection through his slacks, a wide grin spreading across your face as he doubled down and hid his face behind a book he propped up. It was honestly quite surprising to see Draco this way. Usually, he would be the one teasing you to no end, but you were currently in control and that was enough to light the fire of your arousal.  

“D-Don’t stop,” Draco pleaded under his breath, biting down on his thumb to hold back a moan as your palm worked to release the built-up tension. Encouraged by his dick twitching underneath your hand, you quickened your pace and watched as he parted his lips, struggling to keep any sound from coming out. As his breathing grew more ragged, you felt his abdominal muscles tense up against your touch, indicating that his release would wash over him soon.  

Fighting to keep the small sense of composure he had left, Draco gripped (Y/N)’s wrist and halted her movements. It took him a minute to catch his breath, but when he did, he spoke in a low whisper, “Wait...” His eyes never met yours because if he looked into those beautiful eyes of yours, he would not be able to control himself. And although the prospect of taking you over the desk seemed quite promising, he did not fancy the idea of letting the rest of the student body see you bent over in such a vulnerable state.  

That was only for him, of course.  

“What’s wrong, Darling?” You teased letting your fingers trace over his crotch again, but he only clicked his tongue at you. Draco knew you too well, he knew you were only trying to rile him up again, but he could not let that happen, not right now. With adrenaline coursing through your body, you leaned towards Draco and let your breath fan against his neck before licking a stripe behind his ear, “Didn’t want to come all over those expensive slacks of yours, hm?” You murmured, gently nipping his earlobe, and taking his momentary lapse of strength to palm his erection once more.  

Draco gritted his teeth once again, pulling your hand away from his pants, “I said wait,” he growled, his lust-clouded eyes finally meeting yours, “You do know how to follow instructions, don’t you?” He asked in a much harsher, more desperate tone.  

“Depends on who’s giving them.” You replied sarcastically, placing your free hand on his knee with a smirk.  

However, Draco did not get a chance to shoot his response back at you. Once the bell signaling the end of class rang, he shot up off his seat and gathered both your belongings before taking your hand and hastily pulling you out of the classroom. A few students stared as the two of you rushed down the hall, blushing in embarrassment as you stumbled after Draco.

His hand gripped yours tightly, leading you towards the Prefects’ bathroom, and stuttering out the password once the two of you arrived. Flinging your book bags across the floor, Draco turned and stalked towards you making you step back until your back hit something solid.

“Think you’re funny, are you?” sneered Draco, pinning you against one of the cubicles, his thigh pressed firmly between your legs and his right forearm braced beside your head. Replicating your earlier movements, Draco dragged his tongue underneath your ear before taking the lobe between his teeth, making you gasp. “Why don’t we put that filthy mouth of yours to better use?” He cooed, blowing a puff of air against your ear, and admiring it as it turned red.  

With a sudden burst of confidence, you gripped his robes and pulled his face towards yours, breaths mingling together, “I think,” You muttered, leaning your lips close to his, “That’s the best idea you’ve had all day…” Looking up at his half-lidded eyes, you crashed your lips against Draco’s, fingers immediately tangling themselves in his hair. Draco returned your kiss eagerly, his hands cupping your arse underneath your skirt and pulling your body flush against his.  

You could feel Draco growing more impatient by the minute. His hands were grabbing desperately at your skin, squeezing every inch of bare flesh he could feel. Longing to have you closer to him, Draco slipped his hand underneath your thigh and hooked it over his hip, fingers gripping hard enough to bruise. Your back arched off the wall, hips grinding against Draco’s as your tongues laced together in a heated kiss. Tugging at your tie, Draco reached to unbutton your blouse and pulled it open, exposing your bra-clad breasts.  

He pressed his lips against the base of your neck, biting and sucking encouraged by your moans beside his ear. One of his hands held your thigh firmly while the other kneaded your left breast, pulling the fabric of your bra down and taking your nipple between his thumb and forefinger. You gasped harshly, bucking into him, and digging your fingers into his hair, messing up the parts that remained previously neat. Draco rolled his erection against your soaked panties, smiling down at your face as his hands kneaded your clothed breasts, “So pretty,” he murmured, captivated by your flushed face and the shameful sounds passing through your lips.  

Your hands reached up to grab his face, pulling him down for another kiss. This time, using the momentum to switch your positions so Draco’s back hit the stall door, earning a small moan of surprise from him. Grinning up at him, you pressed your lips against his neck and slid your hand down the front of his body, cupping him firmly as you sucked the sensitive skin. 

Draco let out gasping breaths as you moved your hand, his fingers digging into your waist, “On your knees,” commanded Draco, trying to regain some sort of control over the situation. You obliged happily, dropping down to your knees and lazily running your fingers over his thighs before reaching up for his belt. After fiddling with the buckle, you took your time sliding Draco’s slacks down, purposely neglecting his throbbing dick hidden in his underwear.  

“Don’t be a tease,” snapped Draco, gripping your chin harshly, “Suck,” He commanded firmly, releasing you as you pulled down his boxer briefs. Draco’s thick length snapped up towards his lower abs, almost slapping you in the face when it sprung out of its constraints. Almost drooling at the glorious sight of his cock, you took it in your hand, running your thumb over the pre-cum leaking out of the reddened tip. Draco bucked his hips forwards, hissing at the light touch, and looking down at your concentrated expression as you slowly pumped your hand.  

Lolling your tongue out dramatically, you leaned forwards and gave the tip a kitten lick, earning a frustrated groan from Draco. Satisfied with his discomfort, you gave the swollen tip another kiss before taking his length fully into your mouth. He let out a strangled gasp in response, his eyes squeezed shut as you enthusiastically licked up his length. Sealing off your lips, much like a vacuum seal, you bobbed your head up and down his shaft, tongue swirling around it as Draco trembled underneath you, his hand over his mouth attempting to stifle the sounds coming out of it.  

Draco looked down at you, unable to control the string of low moans and grunts spewing from his lips. The sight of your plump lips stretching around his cock made him lose the few ounces of coherent thoughts he had left in his mind. Draco let out another strangled moan, throwing his head back against the stall door as you swirl your tongue around his shaft and use your hand to pump the base of his cock. His hand flew to the back of your head when you moved to take all of him in your mouth, your nose brushing the trimmed tufts of hair as you choked around him, the contraction of your throat making him groan out your name.  

With another husky moan, Draco balled your hair up into a ponytail and used it as leverage to thrust into your mouth. “Yes, yes,” whimpered Draco, his face flushed red and his breath caught in his throat, “Just like that, (Y/N)” he hissed, his grey eyes flickering down and meeting yours, making his roll back again as he pulled his lip between his teeth. Your fingernails dug into the back of his thighs, squeezing them tighter as he quickened his pace. You moaned around his dick, the vibrations sending a violent quake through his body as he face-fucked you, his climax only moments away.  

“Ah, you take my cock so well, Princess” groaned Draco, his pace stuttering, “You’re so bloody gorgeous” He sighed, his fingers delving tightly into your hair as you continued to swirl your tongue around the shaft, relaxing your jaw to let the tip of his penis hit the back of your throat.  

The sounds coming from Draco’s mouth had you soaking wet and yearning to feel his load shoot down your throat. Determined to finish him off, you moved your hand to fondle his balls, moaning with satisfaction as his cock pulsated in your mouth. His breaths grew ragged and the only sounds coming from him were small whimpers and grunts. You looked up at him through your eyelashes, his platinum blonde hair fell messily over his eyes, which were currently screwed shut as his face twisted with pleasure.   

Draco’s eyes fluttered open, meeting your eager ones for a second time, but it was too much. Cursing loudly, Draco’s pace grew sloppier and rougher, his body trembling as you fondled his balls once again.  

“(Y/N)!” He cried out as you gagged around him, thick ropes of cum coating the inside of your mouth as he came, hard. You struggled to swallow his heavy load, but you were adamant on taking every last drop, just how he liked it. Draco gasped as he caught his breath, his hand still in your hair as he gave your mouth two final shallow thrusts, pulling out as you licked him clean.  

With his chest heaving, Draco delicately placed his hand against your cheek and slid his thumb over your swollen lips. You press a chaste kiss against the pad of his thumb, the corners of your mouth curling up into a loving smile. He brought you back up to your feet, capturing your lips in a kiss that was all tongue before pulling away with a satisfied smile on his face.  

“You’re quite chipper now, aren’t you?” You teased, hitting him playfully on the shoulder as he pulled his slacks up, tucking his shirt back into his pants and shooting you a wink.  

“Yes, actually,” He retorted, his usual smirk appearing on his lips, “And why is that?” You asked, taking the time to button your own shirt, blushing as Draco stalked towards you. He placed his hand on the side of your neck, pulling down your collar to admire the angry, red marks that decorated it.  

With a small huff, he dipped down and sucked on the spot below your jaw, your knees buckling and hands gripping his shoulders as he bit down. Once he was satisfied with his handiwork, Draco pulled away, smirking at the mark that would surely be visible for days.  

“Because I’m the only one who gets to have you like this,” admitted Draco, pulling you into a hug and resting his chin atop your head, “Can’t wait until I catch McLoser drooling over you, I’ll make sure to remind him who he’s dealing with.”  

You laughed at Draco’s declaration, your arms tightening around him as you embraced, “Are you ready for lunch then? He could already be there” You teased, pressing a kiss against his nose, and pulling away to pick up your bag from the bathroom floor. Draco chuckled as you skipped back towards him, giving your behind a playful smack as you walked past him, “Don’t run off thinking I won’t return the favor,” stated Draco salaciously, catching your hand and pulling you back before you could exit the bathroom.  

You looked up at him with a curious expression, “Is that so?” You questioned with a grin, walking towards him, and placing your hand on his chest, “Is it something I should look forward to?” You asked, tilting your head to the side innocently.  

Draco laughed, raising his hand to cup your cheek, “Come to my room tonight at eleven, wearing that pretty little dress from Twilfitt and Tattings,” muttered Draco, his lips close to yours once again, “I’ll make it worth your while,” he winked, his fingers dipping underneath your skirt to swipe over your clothed core.  

Shivering under his touch, you blushed embarrassingly as he examined the slick now coating his finger, “All for me, Princess?” He teased, contently licking his finger clean and grabbing his own book bag, “Actually, I was thinking about McLaggen” you quipped, stepping out of the Prefect’s bathroom with a bounce in your step which Draco followed after, his eyebrows furrowed as he flanked you. 

“Careful, Love” warned Draco with a hum, his hand sliding into yours as you walked, “or I’ll have to teach that naughty mouth of yours another lesson.”

                                               ϟ ϟ ϟ

 Your four-year anniversary drew nearer, and you found yourself worried about Draco’s behavior yet again. He grew increasingly distant as the term progressed and you could not help but worry, despite his constant reassurances, stating there was nothing to worry about. This, again, left you feeling frustrated. You and Draco started dating during your third year and it had taken a while to break down his walls to understand him, but now it seemed like some of that progress was overturned. 

However, when he was around, he always made the effort to shower you with affection and ensure you were being taken care of. Draco knew your habits better than anything, he knew you would be questioning his behavior and launching your own investigations to find the underlying cause of it, but he could not let you interfere. He was already under fire for having ‘distractions’ and had promised the Dark Lord nothing would come in the way of his success.  

To keep you safe, you had to be left in the dark. It wounded Draco to see that distraught expression on your face when he came into the common room past midnight, sometimes even asleep, curled up on the couch waiting for him to return. He felt guilty for putting you through all this, but it was necessary for your safety and nothing was more important than protecting you.  

His nights were constantly haunted by horrifying images of you injured or worse, dead in his arms after some terrible mistake he made. These thoughts were constantly wearing him down, but he could not tell you, it was just too risky to involve you in this situation. This stressful internal struggle encouraged Draco to show you how much you meant to him.  

He wanted you to know that you were, truly, the most important person in his life.  

“Draco,” You whined with your hands over your eyes as Draco led you through the empty streets of Hogsmeade, “Can’t I just open my eyes? I’ve been to Hogsmeade plenty of times” you reminded him, but he only chuckled beside you, holding you by the waist as you walked.  

“I’m trying to surprise you,” Draco stated, rolling his eyes, “So why don’t you stop complaining and follow me.” He declared, pressing a kiss against your cheek, and leading you towards the clothing shops in the village. Draco halted in front of a large store window, looking up at the dress and envisioning you in them with a proud grin.  

“Alright,” he started, grabbing the hands that covered your face, “Ready?” He murmured, pressing a kiss against her fingertips as you nodded. Counting to three, Draco pulled your hands away from your face and stepped out of your view, letting you take in the sight before you.  

In front of you stood a tall mannequin wearing a floor-length shimmering, emerald green gown with small silver detailing the bust, “Wow” you muttered breathlessly, leaning closer to the window to get a better look of the design. The mannequin turned 180 degrees, giving her a better view of the open back and long train that followed the dress.  

“Do you like it?” Draco asked, looking down at his ring with a content smile on his face. 

Your eyes scanned over the glittering, diamond pendant necklace complete with matching water drop earrings, “It’s gorgeous,” you replied, looking over at your boyfriend with a puzzled expression, “Why do I get the feeling you’re up to something?” You asked, quirking your eyebrow at him as he laughed.  

“You know me well, Darling” Draco admitted sheepishly, leading you towards the door of the stop and holding it open, “I just thought, since you’ve been attending Slughorn’s dinner parties, that you would need some more evening outfits to show off,” He stated proudly, his hand against the small of your back as he gestured you towards the changing rooms.  

“Draco, I couldn’t possibly! You bought me one at the start of term!” You protested, grabbing his hands but part of you knew his mind was already made up. 

“You’re right,” He agreed with a nod, placing his hand against your cheek, “And I’m going to buy you four more today,” He stated nonchalantly, looking back at the four sets of the dresses brought over by the shopkeeper, “You better get started,” he urged, taking a seat on the ottoman in front of the dressing room.  

With a loving smile, you captured Draco’s lips in a kiss, “I love you” You said, squeezing his hand as he returned your smile.  

“And I love you most,” He replied, pressing a kiss against your forehead, and urging towards the dressing room, “Come on, I want to see how stunning you look in those.” Giggling, you ran into the changing room, winking back at Draco before sliding the curtain close and getting into the first dress.  

Several hours later, you and Draco exited the shop with four bags containing various dresses, jewelry pieces, and, even, a brand-new suit. After one final stop at Honeydukes, the two of you made your way towards the castle, treasuring the time you spent together and the memories you created while doing so.

[woodelf68]

I was absolutely gutted when I first saw the final episode, but am now looking at it this way: It's a good, dramatic ending for a season finale, as long as it's not the end of everything. And in the recent spate of interviews now that the writers' and actors' strikes have ended and they can promote the show, the show producer said that the hope has always been to see Thor and Loki reunite eventually, if they could get Loki to a place where that was feasible. "Connected to all timelines including the sacred one" seems like a place where that might be possible. I'm going with it seems likely that Loki might be able to see what's going on in those timelines if he focuses on someone within them, and maybe he could even project a vision of himself to Thor to talk to him and let him know where he is? Nobody has said that this is Loki's permanent fate; Tom Hiddleston said that Loki's story came full circle, but new circles can start. New cycles, if you will, an obviously important theme in Norse mythology. And he's said he thinks it unwise to assume anything since he has twice thought he was done with the MCU, and both times he was brought back into it. Plus I think the ending they gave us has a lot of potential for fix-it fics. And I'm glad to see the return of a Loki who is more than a TVA worker; he's a prince and a once-king who is showing that he's got what it takes to truly put aside all selfish ambition in service to others -- someone who I think has always understood the nature and burden of rule better than Thor and whom I would love to see take over as king of New Asgard if he could be freed from Keeper of the Timelines duty and if Thor has no interest of ever taking up that mantle. Kudos to Valkyrie for stepping in and holding the place together, but it would be much more satisfying from a storytelling perspective if one of the princes who were 'born to be kings' took up that role and inherited the throne.

And I very much want you to stick around! Ignore canon if you don't like it, the multiverse is canon! Write the realities you want to exist! Or look up some series ending fix-its; I haven't had much time to search for any but have read a couple of them already. (I actually got pulled into reading an arranged marriage AU between Asgardian princess!Sylvie and Jotun!prince Loki which obv. feels quite divorced from canon and wasn't what I was looking for, but it's really good. I know you wouldn't like the smut, but there's a good mix of angst and politics and slowly growing feelings between Loki and Sylvie which then go all to hell because she thinks he's betrayed her but really he's just trying to get out from under Laufey's abusive thumb. Also, magic! Mimir's well! The long-disappeared forest on Jotunheim springing forth from the ground again at Sylvie's touch! A battle! Thor pinned to the Bifrost by Gungnir after Laufey seizes the spear from him! (Odin is power napping, shh.) Loki being able to wield Mjolnir to save Sylvie! I'm currently up to the post-battle scene.)

Finished Loki S2

Well. I finally did it.

...

I am so very, very sad. What a letdown of a show. I feel like I'm grieving. I'm just so hurt and disappointed and betrayed. It feels like a poison burning through my guts.

So it was a bit better than Season One.

...I did like Victor Timely. And Mobius was great. He was something of an Odin analogue and I wish they'd actually explored that more. They seemed so uninterested in Loki's past despite this being a time travel show. None of his relationships or even his divine nature ever seemed to matter. It would've been so easy to take these same scripts and swap in just about any other Marvel character. Iron Man, or Peter Quill or Gamora or a new character, made just for this series.

Of course if you liked it, I still want to be friends. Last time I made a post like this I found myself blocked from people I'd always been friendly with. I never want to insult you or belittle what you like. And I don't like wallowing in negativity, so I promise I won't clutter your dash with it, either. I'll move on after this. Probably just spam some cool drawings of Odin I found or something else that feels untouched (for now...I see What If isn't done massacring my boys). I still want to be friends because ultimately, I'm happiest when everyone is having a good time.

Anyway. I...I just...want to leave this whole mess behind.

Last time this happened I stopped writing my fics. I just recently started again. Now I'm wondering if I should continue. If there's even a place for me in the fandom anymore. I don't know if it's even worth the effort, or how many people even like my fics, really. I get lovely comments and I appreciate them, but I know I'm far from popular or anything. I just try so hard, you know? But I don't know that it matters. I feel like what I'm doing doesn't matter.

I dunno. I guess I'm posting this because I'm just very sad. I've loved this character for over ten years, longer, if you count Norse Mythology itself, and it got me through a lot of hard times. But now it feels that's all been turned against me.

I guess...I need to know if anyone cares if I continue. Or if I should just mourn and try to move on, somehow. I'd just starting going in on Part Two of Finnesang and was wrapping up Lokabrenna, and now I...I've just lost all steam. I'm someone who writes when inspired, not out of spite. So being so disappointed, and feeling like a bit of a pariah in the fandom already, I just need to feel like someone actually wants me to stick around.

Anyway. Sorry for such a morose, navel-gazing post. Resume your scrolling, friend.

But also expect a lot more posts about Blue Eye Samurai.