#insane he ended up being so happy go lucky in canon

[sophfandoms53]

Anyway shout out to Dewey who constantly looked like he was having the worst time of his fucking life in the pitches

Just an 11 year old pissed off at the world it seems😭

[sordidmusings]

Well Earned Praise - Mihawk x Reader

Art by mugibara

Summary: Mihawk is a man of few words and many gestures. Lucky for him, you understand them all quite well. Lucky for you, he knows when to use those spare few words.

A/N: This is a little celebratory piece for @feral-artistry ! She's made a huge landmark in higher education recently that she's worked her ass off for and deserves all the treats and hype!! I was lucky in getting this one out for it too bless up lol I usually can only get possessed by ideas to flesh them out but being able to get them into actual words in a timely manner??? Near unheard of lol That said, it's only a ficlet but I hope you and anyone reading enjoys!!

It’s heaps of domesticity and Mihawk being what could even be called playful lol there has to be at least a tiny bit of that in there for him to have suffered Shanks for so many years so well 💀 in canon its hidden in stuff like him calling Zoro a rabbit - like you can’t tell me he doesn’t also say that shit to amuse himself on top of belittling opponents

Word Count: ~2.1 k

Warnings: gn!reader, straight up fluff, banter, Mihawk being the Most Obvious in his own way, favoritism, Perona and Zoro are there too, you have a place in all their hearts, found family undertone, family dinner with the edgelords, Mihawk being supportive of your accomplishments in a hopefully in character manner lol

~ ~ ~ ••• ✦✦✦ ••• ~ ~ ~

“And what has you so happy?” Mihawk drawls. 

You’ve barely set foot in the kitchen by the time the question leaves him. Your bright mood from your recent accomplishment is undoubtedly buzzing from you and likely tripped off his haki. Or at least you’d write it off as that if you hadn’t been speaking about it coming up the past few weeks.

Despite his prodding tone, you know that’s just his normal voice and not his grumpy one from all your time living at Kuraigana. There’s also a lack of the miniscule brow or eye twitch that usually precedes The Grumpy Voice. Instead his face is its usual stony facade, looking much too brooding in contrast to the apron Perona had complained him into. It lacks any of the color or frills she wished, but you are sure with enough prodding she will one day get one or the other on your dour host. The one thing that truly binds you all together at Kuraigana is an innate persistence (easily gaining the name “stubbornness” when not in your favor). It is a formidable weapon you wield both for and against each other. Usually against, but that ratio is growing more favorable by the day. Luckily its bad run is mostly in bickering and banter, not actual harm.

“I know you’re getting old, but I didn’t know your memory was already going,” you goad, walking to join him at the prep table at the far end of the kitchen.

“I don’t make the effort to remember the chirping of birds,” he responds blandly, disproving his statement by alluding to the fact that he listened to your frequent gushing about it to Perona. All the while, he continues chopping vegetables with insane speed and accuracy. It will always amuse you to see the world’s greatest swordsman use those skills to harvest and chop veggies. His choice on which you’re starting to recognize as the mix to make your favorite meal.

“Uhuh,” you reply, obviously incredulous. “I suppose you don’t have much room in that head of yours for anything besides swords play.”

“It’s dangerous to insult the one handling your food you know,” he warns with the barest hint of humor warming his low voice.

“This cook wouldn’t stoop to poisons,” you assure him, “though I will need to watch my back during sparring.”

“If you’ve actually taken to my lessons, you’d know to do that anyway,” Mihawk chastises with narrowed eyes. You chuckle at his predictability - always so prickly if he felt you weren’t taking your crafts seriously.

“We both know I’d be dead if I didn’t,” you point out. The silence, save for the steady thumping of knife on cutting board, is his begrudging agreement. 

That silence quickly turns comfortable, its ease built on a few hundred hours of peaceful companionable silence that you’ve shared. Mostly they were filled with quiet sips of wine, rustling pages, crackling logs, and calm music. Your favorite is when the sweet serenade of the night’s bugs leaks in the cracked windows, heralded by a cool breeze playing with the curtains. A few hundred more hours spent in travel and training built quite the familiarity and warmed your heart from simple attraction to true affection for this untouchable man.

That affection only makes you treasure these moments more. Seeing him in an apron performing a homemaker’s duties isn’t only amusing; there’s a twinge of vulnerability to it. This man, who is an embodiment of death collecting its due for most, is comfortable with you seeing such human pieces of himself. He’s connected with you and your housemates enough to let you each have your mark on him in subtle ways. There is proof enough of it in this kitchen - now always well stocked with sake and sweets, the allowance of a few cutesy mugs ready for use, fresh eggs from the chickens he’d gotten for convenience and definitely not because of your love of animals. (You hadn’t broken him on goats yet but you were far from giving up on that one).

Your thoughts are interrupted by him breaking the hypnotizing motion of his knife to back away from the counter.

“I need to stop in the garden,” Mihawk explains. He casts a pointed gaze at you on his exit. “Don’t go in the fridge.”

The moment he’s taken his exit, you disobey the order. More like a poorly veiled hint. The bright lights of the fridge spotlight quite the treat for you. There’s a menagerie of desserts taking up the top shelf, everything from macaroons to tiramisu to cheesecake to fruit tarts. The colorful display almost kept you from noticing the restock of your drawers of charcuterie below. He really spared no expense; rare cured meats and exotic cheeses were huddled around a large supply of all your favorites, a variety of mustards, jams, and preserves in cute little jars tucked neatly to one side. You can’t help how gooey the gesture makes your heart and how that feeling’s definitely still going to be all over your face when he gets back.

Accepting that fate, you don’t even try to hide it when he comes back through the door with fresh herbs in hand. Mihawk goes through the motions of wiping off his boots and making his way back, all nonchalant confidence, until he looks at you and is struck frozen. He stands and holds your loving gaze for a long stretch of breaths. He’s the first to break your eye contact, looking the closest to unsure that you’ve ever seen him. His face would never tell, but his shoulders curl just a bit up and forward before you see him shove them back into their usual sure posture.

You think he’s going to leave the whole thing unacknowledged, as he’s wont to do with your increasingly common Moments. He shatters that thought when he lays a hand on your arm as he passes, giving it a gentle squeeze. The warmth from his large palm leaves a lasting impression on you. The ravenously yearning part of you - the one you try to keep settled - begins telling you how deliciously warm he must run, how he must be the perfect spot for a nap, how those warm hands would feel easing your muscles, how they would feel-

“Managing to get lost while standing still? Should I worry about that with you too?” Mihawk teases. It’s quite impressive how droll he can be when he lets himself.

“If I say yes, does that mean I’m free of being his human compass?” you joke.

“Only until it’s time to be rid of you both,” he answers easily.

“What?” you ask in mock offense. “No send off party? No tearful goodbyes? And here I thought you were the sentimental type.”

“Obviously,” he agrees, gifting you the first tiny, crooked smile of the night.

Wanting to end on a high note, you let the conversation go and instead focus on trying to find ways to help. It goes poorly. Every task you make for is suddenly already being done by Mihawk, or he’s suddenly blocking you from the means to start. Many an ingredient is intercepted, dish grabbed first, or scraps thrown to trash and compost. The absurd game of keep away it makes is funny to you at first but soon becomes frustrating.

“You’re treating me like an invalid,” you huff.

“I didn’t know you were so fond of labor,” Mihawk drawls. Sly eyes slide your way. “Should I put you back on prepping the new beds?”

“No,” you answer quickly. The new garden spot was chosen for convenient location not ease of creation; the ground was mostly clay and full of rocks with the top carpeted thick with sod and weeds. It would have to be cleared off, rocks dug out, manure and sand and peat moss shoveled in, then all mixed thoroughly to break up the clay. It was grueling work. It was Zoro work.

Mihawk goes back to his cooking with an air of satisfaction. You settle for watching and stealing bites to eat from the food he’s making. He pretends to be annoyed. It lets you both play a new game of keep away where you try to sneak and snatch and he tries to swat you away, usually without even taking his eyes off his task. This continues until the meal is nearly done, when he sends you off to your room to “look proper for a nice meal”. You pretend to be offended but he doesn’t buy it.

You don’t want to spend long getting ready, much more set on spending time with the others, but you also didn’t want to let an excuse to dress up go to waste. By the time you’re headed to the usual dining room, you’re layered in expensive fabric with a fresh face and freshly styled hair.

Mihawk is awaiting you at the grand doors, unfortunately lacking that apron. Instead you get him in a flowing shirt, textured in subtle filigree the same deep red as the whole. It is, of course, open to show off his Kogatana and the sun-kissed skin it rests on. As you get closer, you notice his pants are tailored slacks and his boots have been replaced with dress shoes you wouldn’t have even guessed he owned. Not for a lack of class or style, but for a lack of people and occasions he’d deem worthy of the effort. 

You feel almost silly thinking he’s going through all this effort for you but there’s no other explanation. When you stop next to him, you could swear that even his beard is freshly oiled and combed. You’re too lost in your appraisal of him to notice how his own heated eyes are roving over you. You catch them for a brief moment before they fix to your face. To interrupt the loving taunt about to move your tongue, Mihawk holds the door open for you and gestures you inside.

Zoro and Perona are sat at the table behind pristine place settings. They haven’t even noticed the sound of your entrance over their own bickering. Perona always looks dolled up, but there’s something a little extra in the detail of her makeup and not a single hair on her head is out of place. What’s much more surprising than her is that Zoro looks all cleaned up. He’s still in his usual style but not a speck of dirt is on the clothes and his hair looks slightly damp from a recent shower. It’s hard not to laugh at the idea of Mihawk commanding him to bathe like one would a defiant child and Perona having to throw him in the bath like he’s a hissing cat.

Before you move to join them, Mihawk’s hands catch your shoulders. Their capability for gentleness will always amaze you, and this caress to halt you is no exception. His thumbs swipe across your skin a few times, seeming to relish the motion, before he leans forward. There’s a moment where his cheek brushes the crown of your head before his breath floats over your ear and neck, raising goosebumps over your skin. His lips, surprisingly soft, tickle the tip of your ear as he whispers to you. The words strike you and leave you frozen even as he brushes past you towards the table, leaving the scent of spiced cologne in his wake.

Your housemates finally notice you and both send toothy smiles and celebratory cheers your way. You feel almost bad that you have to shake yourself off to match their energy. Once you get close to the table, Zoro is trying to convince you to share his best sake with him while Perona tells you that’s dumb and you should instead focus on looking through the gifts she’s gotten you. You only laugh as dark fabric and frilly stuffies are shoved your way to intercept the persistent attempts to place an o-choko by your plate. 

Mihawk sighs at the commotion, muttering something about wanting a peaceful dinner for you as he pulls out your chair. His grumbling is undercut by the softness easing the lines from his face. When you meet his eyes as he pushes your chair in, you notice the usually violent amber of them has darkened to flowing honey. His words ring in your head loudly again, causing a loving smile to warm your face. He answers with a brief smile of his own, the smallest curl of his lips and crinkle of his eyes, but it's enough to set your heart racing. It pumps electricity through you, tingling your fingertips and sending his words to spin even faster in your head. Even when your heart calms and is instead made full from loving company, you hold the sound of his voice in your mind.

It’s the first time you’ve heard the words from him, and now that you know their sweetness, you’ll chase that high in all your endeavors.

“I’m proud of you.”

[squidpedia]

pedia, how would a clover and lilac swap au be in your style? like, nothing else changes except for them

Lilac if they weren’t fucking around (phrase said at least 12 times while drawing with hysterical laughter and sleep deprivation). Three leaf clovers for clover because getting the role of integrity is not a lucky one,,,,,,,,

And yeah that does mean clover would be stuck sharing the amalgamate body with kanako too to me

Lilac is a very naturally distrustful person, Flowey trying to use them would be a ticking time bomb, there is not a reality where they 100% believe he has their best interest at heart. “Shady fucking flower has ulterior motives but going along with it for now is better than dying i guess” - Justice Lilac probably. I think Lilac after enough resets would be able to reach the pacifist ending and give up their soul, there’s a certain point where they don’t remember the other timelines but they feel insane amounts of unconscious guilt over the obscene amount of LOVE they gained before. Giving up their soul would go against all of their personal rules of self preservation, but I can see them doing doing it after enough time. They wouldn’t know how to explain this, it so seemingly out of character for them but its what felt right.

I think Clover would ultimately still end up dying to axis and their soul being used in chujin’s experiments. Thats integrity soul canon event to me. Original sketch of clover had them seem much more happy, but I toned down their expression to give them a more unreadable smile. Integrity clover is a little difficult to parse for me in terms of actions and intentions because I imagine them to be a very selfless person that has a difficult time acting in their own best interest (whether it be execution in the name of justice for the fallen kids or giving up their soul to help ensure a better future for monsterkind). Integrity Clover would also have special emphasis on their role as a performer rather than as a deputy, so idk, they aim to never break character, keep up a smile regardless of the things that are happening right now. The world is your audience, and the audience wants to see a smile. But meanwhile I think their actions would be a bit more morally grey and odd to track, chujin’s attempts at using the integrity serum still don’t work because the soul lacks a pure heart after all. Integrity clover has an interest in exploring and finding the truth behind mysteries, while having a somewhat mysterious way of behaving themself I guess

[autisticrosewilson]

So I’ve seen some Jason fans talk about how even tho they like him they don’t agree with his kill policy and how at the end of the day his stance on killing is wrong and I don’t really get it. Is it because they’re applying real world ethics to it? Cause yeah obviously killing in real life is wrong, but in a fictional world where it’s been proven over and over that villains, rogues, and violent criminals will escape and cause more harm, he says only way to truly stop them is to kill them, I don’t see how he is wrong? Is it completely motivated by his personal experience with death? Yeah, absolutely. But so are Cass’s beliefs and everyone accepts her stance on killing as valid. I would really appreciate your perspective on it because I’m wondering if I am missing something given how many Jason fans I’ve seen with this opinion.

I totally agree with you! I'm a big fan of Jason being someone who believes that killing is necessary and moral, and that he's not even wrong about it most of the time.

I think what it comes down to is the percentage of people who don't actually read the comics. The people who think Jason should give up killing forever are either the younger "but liking characters who are bad people makes you bad!" Crowd or Batfam/fanon people who are willing to saw off any edges necessary to make all their blorbos fit together. Both of these people obviously run the risk of completely misunderstanding the character and the overall role Jason is meant to play narratively.

I won't put the blame entirely on the fans though, Jason has had a LOT of bad writing (Scott Lobdell when I get you) and the writers kind of hate him, so I think us Jason fans are kind of naturally pretty defensive about Jason because god knows he's been through the character assassination ringer.

Personally I think that if you genuinely can't stand a core and fundamental trait about a character, maybe you shouldn't engage with that character. Jason fans who want Jason to never kill again, to follow all of Bruce's rules, to forgive Tim for everything (shit talking him while he was DEAD), to be besties with Cass and what the fuck ever should just go read Stephanie's comics. It really does seem like she's the character you guys want. And not the happy go lucky ditz that fanon made up, I mean feral, compassionate, rebellious, insanely intelligent and witty canon Steph.

[sky4cherry]

ELABORATE ON THE LAST POST PLSSSSS

HEHEHEHE I LOVE YOU HOLD ON ANON

obviously,, johnny dally and bob aren’t making it out 🧍 let’s clear that up immediately

darry worked too hard to keep the house for me to see him giving it up and moving away, but i also think that the greasers are doomed to stay in tulsa regardless of other circumstances, because it’s all they know and at least they know for sure what they have to do to survive in tulsa specifically

soda (other than his heartbreak over sandy) is generally pretty happy go lucky so i don’t really think he wants anything more than to stay near his friends and family, and keep a steady job so he can have at least a little money to support the family he wants to make, all of which is doable if he stays in tulsa

two-bit mathews you will not get far in life if you keep refusing to get a job 🫶

i feel like, based off of the new ace lore, she’s pretty engrained in tulsa. she’s experienced so much there, and really i don’t think she’s leaving if the gang aren’t, especially two-bit (who will probably live with his mother for the rest of his life like bro 🧍 GET A JOB)

steve randle we all know you’re doomed to fail in general and i’m sorry for that because you hold a special place in my heart fr king

pony is the only one (out of everyone) i can see who would leave. he has his plans he made with johnny, and i think he probably spends the rest of his teenage years promising to make it real, even if johnny won’t be there to see it. he also has the intelligence to get into a decent college, which could be far away from tulsa (that was an accident LMAO), or which could lead him to getting a job that could have him moving away (darry and soda are not letting him go without a fight even though they want him to succeed)

PAUL HOLDEN. my paul lore is so deep and complex we don’t have time to unpack it all amidst this rn,, let’s just say i think paul’s dad is a piece of shit which means paul is really close with his mom, and he didn’t want to leave her alone (while his dad is constantly away for work) so in my head he goes to the best college within driving distance, even if it’s a few hours away. something about darry being content with his life in tulsa and paul being the one to stay by family circumstances,, anyway i’m SICK

chet,, you got your own post pookie

brill my long list of hcs for you goes insanely hard,, he’s got the picture perfect family fr i love you king 🫶 he is not going anywhere if his boys aren’t and is definitely not going anywhere without beverly

beverly my pookie with troubling hcs,, yea she is not getting out at ALL. in my mind she’s living with her aunt and uncle who make it very obvious they don’t view her the same way they view their sons, and her mom is m.i.a, while her dad is too focused with his new gf. brill and bev are getting married asap and finding a nice little house with a guest room for chet idc it’s canon to ME

marcia i want you to succeed sooo bad but you aren’t going anywhere if you’re that anxious 🙏 fr i do think both trip and marcia have a shot, but i feel like bob’s death leaves the socs wanting to stay together 24/7 which isn’t gonna happen if these two head off to college

CHERRY 🫶🫶🫶 cherry is staying in tulsa i actually don’t care. YES she could leave if she wanted to but she doesn’t want to!!! she’s seen and experienced what the divide within tulsa does, and she is spending the rest of her days helping greasers and socs alike at the hospital!! and i strongly believe she IS the one who puts the divide to its end!!!

[gotyouanyway]

time lord ocs info post

ok this is a LOT of info and doesn't even cover it entirely but here's the main details about my little trio of time lord ocs :)

some of the canon details might be a little off - i haven't listened to all of gallifrey: time war yet and i'm pretty sure i nudged some facts around to make everything fit but don't worry about it <3

names:

caldinsedravin (caldin) 3rd regeneration (f, m, m) - ex cia agent - prydonian

hollustallamanta (hollus) 1st regeneration (f) - ex guardsman - prydonian

kilicoversonterast (kilic, kilico to friends and family) 2nd regeneration (m, ?) - genetic engineer - arcalian

story:

academy

- become best friends through constantly being put in weird situations together

- eventually they become known for being an inseparable trio, nicknamed gallifreyan equivalent of “XYZ” as a group like cartesian coordinates. caldin is x, hollus is y, kilic is z. they hate it but privately consider themselves lucky it wasn’t something more mean

- graduated a few years before the civil war

pre/early time war

- caldin went into the cia, hollus into the chancellery guard, kilic became a teacher at the academy

- hollus and caldin got together romantically toward the end of their academy days, slowly get more serious over the years after they graduate

- they all have individual adventures for a bit (caldin regenerates) but all stay friends

- time war starts

- kilic is drafted into project revenant, gets obsessed with it and starts experimenting on himself

- when the chancellery guard is dissolved, hollus wants to run rather than be forced into the idu

- eventually she convinces caldin to go with her

- caldin wants to bring kilic with them, so they go to get him but he’s not having it at all

- they fight badly. caldin pulls a staser and goes to shoot kilic. at the same time, kilic grabs the staser and caldin’s arm, causing the blast to go through them both and intensify/kick back. they’re both badly hurt and regenerate

- kilic regenerates into the same body because of their experimentation, but it's messed up

house era

- hollus takes caldin and runs. they can’t get any kind of off-planet transport so they just flee the capitol

- they go through it for a while. they aren’t important enough to be hunted down, but if they ran into conscription officers or anything they’d be taken back in and punished

- eventually they find a House (unnamed rn) that looks abandoned and they take shelter there. the house is a little senile

- they find 2 children/loomlings/whatever you want to call them. all the adults were conscripted, the older children were taken away, but these two hid (sidan and linara. they’re a whole other story, lots going on there)

- eventually more kids join them from other houses/from the house’s loom. hollus and caldin are kind of stuck taking care of them and it’s dangerous and insane. see my post about broken looms for a little more detail but they need their own post tbh

- kilico stays in the capitol working for rassilon and the war council. the others are always trying to convince them to come join them and they won’t do it. but they can’t just leave them out there to suffer either, so they help with supplies and evading conscription etc. at great personal risk and not always unselfishly. they want hollus and caldin to come back to the capitol where they can keep them safe. they want them to stop being childish and running away. they want them to be back together and happy again. etc.

characters:

caldin

core traits across regenerations: hot headed, deeply emotional, self interested/internally focused (as in, only cares about themselves and loved ones, doesn’t pay much attention to society in general)

caldin 1 (academy & cia)

-bright, sarcastic, playful

-overly ambitious, competitive, arrogant

-loyal to her friends but doesn’t always treat them super great

-recruited by the cia more for her disposition and potential than her skill or intelligence, but did really well in training

-regenerates on her first field mission when an enemy operative attacks her

caldin 2 (pre/early time war - cia)

-serious, compassionate, tense

-still ambitious, but less tolerant of navigating fair competition and existing power structures. makes him frustrated and eventually, unwilling to even play the game once the time war messes everything up

-barks at authority but doesn’t bite

-terrified of regeneration

-regenerates due to staser feedback when shooting kilic

caldin 3 (house era)

-funny (both intentionally and not), cautious, old soul

-no filter, no patience for small annoyances, but more mature and rational than he’s ever been where it really matters

-tired, hurt, scared, but keeping it together and trying to make the best of things

-just wants his loved ones with him and for the fighting to stop and the kids to live (against all odds, he’s pretty good with the kids. not great, but pretty good)

-almost won’t even look at kilic. fight on sight. but needs the help they’re giving and misses them so bad

-extremely grouchy about the house but protects it like a housekeeper

-the struggler

hollus

core traits: analytical, bloodthirsty, insecure in herself as an individual (needs a group to thrive)

(academy)

-meticulous, straightforward, level headed

-really into weapons and weapon maintenance as well as the technical aspects of combat

-bit autistic in general

-not a peacekeeper but gives the impression of being at the eye of the caldin/kilico storm

-challenges authority but in a respectful bargaining way that gets her what she wants

(pre/early time war - chancellery guard)

-the guard becomes her life and she loves it

-quickly promoted to commander

-really discovers her love of combat here and feels good having healthy safe outlets for it (not something she actively recognizes about herself but true)

-everyone’s favourite trainer because she’s honest about extreme violence and knows everything about stasers. plus she’s pretty. the new recruits all fall in love with her

-most of her squadron sided with romana during the civil war they were like blood bonded brothers and all that. except for the ones she lost (either to picking sides or to the virus or to death or whatever) which hurt so bad she never even processed it oops

-loyal to the guard (her friends) over gallifrey so when the guard is disbanded she splits immediately

(house era)

-still the same but colder. getting emotionally closed off. lonely without her comrades

-finds herself wanting to either cling to caldin or push him away depending on the day, but he’s sort of immune to it (doesn’t take it personally, doesn’t overreact to her moods)

-feels guilty about how much she still secretly enjoys combat even though it’s real and dangerous now (same as she felt during the civil war but so much worse because of how many innocents are involved now, + it's worse without the buffer of a dozen other bloodthirsty guardsmen surrounding her at all times)

-struggling to develop some kind of maternal instinct toward the kids but it’s not going great. would still do anything for them but it’s all very weird for her

-also grouchy about the house. would throttle it if she could find out which part was the neck

kilic/kilico

core traits: obsessive, curious, “i can fix everything if i try hard enough”

kilic 1 (academy)

-flippant, brainy, head in the clouds

-cares about studies and about his eventual place in time lord society way more than the others (stuffy old professor in the making, but not yet yknow)

-obsessed with the biology of regeneration. weird about it. gets the group to play eighth man bound

-stumbles into opportunities rather than having any idea of how to navigate time lord society, but it works

-often feels like he and hollus are babysitting caldin. hollus would say she’s not babysitting anyone she’s just watching the show

-a little jealous of his friends, he thinks they’re cooler than him, but doesn’t actually want to be like them. just wants to also be cool (they are all equally cool/uncool in reality he’s just got self esteem issues)

-constantly fighting with caldin but when they’re not fighting they’re inseparable

(pre/early time war)

-genetic engineer specializing in regeneration

-professor at the academy, not really through choice but because that’s the best way to get research grants and assistants

-doesn’t care that much about his students or their education, but does have a soft spot for the much younger ones and the ones who get all excited about regeneration biology like he does

-has sort of a cult following of students who are obsessed with him in a ‘this guy is so insane it’s funny let’s study him’ way but he doesn’t know about it and never finds out

-occasionally gets caught up in petty prof drama and has a good time with it (caldin’s influence)

-when the war starts and the academy is shut down, he’s drafted into project revenant and gets freakishly obsessed with it

-he’s scared of the war and thinks this will keep everyone he loves alive and safe

-personally supervises resurrections and is working on augmenting regeneration

-starts going wild with experiments and does them on himself when willing volunteers run out (he’d never get unethical enough to experiment on anyone against their will, at least)

-regenerates when shot by caldin, but into the same body because of self experimentation

kilic 2 (house era)

-regeneration induced identity issues. same body, same mind, but still regenerated. entire personality shifted to the left, intensified, came back wrong. gave them gender issues too (many such cases)

-still working on proj. rev. after the dalek attack but everything is going crazy everything is broken the vibes are twisted now that the project has moved and half the people on it are dead or resurrected

-questioning loyalty due to everything falling apart and the identity issues

-really trying to have everything both ways. keeps helping caldin and hollus evade capture on purpose, wants to go with them, wants them to come back, wants them captured, wants them safe and happy in their new home

-increasingly wants to run away and go live with them but can’t let go of the project. despite everything they still think revenant is the only way they’re all going to survive the war

-even if they did decide to flee, they don’t think hollus and caldin would take them in and they’re probably right

notes:

i forgot there was a hollis in gallifrey s4 when i made my hollus so we're just ignoring that. that guy wasn't anything anyway

idk what's meant to have become of proj. rev. after the dalek invasion but based on narvin saying they might resurrect his dad later on, i'm assuming they sort of tried to keep it going. idk.

they do have other friends and relationships besides each other. but you know how it is.

i didn't reference it much in the post for clarity but they used their academy nicknames a lot in the academy and occasionally after to tease each other. they also use them when delivering coded messages between the house and the capitol. they are xyz :)

made picrews of them <3

caldin 1, 2, 3

hollus

kilic

[cryptidcanid19]

ok i'll bite. what is the hi fi normal au

So glad you asked (deranged)! To make a very long story short - paraphrased from @artdragon122 , the basic gist of it is that it follows a timeline where Kale survives and the "bad guys" play nice with the "good guys". A redemption arc if you will, and that was what the original plan was.

Full rundown under cut; General TWs for child abuse and neglect (Kale is not a happy camper).

Dragon and I came up with the AU following just that - everyone is happy and coexists with one another, and it gave us a chance to insert our OCs as well. No one died (well. kind of) and there was really nothing wrong. But I think the general trend with anything I, and by extension Dragon, touch never ends up being pure and happy and blissful.

We mostly use this AU for roleplay scenarios, so the both of us have different characters assigned to one another. The most important thing you should know about this is that Dragon had the ability to handle Kale, and miraculously, turned him into the saddest most tragic wet cat of a man ever. And by that I mean we both noticed that his poor relationship with the rest of his family is. Not that great. We took the fact that neither Peppermint nor Roxanne even batted an eye at his death in the game and ran with it.

Without going too deep into it just yet, Kale was heavily neglected and abused by his mother for not being the favorite child. Peppermint was raised to think he was the scum of the earth and thus treated him as such. Spectra ended up being the result of that, and was originally filled with the intent to brainwash his mother into giving him the love and care he was never able to have. Over time it evolved into something more sinister, thus bringing the events of the game to fruition.

While the other bosses survived Chai's escapades, Kale was not so lucky. He, quite literally, exploded to bits and was very lucky to even be able to be repaired. Chai had to and continues to live with the guilt that he did wind up killing someone. As Kale recovers, Chai and his gang handle the events at the secret Spectra lab below the island. Dragon had the brilliant idea of changing the memos you usually find down there to be a log of Kale's descent into insanity. It's very eye-opening for them and changes their entire perspective on why Kale did anything at all (except for Peppermint, we'll get to that later).

A few months later, a groupchat is made (where we stsrted this whole thing) in order to help everyone get along with each other better. It does go well save for a few incidents, one involving Chai stupidly throwing himself into a "rematch" with Roquefort and barely surviving, and some unlikely friendships are made. It slowly becomes obvious that Kale has a lot more going on than originally thought, even after everything, and surprisingly Chai is able to help him and Peppermint restore their relationship as siblings who deserve to care for one another.

Although, there is a more fucked up timeline to all this where Peppermint practically undergoes a villain arc which Dragon and I have dubbed the "Cocomelon AU". That's not important right now though.

That's basically all we have in terms of canon events for now, but here's some extra info that is just a bunch of things we decided to say "fuck it" and make canon:

• Roquefort and Drake (Dragon's OC) are married but like to pretend that they aren't. They're the pinnacle of ""toxic"" yaoi (they care about each other a lot).

• Chai is hopelessly head over heels for Kale. Kale is in that mixed stage of "why do I care about him so much" and no further moves have been made despite Chai's desperate attempts to get together. They'll figure it out eventually.

• Zanzo and Mimosa kiss each other apparently and they make it everyone's problem once people find out. It's horrid (awesome).

• We can make any franchise we want canon. This includes Monster Hunter and Ultrakill. Chai and Peppermint, who are completely "normal" about UK, were able to convince Zanzo to design IRL replicas of V1 and V2.

• Chai is a streamer and a very surprisingly wealthy furry artist. His top paying commissioner is Roquefort. It makes for very funny blackmail material.

• CNMN apparently works retail.

• Chai, Kale, and Peppermint are trans.

• Kale suffers from chronic migraines and is unfortunately subjected to the effects of getting high off of high doses of ibuprofen (may or may not have caused some emotional phone calls with his sister).

Holy fucking shit this is long. We will end up making this a sideblog at some point so if any of you are interested in this AU there will be that! If Dragon sees this feel free to add on LMAO

[pizzaboat]

Also, I'm gathering that the implication is that while main canon Ooo is better off because Simon became the ice King and things happened the way they did he and Betty were always screwed

Because every world where things differed, say a Simon threw his insanity onto someone else, or he never met Marcy because he died without the crown. That's basically a messed up "dude, you got lucky, even if it was always gonna go bad for you."

And Betty wasn't as meaningful to Ice Prince as Betty was to Simon for whatever undisclosed reason. So you get the sense at first that the relationship isn't intrinsically meant to be or special through all universes

When we see a lot of other consistent things being similar or paralleled in other universes

And then the show chooses to focus on how Simon focusing on his path that led him down the road to becoming the ice King was selfish and he rarely considered Betty and its pushed forward that things could've gone way differently and he likely wouldn't have found the crown and "ruined" his life if he followed more of her path instead

And Simon wonders what would've happened to them then. But we know what would've happened. He's died in another dimension for not having the crown. The mushroom war happened anyway. They likely would've died

So either way you spin it, they were doomed/always gonna fail

Because both paths would've brought them to some destruction

Did I just watch an entire show just for it to tell me "yeah these two? Not meant to be. Bitter sweet, huh?"

I dunno if it was pulled off with enough awareness by the end. Simon's question feels redundant because he's been through multiple worlds at this point and he knows what would've happened

Eh, you can either enjoy it or not but I feel like my time is wasted. Even if I knew they wouldn't get a happy ending. The decision to paint it like that makes me feel like the show didn't need to happen. Just my opinion

If they wanted Simon to learn that he needed to move on and leave the past in the past, they should've atleast more clearly stated this instead of jumping to him being like "I need to live!"

[calissarowan]

Dark Past, Bright Future, Insane Present Character Aesthetics!

So, I’ve seen other people make character aesthetics, and they just look so cool, so I tried making some of my own for the characters in my fic! Most of the pictures are off Pinterest, which is where I’ve seen other people get their pictures from, so I hope that’s okay. So, without further ado, here we go!

Naomi Hunter:

I struck really lucky with that picture; it looks just like her. I think this is my favourite I did. My goth girl! For context for anyone who hasn’t read the fic, Naomi is the adoptive daughter of the Wizards of the Black Circle, and the Fairy of Form. She’s snark and sarcasm personified, with a quick wit and a quicker mouth. She’s whip-smart, but doesn’t always think her decisions through, usually based off trust issues or her temper.

Roxy Wilde:

Took ages to find hair that looked like Roxy’s, but I’m really happy. And those boots! They’re so totally her! Roxy’s the only one here that everyone knows from canon (Manuel is from the comics, but I’ll be impressed if anyone knows him, and also knows anything about his personality beyond ‘love interest’.) In this story, Roxy’s still much the same as in canon. She’s finding her feet in magic, and being dragged into chaos by Naomi is not what she was expecting, but hey, the best way to learn to swim is just to jump in, right?

Aidan Ross:

He’s my beloved golden retriever. The loving puppy of the group, who just so happens to come with energy whips and genius-level intellect. Aidan is Naomi’s not-yet-boyfriend (but he’ll do a happy dance when that happens), and honestly, if people defined him as just ‘Naomi’s love interest’ in the fandom, he’d be cool with that. But he’s also the group’s tech expert. He’s from Zenith, but the cool, logical mindset of his planet has always evaded him, and he’s got seriously cute puppy energy. Most good occurrences are met with a celebratory dance, and his smile is seldom dimmed. He’s just…an all-around nice guy.

Manuel Vergara:

That picture looks so much like him. His was way easier than Aidan’s; he just has a more defined style. Manuel is the newest addition to this odd little group, and he’s quickly trying to take charge. Raised on Aria as the son of an elite guard, he lives very firmly in a military mindset that he applies to most situations. This makes him effective, if sometimes a bit oblivious or insensitive. He’s one of the best pilots at Red Fountain, even though he’s only a freshman. Aria is mostly built on clouds, so he’s familiar with flight.

Olivia Silvers:

She’ll rise to main-group status later, so she gets an aesthetic. That, and she was just so fun to do this for. Olivia…is not currently on the best terms with the others. Manuel’s girlfriend until he finally wises up and ends it, she’s trying to be Alfea’s queen mean girl, asserting herself in rude and hurtful ways. She thinks Manuel has feelings for Roxy, so she’s jealous of her, and Naomi she just hates since they had an actual fight on the first day of school. She’s social-media obsessed, and something hasn’t happened to her until it’s got fifty likes. She’s actually pretty smart, she just doesn’t tend to apply herself. Used to be a playful sweetheart until she decided to reinvent herself for Alfea.

[superluigiglitchy]

When you mash together your 2 current hyperfications into one and you made a whole ass au with lore

(Avatar) Vanellope Von Schweetz She/Her - the Protagonist of Sugar Rush Raceway and the deuteragonist of the movie Wreck-It Ralph, she is a unique case of an Avatar not being the main character of that universe, she's a bit more feral and batshit insane than her canon self and similar to Sora because of Disney Sensors she has to reign it in a bit, however because of how her franchise is basically in the dumps of near obscurity the sensors aren't as strict on her so yes she is perfectly able to cuss (sora is very upset about this).

SMG37 She/Her- The happy go lucky recolor of Vanellope and her Gaurdian, she's the "fun one" as she puts it and enjoys the adventures her and her friend go onand she has a sibling like relationship with both her avatar and gaurdian partner. however her optimistic and happy go lucky attitude is a facade as she is constantly overthinks about a lot of things concerning her duties as a Meme Gaurdian and as the defacto leader of the three, she doesn't want her friends to worry about her and to just have fun so she keeps her personal life to herself. The only other person to know of her struggles as of recently is SMG38.

SMG38 They/Them - The serious one of the group and SMG37's partner, often acting pessimistic, aloof and "not a hugger", they actually care quite deeply for her friends and show this through thier actions rather than their words often being in close vicinity with the other 2 despite saying they don't do friendships. Recently they managed to get 37 to talk about her feelings (a comeplete win in 38's book), she ended up getting the scars on their face when crash landing in her pod and doing a straight up face plant on one of the consoles (there was a LOT of blood) their ok now dont worry, they also seem to have an odd relationship with Taffyta Muttonfudge however they have made no comment to this (37 and Vanellope think they're dating)

Reboot_7 (any pronouns work) - They are one of 3 admins in the universe of Wreck-It Ralph, Reboot_7 is specifically the repair program meant to fix things that have been broken during the Candy Trio's adventures, they consider the racers as their children and often check up on them (secretly of cours), despite being quite glitchy that was just the way her programming was formed and in actualality helps the repairing process much quicker, he is often sent out on meetings due to being much more socially adept than the other 2 admins with other universal programs

[hexiewrites]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 43!

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 562,348, which is honestly insane

3. What fandoms do you write for? right now mostly stranger things. I've got most of a ted lasso fic written but who knows if that'll get posted?? and prev, harry potter.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? 1. don't take this sinner (dramione, marriage law ish), 2. same as it ever was (steddie, two timelines, one of my first steddie fics!) 3. carve your name into my chest (steddie, the hockey au of my dreams) 4. come get your man (he got lost in my DMs) (steddie, social media, steve being a horny DM guy) 5. there'll be a riot (cause I know you) (steddie, the matty-healy-rat-man-Eddie-vibed mostly smut fic)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? ugh. I WISH!!!! I want to be better at this, I really do. I usually start strong but I end up with limited energy/time and I want to filter that into writing more. if you've ever commented: I FUCKING LOVE YOU and think you're SO cool! if you really WANT a reply, the best way to get that is to ask me questions haha. it starts to feel weird just "thank you!"ing everyone, ya know?

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I am.... not an angsty ending person tbqh! I think the closest is probably you love the sea, which is a flintwood rarepair selkie fic that I deeply love. it ends happy, insofaras they end up TOGETHER, but if you think more about the implications and how fucking sad it's going to be for oliver... well. I'll leave that to you guys.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? god, I'm well known for having "endings so happy they border on absurd", according to one person online. so, pick your poison I guess! anyways the fic THAT person was referring to was same as it ever was, so, let's go with that!

8. Do you get hate on fics? I have been so lucky lately to not get much hate at all lately, which is a real privilege in the fandom world. remember that I cut my teeth in early days of harry potter, and people were BRUTAL. I definitely HAVE gotten hate - my aforementioned dramione fic has a bit of a weird twist that some people were PISSED about (and once I got an incredibly detailed comment about how badly I fucked up my representation of black Hermione because she... didn't talk that much about hating her hair? which I know is AN experience but not necessarily a universal one) but overall, at least this fandom go around, no hate. thank you, everyone, for that!

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? yes. lots and lots and lots of it. mostly kinda kinky and pretty much all pretty gay. let's not talk about how many times I've had to tag dacryphilia and what that means. I just like when people fuck about things, yknow?

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? nope, never! and I likely never will. too much to keep track of.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? not that I know of, thank god for that.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? I've had requests but... I would need a translator willing to work pretty closely with me because I want to make sure certain choices come across well, and I haven't found that yet.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? not officially, though I did write a buckingham companion piece to the amazing cowboy-bar fic @riality-check did!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? OH GOD don't make me choose! ALL TIME is still probably dramione, but steddie is a very close second. in terms of canon ships, I'm such a sucker for buffy/spike (leave me alone), and veronica mars/logan (AGAIN LEAVE ME ALONE) and rory/logan (BECAUSE RICH WHITE BOYS NAMED LOGAN ARE A WEAKNESS, APPARENTLY)

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? pour one OUT for you can't take the sky from me, which is my firefly inspired harry potter au ft pansy/percy, mostly because I had so many big plans for it that I've completely forgotten AND I just can't write in that fandom at all anymore. sorry everyone, I do love what I put out and I wish there was more of it.

16. What are your writing strengths? prose, smut, tying things together with little bows, and spending way too much time in my characters heads

17. What are your writing weaknesses? dual POVs, getting so lost in one character I don't flesh out the others as much as I mean to, action sequences, and consistent motivation

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I've done it before (mostly in clean ice, cold hearts, can't lose) and my typical strategy is to indicate that the characters are speaking a diff language (in french, I use guillements and italics) but not to actually WRITE the french, unless it's very short and the POV character doesn't understand it on purpose like in carve.

19. First fandom you wrote for? harry potter baby! my oldest posted fic that I've found online was from 2002, when I was... too young to be interacting with the internet like that, that's for sure.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? carve your name into my chest and it's no contest. I love same as it ever was as well, which I think is a better WRITTEN fic technically speaking, but carve was a huge passion project that I had so much fun with, and the response to it had been one of my favourite things in the world. oh, and special shout out to make this inn our own, which is my second longest fic ever and was just an absolute joy to do. so, those three, I guess!

tagging with no pressure: @riality-check @hereforanepilogue @maxineholtzmann @stevespookington @stevethehairington @withacapitalp and whoever else wants in!

[i3utterflyeffect]

I know absolutely nothing abt Wandersong so I can't ask any specific questions (;;-o-) BUT!!!!!!! take this ask as blanket permission to talk about any thoughts u have on the game that u want to, canon or AU

if u want some prompting, I saw ur MRD crossover and went 👀👀 I'm curious what ur AU changes from the game(s)!

oh!! okay so basically im going to split this into parts hang on

BUT. YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO PLAY WANDERSONG ITS SUCH A GOOD GAME. ITS SO FUN AND YOU WOULD LOVE MIRIAM AND BARD THEY'RE SO LOVABLE

ANYWAY!!!!!!! godbard au will be under the cut in case its not way too horribly late for you to not be spoilered sfdgklgslg

Mad Rat Miriam

ok aside from this post basically. the combo means that miriam has a much longer time period that mad rat and instead of the entire world ending it's just her. audrey is basically herding her towards a cat and i feel like she's actually pretty violent before bard is like 'NOOO STOP IT'

bard may have been a cat but they're very nice and would not kill anyone. because that is mean and they are NOT mean. they may have been a stray but they'd always just beg for scraps from humans instead and give them the wettest eyes if they try to feed them a mouse.

mim is also still very distant from other people bc yeah she's still a lab rat and she's learned to not be too attached to other ppl and beside she's already alienated bc she's Weird. so bard is really the first time she's been friends with someone and the fact that she's going to die upsets her deeply. but she's glad she got to meet this stupidly nice little heart because god they're too nice but also they're so friendly and kind to her despite everything.

audrey is very much a beastie of instinct and instead of describing herself as a 'rat god' she more describes about as miriam's 'hero', 'guardian angel', whatever fits the bill for that sort of thing. even tho she very much is not and is scaring miriam into going where she wants since mim is not really a huge fan of the wish thing

a lot of the cities of wandersong is just a bunch of stray rats living and Fucking Chilling. and rat god is still a sort of legend thing but it's kind of a horror story where people go wandering into nowhere and never return.

ALSO. the heart battle is so fucking insane i bet. like bard HATES the idea of fighting miriam but they have to do SOMETHING because clearly mim isn't in her right mind. a lot of the fight is a test of patience i bet bc of this

also also! another counterpart of jack is dream king but he DOESN'T CARE about eating mim at all. lazy guy. audrey is not happy about this.

king of hearts is the main one tho since he starts drowning in place of jack and mim decides to save him!!!!!!!!

most of the monsters in general are just hallucinations

anyway miriam and bard have just this strangely similar dynamic to mad rat and heart. violence and 'be nice to people please :)' + Provider Of Beats

plus it's interesting to explore something where the person with their head on straight is bard bc you don't really equate someone happy-go-lucky like that to be the most realistic between the two! usually it's the pessimist but nah its bard this time <3

godbard au

anyway so basically i want to talk about audrey here bc she's been accused of killing bard and since she's basically forced to come along with miriam and bard she's very upset.

BUT. something very important: i feel like she believes in thought crimes.

she's always prided herself on heroism and she never really thought about it before but after some time around Normal People as a Normal Person she starts to get fucked up over her new thought patterns that she developed by being a hero

this gets even worse when bard and miriam start treating her with genuine concern and kindness because she hates them, and she's certainly thought about killing them

as people start talking abt her she becomes more self conscious and it eventually comes to a climax as she is found out and people go on a full-on witch hunt over her

she's very very prone to violence and as she realizes how fucked up her destiny to end the world is she goes into a downwards spiral as she begins to think about awful things more and more and about if she HAD killed them and watched the life drain from their eyes (and she wouldn't have even felt bad)

and if she finds her sword she only gets worse as the intrusive thoughts get worse and more within reach of being completed and she can't take it

and. um

basically i gave her ocd hours. and i feel like i'm correct <3

[pyriteplates]

Pwease tell us more about the GiroDoro AU

Omg I'm sooo glad you asked 😍 please forgive me for being cringe from here on out because I'm sort of crazy about these guys

SO BASICALLY. These guys. Oooh they're so in love... Childhood sweethearts... They get together when they're like. Early teenagers. (I go back and forth on exact ages depending on the day) and they stay that way because. Duhh.

They go through life get jobs and whatever (this is actually not whatever. I would need a separate post to talk about how crazy insane the "whatever" portion of this post is because Zeroro is soo effing complicated and this affects his relationships in a major way) and then YAAY they get assigned to the same platoon ^-^ lucky them!

Except NOT so lucky them ): because RIGHT BEFORE THEY GET TO PEKOPON Giroro decides it would be really cool to "take a break" to focus on the invasion. Bad move no one clapped 👎 he has his own issues about his work-life balance so he thinks it's totally normal. He also runs on the assumption that Zeroro will understand that this is only in title and Giroro's not ACTUALLY breaking up with him. Zeroro is very stupid and emotionally constipated tho (they both are) so umm yeah that's not communicated at all.

Zeroro's like "oooh okay. Cool (: no worries haha. Yeah that's alright." but it's NOT ALRIGHT and he gets all depressed over it because literally who wouldn't?? they arrive on Pekopon, everyone's separated, normal canon stuff. Zeroro becomes Dororo etc etc.

That's the basic gist of the Plot without making this post too long, obviously a bunch of shit happens AFTER they get to Pekopon but that's a LOT and won't fit into one post.

I begrudgingly call this an AU because I did end up eventually adding things OUTSIDE of the girodoro-verse like changing parts of the timeline and altering other characters but that's all boring 🙄🙄 no one wants to hear about Keroro's epic quest to dismantle the Keronian government from the inside

REST ASSURED in the end everyone gets their happy ending.. I'm not that cruel as much as I would like to be. Also I'm so serious I will talk about this ANYTIME I will answer any questions no matter how vague with multiple paragraphs if I can because I've spent the last 2 years thinking about this 😭😭

[camuslittlesister]

The one where I use Astrology to argue in favour of a TRIGGER threesome

And I don't mean swapping me and Tenn although I also don't not mean it

Contains spoilers so proceed at your discretion. Because this is a R18 synastry I will look at the most obvious placements for that, Venus and Mars. On a serious note, I believe synastry is not romantic in nature and will illustrate the potential of any relationship among people, and all charts should be read in their entirety if you're serious about understanding how to relate to a specific person through this tool. If you're new to astrology, the side of these two planets I'll be looking at here is not the only side to them. Also it is my personal take as a devoted student of this art that both planets represent how we attract and what we are attracted to, just slightly different and complementary ways in which we relate to ourselves and who we like. I'm just having a bit of fun on a weekend, so I'll keep it surface level.

I will spare you the details of how I ended up down a rabbit hole involving an unfinished fanfic inspired by Diamond Fusion and my friend dropping a million Tenn CGs in the chat, however it had something to do with how Tenn has some obvious major Virgo energy and also is a bit of a domme (I said what I said).

So I looked up his chart based on the canon age at release. And of course I was correct. He has some major Virgo energy.

He's a Virgo Moon, Lilith and North Node, so his ultimate destiny is to be me. Also I learnt today that one interpretation of Saturn synastry is that you owe a karmic debt to the person you have the synastry with, so lucky him that I do not exist in the same plane of existence so he gets to play dom(me) with the other two ikemen in his idol group instead of sub with me.

A three-way synastry

Ryunosuke is the only character that canonically is pretty clear cut like, he can't even hold hands with someone, the only thing he's got going in favour of being the top is he's the tallest. Tenn and his Virgo energy are very dom(me) not letting that go but he also has some serious brat potential, and possibly if he lets himself go (asking a lot of a Virgo Moon, I know) just your old standard sweet boy uke.

Gaku is a gruff outside, soft inside man, but he has some major animalistic sex appeal and 50% his father's genes so could be a D, could be a switch, probably scores about the same as me on the Energetic Blueprint tbh. He has a kind of instinctual quality that's a bit different from how Ryu could double as a service top because he would just do anything to make someone happy.

As for the dynamics of who'd be what with whom? That's where it gets interesting.

Tenn: Mars in Libra, Venus in Leo Since Ryu is a Libra, and Gaku a Leo, that's the first variation that strikes. Sun conjunct Mars in synastry is some serious sexual attraction and physical chemistry. Mars is the Yang planet, so would make Tenn the one with the chasing energy.

With Venus being the Yin planet, it's less of an intense sexual energy than other aspects, but the Sun person (so Gaku) feels more loving and beautiful in the presence of the Venus person. 

So Tenn gets to be a Venusian little b* who gets adored by two ikemen. The dream life.

Gaku: Mars in Libra, Venus in Cancer

At this point poor Ryu has no room to ever come out on top, although plenty of top from the bottom potential in the other two to make him be physically there 👀

Apparently everyone is insanely attracted to him (can't blame them), but he also gets to bring the harmonising Venusian effect to Tenn and his Cancer Sun. Ryu: Mars in Cancer, Venus in Scorpio

I'd like to say "well, we now have the placement where Ryu chases Tenn" but it's Mars in Cancer, that's the sign of his fall. So a placement that challenges Mars' highest potential, and therefore a little bit subby. Well, not its only expression, but it's Ryu we're talking about. However, as a major Scorpio girlie, I have to point out that Venus in Scorpio is an intense placement so overall his vibe ends up being quite strong. I guess he gives me the vibe of the kind of confident lover that would make a girl feel like a queen. And as much as I hate to admit it I'd so go for it. He's so lovely, 10/10 would wife.

So fujoshi and fudanshi of the world rejoice, the stars have aligned in favour of whatever TRIGGER ship variation you dig.

[minkkumaz]

omi omg i havw sm to tell you

okay so yesterday i found out i had an ap psych exam AND my ap chem exam on the same day. LIKE WTF! 😞💔💔 BUT BESIDES RHAT, ive never procrastinated so hard,, like the exam is on wednesday and on monday night-early tues morning i just stayed up playing games and i did ATTEMPT to study but it didnt go well!!

I went to bed around 2? and i woke up at 4am to vote for bonedo on THE SHOW,, AND THEY WON! I GOT SO EMOTIONAL IM SO HAPPY FOR THEM KXNDJDJ

but i had like the most insane dreams of my life. first it was like being in a car ride w bonedo, and i was sitting by the window, and like i was crammed with taesan,leehan and woonhak in the back. and riwoo and jaehyun were around the front of the car. and we ended up swerving really hard on a curve, so naturally we all got pressed together.

AND THEN LIKE WOONHAK LIKE HE LTIKE- INSTEAD OF LIKE ACCIDENTALLY HITTING ME, HE MADE SURE TO LIKE PRESS HIS PALMS AGAINST THE DOOR SO I WOULDNT GET HURT (💔💔💔💔💔) and he gave me a lil cheek kiss cause he was super close to my face.

I WENT ISNANE BRO I WOKE UP HALFWAY AND I WAS LITERALLY ABT TO MESSAGE U ASAP ABT IT JUSG INCASE I FORGOT BUT I FELT TOO SLEEPY.

AND THE. AND THEN my second dream was like,, it was just so sweet i sobbed. i was with taesan and we were just lounging around in bed,, and he was just so sweet the entire time, he was holding my hand and everythigne ☹️💔

taesan was just peppering kisses everywhere, like on the hand trailing up to the lips it was so sweet i sobbed

CANON TAESAN BF

-🍉

attempting to study but it failing is like the worst ever ugghh IM SORRY U HAVE SO MANY TESTS 💔 best friends to lovers woonhak is there to comfort you through your struggles

I'M SO HAPPY THEY WON TOO THEY DEFINITELY DESERVE IT AGHH the dedication of waking up LOL

and your dreams omg they sound heavenly, i haven't had a kpop dream in awhile. last time it was yungyu related but its really confusing to explain ><

CAR RIDES WITH BONEDO ARE PROBABLY SO MUCH FUN HH and woonhak kissing your cheek actually sounds heavenly?!? like thats so sweet wtf. i can imagine taesan on aux, maybe jae fighting him to have a turn?

soft moments with taesan :(( you're so lucky i wouldve never wanted to wake up LOLL i just imagine him caressing your face with sm love and calling you the prettiest girl to ever exist.

GIMME YOUR DREAMS!

[karahalloway]

@camillemontespan Aww thank you so much for taking the time to read this! You really didn't have to 🥹

I chuckled at this dominatrix going absolutely mental for Drake 😂

Yes - definately not something that he was ever expecting to happen, but as mentioned in the A/N he mentioned something bad happening with an aristo one time, and I've been waiting for a chance to explore what could've possibly happened to turn him off noblewomen for good 😅

and how he is such a guy that he knows she's insane yet he's still getting laid so who really cares? 🙈

Yep! 🫣 I put Drake as being approx. 5 years younger than in canon for this fic, so even though he has gained some 'experience' (predominantly while at university in the States), he has been away from court for a few years prior to this, and is not necessarily aware of all the ways that a slightly nefarious woman could use her wiles on him 😅 But he learnt his lesson the hard way lol

You write the whole gang really well!

Thank you! 😍

Leo's a bit of a dick but then again that's kind of part of his charm..

In my fics Leo is very much a lad - he jokes around, winds people up, generally doesn't take life too seriously, cruising through it with bad jokes and sex appeal 😆 He doesn't intentionally act like a dick, but he invariable ends up grating on Drake as a result of his laissez-faire attitude (and as a result of his abdication, which thrusts Chris (Liam) into the front of the line of succession, which Drake really resents Leo for (this is explored a bit more in Sleepless in New York).

and Maxwell is adorable too

Thanks! I HC that Max is 1-2 years younger than Chris (Liam) and Drake, so his reactions end up coming across as a bit more naive - also he is just a happy-go-lucky kinda guy in my head, who doesn't think too much on the serious side of things (which is the direct opposite of Drake who insists on living in angstland most of the time 😅)

Again, thanks so much for reading this! Glad you got a kick out of it!

Polo!

Fandom: TRR

Series: None (this is a one-shot and can be read independently of the rest of my fics)

Pairing: Drake Walker x Valeria Beauvaisis de Lavallée

Synopsis: Drake gets roped into playing a charity polo match when one of the other team members doesn't show for the game... What can possibly go wrong?

Word Count: 6,900 (this definitely ran away with me… 😅 I was aiming for 4,000 but here we are!)

Rating/Warnings: M (swearing, rough horseplay, BDSM, possible dub con... Drake never has any luck in my fics, does he...? 😅)

Fic theme song:

A/N1: So, as mentioned before, the idea of this one-shot came out of a conversation with @angelasscribbles, @harleybeaumont and @nestledonthaveone whereby we were discussing Drake's extra-curricular activities that involve tight pants (kind of spinning off of Angela's Homerun fic) and I happened to mention jodpurs... Queue a massive brainwave about Drake getting roped into playing polo (against his will, obviously, because even though I can see him having played this sport, I cannot see him willingly subjecting himself to wearing tight horseriding tights - even if it's part of the uniform 😅) and that is how this fic was born. Hope you have as much fun reading it, as I did writing it (also, I really hope you check out the music video at the end because it did indirectly inspire several aspects of this fic)!

A/N2: In terms of timeline, this fic takes place approx. 1 year after Drake comes back to Cordonia from Texas (i.e. 1 year after the assassination attempt on the royal family that is mentioned in canon), which is approx. 4-5 years before the start of (Un)Common Attraction, so Leo is still the Crown Prince during this period (also, Anton is just a random noble — no covert personality, no secret engagement to Olivia as I’m not following that storyline in my rewrites). This fic will also shed some light on something that Drake mentions in passing in Crazy, because I thought this set-up was the perfect opportunity to explore why he has such an aversion towards aristo women... and riding crops 😏

A/N3: Since polo is probably not a sport that most people are familiar with (I know I wasn't when I decided to write a fic about it!), and rather than take up masses of space in this post, I have prepared a bit of a Polo 101 Guide which will provide you with the basics of the game, as well as some videos about the world of high-society polo if you are interested in exploring further.

A/N4: I admit that the theme song I chose for this fic is a bit left-field, but in the strange land of my HC, if this fic were a movie/TV show, Boom is the song that would be playing during the montage of the polo match. Also I think it’s quite an appropriate underdog song for Drake in this fic 🤟

A/N5: This is my submission for the Choices January Challenge Day 10 (Easy | Hard | Exercise) with a bit of Day 28 (Tight | Loose | Clothes) thrown in.

Polo!

"No. Abso-fuckin'-lutely not."

"But we're short one player!"

I scoff. "It's not my fault Leo's a no-show! Find someone else!"

"There isn't anyone else!" cries Max, grabbing the front of my shirt in desperation. "You're literally our last hope, Drake!"

I slap the Beaumont's hands off me with a derisive snort. "We're at a VIP equestrian event. You seriously tellin' me that none of the aristos out there can ride a horse?"

"None as well as you can..." admits Chris.

I roll my eyes. He had a point.

"...and, as you well know, there is a bit more to it than simple horsemanship."

"Yeah. Like whacking an overpriced softball with a crocket mallet into soccer goal," I mutter. "None of which is hard."

Max pulls a pained face. "I'm going to pretend I didn't just hear you say that..."

"And that's precisely why you are the obvious choice to sub for Leo," insists Chris, clapping me on the shoulder. "Not only can you put each and every noble out there to shame with your riding skills, but you've also got a killer swing. The other team's not going to know what hit them!"

"A well-aimed polo ball to the back of the head," I mutter under my breath.

Max sucks in a sharp breath. "Does that mean you'll do it?"

Lifting my eyes begrudgingly, I take in the sight in front of me.

Chris and Max are looking at me like a pair of lost kittens — wide-eyes and pleading, begging me to be the answer to their first-world problems.

I heave a resigned breath. "Okay, fine..."

"Yey!" squeals Max, literally throwing himself at me as he bounces up and down like a hyperactive pinball. "Drake's playing with us!"

"But," I say firmly, disentangling myself from the unwarranted — and definitely unwanted — PDA, "this is strictly a one time deal. And this cancels out your last IOU, buddy."

"Understood, mate," grins Chris happily. "Welcome to the team!"

"Yeah, yeah..." I grumble with a roll of my eyes. "Whatever..."

The things I did for Chris...

"There you are!" cries Bertrand, bursting into the bathroom of the clubhouse where Chris and Max had cornered me. "Please tell me you've managed to cajole a hapless substitute into filling in for Leo!"

"Sure have, brother!" enthuses Max with a beaming smile.

"Oh, thank the Almighty Lord!"

"Drake has kindly offered to help us out," confirms Chris, dropping an appreciative arm around my shoulders.

Bertrand's face drains of colour. "Oh, good God..."

I suppress a sigh. This... This was the reason I hadn't wanted to do this.

The aristo bubble — not to mention the high-society polo one — was small and tightly knit. So, as soon as I rode out onto that field, it was going to take precisely four seconds for everyone to figure out that I was an interloper with no credentials for being here.

And I was not going to be made to forget it...

But, unfortunately for everyone involved, it was too late to back out now. The match was starting in less than ten minutes and as much as Bertrand might balk at the idea of a commoner — who was a Western-riding, half-American to boot — taking the spot of the Crown Prince of Cordonia on the royal team at a high-profile charity event, the fact was that unless they wanted to start one man short (and suffer the associated penalties and ridicule) there was no other option.

Because Chris was right. Despite the fact that I'd never set foot in any of the fancy equestrian schools that the aristos liked to pay an arm and a leg for the 'privilege' of attending, I could probably out ride the whole ritzy lot of them. And was therefore the team's best chance at not only making the match, but maybe even winning it.

As I had something that the rest of those blue-bloods didn't. And that was the Walker name. Which — in north-east Texas, at least — was synonymous with Quarter Horses and rodeo.

And even though the ranch had fallen on hard times and was struggling to stay afloat, and I'd ended up choosing a different calling, horses were still in my blood. Because even before Savs and I could walk, Dad — and Paps, while he'd still been alive, God rest his soul — had been sticking us in the saddle to make sure that we knew not just how to ride, but to ride like a Walker... intuitively, effortlessly, at all times in tune with the horse.

And in polo — much like in rodeo — that was ultimately the most important thing.

"But... but he's not a club member!" splutters Bert.

"It's just some paperwork," Chris reminds him. "We can square that away during half-time."

"Absolutely not!" comes the objectionable response. "That is most inappropriate and highly irregular! We simply cannot—"

"I can ask the umpire for extra time!" chimes in Max. "To make sure everything is above board. Also, Drake still needs to get kitted out and—"

"But he's never played before!" stresses Bert. "We cannot field a novice player against a professional team! We'll look like utter gits!"

"Drake knows the rules," interjects Chris calmly. "He's attended several training sessions with me and—"

"That is no substitute for in-match experience!" expounds Bert. "I'm sorry, Your Highness. But Mr Walker simply is not qualified to take on the Number 3 position, given that—"

"Five minute warning, gents," advises a steward, popping his head into the bathroom. "If you want to make the match, you need to—"

"Tell the umpire we're on our way," instructs Chris. Fixing his emerald gaze back on the elder Beaumont, he adds, "Bertrand, give Drake your shirt."

Bert's jaw drops. "M-my shirt?"

"As you so eloquently pointed out, Drake is probably not the best placed to take over the Number 3 position. But he can play as a Number 2."

"But... that is my position," objects Bert.

"Which is precisely why he requires your shirt," explains Chris with infinite patience.

Bert's shoulders sag as the penny finally drops. "Ah. Yes. I see." He reluctantly pulls his jersey off to hand it to me.

Turning his gaze on Max, Chris adds, "Show Drake where he can find Leo's kit and then tell the grooms to meet us by the field with the horses in five minutes."

"Yes, sir!" affirms Max, snapping to attention.

Bert wheezes in outrage. "Five minutes! But we—"

"We are going to get Drake registered," Chris declares, grabbing the Beaumont by the front of his undershirt to haul him from the bathroom, "Captain."

***

Four minutes later, I'm sat astride Leo's dark bay Thoroughbred, fidgeting in the saddle like a convict in the confessional.

"How the hell do y'all wear these things?" I grumble, trying — and failing — to find a position that didn't compromise the constitution of my cojones.

"You get used to it," Max assures me unconcernedly, stretching in his seat as his palomino mare flicked her ears questioningly back and forth.

"Yeah..." I mutter, shifting my weight uncomfortably while juggling two sets of reins in one hand, and a four-foot mallet in the other. "At the expense of your balls..."

I'd passed on the optional whip and spurs back at the changing rooms. They were unnecessary props, and would've just gotten in the way of my riding, given that I was already going to have my work cut out for me controlling an unfamiliar, high-strung horse, not to mention the equestrian-equivalent of the elusive Snitch.

"Beaumont?" asks the umpire, riding up to us. "Where is the rest of your team? Most importantly, your captain? Are you aware that—?"

"Apologies for running late!" pants Chris, pulling his horse to a stop next to us, Bert on his heel. "Had to make a last-minute adjustment to the team."

"And did this adjustment result in a complete disregard for the uniform...?" queries the umpire with a raised brow.

"No, sir," replies Bert, quickly pulling on Leo's Number 3 jersey that Max had tossed over to him.

"Hmph..." harrumphs the umpire. "You are lucky you are not receiving a yellow card for tardiness. This is an important match, after all..."

"Yes, understood," nods Bert. "Our sincerest apologies once again, sir."

"This your substitute player, then?" he asks, turning to inspect me critically.

"Unfortunately..." mutters Bert under his breath.

I roll my eyes.

"Is he qualified?"

"Yes, sir," the Beaumont affirms. "All fees duly paid prior to the start of the match."

"And his handicap?"

"Not rated," grits Bert with clenched teeth.

The umpire's eyes widen. "A rookie? Is that who you're substituting for the Number 2 position?"

"Believe me, if it had been up to m—" Bert hisses as Chris' mallet smacks into his ankle. "Ehm... What I meant to say, is that we had no other option. Mr Walker was the only available candidate who was able and willing to sub for the sadly indisposed Crown Prince on such short notice."

"I see..." muses the ref. "Well, you are lucky that this is a charity open match. Otherwise, your team would not qualify."

"Yes, sir," grumbles Bert. "I am exceedingly aware..."

The ref purses his lips. "Alright, then. Let's get to it. We don't want to keep everyone waiting any longer. Good luck, gentlemen."

"Thank you, sir," acknowledges Bert with a nod as the ref turns his horse away, before declaring, "We're doomed..."

"Oh, cheer up, brother!" grins Max with unshakable enthusiasm as he gathers his reins. "It's just a charity match — not the Cartier Queen's Cup. We're here to have fun!"

"That is exactly the attitude that cost us the last tournament!" snaps Bert, kicking his mount into a canter. "These horses don't pay for themselves, you know!"

Max shrugs unconcernedly as he rides after his brother. "There's always next year."

"Ready for your big debut?" asks Chris with a smirk as we follow the Beaumonts onto the field.

I throw him a sidelong glance. "You know this ain't my first rodeo."

Like Chris had pointed out earlier, I was no stranger to polo. Both the Beaumonts and the Rys were avid players, so I'd attended my fair share of matches and training sessions over the years, even hopping into the saddle on a few occasions, if circumstances — or friendly competition — called for it.

But I'd never played a formal game. I wasn't part of a polo club and didn't have a handicap. Much less subjected myself to a pair of nut-strangling jodhpurs...

Until today, that is.

Because I wasn't — and never have been — able to say 'no' to Chris.

Even against my better judgement... and the sanctity of my manhood.

"Official debut, then," he concedes with a wink as we arrive in the middle of the field.

"Call it what you will," I mutter as I turn my horse to line myself up next to Chris, feeling the predatory glares of the opposing team burning into me. "Cause this is gonna be a shitshow."

Swinging my mount around, I bring us to a stop, facing the crowd, Bert and Max having already taken their positions for the national anthem.

The Thoroughbred tosses his head, chewing on the bit, his racehorse instincts battling with his polo pony training. I tighten my grip on the reins to keep the antsy gelding still as the familiar symphony of the Cordonian anthem blares out of the speakers... and crowd's eyes bore into me.

I feel my jaw tighten as I force myself to keep my gaze fixed straight ahead, the chords of the chorus swelling around us.

If these bastards thought they could intimidate me, they had another thing coming...

The music crests, before cutting out as the recording comes to an end.

"Showtime," winks Chris as he canters his horse past me.

I shake my head as I follow suit, looping my mount around in a wide circle to help him — and me — blow off some steam before the first throw in.

Here we go...

"My, my... Look what the cat dragged onto the field," sneers Neville from across the line as the teams face off over the centre line. "The Palace trying to rig the match in our favour?"

"Do you even know which end of the stick to hold, Walker?" queries Anton with a smirk.

"Sod the stick," scoffs Tariq from next to him. "He's not going to last thirty seconds into the first chukkah before he ends up face-first in the dirt... where he belongs."

"Famous last words, Besnard," I grin, hefting my mallet as the ref raises the ball. "Careful they don't come back and bite you on the ass."

Tariq's eyes narrow...

...but before he has a chance to formulate whatever pathetic comeback he was going to fling at me, the umpire's tossed the ball between us and all hell breaks loose.

Everyone surges forward, looking for the speck of white. The ball pings off the hoof of Bert's horse, careening towards the other team. Neville's mallet comes down to try and claim custody, but I barrel my horse into his, bumping him off as I lean over and smack the ball down the field to Chris.

Quick as a scalded cat, Chris spurs his pony forward, using his own mallet to drive the ball in front of him towards the goal, the other team on his heels like a pack of rabid wolves. But before they can intercept him, Chris has whacked the ball through the posts, scoring our first point of the match.

Cheers erupt from the stands as Chris turns his horse to canter triumphantly back up the field, a massive grin on his face.

"Great shot, buddy," I say as we line up for the second throw-in.

"Got you to thank for the pass, mate," he replies breathlessly, thanks to the adrenaline kicking in in earnest. "Few more of those and we'll be taking home the trophy!"

"Don't count your blessings yet, Chris," I warn. "We managed to catch them off guard, but they're on the warpath now. They're not gonna make it easy for us."

"Then we'd better return the favour, hadn't we?"

The ball whizzes through the air again. Bert makes a dive for it, but he's not quite quick enough. Tariq leans over his horse's neck to scoot it out of the Beaumont's reach. Max rides in to try and defend, but Tariq's already passed the ball up-field.

Spurring my horse into a gallop, I rush towards the goal posts to shore up our defence — seeing as Max, who played the Number 4 position — wouldn't make it in time.

Sensing my approach, Tariq passes the ball just before I can hook my mallet around his stick to stop the shot. I whirl the bay around, but even with Bert going hell for leather in an attempt to ride off the other player, and Chris trying to intercept, the ball passes through our goal posts.

"Dammit," I hiss under my breath.

"You didn't seriously think we'd go easy on you, Walker?" smirks Tariq as he turns his horse to ride back to the starting line. "You may have a Prince on your team, but on this field, we are the kings of the sport."

"Then you'd better be prepared to fight for your crown," I growl as I canter back to the middle of the field.

The rest of the first half passes by in a blur of rough riding and several fouls — mostly in our favour. But that isn't quite enough for us to regain our initial lead, and by the time the whistle blows, we're still sitting neck-and-neck with the other team.

"I'm gonna murder that bastard..." I seethe as I jump off my wheezing horse — my third of as many chukkahs. Thoroughbreds may have grit and stamina, but seven minutes of hardcore polo was guaranteed to wind even the sturdiest mount, so frequent subbing of horses was a must.

"Which one?" asks Chris, unclipping his helmet to wipe the sweat off his face.

"All of them," I grit, launching a well-aimed strike at the fence-post in front of me... and snapping the mallet I was holding in half.

"Mr Walker!" cries Bert, grabbing my shoulder in horror. "That is most unbecoming behaviour! We are at a high-society charity match! Representing the royal team! You will not—"

"To be fair to him, I'd want to break something too after that shocking umpiring."

My head whips around. "No fuckin' way..."

"Leo!" cries Chris, rushing up to his brother with an ecstatic smile to wrap him in a bear-hug. "You made it!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa...!" protests the elder Rys with a pained grimace. "Easy on the enthusiasm! Some of us are still rat-arsed from last night..."

"No surprise there..." I mutter under my breath.

Wouldn't be the first time Leo rolled up to a royal event late and nursing a hangover.

"...and in need of a shower," observes Chris, wrinkling his nose. "Did you sleep in the stables, brother?"

"Pfft! No!" snorts Leo derisively. "Who do you take me for? A complete and utter pleb? I slept in a horse trailer, thank you very much!"

"And that's better...?" queries Chris sceptically.

"It is when it's a top-of-the-line rig owned by a pair of sisters who are both very accomplished riders," comes the eyebrow-waggling response.

"I should expect so!" harrumphs Bert. "If they managed to qualify for this weekend's event then at the very least they would need to be—"

"I'm pretty sure he means, sex," stage whispers Max into his brother's ear.

"Oh." Bert's eyes widen. "Oh!"

"Un-fuckin'-real..." I groan, raking a hand down my face.

"I admit that it may seem hard to believe, Walker," replies Leo, laying a somber hand on my shoulder, "but it is possible to bang two birds with one pecker."

Chris frowns. "It is...?"

"I know what a fuckin' threesome is, Rys!" I snap, knocking his hand away. "What I don't get is why you thought it'd be a good idea to lose yourself in booze and pussy when you should've been in the saddle for the royal match that you were supposed to captain!"

"Mr Walker!" gasps Bert. "That is no way t—"

"Because then we would've missed out on the sight of you in those white jodhpurs, Walker!" grins Leo without skipping a beat. "And what a shame that would have been!"

"Screw you, Rys!" I grit. "I'm not wearing these fuckin' things by choice!"

"All the more reason to appreciate it, then!" he winks, reaching 'round to try and lay on one my ass.

I jerk instinctively out of the way. "Fuck off, you perv!"

"I have to agree," muses Max prosaically. "The tightness of the fit really helps emphasise the shapeliness of your—"

"For the love of Christ!" I explode. "Will all of y'all just lay off my ass!"

"I was going to say thighs..." objects Max.

"One minute warning, gents," interrupts the ref.

"Thank fuck!" I heave relievedly under my breath.

Never thought I'd actually be jumping at the opportunity to get back on that field. Especially after ending up in the hedge thanks to Tariq barrelling his pony into me, and Neville gut-shotting me with the head of his mallet... both on the pretence of not having seen me coming.

Fuckin' assholes...

Luckily, the umpires had seen through their thinly-veiled BS and has awarded penalties in our team's favour. Not that that lessened how much pain I was in. But I wasn't gonna give those blue-blooded dick-weeds the satisfaction of thinking they could brute force me out of the match...

I'll just have to deal with the inevitable physical fallout later tonight... in the company of a bottle of whiskey and a half-a-dozen ice packs.

Plus, the chance of potential further injury was a small price to pay to get away from the fucked-up turn this conversation had taken...

But as I turn on my heel to head back to my horse, I feel the undeniable force of a flat-handed whiplash reverberate over my rear.

"Hate to see you go, Walker!" hoots Leo. "But love to watch you leave!"

A growl of aggravation hurtles out of me...

...but before I can round on the jerk-face of a Rys, I feel Chris' arm drop around my shoulders.

"He means it all in good fun," he reminds me, steering me away. "No need to get worked up about it."

"Easy for you to say," I grunt abrasively. "Your ass ain't the one in the line of fire."

"True," he concedes. "But then I don't cut quite the same figure as you do in jodhpurs."

A dry scoff escapes me. "Your loss, buddy. I keep telling' you to come to the gym. You could've been on the receiving end of all this attention today."

"And steal your limelight?" laughs Chris, swinging into the saddle. "That wouldn't be very sporting of me now, would it?"

I roll my eyes as I mount my own horse. "Steal it all you want. You know I prefer it on the sidelines."

"I think the ladies might disagree..." He flicks his head meaningfully towards the stands behind me as he clips his helmet back into place.

Glancing over my shoulder as I grab a replacement mallet, I spot the no less than thirty females with binoculars trained on our position, their accompanying hand-crafted silk fans going at full-tilt.

I turn back to Chris. "They're just eyeing you up, buddy. No doubt as a potential marriage prospect."

"And you," he winks, hefting his mallet onto his shoulder as he rides back out onto the field. "You have managed to capture their attention quite decisively as well."

I shake my head with a scoff as I follow after Chris. "Yeah. Right."

Hell'd have to freeze over first...

In all the years that I've lived at the Palace, I couldn't remember a single time when a girl — any girl, much less a social-climbing aristo — had ever given me a time of day when I'd been stood next to Chris. And even if I did manage to strike up some semblance of a conversation, the moment they found out that I was a nobody — with no rank, title, or prospect of a massive inheritance, I was as good as dead to them.

Because who'd want to waste time on a commoner when there was a bone fide prince on offer? Not anyone sane.

Not that I really cared.

I had about as much in common with aristo women as shit did with Chanel — fuck all. So, I kept my distance, and they kept theirs, save for the occasional forced interaction mandated by basic decency at public events.

And that's why I knew — for a fact — that it wasn't me those high-society females were checking out. Not when both the Rys and the Beaumont brothers were eligible and available.

So, I waste no more time thinking about it, and focus, instead, on the task at hand. Which was paying the other team back for the hell they gave us earlier.

But Neville and Co. clearly have the same idea, because the second half of the match unfolds just as brutally as the first. Neither side is willing to give any quarter as we battle each other like vandals for possession and goals.

I bear the brunt of the attacks, but I am rewarded with some perverse retribution towards the end of the fifth chukkah when in their haste to intercept me, Tariq and Anton collide into each other, and Tariq gets thrown from the saddle.

Yet against all the odds, our perseverance pays off. In the last thirty seconds, we manage to steal the ball away from the posh pricks in a clever bit of defence curtesy of the Beaumonts, turning the play around to score in their goal instead, and ending the match 10-9 in our favour.

"Whoo!" exults Max, jabbing his mallet into the air as we ride jubilantly off the field. "What a game!"

"Couldn't have done it without Drake," adds Chris, waving to the cheering crowd as we canter past the stands.

"Yeah. Definitely wouldn't've gotten so many penalties," I mutter, wincing from the latest set of bruises... while trying to shrug off the attention I suddenly found myself the focus of again.

"Yes," agrees Bert. "I have to admit I was sceptical, but young Mr Walker here has certainly proven himself to be a capable substitute."

"Bloody capable, I'd say!" interjects Max. "Did you see that goal he scored with that tidy cut shot? Or when he managed to steal the ball from Neville and ride it all the way back up the field with three players chasing him? Or—"

"Yes, yes," accedes Bert with a sigh. "We may make a semi-decent polo player out of Mr Walker yet."

"Semi-decent?" I snort caustically.

"High praise from Bertrand if ever I heard it," winks Chris at me.

"Bravo!" claps Leo as we reach the staging area at end of the field. "The royal team rides to victory!"

"No thanks to you," I point out, throwing my leg over my horse's neck to slide out of the saddle. After the beating I'd taken today, I didn't have it in me to try and dismount the traditional way. And even my modified solution causes me to grunt in pain as I hit the ground.

"A great leader knows when to delegate," he responds unabashedly, reaching for my rear again.

I slap his hand away. "Last warning, Rys. You try that shit again and you'll be delegating everything for the next six to eight weeks..."

"You think I don't do that already, Walker?" he grins, completely unfazed by the seriousness of my threat.

"Putain de merde..." I huff under my breath as Leo ambles off to personally congratulate the rest of our team.

It wasn't exactly a secret that the heir to the throne was less than reliable when it came to fulfilling his royal duties. But he could at least try to be less blasé about it. Especially considering the fact that everyone around him was left constantly scrambling to cover for his increasingly frequent absences.

Sensing movement behind me, I turn to step in front of the groom that had appeared next to my horse.

"Je m'en occupe," I declare, taking the reins back decisively.

The lanky teen opens his mouth to protest, but I've already turned away to lead the chestnut mare towards the stable block.

I knew it was common practice for polo players to dump the care of their mounts on the fleet of grooms that accompanied each team — partly so they didn't get their expensive white jodhpurs soiled. But I was already covered in everything from sweat to blood to dust, so getting a few extra horse hairs on me wasn't gonna make a lick of difference to how I looked... or smelled.

Plus, after all the crap that I'd had to put up with today, the last thing I wanted to do was pose for photos, gag on fancy pisswater, and pretend to socialise with flunkies, flakes and fat cats.

That was Chris' world. Not mine.

Especially since I could have more intelligent conversation with my horse than with half the tossers out there... and I definitely did not want to interact any further with the assholes who'd tried to land me in the ER today, as otherwise things were bound to get ugly off the field as well.

Best that I just removed myself from the spotlight, and let the Beaumonts and the Rys take the credit and the congratulations.

Entering the coolness of the stables, I make my way down the row of stalls, scanning the engraved name plates as I went.

Locating the right stall — based on the name stamped on the mare's bridle — I lead the horse in after me.

Unclipping the bridle, I sling it over my shoulder and let the chestnut drink while I pull the saddle off. Dropping the tack over the stall door, I slip quickly into the familiar motions of my past life as I set about removing the bandages from her legs and unbraiding her tail, the tension in my shoulders starting to unravel as I worked.

As life-or-death as the match may have been, it had been a nice change of pace to be back in the saddle again, working with horses...

Humming Garth Brooks’ Rodeo softly under my breath, I stuff the bandages into my back pocket and pick up the saddle and bridle again to return it to the tack room.

...which made me think of the young gelding that I'd left back in Texas.

I heave a breath. Need to figure out what to do with him...

In the midst of my abrupt departure from the ranch last year, and the fraught months that followed trying to steer Chris through the psychological minefield of his PTSD, the last thing I'd been thinking about was Lone Star, or my future plans. But now that things weren't so touch and go – Chris' performance at today's match a testament to how far he'd come thanks to his counselling sessions – I had some overdue soul searching of my own to do.

Stowing the mare's tack away, I'm reaching for a grooming kit when I feel the tell-tale pressure of fingertips digging into my backside.

I whip around with a growl. "Touch my ass one more time, Rys, and I'll swear to God, I'll—"

"Hmm... Testy on and off the field..."

Whatever I was going to say gets forgotten as I find myself staring into the grey-green eyes of a truly stunning blonde.

"But then I always preferred my males to be hot blooded," she purrs, her blood-red lips curving into a seductive smile as she steps closer.

"Umm... I... Ah..."

She'd somehow managed to put a stranglehold on my vocal cords as well...

...probably because she was wearing nothing except stilettos and a black lace bustier.

"Not very articulate, though..." she muses, flicking her gaze over me... like a cat trying to decide whether she should eat her prey, or toy with it first.

I swallow hard. "I—"

"Not that it matters, I suppose," she declares, slapping the business-end of a riding crop over my mouth, cutting me off. "Because I'm not looking for platitudes..."

A strangled noise escapes me as she grabs me through the front of my pants. Holy fuck.

"...I'm looking for a savage ride."

Before I can choke out some kind of puerile response, she's shoved me backwards...

...and despite about a million warning bells going off in my head, I feel my dick twitch in response.

It could've been her uncompromising voracity, or the thrill of the unexpected. But one thing was for sure — no girl had jumped me out of the blue like that before and her take-control attitude was hot as hell.

Maybe I'd been wrong about aristo girls...

Because there was no mistaking that that's what she was — the polished accent, the perfectly styled hair, the pearls at her neck. But apparently that was all just a carefully constructed façade to hide the low-down-and-dirty nympho that lurked underneath.

Stumbling, I land unceremoniously on the top of the wooden storage chest behind me. "Whoa... Easy there, missy—"

A loud crack rends the air.

"My name is Valeria Beauvaisis de Lavallée, Viscountess of Roussillon, you boor," she pronounces imperiously, sticking her heeled foot into my chest to push me back against the wall.

Lifting my hand to my stinging cheek, I feel a wetness beneath my fingertips — she'd managed to draw blood.

"And you will call me mistress." Wedging the leather keeper beneath my chin, she forces my gaze up to meet hers, demanding compliance. "Understood?"

The sharpness of the pain colliding with a sudden flash of animosity spikes my arousal into completely uncharted territory.

Domination? Rough play? Bit of bondage? Sure. I was down for all that. But normally I was in the one running that show, so finding myself on the receiving end of my own kinks was disorienting, to say the least...

...but not enough for me to want to tap out.

So I give her the barest of nods.

"Good boy," she purrs approvingly, taking her foot off me to trail the end of the crop down my neck like a caress. "Now disrobe yourself."

My eyes narrow. It was gonna be like that, huh?

Grabbing the bottom of my jersey, I start to pull it up slowly, holding her gaze the entire time.

Because while she may have managed to leash me, that didn't mean that I was suddenly her poodle, doing tricks on command.

So, while I was willing to play along, it was gonna be on my terms.

And I was determined to make her sweat.

The bottom of the shirt clears my ribs, and I don't miss the sharp intake of breath as she rakes me with her gaze.

Plus, it was satisfying to test her prepotence. No matter how marginally. Because she wasn't the only one here who could power-play.

I fling the shirt off.

"Now your bottoms," she commands hoarsely, alabaster cheeks flushed pink with arousal — and I hadn't even touched her yet.

I comply, reaching for the clasps at the front.

Her tongue darts out to moisten her bottom lip in anticipation.

I pop the top fastening.

Her pulse visibly quickens.

Finding the zipper, I start to inch it down lazily, my brazen gaze not leaving hers as I push myself back up to my feet.

Her breath catches in her throat as I shove the jodhpurs down. "Nom de Dieu..."

A lupine smile curves at my lips as I take a step closer. "You like what y—?"

I grunt as another blow lands on me.

"I did not tell to speak, rake," she bristles indignantly. "You will—"

The sudden jolt of pain unleashes something feral inside of me.

"Fuck this," I growl.

Grabbing her roughly around the waist, I snap her to me.

Her eyes widen in shock.

But before she can protest further — or whip me again — I've crushed my mouth to hers.

She may like playing the ruthless domina, but there was only one way this was going to end — with her bent over, getting fucked.

Because I was nobody's bitch, and refused to be treated like one.

Her palm connects with my face. "How dare you!"

I jerk back in confusion. "Wha—?"

"I didn't give you permission to touch me, you presumptuous oaf!" she snaps, laying into me with her crop again. "Much less kiss me in such a disgusting fashion! I have a husband for that!"

My eyes widen. "Wait! You're marr—?"

"To a degenerate old todger who can't even do his business in the john, let alone with his wife," she pronounces, shoving me backwards. "So, I want your cock. And you're going to give it to me."

I crash tailbone-first onto the storage chest again. But I don't even have a chance to try and catch my breath because Valeria's already clambered onto my lap.

Grabbing my jaw roughly between her nails, she hisses, "Now shag me like the wild beast that you are!"

I slap her hand away. "Like he—"

"No excuses!" she screams, smashing the riding crop down against my thigh.

I jerk at the harsh impact...

...and she takes advantage of my momentary distraction to impale herself onto me.

"Jesus fuck!" I cuss as the hard downward momentum nearly snaps my dick in half.

"Mmm! That's it!" she exults maniacally, grabbing onto my shoulders with her manicured nails. "Service me with your functional tool!"

"Find a fuckin' mechanic, then," I hiss, trying to wrest her off me... because while I was many things, homewrecker was not one of them. And I was not going to allow myself to be complicit in adultery. Under any circumstances.

A choked wheeze flies out of me as she grabs my balls in a vice-like hold without warning. "Service me, you insolent cur," she hisses into my face, "or I'll geld you like one of my unruly colts."

Looking into her flashing eyes, it's clear that she isn't bluffing neither.

Yup... I'd been definitely wrong about aristo women. They didn't just have a superiority complex. They were batshit fuckin' insane.

And I should've trusted my gut when it'd tried to warn me that this beguiling siren was exactly that — a cold-blooded predator out on the prowl.

But — like the literal dickhead that I was — I'd let the promise of a hot fuck hijack my better judgement. Which is exactly what she'd been counting on when she'd set her sights on me.

I yank her against me with gritted teeth.

Because now that she'd sunk her claws into me — quite literally — she wasn't gonna let me go until she got what she came for.

So the faster we got this done, the better.

And I may as well try to get something out of this runaway train wreck besides the cuts and bruises of the repeated flagellations... and the black mark on my conscience...

...even if it was just her talons off my junk.

"Yes! Yes!" she cries. "Ride me like a rabid animal!"

But despite that fact that I was wedged balls-deep up a tight and very willing cunt, the moral weight of the sin I was committing was apparently stronger than whatever physical gratification I was managing to eek out of the situation...

Which — all things considered — was the square root of fuck all, as the death-grip on my stones, plus the beating I'd already received out on the field were conspiring to make each upwards thrust feel like a literal act of torture.

So, I feel myself start to deflate.

"I said harder!" she cries, momentarily releasing the hold she had on me to slap me remorselessly with that accursed crop.

"Nope," I say, taking advantage of the unintended opening to buck her off me into the cold stone floor. "We're done."

"You vile cretin!" she shrieks, spitting her blonde hair from her face as she pushes herself up from the undignified, ass-in-the-air position she'd landed in. "How dare you treat me in such an abominable fashion!"

I snort sardonically as I quickly stand to yank up for the waistband of the jodhpurs that had pooled around the top of my boots. "What? Never been thrown off your high horse before?"

"Why you contemptuous little—!" she seethes. "I should have you whipped!"

"Pretty sure you've done that already," I grunt, fastening my pants with record speed. "And if this is any indication of how you treat your horses, then I hope they dump you in the fuckin' dirt as well."

"Oh, please," she laughs. "My horses are much too well-trained for such tasteless displays of disobedience. They know who their master is."  She flicks her eyes over me disdainfully. "Something which cannot be said for you, you pretentious churl."

I feel my hands fist by my side. "You are not—"

"And while you may cavort with royalty, do not make the mistake of thinking that you are — or will ever be — anything more than a flea-ridden lapdog, doing tricks for scraps. So, if you know what's good for you, commoner," she decrees, spreading her legs imperiously, "you had better finish what you started."

"You're right," I concede, taking a step towards her. "I stepped out of line..."

Her eyes glint in victory. "Easy to do if you weren't born into this world..."

"...by giving you the mistaken impression that I give a fuck about what you think of me." Picking up the dropped riding crop, I toss it at her. "So you can finish yourself off, mistress."

She splutters in disbelief as the crop hits her on the chest. "But... You... How dare—?"

"Hope that riding crop's hard enough for you," I throw over my shoulder as I turn my back on her to scoop my jersey off the floor.

"You insolent, mouthy dog!" she screams. "You will not—!"

But I've already marched out of the tack room, leaving her shrieks of rage to echo emptily behind me.

I heave a relieved breath as I pull the sweaty shirt over my head...

Sweet fuckin' Jesus...! Talk about assault with a (less than) friendly weapon! That girl gave a whole new meaning t—

...and nearly crash into Chris as I round the corner.

"There you are!" he cries happily. "We were wondering where you had disappeared off to!"

"Just...umm... sorting the horses," I mutter, quickly yanking the rest of the shirt down.

"Can't stay away from the pretty fillies, huh, mate?" he grins, clapping me on the shoulder.

I wince under the impact. "You could say that..."

"Well, there should be plenty of those where we're going — the boys want to head out to celebrate our win!"

"Sure," I reply congenially. "As long as there's whiskey and lots of ice..."

Christ knew I needed a drink... or ten, after today.

"I'm sure we can manage that."

"And I can burn these fuckin' jodhpurs."

As promised, this is the music video (and song) that helped inspire this fic (obviously doesn't help that one of the polo players looks like Drake 😇). Also, the video is 100% accurate in the fact that a major reason why women watch polo is so they can oogle the polo players under the pretense of being absorbed in the game 🤣

Permatags

@twinkleallnight @lovingchoices14 @kingliam2019 @petiteboheme @aussiegurl1234 @queen-arabella-of-cordonia @tessa-liam @alyshak92 @secretaryunpaid @princessleac1 @walkerdrakewalker @angelasscribbles @nestledonthaveone @tinkie1973 @twinkle-320 @knaussal @nikkis1983 @lunaseasblog @ficloverevie @indiana-jr @differenttyphoonwerewolf @xpandass420x @eversoaringqueen12 @peonierose @3pawandme @alexabeta @veebug8 @fangirling12566 @queenmiarys @berriesandpixels​ @coco-lina-s @lolablackwrites @ivyflowers13 @persephone13 @hollygirl1269 @adri-ja-96 @harleybeaumont @katedrakeohd @uneravine @choicesficwriterscreations @choicesjanuarychallenge @drake-walker-appreciation

Picture credits:

Fall- Drake - Polo - Victoria