#its not like moon was doing much at the night kingdom anyway

[aposterous]

Spoilers for WoF arc 2, sort of

What if instead of using Fierceteeth to replicate Clearsight, Darkstalker did it with Moonwatcher

[the-nosy-neighbor]

Sally's Pedrolino (part 3 of pedrolino theory)

First of all, Sally is dressed as Pierrot, not Pedrolino. (See the other pedrolino posts for the reasons and a history of the character)

Cone hat, ruff, big fluffy button detail. Her hat and the makeup and ruff are all traditional Pierrot costuming. It’s interesting that she chose the costume of a character that is closely associated with the moon, when she is supposed to be either a star, descended from a star, or a fallen star.

It appears that I’m not the first to wonder about Sally’s link to Pedrolino:

https://thecolourfulkingdom.tumblr.com/post/731153175684546560/importance-of-pedrolino

I really like that detail about there being “9 visible neighbors.” That might shoot a hole in my tower as a character theory. However, Colorful Kingdom does mention that same moon imagery that you find with Sally, something I have discussed before:

There is plenty here to be making a case that Something about Sally’s character is related more specifically to the moon. The images of Sally with one eye closed really makes me think that there is a duality to Sally during day/night. Part of the reason is the sun/moon on the door, but is also because of the clock concept art, dividing the clock into day and night involving open and shut eyes and different colored eyelids.

In the HH book/record, Sally introduces the concept of what happens at night in the neighborhood.

“It is looking for neighbors who are outside out past the daytime to gobble them up whole. That is why so few live here.

It moves through the streets at night, but it doesn't break into homes. However, on rare instances, it will find itself with an appetite, but unsatisfied by its aimless wandering. Even the occasional, unfortunate insect that has crossed its path is not enough.

Those who have lived through the night say it isn't quiet about it either. They always say you can hear when it gets closer to you. Do you know what sound it makes? I hear it every night. You can hear it too, if you listen. Especially if you wait next to your window.

First, there's rustling in the bushes. Then, the scratching on the pavement, on the walls as it crawls up. Finally, if you're quiet, you can hear its guttural sound.”

So, an actual creepy story where we learn that Sally has created this scary story for the neighbors, or an actual creepy thing that happens at night. It could potentially be a story meant to keep the neighbors inside, but for what reason? This could also be an attempt to explain missing neighbors or why the neighborhood is so small.

In my post about clocks, I go into this in more detail, but there is a definite dichotomy between the ideas of sun/star and moon, and the only timepiece to survive, Eddie’s watch, is clearly delineated between day and night.

This makes me think that there is something out there at night. I’ve also discussed in that post hints that we have gotten that there are people missing from the neighborhood:

• Where is Mama Beagle? (I know we saw her for Homewarming, but I’m not sure if that is current)

• Where are Julie’s siblings? They were important enough to have their own art in a book.

• “Nine visible neighbors” So are they invisible or no longer with us?

• Sunny was an original character and is no longer in the group. Perhaps we lost Sunny in an in-universe way, as opposed to written out.• Sally’s home and early buttons reference a sun and a moon

• This image has those buttons I was talking about.

This feels so much like Sally pointing directly at it and telling us that we are missing what happens at night. She really identifies the night beast’s actions and feelings too.

Have we seen anything that brings attention to the time and going home?

New idea, in terms of Eddie. “9 visible neighbors” could also lead to the idea that some are buried.

This picture is something I’ve shared before:

And this image has both Eddie and Sally. Hmm. Anyway, this is the item that is labeled what looks like “D” but with other letters mashed on top of it. There was obviously something missing here, so playing around, I was able to find this image. At first, I was convinced that this was some kind of Moonheaded man, the waxing gibbous type.

Now, though, I’m more of the mind that this is Sunny. Sally replaced Sunny, and Sunny is blue/teal. She is called a star, but I think her look is much more like how children draw the sun (which is a star).

He feels too bright to be the moon, and also, too green to be considered blue.

Also, the moon does not produce light. It is reflected sunlight. https://science.nasa.gov/moon/moonlight/ That makes it even more interesting to think that Sally is both, because she is producing the light, but it is also reflecting in another character that is connected with the moon?

What we know:

• Sally chose Pedrolino as a costume, despite Harlequinn (Arleccino) being the much more recognizeable character

(and I think you could argue the more fun, as Harlequin usually comes out on top and doesn't have the seriousness that Pedrolino does.)

Sally chose to wear a costume that belongs to a later iteration of the character. Either Sally is not as knowledgeable as she seems, or there is another reason for this. (Though Eddie recognizes it as Pedrolino, not Pierrot, from his book.)

I think when considering this difference, the author's/team's possible motivations have/has to be important.

• Pierrot is associated with the moon, specifically responding to the changes to the moon with changes in behavior

• Pierrot is focused on love, and the expression of the moon’s influence can be mental illness, but could also be a lovey dovey dopey experience (the word lunacy/lunatic comes from the belief that changes in the moon could make someone act insane)

• Sally has definite associations with the moon, with repeated symbols telling us that she is associated with the sun and the moon.

• The moon’s light is reflected from the sun

• Not discussed, but in pre-website lore, Poppy and Sally are an item.

• Sally is a singer, so are later versions of Pierrot

There is a female version of Pierrot, Pierrette. As little as most people know about this thing, Pierrette would be as good a character to choose as anyone.

• Pierrot is commonly known from the operatic (style?) performance, Pierrot Lunaire, which is a kind of anthology of music from the 1900’s. There may also be a separate opera, as you do see Pierrot as a role that a character plays in the Marx Brothers’ film, A Night at the Opera.

I think it is telling that Sally chose Pedrolino as opposed to Pierrot. She is dressed in a more classic Pierrot costume, but doesn’t have the lute and is not doing any kind of mime. You would expect Sally to get those details right, as a show offy theatre person (takes one to know one).

And why is Eddie the only other person to know what this is? He said he was reading about it in the post office. The only person we have seen with books (I think) is Frank. So does Eddie have book, did he get it from Frank. If so, where does Frank get his books? I think all of Franks books we have seen are about bugs. Is it a magical thinking kind of thing, or does Eddie bring books from our reality? Eddie delivers shipments to Howdy that we have seen, and Barnaby gets mail from outside the neighborhood, so are those from here or is it from some fictional location there?

All this to say, I do think that we can establish that this is giving us a strong hint about Sally's association with the moon and a potential importance of the day/night split and the nature of the neighborhood.

I am great at writing history, but less great at making the connections. I think there is still too much missing for me to make a reasonable guess as to what Sally's true nature is, but I definitely think that Sally's moon will make an appearance at some point and help us to understand what is happening in the neighborhood. I am confident that the moon will appear.

Since it has been useful to this point, a few notes from tv tropes.

God of the Moon--

Thus, fiction and mythology alike often personify it or associate it with a patron deity. Mirroring the moon's nature as a luminous body in a time of darkness, lunar deities can have complex relationships with the night and dark forces. On one hand, they may themselves be associated with darkness, the nighttime hours, and the things that dwell within them. On the other, they may instead be portrayed as standing against these things, providing safety and illumination during an otherwise dark and terrifying time and warding away the terrible things that lurk during the dark hours.

(required by law)

In personality, lunar deities are often portrayed as mercurial, changeable, and shifting, mirroring the constantly changing face of the moon itself. They also tend to be associated with cycles, such as the lunar phases and the tides. They may also have ties to madness, illusions, and mystery.

Under "Lunacy"

The Moon does things to people. Makes women crazy, drives the lunatics wild, or maybe is the external power source for some supernatural powers. The full Moon might bring out the monster in someone, or a new Moon may bring the human out of a monster. It may be tied to illusions, metamorphoses and inconstancy, mirroring the Moon's constantly cycling phases. In general, the Moon is often a catalyst in magical things.

"Night and Day Duo"

The elemental forces of day and night have always been considered polar opposites. The day, ruled by the sun, is bright and inviting. The night, ruled by the moon, is dark and often considered mysterious. It's no surprise that when two characters have abilities or traits based on these forces, they form a duo of Foils.

Despite their inherent differences, these characters usually form a team rather than fight in opposition. After all, keeping the balance is necessary in works that believe in The Sacred Darkness and Dark Is Not Evil. As such, this duo typically works together, even if it's just an Enemy Mine.

Share ideas about Sally and Pedrolino with me, and I'll update as ideas come in. I say Sally is Pierrot and Pedrolino is just a red herring to delay her association with the moon.

I might look at some other interactions between Sally and Eddie, as they seem to have a bit more to dig through.

[cosmictyto]

💛⚔️ Villain Ambrosius AU - Tarnished Gold ⚔️🖤

I’ve listened to Will Wood’s “Vampire Culture” one too many times while stuck in the Nimona hyperfixation pit + after seeing some villain Amb fanart floating around, so enjoy these sloppy, partially finished mad ramblings edited/stylized a bit to (try and) make them a little more interesting to read. Also, you're all more than welcome to add on/ask any questions! I'll get to them when I can.

Just a heads up, this is looooong. Simply because ya girl’s a wordy bitch.

Basically, the point of this AU can be boiled down to “What if Ambrosius knew Ballister was innocent AND Nimona got to him first?” Kinda a role swap, but kinda its own thing at the same time? Idfk.

On the night of the knighting ceremony, as they’re both suiting up, Ballister verbally mentions his sword feeling off to Ambrosius. But neither of them have time to investigate that further.

The knighting ceremony goes just as horribly as it did in the movie. The queen is dead, Ballister’s lost his arm, and though they couldn’t exactly find Ballister’s body, he’s presumed dead. Lambasted as a traitor to the kingdom, but also treated as a sort of boogeyman since no one REALLY knows if he’s dead in that "I heard he's dead!" "Well, I heard he's still alive!" kind of way.

Ambrosius, meanwhile, is left completely crushed. Simultaneously being praised by some for “disarming the traitor” and mocked by others for being so close to that same traitor. For not recognizing the signs earlier. For not stopping him before their queen was killed. And though the Director reassures him that he’s done well as Gloreth’s descendant and that this will all fade as nothing more than a bad memory… he knows. Ballister didn’t do it. He KNEW something was wrong with his sword. And deep down he knew that his boyfriend was innocent. So he confronts the squire, sees the footage, and leaves with his whole world rocked.

Needless to say, the proof of ACTUAL INTENTIONAL regicide, treason, and corruption within the system, the same one he’s a literal living symbol of, isn’t on his mind at the moment. Just what he did to Bal. So full of regret and guilt. (At best, he mutilated the love of his life out of instinct which is still horrible!!) Normally when he wanted time alone to think he’d go to the top of the Glorodome. But, that spot hurt too much right now. That's where he and Bal first became friends. So, that same night, he went to the next-best place, Gloreth’s statue.

It’s late at night (he hasn’t been able to sleep much lately anyway,) and he’s sitting at the edge of that massive golden sword. Legs dangling as he stares at the ground. He’s normally not much of a drinker, usually too risky. But tonight he makes an exception. Before, everything felt manageable. The inherent weight he bore being Gloreth’s descendant, the press and citizenry looking up to him to be this bastion of goodness and pure heroism, internal familial pressures over how he should act, look, and think… with Bal at his back, he could handle it. But that stability’s gone now. And the only other person he could possibly lean on, the Director, was responsible for his lover’s death. Now, more than ever, he feels like he’s on the verge of collapsing under the weight this kingdom’s placed on his shoulders…

And then someone happens to come along.

Even despite everything, despite all the hurt this one person’s been responsible for… Nimona still carries fondness for Gloreth. And some nights, when she can’t sleep and she feels like howling at the moon, she’ll go to her old friend’s statue… tonight was one of those nights. And who does she happen to find? Her great-great-great-great… however many more, great grandkid. And he’s not looking too hot. A part of her knows she’s got no real obligation to help him, she's never talked to any of the Golden-groin brats before. But... she's had plenty of moments where she wished she had someone talk her down from doing something stupid, and she's feeling kinda sentimental n' sappy... so she strikes up a conversation.

He’s (reasonably) startled by this teen who just showed up out of nowhere. On a statue that requires a hoverbike to get to, no less. But he’s also drunk enough that he’s not as concerned as he maybe should be. One thing leads to another, and he just lets loose. Like, completely vents everything stored in him. (And, yes, “Arm chopping is not a love language!!!” Is thrown in there.)

Nims is just kinda in shock. In all those stupid commercials and interviews he seems so calm and put-together. Perfect, even. But, he's actually kind of a wreck. And now he’s unraveling real fast and is a bit too wobbly to be up this high- So she talks him down a bit. Calms him. Eventually asks, “If you never had any of this stupid “Gloreth” stuff pushed on you, who would you be? What’d you want to do?”

That legitimately stumps and breaks him. He’s thought about how nice it’d be to have this pressure off of his back. Where he could be his own person and not “the descendant of Gloreth.” But he never ONCE considered what a world like that would really look like. All he’s ever known was THIS. Being a knight, being a symbol and not a real person… there’s really only one thing he could actually say.

“Um… My hair wouldn’t be blond..? Y’know, it’s funny, this isn’t even my natural color. They make me bleach it so that I… that I can look more like her…”

And it’s at that point that Nimona decides right then and there, if she couldn’t get the kingdom to change its mind, she’ll at least get through to Gloreth's heir. Break at least one cycle. (And totally not because she feels the teensiest bit regretful he's been put in this position, naaah, nothing like that.~) She coaxes him down from that statue, and the two of them proceed to do nothing but get into mischief…

“~Blood… didn’t they want your blood? So why apologize for being blue and cold?~”

Specifically, the kind that you don’t remember until well after you wake up. All Ambrosius knows is that he’s in some strange dim dreary place and someone’s cooking something. Oh, it’s just Bal. He usually handles any meals since he doesn’t burn them like he does… but, as he’s snuggling back into the couch, he realizes there’s the sound of a girl humming? What? He sits up. Aaaand she’s there? The girl from the statue? He tries to blow some of his unkempt hair out of his face, and-... he freezes. Grabs his phone, ignores the many, many missed calls and news notifications, opens his camera app, and… black. His hair is black. Why is it black?! It’s not supposed to be-! He NEEDS to be blond! And-!

“Mornin’, sleeping beauty!~ Not gonna lie, never knew a fancy-pants knight like yourself could cut loose like that... Hm? Oh! Right, the hair! You were telling me all about how much you hated bleaching it last night. Sooo, we dyed it! Eventually, you can cut all the dyed stuff off and just leave it your real color if you want. But, for now? Bye-bye, blondie! Like it?~”

No. No he does not. He’s basically having an anxiety attack over the unsanctioned change. Then he gets a notification on his phone and starts reading the news articles. All about HIM, a “mystery girl,” and several animals going wild throughout the kingdom.

“Dude, chill. What’s done is done. We got a little crazy, you saw some pink elephants, and we dyed your hair. So what?”

“So what?! What do you MEAN “So what?!?” I’m a DESCENDANT of GLORETH! I-I can’t be doing things like that! Or be seen like this, or-!”

“Woah WOAH! Hey, look at me. Breathe. You wanna really know why you asked me to dye your hair? YOU said it was so you could be free."

“Free..?”

“Yeah! From now on? You don’t have to live by their stupid rules and expectations. You don't have to be like her, you can be YOU! You can do whatever the hell you want, whenever you want! Wanna change your name? Do it! Wanna go break stuff? Hell yeah! Want a piercing or tattoo? I can give you some. I know how! You wanna make those bastards pay for what they did to you and your boyfriend? I'm more than happy bring the matches and help you burn that bitch to the ground!~"

From that point, things just click. His whole life, the Director… no, the whole INSTITUTE forged him into nothing more than a gilded sword. One that they turned on the person he loved most. The ONE thing in his life that he chose and stuck by… and the system he was supposed to symbolize MADE him kill the love of his life… and he didn’t have to play by their rules anymore. Thus starting his fall into "Villainy."

“~Blood, didn’t they want your blood? So don’t apologize for being blue and cold…~”

Slight time skip!~

Truth was? Ballister was still alive. Heavily wounded, dazed and confused at how everything went so wrong, but alive...

Ballister's story continues as it did in the movie. Months later after the knighting, he's being hunted by the law with Sir Thoddeus Sureblade as the captain of the guard. In the meantime, he's built himself an arm and is still aiming to prove his innocence... Except his attempts to find Ambrosius, or convince the Director that he was set up, are a complete failure. Like in the movie, he's arrested and thrown in the dungeon... Except with no one to break him out. According to whispered gossip from the guards who bring him food, Ambrosius has been missing for a while, now. A fact that would not be revealed to the public anytime soon...

"It's only culture! It's only CULTURE!! It's only- Culture's not your friend..!"

At least, not until an individual in scuffed black-and-rose-gold colored armor (?) shows up with... a bear, or a tiger, and a wolf, and horse, and... even a rhinoceros?! The two of them running through the halls. Breaking things, lighting stuff on fire, and spraying paint on the walls (along with the floor, ceiling, and any statues,) and scrapping with any knights they come across. They'd already uploaded that clip of the Director swapping those swords. This? This was a diversion to keep the Institute from possibly removing or censoring that clip before the public got to see it. And Ambrosius LOVED it! He got to be loud! To make a mess! He finally got to punch Todd in his stupid dude-bro face! When you've kept someone shackled their whole lives, and then take those harnesses and leashes off? The freedom's enough to make ‘em go a just a teensy bit crazy. More than anything, since everything that happened the night of their knighting? He felt alive.

"Hey, fuck your culture! I ain't got no culture! It's only culture and it's more afraid of you than you're of it!"

During the assault, just as things are starting to get dicey for Nims and Brose, they do something so that the power ends up cutting out. Freeing Ballister and giving him his chance to escape, and... for a moment Ballister sees him. His Rose, ebony-haired with cuffs and studs on his ears. Riding on the unsaddled back of a raspberry-pink horse. A can of neon spray-paint in one hand, a sword in the other, a whole squad of knights behind him… and for a moment they lock eyes. Ambrosius’ world just comes crashing down, trying to stop and turn Nims around (Who refuses. ‘Cause, y’know, the bunch of knights behind them?!) she shifts into an ostrich to get a boost of speed, and the two just ride off with Ambrosius staring wide-eyed… looking like he saw a ghost… meanwhile, Ballister’s wondering just what the hell’d happened since the ceremony, and just -what- his boyfriend’s been hanging out with.

From this point my plot-related notes are thinner/less thought out. But here they are anyway:

- Ballister’s still firmly stuck in the Institute’s brainwashing since he’s had absolutely no time hanging out with Nimona to influence that. He’s seen the footage, but still believes that the fault solely lies with the Director specifically. That the Institute as a concept can still be preserved. A part of him hopes that by capturing this pink monster he might be able to redeem himself in the eyes of the kingdom. Prove his loyalty as a knight. (And conveniently finally meet with his boyfriend who’s apparently lost his damn mind?! Or... or has been corrupted by this thing?) So, while on the run from Todd and the other knights, he’s also trying to track down Ambrosius + Nimona and stop them from inciting a rebellion. Because all he knows is that this isn’t the man he fell in love with. (I won't lie, the Ballister side of things feels pretty shaky. I need more time to sit and stew on it.)

- If we’re using D&D alignment charts as a reference, Ambrosius is basically going from lawful-good to chaotic-good. Identity crisis and shift to anarchy aside, he genuinely doesn’t want to hurt anyone. Especially not the general populous. Yes, he happened to be raised to be a “hero of the realm” but, at his core, he’s still a good guy. Any acts of arson, destruction, or anything of the like are done with the knowledge that the spaces have been cleared out as best they can, first. And he doesn't even want to kill his fellow knights because he knows that, ultimately? They've all been forced through the same system. Children thrown into a mold to be forged into weapons. He’ll fight them. But, he doesn’t fight to kill… that being said, he doesn’t necessarily stray from violence, either.

- At some point I do see Ballister and Ambrosius getting into a fight. But, of course, Ballister’s the top of their class. No matter how hard they both sparred or competed against each other, Bal’d always managed to come out on top. In everything. So Rose is, of course, disarmed and thrown to the ground. A sword pointed at him as he looks up at the man he loves-.

“What, do you think this is some kind of a game?! You and that… that thing are tearing this kingdom apart! I… I don’t even recognize you anymore… what happened, Ambrosius?!”

“What happened? She set me free, Bal. And if you can’t see that this is who I really am, deep down..? Then you never really knew me at all…”

More miscellaneous/fun notes:

- It’s less boss/henchman in this AU. Instead, Rose and Nims 100% have a brother/sister dynamic. They bicker and tease when they’re together. But, the moment the other’s in trouble, it’s strict “No one messes with ‘em except me!” vibes. Who’s the older and who’s the younger sibling changes depending on the moment.

- Ambrosius always liked rock music. His parents and the Director always disapproved because it was “noise unbefitting of a Goldenloin” (ie. It wasn’t classical or opera therefore it was “wrong.”) but he always listened to it in private or with Ballister. So when Nims played some stuff and she caught Rose singing along to all the words? That earned instant respect points for him.

- These two also share one braincell between them at any given time. How they haven’t gotten caught is a damn miracle. Like, seriously, these two are goofballs. The moment he saw Nimona change into a shark? Oh, he totally stuck his head in her mouth. He never thought once about how “the wings” would be too noticeable. And when Nims brought up the plan to wreck the Institute? Eloquently putting it as: “We break-in, we break some stuff, smash some helmets, something-something-something, we win!~” He could only reply with a nod and, “Alright, sounds good!” And when they're playing a board game and she's going on some tangent? He's laughing his ass off. The only other person he's been this dorky around was Ballister.

- Once it clicked that he could swear?! And no one would get mad at him or clutch some pearls?! Nimona had to give him a crash-course because he was using it a bit too much. And it just kinda sounded ridiculous. Like giving a tween free rein to swear.

- He also went more crazy with his appearance. He was already used to the idea of makeup (Gloreth forbid her ancestors ever had *gasp* acne!!!) Eyes? Lined and smokey. Often with dark or fun colors. Nails? Painted. 24/7. Fingers adorned with a buncha rings. Lots of layered necklaces and bracelets. Plus silky black shirts with low necklines. And he did get his ears pierced. Both lobes, a couple in the helix of one ear, and one on an eyebrow. All of which was done courtesy of Nimona. (Needless to say, Ballister was shook the first time he got a good look at him.)

- He is still a Ballister Simp. Always gonna be his number one fan. At first, he tried to convince Ballister to join him and Nimona, but Bal wouldn’t listen. Their relationship doesn’t start to fracture until Ballister starts actively hunting them both down for the sake of capturing her. Because, while Ambrosius adores Ballister, and wants nothing more than to be with him… Nimona’s been the only one to help him see the truth. To help free him of all his expectations, she’s been there when he was at his lowest. She’s his friend. And he’s not willing to sacrifice her just so that he can go back to being the “Descendant of Gloreth” with Ballister. So, though it hurts, he still loves Bal. But he’s always waiting for the moment his lover admits he’s wrong about this.

- Speaking of Nimona’s and Ambrosius’ friendship… she’s in an awkward spot. Because, especially now with all those prissy-noble-layers stripped away… she sees so much of Gloreth in Ambrosius. In his smile, how confident every step is, that glimmer in his eye when he’s about to do something rebellious, even the way his eyes crinkle and his lips get tight when he’s mad. In so many ways he’s absolutely his own person… but it’s like she got her best friend back. And maybe that’s why she stayed and talked with him. Because she saw a chance to try again…

(Psst, you seriously read this far down? Thanks a ton! Have a cookie.~ 🍪 )

[padfootagain]

Scars

Hello! Here comes my first request for my Comeback Event! This request was sent by @themessedupsonata : “Hey, Carole! For your comeback event, could you write a Caspian with the au c and the prompt 6 please? I love your work ❤️”

Prompt c is ‘Soulmate AU!’ and prompt 6 is ‘Enemies to lovers’ (excellent choice, may I add!!).

I hope you like what I’ve written for you for this request! Thank you for sending it!

*****

Pairing: Caspian x reader

Warning: none, a bit of angst and some fluff, Soulmate AU with characters feeling their soulmate’s physical pain and getting their scars on their own body (but there is no depiction of violence in this fic and no character is hurt).

Sum up: Caspian and you need to reach an agreement on this treaty, it is vital for both your kingdoms. The problem is, you are simply unable to get along. Or well… at first, you can’t get along, there is still this strange tension between the two of you though. But it would be ridiculous to act on it, because in this world filled with soulmates, you cannot be meant for each other… right?

Word count: 6075 (it got quite long… sorry?)

You truly are insufferable.

The more Caspian stares at you, the more he wishes he could simply shake some sense into foreign dignitaries’ heads whenever he wants. But he can’t, that would probably lead to a war, and even if his frustration with you seems to have reached new heights this afternoon, he can’t act so carelessly. He loves Narnia too much for that. He merely pictures the scene in his head instead.

He gets it that you are here, in Cair Paravel, to defend the interests of your own country. But he also reckons that you could go about it in a smoother, nicer way.

And you find him pig-headed to no end.

The more you look at him, sitting there in his tall wooden chair, the more you want to slap him. Imprint your fingers in his cheek in red lines. That would feel good. But you can’t, because that would probably lead to a war between your two countries, and you love your kingdom too much to endanger it in such a stupid way. You are too smart to do so. Instead, you simply picture Caspian’s stern face coloured with the traces of your palm across his cheek.

You get it that he is defending the interests of his kingdom, but you reckon that he could handle the situation in a more sympathetic way.

One thing is for sure, he doesn’t like you.

And one thing is for certain, you don’t like him either.

Caspian heaves a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes. He has a headache after hours of discussions on this treaty. It’s almost midnight, the world is full of shadows and starlight now. He wants to get out of this room, walk through the gardens, all the way to the cliff so he can look at the sea shimmering under the moon and smell its salt in the air.

He can’t think properly now, anyway. He’s too tired for that.

“Lady Y/N, I reckon we should take a break for tonight. We all need some sleep. We can resume this meeting tomorrow morning.”

You want to contradict him, just for the sake of it, but the truth is, you’re exhausted as well. You easily yield, the negotiations will resume in the morning. You don’t want him to see that you’re relieved though, so you walk out without showing how tired you truly are.

He annoys you so much. When you walk out, you notice the way he politely waits for you to exit before he would. You hate the fact that he asks you if you want him to accompany you back to your room, that he asks politely if everything is to your liking…

You hate it how polite and perfectly sweet he is despite the fact that your discussions are going nowhere.

You decline his offer to accompany you of course, after three weeks spent in Cair Paravel, you know your way around the castle pretty well.

Once in your bedroom, you heave a relieved sigh as you take off your corset, and slip into some comfortable night gown. And as you change into new clothes, you stare at the scar on your forearm, a white line that runs along the length of your limb. You have about a dozen of these by now. None of them come from your own life.

Your soulmate must be reckless, and you’re not surprised. You’ve always been pretty reckless yourself…

You sit down on the edge of your comfortable bed, brushing your finger along the pale mark. Sometimes, you wonder if he’s still out there. You haven’t had a new scar in a while. You haven’t felt physical pain because of him for over a year. Maybe that last time, the day you got a very nasty scar across your back, he didn’t make it…

You push the thought away. You can feel that he is alive still.

One day… one day you will find him.

You shake yourself out of these thoughts, and get ready to go to bed. You can’t let yourself be distracted by this. You’ll find your soulmate one day, but for now, you must remain focused on this treaty you must create. A lot of work. It worries you enough already.

It worries you so much, actually, that despite your exhaustion you find it impossible to sleep tonight. Thoughts keep bumping into each other in your busy head. Things to do, arguments to try…

You heave a sigh, sitting up in your bed and reaching for a candle to get up. Maybe some fresh air will help you find some rest.

You put on a long coat, open the door of your chamber, and walk into the corridor, your way lightened by the small candle in your hand and the stars shining brightly outside.

Caspian shudders, but he doesn’t walk back inside to fetch a coat. It’s only September, the end of summer and the dawn of autumn. Still, the wind is cold, coming harsh from the sea, salty and wild. Caspian loves it, the strength of the wind as it gets caught in his loose hair, in his large purple shirt. It reminds him of sailing. The feeling of freedom, the rush of adrenaline, the reassuring movement of the sea… He misses it. As he stares at the ocean before him, with soft waves making its surface everchanging, modifying constantly the pattern of the reflected starlight, he misses exploring its secrets, its islands, its wild dreams.

He takes a deep breath, shudders again in the cold. It smells of salt, seaweed and a little bit of the last roses still blooming in the gardens behind him.

It’s quiet. Only the distant murmur of the sea coming and going, running away and then crashing again against rocks and sand. It’s quiet. Almost still. He hears the branches of the trees behind him as well, as they swing gently in the summer air. Leaves whisper, and if Lucy was there, maybe she would understand them. The thought makes him smile. He misses her. He misses all of them tonight…

He jumps as he suddenly feels a sharp pain in his toe. He winces, looks down at his leather boot. But nothing has bumped into his foot. It’s his soulmate again. She keeps on bumping into things, he has stopped counting the bruises that have appeared across his skin because of her along the years. A tender smile forms on his lips. She must be clumsy.

One day he’ll find her. One day, he’ll see her and he’ll know right away. He is certain of it. He’ll feel that she’s the one the second he sees her. He’ll find her one day.

But for now, he doesn’t have time to look for her. For now, he has this treaty to establish and to sign. It’s more important, Narnia depends on it. And Narnia always comes first…

The pain in his toe subsides. One day, he’ll find her…

He notices then that a new sound has appeared. Distant still, muffled, but still there. Caspian listens carefully.

Footsteps…

“Is anyone there?” he asks, his voice loud but still warm.

The footsteps stop, seem to hesitate, and then resume, this time heading in Caspian’s direction.

Caspian surprised when he sees you appear at the end of the path where he now stands. He greets you with a polite yet forced smile, and you do the same. But it would be inappropriate to turn back, so you join him, determined to merely respect the etiquette, and then to be on your way again.

“Lady Y/N, it is a surprise to see you here so late at night. Is everything alright?”

“Yes, your Majesty,” you nod, forcing your polite smile to remain on your lips. “I was merely not tired enough to fall asleep. What about you?”

He smiles, his gesture more genuine this time.

“I reckon that the same subject that kept you up tonight is also the cause of my own unrest.”

“I see… This treaty is a lot work, indeed.”

“It is.”

An uncomfortable silence settles between the two of you, and you look away. Instead of staring at Caspian’s features - that are partly hidden because of the darkness of the night - you settle your gaze on the infinite sea. You grow calmer instantly. And the king by your side seems to notice it.

“This is my favourite view of the sea,” he says in a quiet voice, unwilling to disturb the peaceful expression that has grown across your face.

“It’s beautiful. And… quiet.”

“The ocean can be very soothing.”

“Is it the reason why you are here so late at night?”

Caspian nods, his eyes set on the flicking light of the moon upon the changing waters.

“I come here whenever I need to think. It helps me calm down and focus.”

You understand why he would do that. It is peaceful indeed. The regular sound lulls you, makes you feel calmer than you have felt for weeks, months even.

The silence that settles now between the two of you is more comfortable than you expected it to be. You feel relaxed, and you reckon it is the first time since your arrival at Cair Paravel that you feel so calm in Caspian’s presence. Maybe that’s why you speak again; you’re not sure why though.

“I had never seen the sea before coming here.”

Caspian turns to you again, a slight frown across his brow.

“If you wish, I could show you some beautiful spots.”

“Do you not think that we are too busy for sightseeing?”

Caspian shrugged.

“Maybe it would do us good, actually. We have been fighting against each other for three weeks now, a truce could help us settle on an agreement.”

“I would hardly say that we have been fighting,” you argued.

“Constantly arguing then,” he laughs.

“We are defending different sides.”

“You are a little harsh sometimes.”

“And you are too stubborn.”

The two of you stared at each other for a moment, with the sound of moving branches and waves crashing upon the sand as a background. It painted a scene filled with the patience you sometimes lacked around him. It filled all the space with the moderation Caspian sometimes abandoned when you were around.

You thought to have crossed a line, he was King, after all. But Caspian smiled instead of being angry. A bright, genuine smile that you recognized despite the darkness that surrounded you here, at the top of the cliff. You offered him the same gesture.

“I shall try to be more open-minded, then,” Caspian said after a short silence.

“And perhaps I could try to be calmer.”

“I truly want our two countries to build an alliance. One that would guarantee peace between our kingdoms for the years to come.”

“This is what I want to achieve as well.”

“We have the same goal, we should be able to settle on an agreement.”

“I hope so. The future of our peoples depends on it.”

Caspian nods, but he offers you a smile again nonetheless.

“If you agree, I would like to show you around tomorrow. We can go to the beach, I know a few places you should enjoy, the views are particularly beautiful. We can continue our work on the treaty the day after. Perhaps… if we spend a little time together, we would be able to work together in a more efficient way.”

You nod, quite unsure about this proposition, but you don’t dare refuse. He’s King, after all.

“Very well. Then, I should go back to bed, and try to get some sleep for tomorrow.”

Caspian bows his head, and you walk back to your bedroom, quite puzzled by your exchange with the king.

What does this new behaviour from the king mean?

You keep on thinking about this strange proposal of his to spend the day with you. Alone, apparently. Just the two of you. The mere thought to be alone with him for several hours makes you nervous, because he is king, but for another reason as well, one you can’t seem to fully fathom just yet…

You reach your bedroom again, set the candle you carried with you on your table, it has died long before; when you walked out of the castle and into the garden it was blown out by the wind.

You take off your coat, your shoes, and in the silver light of the moon coming in through your window, you notice that your toe has reddened. You have hit it in a rather big rock set in the gardens.

You heave a sigh, shaking your head at yourself. You can be so clumsy sometimes…

You reckon this will leave a bruise.

You love the smell of the sea.

Salty and fresh and dangerous. Seashells crack under your feet with each step you take. There are so many of them. You’ve picked a couple, the prettiest one, you hold them in your palm now. Fragile. Colourful. Tiny treasures you mean to keep forever.

You’re surprised, really. Caspian is charming. You’re used to being mad at him, to being annoyed by him. But now… now he’s walking by your side, your arms locked together, and he talks about Narnia and the things he loves, and you find his voice soothing and warm. You could listen to it all day long.

What is happening to you?

You laugh at one of his remarks, and he can’t help but smile at the sound. Maybe, just maybe, you are not as insufferable as he thought you were…

You let him guide you along the beach. It’s quiet under the tall cliffs, no one in sight but the clear blue sky, the turquoise sea, the golden rocks and the white sand. Just you and Caspian and the beautiful landscape. Back and forth of the waves. You like it this way.

Caspian is guiding you towards one of his favourite spots, a lagoon in which coral has been growing for centuries. Undisturbed, it covers the shallow sea with hundreds of shapes, colours and fish.

You can’t refrain a gasp at the sight of so many colours. The water is almost transparent, only slightly tainted in blue. You follow Caspian as he climbs on top of a rock at the foot of the cliff above you, and you sit down together on the edge, staring down at the incredible sight. You stare at the fish that swim and hide among the coral reef.

“It’s beautiful,” you whisper with a grin.

Caspian stares at you, a satisfied smile on his lips. And he reckons that… you’re quite a sight to see…

He looks away, blushing slightly.

“I’m glad you enjoy it.”

“How did you find this place?”

“I love sailing. I’ve explored most of the Narnian coast.”

“Are you not afraid? When you go sailing?”

“Of the sea? No. I like how wild it can be. I find it reassuring.”

“Really?” you ask with a frown.

But Caspian nods, and gives you an amused smile.

“It’s soothing. The waves, the peaceful sounds. When I’m at sea, I’m not really a king anymore. I depend on the elements around me, and no one can ask me to control any of it. It’s reassuring, to know that for once, you are not the only one responsible for what happens next.”

You stare at him, puzzled by his response. He keeps on surprising you.

“Duties can be a heavy load to carry,” you answer, but your voice comes out as a breath, and it makes Caspian look at you again.

“Indeed… most of the time.”

“Your people seems satisfied though. Most seem happy here.”

“I hope so.”

“What about you? Are you happy?”

Caspian smiles.

“What a personal question!”

“You are not forced to answer it.”

The king takes a second to think about it, ponder your question, weigh his response.

But eventually, he answers with an earnest smile.

“I reckon that I am as happy as I can be in my current situation.”

“What an elusive answer,” you tease him, and he chuckles.

“There are people whom I miss,” he goes on. “I am worried about Narnia. About your kingdom. About the future. About the past. I am worried about many things. But I have friends who help me, I cannot ask for more.”

He takes a long, deep breath, takes in the taste of the salty air.

“What about you, my lady? Are you happy?”

It is your time to hesitate. You have not planned for the conversation to turn out so personal, but when you look into his eyes, you can’t look away. You can’t remain silent. Instead, you want to confess everything to him.

“I think that I am… as happy as I can be in my current situation.”

You exchange a smile.

“Are you homesick?” he asks in a quiet tone, as if to not scare you away.

You shrug.

“Not really. But I am worried about this treaty. I am worried about your kingdom. I am worried about mine. I am worried about my soulmate too.”

Caspian frowns ever so slightly, but doesn’t stop you when you continue.

“I haven’t had any sign in over a year. I’m scared he might be gone already.”

“I am sorry to hear that. I hope he is still alive and well, that you will find him soon.”

You give him a grateful smile; you can hear in his voice that he means it.

“What about you? Have you found your soulmate?”

But Caspian shakes his head.

“Not yet. I have not had the time to look for her. I know she is alive though. She seems clumsy. I have so many bruises…”

You both laugh.

“Mine seems reckless,” you tell him, a fond smile on your lips. “He has some nasty scars.”

“A soldier?”

“Probably, yes. I suppose so.”

“Have you been looking for him?”

“Not really. No time for that. I have a treaty to prepare instead.”

Caspian smiles fondly at you, before setting his gaze on the sea again. It’s infinite, it would seem. From here, it looks never-ending…

“I hope we find them, eventually.”

Something has shifted since that afternoon with Caspian, and you don’t like it.

Or rather… you do like it. And you hate the fact that you enjoy it.

There is a pull towards him now. An external force that seems to guide your gaze in his direction all the time.

Maybe it’s because you’ve spent a lot of time with him that day. You’ve spent a long time talking together while sitting on this giant rock, looking at the ocean. And you enjoyed that moment, you genuinely did. Caspian was kind, gentle… a side of him you had not witnessed before.

Is it the reason why you keep on staring at him now? Why you notice the way his messy bun leaves a few strands of dark hair escape? Why you keep on thinking that you love how dark his eyes look, so black you can’t see where the pupil ends and the iris begins…

You hate the fact that you can feel that you have started liking him.

Because you would be lying if you pretended that you do not find him attractive. Caspian is truly handsome. And you hate yourself for thinking that way, but you can feel that you are attracted to him now. Which is the last thing that you need, because a) he is the king of Narnia and you are a foreign representative with a treaty to defend; b) you have an awful lot of work to do, and you cannot let yourself be distracted; and c) Caspian is not your soulmate, and it would be ridiculous to endanger your work and your reputation for a fling, no matter how kind and handsome the man can be.

Of course, you know that Caspian is not your soulmate. How could he be? He is a King, and you are not a princess. Besides, you reckon that you would have felt it. You would have known, at first sight, as soon as your eyes would have landed onto his frame. You would have known that he was your soulmate. And you did find him attractive when you first met him, but nothing more. And then you got annoyed at him, angry even and…

And even now, despite this afternoon spent together, during which you grew closer, there are moments when you get so frustrated with him…

Right now, for example.

You are tired, it’s late. You’re hungry, but this meeting seems never-ending.

And you’re tired. You’re tired of arguing, of discussing, of convincing him…

And the more frustrated you become, the more you feel attracted to him. Desperately so. And that is not a good thing at all.

You cannot have this kind of thoughts. The kind that makes your heart quicken as you lose yourself in his dark eyes. The kind that makes you wonder what it would feel like to run your fingers through his hair. The kind that makes you want to taste his lips…

You look away in a hurry. It must be the frustration, the tiredness… the exhaustion even. You are not yourself. Absolutely not yourself.

Caspian loosens his collar, before popping open a button of his purple shirt, and you can’t help it when your eyes linger on the spot that is now revealed to your gaze, the patch of pinkish skin under his neck…

You turn away, trying to focus on his words again, but you get lulled by his deep, warm voice…

You shake yourself. What is wrong with you?

“Lady Y/N?”

You look up at him when he speaks your name. He’s frowning. The three advisors who are also in the room are also staring at you now.

“Is everything fine?”

You nod, but quickly heave a sigh.

“I apologize your highness, but… it is very late. I reckon that I am too tired to focus.”

Yes, that is good excuse…

Caspian nods, glancing at the inky sky on the other side of the window.

“Indeed, it is quite late. We should eat something, before going to bed.”

“I am not very hungry…”

“But you must eat something…”

But you refuse again, and this time, he doesn’t insist.

“Well, then… I bid you good night. We will resume tomorrow morning.”

You notice the dark circles under his eyes. He seems just as tired as you are. You catch yourself wishing that he could get some rest.

You must remain professional. You cannot let yourself develop some kind of crush on him. Because, as you keep on repeating yourself as you get up and walk to the door, this can only be temporary. This… tension you suddenly feel… This is only temporary. Caspian is not your soulmate…

“Lady Y/N?”

You turn around, your hand on the doorknob.

“May I have a word? It will be just a minute.”

You merely nod at the king, and move to the side to let the advisors exit the room in silence.

You’re alone with Caspian now, the door closed again, and you stare at him with expecting eyes, wondering what he wants.

And Caspian finds it a little harder to breathe.

Actually… actually a lot harder.

And he hates himself for it. He hates himself for the way his heart is beating faster at the thought of the two of you being alone.

He hates himself for wondering how soft your skin could feel under his fingertips…

He clears his throat, trying to hide his blushing cheeks.

“I just wanted to make sure that you were fine. You seemed… distracted today. Actually… you’ve seemed distracted these past few days.”

You shy away a little, looking down at your feet.

“Is… is there something I can do to make you feel better?”

His voice is gentle, caring even. It makes you look up at him, and you offer him a reassuring smile.

“No, I am perfectly fine. Simply tired. But thank you, your Majesty. It is very kind of you to worry about me this way.”

“Is it… Are you uncomfortable? Have I made you uncomfortable?”

“No, of course not, your Majesty.”

“You… you seem different since… since that day we have spent together. I’ve been wondering if I had done anything that could have offended you or… I don’t know. We spoke of very personal things that day, maybe… maybe too personal…”

“No, I… You have done nothing wrong. Really. I… I very much enjoyed that afternoon we spent together.”

“I did as well.”

He sees you biting your lower lip, and Caspian’s heart jumps against his ribcage. He can’t help but stare, it takes everything in him to look away from your lips again.

He cannot afford to be like this. To feel so… attracted to you. It must be fatigue. It must exhaustion and frustration towards the treaty, towards you…

You are not his soulmate. He must remember that. It would lead nowhere. And there are enough tensions with your kingdom as it is, there is no need to add a scandal.

“I am simply very tired and… I will try to be more focused tomorrow,” you add.

Caspian slowly nods. He wishes he could simply walk over to you and…

No. No, better not think about that…

“Then, good night, my lady.”

“Good night, your Majesty.”

You run away more than you walk out of the room. You barely breathe at all until you are finally alone in your chamber. You let out a trembling breath.

All of this is getting out of hand…

Caspian is not certain when the conversation got so out of hand.

You are alone together in the corridor. It is late in the afternoon, the negotiations for today are over. You are tired, have a headache, and are famished.

Caspian decided to walk you back to your chamber to finish the conversation you had started. There is no one in the corridor but the two of you, and you are grateful for it. Because the debate is turning into an argument, and it is better if no one is here to bear witness…

It has started with a detail in the treaty. It is slowly drifting to things much more personal…

And you hate it. You hate it because you know that Caspian is kind. But you are so frustrated with him and his stubbornness and his bloody principles and his adorable frown, and his locks of dark hair that call for your fingers and his lips that keep on making you wonder how they taste like and…

You can’t think, you can only get angrier.

“I apologize if his Majesty finds the world unfair. Unfortunately, it has been so since… forever.”

“It is no reason to give up on the idea of improving it.”

“I am here to defend the interest of my nation, not yours.”

“But the interests of your nation should not be limited to destroying Narnia’s interests.”

“That is not what I am doing, and you know it.”

“Do I?”

“Of course, you do. If I simply wanted to make a stand against Narnia, I would have walked away a long time ago and let you deal with a war.”

“Is that a threat?”

“A threat? No. A simple fact. A reminder, perhaps.”

You have reached the door of your chamber, but this conversation is far from over. So, you remain both standing there, in the middle of the empty corridor, your voices raising more and more.

“I do not like your tone,” Caspian warns you, taking a step closer to you.

He doesn’t like it, indeed. He doesn’t like your stare either, the way your breathing has visibly quickened with anger, the way you frown at him, the way you look slightly dishevelled after a long day, the way he wants to run his fingers through your hair, the way he wants to make you shut up with his own lips…

“I do not like yours either, your Majesty.”

“I will not accept this kind of behaviour in Cair Paravel.”

“Perhaps his Majesty should learn that we do not always get what we want.”

“Oh, I know. Thank you for the lesson.”

His sarcasm breaks the lasts bit of patience still stored inside you. It’s your turn to take a step towards him.

And by Aslan’s name, you want to slap him. Or kiss him. You haven’t settled on that yet.

“If you were not a king…” you breathe, anger making your voice tremble.

Caspian takes a last step towards you, bringing you so close together that your chests are almost touching.

“What would you do? Insult me? I reckon you already have. So, what now?”

You stare at each other for a moment. You are unbelievably close. So much so that, as you look up at him, you can feel the warm air escaping from his lungs as it fans over your face…

You glance down at his lips, and when you look up again, you catch him looking down at your mouth too.

Both of you are barely breathing, and it’s not only due to your anger or frustration.

You are standing so close, you are almost touching.

Almost… Caspian keeps imagining it. The way your lips would feel against his, taste on his tongue, his hand in your hair…

And you are so frustrating, he wants to make you shut up…

By Aslan’s name, he wants to kiss you so badly…

He’s been thinking about it for days. He’s been dreaming about you, and thinking of you every waking moment, and he simply cannot take it anymore…

When you open your mouth to fight back, you get shushed by a pair of soft lips pressed against yours.

Caspian has taken your face in both his hands in an instant, on impulse, before pulling you gently towards him so he could kiss you.

He crashes his lips against yours, but he waits a second before moving his mouth over yours. What was vivid at first becomes gentle as Caspian loosens his hold on your face, starts grazing his lips over yours before kissing you gently, softly…

When you kiss him back though, he kisses you harder again, and you love it. Every second of it. You reckon that your heart is going to explode, your knees are about to give out, but you don’t care. All there is to care about is that Caspian is kissing you. Again, and again, and again…

You never want this to end.

But all things must end.

When he pulls away, slowly, your fingers are lost in his hair; his bun already messy before has now disappeared altogether under your touch.

He stares at you, both of you out of breath. You look fragile, all of a sudden. All traces of anger have disappeared from your features, you merely stare with your beautiful eyes, wondering what he will do next.

And Caspian seems to fully realize what he has done now…

He lets go of you completely, in a rush, almost pushing you away.

He takes a couple of steps back.

“This… I am so sorry, my lady,” he whispers, his eyes round in horror, and cheeks reddened by shame.

“No… there is no need to be sorry for, I…”

“Of course, there is a need to be sorry. I should have never had done that…”

You nod, slowly, but you don’t seem happy about it.

“I accept your apology,” you answer in a neutral tone, trying to calm yourself and ignore the way your heart is breaking when it shouldn’t.

Caspian nods, slowly, clenching his jaw.

Why does it hurt to hear you push him away like this?

“You should… go to bed now.”

Caspian turned on his heels, and he has already crossed half of the corridor when you call him. He freezes.

“Caspian!”

It’s the first time you call him by his name. He closes his eyes. He likes how his name sounds on your tongue…

“Wait, please.”

He turns towards you again, but doesn’t move.

“I think… I think we should discuss this.”

“Don’t you think we have spent enough time discussing for one day?”

“Something has just transpired between us. We cannot merely ignore it.”

Slowly, almost reluctantly, Caspian walks back to you, while you wait for him, motionless in front of the door to your chamber.

“There is nothing to discuss,” Caspian says. “I should not have acted like this. It was out of line. I apologize.”

“Why did you kiss me?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does.”

“It would be a waste of time. A waste of pain. You could be fired, or worse…”

“Why did you kiss me?”

You wore this stubborn look again, and Caspian loved it. He loved the way you spoke your mind too often, the way you were a little rough sometimes. He loved it all…

“Why did you do this?” you ask once more.

Caspian is lost in your eyes. Too much so to refuse anything from you…

“Because I’ve wanted to do so for a while,” he answers, maybe a little too earnestly.

You struggle to swallow, your heart pounding.

“What if… what if I’ve been wanting this for a while too?” you ask in a shy breath.

“It’s madness…”

But this time, it’s your turn to shush him by crashing your lips against his.

And this time, the kiss gets more heated. So much so that Caspian takes two steps forward to press your body against the wooden door that stands behind you.

But clumsy as you are, you hit your head quite hard against the surface, and have to break the kiss with a loud ouch, rubbing the back of your head.

What you did not expect though, was for Caspian to do exactly the same.

You see him wincing, rubbing at his painful skull. When he looks up at you, he freezes.

You both understand at the same time.

None of you can breathe. If you were both in pain at the same time, then…

Slowly, you pull up the sleeve of your left arm, revealing one long scar across the inside of your forearm.

Caspian swallows hard, before doing the same.

He has the same mark on his skin.

“I have twelve scars from fighting on the battlefield,” Caspian speaks slowly. “The last time I was injured was over a year ago.”

You nod, unable to speak for a while. When your voice comes back, it’s a mere whisper.

“I have twelve as well. The last one appeared across my back.”

Caspian can’t help the grin that forms on his features as he raises his hand towards your cheek, relinquishing in the feeling of your soft skin against his calloused fingers.

“You… You’re my soulmate,” he whispers, and his tone is not really one of questioning, but rather of realisation.

“It would seem so…”

You both chuckle, unable to fully comprehend what is happening.

Caspian is about to speak when you pinch him hard on the shoulder.

But you feel the same sharp pain across your flesh…

“It’s really you…” you breathe, tears blurring your vision.

“It is,” Caspian nods.

You cup his cheeks in your palms, brushing your thumbs across his short beard, and he leans closer into your gentle touch.

“I was so worried,” you breath. “I thought you were gone…”

But Caspian shakes his head.

“I’m right here. Have always been.”

You rush into his arms, and let him hold you close.

“What will happen now?” you ask softly, breathing in deeply his scent of firewood and soap.

“I am not sure. But if you are my soulmate then… it changes everything.”

But you shake your head, looking up at him.

“No politics anymore. Not now.”

“I agree.”

“Kiss me again?”

Caspian can’t help but chuckle, and you soon join him.

But he brushes his fingertips down your cheek, and then along your jaw, making your heart explode…

“That can be arranged,” he smiles.

And he doesn’t know what will happen with your government. He doesn’t know what will happen with this treaty. But he doesn’t care.

As he kisses you once more, he figures out that he cares about nothing else but you. And it’s enough.

[jelliegirl]

✈️🖊️💯🐉🎂 for atlas :D

✈️ AIRPLANE — does your oc like traveling, or do they consider themselves a more homey person?

very much homey, they never left home before they met anya! they dont have a lot of freedom to travel, and they dont have much interest in doing so anyway, but they would prefer to spend time exploring and wandering through nature in their kingdom rather than being stuck in High Society (literally, because their castle floats!)

🖊️ BALLPOINT PEN — does your oc have any tattoos? do they want any (more) tattoos?

no, atlas thinks their body is perfect as it is

💯 HUNDRED POINTS SYMBOL — share three random facts about your oc that others may not know.

ho hum... atlas can read other people's thoughts and emotions passively so theyre constantly parsing through a lot of (often stressful) information, their room is extremely messy, aaand... they were born through whimsical magical means and were never actually a baby

🐉 DRAGON — what is your oc's favorite mythical creature?

its gotta be the mothman

🎂 BIRTHDAY CAKE — when is your oc's birthday? how old are they? what are their sun, moon, & rising signs (if known)? what about their tarot card, ruling planet, & ruling number (if known)? do they fit the typical traits of these sun, moon, & rising signs?

ok i cant really answer these questions how the meme wants me to but ill try my best

atlas is very young for an archfey but also very old by mortal standards. time is out of sync between atlas's world and anya's so when anya falls asleep sometimes years pass for atlas. theyve known each other for most of atlas's adult life, at least a few centuries, which is 8 years for anya. its hard to track time in the feywilds and it's always night time so they have no idea how old they are, time blurs together for them and they are quite bored ^^; based on the description id choose gemini sun, scorpio moon, aquarius rising for atlas. idk if thats cosmically possible but whatever, its about the vibes baby! their tarot cards would be the tower and the moon.

[zonerobotnik]

Okay, please no offense, but I rewatched the episode.

Please tell me that they aren't smiling.

They enjoy doing this.

Please look at his actual expression when he is pulling Varian closer.

He smiled just like that when he was about to kill Cassie.

Well, then why did they hesitate? Why did Andrew raise his sword in the stupidest way to strike someone that is unsuspecting, and not stab Cassandra in the back like Gothel did for Eugene? (Which I had happen in my fic "The Moon Calls".) Why did Andrew not just open his hand to drop Varian as soon as he said that traitors had to die? Why hold him out there so long, like he was hesitating? Why did Andrew run at Rapunzel with his sword held up like he had very little experience in actual fighting? Why did they not hurt Varian in any way when they locked him up in the castle that they clearly intended to keep intact? They didn't even punch him for turning on them and trying to attack them. Go on, guys, punch the kid and throw him in, you're bad guys, right? The Stabbingtons wouldn't hesitate! OH, wait, maybe they aren't actually bad people.

Clementine may have just been enjoying taking him down a peg or two but she never actually swiped at him, just pointed a sword. He could've easily stepped away or to the side. If she really wanted to threaten him, she'd use a wand. Imagine threatening him with the loss of his memories? That's scary. Why were they smiling, I have no clue. Expressions aside, their actions speak pretty loudly to them not actually wanting to hurt anyone. If Andrew was going to destroy Corona anyway, why did he not stab Rapunzel and Cassandra as distractions once they were cuffed to the book's pedestal instead of leaving them to potentially escape and call the guards on him? They knew his face, he'd have Wanted posters by the end of the night! He's either supposed to be conveyed as extremely stupid, unlikely based on his other actions, or he didn't actually want to hurt anyone. Once he actually got out of prison, if he was such a bad guy, why would he not kill the royal family and just keep Varian distracted in the lab and in the castle with scary stories about the outside? Why give Varian so much power? Why erase the memories of the King and Queen? Why not just send away all the citizens of Corona, if they really wanted to keep the promise to not hurt anyone, and rebuild Saporia on top of its remains after destroying it long before Rapunzel came back? If he was such a bad guy, why reason with Varian at all? Why would he care about preserving the lives of Coronans or keeping promises to kids? There's a lot of questions here, and not enough to answer them. All we can do is try to use the hints and clues to solve the mystery ourselves. I think the answer is that Andrew ISN'T such a bad guy, and the Saporians just want their lost Kingdom back. You know, the one that Corona clearly destroyed and lied about there being a union while only celebrating the Corona side on the "Day of Hearts".

Where's the other castle, Corona? Why is no one flying the Saporian colors? Everyone is so quick to villainize the Saporians, but they have valid reason to be mad, I think. And if they have been so much trouble, why is Andrew the first that Rapunzel hears of them attacking? Why is Xavier the only one that even acknowledges they exist? Anyways, actions speak louder than words and expressions can be forced and I'm looking at the actions and the actions say that they didn't want to hurt Varian. As for the rest of the Coronans? Well, Varian has some pretty vivid nightmares of being mobbed.

And he tells Rapunzel that everything he sees in the rocks is stuff that really happened. So, with THIS and "we don't have time" connected...I think the people were going to storm the castle enmasse under Rapunzel's banner and desperate times call for desperate measures. Even Varian resorted to violence when he felt cornered.

[missywritesfor7]

🌙Moon’s Light | JJK🌙

Synopsis: Luna is a young paralegal trying to maintain her new found independence and enjoy life. Too bad her job sucks and her boss is the worst. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she encounters a vampire named Jungkook who changes her life in more ways than one.

Jungkook is a shield and protector of the vampire kingdom of Korealis. He’s trained his entire life to block out any and all distractions and focus solely on becoming the strongest. While investigating a potential threat to the kingdom, he encounters Luna who turns out to be more than he could have ever imagined. It becomes his job to protect her, but he can’t tell if what he’s feeling is his devotion to the job or perhaps something deeper.

Secrets are uncovered. Lives are on the line. Hearts are tested.

Pairing: Vampire!Jungkook x Fem!OC

Warnings: Violence, character death, eventual smut, tragedy, some angst, strong language, MINORS DNI

Previous chapter | Next chapter | Masterlist

|| Ch 3: Bunny ||

It’s been another stressful day in the office as Luna finally heads down the elevator at 10:45 pm. She runs out of the building hoping she can catch the last bus of the evening and save herself the 15 minute walk home. When she arrives at the stop she learns that the bus is running late. She takes a seat on the bench thankful for this stroke of luck.

As she waits she notices a small bunny nearby. She smiles thinking how soft and cute it looks. She wishes she could hold it in her arms and pet it. Like an emotional support animal that will keep her from wanting to commit a variety of crimes against Mr. Choi. The bus arrives cutting through her fantasy and she hops on once again thankful she doesn’t have to walk home.

She’s barely eaten all day so she can’t wait to get inside, eat, then go to bed. On her way to her front door she notices the bunny bouncing along behind her.

“How?” She asks in disbelief. “You’re not the same bunny are you? No way you made it all the way here that fast.”

She’s confused, but continues on to her apartment anyway. Once she’s inside she starts to head to her bedroom until a small scratching sound catches her ear and causes her to turn around. The adorable fluffy bunny has made its way into her apartment and is staring back up at her.

“What the fuck?!” She shouts. “How did you get in here??”

She turns to find something she can use to shoo the bunny off, but when she turns back she sees Jungkook standing in place of the bunny. She lets out a loud scream and flails her arms.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” She yells. “Did you transform yourself into a bunny?!”

“Yeah,” Jungkook says. “It’s so I fit in.”

“You couldn’t just be a human??”

“You keep yelling at me when I’m in my human form!”

“That’s because you’re a creepy fucking human!”

“That sounds more like a you problem and not a me problem.”

“Ugh!!” Luna stomps. “What are you doing here?!”

“I’m still working on my investigation.”

“Why do you have to bother me to do it?”

“I need answers from you.”

“I have none. Go away.”

“What do you know about your boss?”

“My boss?” She asks unsure why he’s bringing him up.

“Choi Yeonjun. What do you know about him?”

“Aside from him being a garbage person? He’s also one of the best attorneys in the country. I liked him better when I wasn’t working for him though.”

“Then why do you keep working for him?”

“It’s only until I get enough experience to find a better firm to work for. Why are you asking about him?”

“Have you ever seen him eat anything?”

“Weird question, but I don’t know. He’s always in his office.”

“What is he doing in there so much?”

“I don’t know, working I guess.”

“How could he be working when you said he’s lazy and never does anything?”

“What? When did I say that?”

“The other night when you were walking home. I heard you mumbling something about how he’s a lazy fuck who never works and only comes out to yell at people and go home.”

“Why were you listening to me?!”

“You were talking out loud! I thought you were talking to me!”

“Why would I be talking to you when you were hidden in the shadows you creepy weirdo! I didn’t even know you were around!”

“You were the one talking to yourself on the street OUT LOUD! I’d say you’re the weirdo,” he huffs crossing his arms.

“Ugh! You’re such a pain in the ass! What do you want with Mr. Choi and can you bother him and not me about it?”

“Mr. Choi isn’t human.”

“Right, just like you thought I wasn’t human.”

“You’re not,” he says matter of factly. “At least not fully.”

“Get out.”

“Have you ever wondered why he’s always in his office? You had to have questioned why he keeps the room so dark with black curtains over his windows.”

“How would you even know what his office is like?”

“This little bunny followed him around today,” he says scrunching his nose and puffing out his chest in pride. “By the way, someone should really check the vents in that place. I killed everything up there and sucked them dry, but someone may want to clear the bodies out of there before they start to smell.”

“Ew! You ate them??”

“No, just drank their blood.”

“You’re so gross!”

“I’m a vampire trying to SURVIVE in this hell hole! You’re stingy with your blood so I was being NICE and feasting on your precious office’s pest problem so you spastic humans won’t freak out when one escapes the vents and terrorizes everyone. You’re welcome!”

“Ugh, anyway! What do you want with Mr. Choi?”

“I think he may be the key to what I’m looking for. I thought it was you but you just turned out to be some weird human vampire hybrid.”

“I’m not a vampire!” She huffs.

“Tell that to the vampire venom in your blood.”

“What even is vampire venom?”

“I have to explain everything to you,” Jungkook sighs. “It’s what converts humans to vampires. If we just want to feed we’ll suck you dry and leave you dead. If we want to convert you we’ll replace your blood with the venom by injecting it in you as we feed.”

“And you’re saying that venom is in me? Wouldn’t I have like vampire thirst for blood or some other vampire characteristics?”

“You have a RED EYE! Is that not enough proof??”

“It’s a birth defect.”

“You fool.”

“I’ve never drank blood either! Wouldn’t I die without blood?”

“You have blood, therefore the vampire side of you is always fed. Come on, use your head,” he says tapping the tip of her nose with his finger.

“Ok, then what about the transforming in to shit? You were a bunny, why can’t I transform into something cuddly and cute?”

“Have you tried?”

“Well…no, not really.”

“Good, cause it wouldn’t work,” he chuckles. “You’re not fully a vampire, so there’s a lot of things you probably can’t do.”

While none of this makes sense to Luna, it actually does make sense. It’s almost annoying to her how much it makes sense, but how? She’s never encountered a vampire before, and she certainly hasn’t been bit by one. Her parents never gave off any vampire vibes either so she doubts one of them could be a vampire.

“So,” she starts still confused and a little apprehensive. “If Mr. Choi isn’t human, then are you saying he’s a vampire?”

“Most likely. I just need to find out for sure, then find out why he’s a vampire and why he’s here.”

“Are you some kind of vampire detective or something?”

“Sure you could say that,” he shrugs.

“What are you investigating anyway? Did something happen?”

“You’re filled with a lot of questions.”

“Well no one told you to just appear all creepy and shit without explaining why you’re here.”

“For safety reasons I couldn’t just tell you from the start. If you were the enemy then that would be a big problem.”

“Who is this enemy? And why on earth does any of this involve me??”

“Sit down,” he says pointing to the couch. “It’s kind of a long story and I don’t need you fainting on me again.”

Luna rolls her eyes but does as told. Jungkook sits down next to her and takes a deep breath. He still has no idea what Luna is or how she’s part human and part vampire, but at this point he truly believes she’s not a threat to anyone, especially not the kingdom.

He begins telling her about the Saakhan Venom crime syndicate and how they tried to take over the throne. He told her how his father fought to bring them down after killing the king and how he was born to service the prince as his shield. Luna listens to every word he says in complete shock and awe. She hasn’t even fully processed the fact that vampires are real, but now she’s getting a brief history lesson of their world and the evils within it.

Jungkook continues on telling her about SV possibly trying to resurrect their organization and likely coming to the human world to convert new recruits. He tells her that he only followed her thinking she was one of their converts since he couldn’t smell her blood. While following her he noticed Mr. Choi and realized he couldn’t smell his blood either.

“How are they even getting here? I mean, how did you get here?” Luna asks.

“We have portals to travel back and forth. I don’t think SV is using the official portals though.”

“Portals? Like some secret door?”

“Something like that,” he shrugs. “When we’re in the location of the portal we tap into a special brain wave which allows us to transport.”

“Vampires have brains?”

“We’re vampires, not zombies! Jeez human tv is filled with so much misinformation!”

“Ok ok I get it. So where is this portal?”

“There’s a number of them around the world. I use one in a spot in the woods a few miles away.”

“How does the brain wave work? Do you just close your eyes really tight and then you’re where you want to be?”

“Not exactly,” Jungkook chuckles, starting to feel amused by her childlike curiosity, even if it is based on human misconceptions of vampires. “I just concentrate a bit until I can feel the portal. Then I’m gone.”

“How long does it take to concentrate enough?”

“No time at all,” he smiles. “All I really have to do is just think about it. If I’m near a portal then I’ll be gone the moment I-“

Suddenly he vanishes. Just as he was in the middle of speaking, Luna watched him disappear right before her eyes.

“What the fuck just happened?” She says trying to figure out where he went.

She stands up and as soon as she does Jungkook reappears in front of her. He’s looking at her with wide eyes as if he just saw the end of the world. He grabs her by the shoulders and stares into her eyes.

“Holy shit, LuLuLuna!” He shouts. “What the fuck was that?!”

“I don’t know! You tell me! You were the one trying to go through a portal.”

“There’s no portal here! There’s not supposed to be! How the fuck did that just happen?”

“Why are you asking me??”

“Hang on,” he says still grasping her shoulders.

He looks at her a second longer then disappears again. She’s still confused and starting to get freaked out by the way he keeps vanishing. He reappears a second later still staring at her in shock.

“It’s you,” he whispers.

“What’s me?” She asks having no idea what’s going on.

“You’re a portal. Holy shit, LuLuLuna, you’re a fucking portal!”

“How? What does that mean?”

“All portals go to the same place in the kingdom, it’s how we keep track of people going between here and there. But you, going through you takes me somewhere else. You’re an unofficial portal between these worlds.”

“Is that good or bad?” She asks still unsure of anything he’s telling her.

“Well,” he whispers. “It’s not good.”

“That doesn’t put me at ease.”

“Neither does what I just saw.”

“What did you see??”

“Your portal took me somewhere I’ve never seen before. It definitely looked like a well hidden place and I’m not sure the people that go to that place are up to anything good.”

“Why me? Why am I a portal? What does any of this mean??” She’s trying not to panic, but it’s hard for her not to. She can’t comprehend anything that’s going on.

“I need to know if anyone else knows about this.” He pulls her close to his face and looks her over a few good times. “Have you noticed any people or creatures suddenly appearing around you at times?”

“You mean besides you? I don’t know. I don’t think so.”

“Your boss is a vampire. I swear he is. If he’s bad, and he learns you’re a portal…”

“What?”

“You need to quit your job.”

“What?! No I can’t quit! I’ve only been there a month, I need this.”

“Why? You can’t work anywhere else?”

“People would die to get the chance I have! This is the greatest firm in the country. Even if Mr. Choi is the absolute worst, it’s still an opportunity that I can’t just throw away like that.”

“What’s more important, your job or your life?”

She can’t answer him. She knows the right answer, but she’s unable to say it. Her entire life feels like it’s spiraling out of control suddenly. It makes her feel dizzy.

“What would happen to me?” She asks trying to control the trembling in her voice.

“I don’t know. But you need to be somewhere safe. Somewhere where we can do more investigating without any potential threats looming.”

“Where would that be?”

“The Kingdom.”

“You mean in your world? In vampire world?”

“It’s better than being here with no protection.”

“Are you not protection enough?”

“Not here,” he sighs. “You’re a portal and we can’t stop anyone from going through it. But if you’re with me back home anyone going through the portal would end up in the palace and there we could catch them off guard and capture them.”

“Ok, but I can’t go to vampire world. I’m human, wouldn’t everyone be trying to eat me or something?”

“First of all,” he says offended. “We drink blood, we don’t eat people. What the fuck kind of animals do you think we are??”

“I-“

“And second!” He continues, raising a finger. “You’re part vampire. No one will smell your blood. You just have to make sure you don’t bleed anywhere.”

“Oh great, good thing my period ended last week,” Luna says sarcastically.

“Gross,” Jungkook says cringing.

“Gross? You drink blood! Wouldn’t that be like a buffet for you?”

“Ew no, I’m very particular about where I get my blood.”

“It’s still blood! Isn’t it all the same?”

“All blood is NOT the same!” He pouts. “There’s a difference in taste and I prefer blood from anywhere above the waist.”

“Alright, calm down big baby,” she teases. “I didn’t realize vampires were such picky eaters.”

“I’m not picky!” He says crossing his arms.

“Aw if you say so,” she laughs enjoying his little temper tantrum. “You must be the baby of the family?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“It just explains so much about you,” she laughs.

“Can you focus! I need to take you out of here!”

“Look, I know what you’re saying and all, but I can’t just leave. I have a job and all my stuff is here, and my family would be looking for me. I can’t just disappear without a word.”

“LuLuLuna please, you could save the world!”

“It’s LUNA!” She corrects him for the millionth time. “And no. Don’t be so dramatic.”

“Just one day,” he says closing in on her face. “Give me one day to prove to you how serious this is. It’s the weekend so I’ll bring you back with plenty of time to get back to work.”

“One day?”

“24 hours and I promise I’ll bring you back,” he pleads.

She’s terrified. What would the vampire world be like? Would she even be safe there? What if he just abandons her?

“I don’t know,” she hesitates.

“I promise,” he says standing upright with this arms by his side like a soldier at attention. “As the sworn shield of Prince Kim Seokjin and the Kim Dynasty, I, Jeon Jungkook, swear to protect you for the entirety of the 24 hours that you remain in the Kingdom of Korealis.”

“Wow,” she says a little taken aback. He was just having a temper tantrum about his preferred blood, and now he’s like a completely different person. A man. A grown ass man. “I um…well…I guess umm 24 hours...”

“Is that a yes?” He asks unsure of what she just tried to say.

“Y-yeah, you can take me for only 24 hours.” She can’t even believe she’s agreeing to this. What’s gotten into her?

“Perfect!” He shouts clapping. “Now we need to do something about that weird brown eye of yours.”

“What?”

“Let’s go!” He grabs her arm and quickly rushes out of the door.

[canmom]

Animation Night 153: Kara no Kyōkai, part 1

We are entering... a slightly tricky phase of Animation Night. It’s not that we’re out of great animated films, far from it. Hell, we’ve yet to screen such classics as The End of Evangelion or Adolescence of Utena. But that’s the puzzle: a lot of such films are awkward fits for the format, requiring a lot of context, or standing too short or too long to fill the format.

Nor are we short of beautiful, artistic films from Europe. AniObsessive recently did a column on The Swallows of Kabul, which might finally be an answer the question of ‘what the hell could go beside Funan’. But I think we’ve had a bit too much war and genocide on this blog lately, so we’ll save that for another day.

Instead, let’s keep it chuuni!

It’s been a long while since Animation Night had anything to do with the Nasuverse. Back on Animation Night 60, I wrote a fairly brief description of Fate, and we enjoyed the spectacular Heaven’s Feel movies with only mild confusion.

But this was far from the only time that studio Ufotable adapted the the works of the enigmatic king of chuunibyou, Kinoko Nasu.

Let’s set the scene to begin. I’ll try and go over what I’ve been able to find out about the history, bearing in mind that Nasu-san is insanely prolific and his meta-setting is a seemingly infinite rabbit hole of lore...

...but as far as the man* himself there’s only the barest information to go on about his earlier life. He went to Hosei University, and afterwards started creating novels with his high-school buddy Takashi Takeuchi. Their first project was 空の境界 Kara no Kyōkai, lit. The Boundary of Emptiness but titled in English The Garden of Sinners in 1998 - that’s our subject for tonight, so more on that in a minute!

(*Wikipedia offers a citation for ‘man’ to a 2004 blog post where he jokes about being called a girl in a newspaper, in which he remarks もともと女々しいのがワタクシの芸風ですものボンソワー。[My style’s always been feminine, bonsoir.]; no further comment on that.) 

In 2000 the pair founded a dōjin circle called TYPE-MOON to publish the visual novel 月姫 Tsukihime (lit. Moon Princess), which was a mega-hit when it launched at Comiket, and from that went on to create another visual novel called Fate/Stay Night, which was an even bigger mega-hit. This led to a forest of spinoffs with increasingly baroque titles like ‘Fate/hollow ataraxia’ or ‘Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya’, the most successful being the gacha game Fate/Grand Order, which launched in 2015. That gacha game has in turn spawned many many adaptations of its various storylines, such as (deep breath) Fate/Grand Order - Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia or Fate/Grand Order: Final Singularity - Grand Temple of Time: Solomon. Really rivaling Kingdom Hearts there. Some of these films have been described as creative and ambitious, others very staid and playing it safe, but to be honest I am a foreigner in this land and I can’t tell you too much about them.

Anyway, as far as biographical details go, perhaps there’s more buried in an interview somewhere? But if so, I’ve yet to find it.

Our subject for tonight is a seven movie series produced by Ufotable from 2007-9, adapting Nasu’s first work. You might say, Bryn, that’s nuts, seven entire movies! To clarify, these movies are for the most really short, each just about an hour long with a couple of exceptions. So we should be able to pretty comfortably view the whole thing over two Animation Nights.

So what’s it about?

Set when it was written in the late 90s, it follows a teenage girl demon hunter called Shiki Ryougi, who has ‘Mystic Eyes of Death Perception’, which let her see indications of how things will die. She becomes a detective specialising in supernatural cases, alongside her eventual husband, Mikiya Kokutou. So romance and supernatural battles.

Many of these ideas, particularly the death perceiving eyes, would be reprised in Tsukihime. Within the meta-narrative, Kara no Kyōkai is an alternate universe, but not one completely disconnected from the rest, with its characters showing up for minor roles - and even playing a role in the end of Heaven’s Feel.

Except, that’s selling it short, because it’s also the first outing for the more esoteric concepts of the Nasu’s works: the Akashic Record, the Jungian anima and animus, and the paradoxes of the Taiji in Chinese philosophy to name a few. And to ground that, all sorts of dark shit: Wikipedia reels of suicide, rape, patricide, incest and murder, along with DID. It sounds like a lot!

Of course, it’s also about ridiculous psychic powers with long names, magic eyes, and so on. It’s easy to mock all these chuuni elements as hollow and pretentious, but imo the resulting blend is to strike out somewhere fascinatingly weird and achieve effects that a more reserved work couldn’t. We’ll see whether that comes together here!

In discussing the film series, Nasu described the original work - which he came to view as a rough early work - as ‘like a prose poem’, inherently very difficult to adapt. He turned down proposals to adapt it as a TV series and a movie, imagining it would be too hard for audiences to follow. But when a seven-movie series by Ufotable was proposed, he changed his mind:

It was such an off-the-wall idea that I got caught up in the enthusiasm; the offer was so awesome that turning it down seemed rude, so I agreed readily.

So, that’s one of the two characters in our story. What of the other?

Ufotable would later make ‘adapting Fate works’ into a steady line of work alongside popular shōnen like Demon Slayer. But at this time, they were a much more experimental studio. At sakugablog, kVin writes...

[Aniplex producer Atsuhiro] Iwakami had been ruminating about how to put together an adaptation for Kara no Kyoukai that actually lived up to the potential he saw in Kinoko Nasu’s world since 2004, and by the following year, the solution to his woes manifested in front of his eyes. Futakoi Alternative was an eccentric reboot of a milquetoast, twins-themed harem series. It reimagined everything about the original series into a simply indescribable mix of genres and crazy scenarios. The motto of ufotable’s founder Hikaru Kondo resonates throughout the whole series: if making as many things as possible is the way to ensure you’ll get some of them right, why not jump around from noir cinema, to sci-fi epics, then back to face some humanoid squids before some surprisingly earnest romance? For viewers like Iwakami, this irreverent spirit was a wake-up call about new ways to create animation. So, why not approach them when he was planning something grand that wasn’t quite like anything seen before in anime?

In fact, Iwakami’s original idea was merely a trilogy; it was Ufotable founder Hikaru Kondo who was like nah man let’s do seven. Within the studio were type-moon fans such as director Takuya Nonaka and character designer Tomonori Sudo, whose passion inspired Kondo to go big. Recklessly big. The initial plan was to release a new film monthly, but this soon proved predictably impossible. Even so, they managed to complete the series within two years, which is pretty astonishing in its own right.

As you can see from the clips in this post, the visual style of these movies anticipates - if perhaps in a cruder form - the studio’s later Fate adaptations: chiaroscuro lighting and gradients and filters on top of gradients and filters. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but as far as a house style goes, it’s worth acknowledging.

Internally, its direction was shaped by the flatter-than-usual hierarchy of Ufotable (whose name refers to a round table in the Arthurian sense). Each movie was assigned a different director without a structure unify the production as a whole beyond adherence to Nasu’s work.

I’ll pull in kVin to describe the resulting vibe of the project:

At its core, Kara no Kyoukai is a pretty cute love story that asks itself whether it’s possible to stray away from your fate; to put it plainly, Kokutou claims that he can fix her, even if the fixing involves getting over a pesky character flaw such as a predisposition towards murder. While not a groundbreaking scenario, its commitment to that relationship in spite of all the extraneous elements makes it work, and Shiki in particular is a slaughterer with very charming body language that evolves according to the major shifts to her character.

At the same time, these films are also highly atmospheric and committed to the sensorial experience in a way that no other Type-Moon anime is. While the expository worldbuilding and dense dialogue that Nasuverse works are known for are still very much present, the Kara no Kyoukai films are also willing to stay silent for minutes at a time. The mystery aspect to these films—Shiki and Kokutou work for Aozaki Touko’s detective agency after all—is honored with an appreciation for the mystique; even if you know that long-winded answers are likely to come, they tend to relish the opportunity to soak the viewer in the grim, mysterious atmosphere of its world. There is a quiet appreciation of the things that are yet to be known, and those that may not be spelled out.

At the time, he writes, the staff were intimidated by the idea of theatrical animation, which in the 90s called to mind Patlabor and Satoshi Kon - a tough act to follow, no question. But the dense image boards of art director Nobutaka Ike, who worked on those very same films, brought the confidence needed.

The films follow the same release order as the original novels, which is narratively non-chronological.

Nasu, for his part (link again), was anxious about his early works being adapted...

In Kara no Kyoukai, the first story, "Overlooking View" (俯瞰風景) is the clumsiest. I've always thought I wanted to do something about it, and I told a staff member, "If we're making this into a movie, I'm going to rewrite the first story; please let me do that." But he said, enthusiastically, "No, I want to work with it the way it is. I want to animate this!"

Then, when I read the finished script, they'd cut out over half of the unnecessary excess fat and had turned out something more interesting as a story, so I thought, "If it's like this, they don't need me to rewrite it."

In Nasu’s view, each film ought to stand alone, but the full picture can’t really be understood from just the first - but he claims that with all seven films, the viewer would have enough to understand the story without having to turn to the books. Which is lucky, because the only version of the books in English is a widely disparaged fan translation.

To support all this comes haunting music by composer Yuki Kajiura and her group Kalafina, who would later create the renowned soundtrack to Madoka. In fact these movies are the origin of Kalafina, with Kajiura putting together a new group with a couple of members of her previous project FictionJunction.

Anyway, please read the rest of kVin’s article (perhaps after the movies! x3) if you fancy a detailed retrospective on all seven films.

Tonight my plan is to screen the first four parts of The Garden of Sinners, namely...

I: Overlooking View - an introduction to the series. In 1998, Shiki lives alone in her apartment, occasionally visited by Mikiya, and working for an occult detective agency. She learns of a series of strange suicides at an abandoned building. Investigating, she finds the building is full of hostile ghosts. Someone is drawing the girls to the building by astral projection...

II: A Study in Murder - Part 1 - in 1995, Shiki and Mikiya are highschool students. A spree of brutal murders break out in the area. Mikiya discovers that Shiki (式) is plural, with a male alter called SHIKI (織) who is the inverse of her personality. But who’s doing the murders?

III: Remaining Sense of Pain - A teenage girl called Fujino is raped by a group of gangsters, and pursues revenge with her psychic powers. Shiki and Mikiya are pulled in to the case, and realise that Shiki once knew Fujino - a girl who could not feel pain. But that seems to have changed...

IV: Hollow Shrine - a direct sequel to the second film. Shiki ended up comatose, and now in the psychic void, confronts her alter. We learn about her backstory and how she got involved with the wizard detectives.

I think these summaries should convey the level of Content(TM) we’re dealing with here. Guards up!

Next time around, we’ll pick up with Paradox Spiral, Oblivion Recording, and then at last A Study in Murder - Part 2. Which will actually be longer, because PS and ASiM2 are two hours long. (There’s also an eighth movie, released in 2013, titled Future Gospel which is a new sequel written by Nasu for movie form.)

I think that will suffice for an introduction. Animation Night will be going live 7:30 UK time, about 40 minutes from this post, and at 8pm UK time we shall begin the movies! Join me at https://www.twitch.tv/canmom~

[plasma-studios]

oh what is this a new dream & ink fic?

the long for change (the grief that it did)

(ao3)

Assassinated, the rumours went, of a young Prince killed in his very home. Protocol called for the grandest of funerals for a Prince taken so soon, but everyone who knew him knew he would’ve thought such proceedings to be in poor taste. In the wake of the Kingdom’s grief, they chose otherwise. Instead, a quiet funeral was held, and Nepeta was buried under moonlight.

Prince Nepeta died one night. This became common knowledge. What didn't, was that it had been his brother who killed him. But perhaps this was better, for Nepeta had asked to die, for to be the Guardian of Negativity was much like his namesake; a Nightmare. What could Marigold, too known as Dream but only to his brother and the Protector, do but comply?

Dream mourns for Nightmare, but he doesn't have much time to grieve. He has a Kingdom to run.

Later, a Protector returns to make him a proposal.

(for those who haven't read chapt 5 of the main fic, Nepeta = Nightmare Marigold = Dream basically they're the apple twins reincarnated into the body of Princes after they killed each other in the conflict between Corrupted in Nigntmare's body/the Apple Tree Incident. at the time of this fic, they have recalled their past memories. Nightmare asked Dream to kill him so Corrupted would not be able to take over his body again)

also, semi-spoilers? but not much, besides it gets revealed 5 chapters into the main fic anyway

oh, and Error does exist at this point, but he isn't mentioned because he really had nothing to do with this whole debacle. not his type of drama

btw, Ink had the circlets because 1) he met them as the original Apple Twins 2) he visited the Tree after their death 3) he took the circlets for safekeeping

if you're reading this and enjoyed it, please do read the main fic, it would be much appreciated!

It was tomorrow. 

Dream pressed a hand against his forehead. A shaky, wavering sigh left his dry mouth; his left leg was already developing pins and needles and his right leg wasn’t doing much better. He stared dully at his still toes, only moving when a slight cramp slid into his feet. 

Ow. The thought was— surprising. He blinked. He hadn’t… thought all night. Or morning. 

He was tired. He wanted to get out of bed so badly, to shake away the sheets but he couldn’t even wiggle his toes without much effort. He breathed again; hollow, full breaths. He had to get out of bed soon. Appearance took a remarkable effort, after all. First, he’d have to bathe. He probably stunk like high heaven.

He just wanted to sleep. He was so, so tired.

A slight shiver caught his shoulder blade like how a string of spiderweb would hook onto a lit splint. Again, he breathed, breathed again, but the breaths never fell into his dry throat so he had to swallow them down instead. It was almost painful. 

A light trickle was spent through the shiver and his eyelights caught it slower than his head did. A tiny bug, no bigger than a freckle. It wandered across his bone, teetering and tiny. 

He could just squash it. It’d be easy and simple. Not even that much of a mess. 

He let it go instead, and exhaled. A mercy. A kindness. A useless benevolence. 

It was tomorrow. Or was it today? Had the sun risen already? Had the sun—

A useless benevolence. 

Come morning, it would be official. Perhaps some already heard the rumours. Come morning, the Kingdom would have lost its beloved Prince Nepeta. And Dream would have to face it head-on; Nightmare was gone, and he’d have to keep his face level enough to keep up the charade. 

Come the next morning, it too would be official. Prince Marigold would be the sole heir, the Crown Prince. Now that he was the only Prince, he’d have to be Crowned at the very least so as to be able to run the Kingdom. His Parents were in no state to. Everyone needed him to be the Crown Prince. A benevolent Prince. A kind Prince. The sun of the Kingdom.

A sun with no moon. A son with no brother. A Guardian. The Guardian, since he was the only one left. 

He almost forgot to breathe.

He couldn’t stay here forever. He had a Kingdom to address, and his parents to comfort. He winced at the idea of how dishevelled he must be. Goodness, he’d never be permitted to address the Kingdom that way.

Still… perhaps with the nature of why, it’d be understandable.

He had to get up.

If he didn’t, someone would come to get him, and he didn’t want to face anyone . Not yet. Maybe forever. No, he had to. Everyone was depending on him. Of course they were, they— no, he couldn’t think like that. He was important, that’s why he had to protect everyone, care for everyone, he— 

Wasn’t Nightmare as important?

He—

Nightmare—

He—

Enough. He clenched his fist and let a shell fall over everything in him so he felt nothing. He had practised. Nightmare had made sure of it. Don’t fall apart, he’d told him again and again. I won’t, he’d said, sounding more sure than he was. 

Then Nightmare would sigh and say still, let’s practice more. Breathe in, breathe out…

…let go, then swallow everything; I know, he’d finish. We’re running out of time.

Time. Right, of course. Let go. He froze his heart into glass and stone and… a bath. He desperately needed a bath. His legs stung as he propped himself gingerly, then got up ignoring how his heart thrummed, so nearly overripe.

-----

It was a new day, but did not feel like such. It felt so oddly reminiscent of the previous day, then the day before that, and so on. It was like an overripe melon, the sticky juice dripping across sweating fingers on a summer’s day. 

Though perhaps it was but a hope; to return to the day just before where a quiet and kind Prince was still among the living. A beloved Prince, who no longer was. 

Throughout the Kingdom, something was thrumming like a heartstring, like soul music. It was usually a festive affair when it came to Coronations, even if it was but to the rank of Crown Prince, but there was none of the vividity of banners nor the excited grins among the people today. Most noticeable of all, the Royal Family donned not their crowns, nor their jewels, nor any lace or silk. 

The crowd, already quiet out of respect with a reason they knew not but knew instinctively, went silent when they stepped out. The King without his Crown, nor with any furs. The Queen, without her Queen, face puffy. Then the Prince, looking remarkably the best out of them all, if it was not for the numb hollow eyes of his, the gold eyelights such a pride of their Kingdom now nothing but ungilded gold. Raised on the platform, watching not the crowd but something else in the distance (perhaps the sun who too had drifted them all in shadow, perhaps out of respect). Something intangible, something that smelt of love yet was an acquired taste. 

Then the Prince spoke, and his voice was firm though the words faltered. Today, he would be crowned. But, and this thing this voice was as tough as rock, it would be no cause for celebration. There would be no parade, no festival. There would be a simple Coronation, and that would be it, and it would be now.

The crown found itself into his hold, then it slipped onto his skull, and there was no joy in it.

“My brother, Prince Nepeta, passed away last night. His funeral—” His voice broke. He stayed there, mouth slightly open, for just a moment before he forced the next words out. “There will be no funeral parade.”

The people stared, then broke into whispers. 

“Protocol calls for the grandest of funerals,” The King murmured. “For… a Prince, taken so soon.” 

The Queen shifted. “But Nepeta would not have wanted that. He would’ve called it a waste of resources. ” A slight croak, meant as a laugh. There was a silence that would’ve been rude to fill.  

“In the typical Coronation, you are to give a speech,” He said stiffly, yet not looking back to them.

“Yes, I— I suppose we are.” But neither moved from their spot, and the Crown Prince never looked back.

-----

There were several stages of grief thereafter. Along with them came rumours, spiteful, delicious rumours, but still just the saddest of lies in the end. For Nepeta, they grieved. For Marigold, they pitied. 

They say the Crown Prince launched himself into the Palace affairs the afternoon of his Coronation. They say the Crown Prince slept everywhere but his bed. They say he didn’t sleep at all.

They say Marigold did not seem as if he was covering work for two. 

They say Marigold seemed as if he was covering work for four.

They say Marigold, not long after his brother’s death, ruled the Kingdom in all but name.

They say the King and Queen, not long after Nepeta’s death, were only so in name.

They say Marigold became a ghost of himself.

In their quarters, the Queen wept. 

“I know I have no right to mourn the living, but it’s like both our sons died that night.” 

The King’s weary voice carried over, despondent. 

“We must remember he’s suffering the most out of all of us. He lost his brother. ”

-----

The Protector leaned against the wall, looking as if he was the King here, no, as if he was greater than the King, but nonetheless that he belonged here, and that was where Dream found him. 

“Why?” He spoke quietly. “Why have you come?”

He stayed quiet, perhaps waiting for Dream to continue, but he did not. So the Protector stepped away from the wall, straightening in an instant. 

“You came at a bad time. You should’ve come earlier.”

He was curt. “Right after your brother’s death? While you were still so distraught?”

“I wasn’t distraught. ” The look of sharp disbelief wasn’t rejected. “And if I was, I’d still be distraught even now, Protector .”

“Which you are. But you don’t have time to mourn, do you?”

Dream let out a long exhale, shards of glass dragging across his stretched heartskin.

“My name is Ink.” There, an olive branch.

“I don’t trust you.” Dream was blunt. “I never will.”

In return, Ink never faltered. “Perhaps. But it’s not up to you. You may be an immortal, but you’re still a child. You cannot run an entire Kingdom on your own.”

“Watch me.” Ink’s eyelights remained as white dots, but something shifted in them, like the light hitting differently, the difference between snow and ice. “You think like a child, but you do not act like one. How long will you hold the Kingdom’s grief upon your shoulders? How long do you expect to remain unbroken? Do you think yourself a statue of stone, indestructible?”

Dream faltered for exactly one second. “It would be a fitting curse.”

“You blame me for Nightmare’s death.” Again, blunt; it was as if Ink was mirroring Dream. Intentionally, perhaps not. 

Dream let out a sharp exhale. “Do you want me to say I am?”

“Would that change how you think of me?” The gaze was snow now, soft, but still cold.

“Yes,” Dream was quiet, again. “But not how I feel.”

“Feel,” Ink repeated. “Yes, you feel.”

A breath, stiff, left the other.

“Do not act as if you want to. But you have no choice in it.” Oh, was it pity that lined his gaze now? No, Dream did not think so, but nonetheless it lined the crease of his mouth and the tension lack in his torso and Dream found a songbird of hate in his chest singing a song he was sure Ink was studying every note of. 

The songbird pecked at his topmost pair of ribs, not too far from his silent soul.

“Let me help. That is all I ask of you.”

He did not ask Dream to trust him. 

Help.

So Dream—

Dream—

“Could I have anything? Could you have done anything? The spirit, he— could anything have been done to stop him?” Dream was desperate, but his eyes refused to tear, a riverbed dry of tears but abundant in grief. 

Still that snow gaze. “No. The imbalance of control between the spirit and him was much too strong. The spirit still remembered, memories are what make spirits, after all, but Nightmare would’ve needed a lifetime of training to regain it. Time would not have permitted his success.”

A cold rush of air breached his heartskin, slack yet bursting at the seams. He did not know if it was relief or something crueller. “So, there was really nothing? He was fated to live and die young?”

“Yes.” Again, blunt, but it made it a mercy.

“How do I know you aren’t lying?”

Ink felt something very similar to incredulity. “What would I even lie about?”

“You’re an immortal. Surely you could’ve had some way to help him.”

Ink surveyed him. “So are you.”

Dream took a step back but didn’t withdraw. “You said it yourself, I’m not like you.”

“But you’re kinder. You’re good , aren’t you? Clever, too.” His gaze, not snow, but not ice either. “You’re good. That’s why you keep hoping. But you cannot afford to hope for something already lost.”

“I am not hoping. I am blaming .”

Steadfast, 

“Me?”

Then it happened. It all melted into a haze of muted colours. “I’m sorry for it, but sorry changes nothing.”

“For me.” A pause. “Though perhaps not for you.”

Dream withdrew. “I don’t understand why we are so different. We met before, long before I was Marigold and Nightmare Nepeta, right? So then why are we still so different , if age is not a factor?”

“You are a Guardian, first and foremost. I am a God,” Ink said simply. “There’s all there is to it.”

Dream went one step further and shrunk into himself. “Then what am I to do? I do not know if I hate you, or me, more, and I would hate to have one I hate help the other.”

“Then don’t accept my help for yourself. Accept it for your mother, your father; the Kingdom. Accept it for Nightmare .”

Dream was teetering. 

Ink exhaled and turned away. 

“At the very least, accept a gift.”

Dream tentatively took another step forward before he could stop himself. “Is this supposed to be a bribe?” “You mean you’d be susceptible to bribes? Tsk. What a terrible Prince you are.” 

It took a moment for him to realise Ink had been joking.

It took another to register it.

It took yet another to recognise what Ink was offering to him, waiting for him to take it. Two golden circlets. 

“Hardly counts as a gift, I suppose. It does belong to you, after all.”

Dream took, not his, but his brother’s.

“Not just me,” He murmured. Then he took his own, but paid it no heed.

The circlets, of Guardians.

“Train me.” Dream, once again, proved how headstrong he could really be. “Train me to fight. Train me to protect. Teach me.”

“I’m not a teacher,” Ink replied, quiet but not gentle. “But I can try.”

[magicalblerdpenn]

I posted 1,595 times in 2022

131 posts created (8%)

1,464 posts reblogged (92%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@localcryptideli

@galaxychorus

@hollabastiongirl

@roxycake

@elphabaforpresidentofgallifrey

I tagged 136 of my posts in 2022

#tp babbles - 56 posts

#youtube - 48 posts

#tp plays - 37 posts

#3ds games - 33 posts

#tp watches anime - 23 posts

#tokusatsu - 11 posts

#persona q2 - 10 posts

#jrpgs - 8 posts

#tales of the abyss - 7 posts

#penn's music musings - 7 posts

Longest Tag: 35 characters

#i ate lasagna & watched sailor moon

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Started watching Revue Starlight for the first time today and this transformation scene + the fight afterwards got me hooked on the series. Who knew that surreal car transformation scene from the Utena movie would be so influential?

19 notes - Posted June 17, 2022

#4

Cool video breaking down Ace Attorney game music

24 notes - Posted January 4, 2022

#3

I've started reading Webtoons again and I wanted to recommend this gay magical boy Webtoon called Magical Boy Troubles. Why?

The premise is creative: Juan's boyfriend Kikyou is a magical boy named Fragrant Rose. Juan is worried that Kikyou is taking on too much by himself, esp. since Kikyou has protected him since elementary school. Juan is unsure how to give back, but can he find the strength to do so anyway?

Juan and Kikyou are main characters worth rooting for because they love and care for each other very much. Also, Juan gets braver as the story progresses and Kikyou is brave when Juan can't be.

Both Juan and Kiyou are unabashedly magical girl genre fans, soft, and emotional when they need and want to be, even if other people make fun of them.

The artwork is vibrant and cute

34 notes - Posted February 18, 2022

#2

Watching this clip & then watching the Kamen Rider Jeanne x Aguilera Girls Remix web series has brought me so much joy & reminded me why I love Kamen Rider despite its flaws

35 notes - Posted September 21, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

So last night, I finished reading this great Kingdom Hearts fanfic called an "An Unlikely Alliance" by Cait_Sidhe and it's not only a great sequel to another fanfic by them I like, but also ends up being a good alternate take on Kingdom Hearts III. Here's why:

Vanitas learns there is more to him than darkness by defecting from Xehanort and joining up with Sora, Riku, Kairi and the others

Young Xehanort and Replica Riku also defect and get into shenanigans with Sora and the gang

Kairi becomes an even more well written character by learning more her orientation (yay for asexuality rep) while being in a polyamorous relationship with both Riku and Sora. She also fights and does it well.

Sora's mental health journey continues and we see how his darkness impacts his magic and fighting abilities.

More world exploring shenanigans

People learn to ask whether a bunch of traumatized teenagers actually want to participate in the battle against Xehanort instead of assuming they'll just go along with it.

58 notes - Posted January 7, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[solheira]

◆  / @iisdrottning / Starter Call. 🌷

The day had waned into a night full of sparkling stars and a half moon. Half the kingdom was asleep and those who were still awake had gone inside into the warmth of shelter long ago.

Inside the castle the servants were beginning to retire as well and the few nobles that hung around sat in the many studies drinking their fill of wine. The men smoked cigars and spoke of politics and philosophy. The women gossiped while playing card games and betting wages for the fun of it. 

Rapunzel learned long ago that happy nobles meant happy kingdoms and most here tonight were regulars in the castle. Some were distantly related to the crown, some were married into it. She had uncles and aunts and cousins she wasn’t sure she was really related to, but smiled and greeted them as such for the sake of keeping peace. They were harmless enough, many just wanted her attention.

The sound of a lady cheering her good fortune pulls her from her daze long enough to see the Lady’s husband looked up, breathed out his cigar smoke and continue on with his conversation. Behind the man she sees a tuckered out child with his tiny head pressed against the folds of her mother’s dress. Rapunzel watches long enough to see the family retire and the child gets carried away in his father’s arms.

It wasn’t much of a party but there was something in the lazy daze of the night that made Rapunzel’s stomach knot anyway. She felt anxious in the lull of their contentment and the more she drank and tried to be present the more she felt distant to it all.

She belonged in this room more than anyone but all she wanted to do at that moment was to take off her shoes and run into the gardens to breathe in the night.

Rapunzel takes a deep breath and resolves herself to another early night.

Just as she was about to announce she would be retiring for the night her hand brushes accidentally against another's. She gave a small jump, and the smaller hairs that framed her face flew with the momentum. There was a moment of silence between them and before the other woman could say a word Rapunzel tugs on her hand and lead her out of the room with the sound of chatter dwindling to murmurs in the background.

The only thing that followed after were Rapunzel's hurried steps and that of her captive until she stops abruptly and turns around to face them. The smile she wore could rival the sun’s glow in its brilliance.

“I hope you don’t mind but I was getting fidgety in there,” she said with a pucker and roll of her eyes. Rapunzel began walking, albeit it slower than before and takes a breath. “I like them don’t get me wrong, I just couldn’t continue listening to the saaame booooring conversations any longer. The first few times were interesting but now it just sounds like a song being played on repeat.”

She adds, as if it was a secondary thought, "You also looked like you needed an escape."

[crowniko]

thank you so much for the tag!!

this is Chapter 1 of Will of the Heart, my bleach fanfic:) it's a shinji hirako x reader.

warning!! the rest of this chapter contains massive spoilers so if you don't want to be spoiled please avoid!

anyways here's my little contribution:)

You were suspended in time, back against the ground and face towards the endless night sky. Only the crescent moon above returned your gaze, almost pitying as the air whipped against your face. The white garbs you wore flapped, almost tearing off of your skin as the sky shrunk. What was happening? The moon heard your unspoken question, and shined its cool light against your face, revealing the balcony you once stood upon. Your eyes fell upon a figure, but before you could make out their face, a book blocked your view. It floated above you, its pages flapping around like a broken plea. You reached up and grabbed it, holding it tight as you met your fate together. Your back crashed against the sand, shadowed by the kingdom so large that you, too, looked like a spec of sand within an endless desert. Maybe you would fall in, and accept your fate as a small grain of sand. Closing your eyes, the air was torn from your lungs. It burned. However, even as your head rang like a bell as it smacked against the sand, all you could hear were the words you heard not even moments ago. You didn’t recognize the muffled voice, but you remembered what they said. Yes– just a minute ago you stood upon the balcony of the unforgiving kingdom, staring at the endless sea of sand, holding the book you grasped now to your chest, as someone appeared behind you. Before you could turn around, something hit your head, sending you off of the balcony. Their words seemed almost cynical now as you passed out. “It’s time to wake up.”

if you want to participate please feel free to do so! give ur work some love! I'd also love to read it :)

thanks again for the tag!!

Fellow fic writers: I wanna know what your favourite line—or paragraph, part of your work, whatever—is! I don't care what fandom, but I want us all to celebrate ourselves today! Tag friends and keep the chain going if you'd like! I've tagged all the moots I could find who I believe this applies to. If I missed you I am eternally sorry and you can set a curse upon my head.

My favourite passage that always sticks in my head, from Kick at the Darkness:

"I love you." He kissed her forehead. "I love your mouth." He kissed her lips. "I love your eyes." Elsie closed them, and Shane kissed her eyelids. "I love your hair." He placed a kiss on her glorious curls, and breathed in her scent. "I love the way you smell. Like cedar and wildflowers. I love your confidence. And the sound of your voice. I love the way you move. But most of all I love this." Shane pressed his lips to her breast, kissing Elsie over her heart. "Your good, open heart. Most people look at me and they don't really see me. They see a drunk, or a failure. But you know me. You see me." Elsie had a tear running down her cheek, and Shane kissed it away.

Tagging: @molliehaswords @carrieing0n @snailmail444 @birdielouwho @pbflutist @elizaviento @theambivalentagender @la--brujaja @hopefuloverfury @marmorafarms @phillypumpkin @wardenamatus @stardew-atlantis @thatalienmae @henarikat @priya-san @sdvbraindump @fandomdancie @lemonsharks @saradika @dawntones @kellycataclysm @gothkrispies @hellhoundmaggie @ohhgingersnaps @shoddy0-0 @lavendel081 @mymelodyisme @ladygreywritesstuff @missrandomdreamer @purpleandgreen13 @barkspawn @confirmedcannibal

[books]

Tumblr Exclusive: Forestborn

Do you like shapeshifters, epic quests, magic, dark forests, and obstinate princes? Well, have we got an exclusive excerpt for you!

Forestborn is an upcoming @torteen novel by debut author Elayne Audrey Becker. Becker graduated from Vassar College with a BA in classics and history. She is currently continuing her education at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland after time spent as an editor with a New York publisher. She grew up with a lake and woods as her backyard, spending long days outside and visiting national parks with her family.

Forestborn will be available at bookstores everywhere from August 31. Read the exclusive excerpt below, and thanks again to Elayne for sharing her inspiration moodboard with us!

Forestborn By Elayne Audrey Becker

One

I find her deep in the Old Forest, facedown in the dirt. 

Sharp pain needles my palms where I’ve balled my fists so tight, the nails have carved half-moon marks into the skin. Snaking across the twig-strewn ground, gnarled roots press against my boots like a warning as I roll the young woman onto her back. Best to be sure.

No, she is certainly dead. Cold, stiff, and hungry like the rest; even with forest debris masking much of her shirt, the threadbare cotton dips in unmistakable rivulets across her bony frame. I swallow my disappointment and push her eyelids shut, wanting to spare her kin the sight of those empty, pointless eyes.

“Sorry,” I murmur, sitting back on my heels. “I’m guessing you didn’t deserve this.”

Around us, the trees lean inward and down with ominous uniformity, leaves and branches straining against their holds, drawn to the dead woman as if tethered by ropes. The sway, the humans call it. I ignore the prickling in my belly. They’ll straighten out soon enough when the magic leaves her body. 

With a final nod, I push to my feet and wend my way back to the forest’s edge. It’s a close wood, with broad oaks in summer bloom crowding the grassy floor, their leafy canopy admitting shafts of sunlight that glitter like crystal chandeliers. All in all, too peaceful a setting for someone driven to madness to die alone. I breathe it in deep to savor the scent while I can, grateful that for whatever reason, these trees never seem drawn to the magic in my own blood. I’ve had enough of vengeful wilderness to last a lifetime.

“Well?” Seraline asks, her knuckles nearly white where they clutch the hem of her shirt. 

I shake my head. “Dead.”

Her shoulders sink. Though Seraline is sturdy as iron when she’s in her aunt’s tannery, shaping leather into draft horses’ yokes, standing a determined two paces behind the tree line now, she seems shakeable as snow.

“Come on,” I say, nodding to the stony town just across the open fields. “You’re going to be late.” I don’t ask if she plans to examine the body for herself. Seraline may have insisted on coming as a show of support, but our friendship has many limits, her discomfort with the dead and dying the least of them. 

After a brief hesitation, Seraline falls into step at my side, sweeping her seeing stick across the ground in broad strokes. “Poor thing.”

I nod, my jaw clenched tight. 

This time of year, the late summer air hangs heavy even in the early morning, enough that the back of my neck is already slick with sweat. The barley fields remain mercifully empty as we pick our way through the dusty rows, but still I plow forward with my head down and shoulders bent, half from habit and half spurred by the hour. Seraline isn’t the only one who’s running behind. 

“Will you not come with us?” she asks, her head tipping to the side as we near the town. “Aren’t you due back in Roanin, anyway?”

“I can’t,” I reply, making it sound like an apology. I’m not really sure why we still play this game when we both know it’s futile. “I have a few things to take care of first.”

“Today of all days,” she snorts.

“You know how it is.” In truth, I’d give my right arm to stay away from the capital today. But there’s no help for it.

“Her husband deserves to know,” Seraline adds after a while. “The two of them were inseparable.”

“He will know. The trail wasn’t hard to follow.”

Seraline is always trying to persuade me to talk to the deceased’s families. She believes I have a softer manner than many in uniform, and once she even called me heartless for refusing. That time hurt the most. But it isn’t my job to report any deaths I uncover to next of kin. Only to the king. And it’s not like she’s stepping up to volunteer, anyway.

Briarwend is a humble farming town that stretches all of three streets, a collection of squared off stone shops that deal in necessity rather than charm. Its weather-worn residents are the same. When I began seeking intel here four years ago, long days tending the surrounding fields made the people lazy and open over a couple of pints. Lately, they’re just hungry, poor soil and rising taxes leaving gaping holes that only tempers seem to fill. 

Each night under dwindling lamplight and over stained, sticky tables, the pub dwellers deal out anger and judgment like tossing seeds across the earth. The battered forest walker I helped home last night is not the only magical person I’ve found bleeding on cobbled streets. The humans’ anger is growing fists.

Seraline’s family is fixing their horse’s harness to an old wooden cart when we reach their cottage home. Most others have long since departed.

“Where have you been?” her mother demands, tightening the leather straps. The roan mare stamps a hoof, ears flicking nervously in my presence. “We should have left hours ago!”

“Lela needed my help. And you’re not ready, anyway.” Seraline shrugs.

“Nor are you. Breakfast is gone, so you’ll just have to wait. Go get changed.” She studiously avoids my eye, as if I’m not even there. 

Seraline bids me farewell with a light touch on the shoulder, which causes her little sister to quickly interlace two pairs of twisted fingers and pull them apart. The sign to ward off bad fortune.  

“You shouldn’t indulge my sister,” the dreadful Arden says once she’s gone, stomping over and swiping a greasy hand across his forehead. By far the weakest sibling in this family of four. “Seraline is delicate. She can’t be tramping about the kingdom with the likes of you.”

Which is ironic, really, since he was eager enough to sidle close last year, when he thought empty flattery might earn him a kiss. That was before a too-often empty belly soured his tongue, before he learned who and what I was. And though I truly could not care less what this boy thinks, I’m dismayed to find my stomach still burns with anger and something close to shame. My gaze drops to his pant leg, which bears splotches of dried blood from the night before. 

“Problem?” Arden sneers, white skin burned red from long days in the sun. 

A slow tingling feeling bubbles up from my core, threads of numbness that tiptoe across my arms and legs. I force myself to breathe deeply, to beat the threads back. “I know it was you,” I mutter. 

He traces his chapped lips with two fingers, beady eyes darting to his mother before he leans forward, his smile stiffening. “You know nothing,” he hisses.

“You forget I have certain resources at my disposal.” I raise a hand in front of his flaking face, where my nails have sharpened into claws. “And that I know where you live.”

I stare until a satisfying trace of fear tinges Arden’s expression before stomping away toward the town’s single inn, which is little more than a guesthouse with four creaking rooms. If Helos were here, he would tell me to not take the bait, that I’m better than that. What he never seems to understand is that I’m not better than anything at all.

[bonny-kookoo]

Sing to me: JJK x Reader 🔞

Pairing: Jeon Jungkook x Reader

Genre: Mermaid AU, Siren!Jungkook, Prince!Jungkook, homeless!Reader, Romance,  Smut duh

Wordcount: 5k (medium)

Tags/Warnings: okay so, spoiled kook, possessive kook, Theres literally an attempted murder lol, drowning? whoops, blood oh no, reader is hella fucking dense ok, biting, courting lol, fish boy is in love, whoops, anyways we got sexy times too, because in this AU fishboy got legs n all of that hah, unprotected sex because, guys pls this ain't supposed to he realistic, wrap it before you tap it folks, its also not all that filthy lol, blink and you'll miss the scene, honestly I didn't include much smut because yall nasty so you will ask for dirty drabbles anyways, not that I mind lol, k I'm done I think, wow mom I've sinned less than usual..

Summary: Help me love myself, and I might learn to love you as well.

Or alternatively: you save Jungkook from being killed, and he totally gets the wrong signals. But he's cute, so its fine. Probably.

Jungkook is floating.

He thinks about what lies above the waves, and cant think of anything he really finds interesting. The surface is littered in junk, in things humans leave behind without thinking twice about it. It's air is thick and stuffy, hard to breathe and never clear at all. It's crowded, with creatures who at the end of the day all look the same in his eyes. There's nothing exciting about the world people walk on.

Its boring, and dirty.

His own home is, compared to that, a kingdom radiating like the moon itself. It shines and sparkles, and harbors some of the most beautiful creatures ever to be found. He and his family, as well as everyone else, live in peace with nature down underneath the waves, existing side by side instead of trying to gain the upper hand all the time.

And he's reminded of the cruelty of man, when he finds himself caught in a net.

He's somehow made the fishermen drop it instead of pulling him up on their boat. But that doesn't mean he's free- he's still struggling with it, fighting it, but he cant rip it apart. All he does really, is tie the knots tighter, have them dig into his skin until spots are rubbed raw. He can't really swim anywhere at this point, gives up as he can see the last lights of his distant home fade into the distance.

Jungkook is floating.

He's slowly being led by the waves, by the love of wind and waters, as he closes his eyes. Its a pity, really; for a prince held so high to die by the mere hands of the poor, he thinks. It's upsetting him, very much so, but he takes it as it is. There's nothing he can do anyways, as he slowly comes into contact with the sand below. It washes him up onto short, the dry sand sticking to his body, waves pushing him higher and higher onto the ground.

He shivers, the cold outside air biting at his skin now unsheltered and defenseless.

He doesn't know how long he lays there.

But at some point, steps are heard on the sand. He keeps his eyes closed, doesn't care about what will happen next- he really just wants to have it be over by now, the ropes already painfully burning his skin at certain spots. He's sure theres sand in his wounds as something touches him- warm fingers, hesitant, and almost shy.

He keeps his eyes closed.

"My god, I hate humans.." You mutter under your breath, your voice hitting his ears, making him notice the way it sounds. He thinks it sounds very similar to some of his kind; sirens being blessed with voices sweet and enchanting. Maybe you were one of the strays who had decided to live on the surface for some reason? But your smell was entirely human, although much sweeter and pleasant than anyone he'd met before. And then, after a small short moment of pain-

He's free.

His arms flop to his side, and he breathes in deeply- finally able to fully move again. His eyes open, and adjust to the night for a moment, before they meet yours.

How interesting.

"Jungkook?" Jimin asks him, curious to what has gotten the young Siren so occupied. Typically, Jungkook would be watching the annual kingdom dances with at least some form of interest; even if it was just a glimpse of it, just to make his parents worry less about him misbehaving. But today, as the graceful dancers move around to the orchestra playing, the young prince is absolutely not there. At least not mentally. "Jungkook." The older one scolds, getting Jungkooks attention- his gaze hard and annoyed. "Please, young prince- at least try to pretend you're interested. This is after all part of our culture." He strategically uses his title as teasing- something which makes Jungkook snort without any fun.

"I really don't want to be here." He explains, and Jimin sighs. "I'd rather be at the surface.." He mumbles, being careful not to be too loud- but Jimin does pick it up, and so does his partner, Taehyung, next to him- now leaning a bit forward to hear better.

"Oh?" Jimin asks. "What could be of interest there, I wonder?" He teases, and Jungkook grows even more irritated.

"Nothing that should interest a whore like you." He says harshly, though Jimin knows he means no harm with it. Jimin is, after all, a man who enjoys the simple pleasures in life- which is why he can't quite grasp why Jungkook, a young man in his prime like himself, doesn't seem to care about whats going on around him.

"Hm, but I think she must be absolutely divine if you're willing to risk the wrath of your own mother just to see her." He says, and Taehyung snickers next to him, clearly amused.

But to both of their surprise, Jungkook grows.. calm. Theres even a glimpse of a smile on his lip as he rests his head on his head, elbow on the armrest of his throne. "That she is." He says, quietly, as he watches the young woman in front of him. He has to imagine you there instead, moving oh so gracefully to the sounds of his Kingdom's greatest musicians- dressed in the most beautiful gown he'd gift you. "That she is.." He repeats, a dreaming look on his face that Jimin has not seen before.

Jungkook watches you.

He enjoys watching you on your daily trips to the beach, picking up cans and bottles, and other things people throw away without care. You're cleaning up the beach, and he thinks its a very good behavior- he likes the way you always carefully scan the ground and sides for any garbage. He swims a little closer as he spots you squatting down; eyes lighting up as you pick up a shell he'd personally not care much for. It's slightly pink- but nothing he hasn't seen in his life. They're so common, and he suddenly thinks that if this already makes you happy, what if he was to bring you something else? Something better, something more worth your attention?

He feels a rush of excitement.

Dashing into the opposite direction, he makes his way towards the ground below, eyes scanning the ground as he searches for something. He spots it after a few minutes of searching, but when he holds the pearl, he hesitates.

Its not enough.

No, that's not what you should get. He's only paying back his dept, yeah, that's what he's doing. But what if he was overdoing it by bringing you something too expensive or rare? No, he should be smart about it, yeah. Start small, and work your way up he thinks, as he takes the pearls he's collected while deep in thought, and pushes himself back to the top, swimming easily. He hopes you're still there-

And there you are, dipping your feet into the water.

He looks at what he can see; only able to see clearly underneath the waves rather than above. There's a bracelet hanging around your ankle, and it looks cheap, he thinks. It only helps him by giving him ideas for his next gifts- if you would accept his first, that is. He's never been rejected before, but then again, has always rejected instead. Nothing had interested him to the extend you did. Maybe you really were of his kind, secretly.

When he slowly brings his head up the waves, you don't get scared, or flinch. You simply look, spot him, and smile.

He likes that expression.

He comes closer, free hand helping him onto the stone you sit on, his hand holding your gift eagerly pushing against yours. You understand quickly, and open them, and he smiles. You're smart, he notes, and it only adds to your qualities, he thinks. Dropping the pearls, your eyes sparkle again- as they should, he thinks with pride. You inspect them with big eyes, as if you've never seen something alike. He enjoys your reaction- and you nod at him. "Thank you- are they for me to keep?" You ask, pointing to them, and then at your chest. He's not fully fluent in human language, but has picked up on some words and phrases, since Seokjin had recently strayed- teaching him some stuff whenever he got bored and visited his younger brother.

So Jungkook nods. "You." He says, and you like the sound of his voice; fittingly just as handsome as the rest of him, you think. But then again- his kind is known for its beauty and enchanting voices. "Keep." He tells you, pushing your closed palm a bit closer to your body as if to underline his statement. You think its cute, in a way.

"Okay." You say. "I'll keep them-?" You ask, and he doesn't understand, until you point to yourself, and say a name- yours, he supposes.

"Ah-" He starts, pointing to himself. "Jungkook. Jeon, Jungkook." He tells you, and you nod, smiling.

"It's nice to meet you, Jeon Jungkook." You smile, and he grins back, slightly sharpened canines in stark contrast with his bunny-like smile.

He thinks its nice to meet you too.

"But you're a witch, aren't you?" Jungkook argues, staring at Taehyung. "I thought you were all so capable." He challenges, and Taehyungs eyes darken- quite literally, since sea witches do technically have black eyes- but conceal them, as to not scare off people. He regains his composure however when Jimins hand lays on his shoulder.

"Now now, no need to become huffy." He says. "He didn't say he can't do it- he simply told you that its not that easy." He explains, and Jungkook sighs, rolling his eyes. Ever the spoiled prince, they think to themselves.

"I don't care about that." He states. "Can you do it, or can you not?" He asks, and Taehyung thinks for a moment.

"I.." He begins, before he sighs. "I can. But, there's a catch, Jungkook." He tells him, and this time, the youngest of the group seems just as serious as he listens. "I can't promise that.. the result will be what you will expect." He says.

"What do you mean?" Jungkook asks.

"There's a chance she won't survive it."

He doesn't think much about why you're so often sitting on that rocky structure close to the deep- he likes not having to get out of the water to be close to you. And you think, Jungkook is quite the interesting being.

He’s curious; that much you can tell. His hands rest on your knees, your toes sometimes brushing against his abdomen as he swims closer- face coming forward to properly look at you. His vision must be bad outside of the waters you assume, his brown eyes squinting in concentration until he huffs and let’s himself back into the waters. You chuckle, and simply take off your jacket, slipping into the water as well as you control your breath- his entire face brightening at your body now underwater in his world, finally clear to see for his eyes.

You’re pretty, he thinks, definitely prettier than any other human he’d encountered before. The clothes covering your breasts and private parts a bit dull and boring for his taste- but he’d change that soon. He smiles, happy, before holding up his finger as if to signal for you to wait before he swims away, elegantly and fast. You swim up to breath some air, catch your breath, until there’s a hand around your calf, holding, fingers running over the skin, signaling you to come down again. You follow his question, taking a deep breath to meet him underneath the surface; his excited hands wrapping something around your neck, before he swims in circles as if he’s suddenly got too much energy. You point to yourself, as if to ask if you can keep it- and he nods, wide eyes watching you with a smile that you can’t help but mirror.

You don't quite realize what he's doing.

He however thinks you know. You know that he's courting you, and you're interested in him. You know that he's just given you more than a simple gift. He only believes you're letting him work for it- something he happily does, taking on the challenge as always. He swims closer, holds your shoulders, as his eyes look into yours, his gaze happy and child-like almost. He's close to finally showing you affection- but you suddenly swim to the surface instead.

And even though he knows you only wanted to breathe, he can't help but feel slightly sour at the ruined moment.

"You're awfully happy these days." His mother says, watching her son in the gardens of the palace. "May I ask what has gotten you in such a bright mood?" She asks, and Jungkook doesn't quite know how to break it to her. He knows its not forbidden, knows it has, and does, happen each and every day it seems- but there's still fear inside of him. Theres still hesitation, even though he is not ashamed of what has happened- of what he has done. His mother however notices. "You know you can trust me, right?" She says, and he nods.

Its now or never.

"I've found a mate." He says, and his mother smiles warmly, holding his cheek as she kisses it in congratulation. "Its a human." He says, quietly, hurried- but his mother continues to smile.

"I have suspected as much." She states. "Your friend- Park Jimin- is not very good at talking quietly." She snickers, and Jungkook curses under his breath about how he wants to strangle him. Theres a huge weight lifted off of him however; finally having said it, made it very real to him, in a way- even though it was already.

Because, after all; you were wearing his kingdom's sigil around your neck already. He had claimed you.

He's restless the next time he swims to the shore to meet you again- eager to see you to give you the news of his family's acceptance.

You're late- later than usual, and his brows are furrowed, mood upset at your mannerism. You're usually always on time, always just as eager to see him he thinks- but this time, you're not there. After his anger however, he grows increasingly worried instead. What if something had happened to you instead? Oh what a bad person he would be to be mad at you for getting into an unfortunate situation. As guilt slowly makes his way into his body, claims his muscles, he moves to sit on the stone he usually finds you on. He tries to look around- rain on his skin making it possible to be out way more comfortably.

He spots movement above.

Theres a person he can't make out- throwing something off the cliff down into the sea, and Jungkook clicks his tongue in anger, already upset- but still curious on what it was the person had been so eager to discard. Typically, its tiny things or plastic he finds- but this is something else, he knows.

Underwater, he smells blood.

His pupils contract, eyes widening, as he spots the black bag slowly making its way to the bottom of the sea- red trail leading from it. Its not the blood however that makes him frantic- its the smell of it, of you, that stops his heart.

He gets you out the bag, his anger over the entire situation diminishing into nothing as he holds you close, eyes spotting the deep cut on your side, and the scratches on your face. Unsure where to bring you, he holds you close, brings you onto his back as one of his hands hold yours, your arms around his neck. He swims quickly to the only place he knows you can breathe.

The underwater cave is big enough for now, he thinks, as he brings your body onto the ground, out the water. He doesn't notice he's crying, doesn't quite speak, his native language of clicking sounds and little noises escaping him as he whines out for your attention, waiting for you to wake up somehow. He's been so invested in making you like him and accept him that he's got no idea what to do with a human. Are you cold? How can he warm you up? How does he stop bleeding wounds? How much can you bleed before you die? Are you already dying?

Jungkook doesn't know what to do. So he simply lays by your side, holding you close, in hopes his slightly higher body temperature can keep you warm.

"He's doing the best he can-" Jimin says, Seokjin next to Taehyung as they both lean over your body. Both witches are concentrated, already exhausted, but there's no way they're giving up on you now. Not only because you're important to Jungkook- but because no one deserves to simply die like this.

"I know, I know!" Jungkook huffs out, pupils turned into cat like slits- a clear sign of the absolute terror and chaos inside of him. "What if they're best isn't good enough? Jimin, I can't loose her, you don't understand-" He starts, but Jimin holds the younger one's shoulders, for the first time serious with him.

"I do." He glances at Taehyung. Jimin had saved Taehyung before as well- the young sea witch having been hit by a fisherman's harpoon years ago. Ever since then, Jimin had been attached to the witch like glue. "Trust me, I really do. And they're doing all they can to make sure she's going to be fine." He promises, and Jungkook nods.

All he can do is pray.

When you wake up, there's several things you notice.

First, you're alive. Having a raging headache, and your limbs and muscles feel horribly tender, but you're alive. There's also strings of rope tied to two rock formations acting like a clothing line, several blankets and clothes hanging from it. They don't look human-made to you- the fabrics and designs not something you would think of as regular. There's a bucket and several stained rags- now copper-brown with old blood. Its then that you look down, seeing your cut sewed shut.

You also notice its rather soft underneath you.

Its sheepskin laid over seaweed you notice- the whool soft and fluffy, and warm. Everything seems to be so thoughtfully placed, even some decorative items- you can spot fireflies casually sitting in a jar close by, and burned wood, probably to . Probably to make light during the night. You're tired however, so you simply lay down again. Quite honestly, surely you should fee worried about the situation- but then again, there was no one to miss you, no place you called your home anyways. No use in worrying- because deep down, you had your suspicion.

A Jungkook swims to the surface with the plastic box in his arms, he's careful not to throw it too hard onto the ground. As he steps out the water, he's sure to at least try and his his hands of most the water before he goes to check on the blankets he had brought this early morning. They've dried enough, he notices, and is glad about that, as he picks one up.

You don't have to be cold anymore, he thinks.

He's unnaturally careful for his typical character- his usual behavior quite the opposite as it was now. Now, he's making sure you're properly tucked in, as he notices your eyes watching him.

He freezes, for a moment.

Jungkook hasn't really thought much about what would happen if you were to wake up- after all, Seokjin had told him he was unsure if you were to wake up this early in the first place, and Taehyung didn't even know if you would wake up at all. He'd told his younger brother to be prepared for any reaction really; fear, confusion, maybe even anger. But you seem calm, curious even, and Jungkook decides to sit down in front of your face, waiting.

"You brought me here, right?" You ask, and he nods, eyes not leaving your form.

"You-.. hurt." He points to the spot where your wound had been. "Also hurt." His hand points to your head. "Brothers, helped." He informs you, and you smile, nodding at his words. He suddenly looks at the ground, mumbling. "I.. worried. Thought... you, dying." He tells you, and you sit up slowly again, keeping the blanket around your shoulders.

"I'm not dead though." You say, and he nods. "Thank you, Jungkook. Now we're even." You say, and he tilts his head in confusion- a mannerism you could only think of as cute. "I saved you- you saved me." You say, and he smiles, nodding.

"I-" He starts, leaning forward a bit, now way more energetic and lighthearted as before. "I- we-" He growls a little in frustration, and you cant help but giggle at his troubles- the chirps and clicks escaping him foreign- but somehow, they feel hazy, as if your mind knows the language, but has forgotten what it meant. He's trying so hard you notice, and appreciate. "You like here?" He asks, and points around. You nod, and he beams at you. "I made." He tells you, proudly so.

"I guessed as much. Its very thoughtful of you, thank you." You say, and he nods, happy you like what he did for you. Its not a permanent solution, obviously, but as soon as you're healed well enough, he already planned a new spot for you to come with him.

You just don't know it yet.

There's a weird feeling inside of you.

It's like homesickness, you think. Every time you look at the waters, you feel- sad? It's making you uneasy, and with every day passing by, it just gets worse and worse. But it's today, that you cant take it.

When you dip your legs into the water, it soothes an ache you can't recognize ever having. It helps your skin, it somehow feels as if you're breathing again. But It's not enough, you think- before you let yourself fall into the deep end.

You're floating.

It's like leaving a stuffy and crowded mall, just to stand in a park, fresh air after it had rained, and light breeze clearing your head. Everything is silent, but not at the same time- the water around you feeling as if you're being hugged, held. It makes you relax, makes you let go, makes you only exist for a moment.

You're floating.

And there's a sudden wave of realization that you're also breathing. There's no water in your lungs- or maybe there is, and you just don't feel it being there. Darkness surrounds you as you don't know where you are exactly- theres no telling where is where, no way to know if you're upright or not. Maybe you've died?

Did you drown?

If you did, it would explain Jungkook being there. He's swimming towards you with a face full of worry, as he grabs your wrist and holds you close. "I can't even let you out of my sight for a mere day it seems, my love." He sighs, and your eyes widen. Its almost comedic how his own do the same, focusing on your neck, as he touches.

You're sensitive, and shift away from his touch.

"It-" He starts, now holding your shoulders, as he begins to smile. "It worked! It really did- by the dragon kind, you look absolutely divine!" He laughs, and can't help but hold your hands, eyes roaming your appearance, as you don't quite get it- until you follow his gaze.

Just like him, there's fins now on the sides of your calfs, smaller ones on your ankles as well. Theres also ones decorating your outer forearms- they look like the ones you'd always see on goldfish as a kid. There's something alike to scales as well, but barely noticable. "I- what happened to me?" You ask, and Junkook smiles.

"You.. almost died." He admits, taking your hand and swimming to what you assume is back towards the cave. "You had been robbed during the day, and when I found you.. well, you know what happened." He says. "While you were asleep, we were thinking about what to do. There was no way you would survive as a human- so, a friend of mine- Taehyung- performed a ritual, together with Seokjin, my brother." He says. You finally spot light, glad to be able to have at least some form of orientation. "I'm glad you're adjusting so quickly, my love." He states, smiling at you.

You notice the petname again.

"Jungkook-" You start, as you both reach the cave again, sitting on the edge of where the ground of the cave meets the water. "Why are you.. calling me that?" You ask, and Jungkook seems confused.

"Why do you ask?" He questions. And you don't quite follow, until he continues. "You're my mate- I am only addressing you as such."

Your eyes widen. "Wait- we're-" You start, and its only then that it clicks in Jungkooks head.

"Oh." He says- the dissapointment bitter and evident in his voice. "You.. didn't know?" He asks, and you shake your head, unsure what he means. "I see.." He tells you, suddenly distant. "I.. will bring you breakfast tomorrow.. sleep well." He abruptly says, and before you can say anything, he's already gone.

What just happened?

"There you are!" A voice says, deeper than Jungkooks, but not unfamiliar. Taehyung had been visiting and bringing you food and nescessities ever since that talk with Jungkook. This time, however, Taehyung seems like he wants to say something. You look at him, silently urging him, and he sits down next to you, sighing.

"Does he hate me?" You ask, quietly, and Taehyung looks sad.

"He could never." He says. "He just.. didn't take the rejection well. He'll need time to come around. It won't take that much time- his mother is already trying to get a new partner for him." He explains, and your head whips around towards him. "I- you.. did reject him, right?" He asks, slowly. "You do.. not love him, right?" He urges again, and you groan suddenly, throwing your face into your hands.

"Oh my god I'm so stupid.." You say. "It all.. everything was so overwhelming, I didn't even notice what he was doing." You cry into your hands, as Taehyungs hand places itself onto your back, trying to soothe you. "I though.. especially after I found out about his status.." You mumble. "How could he want me?" You ask, and Taehyung sighs.

"Head up, little siren." He says. "He's still able to hear you sing, if you want to." He says, and you look at him.

"But how?" You say. "I have no idea where the kingdom, or anything really is. And he won't come see me until its too late." You say.

"Well-" Taehyung says, standing up, and holding out his hand. "-allow me to escort the future princess to her lover."

"How did you find me?" He simply asks, not turning around, as you float closer. "I'm sorry, but I still need time to.. get over-" He starts, but you don't let him finish, instead leaning into his back, your arms around his middle.

"I'm stupid." You say. "I'm really, really stupid." He shakes his head, but you continue. "Just because I didn't realize- doesn't mean that I don't feel anything for you." You say. "I just.. felt unworthy, I guess. Insignificant." You admit, and he turns around, holding your face in his hands.

"You really are not gifted with the mind of the dragons king, my love." He states teasingly, the glimmer in his eyes returning. "My status means nothing to me, if that meant I could not have you." He says, and you lean forward, capturing his lips. "I hope you know what this meant, at least." He teases, and your eyes widen, scared you might've done something wrong. "It means you love me." He says, and you chuckle.

"Good." You say. "Because I do."

Even though he thinks you looked like a goddess reborn in your white and pearl decorated gown from the wedding, he enjoys you without it, close to him, just as much. He's alive, he's feeling, he's in love, as his hands move over your skin, his senses filled with you and nothing else.

The sounds you make for him are sweeter than any siren's song he's ever heard or could ever sing himself. No member of his kind is as enchanting as you, he decides, as he bites and kisses the sensitive skin of your neck. Jimin had teased him relentlessly the entire evening and night by trying to send you sweet words, to which you didn't react- but that didn't mean that it didn't piss him off.

You were his.

His princess- and soon to be queen, one day.

And he's planning on making that very evident, as he marks up your skin with little bites, visible for everyone to see. He wants everyone to know, even though by tomorrow, the entire Kingdom will celebrate the marriage of its prince anyways. He's more than ready to show you off, to hold you close, to have people see the divine being at his side that's you.

It's only natural for his hands to roam your skin, for his lips to worhip every inch it seems, as you reach out for his hand every second it leaves you. It's painfully endearing he thinks, how you can be so innocent and pure, while he's between your legs, performing the sinful act of pleasuring you with his mouth.

You pull him towards you, as you straddle his waist, leaning down to kiss him. He's in god's divine lands he thinks, as he suddenly feels you sinking down on his awaiting length. You fit around him perfectly, more so than he could've ever imagined. And as you both move, he holds you close, happy that here, in his world, he doesn't need to breathe.

He can kiss you as long as he wants.

(c)Bonny-Kookoo. I spilled strawberry milk on my poor laptop while writing this.

[baronfulmen]

Oh man.

Okay so for anyone that doesn't know Emanuel Swedenborg was a Swedish mystic that claimed to be able to visit the spiritual world and receive divine truths from chatting with angels. He wrote a bunch of books based on this, and from those books a new Christian sect was born.

And that's the church I went to growing up.

ANYWAY, in one of the books he talks about life on other planets and this is hilarious to me because the church is all "yes, we've based our theological beliefs off this guy's writings, we absolutely believe that he was in touch with real angels, this is all very much real and important and meaningful... and uh... we don't talk about the aliens."

He starts by saying that all those stars out there are suns like ours and all the planets we see are clearly worlds a lot like ours and surely god wouldn't go to the trouble of making this whole enormous universe (which by the way is in the shape of a human) unless those planets all had people living on them.

I have held several discussions on this subject with spirits from our world, and I have been told that anyone of sound intellect can deduce from many facts known to him that there are many worlds and people living on them. For it is reasonable to infer that such vast bodies as the planets, some of which are larger than the earth, are not empty masses, created merely to circle the sun and shine their feeble light for the benefit of one world, but they must have some more important purpose than this. Anyone who believes, as each one of us should, that the Deity's sole purpose in creating the universe was to bring into existence the human race, and from this to people heaven - the human race being the seed-bed of heaven - must inevitably believe that, where there is a world, there must be human beings.

The planets visible to our eyes, because they lie within the bounds of the solar system, can be plainly known to be worlds, as being bodies made of earthly matter. This is plain because they reflect sunlight and when seen through telescopes do not show the redness of flame as stars do, but are mottled with dark patches like lands on earth. Another argument is that they revolve around the sun in the same way as the earth, advancing along the path of the zodiac, and so causing years and seasons of the year, spring, summer, autumn and winter. They also rotate about their axes in the same way as the earth, thus causing days and the different periods of the day, morning, midday, evening and night. Moreover, some of them have moons, which are called satellites, traveling around their orbits with fixed periodicity, like the moon around the earth. The planet Saturn, being the furthest from the sun, has also a great shining ring which supplies that world with a great deal of light, even if it is reflected light. Can anyone knowing this and able to think rationally still claim that these are empty masses? I have moreover discussed with spirits the argument that one can be led to infer that the universe contains more than one world from the fact that the starry sky is so immense and contains countless stars, each of which is a sun for its own region or system, resembling our sun, though differing in size. Anyone who correctly weighs these facts must conclude that the whole of this immense structure is a means to serve the ultimate purpose of creation, the establishment of a heavenly kingdom in which the Deity can dwell with angels and human beings. For the visible universe, that is, the sky shining with countless stars, each being a sun, is but a means to the creation of worlds, and human beings to live on them, from whom the heavenly kingdom may be formed. These facts must inevitably lead a reasonable person to think that so immense a means designed for so great a purpose could not have been made for the benefit of the human race, and the heaven from it, coming from one world. How would this appear to the Deity, who is infinite, to whom thousands, or rather tens of thousands, of worlds, all full of inhabitants, would seem trifling and almost negligible?

So far so good. Sure.

But then he goes on to describe the people living on various planets, and they're just... people. Honestly it's like Star Trek, every planet has its own theme but the aliens are just humans maybe with a funny forehead. Except instead of mobsters or whatever the themes are things like "they really love gathering knowledge about historical events" and stuff.

Since I wished to know what the people of Mercury were like in face and body, whether they resemble people on our earth, a woman was displayed to my gaze, who was very much like women on earth. She had a comely face, but one smaller than women on our earth have. Her body too was more slender, though of similar height. She wore a linen scarf on her head, neatly but not elaborately arranged. A man was also displayed; he too had a more slender body than men of our world. He was wearing a dark blue garment, which fitted the body tightly, with no fold or protuberances on either side. I was told that this was the form and bodily habit of people belonging to that world. I also saw their species of oxen and cows; they were not very different from those in our world, only smaller. They looked in a way rather like hinds and stags.

FYI it's not actually that hot on Mercury, because god has made sure that the atmosphere and stuff just works out right. Yay!

There's some interesting worldbuilding stuff in there. People from Jupiter are all about faces. It's just super culturally important to them.

While the spirits of Jupiter were with me, the faces of people of our world looked smaller than usual. This was due to the effect of the idea those spirits had that their own faces were larger. For while they live as human beings in their world, they have a belief that after death their faces will be larger and round in shape. Since this idea has been impressed on them, it lasts, and when they become spirits they seem to themselves to have a larger face. The reason why they think their faces will be larger is that, according to them, the face is not part of the body, but is the part which enables them to see, hear and speak and express their thoughts. Thus the mind shines through the face, so that they think of the face as the shape taken by the mind. Knowing that they will be wiser after their life in the world, they think this means the shape of their mind and thus their face will be enlarged. [...] For this reason the inhabitants of that world frequently wash and clean their faces, and take good care to protect them from sunburn. They have clothing made from bluish bark or cork, which they wrap around their heads to cover the face. On the subject of the faces of people of our world, which they saw through my eyes, they said they were not handsome. Their handsomeness lay in the outer layers of skin, not in the fibres coming from within. They were surprised to see some people had faces covered with warts or spots, or otherwise disfigured. They said such faces were never to be seen among them. But they did approve of some faces, the ones that were cheerful and smiling, and had slightly pouting lips. The reason why they approved of faces with pouting lips was that most of their speech consists of facial expressions, and it is particularly the region round the lips which they use.

Also Jupiter has really big horses. Just FYI. Oh! And in the Jupiter section he meets a spirit of testicles and... okay look, so... sigh. Swedenborg's whole deal is that everything corresponds to something else. So like, maybe people from Pluto correspond to both Feet and the Desire to Travel or something. If you're not sure and need to guess what something corresponds to the joke is that you can guess "good" or "truth" and have pretty good odds.

But anyway he meets a little wretched guy that really wants to get into heaven but isn't ready yet, and he's a Spirit of the Balls. So uh. Yeah. Oh also they lay eggs. So that's a thing.

Anyway there's a lot of stuff like that. Politicians and capitalists are banished from society on Mars. Ghosts from Saturn threaten suicide if they think you're trying to shake their faith in god and then ghosts from Earth give them shit about it because they're already dead and it seems ridiculous and then the Saturn ghosts sigh and explain that yeah, they know, the knives are symbolic ugh just let them be extra.

There are horrible giants on Venus that steal shit from the other Venusians and then eat it. There are dwarves on the moon (all of the moons of all of the planets are populated, because "where there is a world, man is to be found") and they belch thunder and ride each other piggyback. There's a firewall (a literal one) in space in the spirit realm that keeps spirits from our solar system from going to other solar systems without approval.

Also it's notable that Jesus only showed up here, I guess we were just a big fucking mess and the other planets don't need that kind of direct personal attention.

Anyway...

The point is this book is wild, it has some interesting ideas and all but is also full of claims that are clearly and indisputably meant to be describing the physical world and actual living creatures on other planets. And since most of those claims can be EASILY disproved now, it's a kinda touchy subject for the Swedenborgian church.

Here's a link if you want to read it, there's also multiple translations you can access via a drop-down menu at the top of the page.

No, I don't believe in any of this. I never really did even as a kid and now I'm a full blown atheist. So you can ask me questions without worrying about offending me or whatever.

For anyone interested in aliens before New Age, or the development of ufology in general, Emanuel Swedenborg’s Earths in our Solar System is absolutely worth a look!

[misstyery]

the barbarian | bakugou x reader

pairing: bakugou x reader, arranged marriage, enemies to lovers

synopsis: in a far off land, knights and dragons, kings and queens, and fairies and pixies alike live, love, die, and prosper. unlike most, you have the chance to gain a unique perspective into these being’s lives. welcome to fantasia…

notes: hi, thank you for reading the first installment of my ‘welcome to fantasia’ series! this first installment will probably come in two parts, since i feel like it’ll probably be too long to fit all into one fic. anyways, i love fantasy au/barbarian bakugou, and this idea came to me late at night, so i hope you enjoy this! pls like and reblog if you enjoy this fic!

word count: 0.9k

“ oh come now dear, you could at least smile a little bit, hm? “ a motherly voice rang into your ear. the owner of the voice, a tall and curvaceous woman, continued to add jewels and other accessories to your hair as she spoke to you. she was the embodiment of a stereotypical barbarian woman. tall and curvaceous with fiery red eyes and dressed in red silk. you made eye contact with her through the large vanity mirror before focusing your attention back on your hands. she sighed and continued to fiddle with your hair.

many people came in and out of the tent you were in, some carrying layers of fur, others layers of satin. you couldn’t imagine what more needed to be done to your appearance, already being adorned with countless pieces of jewelry. after the tall woman finished doing your hair she turned and picked up a massive, white fur pelt with brown dots scattered across the fur. she placed the pelt gently around your shoulders and stroked the bare sides of your arms. “ all will be well dear, a marriage to his royal highness is sure to be fulfilling. “ she cooed before turning around and ushering the many other women out of the tent.

then there was silence, and you were alone in one of the enormous tents of the dragon clan. you’re getting married to the barbarian prince of the dragon klan: bakugou katsuki. he’s arrogant and brutish and gets joy out of pillaging villages and small kingdoms, kingdoms like yours. you’re the heir to the forest kingdom’s throne, and it is your royal duty to serve as the bartering piece to ensure your kingdom’s safety and prosperity.

some time passes before someone enters your tent again. this time it's a barbarian man, bulky and tall with maroon eyes. he doesn’t have to say anything for you to know it’s time. you silently rise out of your seat and adjust the heavy pelt on your shoulders before following him out of the tent.

the surrounding area is deserted, everyone gathered at the marriage sight waiting for you. small, crimson tents surround the area, and dimly lit torches stand tall outside of many of the tents. the sky is dark and empty, save for the bright moon high in the night sky.

as you walk alongside the man ( warrior? guard ? ) the beating of drums and ecstatic voices gets louder and louder, until you come upon the wedding venue. everyone from the forest kingdom and dragon klan is there and there’s an atmosphere of anticipation and excitement.

another barbarian comes up to you, this time they escort you down to the gathering while keeping you out of sight from the antsy villagers. they lead you to wooden steps that lead up to a large stage. you can’t see much from the stairs, but you can hear the crowd quiet down and the dragon queen’s voice booming from on top of the stage.

“ now, while the moon is full and at its highest point, my son, your prince, will be wed to the beautiful heir of the forest kingdom! “ there was a loud eruption of cheers from the crowd, and the barbarian from earlier excitedly gestured for you to go up the stairs. following their instructions, you climb the stairs with caution and hesitance. the loud cheers from earlier became even louder as you came into view on top of the overly-decorated stage.

to your left stood the dragon prince, your soon-to-be husband, bakugou. for a violent barbarian, he was undeniably handsome. his crimson red eyes matched beautifully with the pale yellow fur on his pelt. he was adorned with even more jewelry than you, massive amounts of rubies and garnet gems dangling from his neck along with his signature tooth necklace. his eyes focused on you, and a shiver went up your spine when you met his intense gaze.

queen mistsuki ushered you over and had you stand in front of bakugou. he looked you up and down before a smug smirk grew on his face. you clenched your fist and averted your eyes. screw him. this is the prince who’s pillaged and stole from your kingdom countless times, and now he has the audacity to look at you that way? the dragon king, masaru, approached you and bakugou with a gentle smile. in his hands, he carried a burgundy velvet pillow which nested two lengthy gold chains with a massive, round ruby hanging at the end. your marriage necklaces, as barbarian tradition would call it.

“ first, we will have the couple shed and swap their pelts, signifying the passionate love that will envelop them both! “ love, she says, what kind of love is forced upon you as a last ditch effort to save a kingdom?

you and bakugou both remove your pelts. he makes the first move and wraps his pelt around your shoulders, and you then wrap your pelt around his shoulders. his pelt looks comically large on you, dwarfing your frame and dragging against the floor.

“ now, the two will finalize the union by sharing their first kiss as prince and consort! “

you shudder out a breath and gaze into bakugou’s eyes. you take a tentative step closer to him, but his hand wraps around your bicep tightly and yanks you towards him. his lips descend on yours roughly, but the kiss is brief and hurried, like he wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.

all you can do is stare at him as the crowd erupts into overjoyed cheers, and a feeling of contempt settles in your belly...