#jacin clay the man that you are

[lucyshypemaster]

JACINTER HAS THE PRINCESS X BODYGUARD TROPE, THE "I HATE EVERYONE BUT YOU" TROPE, OFC THEY'RE MY FAVS I JUST I JUST UGHHHHHHHH

[freddycartr]

honestly after putting his life on the line for cress, smuggling her into his quarters, saying that "he'll try his best" to get cress cake, calling cress his mistress in order to protect her, apologizes for knowing about her and not helping her when she was stuck in the satelite, and not to mention, saying "i will protect winter with my life. second only to her, i promise to protect you too." i like to think that jacin is super fucking protective of cress. like jacin causally mentions to thorne "if you hurt her, i will kill you" and thorne cracks a joke about how he would die before hurting cress, before his smile fades and he realizes that jacin is deadly serious and jacin replies, "not if i get to you first" and walks away.

[eerna]

i just read the lunar chronicles for the first time and imagine my DISMAY when jacin clay turned out to be a man and not a lesbian (he looks so feminine in every fanart i see of him??), imagine how good sapphic jacinter could have been😔💔=

VBJSDLABVKJASBVKBA yet another victim of the lesbian Jacin agenda!!!!! I am so sorry, I made him a pretty boy because I imagine Lunar beauty standards (which he needs to go along with considering his job) to lean more towards the androgynous/feminine side. No one ever thinks any of my other pretty boy designs are women, I have no idea why Jacin specifically has such enormous lesbian energy, but my bet is on his intense, forbidden knightly yearning. Still, hope you enjoyed the series~

[impossiblesuitcase]

what do you think of the fan theory that garrison clay is Cinder’s father and jacin and cinder are half-siblings?

I think it's a fun theory! But I definitely don't think it's true. I believe Marissa has debunked it, and it also doesn't line up with the facts. In Fairest, Channary asserts that she does not glamour her suitors into sex because it takes the fun out of the chase. Garrison Clay does not seem the type of man to cheat on his wife as he is portrayed as very upright and loyal. So yeah, don't think it would have transpired.

But I do love the sibling-esque dynamic Cinder and Jacin have, so if it somehow were true, it'd be pretty funny. And Cinder already views Garrison as a sort of father-figure, so regardless of blood, she will always have a family with the Clays. When Winter and Jacin marry, Cinder will technically be related to him as a cousin-in-law.

[forcedtoland]

jacin clay in "cress" (part 1/2)

so i'm rereading cress and i wrote down all the jacin moments + my thoughts because i kinda love him too much

this is part 1 of 2 !!! i'll post the 2nd part once i'm done with my reread and link it here

this is purely self-indulgent rambling... i don't have a point to make i just really want to talk about jacin. i feel like he gets less recognition than the rest of the rampion crew even though i personally thing he's an amazing character, and definitely one of my favorites in tlc

and i think it's really interesting to reread his interactions with the others while he's still in his "untrustworthy sarcastic asshole" phase, when you already know how he truly is as a person, and being able to see through that...

disclaimer:

this post might include spoilers for all of the lunar chronicles series, since i sometimes make links with moments from the other books!

it will also probably end up being long because i have the wonderful tendency to overanalyze everything

let's start with the moment cress tries to escape from sybil in her satellite. she runs into jacin who is, at the time, sybil's personal guard. up to that point in books, he's still described as the "blond lunar guard".

something cress notes about him is the sympathy in his eyes. she's unsure about how real it is, since she obviously can't trust him, but we know from the later books that he felt guilty for not being able to help her then.

i think it's just so interesting to see how quickly jacin changes the moment he's not in the presence of a thaumaturges? like his character development isn't a thing where he learns to be kind after he escapes his guard position, he really already is but hides it for obvious reasons.

and he can hide it, he's basically a pro at hiding his emotions and keeping his facial expressions neutral, which means he could have kept the cold act with cress, regardless of his real intentions. but he didn't ??

he knows cress is probably terrified so he allows himself to be expressive for even a second while sybil isn't here. he can't comfort her or help her but at least he can hint at her that he's not in this situation willingly either. it's not the best, but imagine how much worse it could have been for cress if she thought had he had murderous intent towards her.

"I don't supposed you killed her?" that's my beloved sarcastic asshole – he means that as long as sybil's here he can't do anything, but him being so direct startles cress help ?? she must have been so confused because it's not what she expected him to say, and his sentence is ambiguous enough for you to not immediately understand what he's implying there.

when thorne gets captured (thank you captain for your sacrifice) we finally get to know our dear blond guard's name! jacin<3 (sorry thorne)

later, we have the fight between sybil and cinder. and i just think that jacin pretending to be controlled by cinder as an excuse to shoot sybil is still the best thing ever please i love him so much

his indecision before helping an injured sybil

the fact that cinder finds it really easy to control him just makes me sad because it's just one more reminder that he's literally trained himself to keep his mind blank

obviously, his main reason in helping cinder here is because he needs her alive since he thinks that she can help winter (since she's against levana), but MAN the scene where he pretends to be controlled to shoot sybil?? i need to mention it again because you can't tell me he didn't partially do it out of spite

he's such a quick thinker???? he notices that sybil was already struggling to control wolf and immediately acts, knowing that it could be enough to help them escape. "The guard held her gaze for one throbbing moment, before he hauled himself up and ran toward his mistress." — jacin hasn't done anything to warrant their trust, so all he can do is hope that cinder knows he doesn't want to hurt her and use this moment he gave them to get away

OK NOW JACIN'S IN he's with the rampion crew omg... sucks that we had to lose scarlet for this BUT listen at least i know it ends well so i'm allowed to say that...

from "Your friend's dying", to him not even protesting when cinder asks for his shirt to use as a bandage, to him giving her medical advice to help wolf... THE FACT THAT HE HAS A LOT OF MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE ISN'T LOST ON ME jacin clay you are going to be the universe's best doctor

also he doesn't even try to earn their trust because he knows they have no reason to trust him? so he just reasons with them in the most logical way possible about what they can do and hope they will take his advice. a very jacin thing to do.

“You serve the queen,” she said. “How can I trust you?". His lips twitched, like she’d made a joke, but his eyes were quick to harden again.

“I serve my princess. No one else.”

NO YOU DON'T GET IT I'M SCREAMING???#&÷ slamming my fist into the wall this line is everything YES it causes some bit of confusion but the way he says it not even trying to explain what he means sorry i just love winter and jacin so so much... have i ever mentioned they're my comfort ship

later he asks about wolf's injury :(( say what you want about his jerk attitude he DOES actually care, even when he doesn't know wolf

"Yeah, but I figured a formal introduction would be nice, now that we’re on the same side.”

“Is that what you’ve decided?”

HE'S SO ANNOYING I LOVE HIM

and then he introduces himself for the first time !!! JACIN CLAY what a legend (this is the most biased post i have ever written)

CHAPTER 25 AKA THE SCENE WITH CINDER AT THE SHOP. THEIR ENTIRE CONVERSATION SPECIFICALLY.

he's still limping :(( he never even once mentioned his injury...

so perhaps he's being unnecessarily rude to the shopkeeper BUT HEAR ME OUT mm had to give him a flaw otherwise he'd be too perfect

i actually have a lot of things to say about the whole talk about the shopkeeper's son who refused to become a lunar guard so i'll make a separate paragraph below

he can pronounce "fentanylten" without stuttering i just know he has all the medicine molecule names memorized that nerd

cinder asking him whether he wanted to become a guard and him answering “Naw. I always wanted to be a doctor.” THERE IT IS he wanted to be a doctor. oh my god. he wanted to be a doctor. but he was forced into becoming a lunar guard. did i mention that he wanted to be a doctor.

and in true jacin fashion he says it with as much sarcasm as he can so that, if we weren't in cinder's pov (who has a lie detector) we would just think he's just saying whatever

more discussions about becoming a lunar guard aka my heart hurts he really deserves better

"Who would Levana have murdered if you’d refused?” / “Doesn’t matter. They’re probably going to end up dead anyway.” someone teach this guy healthy coping strategies i'm begging you

the way he says he was chosen for his pretty face........ i know it's sadly true but it's really funny to me he really has the comedic timing down

second requirement for becoming a guard is where things get sadder: having a weak gift and learning how to keep your mind blank. the fact that he does it so much to the point that it's become a habit for him is just horrifying to think about. he tries to show that he's unaffected, that he's accepted it, but can we pause and look at the words he uses to describe himself as a guard?? "We're like puppets", "I would have been the same brainless mannequin that I usually am", "To them, I have about as much brains and willpower as a tree stump" this is painful

when cinder asks him to lie and he goes “Levana’s not so bad, once you get to know her.” PLEASE his humor is great actually

also him grinning after that and making cinder laugh i love that i love that so much !!! in general i love seeing the rampion crew progressively becoming friends but jacin's moments specifically make me really soft because he's just so used to staying emotionless...

the thing about him is that he always says these things in a very nonchalant way but you just know that it affects him a lot. he keeps his tone very neutral during the entire conversation, even when talking about horrific things... until he thinks about winter. when cinder mentions her lunar gift suppressing device, and he realizes there might be a way to prevent the side effects of not using your gift. that's the first moment jacin shows any emotion, and even cinder is caught off-guard. she notices how he just drastically changes and how he can't manage to hide it even after he recomposes himself. that's the only moment so far, besides him seeming sympathetic towards cress, in which you see his façade crack.

ok now i just want to talk about why (i think) he was so hostile about the shopkeeper's son & wolf fighting to avoid not being controlled by levana. this is very much me over-analyzing so i just hope i can make sense.

the woman basically explains that her son prefered dying over joining the lunar guard, even when it led to terrible consequences to his family. jacin says "I guess he must not have cared about you very much." meanwhile the woman describes it as an act of bravery, despite everything.

don't get me wrong I KNOW he was being incredibly insensitive, but jacin has basically been desensitized to everything ever so honestly i don't think we can expect anything else from him?? even if he was wrong to say that. he's not necessarily calling the son selfish though. in the context, lunars know that refusing to become a royal guard means your family getting killed. it's not a possibillity / a potential consequence but really a fact, a direct outcome.

the only reason jacin is able to accept his life as a guard is because he doesn't want anything bad to happen to his family & winter.

i mentioned it earlier but jacin seems to be really practical as a person, in the sense that he always tries to go for the logical route and looks at everything in a really realistic, blunt way. kinda cost - benefit way, if you want. he doesn't take chances if it could potentially risk the lives of his loved ones. it's probably just the only way he's found to "reason" with himself and accept all the terrible things he has to do as a guard. because at least it keeps them safe.

we also see more of this mentality when cinder defends wolf by saying "He’d rather fight, and lose, than become another one of her pawns. We all would." and jacin says that not everyone has that option. because in his case, he has way too much to lose. wolf mainly fought that hard because he was trying to help his loved one (scarlet), and cinder doesn't have as much to lose, so the situations are different.

also, although there are several lunars in the rampion crew, the only one who has lived as an actual citizen in luna, is jacin. winter did, too, but her circumstances are a bit different as a princess (and cinder doesn't know winter yet, here).

wolf being on earth (also being insanely physically strong) gives him a few options to escape, to fight. jacin doesn't have that. even his gift is weak. in luna, and especially when he's around thaumaturges, defying orders in any way would just be an immediate death sentence to him and everyone he cares about. especially when you consider that in his case, his dad (a royal guard) and winter (princess, the queen's step-daughter) are in levana's direct reach and you know levana is just waiting for an excuse to torment winter.

going with the rampion is already big enough of a risk, but there is always the "they controlled me" and "sybil glamoured me to take scarlet" safety net. still not a guarantee because luna isn't exactly forgiving. but still, definitely safer than manifesting defiance.

the ONLY moment i recall where jacin actually makes a huge gamble is in book 4, where he risks a lot to try to save winter. other than that, he's not willing to take chances when someone else's life is on the line.

obviously, when cinder says that, she doesn't know him or his real motives to know why he can't allow himself to defy orders. after all, she's still really confused as to why he's helping her in the first place. but i just think it's interesting to see how his mentality, as someone living directly under a tyranny, compares to the others', who kinda see things from the outside.

in his mind, he has no way out or any way to make his life better, so he tries to avoid making it worse even if it means sacrificing his well being. that's just the way things are for him. meanwhile, the woman's son's actions kinda go against everything that jacin has worked so hard for, and everything that is important to him.

again, this is all in the perspective of someone who hasn't exactly had the ideal conditions and opportunities to develop empathy. and yet he is empathetic, (sure, sometimes less than the average person) he just doesn't allow himself to express it properly.

soooooo uh that's about it for now.

i decided to cut this into 2 parts because i thought it was getting way too long. i'm about halfway through cress and i'm writing the 2nd part as i read it! i'll probably be done within a few days and post it & i'll add a link to this post when i do!

if you've reached this far, thank you so much for reading my incoherent rambling about jacin clay. no idea why you would do that, but thank you regardless!!

i'd love to hear people's thoughts on this, on him in general, anything really ! i just really needed an excuse to talk about tlc and jacin honestly.

part 2 is here

[valiantarcher]

Tagged by @sunheart to list my ten favourite male characters - thank you! This seems an unfair request to constrain it to distill it to my absolute favourites, much less only ten, so I’m just going to list ten male characters I like from ten different works and leave it at that.

Faramir (The Lord of the Rings)

Shasta (The Horse and His Boy)

Apen Shephard (The Silver Eye)

Jacin Clay (The Lunar Chronicles)

Illya Kuryakin (The Man from U.N.C.L.E., both TV and movie)

Uncle Iroh (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Bear (Fairy Tale Novels)

Kaladin Stormblessed (The Stormlight Archive)

Camillus Rufus (The Ides of April/The Roman Sequence)

Dym Ingleford (Enemy Brothers)

Tagging @worldwithinworld, @theworldiswhispering, @morfinwen, @idratherdreamofjune, @lover-of-the-starkindler, @lady-merian, @isfjmel-phleg, and @hollers-and-holmes, if they should so like.

[skadventuretime]

oh i see a cinderella retelling, that’s cute. ponytail RIGHTS iko my beloved. the k in kai stands for kpop. hm when will we get slipper payoff -- O H NO PUT IT BACK PUT IT everyone SHUT UP scarlet is my wife. he likES TOMATOES clenches fist. ANGRY WOMEN ANGRY WOMEN wolfletwolfletwolfletwolfletwolfetwolfle-- GRANDMEREEEEEEEEE she's mine o Hn O let scarlet keep the shotgun do it you won't. WOLFLETWOLFLETWOLFET. oh....oh no space rapunZEL YOUR HONOR SHE IS BABY. tech genius baby? hacker child??? THE SLUT IS HERE HAHAHA I HOPE YOU GET WRECKED EMOTIONALLY. f...fake married one bed (my god there was only one bed) WHERE IS MY WIFE MY BOY IS YEARNING (waaAAAAAIT for mE, i'm cOoOoOmiIIIIN) jacin bekiemccaeleigh clay. SHE'S MY ALPHA thorne voice 'that all sounds very dire' / 'you shouldn't tell someone you love them unless you mean it' haha that won't come back to hurt me (i have no ring for your finger, i have no banquet table to layYYYY) phantom of the opera levana??? hey that's uhh fucked up! :) evret my beloved WINTER MY DARLING (it's a sAAAAD s o O  N g) bodyguard princess bodygUARD PRINCESS "hey trouble" i am gnawing on the bars of my enclosure slaps blorbo this one can fit so much fierce yearning "and suddenly hades was only a man with a taste of nectar upon his lips" jacinterjacinterjacinter WOLFETWOLFLETWOLFLET wait put them back SLUT HACKER REUNION he's got it so bad hehe THE JUXTAPOSITION OF KAI'S WEDDING AND EVRET'S IN THIS ESSAY I WILL (whatcha gonna do when the chips are down, nOOOOOW THAT THE CHIPS ARE DOWN??) j̶̮̩̙̜͑̈́̐̏̋͗̅̅͂͋͝à̴̭̻̦͚̖̝͍̼̔̇̎̆͑̏̀͒́͑̎̾̄͝c̵̯̘̜͚̘̘͉̱̃͐̃i̶̢̢̧̤̔̊̏̆̌̾̏̈̍̌̋n̶̘̝̭̻͔̞͕̭̠͍͉̮̺̤̬̍͋̍̒̌̌͘̚t̶̨̘̺̘͚͕̹̯͒̋́e̵̡̨̡̧̡̧̻̹̫̙̳̪͇̿̈́̄͋̾̓͆̽r̴̜̱̖̣͍̈́̍͂̋́̊̈́̈̄͊͛̚͝͝w̵͓̠̳̗̳̰͙̹̜͕͒͋̍̇̐͗͜o̴͍̿̓̀͛̾̍̐̉l̷̛̹̤̰͗̓̂́͌̐̄̓͆͑̇ͅf̵̹̦͈̩̘̙̀͋͗͆̀͒͆͜͝l̴̜̍͛̋̿͆̿̾͛͊͗̋̽̚͝͝ë̸̛̛̜̠̞̩͓̭͎̯̘̖͕̤́̑̇̊́̈́͋͗̄̀̐͜t̴̨̠̙̘̞̙̯̯̗̤̮̒̍͌̾̒̄͗͐̿̿̒͝j̵̛̣̾͌͊̉̅͋̅̍͆̉̑͝a̴͙̋c̷̡̰̺̱̺̗͕̯͐i̴̢͉̼̗̼̪̤̽̀͂͗̇͜͝͝N̶͇̫̟̽̈̀͌̄̅̄́̃̄͑͝͝T̵́̆͆̀̈́͑͝��̼̗̬͕͖̬̳̘̟̻̜̱͖͗̽̀E̵̻̪͊̏̿̂̀͝R̵̫̜͎̀̽͐̎͒͗̌̈́̚͠͠W̸̖̠̫͈͇͚͇͓͕̹̼̺̗̊̍̎̉̔̃̃̑̑̊͜Ơ̷̧̡͇͚̝͈̣͖̞̦̠̿̒̇̐̚͜͝L̶̢͖̣͑͑̓͂͐F̶̖͇̱̋̿͑͐̆L̸̢̢͈̯̀̅̿̔̄̀̾̄͆̒̄̏̑͘̚Ë̷̢͕̞̲̙́͊̅͜T̷̡̛͍̥̟̼͕̀̐̈̈́̔̚͝ ̶̢̹̞̞̜͇̮̠̺̗̈́͜͠ͅJ̷̢̛͍̳̰͖̹̺͓͖̣̯͍̫͗̓̓́̀̈́̾̀͝ ̵̜̘͍̗̱͓̦̿̑̊̈́͋̌̎̌A̶̦̳͉͔̩̜͖͍̱̲̤͗̈̾̓̒̏̈́̈́̃͗́̉̚̚͝C̶̨̨̡͚͎͖̗̥̅̌͋̍̽̏̎͐͠ ̶̢̛͖̘̭͇̳̰́̅̒̿̃̏̇͛̐̅̕͠Ï̸͙̘͇̩̣̼̋́͊̒͒̈̿̆̓̆͜͝ͅN̵͔̗̤̝̦͙̽̃̈́̌̽̇̐̓́̓̃ ̸̡̗͖̲̮̹̎̈̐́̂̓͑̈̔̚Ṱ̵̡̨̡̡̨̛̲̫̻͔̝̗͚͐̈́̓̾̂̊̎͊́̓͗͋̚E̷̡̢̯̣̖̝͓͍̫̮̥͙͗̽̅͋͘͠ͅR̴̯̲̠̯͇̩̣̬͜͝ ̵͔̩̦͍͚̺̒̄̏͛̆͂͌́W̴̭͕͋͌̋͊͂̈́͘Ǫ̶̰͖̲͓̪̭͚̹͇͕̪̠̻͖͌̍͌͛̏̋̀̋̆̈́͊̚͝L̵̤͚̟̞͖̠̳̇͂̅̈́̉̀̓̊͛͘͝ ̸̨̲̹̫̩̠̏͑̉̾̆͠F̵̡̢̡̟͔̯̘̰̝̻̙̓͊͊̈́̽̓̔̾͒̾̆͝͝ͅȨ̴̠͓̜̬̬͙̭̱̥̹͗̑̂̈͂̓̑͛͗̾̓͛̚͘͠Ļ̸̮͍͙̝̰̔͒͂̈́̇͂͘͝E̶̡̛̺̝͙̒̑̂̿̂̓��̹̱͚͚̪̭̦̗͜͜Ţ̴̨̮̥̼͍̺̗͚̫̖̭̩͚̔̅̎̉͌̿̓͊͠͝ ̵̗͓̺͓̗̜̰̝̲̱̱͓̥̓̾̍̈́̋͑Ę̴̨̧̨̛̟̲̼̟́͂̄͒̆̑͜N̴͉͇̪̗̣͚͂E̴̛͉̣̾̈́̽͝T̵͉̩͍̺̠͇̺̓̿̈͆̓̌͊̚͠Ȑ̴͇̠͊͆̿̋̋̈̚͝Ř̸͚͇̲̾̾̑́̓̍̍͑̒̆̆͝J̷̈́̋͐͐̓̈́̿͛͆̕͜C̴͕̣̙̫͍͇̳̪͉̖̳̞̘̤͂ͅV̶̛̟̠̻͕̺̊̑̎̋̓̑́̀̓̋͝͝Č̷̼̮͍͖̱̈́͒̄̓̑̿̒̏͠H̷̟̟̖̰̞͇̽̃̀̏̋̓̊̿͑̎͘J̴̢̨̧̜͈̣̩̙͔̲̹̩̳̱̰̀̿̇̓̓̎̉̾̈́̌̚͝͝Ě̷̡͙̹̱̠̺̭̮̳̯̭̄́̚Ǒ̸͎̮͙͍̤̽̒̾͆̂̽̀̎͑̾̕͘͝K̴̢̭̲͈̠̖͚͚͖̪͓͓̮͆͜ͅÖ̴̩̜̤̮̯̳́̍̓͘͜͝ͅF̴̨̯͂̇̀̒Ķ̶̨̨̦̭̟͔͕͈̳̮̗͖̲͛̂̾͗̒̀̉͗͐͊̿̽̒͝ͅS̵̛̯͇̉̇́̀̑̊͂͒͑̐̉̾̒Ẹ̶̬̮̐G̴̡̛̥̗͚̫͕̟̭͌̂͗̾͐̈́̕̚͝Ḱ̷̛̠̬̠̫͔̱D̶͚̬̖̖͇̞̯́̈́̓̈̇̃͜͜͝͝F̸̡͈͎͓̜͕̮̬̣̹̗̺̮͋͋̆̏̾̀̕͝Ĝ̵̨̛̬̳̤͓̥̦̳̻͍̝̪̪̈̽͑̈́̂̋͗̆̕̚͝

[crescentchat]

on Sandwiches and Shells (Lunar Chronicles Fanfiction)

Jacin was everything to Winter. The blue in her veins, the space between her hollow bones, the warm color in both her irises.

But Jacin was also a dork.

Winter and Thorne both agreed on this. ----

An exploration of Winter & Thorne friendship, and Jacin & Cress. Also a deep dive into the fate of the shells after the revolution! 

Finished:07-28-2021 

Words:1861

Jacin was everything to Winter. The blue in her veins, the space between her hollow bones, the warm color in both her irises.

But Jacin was also a dork.

Winter and Thorne both agreed on this.

And with two sandwiches and a bench in a glass hallway near the ship docks, they discussed it at length.

“Then he threatened to duel me! Dueling- ” Thorne had said, bug-eyed, one cheek filled with bread. “Do Lunars duel? Is that a custom?”

The princess giggled. “Public lashings were common”

He was silent for a moment as he swallowed the rest of his lunch. “Those still aren’t legal, right?”

“No, I don’t think Cinder would let it be. She might make an exception for you maybe.”

The brunet threw his head back and laughed. “Now you’re sassy? I can’t escape it since Cinder and Scarlet started rubbing off on Cress!”

“Perhaps I learned it from Jacin,” Winter added, taking a small bite from her zesty sandwich. “He had been sentenced to public lashing one time.”

Winter smiled at the memory, not because of the gore of seeing the love of her life tied and beaten, but the things he had said to her that night. The side of him that no one else was allowed to see (but everyone knew was there because he was not good at hiding it), a man that would do anything, anything for her.

“Huh. Wish I was there.” Thorne added.

In the comfortable silence, her eyes went to a grand, marble door nearby. If Jacin were here right now, he would be standing statuesque next to it. And since Thorne was here with her, he would probably be standing even closer. Winter would offer him food, and he would decline, Thorne would have something witty to say about it, and Jacin would make a threat of violence with a deadpan face.

“Where’s your loverboy, anyways?”

“He accompanied your Cress to a shell rehabilitation meeting. Do you want to eat the rest of this?”

“Pickles? No way. And what do you mean shell rehabilitation meeting ? She’s already in therapy,” Thorne added skeptically, brushing the crumbs off his lap and standing up.

“No, no. It’s for the friends that were rescued from the labs.”

Thorne nodded and made an ‘O’ shape with his lips. “To reintroduce them into normal society? Well, as normal as moon people can be, ” he added, muttering the last part.

Shells had very limited education (being a thaumaturge telling them an intimidating version of what reproduction was like, effectively scaring them away from it), but they had made their own versions of interaction before they were put in cryo-sleep.

The shells that couldn’t find their previous families, or families that wouldn’t take them back, were offered jobs in the Artemisian palace. Winter was very fond of all of them. They would say very strange things to the aristocrats, ask the most awkward questions at the most horrible times, but they were Winter’s people .

Despite effectively being a war hero, many still thought Winter was crazy, including her close friends. But apart from Jacin, the shells were the only ones in the palace who were too different for others to swallow, swimming in their heads too often. Like she was. They understood.

Many had dreams of moving the Earth, and maybe being normal on Earth meant losing your peculiarity.

But this couldn’t be true. Cress was raised in a drastically different way than the other shells, but she was still just as weird and wistful as them.

“The friends, they really admire her,” Winter said after a moment. “They told me that Sybil Mira had taken her away one day. They were very envious because they thought she was going to the palace to be freed, but Sybil told them that she was killed instead.”

Thorne nodded. “Yeah, I remember that at the banquet. Like, all of them were sobbing. Kind of touchy, too.”

“They don’t know much better, though,” Winter said, dusting her dress off and standing as well once her sandwich was finished.

“Hence the rehabilitation!” He said proudly, already at the door holding it open. “Let’s go supervise.”

__________________________________

Jacin had made a promise to Cress, a very long time ago. That promise was that her safety would come only second to Winter’s.

But sometimes he wondered, What was he willing to put up with for her?

He already dealt with shells and their lack of personal space and emotional boundaries at the palace, but here, there were about a hund of them all in this one conference room in South Artemisia.

Despite Jacin placing himself far away from the others and staying silent, that didn’t stop people from coming up to him and asking, asking, asking, asking-  

“Why are your arms so big?” A pale, redheaded teenager asked.

“I exercise.”

“What pertains to exercise?”

“Pushups.”

“What’s a pushup?”

Jacin rolled his eyes to the sky. “Look it up. You have a portscreen, don’t you?”

The boy, Wane, scoffed. “Portscreens are so blue . I see enough blue on the faces of others.”

He fought another eye-roll, but only because the statement reminded him of something whimsical Winter might say. “I’m sure someone else can show you.”

Wane nodded nonchalantly, thanked him, and ambled away.

This queued Jacin to turn his attention to Cress, who was swiping through her portscreen, and being swarmed by a group of shell women. She looked a little flustered, but not overwhelmed by the attention.

He discreetly made his way over to the crowd and cut through so he was right behind Cress.

Ah.

He should have guessed by the squeals and giggles from the shell girls that Cress was showing them pictures of the Captain. One picture was him carrying an antidote crate, concentration etched in his eyes. Cress swiped through her photo gallery again, showing a picture of him fascinatingly watching a romantic net drama (one he claimed to hate, by the way).

“Ahem,” Jacin coughed.

The blonde turned around swiftly, as did the shells.

The shell girls hugged him immediately, all greeting him. He just about pushed them off in shock until Cress shot him a knowing yet weary smile reminding him that they don’t know much about personal space.

Wasn’t she supposed to be mentoring them on that instead of showing them pictures of her boyfriend? Jacin coughed again. “Hello, everyone. I need a word with the shortcake.”

“Hey!” A brunette yelped. “That’s mean. Crescent is short and lovely and not a cake! ”

“Ah, Callista. He’s not being mean. It’s lighthearted, a nickname.” Cress said, gently pulling her away from Jacin. By now the rest of the shells had gone somewhere else, off to another counselor to ask a thousand questions.

“No, Cress is a nickname because it is short for Crescent Moon. But shortcake has nothing to do with Crescent Moon.”

Cress sighed, “Okay, so-”

Jacin tuned it out, waiting for her to be done. Why did they ask her to explain these things when she could barely explain it herself?

It brought him to another time when a shell woman came up to Cress and kissed her on the mouth like they had been casually dating for years.

Thorne had jumped out of his chair, and when Cress was done being shocked, she stuttered, “Why did you do that?”

“Because I love you!” She exclaimed happily.

“You do not love her, you’ve known her for two days!” Thorne had interjected.

“Of course I love her. She is a hero to all our shell friends and saved us all!”

“I am a friend, then, but you don’t-  you can’t kiss people! On the face like that!” Cress swallowed.

She had placed her fingers on her chin like she  was deeply considering this. “Yes, yes. Interesting. Thank you for letting me know.”

Cress’ mildly sarcastic cough brought him back to the present. “What did you need?”

“I think it’s about time we go back to the palace.”

“Aww, why? I was having so much fun,” She whined.

“Having fun showing off Thorne?”

There was a comedic silence, before she said, “Yeah.”

Jacin rolled his eyes for maybe the hundredth time, but this time only in jest.

Cress feigned an offended gasp, and swatted at him lightly, standing up from her chair. “You would show off Winter too if put in the position!”

“She would show herself off.” He said, stopping by a door while Cress waved goodbye to the shells.

“Thorne probably would too,” She said, finally closing the door and cracking her fingers. “But I’m just getting the word out he’s mine.”

Jacin almost snorted at the sudden and unexpected possessiveness of her statement. “Sometimes I wonder if he forgets he’s yours.”

She thoughtfully shook her head. “No, it’s a lot like Winter. Kind of.”

Jacin raised his eyebrow.

“Well, like, Winter attracts people by existing, you know? She can’t help it.”

That was very true. She could swish her hair once, and twirl in her dress twice maybe, and get just about anything she wanted. But still, “Thorne can definitely help it though.”

Their footsteps echoed off the grand hallway, chatter from the shell meeting all but gone. “Maybe. I don’t know.” There was a hint of doubt in her voice.

Jacin, out of fear he offended her, added, “Not that I think he’s unfaithful. He’s obsessed with you, really.”

“In a romantic way?”

Jacin nodded.

The flush that was on her face earlier came back. “W-well, Winter’s obsessed with you!”

He decided they were far away enough for anyone to hear, so he indulged himself in a laugh. “I know, I know.”

__________________________________

“Hello, Squire Clay!” Thorne bellowed as he strutted through the ship docks, Winter trailing behind, sandwich in hand.

Cress could hear Jacin’s eye roll (he was doing a lot of those today).

“Hey you,” Thorne greeted her, voice softer and looping an arm around her waist.

“Apologies I told him about your squireship status,” Winter hooked an arm around his neck and pecked his cheek.

“Does this mean you’re a knight now or something? What’s the surname for knights-” the Captain snapped his fingers, trying to call up the knowledge. “Your Holiness?”

“I think it’s just sire,” Cress said.

Thorne purred, “Medieval knowledge. Nice. How’d it go, sire?”

Jacin held up a hand. “Don’t do that,” he grumbled as Winter snorted. “It went fine. We left early because you two have somewhere to be.” He pointed to the other couple.

Captain looked down at her with wide eyes, looking for an answer. “Ah, the outbreak in the United Kingdom. Almost forgot about that.” She said.

“Of course! In the Canadian province. How could I forget?” Thorne chirped as if he knew the whole time.

“Well, I didn’t forget. The vaccines have already been loaded into the Rampion.” The platinum blonde said, signaling to the crates in the cargo bay.

Thorne hummed. “Guess it’s time to go, then.”

“Thank you, Jacin,” Cress smiled at him, and he smiled back.

“Have fun with your Trouble, Jacin!” He yelled from the Rampion, as the ramp closed.

He scoffed, for again, probably the hundredth time that day.

__________________________________

__________________________________

Finally finished! I promised this you be finished a week ago, but I lied hehe. Thank you for @gingerale2017 for cheerleading me on! I’m really proud of this. please support on AO3! 

[honey-hippie-harper]

*sings happy birthday in an out of tune voice*

I HEARD IT’S @jacihayle BIRTHDAY!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

HI, HONEY! :’) YOU’RE A YEAR OLDER, YAY!

You’re one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met and I hope you know you are loved afsghjafgshja :’) <3 I hope you have a super fun day today, and do things you like, surrounded by th people you love! <3

You’re amazing :’) Happy birthday <3 <3 <3

I wrote a little thing for you, I hope you like it :’) <3

My dearest Jacin:

By the time you read this, you will be in a suit. I know you have been wearing an uniform for such a long time you do not enjoy dressing in formal attires anymore, but I am sure that does not change the fact you look like the most handsome man that has ever existed in this whole galaxy, and I love you more than you will ever know.

How can a person love another with such intensity without tearing a heartstring is beyond me and my understanding, but my love for you is so immense I could try to compare its magnitude to the size of the sky and not even all of the stars would be able to cover it whole.

My dearest.

My love.

My best friend.

You were so important from the start. I remember the safety and warmth you carried within in the palm of your freezing hand, and the contrarity of the sensations your touch awaken in me was always fascinating, in an odd manner.

Your eyes were always too gentle to be gray, and I remember, in my darkest days, how I enjoyed getting lost in them. They were my favorite place to be, and they still are, to this day.

Your gray eyes were the first ones to ever look right through me, and once I let you in, you had free access for any time you wanted to come in, before I had no reason to ask you to do the opposite. I always trusted you would do no harm, and I always knew, as well, that I was right.

I do not regret it.

There are several things, however, that I cannot remember. My memories from the bad, bad times are fuzzy recordings of a place I do not desire to return to. Once you start to get better, you become terrified of the taste of dread, which is a good thing, in my opinion, because you learn to protect yourself from the ones who carry questionable intentions.

Strangely enough, though most of my memories are repressed, I can see you in stages. Little, vivid fragments of images that my brain would separate from the rest of the cruelness and play them on loop to find sanity in a place where there was  any.

A person’s mental state cannot be cured with love. Love is indeed a powerful force, but it happens not to be a doctor. Nonetheless, love makes you feel hold, and it is sometimes the reason why you decide to survive another day.

Despite knowing none of the things surrounding me would heal my head, I am proud and grateful to say that the feeling of being hold was never foreign to me, and it is all because of you, my dearest Jacin, who would hold me in the shadows, who would promise we would make it for another day, even if you never made empty promises about our situation getting better.

I could see the knives tearing your flesh apart, in your back, and that always broke my heart in painful ways I cannor even describe, because I loved you so much I felt desperate to do the same for you. I was mortified, thinking of the day you would not come back to me.

But you always did.

We had the silent promise we would always manage to hold on for another day, and, thank the Stars, that promise was never broken.

We would always come back, because it is human nature to go back to the place we feel warm, after being out in the cold for hours.

I am overjoyed, glad and relieved that, after today, we will hold each other for eternity, through thick and thin, because I cannot think of another person I would want to spend the rest of my days with. To share my life and dreams with.

You have such an old soul, but it fits into mine like they were made for each other, and having you was the best gift life could have possibly given me.

I am glad I chose you, and I am glad you chose me too.

I cannot promise you there will not be bad days, but I believe in us, and I trust we will make it better, like we have always done.

And the best part of it all, my dear best friend, is that we do not have to be in the shadows anymore.

The shadows are long gone. They have disappeared. They have left us alone.

We can be out, whether it is up here, where we can see the whole galaxy and the planets smile back at us, or down there, where we can walk under the sunlight, and experience the one thing I am named after, which is, at the same time, the only type of cold a person should experience in their life.

We can be out there, and have the entire world smiling back at us, like the planets do.

Let’s savour every second. Every minute. Every hour. Every day, week and year.

Let’s enjoy the peace we longed for for such a long time.

Let’s kiss until our lips are so used to the other’s they feel like an important part of our own being.

Let’s hug, until we can find our heartbeats with ease.

Let’s say the words “I love you” until they sound so familiar they make us feel that we are home.

And let’s love.

Let’s yearn, and love, and enjoy our life together until one day, we realize we love each other like the first day.

Let’s love, Jacin Clay.

For today, we are finally free to do it.

Sincerely,

Winter.

[janisarkisian]

For the Revolution!

It’s AU day!!! I really wanted to write this out as a fic, but I felt like I would be way to long and I wanted to have it finished in time for today so I wrote it in headcanon format! This is an american revolution au that somehow ended up being more words that yesterdays fic. Also, should I start a tag list of mutuals for the shipweeks or not?

-Winter and Jacin have been best friends since they were super little

-Jacin comes from a poorer family and Levana doesn’t approve of him for Winter

-Winter insists that they’re just friends so she can hang out with him

-But she’s had the biggest crush ever on him since she was eleven

-Levana is a loyalist and so are the Clays 

-They’re not supposed to have their own beliefs but Winter and Jacin are both strong patriots

-She knows that she could get in huge trouble for it, but Winter drags Jacin along to Boston square, where the infamous Boston massacre takes place

-Neither of them get killed, which is good

-Winter tries to sneak into her house unnoticed, but Levana’s annoying maid Sybil catches her

-Of course, Sybil tells Levana

-Winter tries to lie but Levana doesn’t believe her

-Finally, the truth comes out

-Winter gets grounded for two months and is forbidden to see Jacin again

-Her poor heart is broken

-The next day, Levana is out and she took Sybil with her

-Jacin comes knocking at the door for Winter

-She tells him about what happened with Levana

- “If I never get to see you again then I must tell you that I love you.” -Winter

-Pretty much the menagerie scene except it’s on Winter’s front porch and she doesn’t think that she’s going to die

-After kissing Jacin, Winter realizes that she really did mean the words that she told him

-Pretending to be in bed, she makes a plan

-The next day she shows up on the Clay’s front porch

-”Jacin, I’m running away. You may choose to come with me if you shall like.” 

-of course, he does 

-Winter tries to pack lightly so Levana won’t notice right away

-Jacin literally packs like one extra outfit, but a ton of food

-(his cook really likes him)

-They’re not really sure where they’re going to go, but they just knew they needed to get out

-When Winter was little, she had a friend named Scarlet

-Scarlet’s grandma owned an inn

-They go there first

-They don’t have money for a carriage, so they have to walk there

-It’s on the other side of Boston so it takes like forever

-When they finally get there, it’s dark out

-Benoit Inn and Gardens has a dark secret

-They’re only letting patriots in, except for this one guy named Alexander Perder V 

-he works directly for the king

-Michelle Benoit and Scarlet hired this man to assassinate him

-guess who

-Ze’ev Kesley

-how do I incorporate my OTP into everything 

-okay back to jacinter

-Scarlet remembers Winter right away

-She also remembers that Levana is a loyalist

-winter and Jacin swear that they’re patriots and that’s why they’re here

-After a few minutes of consideration, Scarlet finally lets them in

-She’ll only let them stay there for two weeks for free though

-They get settled in, then head downstairs

-It’s a freakin party down there

-Neither Winter or Jacin had ever had alcohol, but there’s a first time for everything

-There’s one guy just chilling in the corner with a beer

-They sit near him bc they don’t want to get involved in anything too crazy

-His name is Ze’ev but everyone calls him Wolf

-Jacin immediately knows there’s something he’s not telling them 

-so Jacin just stays pretty quiet

-”I think he’d be a good match for Scarlet friend”- Winter after going back up to the room

-Jacin just scoffs

-He can’t sleep bc he’s thinking about the fact that something wasn’t right with Ze’ev

-Finally, he figures it out 

-There was a redcoat in his bag

-he has British loyalties

-The next morning while Winter is still asleep, Jacin goes to Scarlet and tells her to investigate him

-He might be bad with emotions, but he knew it was heartbreak clear on Scarlet’s face

-She just rubs it off though

-By that afternoon Ze’ev is gone

-Winter is still kinda oblivious to the events of the day

-When she passes by Scarlet’s room, she knows it’s crying that she hears

-Scarlet tells Winter what happened and Winter feels so bad for her

-and she really ships Scarlet with that dumb loyalist

-Jacin decides that they should leave the next day

-he’s caused Scarlet enough heartbreak

-Winter is reluctant about leaving, but eventually agrees with Jacin

-They leave the next morning, ready to impact this revolution

[princessselene126]

Selene 2: Highness and Majesty

This is a bit trashy, but I wrote it 5 years ago and only made minor edits before posting it here. I promise the next chapter will sound better because I have to write it still. 1293 words of Selene and Kai meeting and Selene being confused about her servant’s problems.

Selene Masterlist masterlist

Selene waved farewell to Levana as their ship took off, Winter at her side. Selene was glad she was able to convince Winter into coming...not that it took very much. The only thing she had to do was make sure Jacin Clay could come along with them and the princess was sold.

They’d both known Jacin since they were children, playing and telling each other everything. But two years ago, he became a guard, and spending quality time with him was harder and harder to come by. 

The small ship leveled off.

After eating a light snack, Selene decided to stay in her room for the rest of the trip. She walked down the silver hallway. The door slid open when she approached, and she walked inside. Selene sat on the side of her bed, running her fingers across the satin fabric. With a heavy sigh, she collapsed onto the cloud-like mattress. Her eyes closed into a dreamless sleep.

Hours later she awoke to Winter lightly tapping on her shoulder. "We're landing in half an hour."

"Thank you." She stood up and walked to the closet. "Help me dress?" Terria came along too, but Selene didn't feel the need to bother the girl right then.

Winter smiled.

They landed just on time. Selene stepped out of the ship and descended the hot metal staircase. The sun smoldered on the pavement. Selene could see the heat waves rising and soaking into her skin as she made her way to the prince. 

No. No he wasn’t really a prince anymore, was he? He’d be crowned Emperor of the Eastern Commonwealth at the end of the week.

"Your Highness," Selene nodded, holding her hand out to him.

The prince was younger than she imagined, no older than twenty. Maybe he was even a year or two younger. He was tall and lean. His jet black hair was down neatly. His copper-brown eyes bored into her with hatred that shocked her. 

Selene knew the rumors of her wickedness--everyone did--and she knew where they stemmed from. From fear of her aunt, her mother, her grandparents, her people. Yes, there were many terrible Lunars out there, but she wanted to change that stigma. She wanted to show the people of earth how truly good her people could be.

"Your Majesty."

"I'm truly sorry for the loss of your father." She stuck to formalities, well aware that the recently deceased emperor would be a sore subject for the young prince. They could talk politics later, for now it was best to let him grieve.

"Thank you for your kindness." He nodded, acknowledging her but with a hint of aggression.

This is how it’s going to be, isn’t it?

"Let's not stand in the blistering sun all day," A man Selene presumed was Kaito's adviser said. "I'm sure you've had a long trip, Your Majesty, I'll have servants show you to your suite in the palace and we will have the treaty meeting tomorrow afternoon. That should give you plenty of time to settle in."

Perfect. Waiting until the next day would give Selene to strategize on how to convince the prince, no, emperor, into marrying her. It wasn’t her plan, it was Levana’s. Her aunt wanted to make sure that all the planning her, Channary, and the Lunar scientists went through wasn't put to waste, therefore not allowing the Selene to have a choice in the matter.

Selene would much rather trade the antidote for the raw materials they needed and get on with life, but she had to admit it was a good idea. Marriage would make it so that her planet was well off throughout the rest of her reign. Maybe even years after. 

The next morning, the young queen decided to explore the gardens. "Terria, would you accompany Princess Winter and I on our stroll?" Selene asked in a way that would allow the girl to deny her request if she wanted. Unsurprisingly, Terriana agreed, most likely still afraid of angering her queen.

The three women made their way outside while small talking. Winter was at Selene's side and Terria followed silently behind. They roamed through bushes of roses and daffodils for a while until she decided to address the servant again.

"How old are you Terria?"

The innocent girl answered so quietly Selene almost didn’t hear her. "I turned fifteen in July, Your Majesty."

She was only a year and a half younger than Selene herself? She couldn't help pitying the girl. Reaching back, she grabbed Terria by her elbow and pulled her forward so that she was walking in line with Winter and herself.

Winter giggled at the girl's petrified expression. "She doesn't bite, I promise."

"She's correct, I don't." She smiled, "I despise having conversations and not being able to look at the other person in the eyes. We're all people, formalities be damned!" Selene realized she was speaking loudly and quieted down. "How long have you been working in the palace?"

"Not very long, a week maybe?" Terriana must have been inspired to ease up after Selene's little speech because she spoke with a hint of confidence, leaving out the proper "Your Majesty" that she almost always addressed her with.

"That's strange," Winter said.

"Why?"

Selene spoke up, "Usually servants are taken before puberty unless their parents are in debt or have committed a crime." 

Out of the corners of her eyes, she noticed Terria blink a few times. Was she trying not to cry? Oh, the poor girl.

They stopped to sit on a stone bench overlooking a koi pond surrounded bushes of flowers. 

"What happened, Terri?" Selene encouraged, “Why aren't you with your family?"

As Terria allowed her tears to fall, Winter embraced her.

"My... my father and I were caught stealing food for our family." She sounded hesitant to admit her crimes, but did anyway. "He, my mother, and older brother all work in the mines, but even with their three incomes, it's not enough to support a family of seven." 

Selene was confused. Three incomes from the mines, even low ones, should have been enough to support a large family. That is... unless her advisers weren't telling the truth about the outer circles' economics.

"What sector is your family from?"

"We're in RM-5. We didn't want to do it, Your Maj--Selene--but my parents, brother, and I had already given all our food to the three youngest, practically starving ourselves. Then that food ran out and the little ones were hungry and we had to do something."

The poor girl's sobs had calmed a little, but her cheeks were red and wet with tears. 

"I understand, and I don’t blame you for wanting to help yourself and your family. But I’m confused that you have this problem when living in the middle sector. Usually these issues only arise in the outer sectors."

Selene’s eyes flickered to her cousin, who shared an equally confused look with her.

Terriana sniffled, "I know many people with similar problems."

The treads of an android approached them on the bench. 

"I promise to do what I can to help your family, Terria. I will get to the bottom of whatever is wrong here. I have a feeling my government has been keeping things from me and I will not tolerate it for much longer."

The android wheeled to a stop in front of them. "Your Majesty Queen Selene, Emperor Kaito is currently available and would like to pre-discuss the Treaty of Bremen."

"Right then." Selene stood up and brushed off her dress. She patted Terria's folded hands gently, "I'll see the two of you at dinner. Lead the way android."

“You can call me Nansi.”

“Lead the way Nansi.”

[creampuffqueen]

An Abstract Piece

Word Count: 904

An anon requested #13, which is ‘stopping little one from trying to eat crayons’ with Jacinter. I really like this one a lot, though I feel I didn’t do too great at writing Winter. Even so, I’m extremely happy to do a TLC prompt. Enjoy!

~~~~

“Mama, I’m bored.” The whining of her three-year-old son filled Winter’s ears as she walked down the hallway of the European Ambassador building. Jacin, faithfully by her side as always, dropped her hand to go to his son. 

“The meeting won’t be long, buddy.” He promised. “And we’ll do something fun afterwards.” Evret looked skeptical, but he nodded nonetheless.

They made it outside the meeting room, Winter slightly out of breath, hand on her pregnant stomach. She took a moment to breathe deeply, then knocked on the door.

“Hello, Mrs. Clay.” The European Ambassador said with a smile. “Mr. Clay. And this is-”

“My son, Evret. Can he be in the room or would you like my husband to wait outside with him?” The last thing she wanted was to be disrespectful, but since Evret was getting older she and Jacin wanted him to learn how to sit politely in meetings, so he wouldn’t have to always stay with his grandparents when Winter was working.

“He can come in.” The Ambassador said kindly. “I’ll ask my assistant to bring in some crayons and paper so he can entertain himself.”

“Do you want to color, Evret?” She asked. He giggled, smiling broadly, before hiding behind Winter’s legs.

The three of them walked inside the meeting room, where Jacin set Evret up with the crayons and paper. Evret, sitting at the far end of the table, immediately began to color.

Winter and the Ambassador talked, discussing possible trade agreements between their nations, media, and what Luna was doing to better the lives of its people. Winter was pleased that she had good answers to everything, and she and the Ambassador seemed to get along well.

Winter looked up from her portscreen, where she’d been taking notes, to see Jacin had moved away and was sitting with Evret, talking to him quietly as he peeled the paper off the crayons. He seemed to have it under control, so Winter turned her attentions away.

Big mistake.

She and the Ambassador both snapped their heads up moments later when Jacin yelped, “Evret Jacin Clay, get that crayon out of your mouth!”

Sure enough, Evret had peeled the paper off a green crayon and instead of adding to his page of scribbles, he’d instead elected to try and eat it. 

Evret looked up at his father, making eye contact. And, with everyone watching, he picked up the pink crayon, which still had paper, and put it in his mouth. 

“No, Evret.” Jacin scolded. He pulled the crayons from his son’s mouth, making a face at the colored drool he got on his arm. Seeing everyone was watching, Evret grabbed another handful of crayons and started wailing.

“Shh, buddy.” Jacin tried. Evret screamed louder.

Winter shot the Ambassador an apologetic look, then stood up and went to her husband and son as fast as she could, with her large belly and all. 

She scooped Evret up and cradled him close, starting to walk out the door. It was early, but with the way the tantrum was going, it was probably about time for a nap.

“Mamaaaa.” He whined, still holding the crayons in his little fists. Jacin, standing close by, gently pried them from his hands. Evret whimpered, and instead clung to Winter’s shirt.

“My apologies, Ambassador.” Winter said. “I think I need to go put him down for a nap. I’ll clean up the mess when I get back.”

“I’ve got it.” Jacin offered. He kissed Evret on the head, frowning a bit as his son shied away and whined at his touch. Looking mildly concerned, he began to sweep up the crayon paper to throw it away.

Winter walked Evret out of the building, and back to the ship where he had a nanny-droid waiting. He started sucking his thumb, and by the time he was inside and on his bed, he was out like a light.

“Emex, take care of Evret, please.” The droid activated silently, and rolled over to keep watch over the sleeping toddler. Satisfied, Winter made her back into the building, hoping to salvage the meeting.

“I’m so sorry about that, Ambassador.” She said as she opened the door. Then stopped in surprise.

She’d expected a harsh face, or at least a ‘this is why you don’t bring toddlers to meetings’ talk. Instead, the Ambassador was laughing with Jacin, and holding Evret’s colored paper.

“Oh! Ambassador Clay! I was just talking with your husband here. Is your son alright?”

“He’s taking a nap.” She said. “And I’m sorry again about the mess.”

The man shrugged it off. “I’ve got kids, too. Of course, they’re all teenagers now, but I remember those days. It’s not a problem.”

“Ok. Where were we again?” She asked.

The Ambassador stood up, paper in hand, and walked over to his desk, opening a filing cabinet. He grabbed a pen, wrote something on the back, then put it in the drawer. Both Winter and Jacin looked on in confusion.

“I keep all the kids’ artwork here.” He explained. “My kids, other foreign dignitaries’ kids, even Queen Camila’s sons have a piece or two in here. It’s a lot of fun to look at, actually.”

“But that was just scribbles.” Jacin said. 

“I like to think of them as abstract pieces.” The Ambassador said with a chuckle. “Now, let’s finish up this meeting so you two can go back to your son.”

~~~~

Little One Prompts!

[wordsinmyheadinkinmyveins]

Respect the brave man

To anyone who thinks Jacin Clay is not worthy of love and respect 

I want you to take a moment and reflect on yourself and your life. Look in the magic mirror and ask your self, who is the bravest of them all. Jacin, Jacin clay thats who. He does everything for WINTER. He loves that girl with all of him and yet, he has learned to put up a barrier to protect the ones he loves. BECAUSE if he didnt, he could have gotten winter killed: 

Levanah only believed that he had it in him to kill her because of his resting bitch attitude. Because if he was all lovey-dovey and emotional, there would be no way on luna that he would get away with that whole, whatever you say my queen Levanah act. 

Jacin is brave and courageous, and he deserves respect. He loves the most insane and amazing girl, and it takes a lot to deal with her shit family. 

[bookquotes17]

Fairest

<p>1. Levana had not seen the bodies, but she had seen the bedrooms the next morning, and her first thought was that all that blood would make for a very pretty rouge on her lips. She knew it was not the proper thing to think, but she also did not think her parents would have thought anything better had it been her murdered instead of them.<br>

(Wow)</p>

<p>2. the parties that Father used to throw during the full Earth<br>

(Full earth. Haha. Cool)</p>

<p>3. Evret turned back and gestured to a woman beside him. “Your Highness, I do not believe you have ever met my wife<br>

(OUUCHH)</p>

<p>4. After all, her parents were married, but that had seemed to create no great affection between them, and what was a wife in a world in which mistresses were as common as servants, and monogamy as rare as an Earthen eclipse?<br>

(Awwwwwww)</p>

<p>5. Only then did she realize that in the fantasy, she looked like Solstice Hayle<br>

(Aww i feel bad for her)</p>

<p>6. Don’t worry, you silly man. This is my baby sister, only pretending to be your wife.” She dropped her voice into an exuberant whisper. “Between you and me, I think she might have a bit of a crush on you. Isn’t that just darling?<br>

(Wow. Shit. Poor levana)</p>

<p>7. No one seemed to care that every illusion had been centered before the queen, not the birthday girl<br>

(Awww)</p>

<p>8. Her sister insulted others so that she could lift herself up in comparison. She was to be pitied, if anything<br>

(Yeeesss)</p>

<p>9. “I don’t love you!” he screamed, and the words struck her like a thousand shards of ice. “Or at least … I don’t think I do. But you’ve got my mind so turned around I can hardly tell what’s real anymore.”<br>

She attempted a gentle smile. “Don’t you see? That’s what love is supposed to feel like. All these conflicting emotions and bouts of passion that you can hardly control, and this constant twisting feeling in your stomach like you can’t decide if you want to run away from that person … or if you want to run away with them.”<br>

(Woooow.)</p>

<p>10. As the officiant confirmed the ceremony, baby Winter began to cry in earnest. Looking back, Levana saw that the toddler boy was hanging off the nanny’s arms, trying to peer into the baby’s swaddle<br>

(They’re gonna be together. Its so cute. Ugh)</p>

<p>11. I have no idea who the father is,” Channary snapped, turning away again. “Don’t you see, Levana? That’s the point.<br>

(Wow. What’s HER story?)</p>

<p>12.( Is channary’s daughter cinder?) </p>

<p>13. Then, on the twenty-first day of December in the 109th year of the third era, Queen Channary gave birth to a baby girl. She was officially named Princess Selene Channary Jannali Blackburn of Luna<br>

(Yes)</p>

<p>14. You’ve had that cough for a long time. Maybe you should see Dr. Eliot.” “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m the queen,” Channary said, as if this alone would protect her from illness<br>

(Hahaha)</p>

<p>15. Papa?” said Winter, cocking her head. “Why is Mother yelling?<br>

Levana rolled her eyes. This was how it had been since the day Winter started speaking. She addressed her father only. Levana was just the bystander, a mother in title only<br>

(Awwwwww)</p>

<p>16. Levana had a fantasy of Selene dying. Putting one of those blocks in her mouth and choking on it.<br>

(Wow)</p>

<p>17. Evret tried to show Selene how to blow out the candles, while wax dripped into the frosting. Winter, too, wanted to take part in the celebration, and baby spittle was left all over the pretty cake before young Jacin Clay got annoyed and blew out the candles himself. They all laughed and clapped,</p>

<p>18. She would do to the child what Channary had done to her. Come here, baby sister. I want to show you something. Only, unlike Channary, she would be merciful. She would not force the child to then go on living<br>

(Damn this book)</p>

<p>19. A hand slipped into Levana’s, making her jump<br>

“I’m ready to go, Mother,” said Winter. Pulse thrumming, Levana yanked her hand away. “Go wait in the corridor. I’ll be there in a moment.” Crestfallen, Winter turned and waved at Selene. A tiny hand snaked out from beneath the blanket and waved back, before Winter floated out of the nursery<br>

(They’re soooo cute!!!)</p>

<p>20. And was there anyone else there to witness it? Anyone who could vouch for your story?” Dr. Eliot opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated. “I … yes, My Queen. By that time, Dr. Logan Tanner had arrived as well, having rushed over from the med-center.”</p>

<p>21. They called the disease letumosis, from an ancient language meaning death and annihilation, a fitting name as no one who caught the disease survived. Levana and her court called it a success<br>

(Wow)</p>

<p>22. thought that Winter could so easily achieve what she had worked so hard for churned in Levana’s stomach</p>

<p>23. She wanted to be known through history as the fairest queen of the galaxy. As the ruler who united Luna and Earth under one monarchy. The yearning grew quietly at first, taking the place in her belly where a child should have been</p>

<p>24. Why is it always a prince?” asked Winter. “Why isn’t she ever saved by a top-secret spy? Or a soldier? Or a … a poor farm boy, even?” <br>

“I don’t know. That’s just how the story was written.” Evret brushed back a curl of Winter’s hair. “If you don’t like it, we’ll make up a different story tomorrow night. You can have whoever you want rescue the princess.”<br>

Like a doctor?”<br>

“A doctor? Well—sure. Why not?” <br>

“Jacin said he wants to grow up to be a doctor.” <br>

“Ah. Well, that’s a very good job, one that saves more than just princesses.” <br>

“Maybe the princess can save herself.” <br>

“That sounds like a pretty good story too.”<br>

(Haha she’s so cute.)</p>

<p>25. I was trying to save you.” Levana paused. Tears of pain were glistening in her sister’s eyes, but they were overshadowed by the crazed look, glowing with fury. “What?”<br>

“Remember, baby sister? Remember how I came in here and found you playing with a real fire in the fireplace? Remember how you fell in, thinking it wouldn’t hurt you, just like the holograph? Remember how I got burned while trying to rescue you?<br>

(My god.)</p>

[libraryscarf]

stars ao3 / ff.net cresswell tangled!au

there’s really no cool way to tell someone you wrote 6k words of fanfic for their birthday, but here goes......HAPPY BIRTHDAY @eerna !! you are such a kind, funny, sweet person with amazing talent and you deserve every moment of happiness this birthday brings you and so much more. <333 (my only hope is to make your day that much better with some cresswell fluffy cute...)

The world wasn’t ready for Crescent Moon.

At least, that is what she told herself as she lay on her bed, her face turned toward the marvelous constellations, the wheeling galaxies that sprawled across the tower ceiling. She had painted an entire sky just for herself, and Cress adored every inch of it.

Mistress Sybil, Cress’s generous caretaker, had spent many of the spare moments of her young life hammering into her head that the world would devour her if she stepped out of her tower. Sybil told her the awful things she heard: about cruel men who would sell her off piece by piece, about beasts that lurked in the forest just beyond the tower’s meadow, about earthquakes and fires and floods.

She told Cress many horrible stories about the world outside her tower. But Sybil never mentioned the stars.

Cress did not ask her about them.

But she was sure—absolutely, viscerally sure, as she lay there drinking in the painted light of her own universe—that a world with such stars in it could not possibly be all that bad.

And so she always whispered to herself as she wrapped her hair around her fingers, that the world simply wasn’t ready for her yet. She promised herself she would see it someday.

Cress hoped the world would be ready by then.

: : :

A mere three hours into her acquaintanceship with Carswell Thorne, Cress began to think Mistress Sybil had made up the “men with pointy teeth” part of her lecture. Thorne’s teeth were not pointy. Cress noticed this when he insisted she refer to him as “captain,” then proceeded to walk straight off the edge of a bank and into a shallow stream.

Despite Thorne’s mishap, Cress kept thinking of his teeth. They were nice teeth. They were straight, and white, and she found herself looking at them a great deal more than was probably appropriate. He had a very nice face in general.

Cress began to feel her stomach tighten oddly, and little flutters swam through her lungs.

She had not known Carswell Thorne for half a day before she began to fall in love with him.

If Thorne noticed this, he said nothing about it. He acted the same way he had since she first slammed him brutally over the head with a cast-iron frying pan.

Which was to say, irritated.

“Hey, blondie.” He tapped her on the shoulder. Cress whirled on him, and Thorne quickly backed up a step.

“It’s okay! I won’t eat you.”

He flashed those stupidly perfect teeth at her. Cress’s heartbeat instantly tripled in speed, galloping beneath her sternum like a runaway horse.

“I can’t help but notice,” Thorne said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “That you seem a bit…overwhelmed by all this.”

He made a sweeping gesture toward their surroundings. The forest was quiet. Pollen floated down to the ground, illuminated by bars of sunlight that seeped through the trees. Cress’s eyes caught on a few spiraling leaves, following them in their tiny orbits all the way to the forest floor.

It was more beautiful than anything she could have imagined. And Cress was very, very good at imagining.

So, even though she was a bit overwhelmed, she shook her head quickly at Thorne.

“I’m not overwhelmed,” she replied, in what she thought was a passable imitation of his confident manner. “Captain,” she added hastily.

Thorne cocked an eyebrow. Cress squared her shoulders and stared up at him with as much ferocity as her tiny, overwhelmed self could muster.

After a few seconds, he shrugged.

“All right then,” he said, making a big show of sounding casual. “If you’re certain about that, then I suppose we’ll have to find someplace decent to eat before setting off. It’s a long walk to the kingdom, you understand.”

Cress nodded vigorously, relieved Thorne was finally showing the slightest interest in guiding her to see the stars.

Lanterns, she corrected herself. Thorne had told her of the lights’ true nature as annual beacons for the lost princess. Cress allowed herself a moment of fantasy: what would it be like to be that lost little princess? To have so much celebration all in her honor?

What would it be like, Cress wondered, to be wanted so very, very badly?

“Where are we going?” she asked after ten more minutes of walking. Thorne was, of course, badly outpacing her. Cress felt a spark of panic that he might be trying to leave her behind.

“Oh, we’re nearly there,” he said over his shoulder. So Cress stumbled over her hair and tried to keep up.

Several minutes later, the two of them burst out of the trees and into a sunlit glen. At the far side, a cozy building nestled up against the trees. Smoke curled out of its cheerful, red-brick chimney, and a sign swinging over the door advertised the establishment as:

“The Rampion?” Cress asked.

“Cleanest, friendliest little place I know,” Thorne confirmed. “It’ll be perfect for you.”

: : :

The Rampion was a den of iniquity: a haven for outlaws, gamblers, traffickers, and thieves alike. Once, Thorne had even seen a man saw off his own ear in here after losing a bet. By now, Cress should have been running away as fast as that ridiculous hair would let her.

Instead, she was sitting at the largest table in the place, snuggled protectively between Scarlet Benoit (known to the kingdom police as the “Crimson Scourge”) and Jacin Clay (a disgraced ex-guard, still wickedly talented with a crossbow), and sipping from a very large cup of milk.

Cinder arrived silently next to Thorne and levered his open, swinging jaw shut with one finger.

“She’s supposed to be running away,” he muttered in fervent disbelief.

“Oh yes,” Cinder said. “She looks absolutely terrified.”

Thorne could picture the wry twist of her mouth as she observed Cress laughing heartily at something Scarlet had just said.

“You were supposed to scare her off!” he said in betrayal.

Cinder snorted loudly. “Since when do we do what you want, Thorne?”

“Since I became captain, of course!”

Cinder pursed her lips and shook her head. She fell silent, watching the group around the table. By now, even Kai and Wolf had been drawn into the conversation.

It was clear to Thorne that Cress’s ignorance—though complete—was not going to result in her screaming from the Rampion all the way back into her tower. It also meant he was going to have to go through with his deal to take her to see the floating lanterns.

A few hours ago, that probably would have infuriated him.

Thorne glanced at Cinder out of the corner of his eye, only to see she was already scrutinizing him. And—what was worse—she looked thoughtful.

When Cinder Linh looked thoughtful, it was only a matter of time before things started to explode.

“Oh no,” he muttered.

“What do you mean, ‘oh no’?”

Thorne began backing away from her.

“I didn’t say anything!” Cinder protested, but a sly glint in her eye told Thorne she was scheming. He was pretty sure this was one scheme he wanted to avoid.

Collapsing at an empty chair at the end of the long table, Thorne managed to perk up enough to give the gorgeous, curly-haired barmaid his most debonair grin. She walked over to him.

“Can I get you something, captain?” she asked sweetly.

Thorne pressed a hand to his heart.

“Oh, Winter, if only you knew how my heart aches when you call me ‘captain’.”

From the opposite end of the table, Jacin shot him a look of pure hatred. Winter just smiled, her honey-gold eyes crinkling slightly around the corners.

“Then I will strive to avoid doing so in the future,” she said. “Since heartache is bad for the skin.”

“That, it most certainly is,” Thorne groaned in agreement.

Winter set a tankard of his usual order in front of him, then returned to the bar to cast her eyes dreamily in Jacin’s vague direction. Thorne never seemed to be able to miss the longing gazes between those two, though he desperately wished he could. In whatever language Jacin and Winter spoke with each other, longing gazes seemed to be used more often than words.

Thorne shook his head. Didn’t they know heartache was bad for the skin?

His gaze fell on Cress again. She was talking animatedly to Iko, who had somehow already managed to weave most of that waterfall of hair into a thick golden braid. From across the loud table, he could just manage to pick out their conversation.

“You’ve really lived all your life alone in a tower?” Iko asked incredulously. She wove another intricate fishtail into Cress’s heavy braid. “Heavens, and I thought I had it bad.”

“Well…” Cress wavered, her gaze falling to her fingertips. “Not…alone alone. Mistress Sybil visited me.”

Iko gave a doubtful “hmm.” Her fingers never stopped skillfully twisting and braiding.

“And I had books,” Cress mused. Her eyes seemed to fix on something faraway. “I had the birds outside, and the wind that sang to me…and the stars…”

Cress trailed off. Her eyes found Thorne’s. He should have looked away.

He did not.

At that moment, the door crashed open and Scarlet marched in, two empty pitchers swinging from her hands.

“Bad news,” she announced. She slammed the pitchers on the table and planted a hand on her hip. “Royal guard is here.”

Cress’s entire body stiffened. Iko stopped braiding. Jacin cursed, not bothering to keep it under his breath. Kai and Cinder exchanged a concerned glance. Wolf, however, immediately rose from his seat, walked over to the piano, picked it up, and calmly placed it in front of the door.

“That should make it a bit more difficult to get in,” he said, brushing off his hands. Scarlet smiled at him in disgustingly obvious adoration.

“Hmm,” said Kai, frowning deeply. “I wonder who could possibly have done something reckless enough to get the royal guard sent after them?”

Thorne coughed.

“I don’t know,” Jacin said, narrowing his eyes. “But they probably stole something priceless, and they probably did it in a very stupid, showy way.”

Thorne grimaced and emptied his tankard. He got up from the table to walk toward the bar.

“It was probably someone with a gigantic ego,” Scarlet observed. She rolled her eyes as Thorne walked by and winked at her.

“And a misplaced sense of authority,” Cinder said, smirking. “You going somewhere, ‘captain’?”

“As a matter of fact, I am on a very important mission,” Thorne said. He tapped Cress’s elbow, and she sprang instantly to her feet. “I’ve made a promise to a lady to show her the famous floating lanterns, and not even a visit from the royal guard can make Captain Carswell Thorne break a promise.”

He chose to ignore the pointed look Cinder and Iko gave him, and then Cress, and then each other.

They all startled as a heavy pounding sounded against the door. There was shouting, then a significantly louder crash that made the piano rock dangerously into the room on its crooked legs.

“We should probably hurry,” Thorne muttered to Cress out of the side of his mouth.

Behind the bar, Winter yanked a hidden lever. One of the cupboards swung off its hinges, revealing a narrow, low-ceilinged passage yawning straight into the earth. Next to Thorne, Cress pulled her massive braid over her shoulder and began tugging her nervous fingers through the end of it.

“We’re going in there?” she asked apprehensively. Then she jumped as the piano-blocked door received another heavy blow, rattling in its doorframe.

“You’ll be fine,” Iko said, full of confidence. She reeled Cress in for a quick, tight hug. “You’re with Thorne!”

Cress looked up at him, and her mouth bunched to one side. Thorne didn’t allow himself to wonder why her hesitation stung him.

“That’s right,” he said. “I promised to get you to those lanterns, didn’t I?”

Cress’s mouth untwisted itself, and her eyebrows softened. Thorne wanted to earn her trust (it was, after all, much easier to manage someone that way)—but he was significantly less sure about the strange warmth in his chest.

“Yes,” Cress said. “You did.”

As the two of them ducked into the passageway, Winter placed her hand on Thorne’s shoulder. A mysterious smile played with the corners of her mouth.

“Make sure to take care of your skin, captain,” she whispered. She cast Cress a side glance that was anything but subtle, and Thorne immediately found it necessary to drag her into the tunnel after him. The cupboard slammed shut behind them, sealing them away from the Rampion and the rest of the outside world.

: : :

“Well?” Thorne asked breathlessly, once they were free of their pursuers. “You’re still sure you don’t want to go back to your nice, nonviolent tower?”

Cress was doubled over, gripping her ribs. She didn’t have the wind to respond. Despite the many times she had imagined herself on the run from the law, nothing could have prepared her for the real thing.

The real thing had a lot more arrows.

Thanks to a hidden cave, its mouth heavily curtained with vines, the two of them managed to avoid capture by the royal guard. However, it was now clear to Cress that her chosen guide had a rather large price on his head, and it was possible their entrance into the kingdom might be more difficult than anticipated.

Thorne took a step away from the wall, then hissed and clutched his side. Cress watched from the corner of her eye as he lifted his shirt to reveal a streak of ugly red on his ribcage—a shallow gash left by one of the guards’ arrows. Cress flinched.

Thorne noticed her discomfort and lowered his shirt at once.

“Nothing serious,” he said cheerfully. “When you’re as popular as I am, you catch a few arrows now and then.”

Cress could only look down at her hands.

“They didn’t hurt you, did they?” Thorne asked kindly.

She shook her head in silence. Then, she raised her eyes to his side. Blood had already begun to seep through the shirt.

“I can help you with that,” she said.

Thorne looked at her like she had suddenly sprouted wings.

“Not to be rude,” he said. “But you don’t seem like the medical type. Unless, of course, you’ve hidden a roll of bandages in all that hair.”

A giggle burst out of her, and Thorne’s eyebrows shot upward.

“Not exactly,” she said. “Um. Can you…?”

She gestured for him to roll his shirt up again, and his eyebrows ascended still further. After a loaded pause, he obliged, lifting his bloodstained shirt to reveal the wound.

Cress closed the distance between them. She wrapped the very end of her braid around one hand. Iko really had done a wonderful job, and Cress felt bad ruining her work.

“Blondie,” Thorne said cautiously, as though he were speaking to an easily frightened animal. “What are you doing?”

She sucked in a deep breath, then looked up at him. She needed to tilt her head almost all the way back to meet his eyes.

“I have magic hair that glows when I sing,” she proclaimed.

Then Cress pressed her braid-wrapped hand to his wounded side, and she sang.

: : :

“She has magic hair,” Thorne was still muttering to himself. It was the morning after Cress had healed him. “She has magic, healing hair that glows when she sings.”

They were back on their way to the kingdom, but even after a night of much-needed rest in the hidden cave, Thorne showed no sign of recovering from the shock of Cress’s hair.

“Magic hair is fine,” Thorne soliloquized. “Magic hair is perfectly normal and fine. I am fine with the magic hair.”

Cress had to trot to keep up with him. Once again, he seemed to have forgotten her legs were one-third the length of his.

“Are you okay?” she asked worriedly.

“Absolutely,” he said. He continued staring dead ahead, and his voice cracked up half an octave on the single word.

Cress frowned. “Are you su—”

Thorne screeched to a halt, with Cress barreling into him. He wheeled on her, prompting her to take a hasty step back.

“Yes, I’m sure! You know why I’m sure?” He didn’t give her time to respond. “Because you—you—”

He pointed at Cress. His finger shook. His eyes were wide. Overall, her impression of him was not one of sanity.

“—You have magic healing hair that glows when you sing! And that is why I’m sure.”

Thorne crossed his arms, breathing heavily. He was leaning down toward her, so Cress could see the pronounced twitch establishing itself in his right eyelid. Her own eyebrows knit together.

“Captain,” she said tentatively. “Are you…afraid of my hair?”

“Afraid of your hair?” Thorne shrieked, then cleared his throat. “What kind of a—why would—of course I’m not—”

He coughed, then straightened back up to his considerable height. Cress found herself enjoying the subtle changes of his face as he strove to justify his reaction.

“Your hair intrigues me,” he said.

A smile tugged at the corners of Cress’s lips.

“It intrigues you?”

She pulled the thick braid over her shoulder, waving it toward him. Thorne couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away from it.

“You’re intrigued because it’s magical?” she asked innocently.

“Stop that,” he said.

“Stop what?”

He batted her hand away.

“That.”

Cress waved the braid at him some more, grinning wickedly.

“Is my hair just too intriguing for you?”

Thorne stared at her in disbelief, then snorted. He swatted her hand away again.

“You really like to push your luck, don’t you, blondie?”

A few minutes later, the two of them rounded a bend in the path. The trees came to an end, and in their place was a view that stole Cress’s breath.

The kingdom city was there, laid out below them, white and shining in the noon light. Engulfed by its protective walls, the spires and turrets of the castle glistened like spears of ivory.

Her imagination hadn’t prepared her for such a place. And so many people.

After allowing her to take in the sight, Thorne drew her attention back to him by clearing his throat. He squared his shoulders with an air of supreme importance.

“All right,” he said. He smiled down at her, and Cress’s heart gave an alarming stammer. “Let’s go see some lanterns.”

: : :

After they had been floating in the gathering dusk for quite some time, Thorne’s eyes fixed on a faraway point over Cress’s shoulder. He stopped handing her flowers to tuck into her braid.

“Look,” he said. And Cress looked.

A single freckle of light rose from the castle balcony. It dipped in the still air, then suddenly caught a soft evening breeze. The speck of light soared high, climbing toward the zenith of dark blue.

Cress couldn’t breathe. She had to keep watching. She couldn’t miss a single second of it.

Stumbling to the front of the boat, her bare feet slipping on the damp boards, she threw herself against the rowboat’s front bow. Cress clung to it, wrapping her arms around the bow and and hanging as far out over the water as she possibly could.

Once the first lantern took flight, hundreds followed. The night turned golden, alight with a thousand brilliant new stars that outshone the everyday ones. They were so much larger, so much warmer—so much more real—than when Cress had leaned out her tower window to gaze at them.

“Hey.”

Cress startled. She turned to look back at Thorne, and saw he was holding two lanterns: one for each of them.

“This was your dream, wasn’t it?” he asked. “You should have a chance to do it right.”

After a bit of wobbling, Cress found her way back to the middle of the boat. She was speechless with joy and another, more complicated emotion that escaped description. Carefully taking one of the lanterns, she was excruciatingly aware of Thorne’s warm hand beneath hers.

Together, they launched the lantern skyward. Cress followed it with her eyes until it merged with the cloud of lights above their heads. The boat on the glassy surface of the lake seemed to hang suspended between two starry skies.

“It really is kind of pretty,” Thorne acknowledged, trying, and ultimately failing, to sound unimpressed.

“I never thought it would be like this,” Cress whispered. One of the thousand drifting lanterns sank down toward her. She reached out over the edge of the boat to catch it with the tips of her fingers, and sent it sailing skyward again.

“It’s too beautiful,” she said, the words catching on a knot in her throat. She couldn’t tear her eyes from the spectacle of light above their heads.

She did not see that Thorne was no longer looking at the lanterns.

“Yes,” he said quietly. “It is.”

A single tear crept down Cress’s cheek, and slid soundlessly off the tip of her chin. She had found her galaxy at last.

: : :

Carswell Thorne had spent so long pretending to fall in love, he didn’t know what to do when it actually happened. And—had he not been in the middle of a rescue operation to save the aforementioned love—he would have been able to properly panic about it.

“Can you guys buy me some time?” he called to Cinder over his shoulder. She threw an elbow into the throat of the man she was fighting and gave him a quick nod. Behind her, Wolf effortlessly picked up two unfortunate members of the royal guard and crashed their helmeted heads together.

“What are you waiting for?!” he snarled at Thorne. “Get going!”

Swinging himself up onto one of the guards’ skittering horses, Thorne flew from the fight and into the deep forest, toward the tower he’d climbed just a few days ago.

A lot had changed since then.

: : :

Cress closed her eyes. Mistress Sybil had bound her wrists tightly to her own bedpost and stuffed a gag in her mouth. She was a prisoner again. All she could do was close her eyes and will her thoughts toward Thorne.

Don’t come here. Don’t try to save me.

If she had to live the rest of her life without the stars, Cress could endure it. If it meant Thorne could be free and alive, she could definitely endure it.

Suddenly, something heavy thumped to the floor of the tower room. Cress’s eyes flew open. She turned her neck toward the window, only to see someone stumbling through it.

Thorne got to his feet, and his eyes found hers. Shock washed over his face.

“Blondie?” he said. His voice was weak with relief as he rushed forward to untie her.

Cress screamed, choking around the gag, and threw herself against the bindings. She shook her head at him in desperation.

Behind Thorne, Sybil melted out of the darkness.

“Well now,” she purred. “That wasn’t very smart of you, was it?”

Thorne whirled, his body blocking Cress from Sybil’s advance. The woman strode toward him, and with a lightning-quick movement she cast a fistful of what looked like dust into his face. Cress watched in horror as Thorne cried out. He crashed to his knees, gripping his face with both hands.

Sybil looked down on him in satisfaction.

“Then again,” she said smoothly, “You haven’t exactly struck me as someone for whom high intellect has been a problem.”

As Thorne writhed before her, Sybil slowly withdrew the long knife from her belt. She placed a hand on his shoulder, shoving him upward until he was on his knees. Though his back was to her, Cress saw his hands were clawing at his face, trying to get the powder out of his eyes.

“I can’t see,” Thorne said, horrified.

Sybil drove the knife through his heart.

Cress shrieked around the gag. She hurled her weight again and again against the rope until the skin of her wrists was burnt and raw.

Sybil withdrew the long, dripping knife from Thorne’s chest, and it clattered to the floor. She let him fall face-first to the ground. The impact of his body shook the floor against Cress’s feet.

“We’re leaving now, Crescent,” Sybil said impassively. She inspected her nails with distaste, checking for signs of gore.

Cress shook her head frantically. She poured every ounce of concentration into wriggling her hands from the rope. Maybe…if she could loosen it a little—only a little bit—

Sybil plucked the gag from between her teeth, and Cress coughed. Her tongue was numb and cottony, and clung to the bottom of her mouth.

“That didn’t take very long, did it?” Sybil muttered to herself. “What a pathetic excuse for a boy.”

She worked at the knots binding Cress to the bedpost, keeping the ones around her wrists secure. While she was occupied, Cress worked her wrists together, her skin chafing with every movement. At last, the rope gave way.

Cress yanked herself free of her restraints and threw herself toward Thorne before Sybil could react. She snatched the knife from the ground and pressed the tip of it against her own throat.

Sybil stood a few feet away, her strong-boned face frozen in shock.

“I’ll do it,” Cress rasped. Her tongue was as dry as sand. “I promise you, I will do it.”

The enraged contortion of Sybil’s face was as unsettling as it was instant. She ground her teeth so loudly Cress could hear it from across the room.

“You don’t have the spine,” Sybil hissed.

Cress swallowed. Against the tip of the knife, a bead of blood appeared. Sybil’s eyes dropped to it, and the color drained from her face.

“Let me save him,” Cress said, her voice a pathetic whisper. “I’ll go with you—but only if you let me save him.”

Sybil stared at her, her face as motionless and pale as marble. Finally, when the knifepoint began to tremble against Cress’s throat, she gave a curt nod.

Cress dropped the knife. Grabbing one of Thorne’s shoulders, she used all her strength to pull him over onto his back.

She sobbed in horror. His entire front was soaked with blood, and her hands came away red.

But he was still alive.

“Cress?” he asked hopefully.

Thorne’s eyes were still open, though the skin around them was inflamed. The whites themselves were now angry red, shot with thick blood vessels. Cress cradled his head in her lap, seeking recognition in those empty eyes.

“I’m here, captain,” she whispered. “I’m going to heal you with my intriguing, magical hair.”

The corners of Thorne’s mouth twitched weakly, but the smile slipped away as quickly as it came. It was replaced with a disappointed furrow between his eyebrows.

“Why can’t I see you?” he asked. “Cress. Why can’t I see?”

Cress leaned down until the tip of her nose touched the tip of his.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make it so you can see again.”

She felt him sigh softly against her cheek. One of his hands came up to cup her face, and Cress leaned into it.

Then, out of nowhere, Thorne had the knife. He seized her hair, dragging the blade through it in one swift slash. It was so fast, Cress didn’t realize what had happened until she heard a shriek.

“No!” screamed Sybil. She rushed forward, gathering the useless hair into her arms, pressing it to her face, trying to steal the last of its power. She dropped to her knees, sobbing desperately into the pile of hair—and then she collapsed to the floor. Her hands shriveled away to nothing, right in front of Cress’s disbelieving eyes. Sybil’s last wretched, bereft cry echoed in the tower room like a restless ghost.

Just like that, Mistress Sybil was no more.

But Thorne was still dying.

“Is she gone?” Thorne asked. His breathing had a terrible rattling sound underneath it.

Cress couldn’t find the voice to answer him. He was dying, and now she had no way to save him. Thorne coughed, and the crooked, charming smile crept back onto his face.

“Rescuing a fair damsel in distress is an end worthy of a captain,” he said faintly. “Although I was kind of hoping I’d be able to see it.”

“You aren’t really a captain,” Cress choked out.

“Hey,” Thorne said. “Be nicer to the guy who just got stabbed.”

She made a sound that was half-laugh, half-sob. She cupped his cheeks in both hands, pressing their foreheads together. Thorne ran one hand through her soft, newly shorn hair.

“If you’re here,” he whispered. “I think I can see the stars.”

: : :

Cress didn’t know when she started crying—only that it felt like she had been shedding tears forever, and yet not nearly long enough. Fat drops kept sliding off the end of her nose, splashing forlornly onto Thorne’s waxen face.

Cress squeezed her eyes shut, unwilling to see him like this. Unable to think of him as gone.

Another tear crept from under her eyelid. Before it could fall, a warm finger wiped it away.

“You’re never going to believe this,” said Thorne’s voice. Miraculously. Impossibly. “But I’ve actually never had a pretty girl crying her eyes out over my dead body before. It’s worth experiencing.”

Cress’s eyes sprang open. She jerked her face away from Thorne’s. His eyes were open, gazing up at her with the little smile-wrinkles in the corners she had always found so endearing. Slowly, Cress raised her head.

Where there had once been a wound in Thorne’s chest, there was now light: swirling and vanishing in comet-trails that lit up the entire shadowy room. Cress blinked in the sudden brightness, her mouth falling open in astonishment.

Thorne was not looking at the light. He was looking at her.

“But—” Cress fumbled. “But—my hair—”

He combed his fingers through it again.

“I think it looks better this way,” he said, beaming.

Cress laughed hysterically. Tears continued rolling from her eyes, sliding down the creases of her nose, dripping over her lips and down her chin. Her face was blotchy and swollen, but Thorne stared up at her with his wonderfully clear, seeing eyes, and he didn’t appear to care that she was sobbing all over him.

“I’m so sorry I said you weren’t a captain,” Cress hiccuped, scrubbing a futile sleeve across her nose.

In response, Thorne dragged her into his arms—she yelped—and he kissed her.

He kissed her so thoroughly, so impatiently, and so relentlessly, that by the time he was quite done they were both out of breath and red in the face. “You see,” he said, once they had both come up for air. “I would have had trouble doing that with all the magic hair in the way.”

: : :

Cress leaned against the ledge of one of the palace’s upper balconies, resting her chin on her small fists. She was short enough that the balcony ledge reached all the way to her upper chest. It was arguably one of the nicest places in the kingdom to view the floating lanterns.

But not the best.

On impulse, Cress dashed into the hallway. Her shoes slid across the marble floors, nearly barreling her headfirst into Wolf, who looked remarkably dashing in his uniform as the head of the royal guard.

“Have you seen—?” she began, but Wolf just quirked a thumb over his shoulder toward the back stairs. He was wearing a mischievous grin, which instantly awoke Cress’s suspicions. She flew down the stairs, dashing through the back hallways of the castle toward the dockside exit.

She heard voices even before she pushed open the heavy wooden door that let out onto the castle’s private docks. One of the voices was Thorne’s.

“Dammit, Cinder, a captain knows how to row!

“Really?” came Cinder’s equally aggravated voice. “Because you’re holding that thing like you’re about to joust with it. And you’re not really a captain, so don’t even think about—”

Cinder’s irate voice trailed off as the door groaned on its hinges. Cress peered around the edge.

Cinder and Thorne stood opposite each other on either side of a moored rowboat. They were each holding an oar, and both were flushed with guilt and exertion. Iko stood between them, and appeared to be trying to stage a mediation.

“Hi,” said Cress, breaking into the awkward silence.

Cinder dropped her oar.

“Hi Cress,” Iko said brightly. “We were just leaving!”

“Okay,” said Cress. She was growing more confused by the second.

“Yes,” added Cinder. “We are leaving, to go…um…”

She trailed off, looking helplessly at Iko.

“We are leaving to go make sure everything is ready!” Iko trilled without missing a beat.

Cress stared.

“Yes,” Cinder repeated. “To make sure everything is ready.” She paused. “For the lanterns.”

Iko grimaced. Thorne slowly brought his free hand up to cover his face.

“You could stay here,” Cress offered, but Iko had already seized Cinder’s elbow and was dragging her unceremoniously through the door.

“Nope!” she hollered. “We have to go now! Gotta make sure all those lanterns are ready!”

The two of them disappeared, slamming the wooden door behind them. For a moment, there was utter silence.

“Well,” Thorne said. “Ignore all that.”

“Absolutely,” Cress agreed.

She walked toward him. The darkening ripples of the lake lapped rhythmically against the dock. The rowboat shifted and swayed, its quiet knocking noises harmonizing with the murmur of the water.

Thorne held out his hand, and with a smile, Cress took it.

“Would you, oh fair princess, permit me to join you in the royal barge,”—he paused, allowing Cress to glance skeptically at the rowboat—“as you view tonight’s annual festival of lanterns?”

Cress giggled at his thick attempt at chivalry. She replied: “It would be my honor, Captain Thorne.”

Because if there was one surefire way to make Carswell Thorne melt into putty, it was by calling him captain. Unprompted.

Thorne rowed them into the middle of the lake without too much incident. While he wrestled with the oars, Cress caught glimpses of familiar faces as they passed by the glowing city.

Cinder and Kai sat on the edge of an abandoned dock, leaning against each other and tossing pebbles into the water. From a distance, Cress saw Jacin unsuccessfully attempting to weave a flower crown for Winter, while Iko supervised—and eventually took over—the task. Scarlet and Wolf leaned out one of the lower palace balconies, gazing contentedly up into the cloudless sky.

The sun dropped steadily into the far side of the lake. When its descent was nearly complete, the first lanterns began rising.

“I brought supplies,” Thorne said. He pulled a paper lantern out from under his seat and lit it. When he handed the lantern over, his fingers lingered on hers.

“Hey, Cress.”

“Hm?”

His hand moved farther, cupping her smaller one. Over the top of the lantern, he flashed her a blinding smile.

“Do you think this lighting flatters my skin?”

Cress burst in laughter. It was just such a “Thorne” thing to say in a moment of tenderness that she couldn’t even feign annoyance.

“That’s a trick question,” she said. “Your skin looks perfect in every kind of light.”

Without waiting for him to respond, she launched the lantern upward to join its fellows. Before she could take her hand back, Thorne caught it and wove their fingers together.

Cress looked up at him. His throat bobbed as he swallowed.

“Cress.”

“Hm?”

His fingers tightened.

“I love you.”

The water nudged the sides of the rowboat, making the oars clatter gently against their moorings. Far away, people chattered on the docks and in the market square. Cress heard none of it.

“I love you, too.”

And she kissed him there, underneath a thousand candles.

Afterward, Thorne pulled her over to his side. The rowboat sank down on that end, tipping Cress directly into his lap. She squeaked, reddening up to the tips of her ears, and Thorne’s chuckle rumbled through her. He pressed his lips to the top of her head, wrapping his arms securely around her waist.

This was exactly the kind of world Crescent Moon had imagined. This was the world she had waited for, the one that was ready for her.

She was among her stars.

[janisarkisian]

Time to Party

so it’s jacinter change the universe au, and guess what hahahahaha this started out as a change the universe and turned into an au hahaha so this is a tlc Renegades au

Word Count: 701

Winter looked around at her fellow Renegades. Glamour, her team leader, looked cross as usual. Normally, she was so bright and peppy that Glamour couldn’t stand her, but today she was just as frustrated as her. Her best friend Jacin hadn’t shown up for patrol in three days. Winter knew that he was suspected of helping The Mechanic, leader of the Anarchists, and traveling with them on their vehicle, the Rampion. 

She knew the rumors were fake, but she couldn’t’ help wondering if Levana had kicked him off the team. Glamour had done it before for less than that. It didn’t help that other Renegades, such as Wolf, had already joined The Mechanic’s side. Winter knew that if Wolf came back, he certainly wouldn’t be offered a job back on patrols. 

`But Jacin had to come back. The rumors couldn’t be true. Of course, the thoughts plaguing Winter’s head were often worse than just him getting off patrols. It was possible that The Mechanic had already killed him, and he was watching her right now. 

Blizzard refused to give in. Jacin was coming back. 

“Get in line, Blizzard,” Whisper barked at her. Though most would take it as an insult, Winter took it as a compliment she was yelled at. Sybil Mira, better known as The Whisper, could make you do anything she pleased by whispering the demand in your ear. She didn’t whisper the command to her, which meant Sybil trusted her. It was an honor. 

The simple command made Winter remember where she was. The Agent N presentation. Blizzard was one of the few Renegades who didn’t agree with Agent N. She thought it was a dictatorship. Knowing that she would have to administer it almost made her want to join the Anarchists. Almost. 

She watched Levana approach the stage. Winter knew that she would give a short speech, and everyone would go home. Levana had practiced the speech all too many times in front of the organization, and Winter already knew what it entailed. 

“Most of the organization has heard this speech a million times,” Levana joked, “But this time it will be a little different. Today I have a surprise.” 

Some Renegades in the crowd gasped. Winter held her mouth shut, not wanting to risk whatever punishment Sybil would have in store for her. 

“Our little surprise,” Levana held out the word for suspense, “Is that I have two prisoners captured. Not just the inmates from Cragmoor, but two very special prisoners. Both have betrayed or held many crimes against the Renegades, and will be executed on this occasion.” 

The crowd held no reaction. No one moved or said a word. She had been expecting either raged cries or tears, but no one did anything. Either that or Winter couldn’t hear anything over her loud thoughts. Was Jacin one of the prisoners? 

“Excellent that no one disagrees with me,” Levana lured on, “Now, our two prisoners to execute. The first, you know as none other than the infamous Anarchist, The Mechanic.” A few cries rang out from the crowd, but Winter ignored them. Who was the second prisoner? 

“And our second prisoner was a Renegade. A loyal Renegade. Someone who I thought would never dare join the Anarchist’s side. I present Jacin Clay.” 

Her cry rang out through the stadium. Jacin was going to die. Jacin, the man she was most certainly in love with, was going to die. She didn’t know what she was doing, only that she needed to stop Jacin’s execution. Winter refused to let him die. 

She pushed through the crowd, and up to the stadium where her beloved Jacin was going to meet his doom. She refused to let it happen. Jacin was going to live. 

Levana was preparing to kill Jacin, and Winter was going to stop her. Before she could stop anything though, Red Hot’s voice boomed over the loudspeakers. “Not so fast,” she started, “We Anarchists have a little surprise.” 

Winter saw the look on Levana’s face and knew she wouldn’t have to stop her anymore. If Red Hot could kill Glamour, she would be forever grateful. 

“Hey, Iko!” Scarlet called to the rest of her group, “Let’s get this party started.”