#leaves his wife and causes her never to be able to see her children again

[flowerandblood]

The Fall from the Heavens (16)

[ canon • Aemond x Strong • niece female ]

[ warnings: sex content, smut, angst, dirty talk, breeding kink, description of wounds and trauma, remorse ]

[ description: A cool distance turns into friendship and more when two children see that they can find refuge and understanding in each other. However, naïve dreams collide with the reality in which every event has consequences and what once could have been love becomes a dark, newly painful obsession. Angst, sexual tension, obsession, violence, madness, very dark Aemond. ]

The story in this series is an alternate reality from the oneshot Stay and love, leave and die, in which Aemond reads the letters his niece has sent to him over the years. They are the same characters and it shows what would have happened between them − I have changed the background story from their childhood slightly for the sake of the plot.

Characters & Series Moodboard Lady Strong Moodboard Aemond & Lady Strong Moodboard Aemond & Lady Strong Childhood

* English is not my first language. Please, do not repost. Enjoy! *

Next chapters: Masterlist

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He remembered little of their journey back to King's Landing; it seemed to him that his conversation with Daemon, and before that with Aegon, had been a dream, and that it had all not really happened. Throughout the journey, he kept his cheek pressed against his wife's temple, feeling great relief but also fear.

He was sure she would run away.

He was sure she would let him down again, and some part of him wished she would.

Why?

When they reappeared in the Red Keep there were only a few hours left until dawn; he instructed his guards to convey to his brother as soon as he woke up, that he should call a meeting of the Small Council where he would be able to give a brief report of what had happened.

Afterwards, he and his wife both retired to his chamber, stripping out of their riding attire, speechless and exhausted. He watched her out of the corner of his eye, feeling a tightness in his throat, wondering why he felt tense, why he was not rejoicing.

He swallowed loudly as he realised that he had expected a betrayal on her part, because it would make things a lot easier for him.

He could then turn his back on her and her family once and for all, shed his illusions, become who he had been for eight years again.

It frightened him that now, when it was obvious that she had proved her loyalty to him, that she had chosen him at last, so many things remained unsaid, silenced, repressed.

He felt her uncertain gaze on him as she stayed in just her nightgown, heard his bed creak quietly under the weight of her body.

"My love?" He heard her soft voice and grunted, staying in only his breeches and linen shirt.

She twisted towards him as he lay down beside her on his back, placing his hands on his stomach, sighing heavily with exhaustion.

He shuddered when he felt her warm, soft hand on his – their fingers began to trail and rub against each other in the air, just like when she had come to him that first night after many years of separation.

"Speak to me, Aemond. Don't lock yourself in your mind." She said calmly; something in her words, in the fact that she sensed his anxiety made him swallow loudly, opening and closing his mouth several times, unable to get anything out. He finally shook his head, closing his eyes, deciding there was no point.

"Say it. Say all the things you've always wanted to say to me. Even if those words will only cause me pain. I want to know."

He opened his eyes, feeling his heart begin to pound like mad, a shiver ran along his spine.

"I will never understand how could you leave me then." He finally said in a voice filled with regret and venom – he felt her twist next to him restlessly, drawing in air loudly.

He didn't look at her, but he felt her hand tighten on his.

"That was never my intention."

"Then why?"

"My mother then told me to let you rest and calm down. That the guards wouldn't let me visit you anyway by order of the Queen."

"What a nonsense."

"I am speaking the truth. When I wanted to pay you a visit a few days later, Criston Cole sent me away."

He felt his heart stop at those words; his whole body tensed, his breath stuck in his throat as he finally looked at her with wide-eyed expression.

"What?"

He felt her thumb stroke his palm, her eyes looking at him pleadingly.

"I swear, five days after what happened, I came to pay you a visit. I came every day after that, but he always sent me away. He said you didn't want to see me." She mumbled, and he snorted in disbelief and amusement, shaking his head. He looked at her in shock, wanting to see anything in her face that could confirm that she was lying.

He swallowed hard, embittered, leaning the back of his head against the back of the bed.

"It doesn't matter. I needed you when it happened."

"I needed you too. When Criston Cole held my cheeks as your mother's guards poured moon tea down my throat. I wondered at the time if that's how you felt." She said with weariness, sadness and indifference from which he felt an unpleasant squeeze in his stomach; he felt his lips part involuntarily, a hot, overpowering wave of shame surge through his body.

They stared at each other for a moment in silence, just breathing, not moving or saying anything, her hand still on his, warmth and reassurance in her touch.

For the first time in eight years, they spoke honestly about what had happened.

"Why didn't you ever write me back?" She asked at last, her voice trembling slightly, as if the very thought of it made tears of regret rise in the corners of her eyes.

He clamped his eyelids shut, sighing heavily, this time it was his fingers that stroked her hand.

"I've tried. I tried so many times. But I was unable to fill the parchment because no words seemed to describe what I was feeling. I couldn't put my thoughts into sentences. Everything that came out from under my hand was the ramblings of a madman and ended up burning in the fire. Then it was too late. I didn't see the point." He said, not believing that these words had left his mouth; he glanced at her uncertainly out of the corner of his eye, a single, solitary tear ran down the side of her face.

"You didn't even let me explain myself. You didn't give me a chance despite the fact that I've never let you down before." She muttered, and he swallowed loudly, feeling an unbearable tightness in his throat.

"I know."

He took his hand from her grasp and put his arm around her – her body immediately clung to his, entwining with his like a vine, her face sunk into the hollow of his neck, his hand roaming lazily down her back while his lips placed warm, lingering kisses on the top of her head.

They fell asleep for the few hours separating them from dawn in their tight embrace, not like lovers, but like they used to when they were children, holding hands, their foreheads touching.

He felt how, as she awoke, her fingers stroked his cheek gently, her lips placed a warm, soft kiss on his, which he reciprocated with a low murmur of satisfaction, without even opening his eyes.

For the first time in eight years, he felt at peace.

For the first time in eight years, he felt relief.

His closest friend was by his side again.

They were both just dreaming of sleeping on when Criston Cole walked into his chamber announcing that the King had called an immediate meeting of the Small Council in accordance with his wishes.

He sighed heavily, rising slowly from his bed, ordering his servants to prepare a suitable tunic for him. He turned, looking at her over his shoulder, his broad hand stroking her bare calf with a soft, lazy gesture.

"Accompany me. Be by my side."

The sight of her walking behind him as the door of the chamber in which all those gathered sat opened before them did not satisfy his grandfather or his mother.

He pretended not to see their warning glances, instead ordering one of the servants standing nearby to place a second chair right next to his, where he took his seat, placing his sapphire ball in a niche in the stone table.

"Speak, brother." Aegon began without undue politeness or introduction. His mother, his grandfather and Criston Cole were all opposed to their idea, however Lord Lannister and the other houses supporting them were far more accepting of the news that perhaps the whole matter of succession would be resolved without a bloody, kingdom-destroying war.

"Our uncle is as brazen as I remember him to be, however, despite his misgivings, he has not declined our offer. He will certainly pass on our words to our sister. We must wait." He replied truthfully; his mother sighed heavily, burying her face in her hands.

"What if no son is born to you, Aemond? If it is officially the sons of Rheanyra and Daemon who become heirs, they will kill us all for treason." She said with impatience, grief and horror – he opened his mouth to reply, however his wife forestalled him.

"You may have killed the child in my womb who could have been the heir we so need now. We will never know, will we?" She sneered, and he felt an unpleasant shiver run down his back.

His hand clenched into a fist at the mere memory of what had happened and what she had done next. He looked at his wife's face out of the corner of his eye and swallowed hard, seeing in her expression strenght, determination and confidence.

Just what he needed.

Complete silence fell, his mother lowered her head, pressing her lips into a thin line.

"As I said, we have to wait. We have done what we could."

The fact that Aegon had agreed to try to come to an agreement over the succession did not mean that either of them were going to give up preparing for a possible war, so they spent the rest of the meeting discussing what they would do if that plan failed. The King then asked his wife to leave; she rose and left without a word, touching his shoulder with her hand beforehand.

Something had changed between them, he could feel it.

As he watched the door close behind her, he realised that after she had decided to come back with him instead of running away with Daemon, after what he had confessed to her the wall that had been piling up between them since the night he had tamed Vhagar had finally collapsed.

When he returned to his quarters he did not find her there, so he headed for her chamber, informing the guards that no one was to disturb them. As he stepped inside he noticed her figure sitting by the window, bent over the embroidery of the Arryn family crest; the sun was beaming down on her face, he could feel a pleasant summer breeze all around her.

She lifted her gaze to him and smiled in a way he knew, one he remembered well from when they were children; what touched him in that look, in that smile, was the confirmation that she felt the same as he did, that she knew that something had finally changed between them, had set in on the right track.

He approached her slowly, involuntarily extending his hand towards her cheek; he watched as she pressed her face into his skin rough from holding the sword and sighed quietly as her lips placed a soft, warm kiss on his palm.

Gods, how he loved her.

He took the cloth from her hand and set it aside, grabbing her waist and lifting her, seating her in front of him on the top of the old wooden table. She stared at him with her eyes wide open, surprised, her lips parted slightly in an accelerated breath, betraying her uncertainty and excitement; he took a step towards her, so that their faces were almost touching, cupping her cheek in his palms, so soft, so warm.

She smelled of vanilla.

He looked at her, at her bright, warm gaze, at her gentle face, which had so much of that childishness of many years ago in it, while being more mature, more girlish, more tempting; her dark lashes shone in the sunlight as she closed her eyelids feeling his thumb run slowly over her fleshy, moist lower lip.

She was his wife.

What he wanted had truly come true.

She stood before him again, his childhood friend, his lover.

"Rhaenys." He whispered and she opened her eyes, looking at him in disbelief; he saw her cheeks flush, her body trembled all over with delight. She raised her hand and he moved away immediately, horrified when he realised she wanted to grab his black eye patch.

"No."

"You're my husband. That's enough." She said regretfully and tiredly, taking his face in her hands. He looked down at her, breathing heavily, his eyebrows arched in uncertainty, in shame, in fear.

"Don't spoil this beautiful day for me." He said at last in a low, hoarse voice. She pressed her lips together as if his words caused her pain, her fingers sliding down his jaw, dropping powerlessly.

"One step forward, two steps back." She said softly, and he swallowed hard, feeling a squeeze in his throat at her words. He sighed loudly through his nose, licking his lower lip with his tongue, fighting with himself.

He didn't know what had happened, what had changed, what had brought him to reach up to his face, to grab his eye patch and pull it off with a sudden, aggressive movement, throwing it impatiently to the ground.

He saw her raise her shoulders high, frightened by his sudden gesture, her lips parted in disbelief, her pupils narrowed as she looked straight at him. He expected her to turn her face away at this sight, to betray herself with a stare full of disgust or fear, but instead her eyes turned red from the tears that had gathered in their corners.

"Come." She whispered, grabbing the material of his tunic with her hand, pulling him closer; he involuntarily took a few steps forward, shocked by her reaction, by her expression, as if what she had seen had moved her greatly, but not in the way he had expected. "Come here."

Her hand lifted higher, to his cheek – he closed his eyes, feeling his whole body freeze as her fingers ran gently over the line along which his scar ran.

"Oh, my dearest, you must have suffered so much. It must have caused you so much pain. For so many, so many months, you must have died every day. Forgive me." She mumbled out in a trembling, breaking voice, from which he pressed his lips together, himself touched for some reason, embittered and grateful at the same time, because for so long he had been waiting for that very look, that very touch and those words from her, just from her.

She kissed him in a way she had never done before – it was neither a child's kiss nor a lover's kiss; it was a caress full of warmth, moisture and care, a tenderness from which he involuntarily closed her in his arms, leaning lower to press himself tighter to her swollen lips.

Their mouths brushed each other lazily, slowly, unhurriedly, as if they had all the time in the world, their hands stroking each other's faces with gentle, calm movements, birdsong all around them, the loud conversations in the courtyard coming from behind the open window and the quiet, sticky clicks of their saliva.

He felt himself shudder each time his lips pressed against hers again, their arms holding them close together, his lungs filling with her scent.

Vanilla.

His manhood slowly began to swell and throb from those wonderfully innocent caresses full of promise, something they hadn't done before but so desperately needed.

"Make love to me." He whispered into her mouth; she moaned softly, throwing her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, forcing them to join together again in a hot, lazy kiss, which he did eagerly.

Only after a moment did their tongues come out to meet each other, their tips beginning to lick teasingly making them both breathe louder; his hands slid lower to her gown, lifting its material higher, exposing her wonderfully soft, bare thighs.

He let her take care of him, undoing the buckles of his tunic and the tying of his breeches as he kissed with emotion her forehead, her eyebrows, her nose, her cheeks, her temple.

She was his.

It seemed to him that they had gone back in time, to that day when she had kissed him for the first time.

As if what they were doing now was an extension of that moment.

"Do you think we would have persevered until marriage? With staying in chastity." He gasped, sighing quietly in relief when her skilled fingers finally released his desire-sore manhood, his arm drawing her closer as her thighs spread eagerly before him.

He heard her giggle softly, when he lifted his gaze to her he saw pure joy, warmth and love in her eyes, exactly as they had been then, that day.

"If you want, you can believe it, uncle." She replied tauntingly, just as she always did, just as in his fantasies; he snorted at the thought, sinking his hand into her warm womanhood, already leaking with desire. She tilted her head back, sighing with pleasure as his fingertips ran over her throbbing, moist slit.

"What do you imagine would happen?" He continued on, teasing her with the movements of his finger, which slid a little between her tight, wet muscles, pushing them apart, rubbing her rough bud hidden just above her opening. A soft, sweet moan came from her lips as she swallowed loudly, looking up at him from under half-closed eyelids.

"One night, when I would visit you in your chamber, we would begin to touch. Innocently at first, but eventually you would understand what it feels like to clamp your fingers on the soft breast of your beloved woman. You would understand what pleasure lies deep between my thighs." She cooed sweetly; he gasped loudly, embarrassed by how hard his cock pulsed at her words, which did not escape her attention.

"You'd say you wish to feel me just for a moment −" She whispered, with a gentle flick of her hand directing his swollen, hard length between her thighs; they both moaned quietly as he began to push against her and opened her wide on the thick head of his cock with a soft, firm thrust of his hips. "− but we would both know it was a simple lie, spoken only to make us feel less guilty."

A throaty, low groan escaped his lips at that thought; his hands clamped down on her buttocks covered by the material of her gown, with a deep thrust of his hips forcing her to let him inside her. She whimpered, panting heavily along with him, looking at him with her mouth wide open, as if she didn't recognise him.

She put her hand around the back of his neck, the other resting on the table top, trying to catch her balance as he began to root into her with slow, lazy thrusts, sliding out of her almost all the way, only to sink back between her warm, moist muscles a moment later.

"− Aemond −" She mewled, closing her eyes, responding involuntarily with the rocking of her hips to his treatments – it seemed to him that they were both in a state of some kind of ecstasy that nevertheless had more to do with what they had shared when they were children than now, when they were united by fire and blood.

"− and what would you do? − hm? − what would you do if I put it inside you and told you I wouldn't stop until I filled you? −" He breathed out, involuntarily quickening his pace; she moaned pleadingly at his shameless question, her fleshy, hot core clenched tightly around his erection, sucking it inside her, their bodies slapping against each other with loud smacks of skin against skin.

"− I would beg for your seed −" She mumbled out; his hand tightened on her hair at her words, his lips clinging to hers in a greedy, hot kiss full of their tongues and saliva, in a caress not filled with hatred and aggression but pure, hot desire.

"− so fucking beg −" He growled into her mouth between their quick, loud kisses, their lips with a sticky click clinging and pulling away from each other as their bodies found their own pace to pleasure, his thick cock pulsing with desire slamming into her so deep and fast that he seemed to run out of breath, her cheeks and lips all pink with exertion.

"− please, uncle − put your heir inside me −" She whimpered helplessly and that was enough for him – he pressed his forehead against hers, panting loudly, holding her close in a strong embrace in his arms, with a few sloppy, sticky thrusts prolonging the inevitable to finally spill deep inside her. He feel a powerful orgasm shake her body, her head tilted back with a sweet cry of pleasure.

"− yes − yes, oh, gods, uncle, fill me −" She mumbled, her hands drawing him back to her mouth, their lips devouring each other in fierce, moist kisses as the last drops of his spend filled her womb. They both rocked their hips for a while longer with loud clicks of her wetness, panting quietly as they tried to calm their breathing, their hands roaming over their bodies, their eyes closed, focused only on the relief they both felt.

"− this is how I always imagined us − you and me when we were married −" She whispered, and he sighed, understanding what she meant.

Though united by passionate affection, regret, distrust and grief dominated their every approach.

"− my wife begging for my seed is indeed an important part of my vision of a perfect marriage −" He sneered, noticing the amusement in her eyes when she understood that he was teasing her.

That he had returned to her, that she had won him back, that she was looking at the boy she had lost that night.

Her lips parted in disbelief when she noticed that the corner of his mouth lifted upwards, gently, not mockingly, not maliciously.

He smiled.

For the first time in so many years.

He stroked her cheek with his hand as her eyebrows arched in pain, as her eyes glazed over from the tears that ran down her face one by one onto his warm palm.

They kissed again, then again and again, warmly, tenderly, innocently, devotedly, with the affection he had dreamed of for so many years and he thought, hiding this realisation deep in his heart, that this was the happiest day of his life.

The day he got his best friend back.

[deathbxnny]

Would love to entertain your Arcane obsession, unfortunately I've yet to watch the show myself :/

We're basically 5-Star chefs, with how hard we're cooking these 6-course meals 😩🤌. But anyhow, as we talked about, we're gonna need a bit of build up before we get to that. Could make for a good bittersweet or downer ending depending on how you look at it. Arlecchino's fear of abandonment and attempts to avoid that loss are ultimately what cause it, and "Mother's" best choice in their relationship being to ultimately end it being one of the healthiest choices she's made.

Until then however, I got hit with an idea literally just before I went to bed that should suffice in the meantime 😙

(Takes place after

Lyney and Lynette are throwing one of their big magic shows in Fontaine, and because they know she loves their performances (and they probably want her to be able to relax, so that they don't have another one of... those experiences...) decide to invite "Mother" and a bunch of the Hearth kids to attend. Now here's where the twist comes in.

Towards the end up the show, Lyney calls for a volunteer, and the spotlight lands on "Mother" with him having obviously planned this from the start. Now, I personally don't think "Mother" would have stage fright, but she'd definitely have that kind of anxiety that a lot of people who don't often go up on stage generally have. Now for the trick itself? Not quite sure... I'll leave that creative liberty up to you to decide on 👈👈😎

X Anon

The Queen of Hearts. | Arlecchino x Fem!Wife!Reader

Please go to my Genshin Masterlist for the other parts of this series! (I can't link the parts here for some reason.)

I honestly had SO much fun writing this, so I hope you'll like it too, X Anon! And yeahhh... the end of this series will probably be miserable, but we love the pain atp. Also... I added a little twist of my own at the end that I hope you'll enjoy!<3

Content: Angst(?), magic shows, reader doesn't get tortured for our amusement for once... unless?, established romantic relationship with Arlecchino, sfw

Reader is afab and uses she/her pronouns here!

((Not proofread))

When you were a little girl, you were selected by Curcabena herself to take part in a play for the whole house and the rest of the motherland to see. You were hesitant even then to stand on stage, speak loudly enough for everyone to hear you, and then act out a scene that felt eerily familiar to your situation now as a grown woman.

A damsel in distress hidden away by the evil dragon lord that Peruere played the part of, albeit with much less enthusiasm.

You remembered looking down at her form as she fought against the knight that was Clervie, and you couldn't help but think, "I never want to do this ever again." And so you avoided being the center of attention ever since, if not just to escape the amused eyes of the audience that delighted in your plight.

Years later, however, you find yourself breaking this promise, as Lyney excitedly hand picks you for the final act of his magic show. And who were you to ever deny your child's wish?

Stepping on the wooden panels of the grand stage, you find yourself reliving a moment from the past, even if it was just a faded memory. If you focused enough under the blinding lights and blurry forms of the massive crowd before you, you could hear Clervie deliver her dramatic speech to the damsel in distress once she finally beat the dragon. But alas, all you could hear were the curious murmers of the crowd, whilst your son smiled widely at you, happy that you agreed to this. It wasn't a secret that you'd rather stay in the shadows of your house than parade yourself in front of people and therefore this moment was certainly a special one.

"Thank you for volunteering, pretty lady! I promise you will not regret this once the final trick of tonight's show is over!" You chuckled at his attempt to make you two seem like strangers, the slight compliment earning giggles from the other children in the crowd. You were all invited by Lyney and his two siblings for a nice evening in the grand theater for a show, considering your deep love and appreciation for it. And despite your slight nervousness at these unexpected turn of events, you still found yourself looking forward to what the young man had in store.

Pulling a deck of cards out of his hat in a very flashy manner, he gave the audience a sly grin. "This trick will look simple to most, as it involves me guessing her desired card out of this deck... however, there will be a slight twist, of course." Shuffling the cards with skillful grandeur, he walked around your still form, eyes glinting in the lights that began to dim around you. "I will be blindfolded. The cards are for her to choose and put in any order she wants to. After that, I will guess the exact cards she chose, and if I fail even one, I will be at risk to dowsed in water... which would be quite the shame for my brand new suit!"

Ah, so he wanted to end his show in a silly way? It was fitting for the young children that attended and immideatly were on board with the idea by the way they cheered. It may not have been the most impressive trick, but at least they were amused, and that was enough for you to go along with it. If anything, you may get a little laugh out of it yourself.

Whilst Lynette blindfolded her brother and Freminet held out the cards for you to pick, your eyes every so often glided back to the audience in search of your wife who was supposed to attend. You wondered if she was held up by work as usual or if she was just running uncharacteristically late... but you doubted it was either of the two. Deep down, you knew she was watching from the darkness somewhere, never the type to enjoy the attention that her presence got her naturally. And you'd find it noble if it wasn't starting to unnerve you lately.

"Now, young lady, please pick five cards of your choosing and turn them around once you've put them in your wanted order. Once that's done, we will begin." You nod at Lyney's words with a hum before picking out the cards.

2 of spades.

5 of clubs.

4 of clubs.

8 of diamonds.

And finally, the Queen of hearts.

Turning them around, you face the blindfolded Lyney and give his sister a confirming nod. "Very well! I will guess each card as you turn it around. Please confirm every time if I was right or wrong." And so it began. You flipped the first one over. "2 of spades." "Correct." Your hand glided to the next one as the crowd awed in surprise. "5 of clubs." "Correct." You'd definitely have to ask him how this trick worked afterward. You wondered if the nervous Freminet in front of you was perhaps a part of it. "4 of clubs. Ah, maybe I haven't shuffled well enough!" "Correct to both." Giggles rang out, and Lyney chuckled behind you. "8 of diamonds." "Correct." The final one was up next. You were honestly glad to get off this stage soon... until something went wrong. Something that shouldn't have been able to happen under any logical reasoning.

"And finally... The Queen of Hearts!" Everyone held their breathes, especially you. "... Wrong. It's the king of hearts." How was this possible? There was no way for the cards to have been switched whilst you were looking at them. And judging by the look on Freminet's face, this was definitely not planned. "W-what?-" Lyney's confused question was cut off by him being dowsed in buckets of cold water that were hanging up in the stage beforehand. His body shuddered as he near ripped off his blindfold and stared at the card you were holding. He was wrong. Even though there shouldn't have been a way for him to be wrong. Just what was going on? He shared looks with his siblings and you, extremely glad the audience thought it was a part of the show and began applauding with hysterical laughs. He will find the strength to feel humiliated and embarrassed later on.

"What the... I thought you..." "I don't know what's going on either!" Lynette whispered back in a hurry before nudging him to keep up the act. Forcing a smile on his face, he let out a laugh and spread out his arms in defeat. "Ah, even a magician has his shortcomings... but alas, I'm glad you find amusement in my plight!" He called out, and you could only share that sentiment grimly when your eyes finally spied the woman you were looking for this entire time.

There she was, leaning against a wall in the back of the theater. And in her hand, she idly spun a card you could only theorize was the one you had chosen beforehand. Your eyes met, her gaze being so unreadable it frustrated and confused you alike. What was the point of that? Why did she essentially humiliate her own son in front of the entire nation like this? The card of the king crumpled in your iron grip as your mouth pressed into a thin line.

Arlecchino, meanwhile, just held your look before pushing herself off the wall and disappearing into the shadows, your silent anger drowned out by the cheers of the crowd and the ringing in your ears.

The evil dragon lord had struck again, but there was no knight to save you this time.

[urchintoast]

Fear

Pairing: Anthony Bridgerton x (Female) Reader

Rating: T

Length: 800 words

Warnings: angst, blood mention, difficult childbirth, talk of death

Summary: Anthony’s always been afraid of dying and leaving behind his family like his father did.

————

The fear still paralyzed him, sometimes.

He didn’t go for walks in the garden, and always inspected the carriage personally before getting in.

He’d thought, once, that his worries would ease once they had children. That perhaps if he knew that you wouldn’t be left alone, that finally the weight would ease off his chest. The moment baby Edmund opened his eyes and stared up at him though, the weight doubled, and he knew he would never be free of this fear. Because now he’d be leaving even more behind.

He wasn’t afraid of death. Not really. Or at least, not in the traditional sense. He wasn’t afraid of what might happen to himself when he left this mortal world. His sins were his own, and he was fully prepared to answer for them one day.

He was afraid of what came with death. Of the effect that his death would have on everyone still living. His greatest pride was also his greatest source of anxiety - his love for you. It was his own selfishness of not being able to let you go, of ensnaring you into his life, into his heart, that kept him awake at night. Usually it was just to watch how peaceful you looked. To soak in every moment he could like this before he wound up wrecking you, leaving you behind to pick up the pieces like his father did to his mother, to all of them. He knew his death was inevitable, and he hated himself for it. For letting you in enough that you returned his love completely, and were now vulnerable to losing him.

What he never expected was that the very opposite would happen. Never once had it even crossed his mind as a possibility that you would leave this earth before him.

“It’s a girl,” his mother told him softly, tiredly.

“And Y/n? How is she doing?” He asked, eager to see his wonderful wife and tell her how proud he was of her. How much he loved her. To see her hold her mini lookalike and together introduce their daughter to her older brother. His whole world.

At his mother’s silence, however, he looked up, alarmed. “Mother? How is Y/n?”

“She lost a lot of blood, Anthony. The doctor’s doing everything he can, but you must prepare yourself. There is a chance that she’ll never regain consciousness.”

Everything after that passed in a blur.

Benedict and Colin quickly rushed to his side, holding him up. His head felt like cotton, and the room spun around him. He heard shouting echoing in the hallway, but couldn’t tell if it was himself or someone else. Only the fact that he couldn’t breathe gave hint that the commotion was caused by someone else.

Ages passed—Anthony never knew if it was mere minutes or hours, and then a hush fell upon the whole household. Even the newborn babe was quiet, as if she sensed that this was an important moment that could make or break everything.

When the door to the bedroom opened again and his mother stepped out with her head down, his heart stopped. He dropped his head, unable to watch his mother’s approach and the news it must bring.

“She looks just like her mother,” Violet said, then, and Anthony’s eyes widened at that. There, in his mother’s arms, was the tiniest girl imaginable. Despite everything else, Anthony reached his arms out to hold her. His daughter. Carefully, he ran a finger over her cheek and under her chin. She truly did look just like her mother. Like Y/n.

He wasn’t even aware of the tears that were falling down his face, though his mother quickly commandeered Benedict’s handkerchief to wipe them away for him.

“Colin, will you go fetch Neddy? Come along, Anthony, I think your wife has waited long enough to have her family in her arms again.”

His head shot up at that.

“What? You mean-!” his voice broke as another sob shook his body.

“Oh, thank god!” Benedict said quietly, wiping away tears of his own.

As he walked into the bedroom carrying your daughter, Anthony froze upon seeing you sitting up in bed, before rushing forward. Just behind him, Colin carried Neddy over and deposited him on the bed next to you before stepping back to give the family some room.

Anthony’s quite sure that he wasn’t saying anything at all coherent, too caught up in the fact that you were here, you were still here. What he said didn’t matter, just that you were the one to hear it. The fear of death and all that came with it had not won today.

Death may be inevitable, but it didn’t have to be today. That, at least, he could live with.

[thesleepyfable]

~ SWTD: Still Here AU Part 25: ~

All Together:

And we're in the final 2-3 chapters. Sorry this one took so long to be published. Work has been draining as it approaches the Christmas period, but hopefully, the next chapter will be up by Sunday.

Part 26:

The farm was heaven for the children and the horses they watched from a safe distance. Their field was the biggest - not even Addair and Raffs could find the other side to fix the fencing - with a now frozen stream running through. The herd weren't huge fans of the number of strangers watching, and we're not interested in getting close. Muir, however, had a bright idea.

Despite his size, the horses didn't seem to notice or care about him creeping around. Maybe it was his smell? Could they tell it was Muir, despite the obvious?

In just a few days, Muir had mastered how to be quiet and not make a noise, compared to the metal echoing with each step he took back on the rig. Like a predator stalking its very lackadaisical prey with no survival instincts, he pounced when he got close, making a noise as he charged the horses, causing them to gallop away. He didn't follow and allowed the children to see them run across the field, throwing up the snow under their hooves, creating a mist.

The children were in awe, cheering as they ran.

'It never gets old,' Muir said with pride.

'Do it again!' Geroge yelled.

O'Connor watched further down, leaning against the fencing alone. Innes and Roy stood beside the children. He tapped the top fence panel and smiled at the sight. It didn't remind him of home. Like everyone else, O'Connor was a city bloke through and through. The change of pace and the scenery naturally made him happy, bringing a smile to his face, but he felt a little out of place. He turned to walk back to the house when a tendril suddenly grabbed his coat. In all fairness, it did pull him in the way he wanted to go, but O'Connor only had a second to process it. Rennick finally grabbed the old man.

In the shock, O'Connor didn't notice Mary until he was able to catch his breath, and even then, he noticed Rennick first. The giant head of a man left him dangling an inch off the floor.

'Rennick, you old -' Then, he saw her. His queen. His love. His hazel green eyes widened, and his jaw slacked. 'M-Mary?'

'There he is,' she said with a chuckle. 'Mo ghrá...' Like a child kicking his feet on a swing, O'Connor swung to get out of Rennick's grasp, reaching out for his wife like he did when he returned home from France. When he saw her waiting for him as he stepped onto the station platform. Even with a broken leg, he put his entire being into reaching her again. His manager got the hint and gently put O'Connor down before leaving the pair in their tight embrace. Just like with Trots and Simon, and Caz and Suze, reality briefly vanished around the couple.

O'Connor towered over Mary. He couldn't rest his head on her own or her shoulder, and neither could she, settling to nuzzle into his chest. Fingers ran through her soft hair before O'Connor leaned down for a kiss. Old age hadn't altered their love for each other. It's as strong as it was forty-five years ago.

'I missed you,' Mary said.

'I missed you, too,' O'Connor replied. He took a deep breath and let out a sigh as they embraced again. Both of their grips tightened, trying to keep the warmth they've not felt in months. He squeezed Mary. She began to sway. He followed, and together, they broke into a small dance, going around in a continuous circle. 'I'm done with rigs.'

'Thank fuck for that.'

'Mary-' O'Connor tried to hold back a laugh. 'So unladylike.'

'Oh, shush you, and tell me what happened.'

Caz and Suze passed the couple and approached Roy with a tap on the shoulder. He turned and instantly noticed Maidie with her head still buried in Caz's shoulder. 'Is she alright?'

'Yeah,' Caz said. 'But, a hot chocolate would help.'

Roy smiled and held his arms out for Maidie. Caz went to lift her from his shoulder but quickly noticed how heavy she was. Didn't take long for them to realise she'd cried herself to sleep. Poor thing. 'Well, maybe when she wakes up.'

'You didn't notice her missing?' Suze asked. She wasn't mad, but how can anyone miss Maidie walking off by herself? Even if it was dusk.

'She said she was going to the toilet. Didn't think anything of it,' Roy admitted. 'I'm sorry, pet-'

'No, it's fine.' But, it clearly wasn't. The thoughts were still lingering, and it projected into her voice. A mix of tiredness and just being plane fed up, despite how happy she was to see Caz and his barnpot of a best friend again. Nothing was easy anymore, and she missed that. But Roy wasn't as big of a barnpot as Suze thought. He quickly put two and two together.

'How much did she hear?'

'Enough,' Caz answered. 'But, we'll sort it.' His eyes moved past Roy and to Cait, who was stroking one of the horse's muzzle whilst Jack awkwardly tried to balance himself, with Innes ready to catch him if he fell. 'Is everyone getting ready?'

'For what?' Suze asked.

'Raffs and Brodie are heading back to Skye first thing tomorrow morning. We wanted to give them an early New Years celebration.'

On the other side of the cattleguard, Irene and Jennifer pulled the outdoor chairs from the garage, forming a circle around Gibbo, who was setting up the firepit. Addair, Raffs, and Brodie ventured into the Highlands for wood. Simon, with permission from Muir, went into the attic to find some Christmas tree lights to hang around the porch beams. Continuing his work from this morning, Trots had shovelled the snow so the chairs and firepit could have balance and was now helping Simon. By sitting down with a cup of tea and giving small comments on how the lights weren't level. They were, but Trots loved to annoy Simon with small things. Simon responded by throwing snow into his drink. Everyone's spirits were high, whether they knew Raffs and Brodie or not. All that was needed was Roy's famous chicken casserole.

What everyone failed to notice was Rennick wandering off towards the barn. He silently walked through the thick snow, where traces clung to his trailing body and tendrils. That all too well-known look was in his eyes again; distant and tired, but this time, there was sorrow. They looked to the ground until the barn doors came into view, and even then, the only thing that got him to avert his eyes was a small chirp. The robin watched and hopped towards the man, who stood frozen in place. Sadly, the sight of her didn't bring Rennick any joy. The smile he gave was weak as it was fake. He reached to give her a small pet but stopped himself. She didn't fly away, though.

They say robins are the souls of loved ones. If that was the case, then who was this? Rennick didn't have an answer, and that broke his heart.

Without a word, he opened the doors and went inside.

[changelingsandothernonsense]

Stuff about Yani

He was born in 3E 337 in the Eastern Ashlands of Molag Amur, the oldest of a set of fraternal twins.

He doesn't know his exact birthdate, just that he was born around summer (He was born on the 16th of Second Seed).

His younger sister, Thana and himself were inseparable until she died along with the rest of the Ensirhaddon-Ammu clan when he was 17.

Yani fled Vvardenfell via Vivec City which is how he got caught up in the Camonna Tong- They promised him much and gave him very little

Yani is an accomplished pyromancer but did not inherit the seer ability that his sister had. He did, however pass it on to his son who managed to get the ability from both parents.

Yani draws pretty much everything he sees and passes this on to Josh. He used to draw him pictures of Dwemeri constructs and guar.

Yani goes wherever his smuggling outfit tells him to, and by the time he meets Maera he's a shell of his old self and looking for an out.

He's extremely homesick and ready to fuck things up significantly just to not feel lost anymore. That includes getting involved with his boss' betrothed, getting her pregnant and marrying her in secret.

Yani was excited about the idea of having a kid and immediately knits a large guar toy that he names Vis (Eggs). It's a tradition within most Ashlander clans for prospective fathers to create a gift for their children at birth. He thought a guar would offer protection to his son.

Yani speaks Eastern Ashland and a little Telvanni Dunmeris, he starts picking up Redoran when he's staying in Blacklight but he struggles with it.

Maera ends up learning Ashland just so they can communicate better. Yani gets frustrated easily, and the way the Redoran roll their Rs vexes him in particular.

Yani struggles a lot when he and Maera elope to Cyrodiil. He never quite picks up Cyrodiilic and struggles finding his place amongst the Dunmeri diaspora in Cheydinhal, who just see him as a Velothi they're best not interacting with.

He becomes incredibly isolated as a result. He becomes incredibly homesick, even more so than when he was on mainland Morrowind and often disappears into the surrounding forests periodically to go "hunting".

Sometimes he actually is hunting. Usually he takes his son if that's the case.

Mostly he's drinking himself stupid near the border and considering the logistics of just running again.

He's got an extensive arrest record in Cheydinhal for poaching and theft. He never assimilates to Imperial society.

Towards the end of his life, he starts getting back in with the Tong, hoping he'd figure out a way to get his family back home with the money that ebony smuggling brings.

Orvas Dren (whose fiancée he eloped with and is half the reason they fled in the first place), sends Yani a letter threatening the lives of his wife and son.

Yani is illiterate, so he had to go to Maera with the letter

They make a plan to move south

Yani ignores this on the basis of blood price (he's still Ashlander to his core) so he instead takes the bait which leads to his disappearance and death. This leaves his family vulnerable, and his ghost regrets this decision heavily.

Yani dies in a cave-in in Tolvald's Cave in the Velothi Mountain Range. Dren's men choosing to slit his throat before setting off an explosion that causes the cavern to fall upon him.

His ghost cannot speak for a variety of reasons, though mostly it's related to a lack of proper burial rites that connect him to the magic of his living relatives. This means that whilst Maera can summon him, it doesn't always work and he often shows up with half his throat missing due to his ghost only being able to manifest his final moments.

Josh comes across his remains whilst leading refugees out of Morrowind. He takes his father's remains and buries them with Urshilaku rites within their new burial caverns on Solstheim. However his ghost is often too weak to summon for very long due to just how long his remains lay forgotten.

He's proud of what his son has accomplished in spite of his absence. He regrets not being there.

Josh wears his earrings (the large gold ones) and one of his bangle sets. Maera wears one of his silver sets and his Wraithmail link whilst his aunt, Manirai who ended up heading the splinter Erabenimsun group as their Wise-Woman, receives his bronze set. These end up back in Josh's possession when she passes. He gives the set to his daughter, Nervyna, when she's born alongside the stuffed guar Yani made the moment he found out he was having a kid. Vis is a really old stuffed guar doll.

[rpgchoices]

Souls and bodies in Enderal

Trying to compile some lore tumblr post for Enderal is hard, but I wanted to start with the idea of souls and all the characters that managed to divide their souls from the body.... and that time both body and soul vanished.

It seems like most and many of the sidequests deal with this idea that the body and the soul are separate.

Starting with...

High Ones: They are the souls of people in a unique entity. The Beacon harvests the souls of all creatures, creating this collective unified entity. The souls might already be somewhat unified, given that the Prophet can see the remains of previous civilizations. In this case, the removal of the soul is quite painful and leaves behind burnt charred bodies.

Father's experiments: Father is another character who is extremely interested in the idea of separating a body from a soul. He (she) has lived 400 years and we are not aware of how they have reached this goal... but we know that they had successfully managed to transfer children's souls (again, very painful, maybe similar to the Beacon?) into fake bodies (simulacra). They had only been successful three times: with Tharael, with Nessah and with Letho. Nessah never knew of her condition... and thus was not protected from the detrimental side effects and went mad. Letho was basically lobothomized, the experiment severed his humanity. Tharael is the only one knowing and we know how much in Enderal we put importance into "knowledge of ourselves".

Kor: The Brotherhood of Kor could just be a cult that ended up poisoning themselves, but it could also be that the god Kor as an entity really exists and similarly to the Veiled Woman he demands a sacrifice in death - only souls, tho. Their revelations are similar to the idea that Father has of the flesh being a prison.

Black Guardian: The most mysterious figure after the Veiled Woman, in my opinion, as he was a normal man... who somehow figured everything about the cleansing (or at least that it was coming) before others and decided to give himself a body of metal. This is a simple transferring of soul into metal, but it also shows that souls are basically eternal if "untouched". This could explain why all Emissaries are immortal, but it also arises the question of... is the Veiled Woman just a soul? Did she also use to be human? If someone could have survived by being Fleshless or transferring the soul into a metal machine, could the Veiled Woman just be an even older transcendent soul?

Pentas' undead wife and other ghosts: So I suppose all ghost like figures are lost souls. Pentas' wife killed herself, so in Enderal I suppose there is still this idea of a soul remaining to the Earth, connected to it because of a very strong feeling (in this case the need for revenge) and she disappears only after enacting her revenge. In general the Earth (as in - down there) seems to be connected to the whole cycle given that the Starlings escaped by just... flying up.

Andrasta Braveblood: She basically is able to take people's souls and infuse them into paintings, and this creates a Lost One in return as the person will keep wandering around and acting like usual... just souless. I wonder if this is Letho's destiny, or basically what happened to Letho - his soul got lost in the transfer, or could not fully attach to the new body.

The Black Libra (Butcher):

Souls (phasmalists): probably the cause for the Lost Ones around - we know this practice is forbbiden and that this is something the Father does.

Now, for the all soul, but somehow with body...

Fleshless ones: Technically... all the fleshless ones lost their bodies. The body you see in the temple (?) is yours because you have no body, you have no flesh, and yet you can still walk as if you had a body. I think this is the most confusing one - your soul had basically been extracted, your essence had been turned into a body. Is the Red Madness / and the death we see in the world the necessary sacrifice for it? We know that the Veiled Woman requires the sacrifice of 7 people - body and soul from them, to be able to enact in the world as if she had a body.

Do the High Ones "sacrifice" body and soul of thousands of people through Red Madness? To be able to give the Emissaries the ability to enact in the world?

The thing is... Emissaries DO have a body. We know this because the Emperor is affected by the Beacon, but also because the Black Guardian wanted to exchange his body/soul, which meant taking over the Prophet and trapping him into the Goliath. But this body is a copy...? Many people remarks on the Prophet having a cold magic, or a dead aura - but we also know that his body was really on the bottom of the sea.

The Lost Ones are basically corpses without souls - is this the reason why they have no soul? What happened to them? Is it just that many people like Andrasta and phasmalists are wandering around stealing souls?

[rozeliyawashereyall]

★Korey 'Hathai' Adiel★

New post to use as a ref yippeeee @aspenm00n

+the stats are inspired by @willowve01 old ref for Raine

Basics first~

Full name: Korey 'Hathai' Adiel.

Pronouns: She/They, but mostly goes by She/Her.

Realm: Al'terra

Home town: Aakhan

Ethnicity and race: Thai/Korean human.

Birthday: 28th of October

Age: 19 years old

Height: 5'4

Weight: 132 lbs

Sexuality: Bisexual

Gender: Demigiri

Disorders: prosopagnosia and borderline personality disorder.

Job occupation: (formally) Dazinite recruit. (Current) Aakhan hunter

MBTI: ENFP-A

Affinities: lightning and fire

Family members

Korey was born in Aakhan in a lavish yet unloving home. Spending most of her life trying to get her parents attention. The Adiel parents were very neglectful and emotionally abusive, to purposefully triggering Korey's episodes to guilt tripping Esra for leaving.

Korey has two brothers. The oldest is Esra, at 25 years old. The youngest is Noah, at 14 years old. They all get along greatly and have a very strong bond.

-Esra has already cut off his parents by now, and he absolutely refuses to see them again. He has a job and a loving wife and kid. He's not about to let them ruin it. He's always cool, calm, and collected, it's very difficult to really get under his skin. He graduated Thessla, the magic academy for mages, affinities being mind and water.

-Noah is kind of like a golden child, but also not really? He gets treated decently by their parents, unlike how his older siblings were treated, and he is very aware of it. He's very anxious and quiet, but can be brave. He has some big potential to use magic, but until he leaves the Adiel household, it's staying hidden.

Achara Hathai, the mother. She comes from a very strict family with a lot of traditions and rules to follow. She's the 5th of 6 daughters, she barely got any care from her parents, only by the maids. She was married off the day she turned 18 years old to Haneul Adiel. She's cold hearted, cruel, and is more than willing to manipulate others for her own advantage. She's a follower of Leo.

Haneul Adiel, the father. This man came from a very spoiled and entitled home. Raised by "loving" parents, who never once taught him punishment. His parents were the ones who watched over the kids. He was married to 18 year old Achara when he was 24 years old. He isn't a caring man, but a sadistic one. He's the one who'd torture Korey and Esra the most. Despite his spoiled unskilled appearance, he's a very talented mage, his affinities being lightning and mind. He's a follower of Daz.

-Their marriage was a loveless one, only conceiving children to keep the family line going. They both have no respect for each other, getting into arguments almost every day.

Little more about them here.

Important backstory events.

I. At 3 years old, Korey was pushed fell and sustained a pretty hard hit to her head— but thankfully, was found by a munite, they called themselves "Amaal". She was quickly healed by them, but too late as the right fusiform gyrus (for those who don't know it's a fold in the brain that coordinates the neural system that controls facial perception and memory) had already been too damaged, developing prosopagnosia due to the head injury.

After the munite told her parents found out about this injury, they... didn't care. Which of course caused Amaal to be even more concerned, that they made up an excuse to keep Korey at the temple for a little longer, just to make sure she doesn't have any more injuries they don't know about.

From then on, Amaal would visit Korey and her brothers in disguise, making sure they were okay and still alive. Even giving Esra a few healing spells to practice, and teaching Korey to mentally note vocal mannerisms and physical build so she can be able to identify them without relying on facial features.

II. At 8 years old, Korey meets Jay. I wouldn't get into too much detail about their relationship here, since I already did it in a different post.

Jay's family is very, very close to the Adiels <- them and the Akeins have a long history together. They were visiting the Adiels with his family before seeing Korey in the yard, playing by herself. So he approached her. And his obsession started a year later from there. She actually did not like Jay at all when they were younger, but Korey was basically forced to be nice to him as kids by her parents, and it unfortunately grew into a habit that developed into whatever they have going on because it's definitely not a friendship.

More about Jay and Korey and some other important things here

III. At 9 years old, Korey of course still couldn't understand why she couldn't see her parents, and why they wouldn't look at her. So, she had tried to gouge out her eyes with a pair of scissors to give them to her parents so they'd use them to look at her. As in her mind at the time, they didn't have eyes to use, to see.

Don't worry though! Esra found her before she actually gouged out her eye. Though she can still see, some serious damage was done to her right eye, he tried to heal it with what spells Amaal taught him, but unfortunately made it worse since healing was not his speciality, like at all. He ended up using a different spell on accident, causing the blood to flow in it drastically faster, turning it red.

Like I said— she can still see, but in her right eye, it's all tinted red and it hurt like hell. When Amaal visited again, they tried to heal Korey's eye, but unfortunately the damage from Esra's spell was almost irreversible, all they can do is relieve the pain in it.

IV. At 12 years old, Korey accidentally killed two boys who were about 3 years older than her at the time. The boys were bullying and hitting her badly, saying some pretty fucked up stuff, it was until one of the boys reached for her clothes was when snapped. Punching the boy off of her, before starting to slam his head on a rock over and over.

The other boy, too scared to intervene, but before he could run away, she ended up throwing a pretty hefty rock at his head. Killing both of them, and severely mentally scarring her. Thankfully for Korey, the murder wasn't pointed at her, but a violent halfblood who was roaming the woods. But still, even to this day the guilt still eats her from the inside.

Korey only told Amaal about what she's done, and safe to say they were not happy. They put her on community service duty for the rest of the year, while a very lenient punishment to killing two kids, they understood it was in self defense...also she was 12—

V. At 14 years old, Jay was brutally killed by a violent tiger halfblood, getting their guts ripped out as Korey could only helplessly watch. After it was done with Jay, Korey was also attacked by it, slitting her neck with its claws. But thankfully, she was saved by a hunter nearby called...'Warren'. influencing her enough that she decided to join the hunters. But of course, she was still too young to join. So for now she can only train.

Oh boy, were her brothers and Amaal very worried when they found out what had happened to Korey and her "friend".

Amaal, as a way to get her to stop from getting into so many dangerous activities, suggested they become a Dazinite recruit. Her entire family are ones, excluding Esra and Achara. So, she did, and it worked quite well. She stopped getting into too many fights, but was still quite the menace– pretty fitting for a stormchaser. And Amaal didn't have to worry as much about Korey getting severely injured, so it's a win-win situation!

VI. At 16 years old, she was quite literally struck down by lightning. Out of pity, the divine of Weather, Daz. Helped and gifted her a bottle with thunder inside of it..catch is, it was in liquid state. Essentially making her a muse. So far, only Esra and Amaal know about this.

Esra was very worried at first, but he'll warm up to it, eventually. Amaal was a little proud? I mean, their daughter figure just got gifted by a divine. But they were a little concerned about the potential repercussions and consequences..oh and her getting hit by a damn lightning bolt.

Noah has some suspicions of Korey being.. different. But of course he trusts his siblings too much to let his suspicions get in the way of their bond.

VII. At 18 years old, Korey finally meets Cersei. She's old enough to go on hunts now, but of course the older authority figures need to make sure she's ready-ready. And that authority figure happened to be mistress Fain herself.

The conversation was... something. Definitely not a normal interaction you have with someone. Lady Fain seemed to have been a bit suspicious of her being different per-say. But in the end, she was surprisingly very thoughtful of her and others, or at least she acted like that.

Circei had that motherly affect on Korey, but it felt so wrong seeing her as one.

Facts about her

—Korey's the type of person that would stab you as a warning.

—she is so ADHD and Autism coded it's not even funny.

—has a scrapbook with all the bugs and boys drawn in it so she won't forget what they look like and she will actually start sobbing if she ever lost it.

—she can speak Thai, English, and a lil bit of Korean.

— her episodes can either be violent (mainly to herself) or emotional. Her coping mechanism is finding an abandoned building and destroying it by taking her anger out on the things there. There are rare occasions where she talks about her feelings instead of bottling it up for so long it turns into an episode.

—she can barely remember what her parents faces look like, of course Korey pretty much relied on the person's voice to know who's who, but since her parents barely ever spoke to her, it takes her a while to recognise them.

—her grandparents, while mostly nice, were really possessive of her and her siblings. Never approving of her actions and choices, preferring for her to be more feminine and hide her scars. Korey kinda developed body dysmorphia from this, it was especially bad when she was younger

—she kinda had a grudge against halfbloods since she was attacked by one, but it was really only towards the more apex predators type of halfbloods. It was kinda resolved when she met the boys, but can be a bit suspicious if not paranoid meeting other halfbloods.

Of course she doesn't agree with the whole enslaving thing, but does agree that some halfbloods are too dangerous to be left alone, that some need to be put on a watch list by the hunters from how violent they can be. But, never drugged, enslaved and forced to fight.

—has very mixed feelings about Cersei. She understands where she's coming from. Her town got burned down, her family killed, and ended up having a miscarriage after trying to escape. All of that caused by a dragon halfblood.

Korey is an advocate for revenge, don't get me wrong! But she does think that Cersei's ideology went a little too far.

—she is very oblivious to more emotional feelings and weirdly observant to her opponents reactions. she was often mistaken as apathetic or heartless by the village people.

—best way to cheer her up? Cinnamon rolls. Or bibimbap! It's her favourite dish! Her grandparents used to make it for her before passing away

—don't let her anywhere near the kitchen though. She can help cut up the vegetables, but actually cooking? Yeah the place is getting burned down.

Her sense of direction is even worse than her cooking.

—she's both exciting and worrying to be around. Exciting because there will never be a dull moment with all the adventures and quests she comes up with. Worrying because she's a thrill seeker and will most likely purposefully put herself in danger just for the adrenaline.

—she's annoyingly good at fighting with insanely fast reflexes. One could argue because she's a muse, or because she's put herself in so many dangerous situations she learned it from experience. But either way, thanks to her risky endeavours, she's very agile and fast,

—but! While very reckless and careless of her self preservation. She always makes sure the others are okay, especially when they seem exhausted after a day out together. She knows not everyone can keep up with her energy.

—crimes include: arson, second degree murder, child endangerment, implied underage drinking, trespassing, vandalism, and–

Korey's stats before Silverben +after becoming a muse

Strength: 6/5

Speed: 7/5

Attack: 5.5/5

Agility: 7/5

Reflex: 7/5

Combat intel: 5/5

Defense: 5.5/5

Durability: 6/5

Stamina: 7/5

Korey's stats after Silverben

Strength: 4/5

Speed: 4.5/5

Attack: 3.5/5

Agility: 4/5

Reflex: 6/5

Combat intel: 5/5

Defense: 4/5

Durability: 5/5

Stamina: 4/5

Relationships family wise

Esra Adiel—ISFJ-A

Relationship: 9/10

he's her older brother, of course she has a good relationship with him! Even when he ran away to go live happily with his wife, Diana. He'd still come back on the weekends to check up on her and Noah, bringing all sorts of trinkets for them. He was the one who first encouraged her to join the academy when she reached 18 years old and not become a hunter instead.. but he understood her choices.

She did kinda hold the fact that he left them to marry a girl he just met against him. But he's made it up to her and Noah!

Esra is very quiet, always looking for ways to gain more knowledge, and stopping at nothing to protect his family.

Noah Adiel—ESFJ-T

Relationship: 10/10

Just like with Esra~ she has a very good relationship with him! Was very saddened when she couldn't be there for him as much. But she tries to visit him as much as possible! Taking every opportunity to go check up on him. She'd occasionally take him on her silly little adventures, just to spend time with him.

Noah is quite the anxious kid, preferring to stay silent then speak up his thoughts. But is brave when the situation calls for it, especially if it's to protect his siblings.

Diana Clair—ISFJ-A

Relationship: 8/10 only because she doesn't know her a lot

She never got to see her a lot, but she treasures her dearly! Along with her daughter, Ayla! Especially since she's her brother's wife. Was wary of her at first, but warmed up quickly!

Miss Clair is a very kind woman, eager to help anyone in need. Even if she's mute, she's more than willing to defend others!

Jay Akein—ENTP-T

Relationship: 0/10

...yeah I'm not getting into this one.

Achara and Haneul—ENTJ-A/T

Relationship: 0/10

Also no.

Relationships canon characters wise, also before Timmy was taken

Bodie Willowroot.

Relationship: 9/10

She was very, very suspicious of him when they first met. But warmed up to him quite quickly. She first started considering trusting him at the end of episode 1...and fully trusted him at the end of episode 3.

The reason why she even told him the truth about why she came here was because the guilt was eating her alive. Especially after the third episode-

Thinks he's pretty cool, gator halfbloods are quite rare these days. She tries to help him with the cooking but stays at the cutting duty– it's for the best. Likes how understanding and caring he is, he's almost like a father figure to her.

He reminds her a lot of Amaal and Esra combined.

Timothy Wheat.

Relationship: 10/10

Wasn't that suspicious of him tbh, she just assumed since he was also a gator, he'd know and be close to Bodie, and she was right!

She thinks he's... unique. Was suspicious of the white scales constantly growing on him, but let it go after the albino excuse before finding out he was half an ice dragon— but either way she really likes him!

Thinks his little obsession with crystals and cool rocks is pretty cute, she likes shiny things too, so that's one thing they can bond over! They'll even sometimes go search for some pretty rocks and ingredients for Bodie together. Most likely teasing each other on the way, Korey is often the winner of these silly fights.

Honestly, she really only prefers his company over the others because he's closer to her age. And because she thinks he's pretty and cool.

Marco Palustris Cydarki.

Relationship: 7.5/10

Was pretty salty on the fact he almost crushed her when they first met– but the sketch he gave definitely made it up. She thinks he's also very unique, probably more than Timmy. Is very curious on where he keeps disappearing and travelling off to.

Definitely won her trust by the end of their first meeting. But, her trust did kinda get rocky when she saw him at the arena, but it was resolved after he explained himself.

She still doesn't have much of an opinion on him, but she likes him.

Rolden Willowroot bonus tehe

Relationship: 5(?)/10 cuz she barely knows the guy

Boy was she terrified—

Okay not terrified per say, just very intimidated by him. But she does think his appearance is pretty cool.

And..uh..she uh...likes his determination to get his family out? My way of saying she doesn't have much of an opinion on him

And I think that's all!~ will be updating this post as the series progresses.

Headers are by @saradika btw, full credit to them!

[tazienimp]

K, so, to explain my last post, on why Mephy's not that great of a parent.

Triggering topics mentioned, cause Janice is involved, regarding domestic abuse, she did it not him. Also, light gore. Because Janice. She's literally a walking trigger warning.

He was a great dad to Crystal, he protected her, he provided for her without question or thought, he was super receptive to her needs. With every kid after, he gets into fights with them, he gets stressed out easier and calls his husband for help, he seems to have forgotten how to parent altogether.

There's a huge reason for this, and this reason, is Janice. The boogeyman of my au, the reason all the different timelines exists, a normal ass mobian woman who may as well be the devil herself.

See, she was highly abusive. Not just to Mephy, but to Crys. And after her death, her ghost entered and is still residing within Mephiles, haunting him. He was changed by this. Her personality seeps out of him so frequently it's terrifying and he despises himself for what he believes are solely his actions, and he has no idea that it's instead influenced by possession, and no one else does either. He believes Janice to be long dead and gone. Janice unfortunately is still ruining his life from beyond the grave.

Now, Mephy would never lay a hand on his kids, they've never had any reason to be afraid of him, he doesn't starve them, he doesn't lock them in closets, he's never tried to hurt or kill them. He loves them, and he still does care and provide for them the best he can with the mental scars that he bears. Raising Twilight was very hard on him specifically because Janice was able to take over way more in an emotional aspect, due to Mephiles, in a sense, grieving the fact he never fully got to raise Crys, who is tbh his favorite child. He abandoned Crys when she was 3 to go comit 06, and she was raised by Rouge instead. So raising another kid, another daughter, especially one so different than Crys yet so similar, had him way more vulnerable to his dead wife's possession. It got easier with Ghost and the triplets, because he was able to get a grip on himself and step up a bit more. That's why he's Ghost's favorite parent, and why the triplets can't choose a favorite parent, but they all agree he wasn't a good mom. But he was the worst at it when raising Twi, because it was so hard for him, and it also didn't help that she was made due to Mephy not wanting Doom to be alone after he had left during the Shadow Virus, and he'd dropped her egg, leaving her partially disabled, so she is, to him, a constant reminder of more ways he fucked up.

The kids also learned very quickly of Mephy's backwards way of communicating, of his actions being how he spoke to them, rather than with words. While they would have preferred an 'I love you' here and there, they knew he loved them by the way he raised them and they were content with that. Especially due to, shockingly, Mephiles being the mother hen of the family, and how he was aggressively supportive of them in a way that others would see as backhanded or strict. They never really found out why til they were grown up, but they could tell he was terrified of anything ever happening to them, even more than their dad was, and Doom was a helicopter parent to put it lightly, even though he was a lot more verbally affectionate and gentle with them.

So, Mephiles was never a mean mother, he just wasn't good in the verbal/emotional aspect, again, due to his ex wife seeping through him and making him act in ways he never would have if she wasn't literally possessing his body and making him think his actions and feelings were his own. But there's enough of the real him in there where he never ever would hurt any of his beloved children.

But yeah i wanted to clear that up rq, cause there's so much of Mephy post 06 that isn't even him, he's such a fucked up lil blorbo, but not as fucked up as i probably unintentionally implied last post ^^' I'm so sorry about that

[ahgasegotarmy116]

the 'do it for him' mini series was insanely good, it's illegal. i wish that we could have more of it. 😔

what would oc do if jungkook decides that he wants her as his wife and not his son's wife anymore, what would she do? like, would she play house with him when her husband is on a work trip because his dad keeps on sending him?

Oh my gosh thank you so much 😭 I'm so so happy you liked it! Hopefully this will help answer your questions <3

Do it for... Mini Masterlist < read for context :)

~~~~

"You told me as soon as we found out I was pregnant with my son yo-" "Our son" he taunts and I take a deep breath trying to calm myself down a bit before continuing, not wanting to raise my voice too much as the children are in the other room. "Our son, that you would leave me alone" I say and he raises a brow at me, wanting me to continue my argument. "Yet you keep coming back to me. Why can't you just leave me alone?" I say, walking over to sit down at my husband's desk. The same place where Jungkook had propositioned me several years ago. 

"Darling it's your fault, you've ruined sex for me with other women. Nothing about them compares to you" he says caressing my face leaving me flinching a bit but he holds onto my chin to keep me in place. "What about me is so special to you?" I say looking up at him with a heated gaze, full of disgust for everything about him.

"Your body and how it calls out to me even though your mind wants you to think differently. How you keep on letting me have you when my son is out of town even when you try to tell me no. How you cry every time from the guilt that is consuming you from the inside out yet you lay there and take it. That is what makes you special love" he says looking down at me with an expression that is somehow readable but not at the same time.

"You're disgusting" I say and stand up to leave but he places a hand on my shoulder and my body moves to sit back down without any resistance. "You call me disgusting yet with just a touch you're already giving into me" says with a cocky smile.

"You're just as disgraceful if not more for letting me do this to you" he says while cradling my face again and running his thumb along my bottom lip, somehow with that simple motion and his heated gaze he's put me in a trance.

He tugs on my bottom lip softly making me open my mouth as he slowly inserts his thumbs and pressed it on my tongue leaving me on impulse suckling on it and watching as his eye darken, full of pure lust.

I'm broken out of the headspace that he is always able to get me in so easily when I hear my son crying. I bite on his thumb a bit leaving him pulling it out of my mouth, giving me a chance to leave. "The nanny will tend to him" he says not even bothering to turn and watch me as I go.

"I don't care, I want to go take care of my son " I say and he turns around after that with his phone facing me, showing me my husband's contact information. "Just one call love and your entire world crumbles. Now run off and go take care of our son, we can continue this conversation later" he finishes and turns his back to me. 

I'm doing this so I can save my husband from the heartbreak of knowing that our marriage and the family that we've built together is all a lie. So if that means entertaining his father to keep this a secret then I'll do it. I could never bare seeing the pain I've caused him come to life as I already have two living reminders with me everyday. 

I've backed myself into a corner, and there really is no one else to blame but myself. Jungkook might've pressured me into this but the choice was ultimately mine, and I chose wrong.  

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[konstantynowitz]

Are you going to be making headcanons for your ocs soon? I’d really like to know more about Anastasia Karkaroff and Letitia Greengrass. Also, you’ve mentioned in the past that Tasoula had four brothers, right? Can you tell us more about them?

Sorry I know I’ve only been leaving only a few crumbs here and there lol

I’ve realized that posts have become a little more infrequent recently and I think that has a lot to do with a lot of indecisiveness revolving around these characters. I have a lot to share about them but I find myself at a road block with their backgrounds and that’s frustrating me a bit. Hopefully I’ll be able to clear everything up soon so that you’ll have a better understanding on these characters.

Here’s a little something that will give a bit more info on the characters you requested:

Anastasia “Nastasya” Shafiq (née Karkaroff) was born in the year 1860 to Afanasiy Karkaroff and his wife Tasiya. She had one younger brother Tolya, the boy being five years her junior. When Anastasia was sixteen, her mother passed away at the age of forty-two, which would become a pivotal moment in her daughter’s life and would ultimately pave the path for her future. Afanasiy thought it best for Anastasia to marry, believing that it would provide security within the family by tying up a “loose end” for the convenience of not having to worry about her anymore. Afanasiy discovered the ideal match for his daughter in the Shafiq family, a prominent pure-blood lineage in England with Middle Eastern roots. After securing the Shafiqs' approval, he arranged a proxy marriage in Russia, allowing Anastasia to be wed without her husband’s physical presence. Soon afterwards, she would be shipped off to her new husband and would never see her father or brother ever again. A year within her marriage, Anastasia would become pregnant with her first and only child Aykut Shafiq, the baby causing her demise during childbirth in 1878.

Letitia Shafiq (née Greengrass) was born in the year 1901 as the daughter of Cepheus Greengrass and his wife Isolde. Letitia was one of the elder children in her family, being the older sister of Astoria and Daphne Greengrass’ grandfather. At the tender age of sixteen, she became acquainted with Aykut Shafiq who became completely enamored with the young girl. Within just a few short weeks of courting, they were married in 1916, and during their marriage, the couple had five children together, including Panteley and Tasoula Shafiq. At the age of thirty-five, Letitia fell ill and died a year before her daughter enrolled at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which completely devastated the family.

The names of Tasoula Shafiq’s brothers are still coming together. At this moment I only have Panteley as the only one with an official name, but there’ll be more updates on the rest of the Shafiq brothers soon!!

Thanks for the ask, and sorry if this is only a fraction of what you wanted but it’s all I have to give for now.

[pterodactylterrace]

Okay. Let’s start unpacking, shall we?

Aemond: you feel bad he lost his eye and is now permanently disfigured and disabled. Because he claimed a dragon, and 4 other children took personal offense to it. As I have said before, THEY SHOULDN’T HAVE EVEN BEEN THERE. What were 4 children going to do if it was someone dangerous? Die? They never jump him, the whole thing never happens. When one party makes a clear mistake that caused something to happen, it tends to be their fault. They formed a mob and jumped another child over an imagined crime. Had they alerted the guard or stayed in bed, the whole thing would have been avoided. Also, Aemond only uses his “deadly weapon” after Jace whips out a knife. A knife he brought with him. He was planning for violence.

Daemon: killed his first wife, murdered and maimed hundreds of small folk without a trial, married his second wife of his own choice and still didn’t love her, fucked his niece at his wife’s funeral, groomed multiple young girls, almost beat a messenger to death and choked his third wife. That’s just season 1.

Rhaenyra: As I said before, NO ONE CARES THAT SHE HAD BASTARDS. We care that she put them in the succession, which is ILLEGAL. Pay attention when people talk. Literally no one cares she had kids with someone that wasn’t her husband. We care about the treason she pulled. We care about the constant lying. We care that she shows herself to be cruel to a recently maimed child. You really think the same woman that would suggest her younger brother be tortured wouldn’t have Cole gelded and beheaded if he told her father what she did? Ok, that’s a fantasy land. He owed his station directly to her choosing him. There was a huge power imbalance. We watch her continue stripping him while he stands frozen after telling her NO. That’s rape. It doesn’t matter that he eventually went along with it. She coerced him into doing it.

Aegon: We have a fragmented story of something that happened between him and the maid. It is assumed to be rape because Dyana drank moon tea. Her story is that she was getting him his wine, she put it in the table, and then she didn’t see him. She asked him to stop. It bugs me so much that people take this inference and decided Aegon did it, no questions asked, he is a terrible person, but what did Cole say again? Oh, Rhaenyra took his helmet to lure him into her chambers. Refused to give it back, blocked his exit when he tried to leave, ignored him when he says stop and then forces him to look at her. Switch the genders and it’s the exact same situation that happened with Aegon and Dyana, but we don’t see it happen. We watch Cole being assaulted, and people still want to sit there and say it was some romantic gesture. I’m sorry, but trying to leave and asking her to stop and not being able to look at her, is assault. He said “stop”, same thing Dyana said. But because the genders are reversed, Aegon is definitely guilty and evil (though we didn’t even see what happened) and Rhaenyra is just an innocent little thing that can do no wrong, even though we watch her sexually assault Cole.

Maybe we side with the green faction because we have the ability to understand words and shit? We can watch a scene and go “whoa, what was that?!” And realize that women are just as capable of being horrible people as men are? Just a thought.

[thepaleys]

In the fall of 1902, the tsar’s youngest uncle, Grand Duke Paul, had actually run away to Paris, taking with him suitcases holding three million rubles. Paul suffered from periodic nervous breakdowns and never seemed able to put his life together in a constructive fashion. Now he had decided to marry a new love, his mistress, a divorcee, Olga Pistolkors, whom the family considered not only an outrageously inappropriate choice for Paul, but also an unattractively ambitious, even brazen woman. A commoner and, in the judgment of many, a “fornicator,” she had appeared at a Winter Palace ball wearing diamonds bequeathed to Paul by his mother, the late Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Every Romanov recognized imperial jewels. Minnie demanded that Madame Pistolkors be expelled from the party and the chamberlain thereupon asked the woman to leave, causing an immense scandal.

She was said to have Paul completely under her thumb. When Nicholas heard the news that Paul had eloped, he exploded with rage. Paul had given his word he would not do so. Paul’s brothers were also fiercely indignant. Vladimir wrote to Sergei: “He [Paul] has behaved shamelessly as a member of our family and as a military man. His behavior cannot be called anything but criminal. And to her I said plainly that if she will become the wife of my brother, I will turn my back on her and she will never in life see my face again. What will become of him? How will he be able to live the life of an outcast? What will become of the children? My heart is heavy, my head is empty. . . . I repeat to you that I am crying for help and I embrace you with my heart filled with sadness.”

Minnie wrote to Nicky of her indignation. “He [Paul] has forgotten everything, all his fundamental obligations, his children, country, service, honour, everything, he has sacrificed everything for that stupid woman, who is not worthy of it. . . . He’s simply throwing dirt at our family! Awful, awful!”

Nicholas stripped Paul of his army rank and grand ducal income. Despite his exile in France, the millions he took with him ensured that Paul could live comfortably. His house in Paris became a center for the local Russian colony and his wife, now using the foreign title of Countess Hohenfelzen, could play a queenly social role, freely associating with members of the imperial family who were visiting France, so little were the laws of the family and the authority of Nicholas II respected.

The tsar wrote his mother about Paul: “How painful and distressing it all is and how ashamed one feels for the sake of our family before the world! What guarantee is there now that Kyril won’t start the same sort of thing tomorrow and Boris or Sergei Mikhailovich the day after? And in the end, I fear, a whole colony of members of the Russian Imperial Family will be established in Paris with their semi-legitimate and illegitimate wives! God alone knows what times we are living in, when undisguised selfishness stifles all feelings of conscience, duty or even ordinary decency!”

Other older members of the family also shook their heads and worried about the younger ones, who seemed only to want the royal life of luxury without accepting the responsibilities it should entail.

"The Flight of the Romanovs" - John Curtis Perry and Constantine V. Pleshakov

[bigsoftmarshmallow]

Hi, I hope this will bring the wholesome!

Holy cow!! This game! I can't! ❤️ Little Romi just gave Zel a four-leaf clover! She said that “Did you know you’ll be happy forever & ever if you've got one of these clovers?” She then went on to say that she gave one to her papa & that he was SOOO happy, then gave one to Zel, telling her that she should give one to her papa too! … I gotta say, they did a great job of writing these kids in this game.

So, I'd love to see the Dorfs receiving such a clover from their daughter. Perhaps they’re confused initially, but accept all-the-same, earning him a bright, sunny smile & an “Nï'āmàl'so, Vōda!” (Meaning, “I love you, dad!” But in a slang way. So, it's more like, “love ya, dad!” Āmàl being the platonic or familial use of love.) Before scampering off saying that, she was going to go help Vàma with dinner. Anyway, I imagine the DorfMisers just smiling, looking at the silly little good luck charm… He contemplates tossing it or something of the like.

What do each one decide to do?

Regardless, I imagine that they go about their day until they catch the word “clover,” only half-listening, until he hears a child all pouty over having not been able to find a Happy Clover. The other children ask why she wanted that, who responds that four-leaf clovers are always lucky, but the Picori Festival had just ended a week ago, so all four-leaf clovers still in the ground become Happy Clovers which are extra extra lucky because the Picori always leave extra treats & trinkets during the festival. Reminding them how in class, the teacher said that if you have one then you’ll be happy forever & ever! (Said elderly lady was also his daughter's teacher, so it was almost guaranteed that she'd heard the same tale herself.) “And it’s the last day until the full moon, when the extra luck will disappear for 100 whole years!!” *note that the child was whining* She then complained about how “It’s almost sundown & the princess stole the last one right from under my nose & those are the luckiest!! She could've gotten another one before, cause she’s really good at finding treasure, so she must’ve waited till the last hour to get the best one!!! Selfish!!!” Keep in mind, it was really just little kid talk, no hatred, just annoyance. Nothing a bit of roughhousing won’t resolve.

In other words, rather than keep such a supposedly fae-blessed eternal happiness bestowing treasure for herself (which, is super huge for kids, remember that), the DorfMisers’ darling Vàlàti (princess) had decided to give it to him instead.

How do they react?

If he tossed the clover, does he go searching for it? If so, how does he feel when he does find it again?

Or if he didn't toss it, is he overcome with relief for his forbearance. (Which, in.the cases of Demise, is likely very rare.)

Regardless of which, what does he do & say next time he sees her standing on a stool as she helps her mother knead buns on her tippy toes with a flour smudged màgdàsha (a type of cooking apron made from linen)? Thoughts, feelings, & what do they do afterwards? Do they watch for a bit? Listen to his wife & daughter chat for a moment? Enjoy a moment of peace & contentment & family & just… love. Perhaps that desire for power & conquest is still there, but maybe for now, with these people… maybe he had all he needed for just a moment…

What then? Which of the Dorfs react by saying the classic, “How are my 2 favorite vaien?” (I highly doubt Demise, but I can absolutely see Hedony doing so.)

I'd love a cute little scene where they interact.

Regardless, when Nemma notices the little clover, she comments, “My! That's quite the fortunate find! I could seal that in resine so it won't wilt, if you'd like?”

Response please?

And, if he asks his vehvï why she didn’t keep such a “powerful” treasure for herself. (I imagine him saying the word with a bit of humor. Maybe some fondness.) After all, many would give anything for never-ending happiness. How does he react to her saying, “I’m always happy, but I see how you look sometimes. And I know that being happy doesn’t come as easy for everyone. So, I wanted you to have it, so we can see you smile more. Kaachan likes your smile & so do I! I know your job's important to you, but taking breaks to be happy is important, too!”

Also, the expression on Nemma’s face is like: 🥹, hand pressed to her lips like this: 🤭 with a tiny, tight little smile of, “Oh my goodness, my heart. It is breaking from the wholesome.”

But, how do the DorfMisers react?  Like, just to the realization that his baby wants wishes eternal happiness for him? Thoughts & feelings? How does he respond?

Anyway, thank you! And I'm glad you're sib’s back at home.

I loved that quest. Its so cute. The King of Hyrule in this game was such a 10/10 dad. I loved the father/daughter dynamics between him and Zelda. <3

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

What an absolutely heartwarming and rich scene you've crafted! Here’s how I imagine each of the Ganondorfs and Demise might react to Vàlàti’s innocent and deeply thoughtful gift.

Ocarina of Time Ganondorf

At first, he may be taken aback, almost amused by the clover's "power" as his daughter eagerly hands it to him. He's not prone to sentimentality, so he doesn't give much thought to it until he hears the children’s conversation about the clover’s supposed power to bring eternal happiness. Suddenly, it dawns on him just how meaningful her gesture was, choosing to bestow him with what she saw as boundless happiness. This thought lingers with him as he goes to find her, watching her help her mother in the kitchen. In a rare moment of softness, he places the clover in his pocket, letting himself feel her love and seeing both his daughter and wife as pillars in his life he wouldn’t trade for anything. He might smile and ask, “How are my two favorite vaien?”

Twilight Princess Ganondorf

Twilight Princess Ganondorf would likely scoff lightly at the idea of a “happy clover” at first, not thinking twice as he sets it down somewhere unceremonious. Yet the overheard conversation about the clover’s rarity makes him reconsider, compelling him to find it again, a shadow of doubt flitting across his mind that it might actually carry some significance. When he sees Vàlàti with her mother, covered in flour and happily chatting, he’d feel a tug of something tender and unfamiliar. He might even join in, maybe calling them his “vaien,” although with that characteristic serious tone he never quite shakes. Yet as he leaves, the clover’s weight in his pocket feels like a reminder of the simple happiness he often overlooks.

Wind Waker Ganondorf

Wind Waker Ganondorf, with his connection to the sea and the endless search for something beyond power, would feel an immediate, instinctive warmth when Vàlàti gives him the clover. He listens carefully to the children’s chatter, quietly intrigued, and feels an ache when he realizes she gave up such a valuable treasure for him. As he watches her, his heart fills with pride, especially when he considers her purity and resilience in wanting to share joy with him. He’s likely to watch Nemma and Vàlàti in that contented silence, whispering a soft, “My girls,” before deciding he’ll keep that clover with him, a little beacon of happiness in his journey.

Hyrule Warriors Ganondorf

Hyrule Warriors Ganondorf is initially skeptical of the clover’s “eternal happiness,” dismissing it with a smirk. But after hearing the children’s belief in the clover’s power, he finds himself curiously examining it more closely, his respect for his daughter’s thoughtfulness growing. Watching her help Nemma in the kitchen, he’d feel an unexpected warmth and protective pride, reflecting on her selflessness. He’d keep the clover, reminding himself that her happiness is now woven into his life as much as his ambitions. He might approach them, standing beside Nemma, and murmur, “My two favorite vaien are getting along well, I see,” with a rare softness in his voice.

Tears of the Kingdom Ganondorf

Tears of the Kingdom Ganondorf would initially seem indifferent to the clover, but overhearing the children would leave him thoughtful, the meaning behind his daughter’s gesture settling deeply. He finds himself seeking Vàlàti out, finding her with Nemma in the kitchen. For a moment, he simply watches the pair, feeling an unfamiliar ache at how she wants him to be happy. He might kneel beside her, tucking the clover into a pouch close to his heart. “Thank you, vàlàti,” he’d murmur, his usual commanding tone softened. Her gift makes him realize he might truly desire more for them than he’d once imagined.

Demise

Demise would likely regard the clover as insignificant at first, setting it aside without a second thought. However, hearing the children's talk would jolt something in him—a glimmer of curiosity. The thought of happiness wasn’t something he ever sought, but the fact that she wanted it for him would leave him unexpectedly stirred. He wouldn’t outwardly show much, perhaps, but when he sees her helping Nemma in the kitchen, he watches a while longer than usual, feeling a new, unfamiliar sense of peace. He might finally grumble, “My two favorite vaien,” more for their sakes than his own, the clover tucked into his gauntlet almost without thinking.

If Nemma offers to preserve the clover, most of the Ganondorfs would be moved, likely nodding with a subtle, “Thank you.” After Vàlàti’s explanation, they might feel a pang of tenderness, the realization that their little girl had thought so deeply and selflessly. And if they ask her why she gave it to them, her simple yet profound response would bring an unexpected sense of humility and gratitude.

Demise, meanwhile, would be especially struck by her words about happiness not coming as easily to him. He’d turn her words over in his mind as though unlocking a mystery, perhaps vowing to keep the clover for reasons he can’t yet name, his normally unyielding resolve softened just slightly by his daughter’s gesture.

[nerdygaymormon]

The Book of Genesis teaches wealth is destructive

In the Book of Genesis, the stories of the great patriarchs of the Israeli people shows that wealth resulted in families being split up. It happened again and again and again.

Let's start with Abraham. He doesn't have any children of his own, however his nephew lives with him and presumably Lot (the nephew) would be heir to Abraham. Each of them grow so wealthy that the land of Canaan couldn't support both of them. They separate and never see each other again (Genesis 13:6-9). Because of their wealth, Abraham loses his heir and someone he is close to.

—————————

Losing Lot creates a problem for Abraham, he needs a son to inherit his fortune. Sarah, his wife, has not been able to get pregnant, and her solution is for Abraham to have a child with Sarah's female slave named Hagar. A son is born and is named Ishmael. Sarah later becomes pregnant and has a son named Isaac. Sarah wants her son Isaac to inherit everything and so Hagar & Ishmael are abandoned in the wilderness knowing this will likely result in their death. Wealth causes this unjust action.

—————————

Isaac inherits his father's wealth. He has two sons named Esau and Jacob. They are fraternal twins, but because Esau was birthed first he is the beneficiary of the primogeniture system which rewards the first-born son with a larger inheritance. Jacob & his mom each connive to take Esau's birthright away and give it to Jacob. Esau is furious and vows to murder Jacob, causing Jacob to flee. The fight over an inheritance leads to the splitting up of this family.

—————————

Jacob flees to his uncle's home where he falls in love with his cousin Rachel and agrees to work for his uncle for 7 years in exchange for getting to marry her. I'm guessing since Jacob fled his home without much, this 7 years of labor is in lieu of a dowry, which was a sum of money offered to the father of his bride by the groom in order to receive the daughter as his bride. After 7 years, during which the uncle's flocks and fortunes increased under Jacob's skilled care, Jacob gets married but he is tricked, he didn't marry Rachel but Leah, who is Rachel's older sister Leah. Jacob is angry, but he and his uncle agree that Jacob can also marry Rachel now in exchange for another 7 years of labor. That was a shady way to keep Jacob working to the uncle's benefit.

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Once the second 7-year agreement is completed, Jacob wants to take his family & possessions and head back to Canaan, but he comes to an agreement with the uncle to stay and work in exchange for payment, which is that Jacob could have all of the spotted, speckled, and brown goats and sheep of Laban's flock. Jacob employs tactics to increase the number of animals which would be born with these markings. After 6 years he leaves and his cousins claim he robbed his uncle of his wealth because he took most of the animals with him. The uncle gathers a team and pursues Jacob for 7 days. Jacob and his uncle meet and agree to setup a pillar, it would serve as a boundary, Jacob would go one way and the uncle the other way and they would never cross the pillar again as a way to ensure in the future neither would seek to harm the other. The uncle never again sees his daughters or grandchildren again.

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Jacob is returning to Canaan with the great wealth he accumulated, but even 20 years after fleeing, Jacob is worried what his brother Esau may do to him. Fortunately, Jacob and Esau reconcile. Esau also has done well for himself. Unfortunately, just like Abraham and Lot, their combined wealth in the form of animals, possessions and servants is so great that the land can't support both of them. They have to split up. Their combined wealth causes them to be separated again. The descendants of Esau (the Edomites) become the enemies of the Israelites because they continue to tell their descendants the story of Esau being tricked out of his birthright. King Solomon enslaves the Edomites and forces them to build the temple. When Babylon attacks Israel, the Edomites celebrate rather than join with Israel to resist the Babylonian captivity. The prophet Obadiah writes about the violence done by Esau against Jacob, and how terrible the Edomites are for helping the Babylonians loot the city of Jerusalem and that they're cursed. This history of separation and hatred happened because of wealth.

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Jacob has many children. Joseph, the 11th son of Jacob, is favored above all his other sons. Jacob had loved Leah and wanted to marry her, but was tricked into marrying her sister Rebekkah. He had children from 3 women before finally the baby Joseph was born by Leah, the love of his life, and he therefore favored Joseph. The implication is that Joseph is going to get the birthright as the oldest son of the wife Jacob loves. Joseph reinforces this idea by sharing dreams of him being powerful over his brothers and they bow down to him.

Joseph's half-brothers decide to kill him because he is a threat to their power and inheritance. They change their mind and rather than kill him, they sold Joseph into bondage and he was taken to Egypt. Interestingly, they sold Joseph to some Ishmaelites, who they may have known given they're probably 1st or 2nd cousins as the also were descended from Abraham.

Remarkably, Joseph survives and becomes free, but rather than go home to his family, he pursues power and wealth in Egypt. Eventually his brothers come to Egypt in search of food but Joseph tests them to see if he can trust them. They pass the test and Joseph moves the family to Egypt. While the reunion is joyous, it can't undo the many years of separation

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Thus the book of Genesis gives us warning that being wealthy is destructive to the more important things like family relationships

[rvllybllply2014]

I’m back with more donut shop au thoughts. Once again based on my time working there.

1): Aeron is the cashier/front of house person. And already dating Davos. But even if he wasn’t he’s not impressed by all the high school boys that come in and casually just lift their shirts all the way up. Aeron mentions it to Davos one day, and Davos starts to get jealous until he remembers that Aeron is an adult and those are literal children doing that. Instead Davos calls them little peacocks, and imitate them causing Aeron to laugh so hard that he cries.

2): Aeron was running late for work one day and left his wallet at home. Unfortunately for him he got pulled over feet from the shop, the cop asked the usual why are speeding, where are you headed and license and insurance? Aeron explains that he’s running late for work and points at the shop, he hands over the insurance while apologizing that he left his wallet at his home. The cop says okay sit tight. The cop runs the plate and insurance and decides that he’ll let Aeron off with a warning this time, just slow down okay. Aeron is relieved and agrees. Davos tells him that he got extremely lucky.

3): The shop that Aeron works at doesn’t offer discounts to military spouses only military personnel. He explained the policy to the wife of a military person, but she wanted to argue that since she had her husband’s military id that she should be able to get the discount. Aeron stands firm, and as the lady leaves she promises to never come back. Davos over hears that and mutters good don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Aeron snorts a laugh and tells him to behave. After Oscar hears about the interaction he decides to cancel the discount policy.

1. I started that job at 19 when i left i was 24. Every single fucking high school boy lifted their shirts up trying to show off/flirt, like no thank you, you’re babies. They only ever did around me, never the high school girls i worked with or my manager. Boys keep your shirts down. Boys please keep your shirt on, nobody wants/cares about seeing your chest/stomach/abs.

2. I left my purse which had my id at the house, got pulled over and they let me go. Just told me to slow down. Also you know the cops eat lots of donuts stereotype? Yeah change that to firefighters every two weeks they changed stations and got donuts for their new stations.

3. We offered discounts to military personnel not spouses and one lady wanted to argue with me. Finally listened to my manager and then she said that she’ll never come back to such a disrespectful place and she even wrote a review about us. Also thanks to her the owner took away that discount.

[toastedjeans]

I'll post this to AO3 some time later, but for now..

Somebody order some Queenie angst?

Ever since a few days, or however long it was in this digital world, it had been taunting her. Appearing and disappearing wherever she went, always too far away to reach, or even to take a proper look at it. The first few times she saw it, she was sure she was just imagining things. But the more frequent the sightings became, the less she believed it to merely be her imagination.

Once again, a bright red exit door appeared right in front of Queenie's eyes. She stood motionless for a few moments, her hand shaking. If she had lungs, she'd be breathing heavily. A quick glance wouldn't hurt, would it? Of course, she wouldn't leave without notice, as much as she longed to escape this nightmarish realm. Not without taking the other performers with her, and especially not without her sweetheart, Kinger. If she could prove that there was a way out, everyone would finally be free again.

As the curiosity got the better of her, she pressed the handle down, ready to peer back into reality once more, even just for a moment.

But she wasn't fast enough. The door practically disintegrated into tiny red particles, floating up into the air before she could see the other side. This must have been the closest anyone had ever gotten to get out of the circus. She'd have to notify as many of the others, tell them to look out for the way out. Then she'd be able to take as many of the trapped performers with her, back to their former lives. Back to the real world.

---

Ever since her close encounter with the presumably only way out, she'd have visions of her past life. During many of Caine's adventures, memories of her life back home flashed before her, sometimes causing her to nearly break down mentally. Kinger would always be close by, holding her, comforting her, keeping her just sane enough to not lose her mind completely.

Queenie was strong-willed. She usually wouldn't be brought down like this that easily. And yet, the memories were relentless, projecting images of her children from the real world into her mind. With every day, the once so strongly woven thread she held onto seemed to fray more and more.

A gentle hand was placed on her shoulder, bringing her back to reality. Well, if you could call life in the digital circus that.

"My love, are you alright?", the soft voice of her husband spoke, "You've been staring at the wall for quite a while now."

Kinger tried not to sound too worried about her, after all, everyone in here went a little crazy from time to time. But Queenie was the most stable of them all, or at least she was good at hiding her struggles. She and him were among the people who were trapped here the longest, that must have affected them on some level at least. Or maybe they'd grow desensitized to their existential dread after so long. Who could tell.

"Kinger, darling...", she whispered, her voice shaking, "If you saw an exit door.. would you go through it?"

Kinger was taken aback by the question, tilting his head like a confused puppy. He then took his wife's hands in his own and knelt in front of her, looking deeply into her big amber eyes.

"I would never leave. Not if it means leaving anyone behind."

The queen's expression shifted to disbelief, one of her eyelids twitched. She shook her head, "You wouldn't? But what about-"

Kinger shushed her by placing a finger on the spot of her face where her mouth would be if she had one. He didn't like interrupting her like this, but he couldn't bare seeing her so distraught over this elusive exit. While he was certain that some sort of way out of this place did exist in some form or another, he had never seen a door randomly spawning into the room. It wasn't that he didn't believe his beloved partner, but to him, such a thing would be merely theoretical until he saw it himself. Or until he'd get confirmation from Caine about it.

"Let's not think about that now, my love. We have one another, and that's what's most important.", her husband spoke in his softest, most calming tone he could manage, gently leaning his forehead against hers.

But Queenie snapped. She pushed Kinger away from her, causing him to fall over to his side.

"So you're saying my children aren't important, then?", she said in an incredulous voice as she stood up. Her hands shook as she repeatedly balled her hands into fists, as if wanting to strangle somebody.

"N-no! This isn't at all how I-"

He reached out towards her, but was only met with her uncharacteristically furious gaze. He had never experienced his wife so angry before.

"They're all alone, Kinger. They need me, they need their mother!", her body started shaking more and more. "You don't understand. If I can't leave this god forsaken place, they'll have nobody taking care of them!"

She leaned down with every word until dropping to her knees, as if her body wouldn't be able to withstand the pressure any longer.

"What if..", she whispered to herself, voice weak. She couldn't bare finishing the thought, tears forming in her eyes as she broke down on the floor, holding her head.

The king slowly crawled towards his queen, reaching out a second time in an attempt to calm her. Even if she was usually the one keeping him in check, she needed his emotional support from time to time as well.

But he was too late.

As Queenie shook harder, her body started shifting and glitching, until she eventually corrupted beyond recognition. Kinger couldn't help but stare in horror, unable to comprehend what he was looking at. Her current body almost reminded him of some strange insect. What was happening to her?

As much as he wished to help, to take away the pain and agony she was going through, he didn't know what he could possibly do. He reached out once more, his hands trembling in terror, and still he held out hope for her.

She lashed out in an almost animalistic fury, launching him into the nearest wall. The abstract body's thousands of multicolored eyes focused on his now heavily glitching body as it ran forward, slamming its limbs into him. It attacked relentlessly, before launching the king into another wall.

"Now what is happening he-", the ringleader himself appeared right in front of the injured chess piece, stopping himself as he spotted the giant, dark mass that was raging through the circus. It now charged directly towards him, attempting to strike his head, or jaw rather, which he barely dodged. He quickly floated next to Kinger, who could only manage to weakly press out his wife's name in a digital stutter, holding a heavily shaking hand out towards the strange monster. A moment of silent realization followed as he turned towards the threat once more. This.. thing was Queenie?

He quickly shook his head, focused yet again. Being an AI, Caine was used to coming across glitches. Yet, the corruption of circus members, his performers, and most importantly, one of his friends, was something he'd never even thought of experiencing.

Luckily, he knew how to deal with bugged code. Caine simply snapped his fingers and crossed his arms over his chest. Kinger, still in a tremendous amount of pain, stopped going in and out of existence, appearing like his former self again.

But the deeply abstracted, giant body still stood in front of them, ready to charge again. Whatever was going on here, it certainly wasn't good.

Caine tried snapping his fingers another time, and another time, to no avail. Queenie had gone so far that even his powers weren't strong enough to fix her. But what was he supposed to do now? He couldn't just lock her away until he had found a solution to turn her back, could he?

Actually, he thought, that wasn't such a bad idea after all. Not exactly the best one he had, but under these circumstances, it would have to do.

Just as she was about to attack the two others once more, the ringmaster took hold of her via a sort of drag-and-drop feature he normally used to move various props around. To ensure everybody's safety, he opened a hole in the ground, which led into the out of bounds region underneath the circus, and lifted his old friend into it.

"I'm sorry, Queenie. But it's for your own good."

With that, the hole closed shut, leaving the corrupted entity behind, nothing but darkness engulfing her.

Caine rushed back to the king, who was still trembling after the horrors he had witnessed.

"My.. my queen..", he whimpered, lifting his head to face his saviour, "Y-you can fix her, r-right, Caine?"

He didn't answer. Couldn't answer. Not even he knew if he could. Instead, he took Kinger's hands in his, and brought him to his room.

---

Several minutes passed, in which the AI had summoned a large amount of pillows into the other's room. So many in fact, that half of it was occupied by them, and a tired, still traumatized chess king right in the middle of them. He had tried buidling a fort out of them, but in his haste he just piled all the pillows on top of each other. It would have to do for now.

"If you, uh, need anything. Just call for me. I'll be there as fast as I can, okay?" Being an artificial intelligence, Caine still had to learn a lot of things regarding emotions, especially the more complex and subtle ones. He never knew what to say or do to comfort people. Some preferred to be left alone, while others liked to have somebody close by to talk to. But in an extreme situation like this one, he was utterly unclear on the proper way to act. He figured since most other performers wanted him to stay away as far as possible after they had a mental breakdown, surely this must be what he had to do now as well.

But a tug on his wrist told him otherwise. He turned, his friend now sitting upright on the soft "walls" of the makeshift fortress. Or, as upright as one possibly could on a surface like this.

"Can you.. stay with me?", Kinger almost whispered, his piercing blue eyes meeting Caine's, "I don't think I can handle being alone right now..."

With a look of slight surprise, the ringleader slowly took the other's hand in his and floated up, placing himself next to the other figure. Big, gloved hands gently grabbed his small body, pulling him closer, imitating an embrace. At least it felt like one. Without arms, it was sometimes difficult to tell what the king's intentions were when he held somebody. Hesitantly, Caine hugged him back, providing his friend with as much comfort as he could give him. Warmth engulfed his entire body, and if he hadn't already experienced this feeling before, he'd assume that his processor was just overheating.

Before long, the two figures lay even closer together in a tight embrace. Their grip tightening, they held onto one other as if they'd drift apart if they'd ever let go. No more words were spoken between them, just the occasional rustle of pillows and blankets, and some quiet sniffles could be heard. Caine and Kinger had been close before, and the mutual grief over the loss of a loved one would only bring them closer.