#miruna.

[harpersheroes]

he ain't heavy, he's my brother, a web weave for bronte & miruna.

for a wizard doomed by the narrative who is learning to live past the end he expects, and the amazonian who refuses to let him give up on himself and on them. aka, that's her little brother and she's the only one who is allowed to stick him in the trashcan. for @lanternheart.

[nappe-plays-the-sims]

Happy Halloween!

I'm a little early, but since Simblreen is right around the corner, why not?

@luverofralts makes the cutest sims. And of course, my game being how it is, ACR runs wild and makes additional adorable kids for said sims.

[theycallmebabybimbo]

Amber Jayne, Miruna Milu,

Anastasia Doll

[havingapoemwithyou]

the garden has gone mad by Miruna Fulgeanu

[missrandomdreamer]

Voices for OCs

My own headcannon of what my ocs would sound like :P

Hope (Resident Evil Village OC)

I mentioned Hope's before but she kind of has a Norah Jones type of vibe and her singing voice is similar to hers as well but kind of wanted to change it up a bit because it still didnt sit quite right with me-so i think LAufey's singing and talking voice kind of fits more of what I kind of hear Hope's voice -and the jazz I think is more Hope's speed (And also this is just her song lol)

Maggie (Hellsing OC)-Selena! Maggie has a kind of raspy type of voice which you can hear a bit in Selena's voice

Miruna (One Piece OC) Miruna's voice is low usually when she speaks but when she signs its very much like a siren she has an eerie, soft luring voice

Linnea (One Piece OC) Linnea has a very gentle and sweet soothing voice (which always calms Buggy down ( ;3)

Delphina ( One Piece OC) Delphina has a smooth warm voice honeslty just kind of thing of Swayer from Cats dont dance- a Natalie Cole singing voice and Jasmine Guy's talking voice. However I also see her with a bit of a Carly Simon voice too :/ so im still kind of on the fence

Beatrice (One Piece OC)-Beatrice has a growl in her voice and also has that raspy angry type of tone (Even when she isn't angry lol-)

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"Sorry I had to pull you away from your afternoon off. I've never received a royal summons before. You're the only one I could think of calling."

Roman eyed the imposing castle and tried to imagine any reason Claudia would have for summoning him. She'd texted him and shown up unannounced over the years without serving him a royal summons before. What could possibly be so important?

"No problem at all," Adrian assured his ex-husband. "It's what I spent my whole life studying. Who needs an afternoon to themself anyway?"

"Well, we can reschedule. I feel bad for always taking so much of your time. You were the only person I could think of aside from...never mind."

Ulyssa's name died on his lips before he could finish his thought. He was well practiced at catching himself before he spoke about her. Most days it wasn't hard. On a day like today, when he needed her political insight, Roman found himself missing their friendship.

"This is weird, right? I'm not just worrying for nothing? She's never done this before. Did Theo do something at school? I haven't been to Pleasantview outside of the kids' schools in ages."

"Given your past, it does seem a bit weird," Adrian agreed. "Maybe she wants to talk about franchising our business. That's all I can think of. Aside from...Princess Georgiana."

Adrian lowered his eyes, unwilling to see the stab of pain on Roman's face whenever his daughter was mentioned. Ever since Roman had met his daughter, the pain had lessened, but it would always be there. Along with the shame he felt for having an affair and nearly destroying his marriage.

"I don't think that Maura would let Claudia know about Georgiana," Roman said quietly. "That would mean admitting that it happened."

"There's very little the queen of Pleasantview doesn't know, Roman. My parents always said to treat that monarch like they knew your darkest secrets, because odds were that they already did. There are levels of secrecy and orders of deviant devotees under the Pleasantview throne. Don't underestimate Claudia because of your past. She is the most powerful person in the world, no contest."

"She's a nice person with the world's most sickeningly in love parents," Roman said, waving his hand dismissively. "It's not in her character. Maybe her ancestors were dangerous, but I know Claudia. She's not like that."

"That remains to be seen," Adrian murmured to himself. Roman was already halfway up the stairs when he spoke. There would be no way to convince him to be on his guard.

"Good morning, Your Majesty."

Both Roman and Adrian bowed deeply in front of the queen. Her throne room was impressive, filled with imposing statues and gold trim. This room alone must have cost a small fortune. None of it reflected the woman Roman thought he knew.

"Duke Siew, Mr. Bellamy. We've been expecting you." Claudia's voice was cold and distant, something that Roman hadn't been expecting. Those intense gold eyes of hers drilled into his mind layer by layer until he felt nothing but exposed. Whoever this woman was on the throne, Roman had never met her before.

"Though I only recall summoning Mr. Bellamy," the queen continued. "I suppose he is entitled to counsel. History has proven that he does not make good choices while on his own."

Roman balked at Claudia's words while Adrian kept a straight face. Roman clearly thought that he knew Claudia Goldman, but they weren't speaking to Claudia Goldman. This was the queen of Pleasantview before them, and like every noble raised in Twikkii Island, Adrian was on the defensive, desperate not to imperil his country and family by getting in the monarch of Pleasantview's way.

"Thank you for allowing me here," Adrian said quickly, before Roman could open his mouth. "It is an honour to meet with you."

Roman looked like he was about to object, but caught the glare Adrian was giving him and thought better of it.

"It is. I'm glad to extend that honour to you, Duke Siew. You may need to remind your companion of that fact. He seems to not know his place here."

"My place?"

The words slipped out before Roman could stop himself, earning a withering glare from the queen.

"I'm sorry, was there any confusion about who is in charge here? You are a guest here, Mr. Bellamy because I will it so. There is a matter that I need to discuss with you."

Adrian nodded solemnly and beside him, Roman did the same.

"Yes, Your Majesty. We'd be honoured to discuss whatever you wish," Adrian replied. Roman nodded.

"Now, the matter at hand is somewhat...personal," Claudia continued. Her confident stare wavered for a brief moment as she chose her next words. "It involves Mr. Bellamy and my's prior relationship...or rather our brief experiment."

For the first time, Claudia faltered. Her eyes fell, unable to look at Roman while she tried to downplay their previous connection. Adrian made sure to note this stumble so he had an advantage if he needed to make a quick retreat from the castle. The queen did look like she had an attachment to Roman when her guard was down, which would come in handy if he and Adrian had to make a quick retreat back home.

"I always thought that we would be having this conversation years from now," the queen continued. "When more time had passed at least. When the crown princess was older and possessed a more mature overlook. But no matter, we're here now."

Another pause lingered in the room. Beside the queen, her fiancée cleared her throat to get their attention.

"Your Majesty, perhaps it's better just to rip the bandaid off," Miruna suggested. "It would save us all time. We do have that appointment in an hour that cannot be missed."

Miruna's words were a lie meant to leave their visitors feeling small and unimportant. It was just one strategy that had been proposed to crush any ideas Roman might have about approaching Victoriana in the future. The queen's secretive demonic councilors had several suggestions to break Roman's spirit enough to drive him away from Pleasantview, though most of them were also intrigued by the thought of pushing him too far. A low level demon hybrid launching an attack on the queen out of rage was not only entertaining, it would also gauge Claudia's ability to defend her throne. The ruler of Pleasantview could never lower their guard after all.

Claudia looked at Roman's anxious face and was immediately pulled back into their short lived romance, if they could even call it that. They'd held each other on the Twikkii Island beach and dreamed together about the future what seemed like an eternity ago. He'd sobbed against her shoulder about being cheated on and left with an infant to raise; she poured out her many concerns and fears about ascending to the throne.

It really wasn't the romance Claudia had implied to her daughter. Nothing she'd felt for Roman matched any of the feelings she felt for Miruna. They had simply been there for each other during a stressful period of their lives, giving each other physical comfort. The lie was important to maintain for her daughter. No child wanted to hear that her parents had conceived her while her mother listened endlessly to her father's sobs over Abe Helios while trying to cram thousands of years of Pleasantview history into her brain. Had she dialed Roman's number once the pregnancy test was positive? Of course. She'd never completed the call though. She never would. He didn't love her and she didn't love him. None of the joy and passion and warmth her parents had for each other seemed possible with Roman. His heart would always belong to Abe and hers she had sworn to Pleasantview.

"My father always said that you had the right to know all these years, and maybe it was a good thing that he never ruled Pleasantview," Claudia said quietly, her strong facade fading for the briefest of moments. "My mother adored her grandmother, the former queen of Strangetown, and inherited her keen political instincts. There was too much uncertainty, too much death in Arkhelios. The reapers there told horror stories about...."

The queen trailed off before catching herself. Beside her, Miruna nodded her head slightly in a show of solidarity. This was going off course quickly. Too much of Claudia was seeping out and not enough of Pleasantview's monarch. Just say the words and this uncomfortable situation can end.

"Roman Bellamy, the crown princess is your genetic offspring. Your genetic donation will shape the future of Pleasantview, and our nation thanks you for it. The princess has been informed of this and politely requests that your contact be limited in the future. Your demonic heritage will help her rule our people fairly."

"Thank you for arriving on time and have a pleasant trip back to Arkhelios," Miruna said cheerfully, looking proudly at her fiancée. "Our office is always available for inquiries, just speak with reception. You are dismissed."

A silence fell over the room as the two men processed the revealed information. Roman looked like he was about to throw up, while Adrian's brain struggled to sort this news into anything recognizable.

"The crown princess is Roman's daughter?" he said finally, looking for any sign that this was just a cruel prank.

"He's her genetic donor," Claudia replied. "She is my daughter and the future of this nation. Mr. Bellamy does not have a role in her life. He is merely a citizen of a foreign land with no legal rights in my nation."

Roman remained eerily silent beside his ex-husband. Adrian had never seen him this quiet before in all their time together. For his own part, Adrian had been blindsided by this revelation; he could only imagine what Roman must be feeling.

"Roman? Are you okay?" Adrian whispered, stroking Roman's back worriedly. "Say something. Say anything."

Roman's eyes raised slightly, daring to look at the mother of his child for mere seconds before turning away. He still remained silent.

"Mr. Bellamy, Duke Siew, thank you for coming today," Claudia announced, gesturing for her guards to be at the ready to remove her guests. "I look forward to our next meeting. Have a safe journey home."

The two men rose to their feet and Adrian was fairly certain that he'd bowed and followed the protocol that had been drilled into him from birth. It certainly wasn't anything he could perform consciously at this moment.

He grabbed Roman's hand and escorted him out of the throne room; he remembered that much at least. Roman had shuffled beside him wordlessly. Adrian's head was swimming with questions and reeling from shock, but he couldn't voice any of that while Roman was in this state. Needless to say, his conversation with Evren was going to be interesting tonight.

Roman made it down the last steps into the hallway before collapsing on the floor, still wordlessly staring at empty space. His shoulders shook as he wept, but still no sound emerged.

"Roman? Roman do you need help? Are you feeling okay? Talk to me, let me help."

Adrian's words did nothing to comfort Roman or inspire him to move. He still sat there on the floor, silently weeping outside the entrance to the throne room.

"Hey, hey. It'll be okay, we'll get through this," Adrian said, holding his ex-husband in his arms as he sobbed.

Adrian had suspected that something big was going to be revealed with this summons, but never anything like this. It was unprecedented in Pleasantview history as far as Adrian remembered. Maybe during the civil war where Princess Georgiana's paternity changed the succession of the Pleasantview throne, but even then, both of her parents knew the truth. One of them never tried to hide her paternity from the other. King Mordred hid the paternity of his youngest daughter after his husband's affair, but she had been so far down the line of succession, her paternity had only been revealed a century later by a routine maintenance of the genetic library of Crystal Cove. For a monarch to hide her heir's paternity from both her subjects and the heir's father, well, Adrian couldn't think of a historical example.

"At least she told us. We could have spent our whole lives not knowing," Adrian continued, which only made Roman sob harder. "We can try to work with this. Maybe she wants to meet with you and you could have a relationship with her. It's certainly possible."

"If that were true, Claudia wouldn't have told us like this. She wasn't even there. If she wanted to see me, she would have been there. Adrian, it's happening again. The Crown is taking away my daughter, just like with Georgiana. I'll never have a relationship with either of them."

"This isn't the same as Georgiana," Adrian said soothingly, despite doubting his own words. "This wasn't an affair, you both were single at the time. Hell, it was before you even met me. You were both young and on different paths. It sounds like her parents told her to do this, seconded by whatever sinister shadows whisper to the throne. She didn't do this to hurt you; she's not Maura."

"H-how many more kids do I have that I have no knowledge of? How many more lies have I been told?"

"Well, how many other people have you slept with? Especially rich or royal people?" Adrian asked. His words only made the tears flow harder.

"You're really going to slut shame me now?" Roman sobbed. "I was young, I don't know. Abe cheated on me and dumped me, and I was angry. No other royals- aside from you anyway. I had a kid to take care of, my college experience was rather unconventional."

"Hey, I was in college too, I get it. You weren't my first either, and there were a few others that I 'dated'. I only wanted to be sure that this was the last surprise to pop up in your life. We've made progress with Georgiana, we can make progress with Victoriana. This isn't the end. Plus, you have a beautiful, intelligent daughter that you would otherwise know nothing about. This is a hard thing to hear now, but it won't always be. Who knows how the future will go?"

"Why didn't she just tell me?" Roman groaned, leaning further into Adrian's arms for comfort. "We were friends. She could have told me. Her parents couldn't stop her from telling me, she's the queen of the largest country in the damn world!"

"She slipped up, remember?"

"No, nothing I've heard today makes sense. Everything has been a lie."

"She mentioned the reaper team in Arkhelios scaring her parents about something in Arkhelios," Adrian said softly. "What was happening in your life when you were with Claudia? I'd bet anything that they were talking about Theo almost dying after he was born and-"

"And my mother. Of course, is there any part of my life that she hasn't ruined?" Roman groaned, pulling away from Adrian to massage his now throbbing temples. "If Theo was pregnant with the child of a half demon who was using their shared bloodline to gain power, I'd hide him too."

"I would do the same," Adrian replied gently. "Any parent would. It sounds like the Goldmans were scared of losing their daughter and granddaughter, just like you almost lost me and the girls to your mother. We can work with this, this is good news. They didn't hide Victoriana because they hated you, they wanted to protect her. Now that your mother's gone, we can appeal to them. From what I hear, her parents are incredibly family oriented, just like Claudia is. We can use that. We won't win any custody battles, but maybe we can get some visitation rights. Maybe we could set up a call schedule or email correspondence to start out. This isn't Maura we're fighting. We'll figure this out."

"Do you think my mother could sense her in the end?" Roman asked, an all too familiar horror enveloping his thoughts. "She wanted Theo, but she still damaged Luci and Saturnia somehow. Neither of them have any supernatural abilities because of her. If I had been able to kill her, they might be as powerful as Theo or Rien. She took from them something precious. Did she hurt Victoriana too? Am I to blame for putting her in danger without even knowing it?"

"Hey, hey, don't even think about it," Adrian said. "Your mom's not coming back, and Victoriana looks healthy. We don't have to worry about her. Maybe she just didn't inherit as much from your family as Theo or Rien did. If we just let things settle down for a while, I know we can negotiate with Claudia. Things will work out."

"Adrian?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you call Abe? I...I want him here, but I don't... I don't want to tell him what happened. I...I can't. W-what if he's triggered by this into reliving the affair? I don't think he sees his therapist anymore like I do, but...what if...."

Roman trailed off, unable to even complete his thought. In an instant, Adrian's arms were wrapped around him, holding him tightly.

"Of course I can get him and of course he'll understand. You don't need to feel guilty about this, Roman. It happened when you were single, a long time ago. Abe loves you, he'll understand."

In an instant, Adrian disappeared, leaving Roman alone outside the palace doors. There was no way that Roman wanted to go home to the place he and Abe had fought over his infidelity. Not with news like this. No matter what Adrian said, Roman couldn't shake the deep feeling of self-loathing he felt for himself. He had been too wild as a teen. He'd been too careless about birth control. His family had scared away any chance of a connection to his daughter. He would have gotten Claudia killed just as easily as he had Adrian. There was something wrong, something unlovable about him that his parents had seen. They hadn't loved him because he didn't deserve it. Victoriana was probably better off without him in her life.

"Roman! I'm here! Adrian told me everything. I'm right here for you."

"Abe? You're not mad?"

Abe shook his head incredulously and took Roman into his arms.

"Of course I'm not mad," he said. "Why would I be mad? You were just as blindsided by this as I was. I love you, Roman. We'll get through this together. Are you okay? How are you feeling?"

"Who's watching the kids?"

Answering Abe's question was the last thing Roman wanted to do. How did he feel? He didn't. There was a gaping hole in his chest that was burning him from the inside out and he could hardly breathe. Crafting that feeling into words didn't seem possible.

"Adrian's with them. He teleported me here and then went back. When you're ready to teleport us back, he'll be waiting, probably with Evren. We'll all sort this out at whatever pace you want."

"Abe, I was never serious about Claudia, I promise. I was just trying to get back at you and you don't have to worry about me running back to her or anything, I never want to be with anyone else and-"

Abe silenced his husband with a gentle kiss.

"Ro, I know you're not about to run off with the queen of Pleasantview. We've rebuilt a lot of trust these past few years and I know you. You're having a meltdown and hating yourself, not trying to hide a love affair with a woman you see maybe once every few years in passing. I love you."

"I love you too."

"Then let's go home and make you some tea. I'm sure Evren has one of his concoctions that will help calm you down. Having a warlock in the family certainly helps sometimes. Theo may have him beat for pure power, but damn does that man know how to brew a potion."

Roman smiled slightly, until he thought about Abe's words.

"What are we going to tell Theo?" he groaned, his despair catching up to him once more. "He's going to hate me. How do I tell any of the kids? Theo might run into Victoriana at a school event. What if they hate each other? What if-"

"Magic tea now, worrying about the kids after," Abe insisted. "I'm sure Evren or Adrian will have an idea. Hell, even Lucy might have an idea or two. In the very unlikely event that Theo or the girls are angry, Aunt Lucy can set them straight. She knows a thing or two about hiding parentage from her kids and she doesn't worry about it."

"Your sister is a sociopath," Roman replied, the hint of a smile starting. Abe smiled back at him.

"A sociopath who cares about you. Give her an afternoon, she'll have Claudia's monarchy in ruins."

"Thanks, Abe. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"And you'll never have to know. I'm not going anywhere. Let's go home."

[gregor-samsung]

Ilegitim [Illegitimate] (Adrian Sitaru, 2016)

[samplewriting]

9, 12, 25 for miruna and belleia and vycross!! 💖💖

Ahh thank you krys!!!

9. Do you have a specific lyric or quote which you associate with your OC?

🌕 Miruna- I have a whole playlist for my girl Miruna, but if I had to pick a specific lyric it would be "I have loved/ I have lost/ I am the archer" from The Archer by Greta Van Fleet. (It was so good live in concert)

🔮Bellaia also has a lot of songs in the King of Seasons playlist. For her I'll choose "Devil he dragged me down/ Pomegranate seeds and a flower crown/ Devil he dragged me down from Pomegranate Seeds by Julian Moon (also a good Namesake song for you Krys)

🌸 Vycross fits the lyrics: Brave and beat them on my own/ Yet I'm helpless by the river from The Humbling River by Pucifer. It showcases his struggle for inner peace as he speaks to his divine.

12. Is your OC self destructive? In what ways?

🌕 Miruna is actually the least self destructive of these three. But there are some dark clouds on the horizon for Miruna. She's trying to undo the messes her previous husband caused and make sure a bad ending in her vision doesn't come to pass.

🔮Bellaia is self destructive by hiding her feelings and manipulating people to keep herself safe.

🌸 Vycross is incredibly self destructive. When we first meet him in Prince of Petals he is at rock bottom, has a shovel and is prepared to dig. He isolates himself and buries his emotions. He's a coward and is in denial that the Prince of Petals is a threat.

25. What is your favorite thing about your OC?

🌕 I will do my best to narrow Miruna's answer down to one thing and not just incoherent babbling. I love her potential. She is a reborn and has few memories of her life before she died. So she has the opportunity to make a new path for herself as she travels with her friends and scary undead paladin boyfriend. (Their relationship is something else I could yap about for hours) She is getting more glimpses of the past, but there's a wide world of possibility for her.

🔮 It's so hard to pick just one thing for Bellaia. I already answered for her creativity, so I'll pick another thing I love about her. (There's a lot) I love her story and her journey throughout the story of King of Seasons. In the first book alone, she grows so much, and it's been so fun to write.

🌸 I really love the relationship Vycross has with his divine, the Lady of Fields and Flowers. He's been a worshipper of her for a very long time since she founded the monastery he is the High Speaker of. Now she's marked him as her chosen and he is tasked with upholding her tenants as he travels around Ikiamund dealing the fake princes.

[emotiandon]

OC x Canon week: Day 2 @theocxcanonweek

Prompt: Mundane tasks- Tsukishima x Miruna (HAIKYUU)

Dialogue: “Seriously, I mean it. Thank you”- Claude x Juliet (Fe3h)

Fashion: Gothic- Hifumi x Aida (P5)

So, it was actually Raihan and Vivian from Pokemon swsh doing paperwork…. But then that was too hard to pose. So I opted for silly Keiruna fishing scene. Not my proudest drawing but I gave Tsuki a silly dinosaur book to read and I played around with halftones for the water. Moruya was silly to draw since she had those fisherman shirts and hats. 6/10 fish fingers and dino nuggies

Juliclaude…….Juliclaude…….Istg I was going to do another comic but that was such a pain in the ass. So I did a whole drawing which the posing for Juli sucked and then drawing the wyvern sucked. I hate the colouring, and I think the background is cute tho. And adding text boxes helped filled the empty or awkward spaces. 4/10 roses

Aida was originally a Batfam oc but then last minute I made Aida a lesbian for Hifumi because Hifumi is best girl DONT CANCEL ME Hifumi seemed perfect for the gothic Lolita aesthetic for me idk why maybe because she’s in a church for her social link. As simple as this was I actually think this is my favourite piece. Also I think Aiumi haven’t come out to Hifumi’s mum because Hifumi is still in the closet, and I imagined Hifumi to be a tall girl when she’s actually pretty short so……… 8/10 Shoji games

[eclipsecrowned]

hel and astarion rapidly stitching together a potato sack nightdress for miruna bc she was saved from the goblin camp with just access to her traveling clothes and has no shame about rocking about with her tits out in front of the others --

[broken-mirrors-binding-magic]

Character Profile: Roma

Full Name:  Romana Miruna Dalca Kingdom: Remisos Generation: 4

*Art by the awesome @harchibudytgorichi

Romana is the eldest of Darius and Yuli's children. She happily serves the Remisos Kingdom, preferring it to the Avis Kingdom. She is known for her rowdy and fiery personality amongst fellow servants but is quiet around the royals. She becomes a warrior, dedicated to protecting her new home. She specializes in mid-range combat. Her weapons of choice are a whip and a dagger. She keeps her younger siblings close to her, constantly watching over them.

[harpersheroes]

MIRUNA HURATH, OF THEMIS.

headed down for the final rendezvous / everybody's ready for justice / just another mile to go / but the strings will keen and the horns will cry / when it's just me against the sky / i'm doing this for revenge / i'm doing this to try to stay true / i'm doing this for the ones we left behind / i'm doing this for you — "training montage", sung by the mountain goats

[crxwnedbarbie]

𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐀 𝐖𝐀𝐒 sipping her drink, as she found a chair to sit for a moment, she was dancing with her bestie Celi but, her friend was going to do up for no good which she would find out later, and her fiance went to talk to few friends. ⏤ At the least from where she sat, it was coming a cool breeze, which she loved. ❛ Are you having some fun? ❜ @bourgeoning

[wardingprotector]

have d&d today.

[missrandomdreamer]

Finally got my beautiful commission of Mihawk and Miruna by Yumedarling framed! I love this commission so so much, it's absolutely gorgeous, it just captures how i see Mihawk and Miruna so much D'x . This photo doesn't even do it justice D': It took me forever to find a perfect frame for it and i still need to fix it up a bit but i love it so much.

https://x.com/yumedarling

Yumedarling did my Heisenberg and Hope keychain before and she is just amazing and her work is so beautiful!! Please go check her out and all her gorgeous work!

https://x.com/yumedarling/status/1743370907022930276

here is Yumedarling's post of the commission and without the frame <3 You can really see the vibrant colors and lighting in her photo !

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"It's a shame about the Harvest Moon Ball. I guess I'll have to save this mask for next year."

Miruna Maricourt stared at her reflection. She had really been looking forward to the ball, especially because every political leader needed to blow off steam after the events in Twikkii Island. She and Claudia had retired to their bed chambers for the night, but neither one of them was tired. The news about the canceled ball had caught everyone by surprise and rumors were flying.

"Do you really think that Crystal Cove received death threats?" Miruna asked. "I've heard people say that you and I were involved with shutting the ball down and that we have some demonic army trained to invade while Liam sorts out the backlash. That man will run that country into the ground if he keeps up like this."

"It's cowardly for Liam to back out of hosting it," Claudia agreed. "You don't let threats and terrorists win, otherwise people will know that they can walk all over you. Invading his country would be a breeze if I ever wanted to. The people would gladly welcome a leader who knows how to protect her people without giving up a single thing. Doesn't he realize that getting the international leaders in one place with their guard down is priceless? He could actually obtain information that would protect his realm instead of hiding."

"That was my thought as well. Get a few monarchs or their families and staff drunk and just wait for the confessions to start rolling in."

Miruna's staff appeared in an instant at the first sign of an intruder. The figure on the ground wasn't making any sudden moves, but Miruna's duty was to protect her queen and her fiancée at all costs. She couldn't let her guard down for a second. She recognized the intruder at least, though she had to idea of whether that was a good thing or not.

"Lukas, you're up late. To what do we owe this honour?"

Claudia crossed her arms defensively, but tried not to betray her interest in the intruder. Very few people could get through the magical wards around the castle, so intruders weren't a regular occurrence. Obviously, those meant nothing to a deity.

Claudia had always been intrigued by Lukas. Growing up, her parents didn't really mention them unless Lukas had gone on an emotional rampage, leaving a mess in their wake that fell to the reapers to clean up. They popped in and out of the reapers' business from time to time, but was otherwise absent from their husband's realm. Claudia had never seen Lukas up close before, and had certainly never expected them to show up in her bedroom. They seemed to crackle with wild energy, power bursting from within them that lashed across the room. It was nothing like the power Claudia had seen her parents display over the years. It was mesmerizing.

"You need to talk that idiot into having the Harvest Moon Ball," Lukas demanded. They looked pissed off, only increasing the energy Claudia could feel building in the room. "It's happened for centuries, even during the Demon Wars. That war lasted nearly a decade and they never canceled it once!"

"The ball? What do you care about a ball?" Claudia asked curiously. "Is it a trap you're working on? A calculated conspiracy to overthrow the Crystal Cove government again? You'd have my support; Liam is a terrible leader. His mother is my Aunt Juniper, and she's nothing like him at all. It's sad."

"Claudia!" Miruna hissed, looking worried. "If they take over Crystal Cove, what will stop them from conquering us as well?"

"A valid concern," Lukas agreed. "Unfortunately, my duties don't allow me the time to run a mortal country, and my husband would be disappointed in me for troubling the mortals in ways I'm not allowed. I'm afraid your reign is quite safe from me."

"But not the good tiaras," Miruna added snidely. "Our last inventory counted two missing, one of which I was planning to wear to the Harvest Moon Ball."

Lukas made a dismissive gesture at this, and Miruna glowered back at them. She stared expectantly at her fiancée, but Claudia was still staring in awe at the deity. She had felt the presence of the world of death all of her life, and to suddenly see the exact opposite manifested in one being was fascinating. She wondered how many times her father had seen Life in his travels at work. He would love to be here geeking out about the mysteries of the universe. She would have to call him when Lukas left.

"You didn't answer my question," Claudia stated, working on finding her royal composure. "What's a ball worth to you? There's the Goldman Memorial Ball coming up soon in Twikkii Island. Just move whatever you're planning to there."

"We're not doing your dirty work," Miruna added, her words dripping with venom. "You go talk to Liam if you need this ball so badly. He's afraid of you, and we're not."

"What the hell did I ever do to you?" Lukas demanded. "It's not like this is hard. Just talk to the man and make it clear that you want the ball reinstated."

Claudia eyed her fiancée with concern. She was uncharacteristically angry at the deity. Miruna was the sweetest witch in her coven and a favourite of the young witches she taught. She had no reason to argue with the literal god that had appeared in their bedroom.

"You can't seriously just expect to walk into my bedroom and boss me around. You can't control me or Claudia like your fake reapers and your little line of minions you force to serve you. If you want something, then I refuse to do it."

"Miruna."

Claudia's voice silenced the tirade her fiancée was about to launch, but Miruna's face still looked angry. What Claudia had wanted to shout was, "Miruna, what the hell are you talking about?" but that wouldn't present a strong, united image in front of a god.

Claudia tried to decipher Miruna's reaction quickly so she could prevent the next outburst and steer the conversation away from whatever was triggering the witch. It couldn't be a work thing. Outside of following Theo, Lukas rarely appeared in magical matters. Their kids did go to the same school Miruna taught at, but if it was a school matter, surely Claudia would have heard about it. Victoriana also attended there and Claudia knew that she could count on her daughter for important intel.

If it wasn't about work or magic, what could the problem possibly be? Miruna rarely did anything else. Her magical career was everything to her and it consumed most of her waking hours. She even missed some royal occasions that a future consort really should attend because something magical popped up. If her father suddenly died, Miruna could step into his role immediately without the slightest bit of effort.

Maybe Lukas' husband was the problem. People did tend to avoid Death if they could, even though he seemed like a perfectly nice man. Miruna didn't have any dead relatives that were important to her, at least not any that Claudia knew about. Miruna's mother had been a deadbeat parent growing up, but as far as Claudia knew, she was very much alive. There weren't many people who Miruna was truly close to. Her work friends, her coven friends, her half-siblings...Claudia was drawing a blank on any other important relationship in her fiancée's life. Unless....

Claudia's heart sank, realizing just why her future wife was glowering at a deity. It was a problem with Lukas' kids, just not their biological ones. Miruna had dated Arterius for several months in high school. They used to be inseparable even before dating. He was her best friend and her boyfriend. It seemed inevitable that the two of them would end up married, but the relationship soured as they grew older. Miruna knew that Arterius' parents didn't approve of the match, even if they didn't say anything verbally. It was in the way they stared at her or the sigh they'd release when Arterius asked if she could stay for dinner that night. Miruna used to vent about Life and Dearh when she and Claudia were dating, but Claudia hadn't taken it seriously. What were the odds of Miruna running into Arterius' parents ever again?

Claudia wasn't sure of how to proceed. Was she jealous of the anger Miruna felt for an ex-boyfriend' parents? Did this mean that she wanted Arterius back? Claudia knew that she didn't want Roman back in her own life, even if she wouldn't mind him in her bed for old time's sake. So did Miruna feel the same? Was she marrying Claudia for money and power, or for love? Did Claudia mind if her future marriage was based on something other than love? It was something to think about when there wasn't a deity in her bedroom.

Claudia blinked and missed Lukas slipping from their female form into their male form. Was Lukas showing dominance by shifting, or was it motivated by throwing Miruna off guard? Claudia wanted to devour every secret the deity had and write them in a book to reread at her leisure. She was definitely calling her dad when this meeting was over.

"Look, I'm not here to take over your throne or attack you or whatever it is you hate about me," Lukas sighed. "I just need that ball to happen, and Liam is afraid of you in a way that he isn't afraid of me. I need him to feel pressure from the living, not from a god. Let's just say that I've been encouraged from 'headquarters' to interfere less in non crucial mortal matters."

"So we'd be doing you a favour?" Claudia asked, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "I've never had a god owe me a favour before. Could I ask you for anything in return?"

Lukas looked dismayed at the thought, which told Claudia that she was on the right track.

"Within reason. Within what I think is reasonable, which isn't a lot. I don't usually do deals, that's all Izanami's department, but it's within my power to make one. Only because you're a queen and the daughter of reapers. I don't think I've ever seen anyone brave enough to ask me for a deal before."

"Claudia...." Miruna trailed off, looking at her fiancée worriedly. "You can't trust them. Just say no and kick them out of here."

"All I have to do is get Liam to agree to the ball, and I can ask one favour from you?" Claudia asked. When the deity nodded, Claudia grinned. "Yeah, I can do that. Can I ask why you care so much about this ball?"

"Is that your favour?" Lukas replied wearily. "I don't share my motivations with mortals unless they work for me. And even then, they're better off not knowing."

Claudia quickly shook her head while Miruna groaned.

"Nope, never mind then. I'll save my favour for when I need it. Do we need to shake hands or sign something to make our deal? I have a pen around here somewhere."

Lukas paused, legitimately unsure of the proper procedure of deal making. Demons made physical contact to form deals, but Izanami hated making unneeded physical contact with anyone. Lukas' own powers were probably closer to a demon's than their husband's, but Lukas didn't feel the same pull to energy that they'd heard demons describe. They didn't need energy or souls or whatever it was that demons wanted and Izanami had only played with the mortals out of boredom.

They quickly summoned a brilliant fire into their hand and snuffed it out in a millisecond. Humans loved theatrics after all.

"There, it's done," they lied. "One favour in exchange for the Harvest Moon Ball resuming its planned schedule. I'll be back to check in on your progress later this week."

"Claudia! They're dangerous! What if they want the ball to happen to unleash something terrible? We could be helping set up a plan against Crystal Cove!"

"Life can't kill people," Claudia laughed, miming a monster attack. "My parents said so. Death, on the other hand, is scary and can kill you whenever he likes. Life doesn't operate that way. Just look at Leo Toyonaga. He works for Lukas and he's just fine. I can get Liam to reinstate the ball in an hour. Nothing bad will happen, and even if it does, you and your dad will be there to protect us."

"This is a bad idea," Miruna hissed. "What if this is all a setup for another assassination? What if they're just helping their husband get the next victims to all gather in the same place?"

"Then they'd just pick the Goldman Memorial Ball," Claudia scoffed. "All the same people will be there, and it's hosted in Twikkii Island. That's the target I'd pick if I wanted to hurt the Twikkii Island royal family."

The couple continued to bicker, while Lukas finally allowed their mind to wander. The message had been delivered, and they could go home and leave all the mortals' suspicion behind. Claudia wouldn't understand their need for the Harvest Moon Ball to continue, and they didn't feel the need to explain themselves.

True, they had partially asked for their daughter's sake, as Destiny had been crushed to hear that the ball had been canceled. They also had the selfish desire to attract attention in front of the Crystal Cove royal family and feel all eyes lock on them and the incredible outfit they would no doubt be wearing. If Claudia had pressed harder, they would have admitted those motivations to her. Their reputation would only be strengthened by the queen thinking them to be a self-involved narcissist who only cared about attention. It would make people underestimate them.

The real reason? That was a closely guarded secret. One that only Izanami could possibly guess, and even he might not understand it completely.

The mortals had stirred up memories Lukas hadn't thought about for years with their chasing after the ghosts of reapers. Each name they whispered among themselves, looking for clues, had been a person once. Nearly all of those people Lukas had known. The Demon Wars were nearly a millenia ago now, and still Lukas could picture Alicia Wenlock dancing in the grand ballroom and breaking hearts wherever she went. Victoria Evans had nearly exposed her reaper status to the entire ball after getting caught with her equally dead wife in the coat room. So many memories, both good and bad, threatened to overwhelm the deity. The Harvest Moon Ball had been a constant in their lives. Losing it to a cowardly king's choice wasn't an option.

The barriers between the living world and the dead were thinner around the time of the annual ball, which Lukas fully intended to exploit as well. If ghosts were being seen and the foundation of the universe was once again in danger, then Lukas might need to catch a stray phantom to interrogate. The ball was the perfect hunting ground. Holding the annual ball year after year without end over the span of centuries had ingrained the tradition into the lot itself. Breaking that pattern might break some of the magic Lukas was counting on. Breaking traditions that old was often dangerous.

"Dammit!" Miruna swore upon noticing that their visitor had vanished. "They're gone. What if they took something when we were talking?"

"I don't see anything out of place," Claudia replied. Her eyes narrowed now that they had privacy. "When were you going to tell me that you hate the two strongest creatures in the universe? My parents work with Life and Death. I sometimes need their cooperation when situations come up. I can't have you suddenly turning feral whenever they show up."

"I won't," Miruna responded coldly, folding her arms. "I don't know what you're talking about. I just don't want to see you throw everything you have away. Both deities are dangerous and untrustworthy. No matter what they want, it will always be trouble. Don't trust them just because your parents think they're great. They don't know what it's like to lead a powerful nation, along with a coven. This is our world, leave the gods to theirs."

"And this has nothing to do with Arterius?" Claudia snapped. "Nothing at all about how the two of you broke up because his family didn't approve?"

Miruna's already cold shoulder grew even colder at these words.

"I'll be sleeping in the guest suite tonight," she declared. "Maybe you'll come to your senses tomorrow."

Claudia waited until the sound of footprints disappeared and then reached for her phone. Miruna was just bitter. She'd come around in a few days, but until then, Claudia had a call to make.

"Hey, Dad? We need to talk. Something bizarre just happened, and I think you're going to want to know about it. No, nothing's wrong. It's crazy, but Lukas was just in my bedroom! Yes, that Lukas. No, I don't think they took anything. Have you ever stood next to them when they changed forms? It's incredible! I'll come over tomorrow and we'll make a note of it for the archives. I think future monarchs might have an interest in more information about what Lukas is really like. It was so cool!"