#monika cursed princess club

[its-to-the-death]

Glasses Swag Sequel Preliminary Round #9

Only one will make it into the bracket!

[cursed-princess-club]

au where everything is the same except monika is taller

[thepixelblender]

Cursed Princess Club Icons - Batch 2 (Cursed Princess Club)

Use with credit, please !

Batch 1

Batch 3

[avuck]

DAY THREE: Animals/Side Characters

Love when birds do the upside down head thing when they're inspecting something. Anyway here's Monika for @cursed-princess-club's CPC Week!

[icrypop]

I wanna make a request for these characters!

Ashlyn and Taylor (SBG), Monika and Renée (CPC) with an s/o who hunts werewolves for a living? Like, the job isn't easy—their s/o's entire body is covered in scars from previous missions.

Ashlynn, Taylor, Monika and Renée w/ s/o who hunts werewolves

Ashlynn/Taylor (SBG) + Monika/Renée (CPC)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ashlynn

Ashlyn would be both awed and terrified by your profession. She'd mask her worry with teasing remarks like, "What, do you just wrestle them for fun, too?" but her concern would be genuine, especially when she sees your scars. She’d often remind you to be careful, though she’d understand and admire your dedication to protecting others.

When you’re injured, she’d stay up all night, patching you up and keeping the mood light with her sarcastic humor. Still, you’d catch her staring at your scars sometimes, her expression softening with a mix of admiration and sorrow.

"Hey, just promise me you won’t get too heroic out there, alright? I like you better alive than legendary."

Taylor

Taylor would be endlessly curious about your work, asking tons of questions about the logistics and dangers of werewolf hunting. Her fascination would come from a place of genuine interest and a desire to understand what drives you.

When she sees your scars, though, her questions would falter. "How do you handle it? The danger, the... aftermath?" She’d listen intently if you chose to share, offering quiet support. Taylor would constantly research ways to make your job safer, even if it means suggesting absurd gadgets or protective gear.

"I don’t know how you do it, but if there’s a way to help you, I’ll find it."

Monika

Monika would be deeply empathetic, understanding the weight of your profession and the toll it takes on you physically and emotionally. She’d be horrified by your scars, not because they repulsed her, but because she’d hate the thought of you suffering.

"I wish I could heal these for you," she’d whisper while tracing a particularly deep scar with her fingertip. Monika would use her creativity to distract you from the heaviness of your work, planning little adventures or quiet evenings to help you decompress.

She’d also have a practical side, making sure you’re fully equipped for your missions. "If you’re going to fight monsters, then you need to come back to me in one piece. No exceptions."

Renée

Renée would be terrified of your job, but she’d never outright discourage you, knowing it’s something you’re passionate about. Still, she’d fret constantly, peppering you with silent questions every time you return from a mission. Shed fret, her hands waving as she checked over all your scars, dragging you to sit so she could patch you up.

Her anxiety would heighten every time she saw your scars, but she’d never push you to stop. Instead, she’d find ways to support you emotionally, offering hugs, warm meals, and sweetly written words.

"I don’t know how you do it... but you’re so brave. I just hope you’ll let me take care of you when you’re not out there being a hero."

[deldeldel90]

Blaine and Monika hugging !! :)

[cpcposting]

@cursd-prince’s fanfic made me want to doodle them again... one day I’ll write about them I swear it gjggjfjj

[alexandersimpleton]

🥞

I don't really know... I don't generally care enough about character development or anything as long as the story's good, y'know. I mean, maybe Monika, because I like her and feel like she has potential, but even then lol

[mooglestiltzkin]

finished cursed princess club!!!! SO wholesome!!!

-imo, i still really like all the arranged marriage ships, so my headcanon is that even if the engagements are broken, they get back together at a later date anyway, once blaine resolves his issues and maybe visits a certain monastary. i do think lorena/lance/suzie happens.

-i still don't really like leopold/jamie as a ship? i really tried, and i just... don't see it working out, even if i like jamie falling for leopold! i still can't figure out why i don't like leopold returning those feelings??? all of princesses' romances had such fun manic energy to them, but that was also them finding common ground... whereas jamie's fun manic energy kind of just... worked negatively on leopold, so from leopold's perspective, yeah, i can see him loving jamie as a friend, but more than that, i'm just... not convinced.

-i'm still v. surprised that leland didn't declare his unrequited love for jackie tbh??? to me, he's been in love with jackie for such a long time, marrying isolde only because jackie/lilyth were going to get married too. whatever, i'm still v. charmed by them, and i think they could work it out after some relationship councilling or whatever, what's a couple of revenge schemes among friends and potential incest implications with the whole plaid/pastel marriages happenings.

-i imagine prez/whitney get back together. he may not be rich, but she bears him four children anyway, and they're beautiful together.

-not sold on aurelia/cronis. i liked aurelia's redemption storyline, and her reading the diary when prez told her not to. but... didn't care about her dating life. i do kind of wish she had more panels with her bestie tho.

-monika/orson cute as hell!

-thought i was going to get some syrah/saffron declarations of love, and well... so sad that didn't happen!!!!! oh well, at least i get them both admitting that they had crushes on each other at different points of the story!

-loved the witch having a friendship with lilyth!!!!! so cute!!!!!

-lobsters are eternal in their love for each other!!!!! super adorable that he went and got himself cursed too bc he missed her so much!!!!

-i do love that gwen is gwen's true love. she broke the curse. she learned to love herself whole again. and sure, she has days that she struggles, but... she is surrounded by people she loves.

-i'm so glad bozart did nothing wrong in his life, ever. and went on to live happily ever after with his clown posse.

-i love how intricately plotted everything came to be!!! it was so well done!!!

-i'm gonna miss the chaos. it got so chaotic and so fun so quickly!!!

-truer words have never been said with live, laugh, love, laverne.

[justminawrites]

The Portrait

AO3

Summary: Syrah holds an impromptu group therapy session to take everyone's minds off the curse-curing crystal. Somehow the topic drifts to First Loves i.e. first portraits, and Whitney is peer pressured into revealing the truth of the first colourful picture he'd ever laid eyes on.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

“All right, that’s enough– get in the therapy bubble, all of you!”

Whitney languidly opened one eye to witness the debacle unfolding before him. 

It was a perfectly normal day for the Cursed Princess Club, the birds were twittering and the weather in the Haunted Forest behind the Pastel Kingdom was uncharacteristically pleasant, enough so that Syrah had scheduled an impromptu tea party (much to poor Curtis’ chagrin) complete with picnic blankets, freshly baked goods, and the most motherly attitude she could muster up in the wake of Prez’s absence. 

Whitney wasn’t sure where exactly Calpernia had gone but had taken one look at the withering glare Curtis’ shot Syrah behind a tray of slightly steaming muffins and realised he’d probably be safer not knowing. 

It must be something to do with the gala anyway, everything did these days. 

Syrah had intended on lightening the mood after the disaster that was Gwen’s Dinner Party, but the impending introduction of a curse-breaking crystal had soured everyone’s appetites for the usual fluffy gossip that doubled as a means of relieving tension in the club. Dragging a begrudging Saffron along, the Pinocchio-fied princess held a mandatory sit down to discuss the pros and cons of portraits being used to arrange marriages (a topic she’d found in one of Prez’s abandoned lecture portfolios). 

Whitney happened to be meditating nearby when the first sign of disagreement began. 

Thermidora knocked over a cup of tea onto Abbi’s new dress, but instead of getting angry, the 80-year-old teenager tutted, shook her head and said something along the lines of ‘-see, this is why you need the crystal more than I do.’ 

This simple, offhand comment set off a chain reaction across the entire tea party and within a matter of minutes everyone was at each other’s throats about why a curse-breaking crystal would be the worst thing that’s ever happened to them. 

Pillows were thrown, names were called and it looked like it was going to turn into a real brawl until Syrah picked up a metal tray and banged on it loudly with a pair of dessert tongs.

“That’s enough!” She repeated, setting down the tray, “Bubble. Now. You too, Whitney!”

Whitney started as she stabbed the dessert tongs in his direction accusatorially, but obliged. Everyone at the CPC was a force to be reckoned with, in their own way, and he had no intention of having more than one member be angry at him. 

Once they were all sitting in a circle, Whitney sandwiched between Saffron and Monika, Syrah (on the other side of Saffron) released a breath. 

“Now we all agreed that we’d wait till Prez got back to talk about the crystal didn’t we?”

“Yes Syrah,” a chorus of girls, and Saffron, echoed obediently. Whitney pretended to be deeply interested in the red-and-white fibres of the picnic blanket to avoid meeting her eyes. 

Nobody had asked him what he thought about the whole curse-breaking crystal situation, but of course, why would they? Whatever claim he had on the item was likely lower than even Frederick; not that he coveted it of course. As far as he was concerned his curse wasn’t a curse at all but the consequences of his behaviour. A punishment that had slowly begun to flare up more and more since he’d gotten here. 

“Great! Then let’s forget about all this woe-is-she business and get back to talking about what really matters!”

“But the history of portraiture is so bo-Oring,” Abbi whined, draping herself across a tired looking Renée, who sighed in agreement. A murmur of assent seemed to ripple through the Bubble as the princesses looked at one another and winced.

“You know Prez’s lectures never fail to put me to sleep, Syrah.”

“Yes, that’s why we won’t be doing history but your-story instead!” Syrah replied, eyes sparkling with mischief.

“Forget about the ‘Olden Days’– this group discussion is going to be all about your very first portrait-crush!”

A chorus of oohs and aahs filled the glade, as the prospect of a fun, shared experience, temporarily overshadowed the gloom of a cure. Whitney must have looked confused, because both Saffron and Monika simultaneously leaned over to whisper in his ear.

“Its like your first crush-“ Monika began.

“-but only from seeing their portrait.” Saffron finished.

“I had mine when I was only twelve,” Syrah grinned, eyes sparkling, “What can I say, I was a pretty popular child.”

“Yeah,” Saffron scoffed, “Or your parents just wanted to get rid of you as soon as possible.”

She smacked his uncursed arm and he yelped. 

“Wait, aren’t portrait crushes usually the result of a marriage proposal.. or an impending one?” Monika asked, anxiously twirling a lock of hair around her finger.

“Don’t tell me you got proposed to when you were–”

“Mm, yeah,” Syrah’s momentary preening turned tart, her lips curling into something like disgust, “–and he was well into his twenties too. Luckily my father saw right through his charade.”

“He hired a man to paint him ten years younger, but the artist did his job too well and my parents insisted on meeting him in person. Long story short, there’s a reason I don’t wear chevron.”

Saffron fell strangely silent and Monika turned a greenish purple colour, looking like she was either about to choke or vomit or both. Even Whitney felt a twinge of pity stirring in his chest for the once tween-aged girl; therapy bubble indeed.

“Anyway,” Syrah continued, completely oblivious to her friends discomfort, “Who’s next?”

“I haven’t had mine yet,” Abbi sighed, catching only the tail-end of the mildly horrifying conversation, “Though I don’t think it’ll ever happen.”

“Oh don’t say that, Abbi,” Syrah frowned, pulling the girl in for a hug, “It just means that when it finally happens, it’ll be all the more special won’t it?”

“I guess so,” Abbi huffed, turning to the lobster princess on her right, “What about you, Thermidora?”

“Lobsters are excellent portrait-connoisseurs,” Thermidora replied easily, waving her large, clawed  arms inches away from Monika’s face, “I had many a suitor in my day, but none ever caught my eye quite like Benedict did.”

“Was there something different about his portrait?” Syrah prompted as Monika burst into a puff of feathers and landed in Whitney’s claws. He steadied the quaking magpie on his other shoulder to keep her out of harms way.

“Oh yes,” Thermidora resumed, unbothered, “He had the most well-kept moustache I’d ever seen, on a man or a lobster. It was quite the fad at the time!”

“Hear that Saffron,” Syrah snickered, elbowing her friend, “Lobster or man..”

“Oh, lay off would ya.”

“I- I haven't had mine yet either-” Monika twittered once she’d recovered her breath. 

“But I can’t really sit still long enough to get one. Sitting still means I have to keep quiet, keeping quiet means all I can listen to are the thoughts in my head, and one thing leads to another and I get so anxious about it all that I just–“

The magpie squeaked as if to make her point and slumped unto herself.

“You could try listening to some relaxing music while they paint,” Jolie chimed in from across the circle.

“Or Read A Book.” Renée scribbled on her pad of paper.

“It shows that you have hobbies and interests!”

“Sorry.. um.. am I interrupting?” 

The CPC looked up to see a familiar golden head hover at the edge of the glade, his bright green getup easily marking him out from the trees and foliage. 

“Frederick!” Syrah exclaimed, waving over the young prince, “Not at all! Are you looking for Gwen?”

Whitney held up a hand in greeting which he mimicked, albeit hesitantly, once he caught his eye. Though the dinner was almost a catastrophe, Whitney remembered feeling relief burst in his chest when Frederick had called him his friend and saved their cover. 

“Uhm.. yes. Is she- is Gwen- uh- around?” 

“No, she’s probably busy getting ready for the gala,” Syrah huffed, “-but you’re welcome to join us.”

“Yes! Come, come!” Thermidora echoed.

Frederick looked like he’d rather pull a llama uphill in a makeshift cart again but swallowed his disappointment like a champ and reluctantly walked over to take Monika’s place.

“We’re talking about first portrait-crushes,” Syrah explained quickly and watched as the young boy brightened but then immediately turned pale.

“O- oh, I see.”

“So,” Abbi nudged after an uncomfortable pause, “Was Gwen your first?”

“My family doesn’t have the best reputation with portraits,” Frederick admitted, beads of sweat forming on both sides of his temple as the rest of the club members fell silent to hear his story.

“Our castle was haunted for years, and Father didn’t see the value in paying for an exorcism so all the pictures we commissioned were.. interesting, to say the least.”

“Oh! A friend of mine had the same problem!” Jolie interrupted, popping open her eye sockets to dig around for a picture. Whitney watched Frederick’s face turn two shades lighter; some curses would definitely take a while to get used to. 

“Here!” 

Everyone leaned in to see the palm-sized sketch the princess had dug out from her eyeless void; though barely qualifying as a portrait, the distinct silhouettes of a king, a queen and a young princess with green hair was overshadowed by a looming maw of darkness punctuated by two sharp jewels of red light, burning like coals.

“No matter where they went, the shadow seemed to follow them!” Jolie explained cheerily. Now it was Saffron’s turn to look perturbed.

“In the end, they gave in and had the exorcism. Good thing they did too, apparently the medium had foreseen that my friend only had three days left to live..”

“Did they... ahem.. ever find out what it was that was haunting them?” Saffron asked gruffly, trying to hide the shakiness in his voice by coughing. 

Jolie turned her sightless eyes on him then, a wicked grin spreading over her features as she leaned in to finish her tale.

“No,” She didn't budge an inch, “But the king and queen had it released into a haunted forest right behind their castle.. a forest just... like... this.. one..”

“BOO!”

Saffron screeched as two glowing red orbs lit up inside her eye sockets, and toppled backwards into Syrah taking the both of them down in panic. Frederick clung to Whitney in fear, temporarily displacing Monika from his shoulder, the latter squawking and spluttering as she launched herself onto Renée’s head and hid in her soft blonde hair.  

Jolie giggled amidst all the hysteria and knocked on her temples with the flat of her palm a few times until the small, unmistakable form of a mouse popped out into her palm, blinked in surprise, then took one look at Whitney and scurried away for its life.

“Everyone’s a critic.” She shrugged noncommittally. He almost snorted.

“Get. Off.” Syrah huffed, extricating herself from Saffron as she tried to maintain a semblance of dignity but it proved to be a struggle since he’d already passed out cold from all the excitement. Frederick sheepishly dusted off his friend’s shoulder and scooted away, embarrassed.

The sun had begun to inch towards the horizon, smearing the sky in yolky oranges and browns, studded with milky white stars.

“Alright,” Syrah began once everyone’s heart rates had returned to normal, “Where were we?”

“Maybe we should call it a day, Syrah,” Monika quipped, peeking out from under Renée’s hair. 

“Nonsense,” She frowned, gesturing for Curtis to pass her a butter-knife, “We haven’t heard Whitney’s story yet!”

Whitney blanched as all eyes now turned to him curiously. Even Curtis, who’d been appearing and disappearing from this conversation at whim paused to flick the cutlery right at Whitney’s face. 

“I’m sure you must’ve received tons!” Syrah said, snatching it out out of the air, a hair’s width away from his eyeball.

“I don’t-“ Whitney gulped, pretending to remain unaffected by the attempted assassination that no one else had noticed.

“Don’t be shy,” Renée held up her sketchpad comfortingly. 

“Yeahmmff, we’re all ears, cat-man,” Abbi mumbled sarcastically, mouth filled with macarons. It seemed that she wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about Whitney’s status as a club member, though she commended his effort to help out. 

He looked around helplessly but even Frederick had perked up now, intrigued by the idea of discovering more about his strange friend and his foreign mannerisms. 

“Portraiture was difficult for my family as well,” Whitney caved in and began when he realised there was no getting out of this one, “-but our reasons were not supernatural, at least, not as far as was told.”

“The Monochrome Kingdom has a very particular relationship with colour; it was both a treasure and a taboo. Nothing in the kingdom naturally produces colour on its own, from the grass to the cloud cover, everything came in shades of either grey, white or black - so any products that did require other hues had to be imported. Raw dyes and paints were especially reserved for the nobility and only brought out during the most important occasions, and even then what was left was quite muted and dull.”

A blanket of silence descended over the CPC as they watched the former prince recall his home with a mixture of guilt and pity. 

“I myself hadn’t seen a single bright colour till I turned 17,” Whitney continued in his usual flat manner, but Frederick thought he could hear something like wistfulness in his friend’s tone. 

“And much like everything else - it came from outside the kingdom.”

“But the Monochrome Kingdom is very well-renowned,” Thermidora mused, claw on chin, “Even under the sea, it was quite the popular subject of debate– surely you must have gotten far more alliance-based proposals.”

“One would assume as much,” Whitney agreed, “-but if there’s anything the King and Queen loved more than their wealth, it was their privacy. Before Blacquelyn was born, they didn’t even bother attending galas or parties.”

“I’m embarrassed to admit, I was ignorant to the outside world for much of my youth. Perhaps that was why I was so hasty to get married.”

“Oh right! I was wondering that too!” Monika chirped, fluttering back to his shoulder, “You got engaged to Prez awfully quick!”

“R-right.”

Frederick raised an eyebrow as Whitney’s demeanour shifted minutely; if he didn’t know better, his friend almost seemed.. flustered?

“As I was saying,” Whitney cleared his throat, “My parents valued their privacy and our obedience, so any portraits that were sent in were burned before either Greyden or I laid eyes on them.”

“It was the eve of my seventeenth birthday when everything changed.”

“Well don’t keep us on edge! Get on with it!” Abbi huffed; despite herself, she was starting to enjoy the story.

“Very well,” He acquiesced, “We had just finished one of our violent gladiator-style fights to win Father’s approval that week when a courtier came in to announce an invitation to a ball–“

“Woah woah woah– a WHAT?!” Syrah gasped.

He trailed away in bemusement as the CPC exchanged horrified looks between themselves.

“Wait, like actual fights, with real weapons?” Monika ruffled her feathers in alarm.

“Yes? But it was strictly torso and below the belt,” He added quickly, as though that made it any less appalling, “I nicked Greyden’s face once and my Father had me thrown in the Tiger Pit for three days.”

“Three.. days..”  Saffron, rising from his fainting spell, looked at Whitney as though he’d just confessed to murder.

“You must have a lot of scars!” Jolie gasped; he nodded.

“Are you.. okay?” Renée volunteered, making way for Saffron to return to the circle, and Whitney shrugged.

“It was a long time ago,” He said, “And I learned to make peace with my experiences, different though they may be.”

“We’re always here if you wanna talk, ‘bout it, bud’,” Saffron sighed, passing him a pillow, which Whitney took bewildered.

“I- uh- Thank you, Saffron.”

“The courtier came in..” Frederick prompted finally, as a mixed silence descended on the group.

“Right- my parents had been invited to a ball being held the next day,” Whitney began again, stumbling over the newfound support he was unused to receiving, “It was a debutante ball.”

“A princess from a neighbouring kingdom had reached a marriageable age and they were holding a party to introduce her into society. Since it was such short notice, my father declined, but it was too late. I had already caught sight of him by then, and hunted the courtier down after supper.”

“I’m ashamed to say my methods weren’t the friendliest,” He admitted, knuckles tightening as he recalled an undoubtably violent memory, “-but after a lot of.. persuading.. I managed to convince him to tell me the whereabouts of the portrait that came with the invitation.”

“The stars must have aligned for me that day, because they hadn’t defaced it yet. The courtier led me straight it, and that’s when I saw her.”

The CPC was once again at the edge of their seat, now because Whitney’s tone had taken on a kind of softness, his claw-like nails relaxing for the first time since he sat in the circle. 

“She had hair the colour of a sky I wasn’t born under, and eyes like a sun I’d never seen. It was the first time I’d ever seen someone so.. full of life. At that moment, I knew I had to have her.”

Whitney winced as he realised what he’d said.

“In hindsight, I realise that those were the whims of a spoiled, selfish prince who had never understood how to correctly treat another human being, but at the time, all I could think of was that if I met her, somehow my life would get better, even marginally.”

Frederick listened to all this, wide-eyed; why did Whitney’s story sound so familiar? Could it be that both of them shared a need for escape from their respective toxic family dramas– perhaps the former prince was a lot more like him than he’d assumed.

“So, what happened?” Syrah demanded, restless for the reveal, “Who was the princess?”

“I took the portrait to my father and insisted on getting married,” Whitney replied.

“AND?” Renée held up the pad of paper.

“He said no and had it burned.” He finished, “So I never found out who the princess was.”

The CPC groaned collectively, completely unsatisfied with the ending of the story but Frederick knew better than to give up hope. He’d noticed that his friend’s shoulders were tense– a tell. 

Whitney was lying.. but why?

“Well,” Frederick rose, dusting off his trousers, “This has been really fun but I’ve got to get back before my Father notices I’m missing. Coming Whit?”

Whitney looked up puzzled, but then noticed Frederick subtle attempt at winking and hurried to his feet as well.

“Oh- yes- I’ll make sure you get home safely.”

Syrah narrowed her eyes at the two newest members of the club and crossed her arms, but before she could point out how suspicious they were being, Curtis appeared once more, now looking a little more mellow than before.

“If you’ll excuse me princess, it’s well after twilight and I need these dishes to entertain the rest of the club members tomorrow. I trust you’re finished with your therapy group?”

“Oh, Curtis–”

Whitney didn’t end up hearing the rest of her sentence, since Frederick hastily bowed a goodbye and yanked him out of the glade, much to the disappointment of the other princesses, who were only starting to get used to the strange striped, tiger-man. 

Once they were far enough that he was sure they couldn’t be overheard, Frederick turned to his friend and gave him an awkward, one-armed hug.

“What–“ Whitney seemed to freeze at the touch until Frederick pulled back (it was like hugging a rock anyway), and shook his head knowingly.

“I don’t know why you lied about the portrait,” Frederick began, watching as Whitney’s claws involuntarily curled into fists, “-but you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to.”

“I just want you to know, I consider you one of my closest friends.”

“Thank you,” Whitney’s shoulders slumped, and Frederick nodded, turning back to the path at hand. 

After a few moments of reflective silence, only punctuated by the occasional cicada chirping, the former prince released a long, drawn out breath. 

“I lied so they wouldn’t discover the truth,” Whitney said finally, “I didn’t want Calpernia to pity me– she was the princess in the story.”

Frederick had guessed as much. He offered him an encouraging look, prompting him to continue. 

“My father burned the portrait, yes, but only after I had found out who the princess was. The courtier informed me that it was a neighbouring princess, from the polygon kingdom. So I hid it in my room and approached my father with a marriage proposal the very next day.”

“He laughed in my face first,” Whitney said ruefully, “But I kept asking, the next day and the next and the next, until he couldn’t take it anymore. He had the guards search my room and found Calpernia’s portrait and burned it right in front of me.”

“That’s awful,” Frederick couldn’t help himself. He was usually good at keeping his emotions well hidden but the monochrome prince’s tales always had a way of eliciting a reaction from him.

“I still refused to give up,” Whitney nodded, “My obsession with marriage, and Calpernia, heightened tenfold. I became convinced that she was the only way out of the hell that had become my home.”

“I studied and fought relentlessly, and met every morsel of praise my father offered me with ‘let me marry her.’ This displeased him to no end. He had me take ten lashes for each time I mentioned her name. Still, I kept at it. Eventually my mother caved and began accepting portraits from influential families both within and outside the kingdom in an attempt to placate the monster I was becoming.”

“But even then I didn’t budge,” He shook his head, “My fixation with Calpernia’s burnt picture had grown so intense that the rest of the women looked paltry and lacklustre in comparison. It would be three years of constant quarrelling with my parents before an artist was brought in to paint my portrait, for the sake of a proposal.”

“They gave in?” Frederick asked, surprised.

“Not exactly,” Whitney frowned, “My parents didn’t care what I wanted, they’d sooner have me wed to a daughter of monochrome nobility, so they could still have control over their oldest son.”

“But every time they invited one over, I’d find a way to miss the event. Pleasing them no longer mattered, nothing mattered, except getting what I’d been denied for so long. I’d lock myself in and when my father had the doors removed, sneak myself out. I’d send Greyden in my place, cause a scene, sabotage the food, even hide out in the Tiger Pit to avoid these events.”

“I got punished, of course, but it all seemed worth it when my parents finally, finally yielded, realising they couldn’t stamp the insubordination out of me no matter how hard they tried. So they sent my portrait to the Polygon Kingdom, along with a proposal to marry their oldest daughter.”

“Nearly four years later, on my twenty-first birthday,” He stopped suddenly, forcing Frederick to turn around, “-I saw her again.”

“No longer a portrait in my mind, but a person of flesh and blood; Calpernia was beau- um.. she exceeded my expectations.”

Whitney was now completely flustered, and Frederick realised he’d never seen his friend blush before, even the edges of his tiger stripes seemed to glow with a reddish hue.

“I was drunk with power, dizzy with winning for the first time in my life,” Whitney said sheepishly, almost like he’d forgotten anyone else was there, “-that when Calpernia confessed to me that she might be in love with a male nurse.. I reacted rather poorly.”

“The rest is history.”

“Why didn’t you tell her any of this when you apologised?” Frederick asked, leaning against a nearby tree.

“Because it wouldn’t have made a difference,” He replied matter-of-factly, “None of it could erase all the hurt and suffering I’d caused Calpernia.”

“But don’t you think it’s unfair–“

“It was unfair to make her the object of my salvation, when she isn’t an object at all,” Whitney interrupted without malice, “She wasn't and will never be responsible for my unwarranted affection. It isn’t her obligation to care about me.”

“I- I see,” Frederick’s mind was so abuzz he wondered if he imagined his hair twitching with all the thoughts inside it.

“If I was worth forgiving-“ Whitney continued, “-it should be based purely on my actions alone. Not on any excuses regarding my upbringing.”

“Do you still love her?” Frederick blurted out, expecting his friend to revert to mortification but the former prince’s face remained indifferent, perhaps even a little sad.

“I don’t think what I felt was love as much as it was desperation,” Whitney admitted.

“I don’t think I could ever love Calpernia as much as she– oh. Spider.”

Frederick jolted back as Whitney reached over and easily plucked a small, black arachnid from what was indisputably his blonde hair, and tried to stay calm as his friend released it back onto the tree. 

He immediately put several steps between him and the bark of the old oak, watching it crawl onto the lowest branch before disappearing into its leafy folds– Frederick could’ve sworn the little insect winked at him as it vanished.

“D-Do you think it was there the whole time,” Frederick stuttered, forgetting their conversation as he now imagined the spider crawling around in his hair for hours without him knowing.

Whitney did snort then, and clapped the young prince’s shoulder reassuringly.

“Let’s get you back home.” He said, with a small smile.

As the two of them made their way back to the plaid kingdom, deep in the Haunted Forest, miles away, a tiny spider crawled onto the palm of a certain blue-haired, gold-eyed club president returning from her journey, to tell her something she would certainly be very interested in knowing. 

[peefartress2]

Saffron For CPC Vice President 2022 (fic)

WARNING: dialogue. a lot. and old writing! i didn't revise it but i actually kinda liked this one shot i did years ago... crazy i know.... prompt was frederick joining the cpc i believe? he gets mercilessly found family'd indeed. again this is older so if stuff doesnt match up with canon that is probably why lol

"Oh. Wow, uh, ok. You guys really weren't kidding when you said I could really join the club..." Frederick laughed nervously. He stood awkwardly in the center of CPC members eager to greet him, their way of making up for previous hostility. How did he get there again..?

It felt similar to the first time Frederick met the CPC, except without the false pretenses of course. Gwen offered to bring him to the club for the first time after the whole thing with Whitney- things slowly started to settle into a routine before it was time for the gala, Prez being glad to have some form of order restored. The members of the CPC eventually warmed up to him, and it was almost scary how fast they could go from frightening society-shunning royals to caring in their own way.

Earlier that day, some less-than frequent-members not caught up with the recent events had a briefing on club news, presented by Princess Syrah. Members gathered around the white-blanketed tables, little pastries and teas decorating the surface, courtesy of Curtis.

"So here's the tea-"

"...Can we not call weekly updates 'the tea'?" Saffron looked at Syrah exasperatedly.

"No. Anyways..." 

It was that noon when Curtis was able to sneak Frederick and Gwen into the mansion to meet Prez for the HQ tour, avoiding the members before they reintroduced Frederick to everyone.

"Thanks, Curtis!" Prez smiled and waved at the butler, who curtly bowed and exited. "So, hey you two! Ready for your tour?"

"Yup!" exclaimed Gwen. "I don't think I've actually gotten to seen the entirety of this place before, actually, so I'm happy to tag along!"

"Ah- me too, I've really been wondering about the origins of the whole haunted forest thing- were you settlers? Did your ancestors live in this mansion? Why does only half of the mansion look old and the other half new?" Frederick started to ramble.

The club president chuckled at his bright-eyed enthusiasm. "All will be answered in due time, kid." She gave a knowing look to Gwen, as if to say "He asked these questions faster than you as a newcomer."

Thus, the tour ended one the three of them left the mansion through the front doors of the mansion- that's when the shenanigans began to ensue as a small crowd of royals rushed towards them.

"Wow! A Plaid Prince, in person!!"

"What's your curse?"

"Are your brothers here?"

"Uhhh..." Frederick cowered behind Gwen, who waved her hands in a failed attempt to calm everyone down.

"Everyone! Back off!" Saffron stepped in. "Can we ever have a more chill introduction for this guy?"

"Can't blame them." quipped Prez. "Frederick, you're sort of a legend around here."

"Huh? ...For what?" asked Frederick.

"LADIES!" A loud call suddenly pierced through the air, silencing the rapid members. A glint shone off of a pair of bright red lobster claws. "Let's not be hasty, hm?"

"Oh, so you listen to Thermidora, but not me?" sighed Saffron.

The imposing lobster woman approached Frederick, walking through the crowd of Princesses like the parting of the Red Sea. She squinted at the boy, and beckoned at him to come forward from behind Gwen. "There is only but one way to tell if he is a princess like one of us."

"What?" Frederick tilted his head in further confusion. "If that's what this is about, then technically no--?"

"Do you have magic hair?" asked a princess with curtains of shiny hair.

"That cowlicked broom head of his has to count for something." snickered Abbi.

"Magic hands?" Thermidora waved from next to an unimpressed Saffron who's cursed hand shot up.

"He pushed me off a cliff." added Monika nonchalantly. "It counts." 

"Do animals talk to you?" Renee wrote on her notebook, as Prez held out her hand for a spier to perch on and whisper something to her. A couple of swans honked and flew around the velvet princess.

"Uh, we have a pet llama-? So I guess?"

"Were you poisoned?" perked up Syrah. "We did try to slip something in your drink, but it was only that one time."

"Wait wha-"

"What about kidnapped or enslaved?" asked Nell from her dark corner.

"Aah! When did you get here??" Frederick shrieked as he turned around.

"Oh! Now here's the hundred-dollar question." interrupted Syrah. "Do people assume all your problems can easily be solved by some magic potion or by just 'doing it'?"

"...Hm. Wait...like..." Visible thought clouded Frederick's face. "...I guess yeah, actually."

"HE IS A PRINCESS!" they all cheered joyously.

"I GIVE UP! I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!!" exploded Saffron. "Frederick, as a fellow prince and strict follower of the bro code, I feel it absolutely necessary that we go to the pond to arrange some flowers for both our sanities."

Frederick, still at a loss for words, numbly nodded in agreement, and waved goodbye to Gwen as he aimlessly followed Saffron, who watched him fade away into the distance. Gwen smiled a little, softly laughing at what just happened "I barely got to talk to him earlier, but I'm glad he's making friends here." she said.

Prez stood with a hand on her hip, and a proud grin for her fellow club members. "I get exactly what you mean. You've seen how happy Saffron is to not only have one other prince in the club, but two now."

Saffron picked out some bittersweet vines and bluebell flowers, listening intently to Frederick as he worked with the plants. Frederick sat on a nearby bench, simply just admiring some roses and just making small adjustments here and there to a humble floral arrangement.

"I think I get it- so you struggle with people and textbook learning and sports, which are exactly the things your father wants for you?"

"Yeah.. I'm pretty used to it at this point. Honestly, I think it's just everyone else who needs to give up on me. What's the point of pushing it, y'know?"

Frederick had no idea how he came to be voicing his thoughts like this. Usually he just kept it within himself- like with Whitney's meditation, it really helped him internally and Whitney was really respectful about what information he didn't want to tell. And with his brothers, with family, with Gwen... maybe he was getting better at expressing what he felt nowadays. It was just that no one really cared about his real opinion back then, and if he did express his opinion, it would often get him into trouble (see: anything he'd say to his father, Jamie's Wake, again, speaking up to his father, etc.) It was probably something about Saffron's open nature. He really didn't hold back in anything he said.

"Hmm..." Saffron glanced at the little prince with slight concern. "Ok, let me tell you this: I'm sort of the middle child in my family, and I've got a lot of brothers, too. A lot of the stuff I learned was passed on from them- like plants.

"Plants are way better than people, by the way. But part of the reason why I love gardening so much is because of the memories I've made with it. Mostly just the awesome flowers and stuff, but yeah, I guess the memories too." he joked.

"No, you're right." grinned Frederick. "Personally, I think books are better than people, but I respect your opinion."

"Hey, but aren't books... written by people? And made from trees?"

"Well, yeah."

"Yeah."

"...Do you know where you're going with thi-"

"No I have absolutely no idea where I'm going with this." Saffron scratched his head.

"Understandable." nodded Frederick. "Uhh... sorry to dump all my weird jumbled up thoughts on you."

"Nah, it's cool. I do it all the time with everyone else, fair enough that I be on the listening end sometimes too."

"Yeah..it just feels so weird being here. I'm pretty sure everyone here is completely crazy, but... sort of in a comforting way." said Frederick with a faraway look in his eyes. He small smile formed on his face. "Don't think I've had this many friends in one place."

"Oh, definitely." chuckled Saffron, patting down fertilized soil in one of the potted plants nearby. "So at home, I'm surrounded by my brothers. But here, I'm surrounded by a bunch of princesses who don't even know my brothers. Just feel sort of out of place sometimes- that or I don't feel like an individual around my brothers- but after being here for a while, I learned we're all misfits in a way. Prez thought she killed a man, Nell was enslaved for years, Thermidora was forced to live in an unfamiliar country where she knows no one, Abbi's body was completely transformed into one of an old and aging woman, and my hand moves in funny ways sometimes... basically all the same, you know?"

Frederick went from furrowing his eyebrows, to a thin smile, to puffing his cheeks in thought, then blowing them out. "Actually? Yeah. That's valid."

"Don't worry, I kid. " he raised his hands up defensively before tending to the garden again. "I wonder if this is how Prez feels, getting to just talk with everyone. Because in that case, I'm absolutely killing it. Still waiting for the day I overthrow Prez, just saying."

Frederick looked up in intrigue. "You've been president?"

"Er- not exactly yet. And I do wanna, which sucks because Prez is too perfect for that role. Literally all of us know her by 'Prez'."

"Why don't you run for Vice President or something? That's a thing, right?"

"Run for Vice President- WAIT."

"Yeah. You could have your leader assemble a Presidential Cabinet if they don't have one already." he stated matter-of-factly.

"You say that like it's the most obvious thing in the world."

"Because it is??"

"Frederick!!! This is groundbreaking!! The solution I've been waiting for!!!" I gotta talk to Prez!" Saffron grinned widely, jumping up and running around to put all the gardening tools away. "Thank you so much!"

"Uh.. yeah, no.. problem?"

"Yo, take this." Saffron quickly shoved a potted plant into Frederick's hands before running off. "As a gift. Good talk, dude!"

"Sure."

Well... that was something, he thought. "Wonder what's gonna happen now."

It was until he looked down at the potted plant.

His vision started to blur around him, only to focus on the small yellow flower in front of him.

The tiniest...

Sunflower...

Oh...oh no... GET IT TOGETHER, BRAIN!! DON'T DROP THE PLANT, DON'T DROP THE PLANT!!! SAFFRON GAVE THIS TO YOU!! Place it down. Calm down. Put down the plant. Down. DOWN. Down...

His heavy breathing increased, even as he kneeled to the floor, hastily placing down the plot. His heart raced. He hated whenever this would happen, when he'd see a sunflower and be reminded of those times again. It's been a while since it happened, too. I thought I'd be ok by now...

He shook his head, finally but slowly turning around to see the harmless plant again.

This time, the sunflower was a gift.

Frederick took a deep breath. He lifted the pot to examine the delicately tough petals of the dwarf sunflower, really getting a good look at it this time.

"Even through all this sun, you still grow, huh?" Frederick murmured to the small sunflower. "...Am I really talking to a plant?...You know what? I think embracing the weirdness here is my best option anyway."

The sunflower really was too pretty to be tied with memories of old school bullies. Maybe it was time to give it some new ones.

[cursed-princess-club]

"my cycle's really regular. you know this." "and you know i love flowers...!" i love how syrah's always the target of the "You Know...". which implies 1. syrah knows them fairly well and 2. they expect her to know better lmao (i wonder how often she subverts this. syrah is such a character. emotionally intelligent but undeniably goofy at times. little known fact that i adore her, i know)

[thepixelblender]

shitpost dump as we approach the end of CPC

[cornus27florida]

Random Idea AU after nap 😴

Cursed Princess Club is basically a webtoon which canonically fitting the tropes as:

Arranged marriage AU

Royalty AU

Magic (espc with curses) AU

Character has a disability (curse parallel) AU

Fairytales AU

Stranger to friend to lover AU

Found family AU

Mutual pining AU

Basically damn, so many AU (altenate universe) that already in canon of the CPC but in the fanwork world where anything could happen -

AU of other series : Harry Potter/Hogwarts AU, other webtoons like nevermore and UnO AU~

Modern AU! What if internet exist in CPC? If there's no royalties so everyone are 'ordinary' but still struggled with curses that compared to disabilities - or result of black magic (which make curses even 'darker' as the caster need to make sacrifice, and even harder to break)

Academy in any form including College AU: what if everyone studied in same school? They have clubs or/and extracurricular to join?

Call me basic BUT general trope of locations such as flower shop AU (which could add floriography!), coffee shop AU (enjoying intimate moments with coffee and books), pet shop AU (to establish animal lover characters), etc

Time travelling that makes canon divergence AU - what I try to write in RaS >< if given chance to make amends for his mistake to Gwen, Frederick DEF took that chance even if doing so is a very painful and long journey

Basically, I really like more AUs to be explored especially if could featuring my fave ship at the CPC - Gwendolyn x Frederick 🤣hahaha

P.S: honorable mention of "Amnesia" AU

Amnesia AU is interesting AU that could happen to any character at any certain plot point, which gives creativity for any fanwork maker

The fic that @cursed-princess-club made about "Isolde forgor" make me thinking interesting canon divergence, what if by making Isolde forgor she's not making the waffle note raining down at the end of the gala - which make Leland's plan succesful 'in nice way'?

Jamie never know who's actually threatens his sisters, and thought everything will be OK

Gwen is 'happy' (but likely with consequences that similar to Lilyth) to never tell Frederick about the truth, but being hypersensitive around his surrounding - Frederick knows that Gwen hiding something and wondering about it. Cue to Frederick learn the truth from CPC

Maria is overjoyed that the wedding event come near but Lorena is wary as she feels something off - espc w/ how Frederick and Gwen suddenly 'distanced' themself as Frederick in hurt to learn the truth and Gwen is in shame + hiding silent rage (prob even kinda resentful to the CPC - which is sad ) :⅔

Plaid princes aren't punished in this amnesia canon divergence AU but will make them rethinking about their relationships as they're preparing for the wedding: Blaine not sure if he's really loves Maria, Lance wondering the future - if he really becomes trophy husband, or he makes Lorena sinks her dream? And we have Frederick that got shattered instead as learning the truths. He's unsure about what to do but frequent letter with Whitney through Monika as a crow reinforcing himself to forgives Gwen and gives her chance - whatever the mysteries surrounding Gwen (why she lie to him, why she looks different than her family etc) doesn't matter as long as they're love each other - but he wishes for Gwen to forgiving CPC (their friends) too along the way, friends that he hope could be invited to their incoming wedding too

Shits go down when everyone realizes at the end of the month in Corduroy Canyon, everything is a lie - literally - as the wedding is actually Leland's plan to acquire the Clam. Jack got hurt that his bff making him break the vow of never using artifact for personal use. Plaid princes in horror as they learn that they're merely pawns for their own father. Pastel Princesses in shock that the whole marriage is to distracting their father, and the whole doomed future of them 'locked up 4life'

[icrypop]

OMG, okay, I would love to make a request. May I please request Cursed Princess Club? Gwen, Renée, and Monika with an s/o who is a chain smoker?

Their s/o smokes a LOT and is struggling to quit. My grandpa used to have a terrible smoking addiction, but he quit when I was born.

Cursed Princess Club and a chain smoker S/o

Gwen, Renée, Monika x GN! Reader, all separate

EEE Okay this was a cute ask<33 I love the CPC and it was a huge comfort for this bc of how many chain smokers I have in my family, the struggles are hard not only for the smoker but the people around them. I hope this is good! Enjoy :D

-Writer Icy<3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gwen

Gwen's Concerned Encouragement: Gwen gently suggests alternative activities to distract the reader from smoking, like baking together or trying new hobbies, and shares healthy snacks to help curb the cravings.

Adventure Distractions: Gwen invites the reader on a trip to the cursed princess club spot as a distraction in hopes the others can give you some different ideas.

Accidental Magic Solution: Gwen's friends try to help with an object spell and it accidentally causes the reader's cigarettes to turn into harmless objects, like flowers or bubbles, whenever they try to smoke. They both laugh about it, and Gwen apologizes, offering to help in other ways.

Renée

Health Talk with Renée: Renée, concerned for the reader's health, has a serious but supportive “conversation” through writing about the dangers of smoking and the benefits of quitting.

Nature Therapy: Renée encourages the reader to channel their cravings and anxiety into a nature-based expression, like taking walks and feeding the swans with her, as a way to manage stress without smoking.

Magic Potion Attempt: Renée tries to create a potion to help the reader quit smoking, but it has unpredictable effects, leading to humorous or touching moments as they figure out the right formula. Its enjoyable and appreciated as she tries her hardest to help you.

Monika

Fashion and Distraction: Monika distracts the reader from smoking by engaging them in fashion design projects, making over old clothes, or trying out new looks, emphasizing the fresh start that quitting can symbolize. Lots of accessories she finds she will distract you by telling you about each one.

Stealthy Sabotage: Monika sneakily replaces the reader's cigarettes with herbal alternatives, trying to wean them off nicotine without them noticing, leading to a funny confrontation when the reader finds out. It was like smoking a flower, smelled nice, tasted funny so you knew something was up.

Supportive Sisterhood: Monika organizes a support group with other members of the Cursed Princess Club, where they share their struggles and offer advice and encouragement to the reader in their journey to quit smoking. That part helps the most. Everyone has their own coping methods for their struggles so you take the advice and Monika helps you slowly to pull away from it

[deldeldel90]

Monika who uses cryptids and the supernatural to feel oddly safer VS Blaine who uses history to distract himself from his life

what if. what if they were little sister and big brother. what if they. what if. They.