#once ive written something it is officially Not My Problem

[falcons-wings]

spark

bucky barnes x female reader

summary: when trying to get away from a guy who wont leave reader alone, bucky helps get rid of him

warnings: piece of shit dude who harasses and doesnt take no for an answer, swearing ,, pretty fluffy especially towards the end

wc: 1.3k+

masterlist

a/n: decided to do my first bucky work to beef up my masterlist a little and as a small break from the sam series im gonna post soon ,, hope its alright :)

(gif by @1038276637 )

Bucky still felt uncomfortable in incredibly crowded places, he didn’t know whether this was because of his time in the war or all of the shit that happened to him afterwards; either way loud places just like this bar he had been dragged to by Sam unnerved him - there were just so many noises and different possible dangers, so he was on edge all night.

He wasn’t even sure where Sam had disappeared to, he last saw him with a pretty girl, leaving him sat at the bar alone. He didn’t hold this against him though, he knew he wasn’t always the best person to be around, especially in a place like this, but Dr Raynor kept telling him he ‘needed to reenter society and spend time with friends’. And unfortunately for him Wilson was one of the only people he could maybe consider a friend at the moment and who had been annoying him about coming out to this bar for a while, so here he was, drinking a beer that had no effect on him at the bar on his own and listening to the weird music of the 21st century playing in the background.

He was almost finished with his drink and ready to leave when you sat next to him, you leaned into him as if you knew him and your smile was kind, but he could see a slight panic in your eyes. Something was obviously wrong and you leaned slightly closer to kiss his cheek whilst whispering so quiet he almost missed it.

“Really sorry about this but there’s a creepy guy who won’t leave me alone can you quickly pretend you’re here with me?”

Before Bucky even had a chance to reply to you or react, a large man with a gruff face and the smell of alcohol on his breath appeared at your shoulder with a predatory look in his eyes. Bucky’s eyes didn’t leave the man as soon as he was in sight, so he felt more than saw you move closer to him and away from this man who was eyeing you like a piece of meat.

“Hey sweetheart you left before we finished our conversation, why don’t we finish it somewhere else?”

You opened your mouth as if you were gonna say something, but apparently thought better of it and instead turned to Bucky with pleading eyes. He knew he couldn’t make a scene as that would end badly for multiple people so he was now just trying to control his anger at this piece of shit human being before he beat him up.

Bucky put his hand on your shoulder to pull you a little closer and to try and comfort you a little , “She’s with me, so why don’t you leave?” He made sure his voice was firm and clear, hoping this man would get the idea to leave you alone.

The man looked at him, and his arm around you, and glared, apparently able to tell that Bucky wasn’t one to mess with.

The man looked at you again before huffing out a breath, giving one last glare at Bucky before turning around and stalking back into the crowd.

“Again, I am really sorry about that.” You shuffled away slightly to break the contact you had with him, turning to face him instead, and he couldn’t help but find himself almost missing the close contact.

“Was he bothering you for long?”

“Not really, it was only about 10 minutes but anytime I tried to show or say I wasn’t interested he didn’t seem to get the hint unfortunately.” You gave him a small smile as if to say ‘what can you do?’ But this was completely not fine and Bucky thought that surely it should be a bigger deal than you were making it out to be?

“Have you seen him at this bar before?”

“Um no, this is the first time I’ve actually been to this place, my friends said I should have some fun for once - but obviously that wasn’t what actually happened tonight”

“Oh, well I’m sorry even if it hasn’t got anything to do with me and honestly I don’t come out at all but my friend actually annoyed me into coming tonight before he disappeared on me.” He laughed, glad to see you smile slightly too.

It was clear you were much more comfortable now the creep was gone but you still weren’t at ease, fiddling with your ring on your thumb during the conversation.

“I really am thankful you helped me though, and if you’re not usually here I am glad you were tonight, not sure I want to think about what would have happened if you weren’t.”

“Well you don’t have to think about it.”

You looked up at him to give him a small smile, making proper eye contact with for the first time since you sat down.

“I do have one question though.” He asked, waiting for you to nod before he continued, “Why did you pick me to help you? I mean I’m happy to, it’s just there’s just plenty of other men here who would probably love to scare someone away from you.”

“You looked the most serious and not as drunk as everyone else, so I assumed you would be more reliable and-“

You hesitated slightly as if you were embarrassed before continuing, “And I guess you looked a little lonely and could do with some company.”

Bucky almost choked on his drink, he could admit the wasn’t the most social person but normally when people describe him its things like: mean, tired, cold and stuff like that - normally lonely wasn’t used.

“Oh shit was that rude? I’ll get going now.”

“No don’t worry there’s much worse things you could’ve said.”

“That’s good then, I wouldn’t want to insult my fake boyfriend on our first date.” You laughed, a proper laugh that Bucky couldn’t help but laugh with you, and despite barely knowing you, he would do anything to hear you laugh like that again.

“Are you still planning on heading out?”

“Yeah my bed is calling my name after this long day I think.”

“Do you feel safe walking on your own? Because as you said I’m very sober and it would be irresponsible if I didn’t make sure a lovely lady like you got home safe.”

“Wow a man of honour,” you smirked at him, “but yes if you don’t mind that would actually be great. On one condition though.”

“What condition?”

“You tell me your name, I can’t go around being protected by a man I don’t know the name of.”

“Bucky.”

Your smile grew a little wider and he absolutely loved seeing it, “Well Bucky, it’s nice to meet you, I’m y/n.”

You held out your hand for him to shake as you both stood up, and despite the warm feeling Bucky got in his chest at being in proximity to you, he didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, so stepped away. He held the door of the bar open for you as you left, and kept a small distance away from you the whole way to your apartment block, being a complete gentlemen, just like he was raised.

When the two of you were outside your apartment, he stood to the side whilst you fumbled with your keys, and when you were finally successful in opening the door you turned back to him, a nice smile on your face.

“Thanks again for all the help Bucky, you were a fantastic fake boyfriend and it was lovely to meet you.”

“Again it was no problem, and you weren’t too bad at being a fake girlfriend yourself doll.”

There was a slight blush on your cheeks as you looked at him one last time, “Goodnight Bucky.”

You didn’t wait for his response, instead just walking into your apartment, and Bucky found himself with an uncharacteristic grin on his face as he stood there, whispering “Goodnight y/n.” before walking away, hoping that he would bump into you again some day.

[farfromsugafanfic]

Sutures - Chapter Two: Conjugate

Genre: Soulmates AU, Idiots to Lovers, slight Enemies to Lovers

Pairing: Yoongi/Named Reader

Warnings (chapter specific): invasions of privacy

Synopsis: “A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it.” –Jean de la Fontaine

There was only one thing you and Min Yoongi had in common that night. You were both brokenhearted. You only intended to be together for one night, but when you both end up in the hospital the next day you discover that you are soulmates. It could kill you to be apart. As you and Yoongi attempt to sever the bond between you, will another be formed?

Notes: This was originally written and completed on Wattpad between 2018 and the beginning of 2020. I’ll be slowly posting the chapters here. I may make a tag list depending on if enough people want to follow along with updates. Leave me some feedback if you would like added to a tag list.

Previous | Series Masterlist | Next

You sighed as the nurse pulled the IV out of your arm. The muscles in your body relaxing for the first time in hours.

"There we are," the nurse said. "Looks like you'll be out of here in a few hours. Just make sure not to get too far from that man of yours."

You smiled up at her, not wanting to explain that he wasn't your man and that you'd only just learned his name from a news broadcast a few hours ago. When Eunji had texted you that he was an idol, you'd thought she was joking. She was drunk after all and probably would've called any guy flirting with you an idol.

"This is crazy," Eunji said. "What're you going to do?"

"I don't know," you said. "I guess I'll have to contact him somehow."

"Did you get his number?"

"No, we never intended to see each other again."

"Well, he's looking for you."

---

"Jang Sumi?" a man asked, knocking politely as he entered.

"Yes?"

He bowed politely as he entered.

"I'm Bang Sihyuk, CEO of BigHit Entertainment," he said.

Your eyes grew wide and you immediately bowed, feeling slightly embarrassed you hadn't recognized him and done so before.

"We would like to discuss a proposal with you. If you'd please sit down," he said, pointing to the newly made hospital bed.

You sat down and the man sat down in the chair Eunji sat when you first awoke. "We have reason to believe you are Min Yoongi's soulmate. I'm sure the doctors have already explained that this means the two of you must remain near each other."

You nodded.

"In order to protect his career, we would like you to move into the BTS dorm. We will pay you and compensate you for any trouble."

"What about my career?" you asked.

The man nodded, his shoulders relaxing as if he'd expected you to question him.

"We've done our research and you're an English tutor? You can continue online sessions and do occasional in-person sessions away from the dorm. We don't want to take away your livelihood by any means. We want to protect both of you."

Your mind overflowed with thoughts. You'd be living with seven guys. Seven idols. Would girls get jealous? Would their fans even know? You had too many questions for the man to possibly answer.

You could certainly use the extra money and without having to pay rent, it would allow you to begin saving money. Something you'd wanted since you'd moved out.

You'd have to work less though, but you were sure the compensation that BigHit offered would be more than enough to make up for the fewer hours.

"All right," you said. "As long as I can keep my job, I agree."

---

"Boys, this is Jang Sumi," Bang PD said.

You bowed to the seven boys in front of you, secretly wishing the much more charming Eunji hadn't gone home. Even though it was obvious they had rushed to the hospital based on the various array of sweatpants and messy hair, they all still looked gorgeous.

The boys bowed back and their gazes wandered down to your neck, their eyes wide. You hadn't noticed the bruises there from the night before. You shyly broke eye contact and looked over to Yoongi who sat with his feet dangling off the hospital bed.

You met his dark eyes. Instead of the mysterious and hungry look they'd held the night before, they now looked exhausted and slightly annoyed. His gaze left yours momentarily as his eyes looked down at the bruises on your neck. His face remained expressionless except for a small flick of his tongue between his lips.

"The doctors need to run a few more tests and talk with Yoongi and Sumi," Bang PD said. "We should leave them alone"

The six other boys filed out of the room and you took a seat on the bed next to Yoongi, leaving a large space between you, so that it would be nearly impossible to accidentally brush against one another.

"Hi," you said. "So, it's been an interesting day, huh?"

The boy didn't respond and before you could make more futile attempts to fill the silence two doctors walked into the room.

"Min Yoongi and Jang Sumi?"

You both nodded and bowed.

"All right, I know this is all a bit overwhelming right now, but once we all discuss and decide on the various options, I'm sure you'll feel better." The doctor flipped a few pages on his clipboard before looking back up at you. "So, as you both know, this is still a fairly rare condition. Finding one's soulmate and having it cause heart attack like symptoms is not well understood. Due to this, we request at least monthly check-ups for at least the first year for both of you to ensure your heart is okay and to check your overall health. The rest depends on how the two of you choose to proceed. Are you two currently in a relationship?"

"No," you both answered.

The doctor nodded.

"The easiest and best way to proceed is to attempt a relationship. While it might be awkward at first, for your overall general health, it will be the best way to adjust and will allow the withdrawals to be less frequent and violent in the future. If--"

"No," Yoongi said. "We can't do a relationship."

"What do you mean?" you asked, your head whipping around to face him. The last thing you wanted was to be in a relationship with a man you barely knew, especially the day after you'd officially ended it with your ex. But if the doctors said it was the best way to deal with the situation, you were inclined to listen.

"It's for both of our own good," he said. "You have no idea what a relationship with an idol would be like."

"Well, there are other options," the doctor said, glancing between the two of you. "If you truly don't want to be together, we can work on trying to weaken or even sever the connection between you. It is rare and difficult to do, but it has been achieved. You will have to stay in the same building as the other person most of the time. There do seem to be some exceptions such as work or situations where the other absolutely can't be present. However, at first, these withdrawals will be powerful and you may not be able to leave the building without the other person at all. For the first week, we suggest not doing so.

"In order to attempt to sever the connection, we will have to monitor your mental health and work to keep the relationship on track. While you don't have to remain distant from each other, it is important to not have feelings for each other, or else it will not work. You will have monthly or bi-weekly appointments with a psychiatrist who is trained to work with cases like this.

"You will also experience something we like to call urges. These are instances of extreme attraction to one another. It will be extremely difficult to be apart from each other during these times. It is important that you be together in these times, but if you are choosing not to pursue a relationship, you must do your best to resist the attraction."

After the doctor was done explaining everything and had recorded your decision to attempt and sever the connection, they drew blood from both of you and allowed you to leave.

---

You'd spent the rest of the day packing. Your things were going to be confined mostly to one room, meaning you had to downsize and choose what was most important to you.

You heard a knock on the door and before you could answer it, it was already open and Eunji and the entirety of BTS came through your door.

"Sorry if I scared you," Eunji said. "I let them in."

"Sumi," the tallest one said. He was the leader, Kim Namjoon, according to Google. You figured you should at least try to learn your new roommates. He introduced himself and the rest of the boys, other than Yoongi. "We decided to help you pack up before the movers get here. I'm sure it's quite overwhelming to have to move all of a sudden."

"Yes," you said. "This is very sweet. I guess, um, you could help clean up a bit? I haven't had a chance to clean the kitchen since I got home. And, maybe someone else wouldn't mind getting dinner?"

"No problem," Namjoon said, motioning to the members.

"I'll be in my bedroom if you have any questions or need me for anything."

Eunji was already bonding with the younger members of the band and showed them where all of the cleaning supplies were kept. You smiled at her ability to make friends quickly and headed back to your bedroom.

Your suitcase laid open on your bed as you sorted through your clothes, trying to decide what to keep. You'd already packed the essentials, the rest of your closet spread out around the suitcase.

You felt something soft beneath your foot. You bent down and picked up the fabric, recognizing it as the dress you'd worn out the night before. You hated to leave it behind it, but you weren't sure you would need such a nice dress again. And if you did, you could just borrow one of Eunji's. You folded the dress and were attempting to make a decision when a knock sounded on your door.

"Come in."

The door opened and Yoongi walked in. He wore a beanie, a sweatshirt, and a pair of jeans. You almost liked the more casual look on him more than the slightly more dressed up look he'd worn when you first met. You weren't sure if you truly liked it better or if it was just the connection between you talking.

"Sorry to intrude," he said. "I was just wondering if you needed any more help? The rest of the boys pretty much have it handled out there."

You tried to put aside the resentment you felt for the boy from earlier in the day when he so bluntly decided not to follow the best option and try the relationship.

"You can pack up my knitting stuff," you said pointing over to your desk in the corner where you kept yarn, knitting needles, and the various guides. "Just be careful not to tangle the different yarns together."

He nodded and grabbed an empty box and carefully placing each skein in the box. You turned back to the dress in your hands. You fingered the soft fabric and sighed as you went to set aside. Before you could set the dress with the rest of your discarded clothes, you felt a hand take it from you. You looked up at Yoongi, who held the dress and placed it into the suitcase.

"It looks good on you."

---

"You like to knit?" Yoongi asked, a few minutes later.

"Yeah," you said. "It calms me down when I'm stressed."

He nodded as he placed the rest of the items from the desk into the box.

"Sumi!" someone called from the hallway.

"What do you want us to do with this?" one of the boys asked, you believed his name was Jimin, followed by a blond-haired boy, Taehyung. Jimin dangled your stuffed cat in the air, a smirk across his face.

"Hey!" you said. "Don't hold Kitty that way!"

The boy laughed as you snatched the stuffed animal from him. One of Kitty's button eyes was loose and dangled slightly, causing her eyes to look uneven.

"You named it Kitty?" Jimin asked laughing.

Eunji came into the room. She seemed slightly annoyed with the two boys who had run off from their duties.

"I was four!" you said, looking down at the stuffed cat. "Besides, it's an English name!"

"All right, all right," Jimin said, relenting his taunts. "Do you want to take Kitty or not?"

You made eye contact with Eunji who's eyes were wide. She knew what Kitty meant to you, but Kitty was also falling apart. Her eye was the least of her trouble, you'd sewed the majority of her seams back together multiple times. You didn't want to risk Kitty getting lost or falling apart altogether. You knew it was time to let her go.

"She is pretty old and I'm getting too old for toys anyway. Um, I guess put her in with the donation pile." You handed the stuffed animal back to Jimin who took it and hesitantly walked from the room.

You felt tears pricking at your eyes, but you held them back and went back to sorting through your clothes. The task felt harder all of a sudden, but eventually, you finished, zipping up the suitcase.

---

It was late by the time you arrived at the dorm. It was huge, the biggest apartment you'd ever seen. It was surprisingly clean for being inhabited by seven boys, but you figured they were just too busy to cause much of a mess.

The extra bedroom they'd been using as storage was already clear for you. You made your bed and then opened your suitcase and began emptying it into the dresser.

"Need some help?" Namjoon asked, standing in the doorway.

You smiled at the boy as he began sorting your clothes, making it easier for you to put away.

"Thank you," you said. "I'm exhausted and I'm honestly dreading the rest of the boxes getting here tomorrow."

He nodded.

"We've moved a lot," he said. "Sometimes I feel more tired after moving than dance practice."

You both laughed lightly.

"They told me you're an English tutor?"

"Yeah," you said.

"It'll be nice having someone else who can speak English."

"None of the other boys can?"

He shook his head.

"No, they all understand a little. But none of them are fluent."

"We'll have to change that then," you said, laughing.

"How'd you learn it?"

"My mom grew up in the US. Her parents were from here but moved to the US when my mom was a baby. She met my dad when she was here visiting family and she ended up moving when they got married. So, I grew up speaking both Korean and English. My parents recently moved to the US actually, to be closer to my grandparents."

"Wow," he said. "That's a better story than mine. I just watched Friends."

You laughed.

"That's more impressive though. You taught yourself. I kind of just learned it the same time I learned Korean."

You felt some of the nerves you'd felt coming into the dorm beginning to leave you. While you were sure it would talk longer for you to adjust, the boys had all tried to be as helpful and welcoming as possible. Even Yoongi. Despite the fact he'd barely talked to you, he still helped pack up your apartment.

"Sumi," you heard another voice say. You turned around and saw Yoongi standing in the doorway, his eyes focused on his phone. "We have a problem."

"What?" you asked, your eyebrows knitting together.

"Someone found your shoes."

"My shoes? You mean, the ones I left at the bar last night?"

Yoongi nodded.

"Someone is selling them online. They're using the connection to me to get attention. The bidding ends tomorrow."

You grabbed onto the dresser and tried to steady yourself. You'd expected something like this to happen eventually, but just twenty four hours after you'd even met Min Yoongi?

You heard Namjoon say something to Yoongi, but you didn't catch what it was. You felt a hand on your shoulder and saw the leader looking straight at you.

"We're going to get this figured out."

All you could do was nod.

[catboybolin]

- zuko totally just subconsciously talks about sokka all the time

- he doesnt even mean to he's just so lovesick that he manages to weave sokka into every conversation

- "oh that restaurant? yeah i went there with sokka once."

- "i know that zuko you've told me twice already."

- everyone that talks to zuko on a regular basis hates him for it

- especially katara  

- zuko can't help himself, if someone says something that reminds him of sokka, he has to mention it

- it definitely comes up in like, official meetings with the nation leaders or something

- "lord zuko, i think this is something that needs to be brought up with the earth king."

- "my boyfriend is actually the water tribe ambassador, i can talk to him."

- "but i dont think this problem in the earth kingdom is something a water tribe ambassador should be taking care of"

- "sokka has actually spent a lot of time in the earth kingdom."

- sokka loves every bit of it though

- zuko is so oblivious

- one day mai is like oh fuck i like ty lee what do i do

- zuko goes

- “you know this actually reminds me of when i first realised i liked sokka-”

- “nevermind”

- in conclusion this boy is just helplessly in love

- and everyone knows it

- even if it took zuko a little while to realise it

these are the first hcs ive ever written sooo sorry if theyre bad teehee

[i-simp-for-gintoki]

Shikamaru with an Uchiha!S/o

“I saw that you did a Yamanaka!s/o for that anon, it was great! Can I ask for another one with Shikamaru, but this time with a Uchiha!s/o? Like, idk, if Sasuke had a twin sister and she stayed on the village, but she's a shinobi too? And she uses a sword like her brother, and some people of the village look at her suspiciously because of what her brother did? Thank you!!!” -anon

This came out kinda way longer then i meant it too be and wasn’t 100% focused on you and shikamaru so im sorry about that. 

Oh b o y

Where do i even start?

Being an uchiha, especially directly related to sasuke did not make you look good what so ever

You two were close at one point, inseparable even, but once your elder brother slaughtered your whole clan, you both kinda drifted a bit.

Don’t get me wrong, sasuke still cared for you and vice versa but he was much more cold and closed off about his feelings

No more “lets train to impress nii-san, y/n-chan” type of shit anymore

You still tried to remain a bit positive, and be nice to others unlike your brother

You didn’t agree with wanting to kill Itachi, because what good would that bring? How would killing someone because they killed solve anything?

During the first few years of school, shikamaru might not care much for you

Just another classmate in his eyes

Might even have a few negative thoughts in the back of his mind since you guys are twins

He never cared for sasuke since he’s never anything but an ass to people

And when he’s not he’s acting like a cocky shit

He thought you guys acted the same but that proved to not be the case when he saw you outside of class once

He was out getting some dango at a new place with choji and thats where he saw you

He didn’t really want to greet you but much to his surprise you greeted them with a smile

Even offered some of your dango and choji was extremely grateful for that

You guys held a pleasant conversation and ever since then have hung out at the dango place after school

After you guys became official shinobi, you didn’t have time to hang out every day but you did when you had the chance

You once got shikamaru to wear his headband actually on his head instead of his arm and boy did he look stupidly handsome

During some point in the chunnin exams, you noticed your brother’s desire for power has grown an alarming amount

It was no longer “lets train and ask our sensei’s to give us jutsu” but “I will do anything and everything in order to gain more strength”

It honestly scared you and so you went to shikamaru and ranted about it

He acted annoyed that you went on and on about someone he didn’t care for, but did truly listen to your words

“Don’t worry, its just his teenage angst faze kicking in.” “...maybe”  “I’m pretty sure everyone gets it, it’ll pass” “Even you?” “my emo faze lasted three whole minutes as i watched choji eat the food i was looking forward to all day”

Sasuke basically stopped showing emotions to you after the exam and it really saddened you

He basically treated you as someone he lived with

Not family or friend but like “oh thats my room mate i guess”

You were out with shikamaru when sasuke ran off to find naruto, he didn’t bother to explain and you honestly didn’t care

He wants to brawl with the loud blonde? Go for it

What you didn’t know is that he would run into Itachi

Or that itachi joined some terrorist group

You didn’t hear this news until later on when your sensei sat you down and explained the situation

shikamaru cheered you up as best as he could

when the Nara became chunin, instead of sitting besides sasuke all day who was recovering from a mission, you hung out with him

Sasuke wasnt that injured anyways and he may or may not have told you to quit worrying about him

called him handsome and he basically turned into a tomato 

got some bbq with his friends and when ino started commented about minding your weight and looks and stuff you kinda became slightly insecure in the moment

he cheered you and choji up by making a few jokes

you gave him a peck on the cheek and dude he had such a dumb smile on his face

ah man ive written too much and havent even reached shippuden yet im sorrryyy

lets speed threw this then

when sasuke left the village you were distraught but he did his best to cheer you up

reassured you he and his team will bring him back

you wanted in the mission and he was hesitant about it

you were a damn good kunoichi and you also had the sharingan too so that could help 

he eventually agrees

when yall fail the mission you cry because your emo duck-bitch of a twin didnt even bother to say good bye

Shikamaru does his best to make you feel better but he feels so guilty

he sincerely apologizes and chokes up a bit when hes talking about how he failed the mission and broke his promise on getting him back

you hug him and say its okay

from then on you guys get closer than ever

You dont remember exactly when but you got a sword, almost like a katana 

you learn how to use it and love it

Add some fire or lightning to it, man you feel like a bad ass

you carry it everywhere with you

little do you know you basically chose the same sword as sasu-gay

by the time shippuden starts, shikamaru awkwardly asks you out and you agree

as much as shikamaru loves you, the village doesnt think to well of you

your eldest brother slaughtered your clan and joined a terrorist group

and now your twin goes rouge and is proceeding to head down a darker path with orochimaru

they probably expect you to do something similar

some people even think that you only stayed in the village so you can give them intel and sell out the leaf’s secrets

basically the village cares for you as much as Tobirama did for the uchiha

not too much. 

in fact if you were gone they could finally be free of any uchiha

If your bothered by those rumors or things people say, shikamaru can’t really do anything to stop them

But he can do his best to take your mind off it

Might get you some dango and say to go cloud watching, or nap under some tree to let you relax

But remember this isn’t a one way relationship, you do stuff for shikamaru as well

When he was feeling stressed (though he didn’t really show it) about planning the next chunnin event, you gave him a massage and just let him relax

You got him his favorite food and took him to his favorite hill

He doesn’t really rant or talk a lot about his problems

He’s too lazy too and doesn’t feel like its that important

You make it clear to him that every opinion he has matters

You two some times go on little small lunch dates

Ino and choji are always somewhere in the background watching

Ino probably comments that you got the uchiha good looks and with out thinking shikamaru just agrees

Definitely became embarrassed when ino squealed and shook him around

Ah man there is actually to much drama around sasuke and itachi in shippuden and im lazy so lets forget about that 

I think shikamaru with an uchiha!s/o would probably be an 8/10 experience depending on how angsty you get

[lgbtanimes]

is it wrong to read yaoi/yuri bc so many ppl say it’s wrong (fetizashion??!)

yaoi and yuri aren’t even used in japan. not even in korea. they use BL and GL. those words are out dated. and i’m saying this from sourcing actual native japanese speakers who talked about this. and the “so many people” are literally always white people or minors lmfao. ive noticed and I ain’t letting some white tell me a poc muslim lesbian on how I should be represented in gay media.

reading is reading. the stupid little kids that have nothing better to do but act fake woke while there’s real matters to worry about read a cheap made up urban dictionary definition of what fetishizing means and ran with it.

fetishizing means to have an irrational sexual obsession. reading means... you’re reading you know how dumb it sounds when you’re reading something gay and people wanna play fake woke with their colonizer white washed bullshit ideas and call it “fetishizers!!” like... no. i’m reading. so people who go to libraries and like books,,, they’re fetishizing books? they wanna fuck a book? lmfao no.

as long as you don’t push these fictional ideologies on real people, objectify human beings, actually support the lgbt community and demonstrate us as equals. etc. then you’re just reading well for the sake of reading. idk why it’s so hard for them to understand instead of faking some sob story shit cause some stranger decides to read gay themed content. as if we ain’t made to read/ watch straight shit in everything we see around us.

no one says this dumb shit when it’s straight crap. so why do people pull this for gay/lesbian themed fictional content? people are so heteronormative that they really think they did something by slapping “it’s fetishizing” nah. people are reading.

if you’re reading a genre and it’s your preference, then it’s a preference it’s your interest. I like horror movies, I watch a lot of horror. does that mean I fetishize horror? no lmfao.

people need to learn more about what the word means. it’s so embarrassing when it’s the new generation of dumb asses that never paid attention in class pulling this “it’s fetishizing” bullshit.

native japanese mlm have spoken so many times on this and it’s always the weird whites that act xenophobic and don’t wanna listen to japanese men and their pleas to stop spreading such misinformation about a sub genre they pretty much own. like it’s from japan. I trust listening to japanese people instead of some white about bl/gl.

also once again. yaoi and yuri are outdated terms. they use BL and GL. when you read on official sites haven’t you noticed they use only BL/GL tags?

also,,, fighting over fictional shit and who reads what isn’t saving the lgbt. I swear people talk all this shit on the internet but haven’t helped actual lgbt people. ranting about fictional shit because it’s their personal problem and they can’t ignore/educate themselves on what words mean is their own problem. I have more things to worry about then someone acting like they know me/ how I read just cause of the type of genre. it’s even more annoying when people suddenly wanna start discourse if the content is anywhere gay. performative activism type of bullshit.

I read well to read. to laugh, to criticize. cause ... manga/ written format. it’s all just fictional material to consume and read as you would with anything else. I have more worries about whether i’ll be alive the next day cause of how bad the virus is in my area rather than to be lectured by some kid on how to read and what to read lmao

[spookyboogie3]

The trope Last Minute Hookup shouldn’t be used for LGBTQ+ relationships.

AND DEFENDING MY LAST POST ABOUT THIS.

I DO NOT hate any of these pairings. A good many of them could have been handled differently by the creators, writers, and networks. But this isnt me hating the relationships or characters or shows. Just going off about how they shouldnt have been tacked on at the end of their respective series. 

As of writing this all of these shows have ended their original runs. Except for Supernatural which is on its last few episodes. And Supergirl, which announced its coming to end with season 6.

LGBTQ characters and relationships aren’t as common in the media as straight-cis characters and relationships. Sure things are improving but a lot of networks and writers still don’t fully understand why representation is important why they can’t keep using the same throwaway tropes they’ve been using for the straight-cis relationships.

You could name any piece of media and find and name one character that isn’t LGBTQ+, but you can’t do this with LGBTQ+ characters. We haven’t gotten to the point where they are as common as non-LGBTQ characters.

I have a whole paper I wrote on why asexual representation is important to have in the media and the same logic applies to any part of the LGBTQ+ or anything that falls under minority.

Back to the topic on hand. The trope of “Last Minute Hookup.”

Its exactly what it sounds like. Characters get to together at the very end of the story. These characters could have a on and off again relationship, lots of ship teasing, the classic “Will They or Wont They?” trope. What makes it different for non-LGBT characters in relationships to do this, we know what these relationships look like. Not to say the that both Non and LGBT relationship cant have similar struggles, however members of the LGBTQ+ community know how hard it is to feel like your identity and self matters and is normal.

I know that the whole “will they, wont they” thing is done for drama and networks and showrunners think if they give the fans what they want that they’ll start losing viewers and they have nothing to look forward to. Which is true to some degree. But most of this comes from the writers not knowing how to fucking write relationships.

Let’s just focus on whats it like to be in a non-straight relationship.

Heres an example: you have an action series, with 2 male leads and halfway through the show, they get together. Cool. Now you have a Battle Couple.

By making LGBTQ relationships happen at the end of a series that’s already had plenty of other non-LGBTQ relationships happen before it, it makes it look like the people in charge don’t care for it or were afraid of backlash. But it’s the end of the series so its not like they can get the show cancelled or anything. (The only people who are going to lash out at LGBT couple or characters are homophobic people, we don’t want them around any way so just make stuff super gay, so they’ll leave)

This is especially a problem when the writer and network have spent the whole series queerbaiting the audience with these characters.

 Side note for anyone is doesn’t actually know what queerbaiting is:

It’s a marketing technique used in entertainment, which the writer or creators hint at but then don’t actually depict sex-same romance or LGBTQ representation. They do this to attract (bait) the LGBT/queer or straight ally audience into the show with the suggestion of representation but at the same time avoiding this as not alienate other audience members *cough* (homophobes) *cough*

Definition is from Wikipedia, not a reliable source says my highschool teachers and college professors but fuck em

The Legend of Korra is a great example of Last-Minute Hookup. Korra and Asami had VERY little ship teasing, and that was in the last 2 books/seasons. Any thing that was perceived as romantic came from the fans wearing shipping goggles. So to a lot of people just casually watching, yes this looked like it came out of nowhere. Nickelodeon had some serious balls to say how brave they were for putting 2 girls into a romantic relationship.

Theres a few problems with this.

A. It never actually aired on TV (to my knowledge). The last 2 seasons of Korra were put on Nicks website.

B. The confirmation that this Korrasami was canon had to come from the creators on twitter because of how unclear it was.

C. The show did the bare minimum when it came to hooking them up in the series. They walk off holding hands (very cute btw). They didn’t even get a kiss. Aang and Katara had a Last Minute Hookup at the end of ATLA after 3 seasons of ship tease and THEY GOT A KISS. Hell the original end of LoK*, has Korra and Mako kissing. *(the first season, they didn’t know they were getting more seasons at the time, no matter what you hear the writers say, they’re full of shit)

D. Anything continuation of Korra has come in the form of comics, which her and Asami are in a fairly well written relationship. Yes, they do kiss. Yes it would’ve been great to see this stuff happen in series.

A show that handles this a little bit better is Adventure Time. Not by much though. It implied several times that Princess Bubblegum and Marceline have history together and its shown more and more in its last few seasons that there is some ship tease happening. However its not until the finale where they kiss, and they are shown in the last minute of the show cuddling together in Marcy’s house. HBO has picked up Adventure Time and has a miniseries called Adventure Time: Distant Lands, where Bubblegum and Marceline’s past relationship is shown.  

I had brought up in my original post about being upset with networks making LGBTQ+ relationships canon in the last season/episode. I originally had Catradora tagged. While Catra and Adora have history together, they did not become official couple until the end of the series.

Yes, I was wrong about the network making things canon in the last episode as they’ve always had ship tease with each other, and it probably was the writers’ intent to put them together by the end. They do technically fall under the Last-Minute Hookup, however.

I wanna talk about Once Upon a Time really quick. Fans of the show were hoping and wishing for an LGBTQ couple for the show as a lot of characters, especially Regina and Emma, have alot Ho Yay moments. The showrunners weren’t going to put those two together, for whatever reasons they may have for that (im indifferent on all the shipping going on with this show). The showrunners thought to put two characters together, and hoo boy did it not make people happy. The characters they put together are Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and Ruby the red riding hood, which would be fine if they had properly been developed.

The entire episode they did this in was a mess. They stopped the current arc during the season 5 episode ‘Ruby Slippers,’ to go over the characters that haven’t been seen in years, Dorothy was introduced and last seen in season 3, and Ruby was introduced in season 1 and was last seen in season 5 before ‘Ruby Slippers’. The characters get together in the same episode the meet in and are never seen again. The characters barely interacted, barely got along, and showed little to no ship tease or interest in each other and BOOM they are in love and together aaaaaannnnndd they’re gone. Other than having One Million Moms, a Christian fundamentalist organization, protest against the show and want it taken off the air (yes this really happened). The fans weren’t please with this development of the characters either.  

(also Mulan was right there and already knew Ruby from a previous episode, and Mulan already is established to like girls as shown by her being in love with Aurora. Don’t know why the writers didn’t just put these 2 together but whatever I guess)

So they tried again in season 7 with MadArcher. The characters of Alice, a version of Alice in Wonderland from another realm (its complicated) and Robin, the daughter of Robin Hood and the Wicked Witch (it’s also complicated). And the writers did a lot better here. Both characters were allowed to have time together and have a history together too and it was done over the whole season. Not just one episode.

Now even though the writers decided to do something different with the last season and it could be detached from the previous 6 seasons, MadArcher is not really a Last Minute Hookup per say but still falls under my thing about it being the last season so who gives a fuck if One Million Moms gets mad us and tries to get us cancelled again.

 I would like to say I have never watched a single episode of Supernatural in my life. I may one day. But as of right now my knowledge of it is coming primary from what ive seen on tumblr. You know a great source for doing research and looking for reliable information among the piles of shitposting.

From what I know from fans, the writers of Supernatural have been queer baiting for years. I mean it’s the CW, I’m not that surprised. What also wouldn’t surprise me, that by the end of the series Castiel is back and he and Dean actually start and relationship or strongly hint at starting one. I actually fear for the writer lives if they threw out a confession scene after years of queerbaiting and potential ship tease (debatable) and they don’t put them together. Fans are going to be angrier than they probably ever have been with this show and the showrunners and writers really would be known for queer baiting.

From what I know about how previous shows have done and if anyone that has ever worked on this show wants to continue living, Castiel will be back from Super Hell (is that what yall are calling it?) and he will get together with Dean. And they will fall under the Last-Minute Hookup trope and my networks make LGBTQ relationships canon last season.

 One last show I want to talk about is Supergirl, which in has been recently announced that the 6th season will be the last. The show started on CBS but moved to the CW after the end of season 1. So more CW bullshit. There is no confirmation about whether the CW or any of the Supergirl writers are planning to do this, its all speculation. Supergirl is more LGBTQ friendly than some other shows on the Network. One of the main characters came out a few years ago and had a girlfriend a season and has had plenty of hookups with other ladies around the Arrowverse. They even introduced a trans-woman superhero in the form of Dreamer.

Let’s talk SuperCorp. Lena Luthor was introduced in the 2nd season and has been a major character in Kara’s life ever since her introduction. Even if she isn’t involved in the plot, Kara always goes to her to talk and check in on her and worry about her. They are best friends. Since the 2 have met, there has been plenty of Les Yay going on. The writers seem to be aware of the fans wanting SuperCorp to be canon and they keep throwing in moments like Kara and Lena struggling together or Kara carrying Lena bridal style.

Why I bring this up after the announcement of Supergirl’s final season to start next year. We may get SuperCorp. Kara has a relationship with William in the show and not a single person likes this relationship. The writers may scrap it and get put Kara and Lena together for the final season. This is a big maybe though. The Supergirl writers and crew get called out a lot for queerbaiting.

   Let me know if you guys have any other examples of last season/last episode LGBTQ+ hookup.

And please let me know if you see any mistakes. This was all done in one sitting so I may have some things wrong.

Also check out the video by @aretheygayvideos on this topic too.

[violethowler]

Narrative Foils: Ventress’ Story Arc in Star Wars: The Clone Wars

When Dark Disciple first published in July of 2015, I saw quite a lot of outrage from multiple corners of the fanbase in reaction to both the love story between Ventress and Vos as well as the decision to end Ventress’ story in The Clone Wars with her death. 

While there was a notable segment of fans who shipped her with Obi-Wan, most of the fans I knew at the time were opposed to the idea of her being in any kind of romance whatsoever. And although Ventress not surviving into the Dark Times had been acknowledged as a possibility, few people I saw were happy with her actually dying in canon. 

Part of this might have been due to the demographics of the Star Wars forum I was active in at the time. But I’ll see similar negative sentiments on Tumblr every once in a while, and after my latest rewatch of Clone Wars Season 7, I was reflecting back on the series as a whole and thinking about the novel’s place in the narrative of the series. As I looked back and thought about the novel in regards to Ventress’ story, I realized something about the trajectory of her overall character arc that put the decisions behind the novel’s story into perspective: 

Ventress' backstory and the journey she goes through over the course of The Clone Wars serves as a mirror to the one that Anakin goes through over the course of both the prequel and original trilogy. This serves to make her a literary foil to Anakin. 

If you’re behind on your literary terminology (or none of the English classes you’ve taken ever covered it), a Foil is a character who serves as a contrast to another character (usually the protagonist) by highlighting the traits of the other character through their similarities in order to serve as a point of contrast, depicting how differently the other character’s life could have turned out under better or worse circumstances, and sometimes serving to foreshadow major points in a character’s story arc.  

So let’s take a look at how we see this play out across The Clone Wars and the Prequel era as a whole: 

Anakin Skywalker grew up in slavery on Tatooine before being found by Qui Gon Jin, who decided to train him as a Jedi even when the Jedi Council disapproved but died before Anakin could finish his training[01]. Anakin’s fear of losing Padme drove him to turn to the Dark Side in order to save her, resulting in her death[02]. He became the apprentice of a Sith Lord, but began plotting against him when he discovered that Darth Sidious had lied to him about the death of his child. He later sacrificed his life to protect his son Luke from Palpatine’s force lightning, returning to the light as he died[03].

Asajj Ventress grew up in slavery on Ratatak before being found by Ky Narec after the death of her master[04]. Narec chose to train her as a Jedi despite being unable to get the Council’s approval on account of being stranded on Ratatak[05]. Narec died before Ventress’ training could be completed, and her grief over his death drove her down the path to the Dark Side. She became the unofficial apprentice of a Sith Lord, but turned against him when he attempted to kill her on Sidious’ orders. She later sacrificed her life to protect her lover from Dooku’s force lightning, returning to the light as she died. 

When you lay both characters’ stories out like this, it becomes clear that Ventress is Anakin’s narrative foil. Her presence in the narrative provides a contrast that highlights Anakin’s character traits that lead him toward the dark side over the course of the prequel trilogy, and ultimately back to the light at the end of the original.

While they did not interact as much in canon, their connection stands out even more when Legends material is taken into account. Especially when you consider that the scripts Dark Disciple was adapted from were written before Disney bought out the franchise and declared the old Expanded Universe non canon. 

Their duel on Yavin IV in the 2003 Clone Wars microseries serves as the narrative climax for the show’s second season, and is specifically used by Obi-Wan to argue for Anakin’s promotion to Knighthood[06]. The encounter is referred to as the meeting of the “Heirs of the Sith” by the official Star Wars magazine Star Wars Insider, whose July 2005 issue listed it as one of the 20 Most Memorable Moments of the Expanded Universe[07]. 

One of many things I have learned through analyzing stories in fandom is that when a specific character or relationship is the thematic core of the narrative, all other characters function as plot devices to mirror how differently things could have gone for that character or relationship if circumstances had been different.

The main Star Wars films are known as the Skywalker Saga for a reason. We may get media focused on other characters like Rebels or Resistance or The High Republic, but the Original, Prequel, and Sequel trilogy eras are centered around the story of the Skywalker family. The major events of all the film eras have at least one Skywalker at the heart of them. And for the prequel trilogy era in which The Clone Wars takes place, the central focus of the story is Anakin’s fall. The empire rises as Anakin turns to the dark side, just as his return to the light in the original trilogy heralds the death of the emperor and the subsequent fall of the empire[08]. 

The major antagonists of each film in the prequel trilogy represented different aspects of what Anakin would become. The cyborg with breathing problems. The fallen Jedi. Palpatine’s attack dog.  With the focus their duel received in the old expanded universe, it makes perfect sense that Ventress’s role in the saga would be treated similarly. Especially taking into account how Ahsoka also serves as a foil to Anakin and embodies the positive qualities that lie buried deep down for Luke to bring to the surface in Return of the Jedi[09]. 

So while your mileage may vary on the execution of it, the direction of Ventress’s character and story in Dark Disciple fits perfectly within the overall context of Anakin’s fall to the darkside being the driving narrative force of the entire Prequel Era. 

Sources:

[01] Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace; 1999

[02] Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith; 2005

[03] Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi; 1983 

[04] Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 3 Episode 12 Nightsisters; 2011

[05] Star Wars: Dark Disciple by Christie Golden; 2015. 

[06] Star Wars: Clone Wars; Chapter 21; 2005.

[07] Star Wars Insider #83; July 2005.

[08] STAR WARS: The Creation of a Modern Myth: Cultural Influence, Fan Response and the Impact of Literary Archetypes on Saga Perception; January 25, 2017 https://archiveofourown.org/works/9457613

[09] Anakin, Ahsoka, and Hope; April 01, 2020. https://archiveofourown.org/works/23422474

[nathansqueak]

many years ago, i was in a coven.

i joined when i was about 12 or 13, having found them through a classmate of mine that i found wearing a pentacle necklace. for many years it was a safe haven, a community that opened my eyes and my mind and my heart and poured in song and dance and hikes through the forest. these people became my everything, and in this community we had each other’s backs. together the coven were there for each other’s divorces and marriages, births and deaths, and anything else that could possibly come up. determined to be a caring and supportive community, radical against the capitalist mold of independence.

all this to say that it was beautiful. it truly was. and then it wasn’t

i left the coven, personally, when i was 20. this was a couple years before the inevitable downfall of the rest of the coven, but even then i think it was already coming. i had been living amongst them for a little over two years at that point. i moved in to the home of a priest and priestess of the coven and their toddler child only a month and a half before my 18th birthday, though it didn’t occur to me until a long time after that my first red flag should have been that they were taking in a minor. i had left my parents home for their transphobia and the members of the coven were just trying to be helpful....but still. They took me in as a child. I suppose this is important to keep in mind

over the course of my living with the coven i would experience some of the absolute worst anxiety of my life; i felt every single pressure to conform and perform, to do what was asked of me and to hold the same opinions as everyone around me. at this point in time the lead priestess had already begun her own downward spiral, in that she was beginning to be caught up for her history of transphobia and for asking for too much money from congregates, and then that she was caught turning people against each other and actively trying to tell members of the coven to cut off family and friends outside the coven, to devote themselves ONLY to the coven, to devote themselves to HER. while it hadn’t always been this way, she had begun disencouraging people from seeking proper mental health guidance, saying that there was nothing that other coven members couldn’t help with. she began delegating labor, physically and emotionally. she began to excommunicate and isolate coven members.

when i was 19, my mother died. as they had many times before with many other coven members, the coven rallied around me and showered me in affection and comfort. given my extraordinarily complicated history with my mother, her death impacted me in a severe way, and half a year later i was still depressed and nonfunctional. it was at this time that the covens compassion for me ran thin. first i was kicked from the room they had given me, that i had been paying rent for, into a corner of the living room with the promise of putting up curtains for privacy, and then later i was given an ultimatum to either find a new home or be homeless. no one in the coven would speak to me. im still not entirely sure why, except that i was in a vulnerable place and questioned the decision to put me in the living room and take my privacy, which then blew up in my face...but soon they would literally not speak to me. coven meetings would be held in the very home i was staying and they would all enter in and refuse to look at me. i was in the living room! there was no way to enter the home without seeing me! and yet.

so a month or so after my 20th birthday, i shoved all of my things into a 5’x5’ storage unit and began couch surfing. i would later go on to be actually homeless. i am now doing great and living in a stable home with my partner and his mom, but there were many years where i was very much not okay. in my mind i think, why did they take me in? why would they take in a vulnerable queer youth, only to then throw him out on the street when he became even more vulnerable? they should not have welcomed me into their home.

when i left the coven, i lost communication with everyone. these were people who had known me since i was 12. these were people who had watched me grow from a child. and suddenly it was as though i were dead to them. it should not have come as such a surprise to me, because i was not the first person they had excommunicated, but it hurt. my best friends mother, who had in some ways been like a mother to me as well, who had been close with my own mother and who had tried her best to help me when it was clear my mother was severely unstable, was among them to just drop me. im now 25 and i have not heard from any of them, even to check in that i am still alive.

anyways. a couple years after all of this fallout, i happened to be looking at facebook’s memories feature when i came across a comment on an old post of mine from one of the coven members. i clicked to her page out of curiosity, i suppose to see how she’s been doing. i quickly found a piece she had written detailing abuses she had seen within the coven, and specifically calling out the lead priestess. i did more digging and found a statement on the coven’s official page denouncing involvement with the now previous high priestess. as though washing their hands of her. as though she had been the problem.

and she was. don’t get me wrong. but every single one of those fuckers participated.

they helped excommunicate and isolate other coven members. once when i was 17 there was a campaign against one of the lead priests, and maybe they were right that he was making some people uncomfortable, but he had never made me uncomfortable. they convinced me that he was predatory. they convinced me that he was an issue. the next time he tried to interact with me, just to say hello and ask how i was, I ignored him and found a priestess to say that he had approached me and i was uncomfortable. i was the final straw for their decision to excommunicate him. he’d been a part of the community since the beginning. i still remember feeling weird and guilty as they stood me there in front of the others and had me repeat what id said, frenetic gleams in their eyes. i was their evidence that he was untrustworthy and unsafe.

he had never made me feel unsafe.

i still feel guilt that i participated in that, even if it was practically fed to me.

as far as i am aware, the coven still does not take responsibility for their part in everything that happened. it’s much too easy to point the finger at the person in charge! last i heard, they had rebranded and renamed themselves to disassociate with that priestess, who has, herself, gone on to continue her practice through online seminars. no idea if she’s still hurting people or if she changed herself at all. i hope so.

all of this is to say that, ive been watching the situation around @simonalkenmayer unfold from a carefully kept distance, and i am so fucking disappointed in all of you. y’all participated. if you’re mad, look in a goddamn mirror. if simon is an abusive cultish creep, y’all participated until this point. what did you do while apart of that space? what are you now not taking responsibility for? even i often think of myself as a victim in regards to my time with the coven but then i have to stop and remember that im the reason that man lost his place in his community.

on top of that, half the evidence y’all are using to say that simon is shitty is coming from...questionable sources, to say the least. people who are either outright creeps themselves or who have proven themselves as holding that same frenetic energy that the coven did when it was seeking out reasons to isolate members. if you’re angry, that’s understandable. if you’re seeking comfort from shitty people, you’ve completely lost me.

what the fuck y’all.

and for the record, the coven that i had been a part of was Come As You Are (CAYA) Coven in the San Francisco Bay Area. i don’t remember what they rebranded to. I think they may call themselves Wildflowers now or something like that.

[scottspack]

My Wife Has An 18 Hour Drive Fic Rec Roundup

I wanted to make a fic rec post for the insane amount of Untamed fic ive been reading anyways, and Chi @got2ghost​ is driving halfway across the country tomorrow, so there’s no time like the present to put all of the really great fics ive read over the past couple of weeks in one location! Let’s get it poppin!

Ones That Chi Already Read:

A Lot of Edges Called Perhaps by hansbekhart (Wangxian, E, 21k)

The funny part is - and it is a little funny, even if Wei Wuxian has no one left to share the joke with - they never have. Not anything. He has never kissed any part of Lan Zhan besides his slim hands; never been even partially undressed with him anywhere besides a miserable, xuanwu-infested cave. It’s always been like this between them, this simmering need, this desperate understanding: a knowledge so deep that it lives somewhere in his bones, that if he wanted to have Lan Zhan he could have him, and if Lan Zhan wanted Wei Wuxian he could have that too. But they never have.

I found this fic on someone’s blog when they said that it was the definitive fic to read directly after finishing the series so i saved it, read it directly after finishing the series, and felt completely and wholly fulfilled by the resolution found in this fic. 10/10 cant recommend enough. 

One Rouge Spark In My Direction by hansbekhart (Lan Wangji/Xiao Xingchen/Song Lan E, 5k)

He’d thought, in Yueyang, that they’d seen something in each other, something familiar. That maybe they’d recognized something in him. But it’s been many years, and many things have happened since, and he’s guessed wrongly at other people’s hearts before. Lan Wangji looks back down at the table, at his steaming, bitter tea. He’ll beg if he has to.

In “A Lot Of Edges Called Perhaps” Wangji mentions that he has had sex before and this is the in-universe story of that time and WHEW BABY!!!! AHHHHHH!!!

Gathered Herbs & Sweet Grasses by hansbekhart (Laz Sizhui & Lan Wangji, G, 19k)

Later, when he’s older, it’s this that A-Yuan will remember most: the stretch of silence, the two of them both dirty and shaking with fever, as he looked at Brother Rich, and Brother Rich looked back at him.

This is a fic about Lan Wangji raising Sizhui from when he brings him back from the Burial Mounds until they bring Wuxian back to Cloud Recesses after he’s resurrected. It made me cry about 18 times and I consider it fully canon in relation to the show. I reread this fic at LEAST once a week. *chefs kiss*

Seldom All They Seem by Fahye (Wangxian, E, 25k)

or, one hundred and thirty-three principles of the Gusu Lan, pertaining to the state of marriage

***

He bows to Wei Wuxian, sword in hand, sleeves falling properly. Wei Wuxian bows in return, and the sect leaders begin the opening courtesies, and for all of ten minutes Lan Wangji is under the impression that he is betrothed to a boy who is perfectly normal and acceptable apart from an unfortunate tendency to fidget with his clothes.

That impression does not last.

A canon-divergent fic exploring “what if Wangji and Wuxian were betrothed from when they were young like Yanli and the peacock?” It’s extremely good and very compelling and also made me cry multiple times. (The confrontation in the rain doesn’t get any easier even if they’re betrothed!)

Half Cloak & Half Dagger by Fahye (Lan Xichen/Meng Yao, E, 13k)

Jin Guangyao lifts his head and smiles. "I'm considering a problem."

"Can I be of any assistance with it?"

He drops a kiss on Lan Xichen's chest. With the nail of one finger he lightly traces the characters for irony on Lan Xichen's side. "Not this one, er-ge."

In the “Seldom All They Seem” universe but focused on xiyao. Has hands down the best written characterization of meng yao in any fic ive read so far. I continuously come back to this fic just to read the absolutely genius way this author writes the Head Bitch In Control of the cultivation world.

Hurricane by gdgdbaby (Wangxian, E, 6k)

"Haven't you heard?" Nie Huaisang replied, clicking his tongue, though he was clearly pleased that he could be the one to break the news. He leaned in to announce with a dramatic flourish: "Lan Wangji just took emergency family leave this past weekend."

WANGXIAN AS SPIRK STAR TREK PON FAR AU!!!!!!!!!!!!! WEEWOO WEEWOO WEEWOO!!!!!!!! This was actually recced to ME by CHI and I have not stopped thinking about this fic for a full month. It’s like author gdgdbaby sat down one day and was like “Tumblr user Liv Scottspack deserves everything she wants in this life.” and then wrote this fic. Thank you author gdgdbaby, I love you.

Ones That Chi Has Yet To Read:

My Age Has Never Made Me Wise by idrilka (Wangxian, E, 63k)

“We hear that His Excellency might be married by summer’s end,” the merchant’s wife says and Wei Wuxian freezes, his heart in his throat. “The Gusu Lan sect has been buying enough red silk and brocade that the merchants in Caiyi can’t satisfy the demand.”

He feels himself grow brittle inside, like a flick of a finger to his temple might make him shatter. His ears are ringing.

“Who’s the lucky bride?” he asks despite himself. His tongue sticks to the roof of his mouth.

Or: The story of a marriage.

I LOVE THIS FIC. The absolute best kind of slow burn and I think such an extremely accurate representation of the canon material. I’m always surprised by the authors in this fandom’s ability to write shit that is so concretely grounded in the universe. This could and should be a real companion novel. Amazing. I love it.

The Year of Drought by idrilka (Wangxian, E, 24k)

Wei Ying could not be contained by the walls of the Cloud Recesses, alive again and overflowing with it, bursting like a dam in spring with the force of two lives unspent. And so he had to go. Lan Wangji understands that—he understood it when Wei Ying told him of his plans, looking at Lan Wangji above the rim of his cup with an apologetic smile, like craving freedom was something to apologize for.

Wei Ying would go, and Lan Wangji would see him off; this has always been the only way it could be.

Or: In the absence of Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji waits.

The previous fic but from Wangji’s perspective. Absolutely required reading if you read the other one. Wangji baby.......i love you.....

A Civil Combpaign by Ariaste (Jin Ling/Lan Sizhui, T, 20k)

“And,” said one of the pompous ministers, “there’s the matter of a marriage to consider as well!”

Jin Ling, who at the beginning of that sentence had expected to slam into the very last wall of his patience and lose his temper entirely, paused. “A what?”

Thing was… it wasn’t such a bad idea.

Jin Ling gets it in his head that as sect leader he should get married and sets his sights on Lan Sizhui. I cannot stress enough how FUCKING CUTE this fic is!!! Sizhui being the best boy! Jin Ling having more uncles than he knows what to do with! Jiang Cheng being the worst at relationship advice! It’s so fucking good it love it so much.

Anyway, Here’s Wuji by kakikaeru (Lan Jingyi/Lan Sizhui, T, 18k)

The melody gets a little clearer when he breaks out of the trees, and Jingyi changes course with certainty, barreling down the back hill and through the Cloud Recesses, dodging scandalized disciples left and right. He throws open the doors to the Receiving Hall without announcement and bows nearly double, eyes on the floor instead of on the shocked faces of the Mei delegation and the impenetrable gaze of the Chief Cultivator.

"Forgive this disciple," Jingyi shouts, because he's going to get punished for rule breaking regardless. "From the back hill, Hanguang-jun, there is a song in the wind!"

Lan Jingyi comes of age.

A Jingyi-central fic about Jingyi growing up and falling in love and being a hero and being the second best boy of my heart right after Sizhui. Not only is this fic sweet and romantic but it’s another one that explores a lot of interesting things within canon and all of the supporting characters are written very well and are just as interesting as second best boy Jingyi.

Ok, JiuJiu by kakikaeru (Jin Ling/Ouyang Zizhen, T, 16k)

Uncle's jaw works in the way that suggests he's about to say something irredeemable. Jin Ling, in a move of diplomacy he hopes the Chief Cultivator appreciates, distracts him with spicy food and his favourite subject: the incompetence of his own officials.

"I hear the lakes in the south east are having drainage problems?" he asks nonchalantly, sticking three big slices of braised pork belly into his Uncle's bowl.

Jin Ling just wants to get through the Discussion Conference with his Sect, his dignity, and his heart intact.

A follow up fic to “Anyways, Here’s Wuji.” I LOVE the Jin Ling/Ouyang Zizhen dynamic of Jin Ling having been raised by Jiang “I keep all my emotions right here and then one day I’ll die” Cheng being hopelessly charmed and smitten with Ouyang “President of the I Love Love Romance Novel Book Club” Zizhen! I LOVE IT! EXTREMELY CUTE!

This Side of Paradise by greenfionn (Wei Wuxian/Wen Qing, E, 3k)

Wei Wuxian does some very quick math in his head that goes something like this: He is pretty sure he’s in love with Lan Zhan - Lan Zhan is not here and likely never will be here - Wen Qing is here, not to mention very hot and let us not forget, actually interested in sex with him - there’s a solid chance he goes genuinely crazy or dies, or both, in the next few months and really, who wants to die a virgin?

Listen.......the fic premise is “Wei Wuxian and Wen Qing, noted bisexuals, figure life sucks enough at the Burial Mounds, they might as well have any fun they can before they die” and........I Am Looking Directly At It. It features Wen Qing bossing Wei Wuxian around and Wei Wuxian’s canon he-wants-to-be-pregnant kink. It’s........I liked it.

To The Act of Making Noise by words-writ-in-starlight (Lan Sizhui & Lan Wangji, G, 19k)

His father in white plays the song late into the night, and when A-Yuan wakes up confused and afraid, the guqin lulls him back to sleep.

Lan Sizhui hears his father play the same song every night for his whole life, and never, ever get an answer.

Another very moving and heartwarming fic about Lan Wangji raising Sizhui and Sizhui figuring out Wangji’s past and then eventually reconnecting with Wei Wuxian. It’s cute and soft and Sizhui is my best boy!

History (Proud To Call Your Own) by words-writ-in-starlight (Wen Ning, G, 5k)

“A-Yuan? Um—Lan-gongzi,” Wen Ning corrects, trying to set a good example. The children are young, seven and eight, exactly a dozen of them lined up in two crisp lines of tiny blue and white robes. Wen Ning can feel them staring at him, even though most of them have already mastered that Lan trick of neutrality. The smallest, a little girl with liquid dark eyes, is clinging to her nearest shijie’s sleeve and half-hiding. “Can I—what can I do for you?”

Wen Ning gets himself recruited for services, while he and Sizhui are visiting Cloud Recesses. Wei Wuxian gets a fan club.

Set in the same universe as “To The Act of Making Noise,” a very cute fic about Wen Ning finding his place in the post-canon world and being proud of his cousin Sizhui and being the world’s best substitute teacher. As the official Wen Ning Fan Club President, I had to include this.

Lan Sizhui's Guide to Courtship by Kimblydot (Lan Sizhui/Lan Jingyi, T, 23k)

In which Jingyi is a little oblivious, Sizhui is patient (and should have said something in the beginning), and everyone else is resigned to watching them dance around each other for far longer than necessary.

(Or: five things Sizhui tries to do in his courtship, and the one time Jingyi realizes there was one happening in the first place.)

I’ll stop describing fics about the juniors as being “cute” when they stop being SO FUCKING CUUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!

Grow by cafecliche (Lan Sizhui & Wei Wuxian, T, 14k)

“Okay,” Jingyi says, as Sizhui puzzles this out aloud. “Okay! So the demon has been turning its victims into children.”

“I think so,” Sizhui says.

“To make them easier prey,” Jingyi says.

“Yes,” Sizhui says.

“So—” Jingyi’s voice cracks here, “this kid is Senior Wei.”

Wei Wuxian, still tangled in his own massive robes, blinks politely at them.

(Or: Wei Wuxian is cursed on a night-hunt, and the junior quartet rapidly finds themselves in over their heads.)

What I expected to be a goofy, silly fic turned out to be extremely emotional and made me FULLY CRY! It’s a very moving fic about Sizhui coming to understand himself and Wei Wuxian a lot better AND features all of the juniors arguing over who’s turn it is to hold 6 year old Wei Wuxian. A true win/win of a fic.

Your Name, Safe In Their Mouth by astrolesbian (Lan Sizhui & Wei Wuxian, G, 10k)

“You’ve got a fever,” Wei Wuxian says soothingly. “You just keep still as well as you can. We’ll have you fixed up soon.”

Lan Sizhui recognizes his tone—this is the voice that Wei Wuxian uses on hurt people and young children, a very calm and no-nonsense voice that has none of the mischief and cheer of the way he sounds the rest of the time. Lan Sizhui looks up and meets his eyes, and they are dark, stormy gray, muddled and concerned.

“I’m all right,” he croaks.

“Hush,” Wei Wuxian says, in a low croon, like someone quieting a baby. Then he blinks, and looks away, awkward. “I mean—you shouldn’t speak. You’re tired. Rest if you need to.”

or: lan sizhui gets sick on a night hunt. wei wuxian comforts him. they both have a lot of feelings about it.

The Wei Wuxian and Sizhui bonding fic that I so desperately desperately needed to read. Scratched the very particular itch of “but have they REALLY talked about what it means that they’re reunited after 16 years???”

Stainless by Fahye (Wangxian, E, 6k)

"I'm starting to feel," says Lan Xichen, "that this was a counterproductive suggestion."

Wei Wuxian looks down onto the pristine, tranquil cold springs of the Cloud Recesses. Sitting in the water, their bare shoulders rising like dumplings carefully spaced in a steaming-basket, are a large number of Lan disciples.

"They seem to be doing better," he says, encouragingly. "If they--oh, no, I see what you mean."

At the near bank, someone has pressed someone else against the rocks and is kissing them frantically.

It’s smut! What is getting into a new pairing if not an excuse to read sex pollen in new and exciting ways!

Sweet Night by thejillyfish (Wangxian, E, 10k)

It was like coming back to life again, like being restitched into existence, cell by cell, nerve by nerve. From the surface of his skin to the marrow of his bones, everything new and purposeful. Like being pulled back from oblivion into an embrace of pure light. A feeling of absolute asylum.

That’s what it felt like, to realize Lan Wangji was in love with him.

In-show au of “what if they just admitted they’re in love and fucked during episode 43?” Soft and romantic and hot!

Shadows In The Sun Rise by Yuu_chi (Wangxian, E, 25k)

“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji says, voice slow and a pitch too quiet. A second later Wei Wuxian understands why. “I cannot hear.”

Or; Lan Wangji is cursed into internal isolation. Their ability to understand one another remains as unwavering as ever.

OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD. I have been thinking about this fic nonstop since I read it. It is.....fucking incredible. One of the best qualities of wangxian is that they’re so in tune with each other and able to work so cohesively with little communication and this fic is like “what if we take that and DIAL IT UP TO ELEVEN” and i was like AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! 

WHEW OKAY that’s enough for right now!

I’m constantly reading new fics all the time so maybe eventually I’ll make a second one if Chi actually reads/likes any of these (they’re picky!), or if anyone else likes this list and wants updates.

TO CHI: Thank you for getting me into The Untamed! I love you! I had the best time texting you every thought that passed through my head while I watched it. I’ve loved all of the content you’ve sent me from the book and the comic. I’ve loved making fun of Yibo with you. I’ve loved being your fic taste tester. Life sucks right now but at least we have wangxian!

TO EVERYONE ELSE: If you read any of these fics please come to my DMs and talk to me about them! I have a lot of feelings and love to cry over fics! Thank you!

[marshmallowprotection]

Well, hey, if youre willing to write for it im delighted to request it! If you dont already have an idea in mind, how about snapshots of each rfa member with the rfas unofficially/officially adopted child? Or what each would do if they needed to pick them up from school cause they got sick? I kind of love this whole idea so ive already thought up way too many ways to use it haha, but id be happy with literally anything related to the rfa communally raising a kid

I've written some little blurbs for you, nothing long but something just enough to get a taste of what it might be like. I couldn't decide on a specific kid to use so I'm just going to swap between a boy and a girl for whichever it feels right for. 

Yoosung 

"Sungie, do you always get to see so many animals?" 

"Mmm. Yeah, it's part of my studies. If I wanna be a great Vet someday, I have to learn about all kinds of animals and meet them." 

"Really cool! I wouldn't mind if I got to hang out with puppies all day." 

"Well… It's not always like that." 

"Oh, right, there must be kitties and bunnies too!" 

They always chatted like this. 

Yoosung spent the time that he did have free with everybody's favorite son. He was often one of the least busy members of the group but only during the afternoons while the others were working. They would waste a lot of time playing games that he enjoyed or LOLOL, which Yoosung liked. 

They got along really well. Yoosung had taken to him like a big brother, and while he wasn't entirely sure if he was doing it right, he enjoyed the time they spent together. 

He wasn't ever really that close with his big sister, so to have a little buddy to hang out with like this was so different!  

He wasn't the youngest person now, so a lot of the words directed towards him were now thrown to the wayside. It made him feel like he was pretty mature! 

That wasn't always the case, though. 

Video games were an easy way for them to interact and because of that he got a little too invested in them. Of course, just because he was older didn't mean that he always won those games. 

The kid took it ten times more seriously than he ever did and he had to actually try to win what they were on. He never really had that issue before without having many people to play against. But, it was like Seven had been tutoring him on how to destroy others. 

Today was no different. 

"I WIN!" he shrieked as he jumped off of the couch and thrust his hands in the air as Yoosung hung his head in defeat. 

"Looks like you win again," he laughed, though still a little embarrassed. 

Zen

She was a star, a bright shining star. 

All she wanted to do was be the one who made all the sad stuff go away, far, far away from here! It was a dream of hers to be as cool as her family was, and she thought the best way to do that would be to practice for the next party! 

She got the idea from Jaehee, cause she always said that Zen could shine so brightly that it made her feel better. 

So, who else to ask for tips then Zen? 

So, she put on her little show as best as she could for him. 

"You're doing great, keep it up out there, princess!" Zen cheered her on as she spun around in circles and circles on end, pretending to perform for the little crowd of plush toys and Zen.

He clapped as she finished up her little routine a few minutes later, with her arms stretched out wide and little chest heaving from all the little motions. 

Her eyes twinkle with such joy. It was a blessing to see her look so happy and all she ever wanted to hear was that she was getting better at this. 

She puffs out her cheeks when he doesn't say much more, "D'ya like it, Zenny? I can't show everybody else less you think s'good!" 

This little girl was an absolute darling to everybody that she came into contact with and it was no surprise given her parent, who had been the kindest soul ever to walk the face of the planet. She never caused any trouble and all she wanted to do was have a little fun every now and again. 

Zen wasn't all that great with kids, at least, he never felt like he was. He didn't exactly do a perfect job all the time, but he did try his best when he could. 

She had insisted that he sit down and watch her perform this time around. She wanted to show that she could be as dazzling as Zen was, and he would stand to agree that this little girl had a future in talent if she wanted to pursue it. 

Even if she was a little bit pitchy with her own rendition of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. 

Zen let out a little laugh. He pressed his hand against the top of her head and ruffled her hair. "It was very good. You'll blow everybody away at the next party for sure, okay? I need to watch out. You're going to give me a run for my money." 

Jaehee

The little boy clutched at his locks, clearly frustrated with the paper of homework in front of himself. It just wasn't making any sense to him and he really wanted to just give up and quit it. 

He had been trying so hard to do it all on his own so nobody would get worried.  

That hadn't worked because Jaehee caught him looking so dejected in the corner of the café. 

There was no hiding anything from that woman. She just knew when something was wrong and wouldn't let the subject go when she started talking. 

She always got onto him. It wasn't rude or mean though! 

She was just looking out for him, he knew. It didn't change the fact it was a little embarrassing. 

Jaehee looked over his notes and instead of scolding him for the bad marks, she merely hummed and nodded her head. She pointed out some of the troubling areas for him and tapped the spots. 

"So you see, you'll need to do this first before you start doing this part of the question. You're getting ahead of yourself when you're working on these types of problems." 

He stared at the paper for a moment with pursed lips, "...Oh. I guess I didn't think about that." 

"Why don't we try some together and see where it's confusing, okay?" Jaehee smiled. 

He may have felt unsure of himself but he knew that he could trust her judgment at times like this. 

Jumin 

"You look lovely today… I see you and Elizabeth the 3rd are wearing matching bows." 

"Oh, you noticed? I tied them all by myself too!" 

"Did you? That's very crafty of you to do so, princess. Elizabeth seems positively pleasant about it. Why, may I ask, did you do it?" 

"Oh! Elizabeth and I are having a tea party today. We can't have one without looking cute n' stuff. You think my Mommy would like these?" 

"She would. That's her favorite color."

Jumin had never been sure how to act around children. He had never really been a normal child himself, and by the time he figured it out, he was already well grown into an adult. Now, he was really learning how to interact with children. 

This little girl had stolen not only his heart but the hearts of everybody she came into contact with over the past few months.

She was bubbly and sweet, never out of line, she had a penchant for cute toys and little accessories, and she liked to make her own things and play pretend. 

Most importantly, she was the only person in this world who could get CEO Jumin Han to sit in a small chair and pretend to drink tea. 

That's what he was doing right now. 

Elizabeth the 3rd was sitting on her own chair as the girl pretended to pour out some tea into her cup with a smile, "You want some more, Elizabeth? Really? Okay, more tea for the lady!"

Once she set it down she glanced over at Jumin with a big grin, "I'm glad you like it too, I tried really hard. I made some for everybody to wear! I made you a purple one!"

And if anybody thought he wouldn't wear a bow in his hair for this kid, they were wrong. 

Seven

“I did it! I think I put it together, it works, it really works!“

She always looked at the world with stars in her eyes. 

Every new experience was something great to watch happen and it didn’t matter what it was that she was doing or trying out. She always smiled and laughed. It was a great sound, and it had been such a long time since Seven had even heard anything like that. 

This little girl was equal parts smart and sweet. 

If Seven handed her something to work on, she would devour it and figure out what was wrong or what needed to be fixed within a couple of minutes. Seven let her tinker with some of his old robots. Granted, he didn’t give her anything really complex, but still, she learned fast. 

It didn’t always work out, but she never lost her big grin. 

He beamed. “Oh? So you did!  That’s impressive. Good job! Meowy 2.0 here is looking much more lively, huh?” 

She gripped onto the little bot and nodded her head. “Mhm! I wasn’t sure if I was gonna be able to figure it out, but thanks to your help, I got it.”

He couldn’t have been more proud. 

Seven didn’t know what it was like to have many older people in your life care for you like this in a way that was more domestic and typical. He never thought that he would ever have to chance to be around kids like this, but it was something that he always wanted to do. 

She had stolen his heart, though. He would do anything for the kid. 

“That’s right,” Seven nodded. ”You don’t have to do everything alone to figure stuff out. It’s actually better to ask for help when you don’t know what to do next time.” 

She was quiet for a moment and grinned. “...Yeah, about that. I was wondering, how hard would it be to add a flamethrower?” 

Nobody tell the others about that though. 

V

"Does it matter if I make my sky a different color then blue? Why does it always have to be blue? Is it wrong to do something like that? Can it only be blue…? I don't understand." 

"Well, the sky isn't just blue, you know. It can be almost any color you want it to be, it's your drawing to paint so it's your choice what it looks like. Why do you ask?" 

He hung his head, not wanting to look V in the eyes. "... Some kids told me I was stupid and wrong. I guess... I’m just not as good as you thought I was."

V frowned. He got to the boy’s level and pressed his hands against his shoulders, "Hey… that's not true at all. I love your sky, that's why we put it up on the fridge." 

He had really low self-esteem. It wasn’t something that was always remedied by the fact that he had a support system behind him. For some children, it was hard to connect with others in some capacity. 

This boy was always radiant and smiling when he was with the RFA. But, when he was alone or by himself, there were those times when the unease shined through. It wasn’t for a lack of love. Those feelings could affect anyone no matter their life or background. 

V hated to see that. 

“Are you sure?” he asked, quietly. “I would understand if you didn’t.” 

Because he was special, not only to him and the rest of the RFA but to himself as well.

“I’m sure. I would never lie to you. Now, let’s see what we can do about this problem of yours at school, okay?” 

Saeran 

Saeran was always wary of children. 

He always thought of his parents and how badly they had screwed him over as a kid, and his first fear was that he was going to do something as bad as what they did to him to somebody else. That was the last thing that he wanted to do to anyone. 

It wasn’t easy for him to build a bond with MC’s little girl, but he did try every now and again. For some reason, the girl really liked him and stuck to him like glue at every chance that she got. It was kind of hilarious to see somebody so bright and cheery reaching out for somebody as dark looking like him. 

There were times when she would talk somebody’s ear off, but she would never do that to anyone apart from the people in the RFA. She was often quite shy and anxious. With Saeran, though... she was quiet and didn’t often press him for talk and chats. 

She seemed to understand that he really wasn’t much of a guy for chatting, and they both could just hang out without worrying about anything. Today was a little different though. 

He had walked in the room that she was sitting in, and noticed that she was crying. His body stiffened, and he felt rather uncomfortable. He knew that he could have directed somebody else to the situation but at the same time, he didn’t think he could make himself do that. 

He had been in that position too many times as a kid and nobody was there for him. Against the dread in his gut, he sat down next to her and didn’t say anything at first. She was clearly looking over at him. 

“S-Saeran?” 

“...Mmm.” 

“I wasn’t... cryin’... just got dust in my eyes.” 

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want too,” he said, quietly. “I just figured you would feel better if you had some company.“

“...Thank you.” 

[latristereina]

The wedding of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon (18-19 October 1469, Palacio de los Vivero, Valladolid)

John II of Aragon, as a Castilian infante and one of Castile’s great magnates, had always thought of an alliance with this realm in order to face his problems in Cataluña and with the powerful Kingdom of France. Already in 1457, John II proposed the marriage of his two children, Ferdinand and Joanna, to the half-siblings of Henry IV of Castile, Isabella, and Alfonso, although, it seems, no one took this proposition seriously at the time.

Considering the grave situation in Catalonia between 1466-67, for it was invaded by the French troops, the king of Aragon decided to negotiate with the representatives of prince Alfonso and Isabel, without breaking off ties with Henry IV, in order to assure the Castilian support. In April 1467, the leaders of Alfonso’s camp, Juan Pacheco – who was desperate to become bonded with royalty – and Alfonso Carrillo, offered him the double match: prince Alfonso would marry infanta Joanna of Aragon, and prince Ferdinand would wed Pacheco’s daughter, Beatriz. John II agreed, and although, he made it clear, he would prefer his son to marry infanta Isabella, given the desperate situation he had found himself in, he eventually gave his permission. He sent one of his diplomats, Pierres de Peralta, to Castile, with the power of attorney, to negotiate the marriage of his son with any woman of royal blood, or with any woman who did not descend from royalty. Pierres navigated skillfully between the two camps, not breaking off with anyone.

In November 1467, after the lost battle of Vilademat, John II put pressure on the ambassador of Alfonso’s party to conclude the issue of the double match. Juan Pacheco, however, seemed to be gradually distancing himself from those plans, whereas his uncle, Alfonso Carrillo, cheered John II on when it came to the Castilian marriage, agreeing with him the union with infanta Isabella, instead of Pacheco’s daughter, would be the best option. However, in June 1468, John II continued maintaining political relations with Juan Pacheco through his ambassador, Pierres. Prince Alfonso died on July 5, 1468. John II broke off the negotiations for his son’s marriage to Beatriz Pacheco. Twelve days later, on the 17 of the same month, Ferdinand authorized Pierres de Peralta and Alfonso Carrillo to arrange his marriage with infanta Isabella, the first-born heiress to the kingdoms of Castile. John II ratified those powers on July 24, 1468.

As for Isabella, she had been held a prisoner in Segovia until autumn of 1467, when her younger brother’s faction set her free. After Alfonso’s death, the rebellious camp that had elevated the young prince to the rebellious throne, in opposition to Henry IV, planned on crowning Isabella for the new queen, but she denied it, maintaining she would be Henry’s heir. Meanwhile, Pacheco and Henry IV reconciled, and the majority of the grandees that had been in Alfonso’s camp followed in Pacheco’s footsteps. Before, Henry IV had agreed to confirm his younger brother as the heir, instead of his daughter, Juana, believing the marriage of the two would remove all the obstacles. Now, in order to preserve peace in his kingdoms, the king decided to make a pact with Isabella’s party. In August of 1468, Henry IV signed a document in which he agreed for his sister to be sworn in and obeyed as his heiress. He and Isabella met at Toros de Guisando (the place between Cadalso (Madrid) and Cebreros (Ávila)), where on August 19, he invited all his vassals to recognize the infanta as his heiress. It was then, when Juan Pacheco officially changed the camps again, having departed from Ávila on Isabella’s side, during the meeting at Toros de Guisando, he positioned himself in Henry’s camp (Cadalso – Madrid).

Everyone had to pledge loyalty to the king, the rebellious villages were to be handed over to Henry IV, Isabella promised she would not marry without her half-brother’s consent, and he promised to not marry her off against her will.

Isabella left Toros de Guisando with the title of Princess of Asturias, with all of the rents and cities that went along with it. And despite rumors about what was said during that all important meeting, and against opinion of some historians, according to Tarsicio de Azcona, there is no evidence Henry IV of Castile denied the paternity of his daughter, Juana, during the meeting, or that he claimed his marriage to Joanna of Avis was invalid, and he himself was a cuckold.

Joanna of Avis’s party and many Castilian nobles were not satisfied with the new situation. They wrote to Pope Paul II, insisting princess Juana was the legitimate heiress of Henry IV, born into the canonically approved marriage by Paul II himself, and legally sworn in, as the heir to the throne. Whereas the appointment of Isabella was done against the law because it was carried out without the consent of the three states, and attorneys of the cities. It is almost certain that neither Henry IV nor Juan Pacheco, who once again had dominated the situation, in fact steering the king, had any intention to swear Isabella in as the heir legally at the Cortes. During the meeting at Toros de Guisando, she had been sworn in only by some prelates and grandees of the kingdom, who were present there, which did not make it binding.

Since October 1468 Isabella had resided at Ocaña, which was Juan Pacheco’s stronghold, and where Henry IV’s court resided as well. At the time, Juan Pacheco and his camp prepared the double Portuguese match: Isabella was to marry Alfonso V of Portugal (such match had been already proposed in 1465), and princess Juana was to be the wife of Alfonso V’s heir. This way Henry IV and Pacheco wanted to make sure Isabella would not have chances to become queen and would leave Castile once and for all. Among other candidates, proposed to her, were: the brother of Louis XI of France, Duke of Berry, the future Richard III, and Ferdinand of Aragon. Henry’s first choice was the Portuguese match, however, the duke of Berry and Richard III would also take Isabella away from Castile, which was what the king and Pacheco desired.

John II’s diplomat, Pierres de Peralta, navigated between two camps: the Pacheco’s and the Mendoza’s, trying to see which one would make a better offer. He also met with nuncio Venier, who agreed to support the union of Isabella and Ferdinand. John II also greased the palms of Isabella’s closest advisers, such as Gonzalo Chacón and Gutierre de Cárdenas, promising them many favors in the Crown of Aragon. At the beginning of January 1469, king John II and his son sent to Isabella a draft of the marital contract. It offered her many advantages and guarantees, such as the help and money to gain succession to the throne, that the princess agreed with pleasure. It was basically the only option to save herself politically. Ferdinand also had something the three other candidates did not: his own good claim to the crown of Castile through the second son of John I  of Castile. In fact, John II and Ferdinand were the closest male relatives of Henry IV, with their own claim to the throne. (Henry IV was also Ferdinand’s first cousin through his mother, Maria of Aragon, John II’s sister).

After that, Isabella refused to accept any offers delivered to her by the Portuguese embassy. On January 30, John II’s agent wrote to the king, informing him the Portuguese had returned to their country, the political situation was favorable, and Isabella was ready to get married to Ferdinand, declaring:

It has to be he and absolutely no other.

Isabella said a definitive “yes” in an undated letter, addressed to Ferdinand, delivered by Pierres de Peralta, the Constable of Navarre:

To the Lord my cousin, the king of Sicily Lord cousin, since Constable is going there, there is no need for me to write at greater length, except to ask your pardon for so late a reply. And the reason for the delay, the Constable will explain to Your Mercy. I beg you to trust him and to say what you wish me to do, for that I must do. And the reason I must do that today more than ever you will know from the Constable because it is not to be written. From the hand that will do as you may order

The princess.

The marital capitulations were revised and signed by Ferdinand on March 7, 1469, at Cervera, according to which:

- Isabella and Ferdinand would obey Henry IV

- Justice would be administered by Ferdinand

- Ferdinand promised to respect the ecclesiastic liberty and fueros of the cities

- Ferdinand could not sign any document on his own, only in unison with his wife

- Ferdinand would not be able to leave Castile without Isabella’s consent or be able to take their children away

- Ferdinand would not be able to carry out any enterprise without the consent of his wife

- Isabella would receive the dowry of the queens in Aragon, la cámara de la reina in Siracusa, and 100.000 golden florins, that were to be paid within four months, after the consummation of the marriage.

Besides, John II would give her 20.000 golden florins and the ruby collar that had belonged to Ferdinand’s mother, which worth was estimated at 40.000 ducats, and which was pawned at the time.

Along with the capitulations, the petitions and demands of the above-mentioned advisers of Isabella were brought by Pierres.

Her advisers made sure Ferdinand would not have a say in the matters of Castile, being dominated by the Castilian will. Something time would verify, and something Isabella would be forced to change, later on.

Given his difficult situation, John II had no choice but to cede and accept.

Another prominent Aragonese diplomat, Pedro de la Cavallería, was sent to Castile in order to gain the Mendozas’s support and to prepare Isabella’s departure from Ocaña, which was easier than usual, given Henry IV and Juan Pacheco had left for Andalusia.

Isabella abandoned Ocaña in the middle of May 1469. On May 30, John II of Aragon informed the grandees of Valencia that Isabella planned on picking her mother up from Arévalo and taking shelter in Ávila, “at her full liberty”.

Alfonso de Palencia was sent to Aragon, in order to collect the promised 20.000 florins and the ruby necklace. It was Ferdinand in person, who got the collar out of pawn on July 19.

Isabella traveled through Ávila, reached Madrigal, and celebrated the death anniversary of her brother, Alfonso. At the beginning of August, Isabella received the embassy from Louis XI of France. The French king had sent Jean Jouffroy, the cardinal of Albi, to examine the possibility of his brother’s marriage to Isabella. The princess made the cardinal believe she would, in fact, marry the Duke of Berry, and was so convincing that even Louis XI believed this to be true until November 1469.

Meanwhile, Henry IV lost all the hope Isabella would obey him, and hence ordered the city council of Madrigal to have her arrested. Then, or even earlier, the archbishop of Toledo and Fadrique Enríquez, Ferdinand’s grandfather, came to the conclusion Isabella had to be taken to another place. The archbishop had obtained the letter, signed by Juan Pacheco, with a forged date, thanks to which, the city of Valladolid would gladly receive Isabella.

From there, the princess sent Alonso de Palencia and Gutierre de Cárdenas to Aragon, to let Ferdinand know he should come to Castile as soon as possible.

In a letter written on September 8, dispatched from Valladolid, she informed her brother that she had chosen the Aragonese prince for her husband, and tried to justify her decision.

As for Ferdinand, Alfonso de Palencia and Gutierre de Cárdenas explained to him all the reasons for which he should immediately leave for Valladolid and confront Henry IV with the done deal, and said it was convenient for him to travel in disguise, given the Duero border was in the power of adversaries of the marriage. The hazardous plan was accepted by Ferdinand without vacillation, and also by his half-brother, Juan, the archbishop of Zaragoza. However, one of the advisers thought they should consult John II of Aragon, who was at another place, at the time.

It was hard for the king to let his heir leave, to cross the enemy’s lands, unprotected because he did not have

(…) another son, or other good for his old age, and for the well-being and the succession of all those kingdoms.

But he eventually sent his consent and blessings.

In Calatayud, Ferdinand’s party received a message from Isabella, urging them to hurry. They divided into two groups, taking two different roads: one of them was supposed to be official embassy at the court of Henry IV, with which Alfonso de Palencia would go, the other, with Ferdinand, was meant to reach Valladolid. The prince left Zaragoza on October 5 and was joined by Gutierre de Cárdenas and his group at Berdejo. According to Palencia, whenever they stopped, Ferdinand acted as a servant of merchants, looked after the mules and served the supper.

On October 7, at night, the prince and his entourage arrived in Burgo de Osma, where Alfonso de Palencia and the official Aragonese embassy were waiting for him, having arrived earlier the same day. There, according to Palencia, a stone was thrown by someone, who had not recognized the prince, which almost hurt him.

He reached Dueñas on October 9, where he could consider himself safe, at the fortress that belonged to the brother of the archbishop Carrillo. On October 14, at 11 pm., Ferdinand and Isabella met for the first time, in Valladolid, at the Palacio de los Vivero, where Isabella resided. The meeting was conducted in the presence of the archbishop of Toledo, Alfonso Carrillo, who had led Ferdinand to the rooms of the princess.

According to Palencia, who was there, the princes were smitten with each other. They talked for two hours, and then a notary took down their formal promises to marry. Ferdinand gave Isabella betrothal gifts and returned to Dueñas. He came back four days later, on October 18.

The famous forged dispensation and the marital capitulations were read out, and then, the young couple said their wedding vows in the rich sala of the palace. That night Ferdinand retired to the residence of the archbishop of Toledo, and returned to the Palacio de los Vivero the next day. The nuptial mass was held, and after the celebrations (which were not splendorous, given the circumstances), on the night of October 19, the marriage was consummated with witnesses crowded at the door of the bridal chamber. Some of them entered to take the stained bedsheets, in order to show them to the people waiting in a hall below. The witnesses also surveyed the bedroom itself, to make sure they had not been cheated.

We know for sure when the wedding and consummation took place. It was Ferdinand himself, who, on October 20, reported to the Valencian grandees that:

there was a high nuptial mass. And last night, in service to God, we consummated our marriage.

Sources:

Jaime Vicens Vives, Historia crítica de la vida y reinado de Fernando II de Aragón,

Tarsicio de Azcona, Isabel la Católica: Vida y reinado,

Luis Suárez Fernández, Fernando el Católico,

Manuel Fernández Álvarez, Isabel la Católica,

Palencia, Crónica, dec. 2, lib. 2

Peggy K. Liss, Isabel the Queen: Life and Times

Nancy Rubin Stuart, Isabella of Castile: The First Renaissance Queen,

Filip Kubiaczyk, Między wojną a dyplomacją. Ferdynand Katolicki I polityka zagraniczna Hiszpanii w latach 1492-1516

[stillness-in-green]

Changeling: The League (1/3)

Being some errant nerdery combining two things I love very much into one thing that is exponentially more nerdy than either thing on its own: My Hero Academia villains as Changeling: the Lost characters!

This will(/should) be a series of three posts containing some mid-length write-ups on the League of Villains, the Metahuman Liberation Army, and some odds-and-ends on other characters/alternate takes.  

Some prelude: The most prominent question that kept coming up as I was brainstorming the write-ups below was, “Is this retelling the story of My Hero Academia using Changeling: The Lost’s mechanics and world, or is this exploring Changeling: The Lost’s themes using the My Hero Academia cast?”  Would these versions of the characters be NPC villains in Izuku’s story, opponents (or possibly eventual allies) in some grand, epic clash between Heroes and Villains as begun with All Might and All for One?  Would it be the story of a corrupt system, pulled down by the PC group that was Shigaraki and his motley?  I had ideas for both, but in the end, I decided that, rather than oblige myself to the MHA canon, I was ultimately more interested in just letting the implied “story” focus on the League and their histories of loss, trauma and recovery, so that’s the spirit in which these are written.  (Though things do get a bit plottier when their story intersects with the MLA’s.)

Lastly, these are, of course, completely AU, but if you don’t know who the Liberation Army is, you’re probably still going to trip over manga spoilers, so be mindful.  

First, let me lay down some backstory!  Specifically, the story of All for One, One for All, and the lives they drew into their story...

THE PROLOGUE

There is a realm in Faerie inhabited by a pair of binary-matched Fae, All for One and One for All, styling themselves as warring brothers.  They’ve been fighting for many long generations, each in their own fashion.  All for One has tended to keep his power mostly within himself, employing many underlings, but sharing his power with very few of them.  One for All, conversely, has shared most of himself with a succession of users, and in each generation, the pair clashes, with OFA not very "present" for the battles (and thus at less risk), while AFO is able to bring more of himself to the fights.  Before each battle, each user of OFA would be "freed" for a period to find and designate a successor (who would inevitably go missing a few weeks later), before returning for the battle.  They often did this with deeply tormented feelings, but saw little escape from the pattern.  Each one hoped that they might be the one strong enough to break the cycle, as OFA told them each time was a possibility--patterns grow stronger for being repeated, after all--but none of them was able to do so until recently.  Toshinori Yagi refused to designate a successor, and finally, for his stubbornness, was recalled to do battle without one--without having passed even a fragment of OFA's power on, he was finally able to defeat AFO.              

In his defeat, AFO was cast out from Faerie.  He had little memory of who and what he was, but retained a sense for fae matters and a limited grasp on his powers.  He spent the next several years setting up shop in the local freehold, dabbling with Spring and Autumn Court matters as his fancy took him, and racking up a fair amount of renown with the latter in particular when the former found him too ruthless, and not only with humans.  One day, though, he stumbled across what would eventually become his way home--a little boy who felt startlingly familiar, black-haired with a mole on his chin.  AFO struck up a friendship, and when he eventually met the boy's father, things began to click into place--he knew this family because he once fought their matriarch, and that connection was the key to his return.  As he was once defeated by this bloodline bearing his brother's power, for his rise, he had to defeat someone of the bloodline--but he couldn’t just do it straight out.  With his brother, there were pacts in play, old bargains and arrangements.  He couldn’t just waltz in and kill Shimura Kotaro.              

One of them needed to ask. 

THE LEAGUE

Here are the League roughly as we might find them when they’ve been out long enough to build a motley, solidify their bonds somewhat, and start taking on bigger, toothier problems.  All have 7 dots of Contracts except Shigaraki, who has a modest leader bump.  Just assume he’s been out doing some level-grinding the others haven’t.

Shigaraki Tomura

Quote: “There’s always a win condition.”

Type: Gameplayer Wizened.  A trophy/souvenir of AFO’s time on Earth, Tomura survived a durance filled with little but tests in the guise of games.  Survival, combat, endurance, manual dexterity, reaction time, strategy, academics, even odd trivia--he learned them all under his Keeper’s tutelage, in preparation for the next battle with his brother's champion (AFO having seen that his brother's way of doing things has its merits).  Tomura grew up believing himself responsible for his family's deaths (though he's blocked most of the specifics, he knows in his gut that he's responsible somehow) and watching the realm celebrate the champion who'd defeated Tomura’s Keeper, but who hadn't done a thorough enough job to prevent the cycle from resetting after all.

Toshinori, for his part, initially had no idea that AFO had returned with a child, a new champion.  But he did know that AFO had returned (the realms are connected enough that you can't really miss it), and so waited for the next battle with some impatience.  He thought that he, perhaps, just hadn't done well enough, that he'd be more careful, more thorough next time.  After all, patterns become stronger when they repeat.  He doesn't truly understand that All for One can't be killed--not in Faerie, at least--and so there will be no end to the cycle as it stands.  Eventually, he got tired of waiting and sought out AFO on his own--and was shocked to find a kid, just a kid, where he expected to find AFO.  AFO did not think Shigaraki was ready for this yet, and was not prepared to watch several years' worth of effort and his cute keepsake get slaughtered (and he probably would have been; Shigaraki could have all the lives he wanted in training, but an official battle against the sanctioned bearer of OFA would have been different), so he ejected Shigaraki from Faerie and fought the battle himself.  As to what happened afterwards, Shigaraki has no way to know, but the gradual return of various other servants of AFO may eventually begin to shed some light on the subject…

Shigaraki is, when his story truly begins, still figuring out his current game--outside of Arcadia, second chances are harder to come by--but he’s a sore loser and a quick learner, so he never stays down for long, and he’s already made a friend in Toga, who he met in his escape from the Hedge.  He still has very ambivalent feelings about his Keeper, which makes him something of an outlier amongst changelings, who typically feel only terror and loathing for the Others that upended their lives and scarred them in ways that will never--can never--fully heal.  No one, including Shigaraki, has quite realized his connection to the Emperor of Darkness who caused so much havoc in the freehold when he escaped back to Faerie five years ago.  Likewise, Tomura’s fetch, only ten years old, is still in a mental care unit in juvie for the murders of the Shimura family, but dealing with that mess will have to wait until Shigaraki can stomach the idea of even looking at that version of himself.  

Tomura looks much as he does in canon, thin and covered with scratching and scarring.  Behind his tousled white hair, though, his red eyes gleam and flicker as if they’re forever reflecting the dancing lights of a screen.  His masked form has black hair rather than white, and eyes the color of dark, old rust.

Court/Mantle: Autumn, the season of fear.  Shigaraki’s entire durance threatened him always with the fear of failure (and the fear of the consequences of failure), and he himself would rather intimidate than charm, but he also shares the Leaden Mirror’s inquisitiveness and discerning eye.  As such, even when he first emerged from the Hedge, it was with a strong Autumn mantle, and it’s only grown stronger over time.  He’s often trailed by dead, desiccated brown leaves, and Hedge foliage that’s in his presence for any length of time visibly begins to wither--but his mantle flares up even more when he’s being actively combative.  Chilly, dry bursts of air can wring involuntary chills from those on the receiving end of his wide grins and dire promises. When he’s feeling more playful, one can sometimes see small flickers of light in the shape of unknown words or hear odd little strains of music from unrecognizable (albeit somewhat tinny) instruments.

Contracts: 

     Fleeting Autumn I.  He’s not so concerned with becoming some kind of symbol of fear that he’s pursued this Contract very much, but it never hurts to get an idea of what your opponent’s afraid of.

    Eternal Autumn I-III.  It takes time, glamour expenditure, and good dice rolls, but he can kill people this way, withering them down to nothing.  Conversely, he can also make plants bear fruit.  It’s occasionally useful.

    Hours I.  He’s figured out how to consciously botch the activation of this clause so as to decay the targeted object instead of restoring it.  It usually works, but sometimes randomly backlashes onto him instead, causing him injury--the bigger the object, the worse the damage.  The Wyrd doesn’t like being toyed with.

    Lucidity I-IV.  Clarity is a fluid, malleable thing for Shigaraki, which can make him extremely frightening--he can thank his Keeper’s lessons in control.  With this series of Contracts, Shigaraki can and does laugh off the kinds of deeds that would make other changelings quail back in fear of what their own minds would do to them in the aftermath.  He can also be shockingly perceptive for someone who by rights should have terrible trouble distinguishing the boundaries between Real and Unreal, Self and Other.  However, his use of these powers does make him somewhat mercurial and difficult to predict, even to his motley, as derangements come and go with the artificial inflation or drain of his Clarity.  It’s a downward slope, but one he’s taking more slowly than would otherwise be the case.

(Hypothetical Powered-Up Shigaraki: Adds two 5-dot Goblin Contracts, Blood-Binding and The Fatal Transformation.  Be it the power of glamour or the breath of life itself, if Shigaraki wants an enemy drained and is willing to pay his pound of flesh, Goblin magic will provide.  It’s a good thing he’s got friends to back him up, as both of these powers leave him in a pretty vulnerable state.) 

Toga Himiko

Quote: “I met someone cute today.  Don’t wait up!” 

Type: Mirrorskin/Leechfinger dual kith Darkling.  Toga served her durance in the chrome-tinted underbelly of a glass-and-brass dystopia full of mirrors, learning to steal life as easily as she stole food, and to slip from one form to another to keep ahead of everyone who’d chase her down for doing it.  More free than she’d been in her old life, to be sure, but still not free to truly do as she pleased, she dreamed of being able to hunt people down the way she’d been hunted down, with no one to answer to for it.  In time, she managed her escape and, on her path back through the Hedge, crossed paths with Tomura--distraught, lost, but still with plenty of fight left in him.  Each decided that the other was dangerous but sympathetic enough to be a better ally than an enemy, and they teamed up to find their way back to the real world.

Back in that real world, Toga is learning to put herself back together.  Getting back home only to find something waiting there wearing her face was a shock to her system, but after some agonizing (and a bloodbath in her parents’ kitchen), she’s decided it’s for the best.  If going back to being that girl means giving up the amazing psychic buffet the world now presents her, it’s not even a debate.  

Toga in her masked form is dark of hair and eye, a school girl with a wide smile and swift, excitable hands.  In her true form, everything bleeds paler--she’s china white, even her hair turning paler than flaxen fiber, most of her features seeming somehow insubstantial except for the long points of her teeth and the gas lamp yellow of her eyes.  

Court/Mantle: Spring, the season of desire.  Toga, more than anyone in the motley, has embraced the fact that she wants things now that she never would have before, that she has desires that no human would ever understand.  And why not?  She doesn’t kill people, after all; she just likes to taste.  The air around her is always infused with heady floral scents, and when she walks, phantom flowers trail up behind her.  Hemlock and cypress vine, spider lilies and nightshade--all lovely, to be sure, but the language of flowers does give her away.

Contracts: Everything about Toga’s Contracts heightens her skills as a predator, and she’s unquestionably the best in the group at it.

        Mirror I-II.  Allows her to shape her form with more specificity and finesse.

        Darkness I-II.  Makes her targets more suggestible.

        Fleeting Spring I-III.  Lets her pinpoint what her targets want so that she can shape those wants or her reflection of them as needed.

Bubaigawara Jin

Quote: “Nothing’s too much for my friends!”

Type: Truefriend Beast.  Jin’s human life didn’t differ much from his canonical backstory, minus the super power, but went drastically off course when he was hunted down--even on a motorcycle, hunted down!--by a monster on horseback and the various other monsters tumbling before it.  His changeling life consisted of one cage, one chase after another, and while most of the people around him were shaping themselves into being better vessels for coursing, baying, sharp-toothed menace, what Jin most wanted was the pack solidarity.  His Keeper thought this was funny but not a very useful trait in a hunting hound, so they started taking him to dog fights instead, hoping to scour the excess sweetness off of him.  Lacking a pack to stay for, he escaped, but the wanting for one never left him.  

Toga basically tripped over him his first night out, and her kindness then meant he was more than happy to follow her home.  He later made the acquaintance of Mr. Compress and Magne on a bar crawl and, wanting all of his friends to be friends together, introduced them to Shigaraki and Toga.  He’s also trying to make friends with his fetch, who is finding the whole experience of having a clone pop up at him at unexpected times to be unbelievably disorienting and nerve-wracking.  Which one of them is the real one, anyway…?

His mask looks much as Jin does in canon, though his scars are in different places.  In mien, he  always looks a bit rumpled, with short, sandy brown fur and bright, emotive eyes.  He’s dog-eared (literally), one alert, the other floppy, and his hands have stubby, darkened nails.  Unbelievably expressive and more overtly doggish body language--he didn’t keep a tail in his flight back through the Hedge, but people tend to remember him as having one anyway.

Court/Mantle: Courtless.  Jin’s too mixed up in his own emotions to pick just one to focus on.  He likes the idea of Spring, but he’s also skeptical that just wanting is enough to keep people safe, and that fear is rooted deep.  He’s also not without his old sorrows.  Of the High Court emotions, wrath is his rarest visitor.

Contracts:

        Fang & Talon (Dogs) I-III.  Jin’s got an undeniable rapport with dogs.  He loves them and they love him.  There’s practically no mutt he can’t get some words out of if he asks nice.  He’s also still got a hunting hound’s nose, when he needs it.  

        Hearth I-II.  Deeply dedicated to his friends, the Contracts of Hearth make advancing the goals of the motley (or hurting the chances of their enemies) even easier.

        Eternal Spring I.  Easier to be a people-pleaser when you know what pleases people!  Toga taught him this one.

        Moon I.  It’s good to know what people want, but it’s also good to know what kind of crazy people (fetches especially) might be sitting on.  This one also helps the group nail down where Shigaraki’s head is at on any given day.

Spinner

Quote: “What a mess.  Where are we even going with this?”

Type: Steepscrambler Beast.  Spinner spent, by his best reckoning, four years in a Faerie jungle.  It was always sweltering, sickbed heat with air so wet you could choke on it, and after a few close calls with the serpentine river dragons and over-large birds of prey that prowled the place, he’d all but given up trying to search for a way out--the sea of trees just went on forever anyway.  A long-tongued madman named Stain convinced him otherwise, with talk of hidden trods and clues found in the bellies of gutted fish.  When Stain went missing, Spinner resolved to try again, and though he can no longer remember the method of it, whatever he did seems to have worked.  He got back to his shitty hometown, but found it just as bad as ever, if not worse, with a fetch still cooped up in his old bedroom, spiralling ever further into depression.  And so, fed up with the state of his life and the apathy his fetch reflected back at him, he did something that very few changelings are capable of doing--he left home.  

Finding his way to the nearest big city with a proper freehold, Spinner gravitated to the Summer Court and got set up with an apartment in a small complex the freehold maintains for newbies to stay in while they get their feet under them.  Not too long after, Shigaraki and Toga wandered into a Summer recruitment drive, with Shigaraki immediately managing to get on Spinner’s nerves--which made it all the more exasperating when Spinner went home and found the both of them moving into the apartment next door to his!  Spinner’s still trying to figure out what he thinks of the mercurial and difficult Shigaraki, but they have been bonding over video games of late.

Spinner’s mask is a sun-darkened young man with a prominent nose and a thin, terse mouth.  He’s straight-backed but with a certain nerviness in his eyes, a stance that suggests he’s ready to throw the first punch.  He has a street punk look--pointy fingernails and pink hair--that people without the sight to know better assume is achieved with a nail file and hair dye.  His mask looks exactly like canon!Spinner with one exception--changeling!Spinner has ears.  They’re pointy, green and finely-scaled, but otherwise normal humanoid ears and they make his face look just a little wider and more humanoid than canon!Spinner’s lizard profile.  

Court/Mantle: Summer, the season of wrath.  Spinner’s angry about a lot of things--the state of the world, the injustices served to his motley and the wrongs of his life in particular--but he’s also wrestling with a lot of self-loathing.  It’s easy for him to slip into fatalistic thoughts and get mired down in apathy, and every time he thinks he’s gotten past it, someone or something comes along that throws him off, and then before he knows it he’s back on the ground wondering how he’s ever going to get past this.  Leaning into Summer’s hot anger helps keep him focused.  His mantle is relatively weak, tending to manifest as a warm, dry wind only when he’s particularly fired up or activating Court contracts.

Contracts: Spinner’s well-rounded, but that’s because he has a hard time settling on anything.  His ridiculous spread of Contracts illustrates this.

        Den I-II.  Not interested in leaning into his animal instincts and learning to talk to lizards, Spinner has instead leaned into possessive territorialism.  Unfortunately, he still feels like a small fish, so it’s hard to muster up the swagger that would allow him to progress this Contract further.  

        Fleeting Summer I.  Need to pick a fight and score some quick glamour?  This is the clause for you!  Just make sure Dabi’s not around; that guy’s angrier than the whole rest of the motley put together and it skews the readings.

        Eternal Summer I.  Makes Spinner a walking thermostat. Yes, sometimes Toga and Mr. Compress take advantage.

        Oath & Punishment I.  There’s a certain capital-R romance to this Contract that Spinner likes, but he’d need to find something (or someone) to whole-heartedly devote himself to first.  At least he can do sick parkour jumps in the meantime.  

        Artifice I.  Temporary repair magic.  Handy around the house and when you fight with cheap knives.  

        Dream I.  Useful facts about the local Hedge and he’s generally content to leave it at that--he doesn’t have a lot of use for dream-spinning, not when Magne’s so good at it.

Dabi

Quote: “You’re mad, huh?  So what are you gonna do about it?”

Type: Gravewight Darkling.  Once upon a time, there was a barren couple who wished desperately for children.  For many years, it was only a wish, until Todoroki Enji finally found someone who offered him a solution.  Nine months later, Todoroki Touya was born, to be followed by a string of children, each haler and heartier than the last.  Seven years later, the firstborn child was taken away in the night.  No fetch was left behind--after all, the Other was only claiming the price they’d been promised.  Fifteen years after that, a changeling calling himself Dabi dragged himself out of the Hedge, having spent most of his life lighting funeral pyres and digging graves in Faerie until he dug his way out.

Dabi fell in with the rest of the League motley after being found by Magne after a fight went sideways.  She patched him up and offered him a group to run around with for a while rather than doing the solo act.  He accepted, but his pledges with the rest of the group are a bit different--more paranoid, less supportive.  Dabi is distant from the motley, and only time will tell if he eventually lets them in or not.  

In mask, Dabi’s a beanpole, wild black hair and bright blue eyes with a caustic grin, skulking about in a succession of black coats and heavy, workmanlike boots.  In mien, he’s even taller, a too-thin gaunt with great swatches of skin burned away by restless soul-fires, which still cling and flicker blue around his hands.  His skin fits him a bit too loose, and he wears staples to keep it all in place.  

Court/Mantle: Summer, the season of wrath.  Could it ever be anything else?  Rather stronger than Spinner’s mantle, Dabi’s manifests as heat distortions in the air around him and, when he’s particularly riled up, blasts of hot air like you’d get opening up a hot oven.  He has some trouble advancing in the Court proper, though, as he prefers to only fight battles he knows he can win.  He feels, all the time, sick with rage, but until he proves willing to make stands even when the odds are against him, the Iron Spear’s time for him will be limited.  

Contracts: 

        Shade & Spirit I.  If he’s going to see ghosts around all the time anyway, he might as well be able to talk to them.  They’re only sporadically helpful, but as a skeleton in the closet himself, he has some fellow feeling for them.

        Elements (Fire) I-III.  He brought fire with him out of Faerie, but it’s a difficult thing for him to master, foreign to his seeming despite sometimes feeling as if it’s nestled in his very bones.  

        Fleeting Summer I-II.  Dabi’s much at home with wrath, and very willing to shape it to his own ends.  Whether or not he sticks around for them, he likes starting fights.  

        Punishing Summer I.  An odd branch of Summer magic, but one that he feels has some promise for him.  Compared to the more straightforwardly righteous Contract of Eternal Summer, this feels harsher, longer-burning, and that sings to him in ways he finds very appealing.

Mr. Compress

Quote: “If we’re going to break the law, why shouldn’t we do it in style?”

Type: Larcenist Fairest.  A simple stage magician of modest fame once upon a time, right up until he was offered a promising and lucrative gig by a stranger who thought he deserved a better stage for his talents.  The stage in this case turned out to be--well, you can guess.  His client (Keeper) wanted things stolen--they seemed to enjoy the taste of things ill-gotten--and there was always some new diamond or painting or antique.  Sako’s time in Faerie (which he came to share with Magne) was like a string of heist films: glamorous and bubbly and thrilling, but the underside was rife with lurid, impossible violence waiting on the slightest error, the stakes always seemed to be climbing, and of course you could never say no…  But one thing you can say for heist films is that they always allot a proper amount of time for planning, and so over time Sako and the others planned their last heist--the one to steal themselves into freedom.  If asked, Sako will tell a dozen different stories about how it went, but the truth is his memories are fuzzy, and the only thing he knows for sure is that he and Magne emerged from the Hedge alone.  

Sako’s a bit disjunctioned in time--many more years have passed in the real world than he spent in Faerie, and he spent a good many years in Faerie.  His fetch washed up in a nursing home in the meantime, riddled with palsy and Alzheimer’s, and though Sako is not by habit or preference a violent man, the sight of it filled him with a primal loathing.  And it’s so easy, in an overcrowded environment, to make a mistake with a dosage…  Sako still has a piece of the detritus left over, just to remind himself of how his story could have ended, and how determined he is to not let such a future come to pass.  

In his mask, Mr. Compress (well, he needed a new stage name) is a handsome, auburn-haired man in his forties who gestures constantly, frequently toying with a short white cane, and speaks in refined if somewhat dated language in a rich, theatrical voice.  He always dresses a bit more nicely than he needs to, preferring clothes with hidden pockets and long sleeves, and is rarely without a hat to flourish.  His mien mostly serves to heighten all of that--he becomes impossibly graceful and compelling, his voice catching the ear like a song, and his clothes are revealed to be Hedgespun, the feather in his hat belonging to no bird an ornithologist could name, the buttons on his coat and the stone accentuating his bolo tie shifting slowly in pattern and shade the longer you watch, and the cane almost certainly a low-level token of some kind.  The most eye-catching thing, though, is the mask--he wears a white mask that always seems to have a different pattern on it, though it never moves while you’re looking directly at it.  He doesn’t seem able to actually remove it all the way, though he can slide it around enough to eat or theatrically squint or blink his eyes (dark and bewitchingly expressive).  If it’s forcefully pulled off, it’s only to reveal another one beneath it--though he’ll complain that it stings and ask you to refrain.  

Court/Mantle: Autumn, the season of fear magic!  Mr. Compress didn’t come out of the Hedge with a particular Court affinity, but he was drawn towards Autumn like a compass needle finding true north.  He’s only a limited interest in fear (though his response to his fetch shows that he has his share of it), but he’s endlessly fascinated by the ins-and-outs of faerie magic.  Trinkets, tokens, pledge-craft--if it’s a clever trick, he’s interested.  His mantle shows as pops and starbursts of light, and frequently as a cool, trailing mist about his feet.  

Contracts: The only person in the group more focused than Toga.

        Separation I-IV.  Escape magic fit for Houdini himself.  If it looks like Compress is locked up or restrained, it’s almost only certainly because he’s allowing himself to be.  

        Forge I-III.  Sleight of hand is even more impressive when you’re using magic!  Extremely convenient for those times when he needs a passable ID or a house key he does not in fact own.

Magne

Quote: “Take it easy, honey.  I’ll handle it.”

Type: Metalflesh Elemental.  Magne was a criminal before she was a changeling, and it was in that capacity that she--like Mr. Compress--fell prey to an offer that should have been too good to be true.  The heist team needed a bit more muscle, is the thing; they were getting caught too often without a good combatant.  And so came Magne, given a sturdier body (that could, incidentally, meld through safe walls when necessary) through processes she only remembers in her nightmares.  An odd thing happened with her, though--what Magne felt the pull of in Faerie was less the element she became and more the stuff of Arcadia itself.  Where her Keeper expected her to become hard as steel, instead she embraced dream conjury; where she was instructed to protect the rest of her band, that protection took the form of healing as often as it did squaring up for a fight.  It’s hard to argue with the results, though--Magne is a fierce and stubborn defender of any group that wins her loyalty.  

Currently in a live-and-let live relationship with her fetch--she feels a bit sorry for the poor creature, and would rather see her find a way to break free of the image she was forged in and make her own path than kill her.  It’s painful to be around her, though, so while Magne’s willing to extend some help from a distance, she would rather the fetch keep her distance.  Time will tell if her fetch--who has her own desires and very much shares Magne’s willingness to bust some heads over them--is prepared to abide by this.  

Magne in mask looks much as she does in canon, though she can afford nicer clothes.  Her preference for butch presentation is unchanged, but the jeans are designer and the shirts elaborate silk prints.  She has a collection of fetching sunglasses for any occasion.  Her mien is a gleaming ochre bronze, flesh hard and smooth, her hair (a bit darker in color than the rest of her) always a bit stiff but, on the other hand, difficult to muss.  Her body is in all ways a more chiselled, more perfected version of the body she went into Arcadia with, which Magne has mixed but overall relieved feelings about.  The flesh-to-metal transition her Keeper forced on her was bad enough; whyever would she trust the Others with gender affirmation?

Court/Mantle: Spring, season of desire growth. Magne’s desire is to never be held down by any sort of repression or expectation forced on her by others (the Others in particular), and this pride drew her strongly to the Antler Crown.  While she doesn’t exhibit the flowing, graceful beauty so prized in women of the Emerald Court, her passion for self-expression and her unstinting support of those fumbling their way towards the same has certainly won her her share of admirers.  Magne’s mantle takes the form of fresh-scented air and pleasant breezes.  She doesn’t leave flowers where she walks, but you can sometimes find ivy where her hands have been.  

        Contracts: 

        Dream I-III.  By leaps and bounds the most talented dream-weaver in the motley, Magne’s oneiromancy is light-hearted and nonjudgmental while her oneiromachy is formidable.  Everyone in the motley can soothe one another’s nightmares, but Magne is the best at it.  She usually has at least one or two dream-task pledges active with mortals, too, so she rarely struggles to keep her glamour reserves--or her wallet--full.  

        Elements (Metal) I.  Magne’s retained only the minimum level of connection with the metal she was forged from; in truth, her body is less important to her than what she does with it.

        Eternal Spring I-III.  Easing fatigue, curing wounds, and even bringing in         a gentle rain--Magne’s deeply in touch with the rejuvenative aspects of her Court.

BONUS TIDBITS:

Shigaraki experienced more deaths in Faerie than any other member of his motley.  After all, you might know the cheat code for unlimited lives, but that doesn’t mean you never die.  And it did feel like death, every time.  Of course, sometimes failure just meant Sensei shaking his head and Being Disappointed.  That still felt a bit like dying too, though.

Over the course of her durance, Toga had more than one knife fight with a cyber hero adventurer hunting through the city’s underbelly looking for a power core.  Also, changeling!Toga is much less murderous than canon!Toga because if she were as murderous as canon!Toga, Clarity loss would rapidly render her unplayable.  

Spinner was pulled into the motley over a planned playdate heist to see how well Shigaraki and Toga could work as a unit with Mr. Compress and Magne.  Being very familiar with heist stories by that time, Sako and Magne decided the group needed one more guy to provide muscle, and as it happened, Shigaraki and Toga lived next door to just such a one.

I have not decided on whether the Todoroki family are a mundane equivalent of the way we see them in canon, all deeply damaged by Endeavor’s ceaseless drive to fulfill his goals by way of his children, or whether they’re actually pretty normal and well-adjusted with the exception of Enji’s one dark secret.  Either way, Natsuo is the only one who has any inkling that there was anything “off” about Touya’s death/disappearance.    He has no inkling of the truth, obviously, but he always felt that Enji didn't react quite the right way to Touya's death, or thought Enji was behaving suspiciously on the night Touya vanished.  

The League’s basic motley pact includes the dreaming pledge, so they frequently take mental voyages into one another’s dreamscapes to clear out the nightmares and indulge in silly, impossible-in-reality lucid dreaming adventures.  The exception is Dabi, who would rather have nightmares than people in his head.  

Mr. Compress doesn’t jokingly call himself an old man anymore because he’s too traumatized by finding out what he’d actually be like in old age.  

Shigaraki, while beginning the story in a fairly ambivalent, uncertain place, eventually finds his way towards a goal of helping to free loyalists--from their hopeless circumstances, from their learned helplessness, from their starstruck adoration.  He finds this goal over the course of his late-game encounters with Kurogiri, Gigantomachia, and Re-Destro, and it is through helping them that he’s finally able to begin to process his own feelings of attachment and affection towards his Keeper.  It may well be that the fetch of Shimura Tenko is Shigaraki’s final boss.

[nicolewrites]

We Stand, Fate-Tested - IV

I'm still stupid stressed over school and procrastinating so I'm not sure when I'll get part 5 out, but here's part 4 for the meantime.

Rating: T+ Genre: Mystery, Friendship, Romance Characters: [Byleth/My Unit, Dimitri B.], [Byleth/My Unit, Claude R.] Words: 5,458

There's something odd about the 8th of the Ethereal Moon. / Marriage is work too.

AO3 | FFN

IV - Of Memories I’ve Lost

Garreg Mach University - 8 Ethereal Moon, 732 AU

Byleth was glad when Red Wolf Moon was over. She had been drowning in her own work as well as the marking for the class she was TAing. Because Seteth was teaching three different classes on top of his own research, he had delegated the marking of the term papers for the class to Byleth.

It really shouldn’t have been such a big deal, but Byleth had struggled to get them done on time thanks to her progressing research and managing the applications and interviews for the expedition. The start date for the project was rapidly approaching and, as of the previous week, they had finally managed to choose the undergrads would be a part of the team and had been rapidly working with them to try to get their skills up to snuff before they were handling real artifacts.

Even so, the marking was finally done and the essays sat in three towering stacks on her desk, just begging for a breeze to sweep by and knock them all over. Byleth was currently planning the first of several workshops that would teach practical skills to the undergrads. She kept glancing at the door of her office, waiting for the first students to come by to pick up their essays and she nearly spelt Lysithea’s name wrong on a sheet before she managed to shake away her distraction.

She looked down at the sheet in front of her and the list of eight names that she and Seteth had painstakingly chosen. There were the natural fits in Lysithea and Linhardt from Byleth’s tutorial as well as Ingrid, who had had an exceptionally well-written application. From Seteth’s tutorial there were also Annette Dominic and Ignatz Victor. The last three students were Claude, Dimitri, and Edelgard. Byleth had a sneaking suspicion that their applications had been all written together and that they had all been Claude’s idea.

Nonetheless, they had their team of eight: Lysithea, Linhardt, Ingrid, Annette, Ignatz, Claude, Dimitri, and Edelgard. Their applications had all been excellent and Byleth had been pleased with the level of enthusiasm exhibited by a group of undergraduate students, especially since technically none of them were actually Archaeology majors.

Someone knocked on the door and Byleth looked up, placing her pen down. Annette stood in the doorway, smiling shyly, as another girl stood just behind her. Byleth beckoned Annette in and the redhead came in, biting her lip and looking a bit skittish.

“Here for your essay?” Byleth asked.

Annette nodded. “I know your office hours haven’t technically started, but I wanted to beat the rush.”

Byleth waved her off. “No worries at all.” She flipped through the first few essays in her first stack until she found Annette’s essay and she pulled it out. She handed it over and Annette peeked at the grade before beaming and making her way out of the room.

After that, there was a steady stream of students that came by her office to pick up their term papers as well as to ask questions about the discussions planned for tutorial in the coming weeks. Byleth had handed back nearly all of the essays when her office hours officially ended and she started putting the rest of them away in the filing cabinet she kept for assignments and paperwork for the class.

“I hope we’re not too late, Teach,” a familiar voice called out just as she was closing the cabinet drawer.

Byleth looked over her shoulder and saw Claude standing in front of her desk, flanked by Lorenz and Hilda, the two friends who were in Byleth’s tutorial with him. She shook her head and pulled the drawer back open, fishing out the trio’s essays.

“I wanted to come right at the start at the hour, but these idiots said we should come at the end,” Lorenz said as Byleth retrieved the papers. It wasn’t surprising to her.

Hilda snorted a laugh. “We would have been late getting here if it wasn’t for me, so I’d watch your tone, Lorenz,” she snipped in reply.

Byleth handed Lorenz and Hilda their essays and was about to hand Claude’s back when he cleared his throat.

“I actually had a question about the essay, Teach,” he said before he’d even taken the paper out of her hand.

Byleth blinked in surprise and her grip lingered on Claude’s assignment for just long enough that it was awkward before he swept it out of her grip and sat in the chair on the other side of her desk.

“I’ll catch up with you guys back at the house,” Claude said to Hilda and Lorenz. His friends just shrugged and made their way out of the room, bickering about punctuality as they went.

Byleth watched them leave before she turned her gaze back to Claude and raised an eyebrow. “Did you really have a question about the essay?”

Claude grinned. “Just wanted to know what you thought of my topic.” He tapped the circled 88 on the front of the page and winked at her. “Apparently I picked a good one.”

Byleth shook her head. After three months she was getting to know Claude’s antics well enough. He was criminally light-hearted, but wicked smart. He liked to tease and poke fun, but he was serious about his work when it came down to it. Since the first time they’d spoken at Anna’s about Byleth’s research Claude had made it a habit to try and stop in on her office hours as often as possible so that they could talk about whatever research Byleth was currently doing.

It was a slightly weird relationship given that Byleth was the TA, but the semester was almost over and she somehow knew that just because she wasn’t seeing him in tutorial once a week, it didn’t mean he was going to stop coming around. And she didn’t really want him to stop. It was nice to talk about her passion to someone who was just as interested as she was.

“What do you want, Claude?” she prompted again.

He smirked. “Come on, Teach, tell me what’s new this week,” he urged.

Byleth rolled her eyes, but she turned her laptop towards him so that he could see what she was working on. “I’ve been doing stuff for Seteth all week so I haven’t really had any big breakthroughs since we last spoke.”

Claude scanned the screen of her computer curiously. “Do we have a start date yet?”

��Guardian Moon 17,” Byleth said. “You can pass that along to the others if you’d like. I’ll be sending out the email this weekend. We have our first training session next Wednesday night for everyone.”

“Wednesday?” Claude repeated, looking a bit perplexed.

“Problem?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Maybe. I have archery on Wednesdays, and so does Ignatz, but if this is later in the evening we should be fine.”

Byleth leaned forward a bit and gave Claude her own sly grin. “Maybe I’ll just bring everyone to watch so we can put the pressure on you.”

He shrugged. “If you want to see me shoot flawlessly, be my guest.”

Byleth rolled her eyes and turned her computer back to face her. She tapped out a few more notes on the page before glancing back at Claude. “Did you actually need something?” she asked curiously.

“I came here to give you something,” he admitted.

Byleth was surprised, but Claude reached into his bag and pulled out a folded brochure. He unfolded it so she could see the front and passed it to her. It was in a mix of Almyran and Fódlani, but Byleth recognized the logo on the front of it.

She ran a fingernail over the looping script and glanced at Claude, furrowing her brow. “The Royal Almyran Gallery? This is in Almyra, you know,” Byleth murmured. “They’re not exactly jumping at the idea of a Fódlani researcher entering their royal galleries.”

“You’re hitting all the same deadends as everyone else who has ever studied the Guardian of Order,” Claude pointed out. “There’s no way that you’re going to make progress unless you try to tackle something that other people haven’t attempted to dig into.”

“Like the underside of Garreg Mach in the old monastery ruins, not in a foreign national gallery,” Byleth said. She placed the brochure down and shook her head. “I can’t exactly just get up and go to Almyra right now anyways.”

“What about over the winter break?” Claude asked. “The galleries aren’t busy during the holidays. Almyrans usually spend the holidays completely absorbed in family and celebration.”

Byleth spun the paper underneath her fingers. She had to admit, the idea was intriguing. Almyra had done a much better job of preserving artifacts from the Unification Era since they hadn’t suffered the Scorch of Garreg Mach or the riots in Fhirdiad that had followed it. Even so, the National Board of History in Fódlan had seen the Almyran collection and deemed it unimportant to Fódlan’s own history. She wasn’t sure exactly what the Royal Gallery could offer her, but she also didn’t know what it might have that could be useful for her work, even if it was all just speculation.

“You will consider it, won’t you?” Claude asked. “I’ll be in Almyra over the winter break if you did want to check it out.”

Byleth finally relented, picking up the brochure and sliding it into one of the drawers on her desk. “I’ll consider it,” she agreed.

Claude grinned. “Excellent. Now, tell me about that crazy dream you had last night.”

Byleth’s eyebrows shot up. She had said nothing of her weird dream to Claude. She had very briefly discussed it with Seteth in private a few hours ago, but she had said nothing to her student about it. She hadn’t the faintest idea about how he knew she had even had a weird dream.

“I had to see Dr. Cichol about a history assignment and I just happened to overhear part of your conversation,” Claude confessed when she had been stunned into silence. “I only know that there was a dream and that apparently it was weird.”

Byleth frowned. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business. That was a private conversation, Claude.”

He shrugged, looking only mildly apologetic. “You don’t want to get my opinion on it at all?”

Byleth leaned away from him, pursing her lips. “And why would I want your opinion?”

Claude tilted his head and looked at her. “I don’t know. For the same reason you haven’t kicked my ass for asking you a million questions about your thesis and for being probably the worst student in your tutorial section?”

“The worst student?”

“Well, most people aren’t on a first-name basis outside of tutorial with a TA, are they?”

“That’s just because I can’t get rid of you,” she teased.

He smiled at her again and the glint in his green eyes made her chest hurt suddenly. The satisfied look on his face combined with the mischievous gleam was pulling at something in her memory and she couldn’t help but remember the weird dream from the previous night. She dropped her gaze to the desk and took a deep breath.

“You’re sure that we’d never met before this year, right? We’d never had a class together or chatted at a party?” Byleth asked. The teasing humour had disappeared from her voice and Claude seemed to pick up on it.

His brow furrowed and he dropped his amused pretenses. “No, I’m pretty sure I would have remembered that,” he said.

Byleth bit her lip and nodded. “Have you ever felt like everything you ever did was leading you in circles?”

Claude looked genuinely interested now, his playfulness suppressed by his curiosity. “At times, maybe,” he said. “Something about this is familiar to you?”

Byleth opened the top drawer of her desk and pulled out a notebook. She flipped through it to the page where she had made the sketch that morning, after her dream. She turned the page to face Claude and let him pick it up to study it closer.

“It’s a throne,” he noted. “It looks like it’s Old Civilization.”

“It’s pre-Unification,” Byleth agreed. “That symbol,” she pointed to the roughly sketched swirl on the back of it, “makes me think it would be religious. Seteth says he doesn’t recognize it and I haven’t found any record of it in the old monastery’s records.”

“Maybe it’s in the capital somewhere?” Claude asked. “Dimitri and Edelgard have spent a lot more time in Fhirdiad than I have, so I can’t be certain.”

“It’s not in Fhirdiad,” Byleth said. “I don’t know why I know that, but I know it’s not there. I dreamt of a large, empty stone chamber for three days in a row and then last night I dreamt of the same chamber, but this throne was there.” She paused, recalling the longing that had coursed through her when she had seen it for the first time in her dream. “I wanted to sit on it,” she murmured.

Claude looked puzzled and he slid the notebook back to her. “Honestly, while I’m not one to subscribe to all the spirit stuff, it seems to me like you have real memories of it that have been surfacing slowly.”

Byleth closed the book and slid it back into the drawer. She brushed her thumb over the handle on the drawer and frowned. “That’s honestly what I’ve been kind of afraid of,” she admitted.

- ~ -

It was late in the evening by the time Byleth had finally finished up everything she had wanted to do on campus. The sun had set almost two hours ago and the dim, artificial yellow lighting across campus provided only enough illumination to make every student or staff that passed by her a looming shadow.

She pulled her coat tighter around her stomach and burrowed her nose into the scarf she was wearing. Byleth had just left the part of campus where the Archaeology and History departments had their offices and she was headed through the main part of the campus when she spotted a lone figure standing on the quad in front of one of the dean’s offices.

Her curiosity got the better of her, and she slowly approached the figure, squinting through the gloom to see if she recognized them. To her surprise, as the figure tilted their head up, illuminating their features, Byleth recognized Dimitri as he stared solemnly at the building. Almost immediately she stopped walking, pausing around 30 feet away from him. She wanted to approach him and check in on him, but at the same time, the moment felt strangely private and she wanted to respect that.

Fortunately, she didn’t have to make a decision, as Dimitri turned and spotted her himself. His shoulders straightened and he tucked his hands into his pockets. He strode towards her and Byleth noted the polite smile that he was wearing. It looked forced, but practiced at the same time and Byleth felt her heart clench. It was a smile achingly similar to the one she had worn after her father had died.

“Hello Byleth,” Dimitri greeted politely once he had gotten close enough.

“Hello Dimitri,” she replied cordially. “What are you doing here so late?”

He laughed lightly. “Well, we are getting into the end of term and I’ve got a few last assignments to turn in by the end of this week. I had been working in the library, but they’re closed now, so I’m headed home.”

He was lying. She wasn’t sure exactly how she knew, but maybe it was simply the fact that she knew Dimitri was a business student and the business library was at the south end of campus, not near the centre where they currently stood in the cold night air.

Byleth frowned. “Is everything alright, Dimitri?” she pressed carefully.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, smiling ruefully, but much more genuinely. “You are very perceptive,” he admitted. “Everything is alright though,” he assured. “I’ve just been feeling a bit off today. It’s like there’s something about this date, in particular, that is an itch I can’t scratch. I’d been trying to follow that feeling and I ended up here.”

Byleth glanced at the offices around the quad. This building was one of the oldest on campus and was part of the restored old monastery. Above each of the three main offices was a beautiful stone carving. From left to right they depicted a deer, a lion, and an eagle. They were the symbols of the three student-life houses that Claude had told her about, and if her research was true, they were also the symbols of the old Officer’s Academy that had been run out of the monastery.

“I get the feeling,” Byleth admitted. “It’s like there’s this string in your chest that’s yanking you along through memories that don’t feel like yours.”

“Yes,” Dimitri agreed. “I never spend much time on this part of campus, but this,” he gestured to the carving of the lion over their heads, “it feels so strangely familiar.”

“Maybe it’s the Blue Lions of old speaking through you,” Byleth suggested lightly and Dimitri laughed softly.

“I should like to think I would know if that were the case.”

He fell silent after a moment and Byleth studied him. He looked tired, but a lot less solemn than he had when she had first found him.

“I’m sorry about your parents,” Byleth said before she could stop herself.

Dimitri’s shoulders tensed, but then they relaxed and he sighed. “Yes, it seems like everyone is.”

Byleth reached out to touch his arm and he looked towards her. There was a deep, resonating sadness to the blue of his eyes and before she could stop herself, her hand had found its way to land on his cheek. Dimitri, to his credit, didn’t react to the boldness of the gesture and Byleth gently retracted her touch.

“I lost my father too,” she admitted quietly. “The circumstances were different, but I’m still sorry you had to go through that.”

Dimitri nodded. “I’ve been well supported, thankfully. I’m sorry for your loss as well. Unlike what people say, it doesn’t really get any easier.”

Byleth smiled sadly. “No, it doesn’t.”

A sharp, cool wind blew around them and Byleth bristled in her coat, shivering. She nearly stepped closer to Dimitri on an instinctual level but managed to catch herself before she could. She stepped away instead, leaving a respectable distance between them. They were familiar enough, but the intimacy in the moment they had shared was almost alarming to her and she needed a clear head.

“Get home safe, Dimitri,” Byleth said gently. She tugged her coat more tightly around herself and gave him one last reassuring smile. “I’ll see you in tutorial.”

- ~ - ~ - ~ -

Garreg Mach Monastery - 12 Lone Moon, 1 AU

“The church is really coming along, Your Grace,” Claude complimented. There was a teasing lilt to his voice when he said her title and Byleth elbowed him.

“Just because you don’t believe in the goddess, doesn’t mean nobody else does,” she scolded lightly.

Claude shrugged. “You’re the one who invited the foreign national to visit,” he pointed out.

Byleth sighed. He was right, but she didn’t want to admit it. She walked away from him instead, heading toward the Reception Hall of the monastery, assuming he would follow. He did so, after a few paces, and they walked silently back through the bustling halls of the monastery. Monks and knights would pause in their step to nod or bow to Byleth and she offered them the best smiles she could before they were passing her by and moving on with their tasks.

“It feels different around here now, doesn’t it?” Byleth asked as she led Claude into the Reception Hall.

“Maybe that’s just because we’ve all changed so much. It has been six years since we started our year at the Officer’s Academy. Cyril tells me that you’re reopening the academy in the Great Tree Moon of next year,” Claude commented.

Byleth laughed. “To say we’ve changed is a bit of an understatement. Fódlan has changed a lot too.”

“Definitely,” Claude agreed. “I can’t take anything away from you or His Majesty on that front. You two have done a wonderful job.”

Byleth paused in her step and studied him. “You could have helped us,” she reminded.

Claude laughed. “Yeah, but then I wouldn’t get to be here as foreign royalty. I would just be another Lord under His Majesty and the Almyrans would still be pounding at Fódlan’s Locket.”

Byleth sighed. “I suppose that’s true. What is it they have taken to calling you, the King of Dawn?”

He shrugged. “My father’s rule was stagnating. I suppose I have merely supplied a breath of fresh air for Almyrans. The new partnership with Fódlan has helped me curry more favour than I would like to admit.”

Before Byleth could reply, a familiar, booming voice pulled their attention across the Reception Hall: “Claude! Byleth!”

Byleth smiled at the familiar voice as she watched her husband approach them. He was smiling broadly as he took in Byleth and Claude. He paused to embrace Claude briefly before turning to Byleth and pressing a warm kiss against her cheek in greeting. Dimitri tried to pull away, but Byleth gripped his collar and planted a soft kiss on his lips before he could withdraw fully.

Claude laughed at her. “I see you two are the same as always.”

Dimitri slid one of his hands into hers as he smiled. “We try to be. How have you been Claude? We haven’t seen you in person since the Ethereal Moon.”

Byleth felt a pulse of unexpected bitterness rise in her chest and she bit down her retort. She didn’t want to snap at Dimitri when he was visiting the monastery, especially with how infrequent his visits had been recently. She didn’t want to complain, especially in front of Claude, about how she had spent almost as much time with Claude as she had with her husband since they’d been married.

Of course, it was a burden they had to bear. Byleth had a responsibility to the church at the monastery and Dimitri had a responsibility to the nation in Fhirdiad, so they spent much of their time separated by distance and work. It wasn’t exactly the married life she had imagined for them.

Claude and Dimitri had moved onto discussing some political motion that was in the works in Fhirdiad by the time Byleth managed to refocus on the conversation and she squeezed Dimitri’s hand. She stole a glance at him and noticed that he looked even more tired than he had when he had arrived three days prior.

“You must exclude me, Claude, my beloved, but I have something I have to do before dinner this evening. I will see you both then,” Dimitri said. He smiled at Claude and leaned down to give Byleth another brief kiss before he pulled his hand out of hers and was slipping away.

Byleth couldn’t manage to disguise her disappointment fast enough as she caught Claude giving her a curious look as Dimitri walked away. She quickly frowned and turned so Claude was only looking at her profile, hoping to dissuade whatever conversation he wanted to have about the interaction.

“This is different from the last time I was here,” Claude noted quietly. “His Kingliness is usually much better at picking up your signals. He was always better at it than anyone else, so it’s odd to see him so blind to it today.”

Byleth’s frown deepened. “We both have our own duties,” she said firmly. “There is no break for us in any of this.”

“No,” Claude agreed, “but surely a man can take a break to shower his wife with praises?”

Byleth sighed. “I don’t know why you think you’re qualified to speak on someone else’s relationship,” she pointed out sternly.

“Consider this the concern of a friend then,” he supplied. “Teach, I have never met a man more enamoured with a woman than Dimitri is with you. But, if that’s what all of your interactions have been like recently, something is wrong.”

Byleth sighed. “We got through the war,” she said simply. “We will get through this.”

She walked away from Claude then, not really caring if he followed her. It wasn’t that she was angry with him for his words, more frustrated that her own emotions regarding hers and Dimitri’s relationship had been so easy for him to discern. She was also frustrated that he had been right in the first place in noting the disconnect between the spouses. Besides their short, snipped conversations in the evenings and mornings, Byleth honestly couldn’t remember the last time she and Dimitri had had a real, personal conversation and it did make her nervous.

Without intending to, Byleth headed for the training grounds. It was an old habit she had of working out stress through fighting, something that had developed during her years growing up as a mercenary. The grounds were thankfully empty and Claude seemed to have picked up on her annoyance and had wisely chosen not to follow her.

Byleth set up a line of training dummies and then a line of magic targets on the far side of the hall. She forewent the training weapons, opting to work on her brawling skills. She picked the softest of the dummies and started with a few slow jabs before she worked into a faster, harder-hitting set that made her hands throb minorly. The pain was therapeutic, though. It reminded her that she was feeling and that helped, especially on days like this.

Once she had worn out her brawling drill, she chose to start in on her magic skills. Byleth called a crackling Thunder spell between her fingers and she turned to fire it at the targets she had set up, only to have to jerk her hand sharply left and blast lightning into the corner of the room, where it crackled and smoked with a bang.

Felix, who stood directly in front of her targets, seemed unphased as he strode towards her. Byleth folded her arms and frowned at him.

“I could have killed you,” she pointed out.

“I’ve taken a Thunder from you before,” he noted. “I’ve taken your spells at full-strength before, not when they were powered by your frustrations.”

Byleth blinked at him. “My frustrations?” she echoed.

“Don’t cast when you’re overly emotional,” he said. “You were the one who taught me that after I nearly burned Sylvain’s arm off. There’s nothing more dangerous to a magic-user than losing control.”

She had indeed taught both the Gautier and Fraldarius heirs the importance of control when they had been learning magic under her tutelage during their academy days and during the war. Byleth uncrossed her arms and brushed some of her hair out of her face.

“What are you doing here, Felix? I didn’t know you would be coming here with Dimitri.”

“Technically I’m not here with him,” Felix admitted. “We’re actually here to see Mercedes.”

“We?” Byleth questioned.

Felix’s lips pressed together and Byleth answered her own question as the pieces clicked in her mind. She smiled.

“Congratulations, Felix,” she commended.

He nodded. “Thank you. Annette will find you to tell you officially before we leave.”

“Are you just here to avoid all the celebratory talks then?” Byleth questioned, gesturing to the training hall.

“I was looking for you, actually,” Felix corrected.

Byleth frowned again, her optimism draining away. “Why?”

“Because I heard you and Dimitri got into it yesterday,” he admitted.

It was true. At the meeting with Claude to discuss foreign treaties the day before, Dimitri had pressed Byleth and the church for resources they couldn’t supply and she had, in return, pressed him for legislation that wasn’t supported by a majority of his advisors. It had definitely been one of their uglier discussions, especially since their wedding and doubly so since they had a spectator in Claude.

“We handled it,” Byleth said curtly, which was also true, but only thanks to Claude stepping in as a mediator.

“You did,” Felix pointed out. “Dimitri has been beating himself up about it all day. That’s why he’s been avoiding you.”

“Avoiding me?” she said.

“You haven’t noticed? How whenever you two run into each other, he miraculously has some meeting or something to get to shortly after you see each other? How he seemed to have more to say to your mutual friend than he did to his wife earlier in the Reception Hall?”

Byleth pressed her lips together. “I didn’t notice,” she admitted softly.

Felix exhaled. “I know. That’s why I’m here. Because, as much as he’d like to pretend otherwise, Dimitri will never be the same as he was before the war. He’ll never be that perfect, princely figure again and he’ll certainly never be able to see himself in the same way again. Professor, he loves you very much so he’ll do his best to make sure you never notice, but he’s still struggling.”

Byleth twisted her hands together, rubbing her wedding ring almost nervously. “How could I miss that? Shouldn’t I notice things like that?”

Felix reached out and, in a rare move for him, placed his hands on her shoulders. “Professor, he is taking all the precautions to ensure you don’t see what he’s going through. He’s gotten better at hiding things from you since you’ve been here and he’s been in the capital. That’s why we’re here, right now,” he confessed.

Something clicked in her head. “Dedue wrote to Claude to invite him, didn’t he? And you and Ingrid and Sylvain and the others made sure that Dimitri would be here where we wouldn’t be able to hide from each other.”

Felix didn’t answer her question directly, but the answer glimmered in his amber eyes. “You take care of each other. You bring out the best in each other.” He dropped his hands from her shoulders and stepped back. “Don’t lose that, Professor. There’s a lot riding on that trust and love going forward.”

Felix took another step back and then he was fully retreating, heading out of the training hall. The door closed behind him and Byleth was alone. She felt anchored to the spot and afraid. She was scared of being blind enough to miss the self-hatred that roiled in Dimitri. She had always been able to see it before and if she was losing that gift, she didn’t know what she was going to do.

She loved him, that much was certain, and obviously their friends cared about them both a great deal too.

Byleth immediately left the training hall and jogged through the hallways of the monastery. She hadn’t done much running in the halls since her ascension and there was something oddly freeing in the action. She felt a smile creeping up on her face as she dodged around people and made for the Cardinal’s Room on the second floor where Dimitri was supposed to be in a meeting.

She opened the door and immediately saw her husband speaking with a few Alliance nobles. The conversations halted when she appeared in the doorway and Dimitri rose from his seat, surprise etching across his face.

“Your Majesty,” Byleth said politely, “I need to speak with you. It’s urgent.”

Dimitri nodded politely to the nobles he had been conversing with and followed her out of the room into the hall. Byleth led him ten paces away from the door before she pivoted sharply to face him. She reached up and grasped his face, pulling him down for an urgent kiss. He reciprocated after a brief moment of surprise and Byleth pulled away, staring Dimitri in his good eye.

“I love you,” she said firmly. “I will never be angry with you for fighting for your country. I am proud of you and there is no one I would rather do any of this with,” she said, letting her emotions flow through her words.

Dimitri stared at her face for a long moment before he kissed her again, more firmly than she had kissed him, and he let the kiss linger for a second longer. He inhaled shakily and pressed their foreheads together. Byleth rocked onto her tiptoes to relieve the strain on his neck due to their height difference and Dimitri smiled gently.

“Okay,” he breathed out.

“I love you,” she said again.

“I love you too,” he replied.

[queenfredegund]

The Quest for Fredegund [1]

So folks, welcome to a long post that I would dedicate to the wonderfull regina Fredegund. I’m aware that there is already a large part of fiction and biographies which have been made on her (at least in french, not sure for the english part), but all of that is actually quite of lame and/or false on many assumptions. Truth is that Fredegund is a member of a large group of misogynistic historical characters and that she is often made used for depicting some weird fantasies for historians.

She is the evil pagan witch, the murderous, the bloodthirsty woman who wraps men around her finger and made use of violence to reach her goals. She is also a voracious sexual monster, using lovers again and again. She kills, she burns, she steals, and even makes her stepdaughter gang-raped for her own revenge. 

She is the DEVIL!

Drawing by Alessia de Vincenzi for the comics Fredegund, the Bloodthirsty

But, you know what, folks? I came to become very cautious with years: when a man tells me “here, this is a vicious woman” and when an mid-50yo lady takes the man’s statement litteraly and explains to me why that same woman was vicious, gives her reasons to do that and finally claims that she was right to do all these things (you know, the murders, the gang-rape...), I kinda want to search on my own and see by my eyes only.

So, let’s go on a quest, the Quest for Fredegund. All my sources will be referenced, with links when I can (for example, I have the Fredegar’s Chronica only in scans on my PC). Most of the original texts are also on the MGH, the Monumenta Germaniae Historica.

Here are some of the sources where you can find informations on her:

Gregorius Turonensis, Decem Libri Historiarum

Fredegar, Chronica

Venantius Fortunatus, Carmina

So... let’s begin!

What do we really know about Fredegund?

Truth is, not so much after all. At least, not so much about her personal background. For people who are not yet accustomed with her: 

She is the third chief wife of King (but I prefer using the word “rex”) Chilperich I, one of the three leaders of the Gauls in the second half of the 6th century.

Her birth is unknown, and she died in 597 as the mother of Chilperich’s successor, Chlothacar II.

She gave birth to 6 children in total, including 5 sons, which means she’s actually one of the reginae who had the most children known during the period. Their names are:

Chlodobert († 580)

Rigund († ?)

Samson († 577)

Dagobert († 580)

Theodorich († 583)

Chlothacar II († 629)

There is actually no representation of her and no description of her looks, but people assume very often that she was a beauty and made her a bloody sex-symbol of the Early Middle Ages (yikes...)

When does Fredegund appear for the first time?

The first mention of Fredegund that we have is actually a short mention in Gregorius of Tours’ chronicle, Decem Libri Historiarum (aka History of the Franks). 

In DLH, IV, 28 (x), Gregorius described how in 567 Chilperich got engaged to Galswintha, daughter of Athanagild and, in order to gain her hand, had to dismiss all his “ uxores / wives”.

King Chilperic sent to ask for the hand of Galswinth, the sister of Brunhild, although he already had a number of wives. He told the messengers to say that he promised to dismiss all the others, if only he were considered worthy of marrying a King’s daughter of a rank equal to his own.

Still no mention of Fredegund at that moment, just that Chilperich had a certain amont of unnamed women around him. The only who appeared of the whole is Audovera, mother of 4 children, including 3 sons, Theodebert, Merovech and Chlodovech.

Chilperic had three sons by one of his earlier consorts, Audovera: these were Theudebert, about whom I have told you already, Merovech and Clovis.

The first time she is named is later on the text: at that moment, Chilperich got married with Galswintha, but their relationship tend to became difficult months passing, and Gregorius implied that it was because of the presence of Fredegund.

A great quarrel soon ensued between the two of them, however, because he also loved Fredegund, whom he had married before he married Galswinth.

Fredegund is so introduced as a precedent concubine/wife of the rex (depend of the people and how they see her actually). None is said about her life before that year 567/568, apart that Chilperich seems really infatuated to her.

So, was Fredegund really a slave?

Technically, yes and no. Yes, because we have some hints that could lead us to think of it, and no because finally it’s just hints and not reals informations.

First mention is: in DLH, IX, 34 (x), Fredegund had according to Gregorius of Tours a big quarrel with her daughter Rigund and as they were arguing against each other, Rigund threathened her mother to “servitio redeberit / revert to her original rank of serving-woman”

Rigunth, Chilperic’s daughter, was always attacking her mother (Fredegund), and saying that she herself was the real mistress, whereas her mother ought to revert to her original rank of serving-woman. She would often insult her mother to her face, and they frequently exchanged slaps and punches. 

Second mention is actually a mention in a later-one abbey’s chronicle, called The Chronicle of Saint-Vaast of Arras (x), in which the author says that Fredegund was born in this place (Angicourt, in the Oise department) and that her parents belong to the villa, and so were perhaps slaves. 

Haec ex territorio Belvacensi nata est de familia atque sancti Vedasti villa Vunguscurht, quam, ut praetulimus, Lotharius rex dederat nostro patrono.

But that mention should be taken with precaution as the chronicle was written during the 11th century and as religious chronicles are often full of false stories and approximations: the meaning behind the redaction is not to write facts, but to justify of the longevity of a foundation and of its links with well-known protectors, and the most ancient, the better for that! 

Third mention: in the Liber Historiae Francorum, a major compilation of the Decem Libri Historiae, the Fredegar’s Chronica and some made-up characters and facts, Fredegund is introduced as “ex familia infima” (LHF, 31), and, most important, as the maid of Audovera, first chief wife of Chilperich.

That’s in fact all of we know. It is also true that Fredegund did not seem to have any significant relatives, father, brother, even uncle... but it was also the same for several others reginae, so I’m not convinced that it could means something about her social background.

Now, if we talk about fiction and theories, I really like the possibility that she may have been a slave, and if you ask me to write a fictional story about her, my favorite theory would be that she was a weaver slave, some kind of skilled embroiderer girl before becoming a concubine of the rex, but it’s just FICTION, not FACTS.

Last thing about that matter, scholars often think down of her background because of her name: 

“Fredegund” is composed of the terms Fried / “peace” | Gund / “war”, meaning litteraly “war and peace”, which sounds funny to scholars.

Still during the 6th century, Franks had the habit to create names for children by mixing parts of the parents’ names (e.g. in Rigund : Rich from ChilpeRICH and Gund from FredeGUND), so the theory is that she was born from low-rank, perhaps slaves, parents who were not aware of the subtility of such creation and so created a strange name for their daughter... (I guess these scholars never heard of a name like “North West”, that must be it...)

But, was not Fredegund Audovera’s maid/servant?

Most historians and writers indeed say that Fredegund was actually Audovera’s maid before her own elevation as mother of Chilperich’s children and chief wife. But as we had seen it before (DLH, IV, 28), none of the sources say that: Fredegund is only said to be "married [to Chilperich] before he married Galswinth” and Audovera is designated as “one of his earlier consorts” even not the only one.

So where does that story come from? Once again, from the Liber Historiae Francorum... In LHF, 31, the unnamed author tells a story about how Audovera have been evicted from the royal palace, based only on Fredegund’s trickery. Alone and pregnant while her husband was away at war, Audovera just had given birth to a little girl that she named Childesinda, or for some autors Basina. 

On Fredegund’s suggestion, a baptism was prepared before the return of the father, but at the beginning of the ceremony, the lady who would have been the godmother of the princess was still missing. She so persuaded her mistress Audovera to hold herself her infant daughter, whithout saying to her that by doing that, she would become de facto the godmother of her own daughter.  However, a canon law strictly forbidding marriage between parents and godparents, Audovera was convicted of incest and kicked from the palace. 

The problem with this whole story is not only that it is a complete invention, written long time after the real events, but most importantly, that the taboo forbidding marriages with godparents was in fact officially voted in the Council in Trullo, held in 692, which means 130 years after Fredegund and Audovera possible hostility! But because this is an undeniable dramatic storyline, writers and historians are really unwilling to abandon it and continue to spread it...

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3]

[lesbiankiliel]

ao3 tag game!

my darling @hobbitunderthemountain tagged me thanks kat ilysm!!

AO3 Name: Skyrissian (ErinacchiLove) Fandoms: atm mainly star wars but also the hobbit and occasionally some other fandoms Number of Fics: 44 published on ao3, my total fic count in my laptop fic folder is much higher (it has every fic I’ve written since I was 12)

1. Fic you spent the most time on: technically amnâs but it’s been on hiatus since 2018 (started it in 2015) so the return of hope in reality I guess (started it in january 2018)

2. Fic you spent the least time on: A Cold on which I spent a grand total of three hours or so

3. Longest fic: The Return of Hope at 90k published, total word count will probably be around 95k

4. Shortest fic: Three in the morning (192 words)

5. Most hits: Amnâs (9586 hits as we speak)

6. Most kudos: The One in the Waiting Room (465 kudos)

7. Most comment threads: The Return of Hope on the grounds that it’s my longest ongoing fic (24 chapters atm and 162 comment threads)

8. Fave fic you wrote: once again The Return of Hope, I think everything in it has worked out the way I wanted, even when I didn’t know I didn’t want it to work out the way it did (like I did not expect to include the ghost crew when I started it but there they are and I love them). I also really love Another Kind of Hope, as I think I managed to do the whole twin swap thing well - but also the scoundrel swap! (hey from now on if we swap han and lando’s roles can it be called scoundrel swap?)

9. Fic you want to rewrite/expand on:

oh so many!

Another Kind of Hope practically demands a sequel since it’s episode iv and I have started figuring out how episode v would work out

The Return of Hope already has a bunch of side-fics but I’m also tempted to write a one-shot on what happened after the end

Far Longer Than Forever aka my very first Hobbit fic, I’d love to rewrite it to include some stuff I originally planned but didn’t write in it for some reason (and add lesbian kiliel in)

The most unexpected and wonderful things aka my star wars pride parade fic that also has a sequel and I’m thinking of writing a third part this year that would be centered around lando coming out as genderfluid

10. Share a bit of a WIP or share a story idea you’re planning: this is from this years star wars big bang (I don’t wanna spoil the end of the return of hope lol)

Hosnian Prime did turn out to be a formality for the most part, just as Lando had predicted. The newly elected president, Chaelisa Yongwon, was a cheerful young woman, and a stark contrast to Senator Xiono. She was already expecting them when they landed, and instantly said that all the official business had been taken care of already.

     “I thought you might want to enjoy our annual Star Festival rather than be stuck in negotiations,” President Yongwon said, “so I handled all the agreements and all you need to do is give them a read and sign them. There’s really nothing new in them that Senator Xiono hasn’t already brought up in the Senate.”

     Lando and Luke glanced at each other. So instead of getting stuck at work they got to have a small vacation already? Well, they were not going to mind that at all.

     “Thank you, Madam President,” Lando answered. “I’ll be sure to do that immediately so it won’t take time from the festivities.”

     President Yongwon waved her hand in a dismissive manner. “Please, just call me Chaelisa in private, both of you,” she looked at Luke, who seemed surprised to be acknowledged like this. “Being called Madam President makes me feel like I’m at least fifty.”

     Lando chuckled and promised to do so. Chaelisa smiled and asked if they wanted accommodations in the presidential palace for their stay. The festival was going to last the whole week, and staying somewhere more spacious than the consular ship, as nice as it was, sounded like a good idea, so Lando and Luke agreed.

     “Not gonna lie,” Luke said when they had been escorted to the apartment where they would be staying for the week, “this is not what I expected at all.”

     “Me neither,” Lando answered as he took off his cape and settled it into the closet next to the entrance hall. “But I’m not gonna complain. Getting to go to a festival is infinitely more fun than any negotiations.”

      “I thought it was a ball, not a festival, though.”

      Lando rubbed his chin and checked his datapad. “Apparently there is a ball on the last day of the festival. So that’s more or less our only absolute obligation. Otherwise… I think we’re free to do what we want.”

     Luke smiled and after taking his boots off headed inside the apartment. “Bodyguard duty number one, always check the premises!” he announced, making Lando laugh. Like something bad really could happen to them there. The security here was tight; there wasn’t much of a chance anything got past the radar.

     “Uh, Lando?” Luke called from somewhere within the apartment. “We have a problem.”

     And of course everything was too good to be true.

     Lando found Luke at what he assumed was the bedroom doorway. “What’s wrong?”

     Luke sighed and shook his head. “There’s only one bed.”

wonder what will happen? xD

tagging @crystalfoxfics @missaristocrat @vtforpedro @elinanori and any writer who wants to do this!

[tearbos]

UPLIFTED

I originally posted this on my LJ back in 2011. I corrected a few editorial issues but refrained from making any major changes. :) This was written as a humorous fic that ended up becoming more angsty, but it still shouldn’t be taken too seriously.

This was written for Criminal Minds Kink Meme IV prompt: Reid is captured by an unsub (it's a cliche for a reason) who uses his victims for experiments. When the team finds him they expect the worst, but Reid seems relatively unharmed except for the fact that he now has wings.

Spoilers/Warnings: None, really.

The screech of tires rubbing against slick asphalt filled the early morning air as the large, black SUVs jerked to a sudden stop. The calm silence was broken by thundering footsteps as four agents hurriedly unloaded from the vehicle and converged on the small office building followed closely by a SWAT team and half a dozen DC police officers. Once the perimeter was surrounded, the team members quietly entered the front door and efficiently cleared the lobby area. SWAT and several officers came in as spread out to finish securing the rest of the building. The air was stale and dust covered every surface; the decor of the entryway was easily a decade old and gave no indication of the brilliant yet completely delusional scientist being searched for inside. The FBI agents began following the officers down a dingy, dimly lit hallway when a loud commotion echoed from the end of the corridor. They ran ahead to fine SWAT team members dragging a disheveled, protesting Dr. Brians from a small office.

“Wait,” he screamed angrily, “I’m almost finished! I just need to see if they work properly. That is the final step. Please!”

Hotch stormed over to the distraught scientist and demanded, “Where is he?”

The doctor looked up mournfully and pleaded, “Please?”

“Where?” Hotch insisted.

“In the lab,” Dr. Brians muttered bitterly.

The team members wasted no time, leaving the handling of their former Unsub to the police. As the hallway behind them had been cleared, and Dr. Brians was found in the only office to the left, the agents began checking all of the doors to their right. They found only empty rooms until they reached the last door. It was firmly locked and secured with an alarm, but a few blows with the SWAT team’s battering ram easily remedied that problem.

The space was pitch black, which made their flashlight beams reflect off of glass jars and metal tables around the room. No light sources were turned on in the front, so the team cautiously spread out as they slowly moved forward. The air was thick with tension and the quiet sounds of moving bodies. A switch was finally found near the back, and the florescent lighting crackled to life. The agents took in their surroundings in disgust. The room was a macabre cross between an Unsub’s trophy room and a horror movie mad scientist’s lab. Along the left wall were glass jars filled with ‘experiments’-both animal and human it seemed- in various stages of whatever processes to which they were subjected. The middle of the room held autopsy tables modified with leather restraints and smeared with dried substances. The right side was lined with shelves stuffed with books and a large desk piled high with lab reports, blueprints, and numerous other papers. There was no sign of the object of their search, though, until someone noticed that the back of the room was still dark behind large glass windows and a solid steel door. Applying force to the door and shining light into the glass both had no success. However, it took the considerable intimidation abilities of Hotch, Rossi, and Morgan less than three minutes to pry the security code from Dr. Brians.

Once the door was finally open and the room lit, the team stared in horror at the sight in front of them. Their missing team member was perched facing them on a pedestal about a foot above the ground. He was unconscious and supported under the arms by leather straps suspended from the ceiling. His head hung forward and his messy hair covered his face. A concerning amount of blood had formed a puddle around his feet and next to the pedestal. The blood appeared to have originated from his upper back or shoulders and flowed downward from there. After several moments of shock, the team jumped into action. Emily began searching the rooms for controls or keys to the straps and Rossi and Morgan grabbed Reid to hold him upright so Hotch could check Reid’s vitals.

“I have a strong pulse,” Hotch announced, and each agent let out a sigh of relief. While Rossi and Morgan worked on unlocking the straps with the keys Emily located across the room, Hotch moved around to check Reid’s injuries. What he found was something he never would have imagined-ever.

“What the Hell!”

His exclamation caught the attention of the others who shifted closer to see what had Hotch so surprised. They all had a similar reaction when they saw Reid’s back. Attached to his shoulder blades was a pair of feathered wings-actual, full-sized wings with real feathers that were cream with intricate detailing. They were folded up to lie flat against his back, but appeared to be nearly three feet in length and about a foot wide, not necessarily large but certainly not natural. A cursory examination didn’t reveal how they were connected to Reid, but the skin around the area was inflamed red and had obviously bled at some point. Silence filled the room until Emily finally spoke up.

“Are…these what Dr. Brians wanted to see working? He said something about a project…”

“It’s probably safe to assume this is what he meant,” Rossi replied.

“What the hell should we do now,” Morgan asked?

“Let’s get him down and to a hospital for starters, then we can figure out what to do from there,” Hotch decided. “Prentiss, let the paramedics know the situation and make sure they know to take him to the base hospital. We have a better chance of discretion there.”

“On it,” she stated as she pulled out her radio to inform the medics of the issues. With a combined effort the remaining agents managed to get Reid down from his stand and lying face down on the floor with his face propped against Morgan’s legs. They all studied the wings silently until help arrived.

-------------------

Gathered anxiously in Reid’s hospital room, the team members crowded around the x-ray images displayed on the lighted board while Dr. Alison described what they were seeing. The base structure of the wings was steel, and Dr. Brians had fused and wielded the metal to bones and reconfigured tendons until it was almost a part of Reid’s skeletal system. He had even tediously connected the nerves, and by all appearances the wings should be fully functional. It was painstaking work, and quite the scientific achievement, yet the whole idea was sick and horrifying. Perhaps the ‘test subject’ being an unwilling member of their team skewed the perspective somewhat.

After consultations with orthopedists, physical therapists, and a plastic surgeon, Dr. Alison confidently reassure the team that the wings could be removed with little or no permanent damage to Reid’s original arms and shoulders. The surgery, however, would have to wait a minimum of two weeks so that the current incisions and additions to Reid’s body could heal properly before undergoing further trauma. Reid would remain under careful observation during that time so that the doctor could monitor for infections or complications. The agents knew Reid would be unhappy with the delay and amount of time in the hospital, but the risk of serious injury was too great to avoid it. They would just have to do their best to support him until the time for the ‘wingectomy’ –as it was jokingly referred to.

Other than the obvious changes, Reid managed to escape his captivity without any major harm being done to his person. During the five days Reid was in his care, Dr. Brians had fed him and allowed him to rest when lapses in the experiment came around. The details were diligently logged in records in the lab, which was fortunate as Reid wasn’t awake to tell them and Dr. Brians was too busy mourning the loss of his project to cooperate. Neither the logs nor the physical exam by Dr. Alison revealed any further experimentation, and the team was relieved that Reid had only one serious physical issue to cope with. Only time would tell if he suffered any psychological distress from the ordeal, and Dr. Brians’ notes made no mention of Reid’s mental state during the process. The team members collectively decided to prepare for the worst possible scenario just in case.

Nearly ten hours later as the BAU team-now including Garcia and JJ- began to grow restless, Reid finally stirred. It took a few minutes of furious blinking and quiet groaning for him to become conscious, and another moment of panic before his full awareness returned. Reid smiled weakly at the sight of all of his team gathered around him with varying looks of concern.

“Hi guys,” he croaked out. “I guess I’m now officially a freak.” He spoke teasingly but the others hurried to reassure him and inform him that things could be repaired. Then, Emily posed the question that was on everyone’s mind, “Do they actually work, Reid?”

He gave a rueful grin and replied, “I don’t know yet. They hurt too much to try them before.”

“They don’t hurt now, do they,” Garcia asked worriedly?

“Not at the moment, but I imagine that one of these IVs contains some form of pain managing substance.”

“Yes, NSAIDs only,” Hotch responded.

“Good. Thanks.” Reid looked thoughtful for a moment. He held out a hand to Morgan. “Help me sit up.”

“What? Why?” Morgan took the offered hand but made no move to comply with Reid’s request.

“No time like the thoroughly medicated present to find out the answer. At least I’m already in the hospital if something goes wrong.

“I don’t think that’s…” Hotch began, but Rossi interrupted him.

“I’ll get Dr. Alison. He can supervise.” After Rossi left, Morgan carefully pulled Reid into a sitting position and JJ promptly arranged pillows to support him.

“Can you move your arms ok?” Emily inquired.

Reid tested both limbs successfully. “Interesting. They don’t move with my arms automatically. I must have to control them consciously,” Reid mused.

“I wonder why he wanted to do this at all,” Morgan stated.

“Well, an interest in flight is almost an intrinsic part of human nature. Studies dating as far back as the early…”

Reid’s mini-lecture was cut off by the arrival of Dr. Alison and Rossi. “Dr. Reid, it’s nice to meet you officially. I’m Dr. Alison and I’m in charge of your case.” He extended his hand and Reid shook it easily- one preliminary test passed.

“Nice to meet you too doctor. Are you a specialist in the surgical removal of unusual object from the body?”

“I guess you could put it that way,” Dr. Alison replied with a grin. “I must say that this will be my most unusual case to date.”

“I should hope so,” Morgan muttered to the amusement of the others.

“Do you feel up to doing a simple assessment or two?”

“Sure,” Reid answered. “What do you need me to do?”

“Well, I see that you can move your arms independently of the wings, so let’s test your range of motion.” Reid easily followed the instructions until Dr. Alison was satisfied. Finally he requested, “If you can, Dr. Reid, I want you to try to move the wings. However, you can only do so if there isn’t a lot of pain. I don’t want you to be injured any further.”

Reid focused his efforts on obeying the doctor’s orders. Slowly, the wings unfolded to their full extent. The rounded tops came just past Reid’s shoulders while the pointed tips hung over the edges of the bed. No one spoke as they took in what they were witnessing.

Dr. Alison broke the silence after a long pause. “Dr. Reid, would you mind if took a few pictures to include in your medical records and to give to the plastic surgeon?”

Reid shrugged, the wings lifting slightly as he did so. “As long as they don’t end up on the internet or the local news.”

“No worries there,” Dr. Alison reassured with a chuckle. He removed a digital camera from his lab coat and took a few panoramic shots before moving closer to photograph the areas around the incisions. After the photos he had Reid repeat the test while he palpated the areas around the shoulders and upper back, noting the way the movements affected the wings. “Fascinating,” he murmured under his breath when he felt how seamlessly both sets of appendages were connected. “This really is mind blowing work.”

“Why me though? Why do I attract the crazies,” Reid bemoaned?

The others laughed and Morgan ruffled his hair. “I don’t know Pretty Boy; maybe you give off a scent or something, some strange brand of Crazy Juice.”

“Ew,” JJ, Emily and Reid all exclaimed simultaneously.

“This is kind of amazing,” Garcia chimed in.

“Why is that, Baby Girl?”

“Because I’ve called Reid ‘Boy Wonder’ for years and now he really does have a super power!”

The room exploded with laughter while Reid crossed his arms and pouted.

“What’s the matter, Spence,” JJ asked once she regained her breath?

“I doubt that I could actually fly with them.” He seemed disappointed at the thought.

“Why not,” Rossi asked?

“They’re kind of small,” he replied. “I’m not sure they could lift my body weight.”

“Well, you don’t really weigh a whole lot Reid,” Emily retorted.

“I’m heavier than I look,” Reid stated indignantly. “Besides, it’s relative to the amount of weight they can support. They don’t seem very strong.”

“I don’t know, Reid. They are solid steel, and Dr. Brians was very detailed and exacting with his plans. I’d imagine he took your height and weight into account when he designed them….What?” Hotch asked when he realized the others were staring at him.

“Sir, your inner geek is showing,” Garcia told him. Hotch smiled at that while the rest nearly collapsed in amusement.

“I do have my moments,” Hotch replied, causing the merriment to continue.

Once things calmed down again, Dr. Alison briefly explained the plans for the next few weeks to Reid before excusing himself. Reid, surprisingly, didn’t protest his hospital stay; instead he seemed relieved to deal with this situation in the closed environment rather than in the real world. The team discussed visitation and work schedules for the next weeks while Hotch called in three weeks (minimum) medical leave for Reid as well as a few days off for the rest of them during and immediately after the surgery. Things were figured out as much as possible when JJ stood and approached the bed.

“Can I touch them Spence,” she asked hesitantly? Reid was startled by the questions but quickly acquiesced. She reached out and gently ran her hand along the edge before fingering the tip. “They’re really soft,” she stated as she continued stroking the downy feathers.

“Do they bother you, Baby Cakes,” Garcia wondered as she joined JJ.

“Bother me how? The fact that they are there bothers me, and remembering how they got there really bothers me,” he answered with a slightly bitter tone.

“Well, I meant bother as in: Are they heavy? Do they itch or annoy you? I can see why you would be bothered in different ways too though Sweetie.”

“Sorry Garcia,” he said softly. “I barely notice them unless they move, and I can’t feel you touching them.”

“Speaking of what happened, Reid, you will need to have a psych eval once you recover from the surgery,” Hotch told him. “I can have Dr. Benson come here to see you if you want to talk to him sooner.”

“Really, Hotch, I’m fine. There’s no need for an eval.”

“Its standard procedure and it isn’t up for discussion. Of course you can talk to any of us if you want to, but I do need a formal record as well.”

“I know,” Reid sighed in defeat.

“Do you want to tell us about it,” Morgan asked?

“What’s to tell? You read Dr. Brians’ notes so you what happened already.”

“That isn’t a complete picture and you know that,” Rossi said. “We don’t know what happened from your perspective. You were missing for five days, Reid; you can’t tell us you aren’t affected by that.”

Reid remained quiet for a few minutes before softly asking, “It was really five days?”

“Yes. Why,” Hotch answered?

“It…didn’t seem like that long, but I was pretty out of it for some of the time.”

“He drugged you,” Emily asked?

“Yeah, I’m not sure with what though- a sedative or paralytic or something. I was awake most of the time but not completely aware. I didn’t have as much pain while he was working as I did when he was done.”

“Did you know what he was doing,” Garcia wondered?

“Yes. He explained his plan in great detail and documented each step in the process.”

“How do you feel about this,” Hotch inquired?

“Conflicted,” he replied slowly. “I’m always interested in scientific advances and experimentation. I participated in several studies during college, but those were all voluntary and I was aware of the risks involved. I’m not happy that this was done without my consent, but the scientist in me is curious about how this ends up.”

“You could always delay the surgery and find out,” Rossi quipped lightly. Reid shot him a LOOK.

“Yeah, sure, that‘s a good idea. I’m weird enough already without adding this to it.”

“You aren’t weird,” JJ retorted at the same time Garcia blurted out, “I think they’re kind of cool.”

“Thanks, JJ, and of course you would say that Garcia,” he responded.

“You know I love you no matter what my gorgeous gray matter,” she said with a smile. Reid returned it with a grin of his own.

Just then, a nurse came in to inform them that visiting hours were finished for the evening. The team told Reid goodbye and promised to visit again in the morning-with coffee as stipulated by Reid.

---------------------------

Four days later, Morgan and Hotch helped Reid conceal his new appendages beneath his corduroy jacket as much as possible. Because there was no sign of infection, and Reid was healing so well, Dr. Alison released him to go home until the day of the ‘wingectomy’. By this time Reid was eager to get to his own apartment; hiding out in the hospital got boring very quickly. Once he was clothed the three agents signed Reid out and headed to his place. Reid fully expected to find the rest of his team members waiting for his arrival, but he didn’t anticipate a Fairy-themed welcome home party.

The ladies all had sets of sparkly wings in bright colors, and Rossi even had a set of large, hideously cheap, plastic wings strapped to his back-he didn’t seem to happy about the situation though.

“Welcome Home,” they all shouted as he walked in and Garcia bounced over and tossed a handful of glitter on his head. She kissed him cheerily on both cheeks to leave bright red lip prints behind. Reid couldn’t help but grin at the (weird) thoughtfulness of his friends. Despite their efforts, though, he still felt a little self-conscious as Hotch helped him remove his jacket. He wore his usual button-up shirt strategically modified in the back with a pair of scissors to accommodate his temporary limbs. Feeling a bit stiff, Reid cracked his neck, rolled his shoulders, and stretched his wings out to their full extent. Looking around he saw all the eyes in the room watching him in awe. He smiled nervously at them.

“You’ve all seen them before,” he stated.

“We know, but it takes some getting used to,” Emily replied as she tugged him further into the area. He gaped in surprise as he took in the bright tissue paper and shiny streamers decorating his living room.

“This is what I imagine the inside of a fairy house would look like,” Garcia commented as he slowly spun to take it all in.

“Garcia, I’m not a fairy,” he protested half-halfheartedly, knowing already that arguing with here was a losing battle.

“Well honey bun, I’m not sure you qualify for angel status so this is the next best thing!” She grinned cheekily and winked at him. He couldn’t help but smile in agreement. Meanwhile JJ and Emily fitted Hotch and Morgan with their own sets of plastic wings, and Morgan strutted over to Garcia to show them off.

“What about me, Baby Girl? Do I make angel status?”

“Oh my gorgeous chocolate god, you will always be a heavenly vision in my eyes!”

Morgan smirked and wrapped an arm around her. “That’s good enough for me.”

“How do you feel, Reid,” Rossi asked from the corner?

“Not too bad. They’re feeling kind of stiff right now but they don’t hurt anymore.”

“That’s good. Here, have a drink,” he replied as he indicated the counter between the living room and the kitchen. “There is ‘fairy punch’, whatever that is, or I brought a good scotch if you prefer.”

“Scotch is good…” Reid started, but a large, flashing glass of pink punch with a tasseled straw in it suddenly appeared in front of his face.

“You have to at least try the ‘fairy punch’,” JJ started.

“Plus I need a picture of you holding it,” Garcia added as she held up her camera. Reid groaned but didn’t bother protesting. He obediently posed for the required photos before retreating to the safety of the couch were Rossi and Hotch sat nursing their drinks.

“So, what other festivities are planned for this fairy wonderland party,” Morgan wondered.

“Not much,” Emily answered. “Pizza should be here soon, and we just figured on watching a movie or something.”

“I wanted to watch Peter Pan in honor of the occasion but I was outvoted,” Garcia broke in with a pout.

“Thank goodness,” Hotch murmured, to the amusement of the others.

“I brought board games too,” JJ chimed in, “ones that Spence can’t dominate everybody in.”

“Do those exist,” Morgan mumbled?

“Yes, Morgan, I don’t know everything!”

“I have ‘Loaded Questions’, ‘Pictionary’, and ‘Life’,” JJ interrupted before an argument could begin.

“Let’s play ‘Loaded Questions’,” Reid decided. The others agreed and gathered around the coffee table.

----------------------

Three days later Reid strolled cautiously into the bullpen, unsure if anyone could tell something was different about him. Emily wasn’t at her desk so he headed towards Morgan’s office. A few agents stopped him along the way to welcome him back and wish him well. He took comfort in the fact that none acted as if there was anything unusual in front of them. He knocked lightly on Morgan’s open door and grinned when the agent smiled up at him in surprise.

“Reid! It’s good to see you, my man, but what are you doing here? You barely started your medical leave.”

“I know, but I was getting bored wandering around at home. Besides, I’m not really sick or injured so I can at least do paperwork or something until the surgery.”

Morgan looked thoughtful. “I should tell you to clear it with Hotch first, but I could use a hand. As long as you hang out in here with the door closed you should be fine. I will claim ignorance if Hotch catches you.”

“Deal,” Reid happily agreed. “I will be very sneaky, but you know he will figure out that I helped you once you turn these in.”

“That’s true, but as long as he doesn’t catch you doing them I should be safe.” Morgan handed him a stack of files and cleared a section of desk for him to work on.

Reid worked in Morgan’s office for nearly two hours before he called Emily in the bullpen and recruited her to be his look out while he went to the break room for coffee and a trip to the bathroom. She gladly complied, and Reid brought her and Morgan coffee as a thank you. He would have made it the whole day without getting caught if Emily hadn’t gotten stuck on a phone call around 3:30 and failed to warn Reid of Hotch going to Morgan’s office. Morgan was in with Garcia checking on missing information from a case file and Reid was huddled over his corner of Morgan’s desk engrossed in an autopsy report when Hotch knocked lightly on the partially open door before entering.

“Morgan when you get a chance can you…” he trailed off upon seeing Reid-looking up at him in surprise-rather than the person he expected. “What are you doing here? You are supposed to be on medical leave,” Hotch stated pointedly.

“I, um, just came by to help for awhile. I’m fine, Hotch, really. There’s no reason why I can’t do paperwork.”

Hotch studied him before deciding to just let the issue go. “I don’t want to see or hear of you doing anything strenuous Reid. You know what Dr. Alison said about infection and tissue damage; he wants you to take it easy before the surgery. Paperwork only.” His tone made it clear that no arguments would be accepted.

“Yes, sir,” Reid responded gratefully.

Hotch handed him a thick file. “I was going to have Morgan work on this, but since you are here you can do it instead.”

“No problem.”

Hotch turned to leave, but he paused and said, “You can work at your desk now if you want instead of hiding in here.” He left without waiting for a reply.

Reid finished the day in Morgan’s office despite Hotch’s approval; both of them were glad for the company on an otherwise boring work day, and they didn’t get to spend much time together unless they were on a case now that Morgan had his own office.

Garcia declared it to be ‘Team Dinner Night’ so they all gathered at Reid’s apartment again, this time with Greek take-out. The evening was fun and relaxed as the agents talked and laughed together. Once the food was gone, Reid got everyone’s attention.

“Guys, I’m ready to try an experiment.” The identical looks of concern and confusion amused him greatly. “I’ve done some calculations and I believe that the wings will be able to support my weight for a short flight.”

“Really? That’s so great,” Garcia exclaimed. “I can’t wait to see this!”

“How short is a ‘short flight’,” Rossi inquired?

“Approximately three minutes, could be as much as four or as few as one-and-a-half depending on wind conditions.”

“So, where are we conducting this experiment,” Emily wanted to know?

“I was thinking the roof…”

The room exploded with protests.

“No way man!”

“Not a chance, Reid!”

“You are not jumping off of the roof!”

He held up his hand to regain control of the conversation. “I’m not planning on jumping off the roof,” he insisted, “just jumping around it some.”

“Why the roof Spence,” JJ asked?

“I determined that I could get the most ideal wind and space combination there.”

“Ok, we can do this. I do insist that you will be connected to a repel line first,” Hotch declared.

“Oh. That’s a good idea. I guess we can try this tomorrow then.” His tone was dejected, and both his arms and wings slumped in defeat.

“No, we can do it now. I have a kit in the truck.”

“Why do you have that, Hotch,” Morgan wondered?

“In SWAT you learn to prepare for anything. Some habits are hard to break I suppose,” he replied with a shrug.

“Ok, let’s go then. Aaron, grab the supplies and meet us on the roof.” Rossi took Reid’s arm and pulled him toward the door. The others quickly followed, Garcia pausing to pick up her camera.

An hour later the team trudged back into Reid’s apartment somewhat disheartened. Reid had managed to get a decent amount of lift, but he lacked the control to keep himself airborne for more than 30 seconds or so at a time. They had tried several different maneuvers, but they were all met with limited success.

“If I had a more time to practice…” Reid sighed wearily as he plopped down on his couch. “I’m sure I could figure it out in a couple of days.”

“I bet you could, Boy Wonder, but is it worth the effort of constantly cleaning up things you break or knock over because you aren’t adjusted to the wingspan?” Garcia questioned. She bounced down next to him and stroked his feathers soothingly.

“I don’t know. I’m finally starting to get used to them.”

“You do realize that you can keep them as long as you want to,” Morgan pointed out. “The surgery can be rescheduled.”

“That’s true, but the longer I put it off the long it takes to get my life back to normal. I will have to be laid up for at least a week regardless; postponing the surgery won’t avoid the downtime.”

“Reid, sweetie…” Garcia began carefully, “do…you actually want to have them removed?” Reid, along with the others, looked at her in total shock. “We all just assumed that you’d want them gone ASAP, and you thought the same thing at first. Now that you’ve had time to adjust and think, you could have changed your mind and that’s perfectly ok.”

“I can’t keep them! How will I work or…or do anything? I just…it wouldn’t be logical,” Reid said decidedly.

“There are always was to work around things, Reid. You were at the office all day today with no problem.” Hotch sat on the coffee table facing him and looked Reid in the eyes. “It is ok if you want to keep them-for a few days or indefinitely. The choice is yours and you shouldn’t be pressured into making it. At least consider your options; you won’t ever get this opportunity again.”

Reid swallowed forcefully and met Hotch’s gaze. “Thanks. I think I’ve already decided, but I will think about it a little more. I am learning to work around them and, scientifically, they are fascinating. I’ve continued to keep Dr. Brians’ logs just to have records. This really is the study of a lifetime and I’d hate to leave it unfinished.”

“Plus, plus, I still think they’re kind of sexy, and you have to take at least one shirtless pic with them for me before you get them removed,” Garcia enthused. Reid flushed bright red but nodded his consent to her demands.

“That would be pretty cool,” he admitted begrudgingly.

“Oh! I could play with lighting and color tones and even some costuming!”

“Let’s not get carried away, PG,” Emily warned.

“So it’s settled, then,” Rossi declared. “Reid will do some thinking tomorrow while Penelope does the photo shoot. That should help with the decision-making process!”

“I’ll say,” Reid groaned while the others laughed at his predicament.

-------------------------

The following evening, the team members convened in the conference room to view Garcia’s picture presentation and to hear Reid’s decision. Everyone was thoroughly impressed with her work featuring black and white, sepia tone, and different backgrounds and props. She’d somehow even managed to convince Reid to accessorize for a few- in one he had a sparkly boa, in another, Mardi Gras beads, and in others various hats and scarves. He had, however, steadfastly refused the plastic halo Garcia somehow obtained-much to her disappointment.

Finally, Rossi asked the question on everyone’s mind, “So Reid, what’s the verdict? Are we spending next week camping out in a waiting room or giving flying lessons?”

Reid smiled and looked around at each person. “I called Dr. Alison and discussed the options with him. He didn’t see any harm that could come from postponing, so we rescheduled for one month with the option to make it sooner if I decide I want to do that. As a scientist, I just can’t imagine not seeing this through.”

His statement was met with approval all around the table.

“I’m glad you decided that, Reid,” Emily stated as she dug through the papers in front of her.

“Why is that?”

“Because I’ve been working on some diagrams to get you better air time.”