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buzzkillchainsaw · 6 months

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If I were to write a WOF book arc - feat. Datura, Sidewinder, Pearl, Tetra & No-one (first draft)

Indulge me for a second. It's gonna be a long second (18 pages in Google docs), so please sit down comfortably and read this if you really have time to spare. Each "book" gets progressively longer. This is your last warning. Enjoy!

Book 1: Ice

Mandatory reading: X

The arc would start with Ice and her backstory, detailing how she grew up hidden away in the Icewing kingdom. How she lost her mother to a clueless Icewing guard and how she discovered and developed her animus powers with Icebreaker's, ahem, help. There would be moments shown between Ice and Icebreaker, as the Queen would sit down with the dragonet and personally train her, making her perform grueling tasks to the point of blood and tears. Afterwards, she would strangely switch up her behavior and act kind and loving so Ice would gravitate towards her again, now that Icebreaker was her only parental figure and source of comfort.

The prologue would end right at the moment where Ice’s glowing blue shackles snapped shut and sealed her magic away, only able to cast spells if the Queen allowed it. The main purpose of this part would be to establish Icebreaker's motives and present her as a threatening antagonist for the arc. It would also paint her as a horrible, irredeemable person (dragon?).

A little time jump later we see Ice still shackled, all alone in her room. Icebreaker and a few Icewings enter and Ice is ordered to give each enough magic to cast one spell. Ice complies, because she doesn’t have much of a choice anyways. The chains stop glowing as her magic is unsealed for just that specific spell. She touches each Icewing, but hesitates at the last one. He looks familiar somehow, but she can’t put her finger on it. His face doesn’t give it away either, he’s staring ahead blankly. She goes through with it and everyone leaves the room. Later, the door suddenly opens again and Ice is surprised to see someone who’s not Icebreaker - it’s the familiar Icewing from before! He introduces himself as Tern, Ice’s father. Ice doesn’t know what to feel. She doesn’t remember him at all because Icebreaker forbade him from seeing Mesa, Ice’s mother, once Ice showed signs of magic - mere weeks after hatching, Tern explains. The only reason he was even allowed to see Ice today to get magic was probably because Icebreaker was so caught up in her extraordinary war plans that she simply forgot about his involvement. He also explains how he even ended up marrying Mesa in the first place. How Icebreaker purposefully made the captive Mesa as miserable as possible and then “accidentally” introduced her to Tern (who was kind and meek and disgustingly weak by Icewing standards, which made him Icebreaker’s least liked son). Tern of course felt bad for Mesa and tried to cheer her up in any way he could - netting Icebreaker’s approval. And so, they started talking, spending time with each other and one thing led to another. Ice is taken aback and disgusted by this story. Knowing that her mere existence was just another one of Icebreaker’s manipulations horrified her, but even more horrifying was Ice’s and Tern’s involvement in her mother’s fate. If they never existed, maybe Mesa would still be alive. Tern points out that Mesa left Ice behind during her escape, but Ice doesn’t want to hear it: Mesa had every right to run from this horrible situation. Tern understands her anger and asks what he can do to redeem himself. “Helping me escape would be a start”, Ice scoffs. Tern complies and uses his ice breath on the chain keeping her tethered to the wall, freezing the chain plate to a point where the metal shatters easily after he smashes it with a rock. However, the chains are still intact, still glowing blue and the spell isn't broken.

They flee together through the halls of the castle, alarmed guards right behind them. In a crucial moment, Tern turns back to distract the guards, allowing his daughter to narrowly escape the palace. Ice runs alone through an unbearably cold storm, her half Sandwing body barely holding itself together in the extreme temperatures. She tries flying, but the winds are too strong and her muscles are too weak from all these years she was stuck in the palace. Her arms are weighed down by the glowing blue chains dragging between her legs as she walks, a constant reminder of what Icebreaker took from her. An Icewing patrol flies above to search for her, so Ice dives into soft snow and lets the storm bury her until she can no longer hear the wing flaps of the soldiers. Only a miracle (or perhaps her Icewing half) keeps her from losing limbs to frostbite. The stars shine above as she slowly reaches a warmer climate. The snow beneath her aching feet turns to rocks, then to sand. In the dead of night, Ice reaches the Sandwing kingdom. Standing on top of a dune, the silhouette of her mother.

Book 2: Datura

Mandatory reading: 1 , 2

The next book would start with Datura's backstory and showcase her relationship with her sister. After Queen Taipan's poisoning, Sidewinder would assume the role as replacement Queen until Taipan "was back to normal". Tensions arise in the Sandwing kingdom over this decision, especially with the threat of Icebreaker's seemingly unstoppable magic army looming over them. Sidewinder and Datura argue, which results in Datura being banished from the Sandwing kingdom. She is thrown out by reluctant guards with only her glasses to protect her from the sun.

She stays in the castle's shadow until the evening, enduring her sister's taunts from above. Sidewinder even throws a piece of Datura's veil from the balcony, hoping to watch her scramble to pick it up and put it on. Datura doesn't move. As the hours pass, Sidewinder begins to regret her decision. She realizes that she has no allies left, everyone in the castle doubts her and even thinks that she poisoned Taipan to get the crown. But just as she's about to look for Datura, she finds that her sister has disappeared along with the setting sun.

In the night, Datura would run into a strange Icewing with familiar black eyes and glowing shackles. After an awkward moment of being mistaken for the Icewing's mother, Datura listens to her story and finds out that Ice is trying to find a way to get rid of the shackles to stop Icebreaker, which makes the Sandwing perk up. She asks Ice to relay exactly what she said when she cast the spell.

"I enchant these unbreakable shackles to prevent any dragon wearing them from casting any spell, unless the Queen allows it."

Datura points out that Ice didn't specify Queen Icebreaker, so theoretically any Queen should be able to give permission. She then, reluctantly, tells Ice about her own situation and agrees to ask Sidewinder, the current "replacement Queen" to try and allow Ice to cast spells. In return, Ice would use her animus powers to heal Taipan. It’s a good plan. They travel to the Sandwing stronghold and Datura infiltrates it, leaving a note for Sidewinder asking her to meet up in one of their secret childhood playing spots. Sidewinder, overjoyed that her sister has returned, immediately leaves to find her. But as soon as Ice and the plan to free her is revealed, Sidewinder feels betrayed and accuses Datura of having become a spy for the Icewings. Giving Ice her magic back would only make the Icewings even stronger, after all. Datura and Ice try to clear up the misunderstanding, but Sidewinder sounds the alarm and the two of them flee.

Ice and Datura conclude that their plan needs some work, as they can't just waltz up to a random Queen and ask her to reactivate an enemy kingdom's magic soldier maker. Maybe an even stronger animus than Ice could just override her spell with their magic and free her? Datura remembers reading about powerful Seawing animus dragons and suggests asking around in the Seawing kingdom for help. Ice thinks that it wouldn't work and wants to try asking other Queens first, really fixated on Datura's interpretation of the spell. Maybe the Rainwings were more laid back and wouldn't care about the possible implications of freeing Ice (and, let's be honest, they'd be too stupid to comprehend the consequences anyway). Datura retorts that they have no idea if asking "a Queen" would even work and not be a huge waste of time again (like the fiasco with Sidewinder, which she blames herself for). And time is the last thing they can waste right now, with Icebreaker's army on the horizon. Ice is convinced, but at least wants to try the Rainwings before throwing in the towel. They begin to journey eastwards.

In a quiet moment, Datura asks Ice what magic feels like and if the rumors about losing your soul are true. Ice doesn't know, she doesn't feel that much different than before. Before Icebreaker and her experiments. Obviously she's terrified of turning into a soulless monster. But she also points out that it was Icebreaker who seemed more and more unhinged with each enchantment she forced Ice to do, as if the damage fell upon her soul, not Ice's. But who knows, really. All that matters now is that Ice gets her magic back and stops Icebreaker before it's too late. Too late for whom? She doesn't elaborate.

Book 3: Pearl

Mandatory reading: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4

The third book would start with Pearl's backstory, her meeting with Tetra and her eventual escape from Lamprey. Her and Tetra want to see the world together, but also find a way to cure Tetra's wing. They swim together until they reach a river that spills into the sea. This would be the only chance for Pearl to see the surface world while staying in the water. Tetra helps Pearl, who isn't a strong swimmer, to swim upstream until they reach a calmer part of the river. It's very difficult, but they manage to do it. Tetra remarks that she could just construct a harness out of grass and vines and fly, pulling Pearl along with her in the water. However, her wing is still badly injured. The two dragonets take a break, frustrated and tired. If only there was an easy fix to this situation ... Tetra suddenly remembers her father telling her a bedtime story about magic dragons called "animi" and suggests finding one to cure her wing. In the same breath, she excitedly says "and maybe they could cure you too, Pearl!" Pearl is taken aback by this, as she hasn't really considered herself in need of "curing". Sure, her inability to breathe air on land has made their journey difficult, but this is the way she was born. Should she really change such an integral part of herself with magic? Still, she nods in feigned excitement. She figures that she could still have time to think and maybe say no if they actually met one of those magic dragons. If.

The two kids continue making their way upstream, dealing with lots of difficulties, but always finding a way to make it work together. Suddenly, they run into two strange dragons. The dragons introduce themselves as Ice and Datura and tell the two kids that they're on the lookout for an animus and a Queen. Tetra excitedly proclaims that her and Pearl need an animus too and Ice reveals that she is one, but currently cannot cast spells until a "Queen" allows her to. Pearl, who cannot speak or understand "air-breather" language, is slightly put off by everyone talking over her and while she has no idea what's going on. Tetra tries her best to translate, but as soon as she flashes the words "They're looking for a Queen" in aquatic, Pearl feels terror and fear course through her body, visions of Lamprey and the cult swirling in her mind. The other dragons notice her trembling, and Datura tries approaching her to calm her down, but without Tetra's translation Pearl assumes that this huge terrifying dragon is trying to capture her. The misunderstanding gets resolved thanks to Tetra's quick thinking - speaking "air-breather" language to Datura and aquatic to Pearl at the same time to explain the situation.

Pearl agrees to try to free Ice, but doesn't tell Tetra about her doubts with the whole "curing Pearl" part. The group gathers and Pearl formally and regally tells Ice that she is allowed to cast spells - in aquatic. Nothing happens. Tetra translates her words into "air-breather" language, but it still doesn't work. The chains remain as they were, Ice is still sealed. Ice is distraught, because this is yet another "Queen" that "didn't work". As soon as Tetra (hesitantly) translates this, Pearl is overcome by anger. What was her stupid role as a "Queen" even for, if it couldn't even help one single dragon? She tells Tetra in aquatic to say the words again in "air-breather", and the little blue dragon complies. Pearl, with all her might, sticks her head far out of the water, breathes in the air and tries to replicate the sounds. However, all that comes out is painful gurgling and choking. Ice, realizing that this poor little dragonet was hurting herself because of Ice's outburst, leaps forward and splashes Pearl with a wave of water, knocking her over and causing her to slip back underwater. Pearl isn't too pleased, but remembers how Tetra had done the same that night on the beach and concludes that Ice just wanted to help. But Pearl also just wanted to help. She feels awful every time she sees Tetra wince and grimace after the slightest movement of her broken wing. She asks what she should do now. The other three dragons are quiet, thinking. Datura perks up and asks the two dragonets if they could look for an animus dragon in the Seawing kingdom, perhaps in the royal court, while her and Ice would look for the Rainwing Queen. Pearl is unsure about going back into the same ocean she just fled from. But she also knows that the entire continent is at stake. After all, from what she heard about Icebreaker, that Icewing was probably planning to freeze the oceans with magic in her pursuit of the “perfect ice kingdom”. And then, Pearl and Tetra would have nowhere to run anyways. Pearl agrees, and Tetra agrees too. Datura continues with her plan: No matter if successful or not, the two parties would meet up again during the upcoming full moon in a safe harbor between the Seawing and Rainwing kingdom. The group agrees and prepares to go to sleep and leave early tomorrow. Pearl finds a calm pocket of water in the river with not too much flow and falls asleep, dreaming of her mother.

Book 4: Tetra

The next book would be in Tetra's point of view as she sits around a small fire with Datura and Ice, on that very same evening. Tetra asks Ice what an animus is actually capable of and if one could even cure Pearl's condition and make her breathe air on land just like all the other Seawings. Ice shrugs and says "Couldn't see why not", but Datura questions whether Pearl actually wants to be "cured" of the way she was born. After all, Datura has a similar problem of being burnt by the sun because of her skin, but she never thought about asking an animus for different skin. Tetra retorts that she wants her own wing to be cured so she can fly again, so why shouldn't Pearl wish to be able to breathe on land? Datura is unsure of what the right answer is, but tells her to ask Pearl before doing anything. Tetra reluctantly agrees, but is still sure that her view of the problem is correct. Or is she? Datura's words had put doubt into her mind.

In the morning, Tetra goes to find Pearl, who appears to be less enthusiastic about following through with the plan than she seemed yesterday. Pearl says that she thought about it and is worried that going to the royal court might be dangerous, because her existence alone would probably be treason in the actual Seawing Queen's eyes. Tetra hurriedly looks for a reason to bring Pearl along anyway and says nobody has to know about Pearl's identity, she can just use another name while they're there. Besides, the Seawings and their Queen wouldn't listen to just one dragon's words, Pearl would be an additional witness and could confirm that Tetra was saying the truth. Even better, Tetra remarks, while they're there, they sleuth around for Pearl's mother. It will be fun! Pearl reluctantly agrees, convinced by Tetra's last argument but still worried about the potential dangers of entering Seawing territory. There is also a lingering fear of running into Lamprey again, but that would be impossible, wouldn't it?

They embark on their way to the Seawing kingdom. Pearl enjoys swimming more and more and feels herself becoming stronger. Tetra is excited for her, but feels weighed down by her doubts about the whole "curing" thing. She is about to finally break down and just ask Pearl directly, when the two kids are suddenly ambushed by a Seawing patrol who are looking for a dragonet that fits Pearl's description. When questioned why, they don't answer. The two kids try swimming away, but Tetra's hurt wing slows her down and Pearl turns around to wait for her, causing both to get captured. They try to deny that the patrol found who they were looking for, until one of the soldiers reveals that the dragonet in question cannot breathe air. One grabs a protesting Tetra while another snatches Pearl and quickly swims upward with her, leaping out of the water and letting her dangle in the air. Tetra watches helplessly while Pearl tries her best to pretend to breathe, but she starts choking quickly while calling for her mother in aquatic. Satisfied, the soldiers dump her back into the water and prepare to make their way back to the palace. Tetra tries to explain why they were here and why finding an animus was extremely important for everyone's safety, but the soldiers tell her to shut up and that a stupid kid has nothing to say worth listening to. Tetra realises that her assumption that anyone would hear them out was childish and not only put Pearl's life in danger, but the entire continent as well.

They arrive at the Seawing palace and are dragged before the Queen. The very same Queen that had sent Tetra's father to his death by drafting him into war. To both Tetra's and Pearl's surprise, a badly injured Lamprey is lounging in the throne room and the Queen asks him if "this" (pointing at Pearl), "is her". Lamprey says yes, with a proudly puffed out chest and malice radiating from his eyes. He is promptly taken away, while some other soldiers drag Pearl along with them. Tetra screams at them to not put Pearl into a cage and to not let Lamprey anywhere near her, but nobody acknowledges her. Finally, the Queen's eyes set on her. Queen Agate of the Seawings asks Tetra who she is, where she came from and what she is doing here with "that", nodding into the direction Pearl was taken away. Tetra answers truthfully, explaining every detail from the first time she met Pearl to the moment the soldiers caught them after they split up with Datura and Ice. The Queen's eyes shift, and she asks for clarification. Datura, the current Sandwing Queen's daughter? Really? Tetra realizes that she had said something of interest and elaborates, embellishing the actual deepness of her friendship with Datura a little. Yes, Datura was banished by Sidewinder, whom everyone considers to be unworthy anyway, so it doesn't really count. Besides, the goal was to get Ice to cure Taipan, and Taipan would surely take Datura's side after seeing the disaster Sidewinder's incompetence caused. And Datura would surely tell her mother about the cause and gain the entire Sandwing kingdom's support. The Queen nods and proclaims that she needs time to think and to send Tetra "somewhere safe" in the meantime. Tetra asks if she would see Pearl again, but again, no one acknowledges her.

She is locked into a barren room with not much inside, so she sits down in front of the door, peeping through the keyhole to try and catch something, anything of interest. Finally some soldiers pass by, and Tetra can briefly see one flashing "...and the traitor will be executed..." at the other in aquatic. She panics and throws herself against the door, claws at the walls and whirls around the room like a tornado – in vain. Tetra finally sits down and cries until the soldiers come back to get her.

She is taken before the Queen again, encountering a familiar sight: Pearl, on the one side of the throne, held down by guards. Lamprey, on the other side, with some guards behind him. The Queen in the middle, staring Tetra right in the eyes. She then turns to Lamprey and tells him to state his case, again.

"My name is Lamprey", he says, "and I have simply been misguided. I was told that this dragonet", he points to Pearl, "was actually the true heir to the throne, so I believed it. I am but a humble servant of the Seawing kingdom and I would hate to see it threatened by a traitor trying to get her grubby fingers all over the throne that rightfully belongs to yours truly, Queen Agate."

"He's lying!", Tetra flashes as brightly as she can, but only earns a sharp look from Queen Agate.

"And so, I watched as this false Queen accumulated a horde of poor, misguided souls and fed them lies about the kingdom. She preyed on the weak-minded, convincing them that staying in the ocean would be the best course of action, just so she could feel better about her unfortunate disability." Lamprey wipes away an invisible tear, underwater. "I only snapped out of her manipulation after she ordered her followers to attack me and I have been nothing but truthful with you ever since, your highness. I gave your soldiers the locations of each site of worship as well as the names of every dragon who participated in this farce. It is truly an unfortunate situation, my Queen, yet I will trust your judgement when it comes to that little traitor."

Silence. "I have made my decision", the Queen says. "Your are correct, Lamprey, the traitor must indeed be dealt with. " She looks at Pearl and flicks her tail, and before anyone can react, one of the Seawing guards raises a dagger and stabs Lamprey in the back. Surprised, he whips around with his mouth wide open, producing a cloud of blood. "You have mistaken my kindness for stupidity, Lamprey," the Queen continues, "You have been, for years, actively gathering an enemy faction seeking to depose me. Yet you seem to think that simply offering me the very same pawns you created would make me forgive and forget your crimes." Lamprey fights against the blade in his flesh and attempts to lunge towards the Queen, but is held back by her soldiers. The Queen comes closer and stares down at him. "I'm old, Lamprey, but not senile. And did you seriously think I wouldn't recognize Sixgill's daughter?" And with that, Lamprey is gone and his limp body is taken away. Pearl and Tetra, stricken by fear and confusion, stand there like statues.

The Queen turns to them and announces her decision: Tetra will to go to the meeting point and take Datura and Ice to Queen Agate, who would not only attempt to allow Ice to use her magic, but also gather the animus dragons in the royal court to break the spell if her word alone wouldn't suffice. Of course, Tetra's hurt wing would also be taken care of. In return, Datura must agree to take over leadership in the Sandwing kingdom, kill Sidewinder if she resists and then enter an alliance with the Seawing kingdom. With Ice freed, the two kingdoms would then lead a joint attack on Icebreaker's forces and amicably split the spoils of war between them. Ice must agree to take away the Icewings' magic and then make a magical swear to never cast magic against any Seawing. To ensure Tetra, Datura and Ice would follow this plan, Pearl would stay with the Seawing Queen until every condition of her pact was fulfilled. Besides, she wouldn't be much of use on the surface anyway. Tetra perks up, remembering her idea to cure Pearl, while Pearl seems to become smaller and smaller. The Queen gives Tetra one of her lavishly engraved and decorated armbands as proof of her goodwill, a huge thing that the small dragonet wears like a necklace. "And since you have personally witnessed what I do to those who betray me", the Queen finishes, "I trust that you will fulfill your end of the bargain swiftly and efficiently." Tetra nods, confused, excited, happy and scared at the same time. She is unsure whether she can trust Queen Agate after what she did to break apart her family, but right now, Pearl and the future of the entire continent is more important. Tetra is allowed to say goodbye to Pearl and promises her to come back soon and "fix everything". Pearl too gives her one of her armbands, this time it perfectly fits around Tetra's wrist. She is then escorted to the shore by Seawing soldiers.

Book 5: No-one

Mandatory reading: X

This book would start out with a very short flashback of No-one being tested with the candle and swapping places with the other hatchling, dooming them to death.

It would then jump forward in time to No-one, now appearing to be a Rainwing, hanging out at the edge of the Rainwing territory. He notices an Icewing wearing glowing shackles and a pale Sandwing accompanying her. Curious about the clearly animus-touched chains, he decides to follow them. He overhears them talking about needing to find the Rainwing Queen. Sensing an opportunity to grant some wishes, he decides to take off his earring to reveal himself as not only a Skywing, but also an animus. His instinct was right: Datura the Sandwing immediately asks him to try and break the spell on the chains with desperation in her voice. The Icewing on the other hand eyes him with distrust. No-one reveals the nature of his contract to grant a wish. Datura and Ice are taken aback, with Ice even saying how "evil" this was. Their loss, No-one says, he's not dependent on them. But they certainly are dependent on him. He asks why they wanted to visit the Rainwing Queen. Begrudgingly they tell him the rest of the story. He watches Datura closely whenever it's Ice's turn to explain and tries copying what she does: furrowing his brows at the bad parts, widening his eyes at the surprising parts and shaking his head whenever Datura does. As soon as they're done explaining, he offers to take them to the Queen in his Rainwing appearance and ask her to break Ice's spell. On one condition: once they realize that the whole ordeal was a waste of time because the spell simply won't be broken, they will make a wish with No-one. They agree, partly because of No-one's perceived confidence that he will be able to break the spell. In reality, he isn't sure at all how this will turn out. He just wants to hang around with Datura some more.

Appearing as a Rainwing, he guides the two dragons through the Rainwing kingdom, curiously watched by a few real Rainwings, but mostly ignored. Once they reach the Queen, Ice and Datura are shocked about the Rainwing custom of just letting anyone who wants to be Queen fulfill the role for a month. Still, they continue with No-one's plan. The current Queen, a spunky young Rainwing named Bloom, greets them (after they've waited in line long enough). No-one tells Bloom that Ice is an animus who will grant her a wish once her magic chains are gone. All Bloom needs to do is tell her that she's allowed to cast spells. Bloom is excited, but quickly finds that she can't decide on a wish: She wants a flower necklace that changes colors to match her scales, she wants an earring that will whisper to her where the best sun spots are, she also wants a magic satchel that will always contain the most delicious fruit whenever she reaches into it. One wish just wouldn't be enough! No-one, knowing Bloom's love for bets and games, tells her that Ice will grant all her wishes, but only on the condition that Bloom wins against Ice, Datura and No-one in a series of Rainwing games. If Bloom loses, she will only get one wish. In a sense, Bloom cannot lose at all, since she will get at least one wish granted in either outcome! Ice gets increasingly more agitated as No-one keeps deciding these things over her head. Bloom thinks for a moment, glances at Ice's chains and Datura's rigid looking Sandwing body and finally agrees. The games, clearly hand picked by Bloom to disadvantage Ice and Datura as much as possible, begin. They try to work together to win, but Ice's chains keep getting caught on every branch while climbing and Datura's wings are just too huge to beat Bloom in a gliding race through the dense rainforest. Only No-one, using his animus magic to cheat, narrowly secures the win. Ice and Datura notice, but decide to keep quiet. Bloom is disappointed but keeps up her end of the bargain, formally announcing that Ice is allowed to cast spells again. It doesn't work. Ice breaks down, unable to accept yet another failure. She screams that it obviously didn't work because Bloom isn't a real Queen since anyone can just become Rainwing Queen for a month. Three moons, why don't they try making a sloth Queen next? Or maybe a chewed-on mango? This angers Bloom and the other Rainwings. “And how come your system is the correct one?”, she naps back. “How is murdering your own family to become Queen any better, huh?” No-one tries to diffuse the situation but ultimately, the trio has to leave the kingdom.

On their way out, Ice tells No-one that she wants to make a wish with him to break the spell. Datura protests, pointing out that No-one will damage her already hurt soul even further, but Ice does not care and wants to go through with it again. Datura interjects again, saying that she will instead make a wish for No-one to heal her poisoned mother, Taipan. Taipan is, for all intents and purposes, a real Queen. No technicalities, no strange Rainwing customs, no nonsense. Ice objects, not wanting Datura to sell her soul for her. After all, Ice is too far gone anyways. Isn't it obvious? After her last outburst that would've gotten them killed if the Rainwings were just a little bit more like the other dragon tribes? Ice's soul is crumbling, so one more enchantment won't make much of a difference. Datura looks to No-one for support, but he has no idea what to say. But for some reason, he really wants Datura to think highly of him, so he agrees with her argument: They will first try Taipan and only then let No-one attempt to break the spell with Ice's appearance. But before any of that, Datura remarks, they need to meet with Tetra and Pearl in their agreed meeting spot. Maybe the two Seawings have found a better solution?

That night, they seek refuge in a small cave. As Datura is fast asleep, Ice approaches No-one and tells him to break the spell right now, no matter the cost. No-one thinks about it. On the one talon, he wants Datura's approval, and Datura said no. On the other talon, he's always up for more appearances. For some reason, another one of his favorites recently disappeared. Besides, Datura doesn't need to know, right? They can just pretend that the magic on the chains...wore off, right? Or maybe Icebreaker had choked to death on a seal bone, and that broke the spell overnight? No-one follows through with Ice's request, touches her with his earring and seals the deal. He then concentrates all his power on the chains, telling them to break, telling them to release the magic they contain, telling them to reverse Ice's spell. The chains continue to shine bright blue, not reacting to anything. No-one is secretly offended that Ice's magic seems to be stronger than his own. Ice then asks him if he can try giving her “new” powers by “making her an animus”, but that doesn’t work as well. Somehow, the chains seem to prevent any magic entering or leaving Ice’s body. Ice seems frustrated, but doesn't have another outburst like in the Rainwing kingdom. Instead, she just looks tired and defeated. Ice and No-one agree to not tell Datura about any of this, for their own reasons.

The next day, they travel towards the meeting spot. No-one asks Datura what it's like to live in the Sandwing kingdom, and to everyone's surprise switches his appearance to a Sandwing. Datura, instead of being impressed or maybe even slightly more interested in No-one, accusingly asks who this is. No-one, realizing he did something bad, switches back to one of his Rainwings and explains that the Sandwing was some random bandit he stumbled upon, a really bad guy who wished for a lot of treasure because he was just so greedy. Datura, more or less convinced, drops the topic. As soon as they reach the meeting spot, they bump into Tetra just as she emerges from the ocean, not with Pearl, but with a group of Seawing soldiers. Ice, Datura and No-one are wary at first, but then Tetra explains the situation. The Seawing soldiers stay back to let them speak in private and Tetra presents the Queen's armband. Datura is worried about Pearl while Ice is angry about yet another decision that was made over her head. "So the Seawing Queen offers to release my magic, just for me to seal myself away again?" Tetra points out that she just needs to promise not to hurt any Seawings, which should be reasonable, but is interrupted by Ice who tells her that she's just a kid who doesn't understand the bigger picture. As the situation tenses up, Ice apologizes and explains how they just suffered another failure with Queen Bloom (leaving out Ice's wish with No-one) and that she's terrified of not being able to stop Icebreaker in time. Tetra seems understanding and assures her that everything will be fine with Queen Agate at their side, leaving out her own reluctance about the whole situation - her father is still on her mind. Maybe she just wants to convince herself.

Datura thinks loudly about how an alliance with the Seawings could help when it comes down to numbers. Icebreaker's army may not be big, but their magic would probably make each Icewing as dangerous as ten Sandwings. Ice agrees, painfully aware of what spells are circulating in the army, having tested most of them herself. There's also the question of Pearl: What will Queen Agate do with her if they don't agree to her conditions? After some more talking, Datura calls over the Seawings and asks them to relay a message to Queen Agate: Datura agrees to join forces with the Seawings, but urgently needs to travel back home to her sick mother first and cannot wait for a meeting with Agate. Ice will accompany her for her own safety and later meet Agate and her soldiers at the same river that Pearl and Tetra used to travel into the continent. There, the Sandwings and the Seawings will form a stand against Icebreaker's army. She leaves out their plan to heal Taipan to try and break the spell without Agate's help. And the Rainwing? Oh, that's just our forest guide. We bribed him with mangoes. He has nothing to do with this. The Seawings agree and leave to pass on the message.

Datura, Ice, No-one and Tetra are left to figure out their next steps. Tetra asks No-one to heal her wing so she wouldn't be a burden to them, and he does under Datura's and Ice's watchful eyes. She then asks if he can somehow show her how Pearl is doing, and he enchants a puddle to do exactly that, still using Tetra's appearance. Pearl seems fine, but she's surrounded by unfamiliar dragons. Tetra then tells him about her plan to heal Pearl from whatever affliction is keeping her from breathing air. Datura raises her concerns again, but is ignored by the overexcited little Seawing. Tetra raises her arm, showing No-one Pearl's armband and asks him if he can enchant it to make Pearl breathe air. He obliges, still appearing as Tetra. As for her final wish, she asks him to magically transport the armband onto Pearl's arm. He does. Looking into the puddle, they see the armband appear on Pearl, and as soon as it does, Pearl's eyes widen, her gills flutter, her little hands shoot up to her throat, bubbles gushing out of her nose and mouth. "What's wrong?", Tetra screams, realizing too late that No-one's spell was literal. No-one panics, bringing back the bracelet onto Tetra's arm. Pearl calms down, seemingly breathing normally again. No-one removes the enchantment from the puddle and reaches for Tetra's armband to do the same, but she backs away from his grasp. "I want to keep it", she says. "You do? After almost killing her with it?", Ice asks. "I want her to have the choice.", Tetra retorts and ends the discussion, not acknowledging that she has already taken that choice away from Pearl.

The group then sits down to figure out a way to get into the Sandwing kingdom, get past Sidewinder and heal Taipan. Tetra, feeling that she has to prove herself after her latest screw-up, offers an idea.

Book 6: Sidewinder

The last book would be from Sidewinder's perspective. A full scale war is about to break out before her doorstep and she hasn't slept properly in weeks. She tries to avoid her fellow Sandwings, because every time one runs into her, she gets barraged with more problems. The soldiers are running out of rations. The scouts still aren't back. The weapon shipment is late. Sidewinder has no idea what to do about that. About any of this. This isn't what she imagined it would be like, to finally be in charge with Datura and her mother out of the picture. Advisors pop up here and there, but their advice boils down to "step down and let an actual adult handle this" sooner or later. Her aunt Hognose, Taipan's younger sister, even insinuates that she's about to challenge Sidewinder (and Taipan, indirectly) for the throne. Taipan would have her head for this, if she knew. But Taipan isn't here right now.

Devastating news hits: a troop of Sandwings Sidewinder sent to patrol the border to the Icewing territory had been wiped out by a mere handful of Icewings. Only one survivor managed to crawl back and relay the horrors: when the Icewings attacked, they brought storm clouds and snow with them, their spears finding their way into Sandwing hearts, their scales effortlessly deflecting poisonous tail barbs as if made of diamond. "They were showing off", the survivor coughs weakly, "They didn't even use their ice breath."

Before Sidewinder can even react, more news hits: Her sister Datura was seen entering the Sandwing territory from the other side and immediately captured. Sidewinder perks up. Datura is back! Datura was smart when it came to things like this. Datura always did her history homework and sometimes stayed up late reading battle reports in the library. Datura will know what to do. Sidewinder orders her soldiers to bring Datura to the stronghold immediately and runs outside to greet her. It's a strange sight: the soldiers are dragging her limp sister forward like she weighs nothing and she doesn't even protest. She's wearing a strange golden armband Sidewinder has never seen before and she's missing her glasses and her veil. Sidewinder almost feels sorry for her and is about to bend down for a hug, until she remembers how their last meeting ended. Betrayal. "How dare you leave me like this!", Sidewinder hisses, but Datura barely acknowledges her. "How dare you leave your kingdom! Do you know how many soldiers we already lost? Do you know how hard it was to keep everything together on my own? And you just left me here to go play with your friend- wait, where is she? Where's that creepy Icewing with the chains?" Datura still doesn't answer. "Answer me, before I drive my stinger into your skull!", Sidewinder screams. Only then does Datura look up and say, with a voice that is not her own, "Wow. You really are a terrible sister."

While Sidewinder is distracted, Ice, Datura, and No-one disguised as a Sandwing sneak into the stronghold to heal Taipan. No-one assumes Datura's form to fulfill her wish and casts a spell on her mother. It seems like it doesn't work at first, but then Taipan opens her eyes. Datura seizes the moment right before her mother freaks out and explains the situation. Taipan, too weak to be angry about any of this, agrees to try and free Ice under a similar condition as Queen Agate's: Ice must make a magic oath to never use her magic against Sandwings (or Seawings) again. Ice retorts that she will take the oath in front of Taipan and Agate once they have defeated Icebreaker, which Taipan is fine with. She royally announces to Ice that she is now free to make spells, right as Sidewinder bursts in with guards. The chains don't react though, Ice's magic is still sealed. Silence falls over the room. Sidewinder stares at the two Daturas, unsure which one to scream at. The guards move forward to arrest the strange Icewing in their Queen's quarters, but are stopped by Taipan who reaffirms her authority as the ruler of the Sandwings. Sidewinder watches as the guards are dismissed, feeling her own authority slip away all the same. This is it. She's done. She's not needed anymore.

As her mother turns towards her, she anticipates a scolding for all the things Sidewinder screwed up during her "reign", if you could even call it that. Instead, Taipan thanks her and says that Sidewinder likely did the best she could do in such a situation. Bewildered, Sidewinder stares at her mother, ultimately unable to accept her affection. "Now that your favorite daughter is back, I'm clearly not needed anymore", she scoffs, "She's probably dying to tell you in great detail what a terrible leader I was, so keep your praises." With that, she storms out of the room. As she runs through the stronghold, she sees how quickly the news of the Queen's comeback has spread. Excited whispers in every corner, heads held up higher, brows furrowed and eyes shining with newfound confidence. Sidewinder feels sick. She leaps out onto a balcony, the very same one she taunted Datura from after banishing her. Sidewinder sits down to cry, but is interrupted by her sister.

She tries to antagonize Datura, but all that anger from before is gone, only sadness and exhaustion remain. The two sisters share a hug as Datura tells her that she missed her, despite everything. Sidewinder apologizes for banishing her, which Datura accepts. She tells Datura how she always felt sidelined while Taipan fussed over Datura due to her condition, as if Sidewinder didn't matter to her at all. Datura points out that whenever Taipan wasn’t fussing over her, she spent her time with Sidewinder, doing all the fun things Datura wasn’t allowed to do due to her condition: fight training in the blazing sun, hunting for food in the desert, visiting different parts of the kingdom to check on her people, and so on. After all, Taipan loves them equally, but she had to treat the sisters differently due to their different needs. Sidewinder understands. They sit in silence for a while as Sidewinder feels all the tension, hurt, anger and sleepless nights fade away, even if just for a moment. Datura then tells Sidewinder that Taipan has summoned everyone to the war room to plan the next steps, and asks Sidewinder to come. She agrees and the two sisters enter Taipan's war room, a huge space with a giant table in the middle, covered in maps and small dragon figurines. A complimentary bowl of dried lizards sits on the table. Taipan sits at the table, along with a few important Sandwing generals. Ice and No-one are also present, the latter assuming the form of a Sandwing. Sidewinder immediately notices that something is off about him, as he doesn't carry himself like a proper Sandwing would. He doesn't even curl his tail tip properly, for three moons' sake! Tetra sits in a bucket of water in the corner, shooting a glare towards Sidewinder and shaking her head at her. Sidewinder has no idea what she did wrong.

Taipan tells Datura to tell them everything, and Datura does. She retells her adventure with Ice, their meeting with Pearl and Tetra, their discovery of No-one and Queen Agate's deal. She finishes at the point where they attempted to break Ice's spell with Taipan, and formally turns to No-one to ask him to break the spell with his magic. No-one and Ice share a look that Sidewinder knows all too well: they screwed up something. Ice then explains that they already tried when Datura was sleeping, that it didn't work and that they were so sure that Taipan could break the spell that they decided to not tell Datura because they didn’t want her to be mad at them. Datura is angry that she was lied to, but doesn't push it further.. Instead, one of the generals speaks up: If those two lied to Datura about such an important thing, who are they even loyal to? That Icewing may say she’s part Sandwing to gain our sympathy, but she might as well still be loyal to the Icewings. And nobody knows who or what No-one even is, let alone what his motives are. Datura says that she's been travelling with them for weeks, that she could rely on both in difficult situations and that she trusts them. But the generals want to hear it straight out of the horse's mouth. Ice grabs her chain and slams her shackled wrists on the table. "Everything I ever did since escaping Icebreaker was to try and free myself. I want to free myself to stop Icebreaker, because this war is entirely my fault. If I never existed, Icebreaker wouldn't have a giant magic army right now. My loyalties couldn't be further away from that wretched Icewing. Or any Icewing, for that matter." Satisfied, the generals turn to No-one, who turns to Datura. Datura combines a raised eyebrow with a claw gesture, in a "go on, say something" kind of way. No-one takes off his earring, revealing to the generals (and Sidewinder) that he's a Skywing. He says that he's been on the run from the Skywing kingdom all his life, because, as everyone knows, Skywings kill animi when they're discovered. He's been travelling all over Pyrrhia since, always hiding his true identity and never making any real connections. He also admits that he never really cared about other dragons and always acted in his own selfish interest - until he met Datura. He's been helping her and Ice, at first just to gain more appearances, but then even beyond that. He could've left after Ice made a wish with him, or after Tetra’s wish, or even Datura’s wish. But he didn’t, and he wants to understand why. Sticking around and helping the Sandwings further might help him understand someday. The generals and especially Taipan are less impressed with that answer, so Taipan asks Datura to personally vouch for No-one, trusting her daughter’s judgement. Datura does, and the discussion moves on.

Since they couldn't free Ice with Taipan or No-one, it was safe to assume that Agate and her animi would likely be a bust as well. Still, they needed the additional support from the Seawing army to have any chance of winning in a fight. There was also another advantage – well, two, actually. For one, Icebreaker has no idea that the Sandwings have Ice. She may be a cruel, cruel dragon, but Ice is still her granddaughter, if that even means anything to her. If not, it's safe to assume that she'd at least want her animus maker back, because she hopefully respects her (pure) Icewing subjects too much to give Ice's role to one of them. On the other talon, they have something that Icebreaker definitely would not expect: No-one. Now they need to combine these little advantages into something tangible that could actually stop Icebreaker's conquest. Taipan calls for a break and tells everyone to get some fresh air to stimulate their brains.

Sidewinder watches as Ice walks over to Tetra's bucket and puts her forearms into the water, clearly uncomfortable with the heat and dry air of the desert. Tetra scoops up some more water with her webbed talons and pours it over Ice's head. Meanwhile, the Sandwing army generals discuss something with Taipan, who's trying to keep up a tough appearance, but her talons shake slightly as she reaches into the lizard bowl. Datura calls over her friends (and Sidewinder) and offers to take them on a little tour of the stronghold. Sidewinder has a quiet chat with No-one, where she asks him if he really told the truth earlier. He says that he did, but he doesn’t know how else to prove it. Sidewinder tells him that whatever happens next, he should do everything in his (magic) power to protect Datura. That’s how he’ll prove it. The two then rejoin the group. Sidewinder, still thinking about how Datura wasn’t allowed to do the “fun things” as a dragonet, suggests a friendly game of “Sting-you”, a traditional Sandwing game that requires all players to cover their tail barbs with a special covering and then run around in teams to “sting” each other with their tails. Whoever is “stung” has to fall to the ground and be “dead” until a teammate arrives to help them up. Whichever team is left with the last “living” player wins. Tetra doesn’t want to play because she’d want to have Pearl on her team and would be the odd one out, so it’s between team red (Datura and No-one) and team blue (Sidewinder and Ice). Team blue narrowly wins. The group has a laugh and eventually returns to the war room, where Taipan and the generals are already studying maps on the table. Taipan greets the group and reaches into the lizard bowl.

"Icebreaker.", she says after she's done with the lizard. Even though her voice is still weak, everyone immediately turns to listen. "Based on Ice's intel and what the scouts managed to find out, she is not interested in diplomacy. She doesn't care about our territories or our resources. She just wants to unleash a second, magic-induced scorching onto Pyrrhia and rule over the ashes. Or the ice and snow, for that matter." Everyone nods in agreement.

"That's why we will kill her."

Palpable tension covers the room as soon as the word "kill" leaves her mouth. Datura, No-one, Tetra and even Sidewinder look over to Ice. "But what will happen to Ice’s shackles if Icebreaker...", Sidewinder begins, but doesn't finish the sentence when everyone turns to look at her. Ice has a strange look on her face that Sidewinder doesn't understand.

"We will have to lure her out first. I suggest we send her a message and tell her that we have Ice, and that we want to discuss a peace treaty directly with the Icewing Queen. Obviously she's not interested in peace, but she'll hopefully want to see Ice. Maybe she's already covered in all sorts of magic artifacts that protect her from harm, so she's probably feeling confident and untouchable. And this will be her mistake. You, animus." Taipan turns to No-one. "If one can give a dragon magic, one can also take it away, correct?"

"I...think?", No-one says. "I've never tried it before."

"Try it now. It is of utmost importance.", Taipan says. No-one looks around the room helplessly while every other dragon avoids his gaze like hatchlings who don't want to be called on by the teacher. Nobody wants to risk their soul for an experiment. Ice is ruled out by default, Tetra is just a kid whom nobody wants to harm, which would leave Datura and Sidewinder. Sidewinder steps up: "Make me an animus. I'll enchant something small to see if it works, then you undo everything." Datura protests, saying it's too dangerous, but Sidewinder doesn't want to hear it. "I've screwed up enough already. Just let me do one good thing here." After some discussion, No-one lays his hands on her and gives her magic. Sidewinder immediately feels a strange tingling in her claws. To see if it works, she looks around to find something small to enchant and lands on Datura's sunglasses, offering to make them unbreakable. Datura gives her the glasses and Sidewinder enchants them. She then violently throws them against the nearest wall, stomps on them and tries snapping them in half for good measure, but the glasses are unharmed. Sidewinder likes this power. But before she can do more, No-one picks up a dried lizard and enchants it to take away Sidewinder's magic if he snaps it in half. He snaps it in half (and then throws it into his mouth), and the tingling in her claws immediately stops. She feels a mix of disappointment and relief, knowing that she'd definitely be the type to quickly corrupt her soul with this kind of power. No-one suddenly makes a weird face, and his Sandwing appearance seems to phase in and out of existence, his Skywing appearance flickering underneath. He panics and reaches for his earring, shifting to one of his Rainwings instead. “What in the three moons was that?”, Taipan exclaims. No-one explains that sometimes, his appearances fade for no apparent reason. Ice asks whether it has something to do with how much he used them for enchantments or maybe how powerful the enchantments were and No-one shrugs, he’s not really keeping track of any of that. Tetra asks how many he has left and he starts cycling through 3 Rainwings, another Skywing, a Mudwing and then Ice, Tetra and Datura. “Huh”, he says, "I thought I had more left.” Tetra asks what will happen to the real versions if their appearances in his earring fade, but he doesn’t know. Taipan waves it off, they’ll deal with this later.

Now that it's proven that magic can be taken away, the planning can continue. Tetra, from her bucket, offers to meet the Seawings at the river and lead them to a spot in the Sandwing territory where they can prepare for the fight. The others agree, saying that Tetra should be kept safe and away from the Icewings (and she'd be useless in a fight anyways). Datura offers to represent the Sandwing kingdom together with Sidewinder, since Taipan is in no shape to leave the stronghold. Taipan doubts whether Icebreaker would come out of hiding if she saw that the actual Sandwing Queen isn't there to meet her, only her daughters. Maybe she'd even see it as a sign of weakness and attack immediately. Tetra holds up the armband Sidewinder saw on the "fake Datura" earlier and says that one of the sisters should use it to appear as Taipan. If it fooled Sidewinder, it would definitely fool Icebreaker. And now that No-one is on a tight budget when it comes to appearances, it would be better to work with what they already have. Datura and Sidewinder look at each other, unsure who should bear this responsibility. On the one talon, if Datura did it, she'd have to go without her veil and sunglasses, because Taipan definitely doesn't wear those and it would raise suspicion. On the other talon, Sidewinder is unsure whether she can pretend to be a convincing Queen, after her failure as "temporary Queen". Taipan flat out asks Sidewinder if she will do it, and she says yes.

The planning continues. Taipan will send a message to Icebreaker, telling her that she has Ice, who's still wearing the magic-sealing chains, and asking her to meet. Datura and Sidewinder (disguised as Taipan) will bring Ice to the meeting spot (which will be close to the river the Seawings are hiding in), accompanied by some guards. No-one will be among them, disguised as a Sandwing guard. When Icebreaker is close enough, No-one will snap two enchanted twigs in his mouth: one will stop Icebreaker's heart (a spell that they can't test beforehand, for obvious reasons), one will take away the magic from all Icewings nearby as well as their enchanted objects. Because nobody knows how far the spell will reach, it is important to get as many Icewings as possible to be near Icebreaker, which will be achieved by placing a battalion of Sandwings in visible (but not threatening) distance away from the meeting spot. If the spell to kill Icebreaker fails, at least the magic will be gone and the Sandwing guards, all highly trained, will kill Icebreaker - with No-one's magic help, if necessary. Either way, the Seawing and Sandwing army will attack the weakened Icewings at once to push them back into their frosty habitat. Ice, Sidewinder, Datura and No-one will escape back to the castle, protected by the attacking armies. Taipan and Agate will handle the rest from there.

Taipan dismisses the group for now to begin preparations. Datura offers her friends to stay over in her room, as it’s big enough for everyone. (Tetra brings her bucket.) She also invites Sidewinder to this sleepover. The latter remembers how the two of them used to do these all the time as dragonets. Datura tells everyone to get settled while she finds some comfy rugs the other dragons can sleep on. Tetra notices that Ice looks down and asks what’s wrong, but Ice says that she’s fine. Sidewinder asks whether this is about killing Icebreaker and Ice winces. She confesses that she’s terrified of being stuck in chains and sealed away forever if Icebreaker dies. No-one suggests that killing her might also break the spell. There might be at least a tiny chance. Ice laughs and says that it doesn’t matter anyways, the decision wasn’t in her hands anymore and she’s only left to hope for a minuscule chance of gaining a happy end out of this. Sidewinder loudly reflects upon her own desire to make decisions – she wanted to become a leader so badly, but once it happened, she was suddenly making decisions that would affect an entire kingdom and that terrified her. Ice listens, and something about that seems to make her think. Tetra says that there’s still the option of Agate and her animi, but Ice just shakes her head and asks to drop the topic before Datura returns. The group has a little sleepover party with snacks and Sandwing board games before it’s time to sleep. In the dead of night, Sidewinder opens one eye and sees Ice standing at the window, staring outside with a blank facial expression. Sidewinder silently watches for a bit and then begins to fall asleep again. Just before she’s gone, she hears Ice and No-one quietly whisper something to each other.

Hard cut to the next day. Sidewinder, disguised as Taipan, stands next to Datura. In front of them lies Ice, chains wrapped around her arms and a rope tied around her snout. Behind the trio, mere steps away, five Sandwing guards, two of them looking awfully similar to each other. In the distance, a small figure leaves the sea of white spikes and wings and tails. Icebreaker, accompanied by guards of her own, walks over to them, her eyes piercing, her smile anything but warm. She breathes in deeply, and then breathes out a cold sigh that chills Sidewinder to the bone.

“My oh my”, Icebreaker says. “What a predicament you’ve found yourself in.” The words are aimed at Ice, but somehow Sidewinder feels them hitting her own heart as well, making it skip a beat.

Icebreaker’s gaze rises up to meet Sidewinder’s. “It’s been a while, Taipan. I hoped we’d meet again under more savory circumstances, but alas.” Sidewinder ignores Icebreaker’s deliberate omission of any kind of formality one would expect when addressing a Queen.

“I’m here to talk about your plans.”, Sidewinder says. “You’ve been gathering an army near our border. What for?”

Icebreaker ignores the question: “Oh, but first, you gotta let me in on your secret.”

“M-my secret?”, Sidewinder asks. Icebreaker continues: “I’ve met Sandwings your age, and they all sound so dreadfully harsh and raspy. I always assumed it’s that dry desert air. How did you manage to keep such a pleasant and youthful voice?”

“Honey-glazed cobra cutlets”, Sidewinder answers while trying to hide her panic, “keeps the throat fresh. I would invite you to try some, but we have other matters to attend to.” Icebreaker closes her eyes and nods slowly and meaningfully. “Right, of course. I couldn’t help but notice that you have my granddaughter with you today. I hope she didn’t cause you too much trouble?” “Splendid. May I come closer to have a chat?” This is the moment everyone has been waiting for. Icebreaker makes a step, then hesitates. “Lemming”, she says with her head slightly turned towards the group of Icewings behind her. One of them jumps, then quickly stammers the following: “I enchant the enemy’s animus-touched objects to come to me!” Before anyone can react, Agate’s armband flies off Sidewinder’s arm, followed by Datura’s glasses and No-one’s earring. Lastly, the two sticks, still wet from his spit. Icebreaker’s eyes widen, then she composes herself. “Much better”, she says, studying the “new arrivals”, Sidewinder and No-one. “Taipan’s dead, isn’t she?”, she asks, “I did hear about the terrible poisoning. Why else would the Sandwings be led by these pathetic little children trying to play tricks on me?” Icebreaker steps closer. One step. Another step. So do the Icewing soldiers. They are surrounded. Datura looks to Sidewinder, who’s muscles seem to be frozen in place. Nobody moves, until –

Somehow, Ice had removed the rope from her snout and screams: “Icebreaker!!!” Her voice makes the Icewing Queen stop dead in her tracks. “You poor soul.”, she says coldly. “Have you had your share of fun running around with these creatures? Have you had enough?”

“I have”, Ice yells, “You were right. You were right all along. Everything beyond the Icewing kingdom is just a lawless wasteland. Seawings with multiple Queens, Rainwings who let just about anyone rule without question and tyrannical Sandwings who kept passing me around like some kind of bargaining chip!”

“Ice–” Datura says sharply, but Icebreaker interrupts her. “Oh, no, let her speak.”

“They treated me like trash”, Ice continues, wriggling towards Icebreaker as quickly as she can with her bound limbs. “They’re enemies, all of them. None deserve to stand between you and your perfect frozen continent.”

“Correct.”, Icebreaker says with a content smile.

“And those items you took from them were meant to kill you!”, Ice hisses. She’s now at Icebreaker’s feet. “All this time they were plotting to end your life. But unluckily for them, I’ve been plotting too. A spell that could end this war before it even started.” “I’m intrigued.”, Icebreaker says, unable to hide her excitement about a new spell. For some reason, her Icewing subjects weren’t big fans of experimenting with magic while Ice was gone.

“Do it. I allow it.”

Ice’s chains instantly lose their cold blue glow, appearing like regular metal chains. Ice turns towards Sidewinder, Datura and No-one. “This is for my enemy. My captor. My tormentor.

Die.”

Icebreaker’s eyes widen, her hands shoot up to her throat. She falls to the ground, convulsing. “And you.” Ice turns towards the Icewings. “None of you Icewings will ever use magic again!” Dark clouds accumulate in the sky above them all, and thunder begins to rumble. Ice looks down at her hands, her mouth moves and the chains fall off, disintegrating into dust.

“Ice!”, Datura screams and leaps forward, but Sidewinder holds her back. Ice looks back at them one last time before a flash of lightning descends from the sky, striking the earth. Ice disappears, with only smoke and a black stain on the ground where she stood just moments ago. The Icewings are shocked at first, then charge into battle to avenge their Queen who has now stopped moving. Sidewinder signals the Sandwings to attack and prepares to retreat. Datura is still standing there screaming Ice’s name, so Sidewinder drags her along. No-one enchants the magic items to come back and his earring flies into his open palm while the rest of the items get trampled by the Icewing soldiers. He puts on the earring and switches to his Sandwing appearance.

The guards do their best to shield the trio from the oncoming Icewing onslaught, but are quickly overwhelmed. An Icewing aims his ice breath at Datura, so No-one spits a mouthful of fire in his face. Another tries to stab Sidewinder with a spear, she ducks underneath and buries her stinger into his throat. A group tries to cut them off, so No-one enchants the rocks beneath them to shoot upwards and launch the soldiers into the air. Datura has a hard time seeing in the harsh light without her glasses, so both Sidewinder and No-one guide her through the battlefield. The latter turns the ground behind them into quicksand, enchants the Icewing spears to turn against them and hits them with anything else he can come up with. Suddenly, his Sandwing guard appearance flickers and disappears, right as the real guard’s throat is slashed by Icewing blades. No-one switches to one of his Rainwings and continues casting spells, but soon, this one also disappears. One by one, his appearances start to flicker and fade, and he hesitates, almost getting hit by a flash of ice breath.

“Use ours!”, Datura screams as Sidewinder whips around to sting another Icewing. He catches her tail in his hand and buries his serrated talons in it. She roars and Datura spits fire in his face until he lets go. No-one switches to Tetra and fires off another enchantment, then to Ice, another enchantment, then to Datura. A spear hits him in the shoulder and ice breath grazes the tip of his tail. He heals his injuries with magic and carries on. Suddenly, an Icewing manages to rip off the earring and crush it between his teeth, destroying the illusion and revealing No-one’s Skywing form. He tries to retaliate with fire, but another soldier hits him with his weapon, throwing off his aim. Then, out of nowhere, another spear flies through the air and hits Datura straight in the throat, piercing it entirely. She lets out a silent scream that turns into a gurgle as blood spews forth. “NO!”, Sidewinder screams and No-one dashes towards Datura, ripping out the spear with one hand and closing the wound with the other - his first enchantment he did as “himself” in years. He then hurls the spear back where it came from and it pierces something, someone, creating a blue fountain. But the Icewings just keep on coming. All hope seems to be lost, when suddenly, the Seawings arrive, attacking the surprised Icewings from the side. It’s this critical moment that allows the trio to finally escape more or less unharmed.

Epilogue

The war between the Icewings and Sandwings (now aided by the Seawings) wages on. Queen Taipan and Queen Agate need to negotiate new terms, now that Ice has disappeared without a trace and Datura didn’t assume leadership of the Sandwings. Sidewinder aids Taipan in any way she can, gaining knowledge and confidence in the process. Tetra leaves to go find Pearl again, who has been given a new identity and reunited with her parents thanks to Agate. The two kids have a lot to discuss. No-one, scared of becoming like Ice, refuses to do any more enchantments for this war and tries to leave the stronghold in the middle of the night. He casts a spell to make Datura’s glasses reappear in his hands and plans to drop them off by her door as a goodbye gift. Before he can do that, he runs into her. She was also about to leave on an entirely different journey to find Ice (fiercely believing that she’s still alive and out there somewhere). She knows that her mother would not approve of her leaving, but what else is she to do in the kingdom? Be Queen? Sidewinder’s there for that. The two agree to leave together and send Taipan and Sidewinder messages every so often.

And that’s how it ends.

Thank you so much for reading through the entire thing! As noted in the title, this is just a first draft and also the first time someone other than me reads this – so of course I expect you to find plot holes, inconsistent character moments and other stuff I could improve on. If you're nice about it, maybe I'll even listen ;) (joking) No matter what, I hope this serves as a (more or less) satisfying conclusion for all my WOF characters you know (and love?).

#wof #wings of fire #wof oc #icewing #sandwing #seawing #rainwing #skywing #dragon #dragon oc #very long post #buzzkill wof arc

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amourdivine · 11 months

Text

𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐀 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐃 🦢 𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄?

Hello, lovelies! I hope you're doing well. I bring you another romance topic today, found from the vault, forgotten in my Google Docs folder! Let me know how it resonates. If you liked this reading, please consider booking a paid reading or tipping me at @ [email protected]! xo. ♡

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how to choose your pile. take deep breaths for a few minutes & look at each and every one of the piles separately. see which one brings you to a feeling, a place or a memory. take your time and feel free to come back to it later.

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disclaimer. this is a general reading for entertainment purposes. tarot is a divination tool & is not a substitute for medical and professional advice, nor is it meant to be taken as such. i do not take responsibility for any choice(s) made by you or others regarding my readings.

amourdivine. 2021 - 2023 © do not copy, redistribute or edit my content.

PILE 01. 🕊️

who is this person? page of wands, the sun rx, seven of pentacles rx.

This person is very, very impatient. They tend to be more immature and on the feistier side, I definitely think they’re an extrovert or someone with Leo, Sagittarius or Aries in their big three. They might rush into things and have a bit of a self-sabotaging energy to them. Honestly, I think this person underestimates themselves and act out of passion and desire, so they’re not the most careful in love. They tend to be pessimistic because they wonder why their relationships go wrong, but they can rush into situations before they’re even ready and not always be willing to put the effort and time required for things to develop. Since they’re also being represented by the Page of Wands, you might question their feelings and motives towards you because they might seem fickle, even a bit childish for some of you. They have a lot of young energy, it could be in age or simply in their nature. By the way, this is definitely a new person, not someone from your past. I’m also getting more of a masculine vibe, but it doesn’t necessarily correlate to any specific gender.

how are they truly feeling? six of pentacles, two of wands, the sun.

They see a lot of potential in your relationship with them. Like I said, this person tends to rush into things, so they aren’t super in their feelings about it, but they’re feeling very positive and they’re already wanting to make a move. This person could simply have a crush on you at first, since I don’t get any deeper feelings involved here. However, this person enjoys your presence a lot! You might have started out as friends and they love being in your presence, it turns their frown upside down. Since we also got The Sun card in the last question but in reverse, I think you make them feel more positive, happier and lighter in general. They are imagining a lot of things in their head for your future, but they feel that this connection is balanced and it could go somewhere much better than where it’s at. That’s also why they’re rushing, because they don’t want to waste any time.

what are the circumstances regarding this confession? ten of swords rx, king of wands rx, two of cups.

They’re resisting these feelings. This person might be exhausted of all their thinking and imagining before they confess to you - they can’t wait any longer. They’re going to feel restricted and that’s why they’ll take action, so they’ll be super impulsive towards you. It might come out of the blue, at a totally random moment and it could shock you, but they’ll want to make sure to make it up to you later somehow. Maybe they’ll be venting to you and at one point they might kiss you recklessly or send a risky text. They’ll probably invite you to a date (especially dinner date) later on so that they can show you they’re interested and it’s not something that they told you just for the sake of it. They might be naturally flirty towards others, which is also why they’ll want to take you out, so you know that their feelings are romantic indeed, even if they’re at a very initial stage. They’ll be very, very nervous and fidgety (lol), might also stutter a bit and seem kind of random towards you. Honestly, there’s a lot of passion and you’ll seem even more attractive in their eyes. I can’t help but feel that they’ll try and plan everything out, only to be super hasty and clumsy with their confession (aw).

additional messages: summer breeze, “easy like sunday morning,” frat party, college roommates, sapphic/wlw, silk chiffon by muna & phoebe bridgers, 6:66, 222, light blue, hazy, champagne bubbles.

PILE 02. 🐇

who is this person? five of swords, the lovers, knight of cups.

This is someone whom you might have had a disagreement with. The intensity of this confrontation likely wasn’t anything light, so you could’ve had a falling out of sorts. They have a lot of air and Gemini energy, so there’s a duality to them that can be confusing and contradicting to you, because of their sharp wit and their spontaneous nature. This person seems like a lot! Not in a bad way, but they have a very proud and stubborn personality as well. With the Knight of Cups, this is someone who had and still has romantic feelings for you, whether you’ve known it or not. Even if you didn’t have any romantic involvement with this person, they nurse something very romantic and dreamy for you. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was an ex of yours, someone whom you were in a relationship with and ended things very badly. However, they’re not over you and no matter how difficult this situation must’ve been, they still love you very much.

how are they truly feeling? five of pentacles, nine of pentacles rx, strength.

It’s surprising to me that this Strength card came out upright, because they’re not actually feeling strong at all. This person might be putting up a front, honestly. They could have some significant Leo placements and they might have turned this thing into a competition of “who cares less.” Which is immature, of course, but they feel left out in the cold, like all the future they had with you was lost. Even if they’re determined to make it back to you somehow, they feel that all of their chances and options were wasted and in vain. However, since we’re talking about their feelings, I don’t think it’s true that there are no options left here. They could be stuck in a self pitying mentality and that’s also what’s making them so miserable, even if they want to make things right again so badly. This person could type it out their feelings in a billion unsent texts and still be too proud to make a move.

what are the circumstances regarding this confession? judgement, eight of wands rx, wheel of fortune rx.

Enough time will have passed you by and the dust will have settled. They’ll make this choice because I can almost hear them saying to themselves “enough is enough.” Things will feel stagnant and for some of you, you might have even forgotten or let go of this person after this time of silence. They’re going to make this call after a very long time because they’ll realize that they’ve wasted too much time agonizing over these feelings and their pain instead of solving it. I pulled another card for clarification and got the Knight of Cups again, so they’ll probably realize they’re still not over you and that’s something they need to get off their chest. Honestly, I think they’ll be much more humble and loving the next time you speak to them, not only because they want to tell you how they truly feel and show their vulnerable side, but also because they don’t really expect much out of you. They could feel that they’re out of luck and out of chances to be with you, so you’ll have to be really clear about your feelings with this person, pile two, because they’re very fearful, but they’re pouring their heart out into this confession because it’ll be anything but easy to them. Also, the Universe might have nudged them a little to make this call.

additional messages: broken strings by james morrison & nelly furtado, “i know i was wrong but i regret it now,” “i’ve been a fool,” leo, sagittarius, capricorn, gemini, “i regret what i said,” “our fight was really triggering,” sorry by justin bieber, 888, 999, 10:10, february, aquarius mars.

PILE 03. 🐻‍❄️

who is this person? the tower, two of swords, six of pentacles.

This is someone who’s been through a lot, pile three. I think they can come across as insecure or even indecisive. They may be hard to read or someone who isn’t quite your type, but since they’re your next/first partner, it’ll be a welcomed surprise. They may struggle with making decisions, especially when it comes to confessing their feelings for you, because they might’ve been through a lot of difficult moments - like I said, this Tower also makes me wonder if they’re resisting some sort of change or feeling towards you because of their own fears. However, they try their best to be balanced. I think they’re very generous, very giving and caring towards people, but they may be harsh on themselves at times. This person could be a Libra, a Taurus or a Capricorn. I feel like they’re quite stubborn and they don’t actually like to take many risks. Perhaps being in love with you is something they found quite shocking, so it might take them some time to understand it.

how are they truly feeling? king of swords, queen of cups, the hanged one.

So, I think after meditating on it for a little while, they’ll eventually evolve into a more mature, self-assured and calm energy. It may take them a while, as I said, but they’ll want to do this the right way, looking very steady and confident. This King of Swords is very logical and quite upfront, but they may be hiding their softer and more emotional side by the time they come forward. I think that the moment they confess to you, it won’t sound very emotional, but they’ll definitely be hiding this Queen of Cups underneath the King of Swords. The Hanged Man makes me think they’ll be patient with you, instead of demanding an answer right away, this person will want you to think about it, to really ponder over how you feel as well. But it also gives me the energy of someone who’s done enough contemplation over their feelings, hence why this King of Swords will come on strongly. They may seem more confident than what they actually feel, perhaps colder than intended, but they do have very strong feelings, they just don’t want to come off as too vulnerable or too emotional by the time they come clean about this.

what are the circumstances regarding this confession? page of pentacles, the high priestess, six of swords.

There’s some healing coming from this person’s end. I cannot help but wonder if this person is someone you study or work with, but in whichever case, their offer will be something small, but significant to them. It may not be a “full blown date”, like something super luxurious, but they may offer to grab a cup of coffee with you to talk about these feelings. Something more subtle rather than super out there. Even the High Priestess itself has a more lowkey energy, so it’s possible they’ll try to do it in a more private or secluded space. I think this person will want to have a more quiet one on one with you, so it doesn’t seem like it’ll be a grand gesture. You likely won’t see this coming, so by the time they confess, you’ll have to use your intuition in order to see through that King of Swords energy I mentioned. They truly just want to let you know - I don’t think they have any high expectations over this, because the Six of Swords here gives me the idea that they’ll want to heal and move forward in case you reject them. With or without you, they’ll want to embark on a healing journey and keep going either way. They might feel a sense of relief or calm afterwards, like they have finally let these feelings and secret thoughts of you out. It’s going to be something very revealing for the both of you, something which will help them progress, whether this connection progresses or not. Of course, since this is your next partner, it’ll help the both of you move forward with your relationship and develop something from there.

additional messages: libra/7th house stellium, “i’ve made up my mind”, throw it on the fire by jon mclaughlin, “my life without you is just time”, somewhere only we know by keane, “i just want to know how you feel,” “take your time.”

PILE 04. 🦢

who is this person? nine of swords, ten of wands, judgment.

I think this is someone who is always looking for “the light at the end of the tunnel.” It’s worth mentioning I am using the Vice Versa deck for your pile, so the imagery here is a little different than the original A.E. Waite deck. They’re likely a very hardworking and fierce person, but they’re also afraid of relying on others and asking for help. A little too proud, maybe? They could be an Aries or a Leo, but I’m more specifically getting Leo from this person. They’ve been through a lot, but still, they feel like life keeps throwing curveballs at them. Honestly, this person may suffer from burnout by the time you meet them, they may be a workaholic or someone very ambitious who wants to carve their own path in life. They may have had to start all over many times and have had a hard time finding their true calling in life, but they’ve begun to overcome these issues. This person can be very stubborn as well, maybe they don’t like hearing advice or asking for it somehow. I think you’ll recognize them by the way they try to tackle everything on their own and are a bit too proud to admit when something isn’t working or when they’re in the wrong, but they do mean well.

how are they truly feeling? three of cups, knight of cups, the emperor.

They might be friends with you, but the feelings are too strong for them to deny it. However, with The Emperor, it kind of confirms the fire energy for me, especially Aries as well. So they’re a little bit ashamed of how soft they truly feel for you. It’s interesting because despite wanting to look and feel in power, they just want to give you the world, even if you might reject them. This person is hopeful, though. They’ll want to look very confident and may even show off a little bit, but they want to impress you and that’s also why this Emperor is coming through. They can (and want to) give you everything you want, to be the kind of partner who honors you, someone you’re proud of. They’ve got great intentions, even though they’re not very good at communicating or explaining their feelings, they may have a little bit of a “rough edge” to them or have a very, very rational and inflexible approach about the way they feel. It’s almost like they’ll try to be very self-controlled and tough not to seem vulnerable, but deep down, these feelings are very real and they truly cherish your company. Again, I think this person will be friends with you - or at least try to remain friends before moving forward with their confession.

what are the circumstances regarding this confession? the star, queen of pentacles, two of pentacles.

They’re very hopeful! They may want to take you out somewhere fancy, give you the best of the best treatment and make you feel like a royal by their side. You may even find them to be a bit foolish? They’ll be so eager to please you, honestly. I even feel like the man in this Two of Pentacles card is juggling all things at once so he looks impressive or busy, when in fact, he’s struggling to keep up. I think this will be a very important and fancy date, something more.. official? Not something casual or anything you may take for granted. They want to make sure you’re comfortable and may even gawk at you a little bit. They find you really beautiful, pile four, that’s undeniable. There’s a lot of hope - they’re one hundred percent confident you’ll want them back (lol). I think both of you will be dressed up nicely, likely going somewhere to dine or walk? They think you’ve got everything, like you’re the full package, baby! It’s interesting that they’ll try to come off as The Emperor, but deep down I think they’ll try to find all of the ways in which they can “woo” you and make you theirs.

additional messages: “i’m worth it,” solar plexus chakra, if you want somebody by jon mclaughlin, poker face, “please notice”, the way you look tonight (cover) by shawn mendes, “can i kiss you?", fire signs, leo or aries venus/mars.

amourdivine. 2021 - 2023 © do not copy, redistribute or edit my content.

#pick a card #tarotblr #tarot reading #pick a card reading #pac reading #tarot #tarot readings #tarot readers #tarot cards #tarotcommunity #divination #spirituality #future spouse #love reading #pick a pile #pick a pile reading #tarot pick a card #pick a picture #*

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suugarbabe · 11 months

Note

completely fine if not!! just wanted to ask if in the end you were going to write the Mattheo x animagus!reader thingy i sent in some time back, but absolutely just out of curiosity!! i hope i don't come across as pressuring or similar, because i'm also very excited for your other projects and i can't wait to read them!!🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

Omggggg I’m trash I’m trash I’m trash! I swear I did have this done. It’s right here. I’m so sorry I had this in my Google docs and lately I’ve been working straight from my inbox so I forgot I even completed it. Please don’t hate me I’m so sorry love :((

One of your favorite things about being in your cat form was basking in the sun. It really helped whenever you were stressed, or anxious, or tired, or whenever you really just needed to get away from other people. Today's basking came from just needing to clear your head.

You stretched your little black paws out, letting out a soft meow like yawn before turning on your side right in a sun spot. You were nearly drifted off into a light sleep when you hear someone slump against the other side of the tree.

Curiosity getting the best of you, you slowly stalked around the trunk to see none other than Mattheo Riddle. He didn’t notice you at first, his head sitting in his hands and breathing deeply.

You nuzzled your head against his thigh, his head snapping up at the motion. “Well hello there, beautiful,” he get your head an affection pet, looking around the courtyard for another person, “Are you out here by yourself? Where is your owner?”

You nudged his hand with the top of your head. He laughed lightly, “Okay, okay, I get the picture.” He started to lightly scratch the space between your ears, earning an affection purr from you.

You stayed cuddling with Mattheo like that for a good hour before he had to go. He said his apologies to you, saying he hoped he ran in to you again soon. You rubbed yourself against his legs before he left, then you went and sat in the sun again.

Later that day at lunch, you were talking with Susan Bones when Mattheo came and sat down next to you, a rather large smile on his face. You rested your head in your hand as you turned to look at him, an inquisitive look on your face.

Mattheo caught you staring, “What? Something on my face, Princess?” You laughed, dipping your finger in the pudding bowl next to you before tapping his nose, “You’ve got some pudding right about…there.”

Mattheo’s mouth dropped open in shock, “Oh you’re gonna pay for that later, Y/l/n. You’re lucky I’m in a good mood.” This sentence caught your attention, “Oh? And what has put Mattheo in a good mood today?”

His smile was smug, “I made a new friend. Well, she’s a cat. But she’s beautiful and cuddly and…you know what I should just show you. She seems to hang out in the courtyard.”

Mattheo grabbed your hand, dragging you out of the Great Hall. You gave Susan an apologetic look, but see only seemed to be smirking. When you reached the courtyard, Mattheo was disappointed to see the cat was not there. You tried to give him a sympathetic look, without giving away that you knew why the cat was no longer there.

The next morning Mattheo found you again, in cat form. Giving you cuddles and ear stretches and belly rubs. It was the most physical affection Mattheo had shown you, even if he didn’t really know it was you. But you couldn’t give it up, not with the crush you’ve had on him for the last two years.

At lunch the same day Mattheo tried to show you the car, again. But again, it wasn’t there. For obvious reason. It went on like this about every other day for two weeks. Mattheo would find cat you in the morning, he started talking to you, telling you why he was upset, or about his day, his worries.

You started to feel a little bad every time he tried to show you the cat and it not being there. But nothing could prepare you for what Mattheo was essentially confessing one morning.

You were laying in his lap, stretched out while he made gentle circles on your belly. “Have you ever had feelings for someone that you weren’t sure if they liked you back?” You looked up at him from his lap, your little black ears perking up at his question.

He huffed to himself, “What am I saying, you’re a cat. You just look for rubs and cuddles. Ugh, gorgeous I really like this one girl. But we’re such good friends I don’t know if I should tell her. I keep trying to show her you. I really want to have something just between us, think maybe it’ll bring us closer,” Mattheo picked you up, holding you so your body stretched down but your little cat nose and his were nearly touching, his tone turning to baby voice, “but you always seem to be gone when I bring her, don’t you beautiful?”

He sighed, setting you down. You felt so guilty. You had to tell him the truth, you started running towards a set of trees on the other side of the courtyard. Your mad dash away startled Mattheo, him getting up and trying to chase after you.

Once behind the pair of trees, you transformed back to your regular self. Mattheo peaked around the trees, jumping back slightly when he saw you, his face quickly turning in to a smile, “Y/n/n, did you see her? The cat. She came right this way.”

You looked at him with an expression he couldn’t quite read. “Teo…I, I am the cat.” Mattheo let out a chuckle, “What do you mean, love?”

You took a deep breath, looking down at the ground, “I, erm, I’m an animagus. A black cat more specifically. It’s why…why, erm, you could never show me her. Well, I was her.”

There was silence. You waited a beat, expecting him to be upset for keeping a secret or get upset for allowing him to be so vulnerable and essentially lying to him for the last three weeks.

What you didn’t expect was his arms to wrap around you, for him to pull you close and squeeze you tight before pulling back, “That is so bad ass.”

Your face broke out into a smile, “Really? You’re not, like, made or anything? I know I should’ve told you sooner but I just…liked being close to you. Even if it had to be that way.”

You met his eyes shyly, only to be met by his shining, “Y/n/n, this is seriously so cool. Merlin, I thought I loved you before but this is so amazing. You’re so amazing, beautiful, gorgeous. Human form and cat.”

Mattheo’s eyes widen at the realization of his confession. “I, erm, I’m sorry I-”

“I love you too, Teo,” you cut him off. He flashed you a dimpled smile, “Yeah?” You nodded your head, lifting up on your tip toes to press a light kiss to his cheek, which instantly flamed.

He looked at you with shy eyes, scratching the back of his neck nervously, “Now that you’re secrets out, don’t think we could maybe…erm, use your animagus to prank the other boys one day?”

You couldn’t help but laugh, nodding, “Under one condition.”

Mattheo placed his hands on your waist, “What’s that, love?”

You couldn’t resist the urge to be cheesy in the moment, “You call me officially yours, both human and cat form.” Mattheo’s smile widen impossibly larger. “That I can do, Princess,” he leaned in, stealing another sweet kiss from your lips.

#Mattheo riddle x reader #Mattheo riddle x you #mattheo riddle x hufflepuff!reader #mattheo riddle x y/n #animagus!reader

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ryanyflags · 4 months

Text

A List of Gender Terms !

So I disappeared for 2 months, but I finally completed this project! :D (Though I've been making some random posts talking about it, so it's not like I was really gone, or what I was working on wasn't obvious.)

It started off as me having trouble keeping track of a couple gender terms (and also not knowing they existed before, since I've never really seen people talk about them), then I thought I should make a list, and if I was going to do that I might as well post it to help other people too. Which I started out trying to make that list on Tumblr, but I found it too limiting so I moved to google docs, which I also found too limiting (I just couldn't achieve my vision, if you will), and now I know html and css.

As usual, I kinda overdid it, but I think I should be a little proud of myself. I had 0 knowledge of html and css, and 2 months later I've made my own website. (I could have made it much quicker, but I often had to take breaks, a bit overwhelmed by all that new stuff.)

Anyways, it has a ton of terms on there.

I have sections for nonbinary, abinary, midbinary, atrinary, midtrinary, androgyne, agender, neutrois, maverique, ilyagender, aporagender, outherine, kenochoric, and xenogender.

For 7 categories (sex terms, adult, general term, child, gender quality, gender-quality-in-nature genders, and spectrum / -iagender spectrum).

And they all have sources on both Archive Today, Wayback Machine, and if still existing, the original post too. (At least to the best of my abilities, and there are a couple of exceptions that I couldn't figure out.)

I did put effort into this, but it's possible I missed something. So if I made a mistake anywhere, or if anyone has any extra information to add on, or if you just have some comments, you can tell me. My ask box is open, but comments on this post would probably be fine too.

Also, I checked on a couple of different browsers, mobile too, and read up on web accessibility and checked and all that (I tried using a screen reader, I'm not a pro at it though, so it's possible I may have missed something obvious), so I hope the website itself is useable. But if there's any bugs there, just tell me (it'll be appreciated).

I'm also thinking of making another compilation, but for flags (for all of the terms listed here), and maybe orientations too, but maybe later haha

I also don't know how to write a image id for the top picture, if anyone wants to write to one I'll add it.

Below the cut is a short little video scrolling through the site.

#compilation post #pride #nonbinary #abinary #midbinary #atrinary #midtrinary #androgyne #agender #neutrois #maverique #ilyagender #aporagender #outherine #kenochoric #xenogender #nonbinary language #it's hosted on neocities

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maximwtf · 2 years

Note

Hello person- I must say I love reading your lil fanfics always keeps me busy when It's in the middle of the night and I can't sleep lmao.

If I may, if you are still accepting requests- A Legolas x reader, where the reader isn't aware of a custom that elves have about braiding their hair and basically just accidentally confesses to him when they get bored one day and just start braiding his hair and only finds out when the Fellowship congratulates them for confessing or something along those lines hehehe

Legolas x reader

words: 1930

google docs pages: 3

warnings: none? fluff :D

opening: One day while you’re bored, you begin to braid Legolas’ hair, unaware of its meaning to the elves. It’s only later, when you find out the message behind it.

AN// Thank you so much for this request, love the idea! (this also gives me a reason to not write the other ideas I've been putting off xd) idk if this is a little ooc, but I hope it’s okay^^ It’s also lovely to hear that you enjoy my work!^^ Reader can be any gender !

“A time for congratulations?”

It hadn’t been long since you had joined the fellowship from Rivendell, like most of the others had too. The only one you knew better than the others was Legolas. Him you had met more than a few times in the past, mostly as an accident, but you did genuinely enjoy his company. You’d never admit it to anyone in the group, but you were happy that he had been the one from Mirkwood to join. You heard it had been his father who had suggested befriending Aragorn to him, and it was when Legolas had begun to look for Aragorn that he had met you. Aragorn you had only met a few times, and back then only knew him as “strider” like most. The others you had only met when the Fellowship had been formed, but all of them had seemed okay.

Now, trailing behind Legolas, you examined your surroundings silently. Old trees with roots going all across the forest blocked the view on your right and on the left only a few trees were growing, enjoying the sun they were able to get. The trees on the left casted dark shadows on the almost non existent road you were walking on. Gandalf had seemed to be very certain that there was a trail going here, but you weren’t so sure. But since no one else had doubted him, you had decided to just follow along. At least you weren’t going to get lost alone.

As your gaze moved from left to right, amazed by the sturdy old trees, being able to stand for such a long time, you noticed Legolas turning to look at you for a moment. It was only for a split second, but it made you humm to yourself. Perhaps he was happy to see you too. It was rarely that you could spend more time with him, mostly just short bump ins every now and then. He was a prince, and probably had a lot to do.

The group seemed to have noticed the darkened shadows of the trees, and decided to set camp for the night. The sun seemed to be setting, making the casted shadows even darker before the sky would begin to follow along. Spreading the darkness of the upcoming night all over.

You had agreed to take the first watch shift of the night before anyone could steal it from you. You’d rather stay up late and go to sleep than wake up in the middle of the night to take your turn. Boromir and Gimi seemed to have collected some bigger pieces of wood and some sticks that Aragorn had been able to set on fire to create a campfire. Legolas, you and the hobbits helped to bring some rocks and logs around the fire so everyone could sit. Sam had requested if he could make something to eat, and surprisingly enough no one had disagreed. The start of the night seemed to be going smoothly.

As Sam had begun to cook some kind of a soup or a stew, everyone else had spread around the fire. Some were fixing up their weapons and others just talking. You swore you had seen Merry and Pippin bothering Boromir too. You on the other hand had found a spot close to the fire. Most of the ‘seats’ had been taken, but that just allowed you to sit closer to the warming flames of the campfire. Legolas had seated himself near you. You could hear him lowering his bow and the quiver against the log he was sitting on. Other than that and the quiet talking, the only noise you could hear was the mixing of the soup Sam was making. Sometimes the ladle would hit the edges of the saucepan, causing a small noise to break the silent gaps.The moon was only a half, but since there weren't a lot of clouds in the sky, it was able to shine its light all over the forest. At times it felt like time had stopped after the sun had started to go down, and was still shining some light over the fellowship. It was only the cold night air that let you know it indeed was almost time to go and rest.

You shivered under your clothes, pulling the cloak closer to you, making sure it was properly over your shoulders. Something rustled behind you, and soon another cape was placed over you. A small ‘huh?’ left your mouth as you turned to look who it was. Legolas clipped the front clip shut so the cloack wouldn’t fall off of you. “You seemed cold.” He said, smiling slightly as he sat back down. “I- Thank you.” You said, still confused by the gesture. “Aren’t you going to be cold?” You then asked, feeling bad if he’d have to freeze because of you. The elf laughed lightly at your question and shook his head. “Elves can tolerate the cold better than humans, therefore you should keep it.” He explained to you.

You had never really thought of how different you were to him. Sure, you were friends with him, but you had no idea that the elves could tolerate the cold better than humans. Maybe you’d find out something else about him as the fellowship continued. This had to only one from many things that made elves so different from you.

You noticed that the faint light of the moon made his almost white hair look magical. The usually well braided strands of hair had opened up from the fighting the group had gone through with a few orcs earlier that day. You had noticed that the prince usually kept his hair well done, but maybe he hadn’t noticed yet.

Not being sure if you’d embarrass him if you pointed it out, you got up and sat next to him. You weren’t an elf but you had gotten your hair done before and over the years learned how to braid hair in different styles. So without another word, you took a hold of one of the half opened braids and began to undo it completely. Legolas seemed to have tensed up for a moment and you felt his eyes on you, but to your surprise he soon turned his gaze away and let you continue.

You braided the first strand of hair, pulling it behind his ear the way you’d seen him usually have them. After starting to fix the other one, you felt another pair of eyes on the two of you. With a quick look you found out who it was. Aragorn was sitting on the other side of the campfire with an amused look on his face. Not understanding what he had found amusing, you kept on working on Legolas’ hair. The prince’s hair was smooth and easy to work with. Humming to yourself, “you have lovely hair.” You said quietly, seeing the man shiver, but saying nothing about it. You were enjoying the moment, getting to feel closer to your friend for once. The warmth of Legolas’ cloak and the fire kept you warm and protected from the gusts of wind. The smell of the soup Sam had made was good, and it felt great to know you were going to be eating something that not only would taste good but also would be warm. You felt like you had only been eating bread and apples for such a long time.

You finished the other braid and mixed it in with the unbraided parts of his hair. “Both are fixed again.” You hummed mostly to yourself but out loud so Legolas could hear it too. You felt his eyes on you for a moment before they moved to Sam, when he handed the both of you a bowl with some steaming soup in it. You thanked the hobbit with a nod, and began to eat. From the corner of your eye, you caught Aragorn telling Gimli something and them both silently laughing. Trying not to pay no mind to the conversation, you couldn't help but to wonder if it was about what Aragorn had found so amusing earlier?

After that night, many more passed. Some worse and some just as good, but what kept everyone going was the mission and the people in the fellowship. Legolas never mentioned anything about you braiding his hair, and he even let you do it once or twice after. But after every time, it felt like more eyes were on the two of you. It was first only Aragorn, then Gimli joined and soon even Gandalf was in on it. At times it felt like even Legolas knew what was going on.

After some time of you being oblivious of what had been going on, you decided to bring it up. You had so many theories of what they could have been up to, that you just had to find out. Making your way from the back of the group to where Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli were, you prepared yourself. “What are you hiding from me?” This got the attention of the three, all of them slowing down their walking speed a little. “Whatever do you mean?” Legolas asked, giving Aragorn a quick look, almost as if he was trying to tell the man something. “You all clearly have been sharing a rumor or something along the lines of that.” You replied, but didn’t get an answer from anyone for a moment. “You should tell them.” Gandalf’s voice rang from the front of the group, clearly also aware of what you were talking about. “It isn’t a rumor per say.” Gimli started, looking at Aragorn for a moment, hoping he’d take it from there. You saw Legolas look away, not taking part in the conversation. “We wished to congratulate you on confessing to Legolas.” Your eyes widened for a moment, and without even wanting to, a “what?” Left your mouth. “They weren’t aware, Aragorn.” Legolas finally joined in, looking at his friend. “What is this all about?” You tilted your head. “When you braid his hair. See, to elves it has a significant meaning behind it.” Aragorn tried to explain. Your hand traveled over your mouth, clearly shocked. “And you didn't think to tell me?” You blushed slightly, smacking Legolas’ arm lightly. He stopped, taking a light hold of your hand to pause you as well. “I wanted to explain it to you but I found that..” He tried to look for words for a moment, and you let him. “I found that I cared for you that way, and I wasn’t certain if you had found the meaning yourself...” His eyes met yours again, after traveling for a moment. You stayed silent, not even noticing that the rest of the fellowship had also stopped near the two of you. “But I am aware that I should have told-” Legolas broke the silence but you stopped him before he could finish. “It’s all okay. I feel similar.” You admitted, looking away for a second. “Is this a better time for congratulations?” Gimli’s voice asked from behind you as Aragorn walked closer as well. “Yes, yes it is.” You smiled and turned back to Legolas. His eyes looked at you with admiration in them. “Gi Melin.” (I love you)

#lord of the rings #lotr #the hobbit #th #x reader #lord of the rings legolas #lotr legolas #fanfic #fanfiction #lord of the rings x reader #lotr x reader #legolas greenleaf #legolas greenleaf x reader #the hobbit legolas #legolas beloved #legolas x reader

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hells-wasabii · 7 months

Note

hey,i LOVE your work! Can i request a Lute (hazbin hotel) x gn!reader who is Adam's sibling and how she's slowly falling for reader. It's okay if u don't wanna do it,but incase u do please tag me ♡

AN: Sooooo, I messed this request up. I wrote the headcanons in my google doc and finished them in one sitting so i didn't exactly cross reference the ask, and I wrote general relationship hc for lute x reader who's adam's sibling. Don't worry though, I'm not gonna let this fumble go to waste, I'll go ahead and post a full set of HC now and a Drabble that I’m working on for it at a later date.

Character: Lute

Type: Headcanons (Lute x reader who is Adam’s sibling, Fluff)

When Lute initially met you, she didn’t exactly know that you and Adam were siblings. You had come along to the exorcist training grounds for some reason or another dealing with Adam, and Lute had initially thought you were lost. It's not until the first man makes an appearance that she connects the dots. Up until that point, she didn’t even know he had a sibling

She’s surprised at how different you are from Adam. Where the first man was crass, you… let's face it, even if you have a higher level of maturity than your brother, you’re still his sibling. Do with that as you will.

After the initial meeting, the two of you saw each other more and more often. It really didn’t take long for the two of you to get closer, and eventually get together.

Of course, Adam finding out about the two of you is inevitable. How long it took for him to figure it out though is kind of up in the air. He can teeter between pretty dense to super observant. Or the two of you could even beat him to the punch and tell him yourselves. After the initial shock he wouldn’t really care, though after you leave, he pulls Lute to the side and super casually threatens her, ‘ya know blah blah blah hurt them and you’re out of the band’

The other exorcists are sure to talk, too. The most popular rumor amongst them had been that Lute was merely with you to gain favor with Adam. Another was that Lute had simply gotten tired of a (non-existent)romance with Adam and moved on to his sibling. Both Adam and Lute were quick to put a stop to that one.

With you having been around since the beginning of humanity like Adam, she finds it easier to ask about the garden, Adam is a little more bitter about it and won't go into details as a result, and when he does, it’s usually about events that centered around him. From you, she would get to learn about events that texts never went into. Though in reality, it was partially a ruse for her to be able to listen to you speak so fondly of your time on earth.

Assuming you’re just as strong of an angel as Adam is, you’ll be a constant sparring partner for the lieutenant. None of the other exorcists are a match for her ruthlessness in battle, but you had the power to keep up. You could present a challenge and by god did that give Lute a thrill she hadn’t realized she needed.

#hazbin hotel #hazbin imagine #hazbin headcanons #hazbin hotel x reader #lute x reader #hazbin hotel lute #hazbin lute #adam hazbin hotel

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mamaestapa · 10 months

Text

I Wish You Would

•pairing: Joe Burrow x reader

•series summary: Y/n Hubbard, the younger sister of Cincinnati Bengals Defensive End Sam Hubbard, finds herself in a difficult situation after a steamy hookup with her brothers best friend, who just so happens to be the quarterback for the Bengals. In just nine months their lives will be changed forever. How will Y/n and Joe manage to to go through parenthood together? more so, how will Sam take the news he is going to be the uncle of his best friends baby?

•chapter summary: Sam pours his heart out to you and Joe, hoping you two will forgive him and his behavior from the past six months...

•word count: TBD…it’s a very long chapter though (i was too lazy to put it on a google doc lol. i’ll fix it later today)

•warnings: pregnancy, pregnancy hormones, reader is extremely turned on by Joe (whos not? LOL), slight smut/more like allusions to sex, mentions of pregnancy loss, SAM, some confrontation, some angst, fluff, basically the basic daddy issues warnings lol

series masterlist

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May 21, 2023

6 months pregnant

You took a deep breath as you leaned against the counter, arms crossed over your chest and resting on your growing baby bump as you watched Joe prepare a protein shake after his workout. You huffed out a sigh as you watched the muscles in his biceps and forearms flex with each shake of the bottle. It was almost like they were teasing you, wanting you to grip them tightly as you and Joe...

"Y/n," Joe's voice snapped you out of your wandering thoughts, "You OK?"

You felt your cheeks flush as you looked into Joe's blue eyes, his gaze making butterflies swarm in your belly. You gulped slightly, hoping he didn't pick up on your body language. I'm OK, you thought, I'm more than just OK, actually..

I'm extremely turned on right now by your black compression shirt...

Your bulging and drenched in sweat arm muscles...

and don't even get me started on that ass...

"I'm great." You said with a small smile as you uncrossed your arms and adjusted the shirt that tightly hugged your body. Joe's gaze never once left you, making your body's excitement grow more and more.

Stupid pregnancy hormones. They've been raging recently, wanting you to pounce on your boyfriend at any moment and climb him like a tree. Joe could just glance at you and your body made you need him, all of him.

Joe furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at you. It seemed like he wasn't believing your response. He set his shaker bottle down on the counter and made his way over to where you stood on the other side of the counter. Joe stood in front of you, crossing his arms over his chest which of course made your eyes wander. Your eyes widened slightly as you took in the way his chest looked hugged by his compression shirt. Joe noticed your gaze fall to his chest. Oh. The lustful look in your eyes made him chuckle. Lovely pregnancy hormones.

Joe smirked as he uncrossed his arms and walked up to you, holding them out for you. "C'mere mamas."

The name had you practically melting into Joe's arms. You fell into his embrace, bringing your baby blue manicured hands up to his hard chest. You slowly ran your hands down Joe's chest and abdomen, your arousal growing as you felt each ab on your fingertips. You bit your lip slightly as your hands came back up settled on his sternum. Joe stood there as you felt his body, his arousal growing as you got up on your tip toes to kiss his neck. You started delicately sucking at the skin of his neck, making Joe groan softly. You kissed along his jaw line before going back to his neck, making sure to mark him up. Before you could leave a deep purple mark on his neck, Joe pulled away from you, making you whine.

"Joeyyy."

Joe narrowed his eyes at you. Already knowing the answer, he still decided to ask, "Why are you so..."

"Horny?" You finished for him. Joe chuckled at your bluntness, "Yeah."

You pulled yourself completely away from Joe and leaned against the countertop, "Well," you sighed, "I went to my doctors appointment a couple days ago." Joe nodded along as you spoke, interested to see where you were going with this.

"And not only are my hormones raging right now, but Doctor Montgomery said it might be a good idea to stop having sex once I reach the sixth month mark."

Joe's eyes widened slightly as his mouth formed an O. You sighed once again, bringing yourself close to your boyfriends chest again. "So Joe, please," you practically begged, "all I want is for your to slam me against this countertop and screw me like there's no-."

You got cut off by Joe's lips slamming onto yours. You instantly kissed back just as harshly. He pulled away, a small smirk on his face as he looked down at you. "Say no more..." he said, huskily under his breath. You let out a breath of anticipation as your smirk matched his.

Joe pushed you against the counter, wrapping his arms around your waist.

"Jump." He instructed.

You did as he said, jumping just enough so you could sit on the countertop. You straddled his waist, your fingers digging into his toned back. You threw your head back, moaning as Joe put his lips against your neck, sucking at the skin just enough to get a reaction out of you, but not enough to leave deep marks. You brought your hands up to his hair, pulling on strands of his dark blonde hair, "Joe, don't stop..."

He pulled your tight fitting white t-shirt off of your body, throwing it across the room. Joe bit his lip, observing your chest which has gotten significantly bigger since you've gotten pregnant. You grabbed his hand, placing it on your right breast. His palm instantly kneaded at the swollen skin. Joe's other hand traveled down to your waist band, his skilled fingers hooking under and slowly pulling them down your thighs. Both of your breathing was quickening as he traced the lace of your panties...however, as Joe's fingers pulled at the material of your panties, a sudden wave of guilt came flooding over you.

"Wait," you suddenly pulled away from Joe, making him remove his hands from your waist. "stop." you said, removing his other hand from your chest. Joe pulled away from you completely with a puzzled look on his face. "What's wrong?"

"I feel..." you trailed off, pulling your pants back up and gulping slightly as you made eye contact with a concerned and confused Joe, "dirty."

Joe's eyes widened slightly as he was taken aback by your confession, "D-dirty?" he chuckled, "Why d'you feel dirty, babe?"

You put your hands on your belly, "Because we have the little guy in here listening to everything, and it just feels wrong." You shuddered at the thought of the baby boy in your womb hearing everything.

"Babe, we've done it before with the little guy in there," Joe said, gesturing to your bump as he reassured you, "It's fine, really."

You shook your head, your hormones suddenly changing their minds. "I was only what, three months pregnant? I was barely showing, and he couldn't hear things. Now, I am really showing, and he can hear us, Joe. Do you really want our son to hear us having sex while he's in here?" You finished, pointing to your baby bump.

Joe laughed, "You- seriously?" You giggled, "Yes, seriously!"

"Y/n, baby, he's going to hear us when he's out of there, so he might as well get used to it now."

You gasped at Joe's words, lightly hitting his chest as both of you chuckled at his joke. He did have a point...but that didn't stop you from feeling guilty, nor did it change your mind at all.

"Maybe we should just wait to do this until after I give birth. I feel guilty if we finish..." You trailed off with a sigh. You looked up at Joe, smiling sadly as you looked into his eyes. He was just as turned on as you were...what a bummer. "I'm sorry, Joey."

Joe chuckled as he picked up your shirt and tossed it to you. "Stop. Don't be sorry." He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into a warm embrace. He placed a gentle kiss on your forehead before he spoke, " It's fine with me, sweetheart. Whatever makes you the most comfortable."

"Thank you, Joe." You said quietly as a smile tugged at your lips. He was so patient with you and your pregnancy hormones. It meant a lot to you that he was so patient despite the raging hormones and mood swings you were experiencing. You pulled away from Joe, placing a gentle kiss to his lips which he gladly returned. You let out a soft sigh before you spoke, "It's probably a good thing we didn't participate in any...activities."

Joe chuckled at your use of the word "activities".

"Because," you continued, glancing at the clock, "we're supposed to meet Sam for lunch in forty minutes."

Joe's mouth formed a straight line as his shoulders dropped at the mention of your older brothers name. The brother you haven't spoken to since the day of your sister in-laws baby shower. The day that was supposed to be a happy and exciting day, turned into one of the worst day of yours and Joe's lives. Joe didn't want to see Sam, not after all the drama and hurt he caused you both emotionally and physically. Maybe he was being overdramatic, but Joe doesn't think he'll ever forgive Sam for being the reason you could have lost your unborn son.

"Joe," you said his name softly, pulling him out of his thoughts. Joe hummed in response. You noticed how he tensed up and how his jaw clenched at the mention of meeting up with Sam.

"I know you don't want to see him, but I think it would be good for us, all of us to hear what he has to say."

Joe just nodded at your words. You frowned softly as you said the next part, "And as much as I want to stay mad at him for everything he has done to us and our relationship. I really miss my brother."

Joe sighed softly as he snaked an arm around your waist, gently pulling you into him. He didn't want to admit it, but deep down he did miss Sam, too.

"I know," Joe said, "I miss him too."

You smiled sadly and pulled away from Joe, grabbing his hand and slowly leading him out of the kitchen, "Then let's go get ready." Joe nodded and followed you out of the kitchen and upstairs to get ready for lunch with Sam.

It was a day you were both dreading, but you knew it needed to happen sooner rather than later. After hearing how guilty and genuinely sorry he seemed, you realized you needed to let Sam talk and have the opportunity to apologize. You and Joe needed to hear where he was coming from. You may not always agree or get along, but he is your brother. What he did wasn't right, but you can't ignore him forever. While it may take some time and effort from all three of you, Sam does deserve a chance to make things right.

time skip

You and Joe walked into the restaurant you agreed to meet Sam at, both of you simultaneously taking a deep breath as you stepped through the entrance. It wasn't too fancy, just a local sandwich shop in Cincinnati, a place you and the other wags met up at often during the off-season. Sam made sure to have you all meet up when it wasn't super busy since you didn't want to be bombarded by fans. You also didn't want any speculation to start swirling around the league after you were seen sporting a baby bump while out with the star QB...

You knew you wouldn't be able to hide your unborn baby and his fathers identity forever, but you liked what privacy you and Joe had for now. You would tell the world about everything when you were ready, and right now is not that time.

As you walked further into the shop, you saw Sam sitting in a booth, staring intently at his phone. You took another deep breath as you looked at your brother. You could feel your heart race and your palms grow clammy as you realized it was finally time to have that conversation or should you say conversations you've been dreading. You and Joe agreed to go into this day with an open mind, wanting to stay as civil as possible. You’d only get confrontational with Sam he if he got confrontational with the two of you.

Joe could sense you tense up beside him, so he placed a hand on the small of your back, giving your hip a gentle reassuring squeeze. You looked up at him and smiled softly, giving him a small nod before the two of you made your way over to Sam.

As you grew closer to the booth he was sat in, Sam snapped his head up from his phone. His eyes lit up as he saw you and Joe standing in front of him. He didn't think you were going to show up.

Sam stood up, wiping his hands on his shorts and taking a deep breath before he spoke.

"Y/n, Joe," he said, sounding almost relieved to see both of you, "hi."

"Hi Sam," you said softly, giving your older brother a small smile, "it's good to see you." Sam smiled sadly at you, his blue eyes apologetic as he replied sincerely, "It's good to see you too, Y/n/n. I've missed you."

"We've missed you too." Joe answered, making your older brothers eyebrows raise slightly. He wasn't expecting that answer to come from Joe, and neither were you. You briefly looked up at Joe before turning your attention back to Sam, giving him a closed lip smile.

"You want to order some food and maybe get a table outside? It’s pretty nice out, plus it gives us some privacy." You said, voice growing quieter by the end of your suggestion. Your brother and boyfriend nodded, agreeing with what you said. The three of you proceeded to the counter to order your sandwiches before heading outside. After getting your food, Joe chose a table for you to sit at a few feet away from the entrance. Once you were all seated and settled, Sam spoke up.

"So how have you two been?"

"Really good," Joe said, glancing at you with a small smile on his face. You nodded, adding on, "I had an appointment last week, passed my glucose test and baby boy looks great." Sam smiled at that, "Good," he said , "I'm glad to hear that."

You smiled, "Thank you. He had us worried there for a while, but doctor says he's happy and healthy."

Sam's smile faltered slightly at the mention of how your baby's health had you and Joe worried for a bit. It took a lot of reassurance from Emma and the others that it wasn't his fault and scares like that can just happen, but Sam still couldn't help but feel guilty about the whole situation. He put so much stress on you and Joe during those early months, he knew it had to be his fault.

Sam gulped slightly, "Well I’m happy to hear that. You look great by the way, Y/n/n."

Sam's nickname for you made you smile slightly. While he's made you extremely upset and been quite a douche lately, you canto deny that you've missed him so much.

"Thanks Sammy," you replied, your nickname for Sam making him smile this time, “How’s Emma doing?”

“Good, her and baby girl are healthy. Em’s a bit uncomfortable though. Just ready to have the baby,” Sam chuckled, “but I constantly have to remind her she’s still got about eight more weeks left to grow.”

“It’s because she’s growing your big ass baby, Sam. How much more growing could she have left?” Joe said, joking with his best friend, “is she measuring ahead at all?”

Sam chuckled lightly at Joe’s teasing before answering, “Yeah she’s actually measuring two weeks ahead. We’re going in for an ultrasound in two weeks to confirm, but doctor thinks the due date will get moved up.”

“That’s great if it does,” you smiled, “Not only does it save her weeks of discomfort, but your daughter will be here before training camp.” Sam nodded at your words, “Oh yeah,” he agreed, “we’re hoping that’s the case.”

You and Joe nodded in agreement. You’re not at that point in your pregnancy yet where you’re extremely uncomfortable, but you know you’ll be feeling exactly how Emma feels in just a few weeks. For now though, you’re just thankful for how good you feel during the end of your second trimester.

For the next fifteen minutes or so, you, Joe and Sam ate your lunch in a mix of tense, yet comfortable silence while making the occasional small talk. It was obvious the three of you wanted to get into the reason why you’re meeting up today, but nobody seemed to be the one that wanted to bring it up.

You knew Joe wouldn’t bring it up. At all. And you didn’t necessarily want to be the one to start the conversation, but you also didn’t want to avoid the discussion anymore than the three of you already were. Someone just had to “rip off the bandaid” and finally start that conversation…

You wiped the corners of your mouth before folding your napkin in your hand and setting it down on the table. You adjusted your position in the chair you sat in, uncrossing your legs and sitting straight up. You cupped your bump and cleared your throat before speaking up, “I hate to be the one to bring it up…” you trailed off, eyeing the two men sitting with you, “but we do need to talk.”

“Yeah.” Joe sighed, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his fingers through his grown out hair. Sam nodded as he too adjusted his position, “We do.” He confirmed, sighing softly after he spoke. Sam wore an apologetic expression as his eyes darted between you and Joe. He took a deep breath before taking a moment to spill his heart out to both of you. Months of pent up emotions would be spewing out in just a matter of seconds.

“I don’t even know where to begin. I just, I feel terrible. Terrible about how I’ve been treating you two and how I reacted to the baby—your baby. Terrible about what happened the day of Emma’s baby shower. If it wasn’t for me and my outbursts, you guys wouldn’t have almost lost your baby boy that day.” Sam’s voice cracked with emotion as he said the word “baby”.

You pulled your bottom lip between your teeth as you listened to Sam’s voice break. Joe brought his hand under the table and placed it on your protruding belly. He started to stroke the bump with his thumb, comforting both himself and you with the reassurance that your son was still safe and sound in your womb.

Sam continued speaking, “And don’t even get me started on the Ohio State situation. I had no right getting in-between the two of you like I did, even if it was for the best.” he sighed softly, as tears began to well in his eyes, “I, god, I feel terrible about everything I’ve done.”

You frowned as you saw how emotional Sam was getting. He did seem like he genuinely felt bad. You wanted to speak, but Sam wasn’t done.

“I understand if you never want to see me again—either of you. I wouldn’t want to see me ever again either if I were you.” Sam wasn’t one to usually show his emotions, but right now he was showing all of his emotions. His chin quivered as he spoke, “I am so, so sorry for all of the shit I’ve done and said to both of you. Not just with the pregnancy, but with your relationship. Neither of you deserve the shit I’ve put you through, and I am so sorry for that. I wish things could go back to how they were before between us. I wish I wasn’t selfish. I wish I wasn’t such an asshole. I wish you two would come back into my life again because…”

You and Joe stayed silent as Sam spewed out his jumbled apology. You were trying to process all the things he was saying to you, while also allowing him to have the chance to get everything off of his chest.

“I love you both so much,” Sam continued, his tone somber, “Y/n/n you’re my baby sister and Joey, we’ve been friends for so long that you’re not just my best friend, you’re my brother. I should’ve never treated you guys the way I did because as long as you’re happy, I should be happy, right?” He sighed once again, taking a moment to think of the right words to say next, “I’m genuinely sorry for the last few months. I’ve been overreacting like crazy, and if you’ll let me, I’d like another chance. I want to make things right.”

You took a deep breath as you took in all of Sam’s words, which was a lot to take in. Joe removed his hand from your bump, bringing it up to his hair. He wet his lips as he ran his fingers through his grown out hair. The air between the three of you was tense as Sam waited anxiously for either you or Joe to respond to him pouring his heart out.

“Sam,” Joe spoke, his voice quiet. Both you and Sam turned your attention to the blonde sitting next to you. “I understand why you reacted the way you did when we told you about the baby. I do, and I forgive you for that. But,” he sighed before continuing, “Why did you do it? If you love us as much as you say you do, if you want us to be happy as much as you say you do, why did you do it?” His voice was full of confusion and pain. You could feel the tears well in your eyes at the sound of Joe’s voice. You knew exactly what he was referring to…and so did Sam.

“I was trying to protect both of you.” Was all Sam said. Joe furrowed his brows and cocked his head to the side, “From what?”

“A lot. Protect Y/n getting her heart broken and losing the one boy she ever truly loved. Protect you from getting stuck at Ohio State and throwing away your whole career for my sister. Joe, I love you man but you and I both know things would’ve ended worse between you two if I hadn’t stepped in.”

“You were protecting us from eachother?” you asked, voice laced with so much confusion and emotion. It didn’t make any sense to you.

“Yes,” Sam confirmed, “I was protecting both of you from eachother.”

“But Why?” You and Joe asked at the same time.

“Because I knew it wasn’t going to work between you two at the time.”

You and Joe both furrowed your eyebrows in confusion. “Why?” You asked, genuinely confused. Sam scoffed lightly, “If you’d let me explain, maybe it’ll answer your question.” You and Joe closed your mouths, your silence urging Sam to continue.

“Joe, you were in love with my sister since the day you met her, and Y/n, you couldn’t stop drooling over Joe after I let you spend the night at our apartment for the first time.”

You and Joe both blushed lightly at Sam’s words. Neither of you had realized he knew all along about the infatuation you and Joe had for each other as young adults.

Sam continued, “And as much as you loved each other, I knew it wasn’t going to work out at the time. Joe, if you stayed at Ohio State I doubt you would’ve gotten any playing time until it was too late. I knew for you to achieve your dreams, you had to go to LSU—even if it meant breaking my baby sister’s heart. And Y/n,” Sam turned to you as he spoke, “if Joe would’ve stayed in Ohio he would’ve held you back from getting that internship in Los Angeles that gave you your job for the Bengals. You needed that time away from him and he needed that time away from you.”

You hated to admit it, but Sam did have a point. If Joe would’ve stayed at Ohio State…would you even have your job with the Bengals right now? Better yet, would Joe even have his job with the Bengals? It all started to make sense now…

Sam didn’t make Joe break up with you in college because he didn’t want you two together…

He did it because he wanted you two to find yourselves before finding each other.

“I felt like an ass having that conversation with Joe, acting like I hated the idea of you two dating. I knew it had to be done though for both of you to have the futures you wanted. But, I knew it would all work out for you,” He looked at both you and Joe with a genuine glint in his eyes, “Because you two were so in love that I knew someday you’d find your way back to each other,” Sam smiled softly as he looked between you and Joe, “and look at you now. You’ve got your dream jobs, you’re in a happy relationship, and you’re having a baby. Now you can say I’m wrong all you want, but, it looks like you found your way back to each other after all.”

You glanced over at Joe. The corner of his mouth was pulled up into a slight smirk as he shook his head at Sam.

“Wow,” he said, a light laugh escaping his lips, “You, I don’t even know what to say.”

“You really were looking out for us.” You said, looking back at Sam. He nodded, “Could I have executed it better? Oh yeah. But did it work? I’d say it did.”

You smiled slightly at your brother as tears welled in your eyes. You were overwhelmed by everything Sam had just told you. He knew all along that you and Joe were sneaking around behind his back. He knew how much you and Joe have always loved each other. His actions in college weren’t out of spite against you two, really, he was just looking out for both of you all along. It was hard to stay mad him now, now that you found out the truth behind everything.

You stood up from the you were sitting in, walking over to the other side of the table where Sam sat. He stood up from his chair, and as soon as he was standing you wrapped your arms around him. The two of you hugged tightly in silence for a few moments before you spoke.

“I forgive you Sammy.”

Sam smiled and squeezed you gently. He pulled away from you, turning his attention from you to Joe, who was now standing. You stepped to the side, letting the two have their moment. Joe pulled Sam into a “bro hug”, the two not saying a word, just nodding and slapping the others back the way men do when they hug. After pulling away from each other, the three of you sat back down.

The air amongst you wasn’t as tense as before Things were finally starting to feel normal between the three of you again. You spent the next teeny minutes talking some more, all three of your sharing some more of your feelings. You and Joe both agreed to give Sam a second chance. Your son deserves to have great relationship with his Uncle Sammy.

"Do you guys want to meet Emma and I for dinner next week?" Sam asked before the three of you went your separate ways. You smiled at your brother, your smile only widening as you glanced up at Joe. A content smile was on his face as he nodded at Sam. He didn’t have to say anything. You and Joe both knew that this was his way of beginning to forgive Sam for everything.

"We'd love to."

"Okay, great," Sam replied with a smile, "Jeff Ruby's or Boca at eight?"

"We've never been to Boca." Joe replied for the both of you with a shrug.

"Boca it is then."

After months of you and Joe both not speaking to Sam and being on not-so great terms, after today, it's safe to say things might finally be starting to look the way they did before this mess. While it's still a work in process, you finally had your big brother back in your life and Joe finally had his best friend back in his life.

You both couldn't be happier.

hi loves!!!

omg long time no see, lol. i feel like haven’t updated this in such a long time! (it’s because i actually haven’t😂)

i’ve been dealing with college, writers block, a football funk, and having ZERO motivation to write for this series. it was tough for a while because i loved working on this series over the summer, but something happened (i don’t even know what) and i lost all motivation for this series. maybe it was because football season wasn’t feeling like football season or because i started watching hockey. i don’t really know why, but the good news is, i finally have ALL my motivation back!!🤍

and with joe being out for the rest of the season now, i’ll be keeping up with updates for this series because i know that’ll keep our “joe community” happy while our joey recovers from his injury :)

i apologize if this chapter is all over the place and if the conversation with sam makes absolutely ZERO SENSE. i wrote that at like 4am, plus, i had no clue how to write this chapter. i just knew i needed to get it done and published! the next couple chapters im so excited to write, they’re going to be so sweet🤍

thank you so much for all the love and support you all continue to show me. it means the world to me. thank you for your patience too, i know it’s not always easy waiting months for updates lol. you are all the BEST!😚🫂🤍

tags: @dandelionwrites8 @joeburreauxsworld @theflawedwriter @mrsshiesty @ann288 @ijustcrypretty @theoneandonlyfanz @wickedfun9 @venus-b @hummusxx @stainednailpolishremover @a-moment-captured @alternativemadchen @erinmartin1987 @sirlewisworld @kkrenae @unhingedfangirl @sublimemusic-rebel @meameagirl @ilovejoeburroww @hallecarey1 @j-worlds-blog @blinkloverx3 @jordyn14 @kristencochefski1125 @ryiamarie @unsaidjaelinrose @sinners-98-world @ozwriterchick @evernova @fangirl-madz @jackharloww @emherb10

#joe burrow #joe burrow x reader #joe burrow x y/n #joe burrow x you #joe burrow series #dad joe #daddy issues #guys this was probably the worst one yet.#i am SO SORRY LOL #don’t get your hopes up…i’m just a lil rusty

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