#rule of rose fairy tale
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eanfee · 1 month ago
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Once upon a time, there was the Unlucky Little Princess...
An ugly, miserable, filthy girl… As she was called by everyone in the kingdom, treated with such contempt that she was forced to live in a chamber covered in dirty rags in the castle's catacombs, being made a slave after the premature death of her parents, murdered by the fire of a fat White Dragon.
She spent her days dreaming, listening and spying on the world outside whenever she could escape her duties, observing in the garden the object of affection of the entire kingdom: the Princess of the Red Rose.
A girl of unimaginable beauty, soft and gentle speech, she lived loved and well cared for in the rich soil where she was planted, flanked by her faithful companions of the nobility, who dedicated their lives to fulfilling all the desires and whims of their beloved princess.
One rare day, the Unlucky Princess was sent outside the castle, tasked with exterminating a horde of insects that were terrorizing the royal gardens. As she passed by with heavy buckets of potions, she could see the princess laughing and having fun with her friends, as was their custom. In the new game they had invented, White Rosebud, the girl with the lowest status, was desperately trying to cover her humble white petals with bright red paint, while the three other flowers constantly poured water over her, causing the paint to run like blood onto the ground.
They told her that if she could paint herself completely at some point, they would promote her from her position as servant to lady-in-waiting, where she could have the honor of serving tea to the others, instead of serving as a seat for the princess.
While they laughed at the young bud's frustrated attempts, the Princess of the Red Rose spotted the Unlucky Princess in the background, and, ending all the fun, called her closer. Despite the looks of complete disgust that she received with every step she took, the hostile whispers and hisses when her ragged clothes brushed against the roots or leaves of one of the noblewomen, the Unlucky Princess walked slowly towards the other princess, who surprised her with a gentle touch on her cheek.
The dazzling rose informed her how enchanted she was by the figure of the girl, who despite being dirty and humble, also carried something inside her that aroused the monarch's curiosity, a touch of determination, loyalty and servitude that she admired in her subordinates. In a magical agreement, she proposed that the girl perform tasks for the group of Aristocrats of the Red Rose, in order to prove her worth as an individual, and thus earn her place among the nobles as nothing less than the Second Princess of the Red Rose. With great enthusiasm, the Unlucky Princess agreed, sealing the agreement with her own blood, beginning to listen attentively to the demands of the roses.
The Wise Baroness demanded the wings of a goat-faced butterfly, which had devoured her poetry notebook days ago, where her deepest secrets were written and now traveled shamelessly to the four winds, filling her with shame and anger.
The Icy Countess requested that she find her Bird of Happiness, which had escaped from its golden cage the night before, because without the animal's magical song, the noblewoman would be condemned to a dark and apathetic existence for all eternity.
The Proud Duchess ordered the scales of a Sad Mermaid, so that she could make a new necklace to enhance her beauty, because the old one had been lost in the sand, and as the oldest of the group, she needed to expose all her maturity through her feminine charms.
Finally, the Princess asked for the recovery of an important artifact: Her heart medallion, her greatest symbol of royalty that had been stolen by a terrible beast that had fled to the farthest corners of the forest surrounding the castle. Offering one of her thorns as a weapon, she instructed the Unlucky Princess to kill the creature, the enormous Mad Dog, extract its heart as a way to ensure its death and bring it inside the locket, as compensation for the theft.
The White Rosebud, having failed to complete her task, was not allowed a request, and could barely say goodbye to the trailblazer as she bent down to be used as a bench once more.
Walking through the forest, the Unlucky Princess soon found a vast field of book-flowers, with their words jumping out of their petals and tangling in meaningless tongue twisters. In the wind, dozens of unusual butterflies roamed stealthily, devouring sentences here and there, delighting in the knowledge acquired.
One of them, however, seemed little interested in the flowers there, showing off a protruding belly and belching letters and more cursive letters from its enormous goat's mouth, letting out whispers of secrets that were hidden in the Baroness's notebook. It recited:
“I know the whole truth, beh beh Of the secrets written in graffiti, beh beh Of the youthful confessions, beh beh Of the words spoken in the dark, beh beh Hidden by a blind feeling, beh beh Chained by a humiliating love, beh beh But that were exposed beh beh By the Proud Lady, beh beh Who played with the love of the youngest, beh beh And threw her truths into the air, beh beh”
Sighing in defeat, seemingly corrupted by the words written in the notebook, the butterfly surrendered to death as the thorn of the Princess of the Red Rose was thrust into its chest, pinning it to the filthy ground, so that the Unlucky Princess could tear the wings from its back and keep them in her bag as a trophy for the Baroness.
Climbing into the trees to be closer to the sky, the princess could watch in awe as the majestic bird flew in daring twists and turns in the sky, displaying its magnificent crimson feathers like a spark of fire that hovered among the clouds.
Its whistle was much more self-contained and festive than the girl had ever heard when it lived in its cage in the palace garden. The notes were sung in such a way as to bewitch all those below it, transmitting the energy of happiness that truly made it worthy of its name.
“I haven’t flown for many years, In that cage, I lived as a prisoner I forgot the colors of the world, I forgot how sweet eternal happiness was! But now I have been freed, By none other than the Ladies of the Rose I had the chance to fly I now recognize eternal happiness! Leave me here, leave me free Allow me to dream again. Don’t make me give up again, on everything I once was Don’t steal my eternal happiness from me! Come now, live with me, To be free, like me, happy like me. And just like me, To also discover eternal happiness!”
Uncaring of the bird's pleas, the Unlucky Princess used the Red Rose Princess's thorn as a spear and pierced the bird's wing, which screeched in agony as it plummeted like a flaming star from the sky, landing in the gift bag next to the butterfly's wings.
"Ambition is a sin, Hope is foolish, And it seems, as they say: Eternal happiness is a joke."
The bird finished bitterly, before using its sharp claws to rip out its own tongue, shutting itself up forever.
Climbing down the vines, sliding down to the muddy ground, the Unlucky Princess found a desecrated lake, with water so dark that it was impossible to guess what kind of creature could be hiding in its depths. Looking at the rocks piled up on the other side, however, it was possible to see a young mermaid of pitiful appearance crying uncontrollably.
As she slowly approached, the princess realized how frightening the flow of tears that came out of her eyes was, which filled the lake below her even more. Her screams and sobs were so sharp and painful that they seemed to repel anyone who passed by that part of the forest.
Stretching her head to the side, she tried to see the reason for the mermaid's anguish: hundreds, if not thousands of orange eggs were stuck to the sides of the rocks, and continued to be expelled by the tail of the half-fish, who cried louder and louder.
“I was a princess, the most beautiful in the depths of the sea. But I was thrown into this swamp, where they took my royalty. They stripped me of my youth, took everything that was mine. Now I am disgusting and decrepit, just a shadow of what I once was. I remain chained here. With no place to return. With no one to turn to. With no one to cry to. And even without wanting to, I continue to belong to the swamp. And I will always belong, even after death.”
Suddenly, her speech was interrupted by a harpoon that flew from the complete darkness and hit the mermaid's chest, pulling her away in one fell swoop, where her words were silenced. Running to find her, the Unlucky Princess almost vomited when she saw a huge and grotesque Pig in a Tie sitting at an ornate table, displaying an endless variety of dishes and more fine dishes, which did not match his poor etiquette. Arms resting on the table, he devoured the mermaid on his plate quickly in a lascivious manner, scattering her remains on the floor, where a cleaning cockroach tried in vain to straighten up the mess.
Dodging the cockroach's antennae, too focused on her tasks to notice the girl's presence, she reached out her hand across the table to try to grab some scales from the dead mermaid, when she was seen by the pig. Amidst the screams and squeals of the animal, which tried to grab her with its dirty paws, the Unlucky Princess once again used the thorn of the Princess of the Red Rose to pierce the predator's eye, which scared the animal away, giving her enough time to escape into the darkness of the forest.
The pig ran after her, with rage etched in its only remaining eye, its mouth open showing pairs and pairs of teeth that seemed too sharp for a simple swine. The girl advanced as fast as she could, sneaking under thorny bushes that hurt her face and tore her clothes, but in the end, even with the spilling of blood, they allowed her to pass, unlike the Suit. Too big, too greedy. The pig could not pass through the thorns in any way, because its barrel full of sins prevented it, and the disgusting animal was getting increasingly trapped in the bushes, which tied themselves to its feet, arms and neck, leaving it incapacitated. Immovable, forever and ever.
Walking for much longer this time, passing by huge trees that all looked the same, the little princess felt the dense fog of the forest penetrate deeper and deeper into her mind. The difficulty of staying upright on the muddy ground, making her stumble, the pain in her legs injured by the thorns that closed the forest more and more… The princess felt like screaming and letting it all out, but she made an effort to stay quiet, biting her lips to prevent her voice from echoing through the void, afraid of attracting the beasts hidden in the darkness.
Hours passed, or were they days? The absence of the Sun, blocked by the treetops, made the girl lose herself in time, lose herself in space, forget where she came from and where she was going. She wanted to go back to the castle, give up on the Rose Aristocrats' mission and hide in her filthy room forever, before she forgot herself. It was better to be a wretch than to be nobody.
It was then that she heard, among the bushes of a mulberry tree, a loud and terrifying cry, which stretched through the winds and seemed to drown out all other sounds in the forest. A frightening dog suddenly jumped, landing on the ground a few inches from the princess, who fell to the ground in fright.
The beast then began to circle her, displaying claws that seemed like they could tear apart a dozen trees in an instant, and teeth as long and sharp as daggers, which seemed not even to fit inside the animal's mouth, sticking out along with its tongue, extended as if it were trying to taste the girl at any moment, saliva running with desire and corroding the ground where it dripped as if it were the most corrosive of poisons.
Quickly getting up, the Unlucky One grasped the Red Rose Princess's thorn and got ready. But the monster didn't attack her, as she thought it would. It just stood there, staring at the girl as if studying her movements, anticipating an attack.
Bringing the thorn down slightly to get a better look at the beast, the Unlucky Princess finally noticed how strange its appearance was, with a thin body covered in scars. Despite its frightening appearance, it did nothing but stare at the girl, with pleading eyes shining with tears that reflected more sincerity than she had ever seen from anyone else in her entire life. Looking at the dog's raised front paw, it was possible to see a thorn, identical to the one from the Rose Princess, piercing its flesh and poisoning it from the inside, corroding its fingers into rotten flesh.
Feeling compassion for the creature, as she had not felt for any other on her journey, the Unlucky Girl walked towards it carefully, grabbing the thorn with both hands. When she finally pulled it out, the princess saw the creature howl in liberation, and its body began to contort and shrink, more and more, until all that was left of the enormous Mad Dog was a smiling little brown dog, with a heart pendant around its neck.
Stroking her new friend's head, the girl felt happy for the first time in a long time, for not only having managed to fulfill the aristocrats' wishes, but also having found company for herself in that sinister forest.
Together, they walked all the way back to the castle: they wound their way through the thorns, skirting the Pig in a Tie who was still squeaking with hunger, and went around the cursed lake, just in time to see the Housekeeping Cockroach pulling the mermaid's stillborn babies out of the water, with fish tail and a pig's head. They walked along the ground covered in thick roots, beneath the large trees, where the Bird of Eternal Happiness had once made its nest, and after passing through the field of book-like flowers, they arrived at the castle gates.
The Red Rose Aristocrats, planted on the ground, awaited the arrival of the Unlucky Princess, still enjoying their previous game. They continued to throw water at the White Rosebud, who now had no strength and was beginning to wither, with her petals slowly falling from her head and her roots rotting in the soil.
They stopped having fun to welcome the Unlucky Princess and receive their gifts: The Wise Baroness quickly took the butterfly's wings for herself, complaining about the princess's delay in fulfilling her wish. The Icy Countess said nothing when the past with the bloody beak was placed on her leaves, with the broken wing, appearing to have some kind of dark relief at being able to lock it back in its cage. The Proud Duchess laughed and delighted in the mermaid's shiny scales, admiring them as if they were the rarest jewels in the world. All three seemed, in some way, at least minimally pleased with the Unlucky One's services. All seemed satisfied, except one.
The Princess of the Red Rose, although grateful for having her medallion back, approached the little Unlucky One to remind her of the other part of her request: to kill the dog.
No matter how much she begged, how much she said that the dog was no longer evil, that it was cured of the poison of the rose thorn, and that it would never hurt anyone again, none of the members of the Aristocrats of the Red Rose listened to her. The ladies-in-waiting tied its arms and legs with their sharp thorns, while the Princess of the Rose made its roots grow above the ground, surrounding the dog in an impenetrable dome, which was shrinking little by little, squeezing, suffocating, contorting the poor animal that cried in despair inside it.
Soon the crying stopped, blood flowed out of the dome of roots and the aristocrats began to celebrate the death of the Mad Dog. They brought a beautiful red dress for the Unlucky Princess, showered her with jewels and flowers, and the White Rosebud was placed at her feet as her newest maid, a gift from the Red Rose Princess, in gratitude for her newest friend.
But the celebration did not go as planned, and no one in the entire castle could have imagined a more tragic future than this. The Unlucky Princess lifted the thorn of the rose one last time, and plunged it deep into the other princess's heart.
The result was immediate, her face contorted into a monstrous grimace, her petals began to dry and fall to the ground like ashes. Her voice, shrill and fearsome, echoed through the wind, repeating the same words:
What have you done?! What have you done?! What have you done?!
What have you done?! What have you done?! What have you done?!
What have you done?! What have you done?! What have you done?!
The poison spread through her leaves, stems, roots, until it infused so deeply into the earth that nothing could stop it from spreading. One by one, all the Aristocrats of the Rose were taken by the poison and became morbid, rotting statues, frozen forever in their state of agony. The trees also succumbed, throughout the entire forest, the ground turned opaque gray, the water stopped flowing in the rivers and even the birds fell from the air. The castle and all its members followed the same fate, leaving behind only a deafening void. Reaching down to hold her canine friend one last time, the Unlucky Princess lamented her choices with a seemingly endless wail, torturing herself with the pain that was now her only companion.
And in the end, she was left alone with her own filth.
What an unlucky day.
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petr1kov · 1 year ago
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clock tower and rule of rose and haunting ground had the right idea. the best type of survival horror game is when you throw a poor orphan girl protagonist in a fucked up mansion and make her face every symbolic horror
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bunny-jpeg · 5 months ago
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Hi bunny, I recently found ur page and have been binge reading ur posts, you’re so good!! I have a big order. Peach cake, Red velvet cupcake and a pound cake with strawberries. With a side of with dark hot chocolate and a glass of water, George Russell🙈… if it’s too many details do it however you want bcuz your writing is amazing <3
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want to submit your own order? then hit up the menu! i love getting orders! i accept more than just formula one so i'm always happy to try different fandoms. so please! check it out! and thank you lovely anon, i'm happy you love my work! and thank you for submitting a george russell order because i've gotten people asking for him! so thank you! i hope you love it <3
peach cake: ("if you spill a drop, we start all over.") + red velvet cupcake: ("if you don't like being called a whore, then stop acting like one.") + pound cake with strawberries: ("you know i hate going over rules, but just because i like seeing you embarrassed, i'll tell you them again.") + dark hot chocolate: (sub!reader) + glass of water: (aftercare) served by george russell (formula one)!!
cw: smut/pwp, sub!reader & dom!george, rules & punishments, spanking, sparkling water, jealousy, aftercare, doggy style,
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"you're so lucky, honestly he sounds like a prince charming!" you once heard from someone when you were talking about your boyfriend, "george just seems like such a sweet guy. like he double checked to make sure that roses wouldn't make your cat sick? most guys can barely get flowers!"
you felt your ears burn at her words and nervously played with the bracelet around your left wrist. there was on charm on it, letter 'g' for your beloved. your boyfriend, your biggest fan.
your dom, george russell.
but even men who looked like princes in fairy tales could be a little jealous. george often appeared himself to be a very sweet guy, who'd never actually hurt someone. he was a force on the track and would do what he needed to win, but he'd never put his hands on another driver. he'd never get in their face or try to get violent.
but as he watched lando norris try his hardest to pick you up, george really wanted to knock some sense into the driver. just because a woman didn't wear a neon sign that said 'taken', it didn't mean they were free game to flirt with.
and you, the future mrs. russell, should know better. even though the weight of the bracelet you wore wasn't too much. he hoped that it was enough of a reminder to behave. listen to the rules that george had laid out for you.
when lando touched your bare arm, and you stepped back a little. george knew that he had to step in. he was at your side rather quickly, smiling at lando. he wrapped an arm around you.
"see you've met my girlfriend, mate." he smiled, putting all of his charm into it, "i was looking for her." his hand snaked to your ass and you gave it a firm squeeze. you weren't off the hook.
"oh this is-" lando looked at you, "i didn't recognize her, mate. i'm so sorry!"
george was a little unconvinced when he replied,"yeah, a haircut can do that." even though you hadn't styled your hair differently in years. george didn't get too aggressive with the fellow driver because now that he was close to him, he could see that the drink in his hand was large and his stance implied it wasn't the first one of the evening.
but, george made sure that you didn't have a drop of alcohol. so while lando was drunk, you were well aware of the rules that your dom had set for you. the driver leaned to your ear and said, ""you know i hate going over rules, but just because i like seeing you embarrassed, i'll tell you them again."
and you swallowed, knowing you'd get a lecture when your boyfriend steered you away from the drunken racer. you felt the tip of your ears grow hot and you played with the bracelet. despite how nervous you felt, george was all smiles as he told lando to have a good night.
as you walked away, your lover's voice was hot in your ear, "no flirting. remember? you are mine, and i don't need other men getting their hands on you." he held you by the back. he kissed your cheek softly, "when rules are broken, there are punishments." this was part of your dynamic.
you knew there would be a punishment when you got home and you were right. a bottle of sparkling water from the grocery store was opened. and with you on your knees, opened your mouth. this was a punishment of endurance and being unbreakable. george poured a mouthful in your mouth then closed your jaw. he said, "if you spill a drop, we start all over."
you nodded before you got up onto your feet. your legs shaky as he put the bottle down on the nightstand. you held the water in your mouth as you got over his lap. you could feel his hard cock against your stomach. the goal of the punishment was to hold the water in your mouth even if the carbonation made your eyes run. and george spanked you for every infraction you did.
"you're a whore." he said as he rubbed your bare ass. he stripped you down to nothing as soon as you got home. you were to be laid out naked for him. he on the other hand was still in the shirt and slacks fro the party. it only added to the dynamic, you were exposed for him while he got to stay dressed. he slapped your ass, "you're a whore, you let norris get his hands all over you. you know if you let him suck on your pretty breasts or fuck your poor pussy, you'd be thrown away by the next day." he landed another spank across your ass.
you whimpered, trying to hold the water in your mouth. the spanks made it hard to not choke on it or have to drip out of your mouth. the bubbles of it made you feel discomfort in your face. but you had to be good.
"but not me. i'd never do that to you." he said softly, "you are my treasure. you know there's rules, that you have to be well behaved for me. or else we're going to have problems. you're my girlfriend, my love, my submissive." he landed a few more spanks across your ass, he watched your body shake with each of his slaps. but you didn't spill a drop.
the knowledge of that made george smile to himself. it wasn't hard to train you to be an amazing sub, you were always so eager to make him proud. you took your punishments with grace. he landed a few more smacks across your ass, "but you are my whore in the end. my responsibility to teach and fuck." he groped your bruised ass which made you whine.
you kicked out your legs as if you were trying to say that you weren't a whore. that you were a good girl, but it was only met with another hard smack across your cheeks. you arched your back and whined more.
"if you don't like being called a whore, then stop acting like one." he said as a warning. he took you by the jaw to look at him. your craned your neck to get a good look at your prince charming. he smiled, "swallow. then hands and knees."
you swallowed and nodded happily. and like a good girl, you opened your mouth to show you swallowed it all. you earned a pat on the cheek, which made you melt a little. you got off his lap, leaving pussy slick across his black slacks.
george noticed it and chuckled lightly before he started to unbutton his shirt. you were a messy little slut, but george adored you. he was only rough because he knew it was best for you. you were a smart girl, you just needed reminders. once he was out of his clothes, he saw you with your hips raised. ready for him as always.
"my beautiful girl." he said as got himself behind you on his knees. he admired your beauty from behind. he could feel the heat of the bruises on your ass when he placed his hand across one of the cheeks. oh, you were perfect for him, "see, norris could never have you like this. no, no. he wouldn't know what do with himself. he'd probably finish before he started." he chuckled as he gave your ass a pat. he pushed his cock all the way into you, you were beyond soaked that it was so easy for him
he started to move his hips, he pushed you into the covers by your shoulders and had the perfect angle to fuck you. you looked so pretty as you took him. you really were a good girl, the farthest thing from a whore. but he knew it excited you when your prince charming, george russell, called you such sick names. it made you hot all over, just as when he fucked you with heavy thrusts.
"ah, george. sir." you arched your back as he hit the softest parts of you. you felt like a dream, you were a fairy tale princess. from your cute face to how you dressed. to how you were good with everyone but always perfect for george. you took his cock perfectly, made for him like you came from pages of a story. it was why he need to fuck you was always so strong.
"perfect little whore." he said, his voice tinged with praise.
you moved a little bit and felt your knees start to hurt from the feeling of it all. you felt a thump in your chest from his words. you held onto the pillow under your head. your ass stung from the feeling of the previous slaps.
"see what happens when you behave. you know i'll take care of you. always, but you have to remember our rules. they're to keep you safe. you are the most important thing to me. that's why i hate when you're a whore." he continued to thrust up against you.
you believed him. that was why you put so much trust into him.he never steered you wrong. you loved him so much. and he loved you, even when he called you names in the safety of your bedroom, you loved him more than anything.
his thrusts were focused and they made you squirm. it made it feel like he was nudging up into your stomach and it took the air out of you. your pussy was a fit for him.
you held onto the covers with your back arched. you panted heavily into them. everything was hot in your body, you panted heavily into the sheets. "please, sir."
"you know i love you, and this all happens because i love you so much. and i know how good you could be for me." he said hotly into your ear, keeping you pinned to the bed.
the blood rush made your toes curled and you came with your hands buried in the soft sheets of your shared bed. you gasped into the pillow and you back arched. it was all too much, you almost had tears in your eyes.
he finished after you did, then slowly came to a stop. he pushed his entire length into you and bottomed out in you. he shuddered and coughed out a moan. his grip on you was tight. and you came once more from the intensity of it all. the sparks in your brain came alive.
your back arched as you felt him slow down and stop. you both tried to catch your breath before george pulled out and wrapped himself up around you. he got the covers over you and kissed at your face with love.
"do you need water?" being a good dom meant aftercare. especially from such a production. he peppered your face with kisses and held you in his arms, "i think there's something in the fridge you could snack on."
you looked at him and cupped his face gently, you said with half-lidded eyed, "just some water. when i can think again maybe a shower, sir."
he kissed your lips and said, "perfect, good. my good girl." even with the bruises across your ass, you felt on cloud nine. there really was nothing like having a dom. especially the kind like george. your prince charming <3
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amethystarachnid · 2 months ago
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Hey rose! I'm really excited for the Marvel holiday special!! Can I please request Steve Rogers x short!Reader (is this self indulgent? Maybe!😭 People literally have to bend down to hug me idk, tall genes of my family skipped me) for the second prompt- miseltoe mishap? Thank you!<3 🩷
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P.s. I LOVE all of your fics 🤌✨
UNDER THE MISTLETOE
⤷ STEVE G. ROGERS
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ᯓ★ Pairing: Steve G. Rogers x short!fem!reader
ᯓ★ Genre: romance, fluff
ᯓ★ Request from: MARVEL Holiday special
ᯓ★ Story type: one shot
ᯓ★ Word count: 6.2k
ᯓ★ Summary: Steve's new year resolution was simple: confess his feeling for you, but as a new year approaches he still hasn't said a word. So, after a mysterious Christmas gift you receive, you decide to take matter into your own hands.
ᯓ★ TW(s): so much fluff it needs a tw and some teasing and flirty comments from y/n
ᯓ★ I'm sorry but as you all may have noticed the requested aren't being written in the chronological order they were requested because I got confused between the asks and the comments in the post and can't figure out who has requested before who, so I'm just writing it following the prompt list. I'm sorry but don't worry, your request will be written!
ᯓ★ My Masterlist
ᯓ★ MARVEL Holiday Special
ᯓ★ MARVEL Multiverse - choose an AU, pair it with your favorite character and make a request!
ᯓ★ Songs & Superheroes tales - The Game (to make a request, follow the rules on the link!)
ᯓ★ MARVEL Bingo
ᯓ★ English isn’t my first language
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The Avengers Tower is a beacon of Christmas cheer this time of year, buzzing with the energy of festive preparations. Garlands hang from the railings, twinkling lights are draped across every conceivable surface, and the smell of hot cocoa wafts from the kitchen. It’s a cozy chaos, and you’re in the thick of it, perched on a step stool as you wrestle with a particularly stubborn string of fairy lights.
Your arms ache from holding them above your head for so long, but you’re determined to get them just right. The lights have to be even—no awkward gaps or clumps. It’s a matter of principle, and besides, you know Tony will be annoying about it if you don’t.
“Need a hand?” a familiar voice asks from behind you.
You glance down and find Steve Rogers standing there, all broad shoulders and gentle eyes. He’s holding a box of ornaments, his cheeks tinged pink—not from the cold (you’re indoors, after all), but something else. The sight of him is enough to make your own cheeks heat up, though you do your best to ignore it. Steve has that effect on people.
“I’ve got it,” you reply, gritting your teeth as you stretch a little further. The stool wobbles, and his hands dart out instinctively, steadying you with a feather-light touch. You freeze, your heart doing an Olympic-level somersault.
“You sure?” he asks, his voice low and careful. “That stool doesn’t look very—uh—stable.”
“It’s fine,” you insist, though your confidence in the stool’s structural integrity is rapidly dwindling. You glance down again and catch the crease of worry on his brow. The man is the living embodiment of chivalry; there’s no way he’ll let you keep going without making it his mission to help.
With a sigh, you step down. The lights can wait. “Fine,” you concede. “Knock yourself out, Captain Christmas.”
Steve chuckles, setting the box of ornaments down on a nearby table. He steps up onto the stool, and you’re struck again by just how tall he is. He’s got at least a foot and a half on you, which is something you’re reminded of constantly—like when you have to crane your neck just to look him in the eye. Or when he easily reaches shelves that are practically a mile out of your range.
He’s annoyingly perfect. Not just in the tall, strong, and ridiculously handsome way, but in the kind, thoughtful, and genuine way too. He’s the kind of man who offers his umbrella to strangers in the rain, who remembers how you take your coffee, who actually listens when you talk. And if that weren’t enough, he’s also awkward—adorably so, especially around you.
You suspect it’s because you’re small and he worries about crushing you with a handshake. Or maybe it’s because he thinks you’re fragile, which would be ironic, considering how many missions you’ve both survived. Either way, his awkwardness only fuels your ridiculous, head-over-heels crush.
As Steve strings the lights, you busy yourself unpacking ornaments from the box he brought. Most of them are classics—shiny globes, candy canes, and snowflakes—but there are a few oddities mixed in. A Hulk-shaped bauble makes you snort, and you hold it up for Steve to see.
“Look familiar?” you tease.
He glances down from his perch and grins. “Bet Bruce loves that one.”
“He’s probably going to hide it on the back of the tree,” you reply, setting it aside. Your fingers brush against a different ornament—this one shaped like a little star. It’s simple, but pretty, and you hold it up to admire it. “This one’s cute.”
Steve’s hands falter for a split second as he adjusts the lights. You don’t notice, too focused on the star, but he notices. Oh, he notices. Because you just called something “cute” in that soft, slightly breathless way that makes his chest tighten. He swallows hard and refocuses on the task at hand.
“Y-yeah, it’s nice,” he manages, hoping his voice doesn’t crack.
Why is this so hard?
Steve has faced down alien armies, assassins, and world-ending threats without breaking a sweat, but the thought of confessing his feelings to you is enough to make him panic. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. At the start of the year, he’d made a resolution—a promise to himself—that he would finally tell you how he felt. But every time he’s tried, the words get stuck in his throat.
And now, with Christmas just days away, the deadline he arbitrarily set for himself is looming. The idea of starting another year without telling you makes his stomach twist, but so does the idea of screwing it up. What if you don’t feel the same way? What if he ruins everything?
“Steve?” your voice snaps him out of his spiral.
“Hm?” He blinks down at you, realizing he’s been staring blankly at the half-lit string of lights in his hands.
“You okay?” you ask, your brow furrowed. “You zoned out for a second there.”
“Oh, uh—yeah, I’m fine,” he says quickly, though his ears are burning. “Just thinking.”
“About?” you prompt, tilting your head.
You shouldn’t do that. It’s unfair, how cute you look when you’re curious. It makes it harder for him to keep his cool.
“Nothing important,” he lies, offering a sheepish smile. “How’s the ornament situation?”
You hold up the Hulk bauble again with a smirk. “I think this one’s going front and center.”
Steve laughs, shaking his head. “Bruce is gonna love that.”
You giggle, and the sound is like music to his ears. It’s one of the things he loves most about you—your laugh. It’s warm and infectious, and he’d do just about anything to hear it.
Before he can spiral further into his thoughts, you step closer to hand him the star ornament. “Here,” you say. “This one should go up top.”
Steve takes it, his fingers brushing against yours for the briefest moment. It’s nothing, really—just an innocent touch—but it sends a jolt of electricity through him. He wonders if you feel it too, or if he’s imagining things.
“Good choice,” he says, his voice a little quieter now. He focuses on securing the star to the top of the tree, grateful for the distraction. When he’s done, he steps back to admire his work, and you join him, standing so close that your shoulder almost brushes his arm.
“Not bad, Captain,” you say, your tone light but genuine. “I think we’ve got ourselves a pretty solid tree.”
He glances down at you, his heart doing that stupid fluttery thing it always does when you’re near. You’re smiling—bright and proud—and for a moment, he forgets how to breathe.
“Yeah,” he says softly, more to himself than to you. “It’s perfect.”
You glance up at him, your smile faltering just slightly. There’s something in his expression—something raw and unguarded—that makes your pulse quicken. For a second, you think maybe, just maybe, he feels the same way you do.
But the moment passes, and Steve clears his throat, stepping away under the guise of tidying up.
“So, uh,” he says awkwardly, bending down to gather the empty ornament boxes. “What’s next on the agenda?”
You blink, trying to shake off the lingering warmth of his gaze. “I think we’re supposed to decorate the common room. Nat said something about needing backup with the garlands.”
“Right,” Steve says, straightening up with the boxes in hand. “Lead the way.”
As you head toward the common room together, you can’t help stealing glances at him. He’s trying so hard to act normal, but you know him well enough to sense when something’s off. There’s a tension in his shoulders, a hesitation in his words.
You wonder what’s on his mind. And you wonder if it has anything to do with the way he looks at you—like you’re the most important thing in the world.
Christmas morning in the Avengers Tower is a mix of chaos and cheer. The common room is alive with laughter and good-natured teasing, wrapping paper scattered across the floor like confetti. The massive Christmas tree glows softly in the corner, its branches weighed down with ornaments and twinkling lights.
Everyone has gathered here to exchange gifts, and the room feels warmer than usual—maybe because of the crackling fireplace, or maybe because of the bonds you all share. You’re sitting cross-legged on the floor, a pile of unwrapped presents beside you, and your cheeks ache from smiling so much.
Natasha is chuckling as Clint holds up a sweater that has “World’s Okayest Archer” stitched across the front in bold letters. “This is slander,” Clint grumbles, but he’s grinning. “I’m amazing.”
“Sure you are,” Natasha teases, her smirk sharp and playful.
Thor, meanwhile, is marveling at a “World’s Greatest Dad” mug that someone (probably Tony) had sneakily customized to include a picture of Thor holding Stormbreaker like a proud parent. “This,” Thor declares, raising the mug, “is a mighty gift.”
“Very mighty,” Tony quips from his spot on the couch, a Santa hat perched crookedly on his head. “You’re welcome.”
Steve sits near the tree, mostly quiet but smiling at the antics around him. He’s already unwrapped his gifts—a vintage Captain America action figure from Tony (complete with the original shield), a sturdy leather-bound journal from Natasha, and an assortment of hand-knit sweaters from Thor’s mother. He’s grateful for all of them, but his focus isn’t on the gifts anymore. It’s on you.
You’re radiant this morning, your laughter lighting up the room more than the Christmas tree ever could. Steve doesn’t know if it’s the cozy glow of the fireplace or the joy of the season, but something about you seems especially beautiful today. Not that you aren’t beautiful every day—but today, you’re breathtaking.
And it’s making him nervous.
Because tucked beneath the tree is one last gift. A gift for you. A gift from him.
“Looks like that’s the last of it,” Clint says, stretching his arms above his head. “Nice haul this year, guys.”
“Not quite,” Tony interrupts, pointing toward the tree. “There’s still one left under there.”
Everyone turns their attention to the tree, and you lean forward curiously. Sure enough, there’s a single box nestled beneath the branches. It’s wrapped neatly in silver paper, tied with a red ribbon, and it has your name on it.
Your brow furrows as you reach for it. “I don’t remember putting this here.”
“Must’ve been one of us,” Natasha says, though she looks just as intrigued as everyone else. “Check the tag.”
You glance at the label, but it doesn’t give you any clues. It simply says To Y/N—no indication of who it’s from.
“Secret Santa, maybe?” Bruce suggests.
“Someone’s being mysterious,” Tony says, leaning back with a smirk. “Come on, open it. Let’s see what you got.”
You hesitate for a moment, your fingers brushing over the ribbon. Whoever left this for you went out of their way to remain anonymous, and that makes you feel oddly shy. Still, curiosity wins out, and you carefully untie the ribbon, peeling back the wrapping paper.
Inside the box is a smaller velvet box. You blink, your breath catching as you open it.
Nestled inside is a delicate silver necklace, the pendant shaped like a tiny star. It’s simple but stunning, the kind of piece that feels timeless. You stare at it for a moment, your chest tightening.
But that’s not all.
Beneath the necklace, folded carefully, is a sheet of paper. You unfold it slowly, revealing a drawing—a sketch of you, caught mid-laugh. The details are astonishing, from the crinkle of your eyes to the way your hair falls. It’s you, but somehow more: the joy on your face, the warmth in your expression—it’s like the artist captured not just your likeness, but your spirit.
The room falls quiet as you stare at the drawing, your hands trembling slightly.
“Wow,” Natasha murmurs, leaning in for a better look. “That’s... beautiful.”
“It’s incredible,” you whisper, your voice thick with emotion. You trace the edge of the drawing with your fingertip, your heart racing. “Who...?”
“Not it,” Tony says, raising his hands.
“Wasn’t me,” Clint adds.
Everyone else shakes their heads, except for Steve, who sits frozen, his heart pounding so loudly he’s surprised no one else can hear it.
It was a gamble, leaving the gift anonymously. He couldn’t bring himself to sign his name, not when he was terrified of how you might react. But now, watching the way your eyes glisten as you hold the necklace and the drawing, he’s second-guessing everything.
Should he say something? Should he let you wonder? Should he...?
You glance up, scanning the room. Your gaze lingers on Steve for a moment, and he feels like a deer caught in headlights. He quickly looks away, pretending to adjust the hem of his sweater.
“Well, whoever it’s from,” you say softly, clutching the necklace in your hand, “thank you. It’s... it’s perfect.”
Steve lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Perfect. You think it’s perfect. Relief washes over him, followed by a flicker of pride. He spent weeks working on the drawing, pouring every ounce of his feelings into every pencil stroke. Seeing you appreciate it—cherish it—is more than he could’ve hoped for.
But then you put the necklace on, and his chest tightens all over again. The star catches the light, and it suits you so perfectly that he has to look away before he does something stupid—like stare too long or blurt out the truth in front of everyone.
“Whoever did this really knows you,” Natasha says, eyeing the necklace. “It’s thoughtful.”
“And talented,” Bruce adds, gesturing to the drawing. “That’s some serious skill.”
Steve shifts uncomfortably, trying to hide his reddening face. He’s not used to compliments, especially not ones directed at his art.
“Guess I’ve got a secret admirer,” you joke lightly, though there’s a hint of hope in your voice.
“Or someone with terrible taste,” Tony quips, earning a pillow to the face from Natasha.
The room dissolves into laughter again, and the attention shifts away from you and your mysterious gift. But you’re still holding the drawing, your fingers brushing over the lines and shading. It’s so personal, so intimate, that it makes your heart ache in the best way.
And Steve? Steve sits quietly, watching you from the corner of his eye. He doesn’t know how long he can keep this secret, but for now, he’s content to see you happy. Even if you never find out it was him, this moment is enough.
Or at least, that’s what he tells himself.
The days between Christmas and New Year’s feel suspended in time—a cozy limbo filled with leftover cookies, twinkling lights, and lazy mornings. At the Avengers Tower, the pace has slowed to something resembling normalcy, with everyone enjoying a much-needed break.
You, however, have been anything but relaxed. Not since Christmas morning, when you opened that mysterious gift.
The necklace still rests around your neck, the tiny star pendant catching the light whenever you move. The drawing that accompanied it is safely tucked away in your room, though you’ve stared at it countless times since then. You can’t stop thinking about it—or, more specifically, about who gave it to you.
For days, you’ve replayed the moment in your mind, analyzing every detail. The craftsmanship of the drawing, the thoughtfulness of the gift—it could only be from someone who knows you well. Someone who cares about you deeply. Someone who, despite their care, wanted to stay anonymous.
And you have a pretty good idea of who that someone is.
Steve.
It’s the only explanation that makes sense. He’s been acting... different around you ever since Christmas. Quieter. More awkward. You’ve caught him stealing glances when he thinks you’re not looking, and when you smile at him, he stammers like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
The thought that Steve might like you—that he might really like you—makes your heart race. You’ve had a crush on him for what feels like forever, but you never imagined he might feel the same way. Now that you’ve started piecing things together, it feels almost too good to be true.
And yet, there’s still no confirmation. No grand confession. No slip of the tongue. Nothing to cement your theory. Which is why you decide to take matters into your own hands.
It’s late afternoon when you start your search for Steve. You’ve checked the gym, the kitchen, and even the lounge, but he’s nowhere to be found. Finally, you decide to check his room—a bold move, but you’re running out of options.
When you knock and get no response, you hesitantly push the door open.
“Steve?” you call softly, peeking inside.
The room is empty, neat and orderly as always. The bed is made, the desk is tidy, and his shield leans against the wall like it belongs in a museum. You step inside, glancing around for any sign of where he might be.
Your gaze lands on the leather journal sitting on his desk. The one Natasha gifted him for Christmas. It’s open, a pencil resting on top of its pages.
You know you shouldn’t. You really shouldn’t. But curiosity gets the better of you, and you find yourself drawn to the desk.
“It’s just a peek,” you mutter to yourself, your fingers brushing over the leather cover.
The page it’s open to stops you dead in your tracks. It’s a drawing—of you.
Not just any drawing, either. It’s almost identical to the one you received on Christmas morning, the same detail, the same expression, the same care in every line. Your breath catches as you realize what this means.
Steve drew this. Steve gave you the necklace. Steve has been hiding his feelings for you all this time.
A smile tugs at your lips, and a thrill runs through you. He likes you. He really likes you. And yet, he hasn’t said a word. Typical Steve—too noble, too careful, too worried about messing things up.
You close the journal carefully, placing the pencil back where you found it. You won’t confront him about this—not yet. No, you have a much better idea.
If Steve won’t confess, then you’ll make it impossible for him not to. And if that means teasing him a little, well... all’s fair in love and war.
You find Steve in the lounge a little while later, sitting on the couch with a book in hand. He looks up when you enter, and his face brightens instantly, though he tries to hide it.
“Hey,” you say, leaning casually against the doorway.
“Hey,” he replies, setting the book aside. “Looking for something?”
“Actually, I was looking for you,” you say, crossing the room to sit beside him. You’re closer than usual, your knee brushing against his. He stiffens slightly, his eyes darting to yours.
“Oh?” he says, his voice a little higher than usual. “What for?”
You shrug, tilting your head as you study him. He looks nervous—adorably so—and it only fuels your confidence.
“Just wanted to see how you’re doing,” you say, your tone light and sweet. “You’ve been kind of quiet lately.”
“Have I?” he asks, clearing his throat.
“Mm-hmm.” You reach out to adjust the collar of his sweater, your fingers grazing his neck. He freezes, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows hard.
“You sure everything’s okay?” you ask, your voice dipping slightly.
“I—I’m fine,” he stammers, his cheeks turning pink. “Really.”
You lean back, feigning innocence. “Good. I’d hate to think something was bothering you.”
He nods, clearly unsure of how to respond.
You spend the rest of the evening finding subtle ways to fluster him. Leaning closer than necessary when you talk. Touching his arm when you laugh. Complimenting him on everything from his sweater to his hair. By the time you part ways, Steve looks like he’s been through an emotional whirlwind.
The next day, you up the ante.
Steve is in the kitchen making breakfast when you join him, your hair slightly tousled and your sweater slipping off one shoulder. He nearly drops the pan he’s holding when he sees you.
“Morning,” you say, your voice soft and syrupy.
“G-good morning,” he replies, turning back to the stove.
You step closer, peeking over his shoulder. “Whatcha making?”
“Just eggs,” he says, his grip tightening on the spatula.
“Smells good,” you say, resting a hand on his back. You feel the muscles beneath his shirt tense, and it takes all your willpower not to laugh.
“Want some?” he asks, his voice strained.
“Sure,” you say, flashing him a smile. “Thanks, Steve. You’re the best.”
His ears turn red, and you bite your lip to keep from grinning.
By the third day, Steve is visibly unraveling.
You’ve spent the last forty-eight hours being as sweet, flirty, and touchy as you can manage without outright declaring your feelings. Every time you brush against him, compliment him, or catch him staring, he looks like he’s about to combust.
You find him in the training room that afternoon, throwing punches at a heavy bag like it owes him money. He doesn’t notice you at first, and you take a moment to admire him—his broad shoulders, his focused expression, the way his sweat-soaked shirt clings to his chest.
“Working hard?” you call out, stepping into the room.
Steve pauses, glancing over his shoulder. “Oh, hey. Didn’t see you there.”
“Clearly,” you say, walking toward him. “What’d that poor bag do to deserve this?”
“Just... letting off some steam,” he says, wiping his forehead with his arm.
“Need a sparring partner?” you ask, raising an eyebrow.
His eyes widen slightly. “You want to spar? With me?”
“Why not?” you say, stepping closer. “Unless you’re scared I’ll kick your ass.”
A laugh escapes him, and you feel a spark of satisfaction. “I’d like to see you try.”
You grin, stepping onto the mat. “Suit up, Rogers.”
After a playful (and very one-sided) sparring session, Steve is more flustered than ever. You’re lying on the mat, catching your breath, and you turn to look at him.
“You’re holding back,” you tease.
“Didn’t want to hurt you,” he replies, still trying to recover from your relentless teasing.
“You’re sweet, Steve,” you say, your voice soft. “Really sweet.”
He looks at you, and for a moment, the tension between you is palpable. You’re half-tempted to just kiss him and get it over with, but you want him to make the first move.
“I should... hit the showers,” he says abruptly, standing and heading for the door.
As he disappears, you smile to yourself. He’s close to breaking. Very close.
And when he does, you’ll be ready.
It’s New Year’s Eve at the Avengers Tower, and the entire building is buzzing with excitement. Tony, true to form, has outdone himself, transforming the common areas into a glittering wonderland of gold, silver, and twinkling lights. The air hums with music, laughter, and the promise of a fresh start as the year draws to a close.
You’re in your room, standing in front of the mirror with a slight frown as you adjust your dress. The sparkly red fabric hugs your figure perfectly, but the zipper in the back refuses to cooperate. Despite twisting, stretching, and trying every awkward angle imaginable, you can’t quite reach it.
With a sigh, you grab your phone and type out a quick message:
Hey Steve, can you come to my room for a sec? Need a hand.
You press send before you can overthink it, a mischievous smile tugging at your lips. You already know he won’t say no—he never does when it’s you.
Steve arrives less than two minutes later, knocking lightly on your door.
“Y/N? Everything okay?” His voice, deep and warm, filters through the door.
“Come in!” you call out, keeping your tone casual. You hear the door creak open, followed by the soft sound of his boots against the floor.
“Y/N, I—” Steve starts, but the words die on his lips when he sees you.
You turn to face him, clutching the front of your dress to keep it from slipping down. His eyes widen, and his breath catches in his throat as he takes you in. The dress is a vibrant, glittering red that hugs your curves like a second skin, the hem brushing mid-thigh even with the extra height your heels give you. Your hair is styled elegantly, soft waves cascading over your shoulders, and your makeup highlights your features just enough to leave him completely speechless.
“Wow,” he finally manages, his voice barely above a whisper. His cheeks flush a deep pink, and he looks away, as if giving you privacy in a moment that clearly isn’t private.
You bite back a smile, pretending not to notice his reaction. “Thanks for coming. I need a little help.”
Steve clears his throat, his hands fidgeting at his sides. “Help with...?”
“The zipper,” you say, turning around to show him the back of your dress. You hold the fabric up with your hands, revealing the delicate, stubborn zipper that sits halfway down your back. “I can’t reach it.”
“Oh.” Steve’s voice cracks slightly, and he clears his throat again. “Right. Sure. I can do that.”
You hear him take a hesitant step closer, and your pulse quickens. There’s something thrilling about having him this close, about knowing he’s flustered because of you. He smells like clean soap and cedarwood, and the sheer size of him behind you is enough to make your breath hitch.
His large, calloused hands brush against your back as he takes hold of the zipper, and you have to resist the urge to shiver at the contact. He hesitates for a moment, clearly nervous, before carefully tugging the zipper upward. His fingers graze your skin as he works, and the sensation sends a rush of warmth through you.
“Is... is this okay?” he asks softly, his voice rough around the edges.
“Perfect,” you murmur, glancing at him over your shoulder. His face is closer than you expected, and the intensity in his blue eyes makes your heart skip a beat.
The zipper finally reaches the top, and Steve’s hands linger for a moment longer than necessary before he steps back, his gaze darting anywhere but at you.
“There,” he says, his voice tight. “All set.”
You turn to face him, giving a little spin. “What do you think?”
Steve stares at you, his mouth opening and closing like he’s searching for the right words. “You... You look amazing,” he says at last, his voice full of awe.
His honesty makes you blush, and you grin. “Thank you. You’re not looking too bad yourself, you know.”
Steve glances down at his outfit—a crisp navy suit that fits him perfectly—and rubs the back of his neck. “Uh, thanks,” he says, a shy smile tugging at his lips.
“You’re welcome, Captain,” you tease, stepping closer. “Shall we head to the party?”
“Y-yeah, sure,” he stammers, stepping aside to let you pass. His hand hovers near the small of your back as you leave the room, but he doesn’t quite touch you.
The elevator ride to the party is quiet, but not uncomfortably so. You steal glances at Steve as he stands beside you, his shoulders stiff and his jaw clenched like he’s holding something back.
“You okay?” you ask, nudging him lightly with your elbow.
“Yeah,” he says quickly, though the slight crack in his voice betrays him. He clears his throat, flashing you a tight-lipped smile. “I’m fine.”
“Steve.” You raise an eyebrow, a playful smirk tugging at your lips. “You’re acting weird.”
“I’m not acting weird,” he protests, but the redness in his ears says otherwise.
You decide to let him off the hook—for now. The elevator doors slide open, revealing the main event: Tony’s New Year’s Eve extravaganza.
The party is already in full swing by the time you and Steve arrive. The common room has been transformed into a glamorous ballroom, complete with a dance floor, a live band, and a fully stocked bar. Guests in glittering dresses and sharp suits mingle beneath cascading strings of fairy lights, and the energy in the room is electric.
“Y/N!” Natasha calls out, making her way toward you with a drink in hand. She gives you a once-over and lets out a low whistle. “You clean up nicely.”
“Thanks, Nat,” you say, twirling for effect. “You look amazing too.”
Natasha smirks. “Oh, I know.”
Steve hangs back slightly, his hands stuffed into his pockets as he watches you with a soft smile. He doesn’t seem to notice the way Natasha’s eyes flick to him, her smirk widening.
“Well, don’t you two make a picture-perfect couple,” she says casually, raising an eyebrow.
“We’re not a couple,” Steve blurts out, his face turning an impressive shade of red.
Natasha raises her glass in mock surrender. “Whatever you say, Rogers.”
She winks at you before disappearing into the crowd, leaving you and Steve standing awkwardly by the entrance.
“She’s relentless,” Steve mutters, rubbing the back of his neck.
“She’s not wrong, though,” you say, your tone light and teasing.
Steve looks at you sharply, his eyes wide. “What?”
You laugh, giving his arm a reassuring pat. “Relax, Steve. I’m just messing with you.”
His shoulders relax slightly, but the pink in his cheeks doesn’t fade.
The night unfolds with laughter, dancing, and plenty of drinks. You make a point to stay close to Steve, brushing against him whenever you can, leaning into him when you laugh, and catching his gaze across the room. Each time, his reaction is the same—wide-eyed, flustered, and utterly endearing.
At one point, you drag him to the dance floor, your hand firmly clasped in his. He protests at first, claiming he’s not much of a dancer, but you refuse to take no for an answer.
“You’ll be fine,” you assure him, pulling him close as the band starts a slow, jazzy number. “Just follow my lead.”
Steve hesitates, but when you rest your hands on his shoulders, he relents. His large hands settle on your waist, and the two of you sway to the music, moving in perfect sync despite his earlier protests.
“You’re better at this than you let on,” you say, tilting your head up to meet his gaze.
Steve chuckles nervously. “You’re easy to dance with.”
The compliment makes your heart flutter, and you tighten your grip on his shoulders. For a moment, it feels like the rest of the party fades away, leaving just the two of you in your own little world.
You’re about to say something—something bold, something that’s been on the tip of your tongue for days—when the song ends, and the moment is interrupted by a burst of applause.
Steve steps back, his hands dropping to his sides. “That was... nice,” he says, his voice soft.
“Yeah,” you agree, your chest tightening. “It was.”
You’re not sure how much longer you can keep up this game of subtlety and teasing. The clock is ticking, and the New Year is just around the corner. If Steve doesn’t make a move soon, you might just have to do it for him.
The party is in full swing as midnight approaches, the energy in the room building with each passing minute. The band has picked up its tempo, and laughter and clinking glasses echo through the air. You and Steve have stayed close all night, and now the two of you make your way toward the bar for a drink before the countdown begins.
“What’ll it be?” Steve asks, glancing at the menu. He’s been doing everything he can to appear calm, but the slight tremor in his voice and the way he keeps running a hand through his hair are clear giveaways.
“Champagne,” you say with a smile, leaning casually against the bar. “It’s tradition, isn’t it?”
“Good choice,” he says, signaling to the bartender. Moments later, two glasses of champagne appear in front of you, the golden liquid fizzing enticingly. You pick yours up and raise it in a mock toast.
“To the end of a very interesting year,” you say. “And the start of a better one.”
Steve clinks his glass against yours, his blue eyes warm. “I’ll drink to that.”
You take a sip, savoring the bubbly sweetness. The two of you fall into easy conversation, and for a moment, it feels like the rest of the room doesn’t exist. That is, until your eyes drift upward—and you notice the sprig of mistletoe hanging above you.
Your heart skips a beat, and a mischievous smile curls at the edges of your lips.
“Steve,” you say, your voice tinged with amusement.
“Yeah?” he asks, oblivious, before taking another sip of his champagne.
You tilt your head upward, your gaze fixed on the mistletoe. His eyes follow yours, and when he realizes what you’re looking at, he freezes.
“Oh,” he says, his voice barely audible. The tips of his ears turn bright red, and he looks away quickly, as if avoiding eye contact will somehow make the situation disappear.
“Did you know Tony hung mistletoe all over the tower?” you ask innocently, though the twinkle in your eyes betrays your intent.
Steve scratches the back of his neck, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. “Uh, yeah. I might’ve noticed. He’s… thorough.”
You take a step closer, your heels clicking softly against the floor. Even with them on, you still have to crane your neck to look up at him. He’s towering above you, his broad shoulders blocking out everything else, and the nervous way he’s fidgeting is almost too cute to bear.
“So,” you say, your tone teasing. “What are we supposed to do when we’re under mistletoe?”
Steve swallows hard, his eyes darting between you and the small sprig above. “I—uh—well, I think… traditionally… people…”
You raise an eyebrow, waiting patiently as he struggles to form a coherent sentence.
“They kiss,” he finally blurts out, his voice cracking slightly.
You can’t help but laugh softly. “They do,” you agree. “It’s tradition, after all.”
His blush deepens, and he looks like he’s about two seconds away from bolting. You can see the internal battle playing out in his mind, the way he’s torn between his feelings and his nerves. The countdown begins in the background, voices ringing out in unison:
“Ten!”
“Steve,” you say, stepping even closer. “You know what I think?”
He blinks, staring down at you like a deer caught in headlights. “W-what?”
“Nine!”
“I think you’re overthinking this.”
“Eight!”
His mouth opens, but no sound comes out. You’re not sure whether to be exasperated or endeared by how utterly flustered he is.
“Seven!”
“Six!”
“Steve,” you say firmly, reaching up to place a hand on his chest. You can feel the rapid thud of his heartbeat beneath your palm, and it sends a thrill through you.
“Five!”
“If you don’t kiss me right now,” you whisper, your voice low and teasing, “I’m going to have to take matters into my own hands.”
“Four!”
“Three!”
Still, he hesitates, his lips parting as if to speak but no words escaping. You sigh dramatically, rising onto your tiptoes and tugging him down by his tie.
“Two!”
Before he can protest—or, more likely, overthink himself into oblivion—you press your lips to his.
The kiss is soft and sweet at first, your lips fitting perfectly against his. His initial surprise quickly melts away, and his hands come to rest lightly on your waist, steadying you as you lean into him. Even with your heels, he has to bend down significantly to meet you, and the height difference is so absurdly Steve-and-you that it makes you smile against his lips.
When you deepen the kiss slightly, sliding your hands up to his shoulders, he lets out a quiet, surprised sound that sends a rush of warmth through you. He tastes faintly of champagne, and the sheer rightness of the moment makes your head spin.
The countdown fades into a deafening roar of cheers and applause as the clock strikes midnight, but you barely notice. For this moment, it’s just you and Steve, wrapped up in a world of your own making.
When you finally pull away, you’re both breathless. Steve looks down at you, his expression a mixture of wonder, disbelief, and pure adoration.
“I…” he starts, his voice shaky. “I’ve wanted to do that for so long.”
You laugh softly, your hands still resting on his broad shoulders. “You don’t say.”
“I mean, I—uh—I’ve liked you for a while now,” he stammers, his words tumbling out in a rush. “A long while, actually. Since before last Christmas. And I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t know how, and then the gift—I mean, the necklace—I thought maybe it would say it for me, but then you didn’t say anything, and I—”
“Steve,” you interrupt gently, placing a finger over his lips to stop his rambling. He freezes, his eyes wide and uncertain.
You smile, rising onto your tiptoes once more to kiss him again. This time, it’s slower, sweeter, a silent reassurance that you feel the same way. When you pull back, you whisper against his lips:
“Happy New Year, Steve.”
He stares at you, his blue eyes shining with so much emotion it makes your chest ache. “Happy New Year, Y/N.”
And as the room around you erupts into celebration, you know this is going to be the start of something truly amazing.
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I'm sorry (not really) but I can't imagine Steve as nothing else than a softie, like, I don't know where you all see the big dominant man...I see a puppy
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circesastro · 5 months ago
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Circe's Observation: Mark's Chart Edition
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⋆。‧˚ʚ🍓ɞ˚‧。⋆MASTERLIST °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:・
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:・ All photos are from Pinterest ⋆。‧˚ʚ🍓ɞ˚‧。⋆
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How to check your Mark's Chart with someone?
Step 1: Go to Astro.com
Step 2: Go to the corrected Davison chart between you and your person
Step 3: Save the corrected Davison chart to your saved charts
Step 4: Then repeat the process but this time with your corrected Davison chart + your natal. Save that chart.
Step 5: Do the same with your person.
What is a Marks Chart and what does it represent?
The Marks chart shows one's perspective on the relationship and how it affects each individual in the relationship. It shows how one would act within the relationship. The 'you' while in the relationship.
Let's get into the observations!
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⋆。‧˚ʚ🍓ɞ˚‧。⋆SUN
✿ Sun represents your center focus of the relationship. It can tell you more reasons why you started and why you are in this relationship.
Examples:
A Libra sun could indicate wanting to start a relationship or partnership of some form with that person. You could want a relationship with that person because you see a long-term future with that person.
Whereas a Cancer sun could indicate you starting a relationship because you feel comfortable with them. It can also indicate forming the relationship to seek comfort. You could see them as someone who you want to start a family with.
A Pisces sun could indicate that being in a relationship with them is something you dreamed of or fantasized of. So in a way its like a "dream" relationship for you. A relationship you could have always wanted and you may feel like you manifested into your life.
✿ The Sun can also show how you view the relationship.
Example:
A Pisces sun in the Mark's chart could indicate seeing the relationship through an idealistic lens. It can also cause them to sweep over potential red flags from their partner to fit a certain fairy tale they created in their head.
A Taurus sun in the Mark's chart could indicate seeing the relationship as your "security". It could also indicate seeing the relationship as something transactional. You can also view this relationship as something grounding.
A Leo sun in the Mark's chart could indicate seeing the relationship as something that you're prideful about. You can also see the relationship as something fun and exciting. It can also get you the attention you wanted.
A Capricorn sun could indicate you viewing the relationship as something that could potentially boost your status. A relationship that could help your career ambitions.
✿ Switching Sun signs can indicate adopting traits and personality from each other. 
Example:
If Person A is an Aries Sun natally but a Virgo Sun in their Marks Chart, while Person B is a Virgo Sun natally but an Aries Sun in their Marks Chart, they may act a lot like one another because they start to adopt each other's trait. Person A could become more routine-oriented and analytical while person B may become more impulsive and child-like.
✿ Sun + Mars may show more in detail about what you initially wanted out of the relationship. The sun represents one's self and your own focus while Mars shows what one desires. Both planets are more self-focused. So it's something that you subconsciously or consciously expect out of the relationship.
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⋆。‧˚ʚ🍓ɞ˚‧。⋆OBSERVATIONS
✿ Those that you have Pisces placements with (especially sun, moon, venus and Juno) in your mark's chart could indicate you seeing them with rose-tinted glasses as Neptune rules over illusion and fogginess.
✿ Having Aries placements in the Mark chart could indicate you being the more passionate one in the relationship. 
✿ Also Aries placement in the Mark chart can also indicate being the “chaser” in the relationship. Usually, the one to initiate things to happen. 
✿ Having multiple Scorpio placements in the Mark chart can indicate wanting a more private relationship with your partner. 
✿ Having 10th house placements in Mark’s chart can indicate bringing the relationship to public (especially moon and venus). 
✿ Scorpio placements in Mark’s chart can indicate a ride-or-die relationship but it can also indicate jealousy or envy. It can show complicated feelings or hard feelings towards each other and may also indicate not liking each other but keeping that feeling lowkey unless you have it in more public houses.  
✿ Also, the partner with Scorpio placements (especially sun or venus) in their mark chart tends to seek control/power within the relationship. They can be seen as controlling and possessive. Usually, you’ll see them being the ones with power in the relationship the relationship always heads in the direction they want.
✿ Gemini venus a player in natal chart and still a player in the Mark’s chart 😎
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urlovebrini · 1 year ago
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arranged marriage with alhaitham
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⋆❀ — includes: alhaitham x fem! reader
⋆❀ — content: arranged marriage, alhaitham is bad at feelings, fluff, angst, hurt/comfort, little miscommunication, you are a sunshine, he calls you nymph, little age gap, alhaitham is like 27 and you are like 20/21 its not mentioned in the writing but he calls you little, sfw but there will be a second part with the nsfw, i love arranged marriage i can't help myself, maybe little occ alhaitam at the end but his in love, smirking alhaitham is in my mind all the time
⋆❀ — a/n: hello sorry for the disappearance, but you know life happens, i don't promise that i will be so active, but will try to write more things. i tried not to go into the story too much, especially in the beginning and get to the good part of the drama, angst and romance, tell me what you think, if you like it maybe I'll think about enlarging it on ao3, i will do a follow up with the nsfw and this is a part of a serie so next character is ayato.
⋆❀ — arranged marries series: ayato | tartaglia | diluc
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⋆❀˖°·࿐ ࿔ alhaitham
he knew about arranged marriages, in reality, they were pretty common in sumeru society, when the grand majority of people were putting all their minds and time into the endless pursuit of knowledge there was little time for romance and love all that fairy tale things were out of the equation of the people lives. alhaitham was no exception to the rule, in fact, he cared so little about the idea of infatuation and romance that it didn't cross his mind at all, not until his old grandma told him, that she had found an adequate and nice girl to be his bride.
the truth was, he didn't care at all, he could have refused with good reasons, in reality, he liked being alone, it was easier, lets complications meant more accomplishments. but if the girl didn't bother him and let him be with his studies and do his things, he didn't see the problem with accepting the marriage. so the preparations begin
the first time he met you, alhaitham didn't know what to make about you. you were a pretty young girl, he could appreciate that, a nice smile, bright eyes, and a cheerful disposition. you seemed so far away from the common world. you looked nervous but he could tell you had what people seemed to categorize as a sweet personality. it was a little eerie looking at you, so nice and cheerful, with a fitting lilac dress… and your eyes met his, a smile on your face, he could only nod in acknowledgement, but your smile grew more as you talked with a friend excitedly. so contrasting.  
in the days leading to the wedding, he discovered some things about you, it resulted, you were an ex akademiya student, and you had a decent academic record, but for some reason, you decided not to follow the academic path. all the times he saw you, it seemed like you always were happy, with a smile, and going to one place and another, you had a liveness in you. one day you asked him something maybe it was about the flowers, maybe it was about the cake he could only answer the true 《he didn't care》 something seemed to change in your expression but you nodded not the less. you seemed like you wanted to tell something more, so he observed you; you were in another dress it was white but it had lilac ornaments. with all the people you talked to, you smiled, he was surprised your face didn't hurt at this point. 
and the wedding day came. it was lively, decorated with care, rainbow roses and paradises hung over chandeliers, and the bride, you looked eerie in the bridal dress, your always present smile shining and brightening the room, and your eyes looking at him almost like searching for something. alhaitham was stoic as always, but even he felt his breath taken away at your sign. for you almost all seemed unreal, you were getting married, his face was serious like always, and you were searching for something, something in him that could tell you that this was going to work. you wanted to believe that there was some curiosity behind his eyes, it all felt helpless but you hoped. 
the ceremony was quick, nothing special in particular, traditional rites and votes, it was like a trance it finished almost as it started, and the wedding continued with the fest and the party, and especially the first dance you smile at him, but he didn't say anything, his face with the same expression, you didn't know what you were waiting but it was something, maybe at 《you look beautiful》 but you would be conformed with an 《the weather is nice》 in that moment. 
alhaitham was in his seat of honour, he was watching you dazzling with some girls, your cousins he believed you said? but in a strange way, you seemed in your element, he couldn't keep his eyes out of you, you were an enchantress, it was not natural, the sweetness, the brightness, the way you flow in your moves, he was there with you some hours ago, the first dance, it was brief, as he only wanted to go to his place and end all this, and you seemed distracted, he remembers you asked about the decorations “they are fine, i guess” he answered, you smile seemed to felt for a second and came back almost immediately, averting your gaze he could her you murmur “the rainbow rose is one of my favourite flowers, all people say they are pink but sometimes they seem lilac to me, and the colour is pretty, and the meaning…”  alhaitham looked at you waiting for you to continue talking in the dance "it can symbolize several things" you said quickly to look away as if wanting to avoid something, alhaitam decided not to pressure if you wanted to say something you would say it he tought. 
and now he was watching you dance, laughing, and dazzling, you asked him if he wanted to dance more, but he refused, “im comfortable here, thank you” was his short answer, something shifted in your face, but as you enjoy your time it seemed left past. and as he looked at you a single word could only describe you, nymph, he thought, an ethereal nymph, that bewitched all the room. 
the day ended, and the moment came, time to go to alhaitham house, no, your new house you remember yourself, the way was silent, but he seemed comfortable with that, so you stayed silent. he looked as always, with the same expression, he was now your husband, and you were in way to his home, no, in way to your home. as you passed the portal, the place seemed nice, but you couldn't help to feel disappointed, there were no laughs, no bridal carry, and there was so much silence. 
he looked at you seeing the place, you seemed lost, like a deer in bright lights, you watched him walk to a door and clear his throat “there is an extra set of keys in the kitchen that you can take tomorrow, this is the bedroom you can refresh and make yourself comfortable” you enter the room it was nice and big, but it seemed lonely? “someone of your family brought somethings of yours these last days, all is in the boxes so you can accommodate the how you want” you nodded your head, what you can say in this moments? “that door leads to the bathroom, the other one is the closet” you looked at him maybe hopping that he say something more but he didn't.
when you came out of the shower after bathing and putting in one of the pajamas one cousin gave you joking that with that you could even conquist a god, it was pretty, but it made you feel shy. the bedroom was alone, alhaitham was not in sign, and all seemed to be in so much silence, you carefully get out of the bedroom looking for alhaitham, the house was dark, but there was a dim light coming out from a door, opening the door slowly, you saw what it seems to be the study room, alhaitham was there in an soffa, bathed and in comfortable clothes. his eyes looked at you quickly only to return his gaze to the pages of the book "there is something you need?" the question came in surprise, how you answer that? "i was just wondering a little... and didnt saw you" you answered as he changed the page, with out apparting his eyes from the words in the book he said "yes i came to finish some reports, and continue with my reading" you could saw that, but in the wedding night? you were hopping maybe you could talk more, try to know each other. you didn't knew what to answer and he seemed that had little interest in conversation, so you only nodded and walked to the bedroom. and as you lied in bed your thoughts seemed to spiral in what is to come.
the light wake you and you woke up alone with the other side of the bed, almost intact, it seemed like he sleep in the studio. you get up of the bed and walked only to saw alhaitham already dressed up and drinking his morning coffee. he looked at you briefly "there is some coffee left, but you can make whatever" you looked at him with keys in his hand, he was leaving? today? "are you going out" tried to sound as casual as possible, "yes" he said and didn't give more explanation as you looked him going to the door only to stop "oh i am going to the akademiya, have somethings to do" he saw you giving him an small smile, your hair was messy of the sleep, and if he looked more down, well in reality yes you were beautiful "when you arrive?".
"don't know, so don't worry about that" was the last words he said, and you were alone. the rest of the day you just accommodated your things, and recieved the wedding gifts, you were curious, but decided to wait for alhaitham, maybe it could be a chance to talk, and past time together. the house seemed nice, but it felt solitary almost like a chell, just some place to rest and store things. and there were a lot of books, all academic and of a lot of subjects, maybe you should ask your mother of bringing you your novels. but even if there was something you wanted to read, your mind were wondering about the man that lived in the house, maybe he was just nervous you were too, he was polite, maybe it was cuestion of time, maybe you just needed time.
time passed, day by day, and as time goes bye, things seem to stay the same. that first day when he arrive you commented him about the gifts, you were excited but all semmed to faint when he answered "i think you can check them and sortem alone" you tried to smile to him "you don't want to look at them" his only response was "no its fine, trust in you" so you opened your wedding gifts alone, in a house that you felt will never be yours.
and as time still went , week by week, things didn't seem to change, the feelings of rejection were groing, he was not bad, he was not good, you think the only answer was that he wasnt, you tried to stay positive, tried to stay optimistic, but it was waiting on you, the house feeled strange, and you couldnt balance yourself in this eviroment that semmed so far away for you. he was not cruel, so there was nothing you could complain about. you only feel lonely.
you started to fall in routine or so you believed, only half of the time you could wake before of him and doing a breakfast he always say "its not necessary" and after that alone time, sometimes you will get out and go with some friend to talk or eat something, and every fifteen days in saturday, you visited your family, alone. they didnt ask, your father talked things about the akademiya, you found out about the changes there, even if your husband was the grand scribe.
at the beginning you took advantage of the house alone, to dance and sing, and just move yourself, you were alone soo you say to yourself that you could made a fool of yourself, unknowngly of the little times alhaitham catch you, dancing and singing in the kitchen or common room, for him it was a little fascinating but he would never comment something about that, but he would smile to himself, you were a nymph he tought is obvious that dance is in you second nature. but as time passed you danced every time less, you didn't feel motivation to sign, and you almost not feel like yourself.
alhaitham moved towards his own things, all within his space, you didn't knew his colleagues, or friends? only one Kaveh he was fine, but commonly it was only bickering between him and alhaitham. all made you feel invisible. more when people when people at the akademiya, were surprised that alhaitham was married. only one time you went to the akademiya to leave him something he had left behind, and the way some akademics treat you, thats what you left in the first place, but why nobody new alhaitham was married? so invisible you were. all more feel lonely.
if someone asked you what alhaitham was to you, and if you would tell the true, the only answer was 《 a ghost, an spirit that just lives there, and you know that is there, is not an evil one but either a good one, he is just a ghost i live within this walls, of a place that seems unknow to me, a ghost that don't disturbs, it almost difficult to feel his presence but you know is there, and don't matter what you try, you can never recognize him, talk to him, comprehend him, you could never recognize his will. in the end the ghost is just part of the place, but you also are becoming just a part of the house, a wallflower of life 》
alhaitham noted your change, the energy, the life and the bright in your eyes, faded everyday, for several days now he didn't catch you signing or dancing like before, and now the brief chitchat that you had when your ate, was more brief, being now him the one to talk more, he observe you, you didn't seem sick, you looked tired, and you body sometimes trembled, he saw your hands they had injuries from cleaning, the last days, you seemed a little obsessed with that everything where clean he told you, that it was not necesary, that all were spotless but you said you prefered so he let you be, but he couldn't saw you hurt.
so after dinner he enter the bedroom, you were there with that pajamas more akin to a babydoll, you seemed lost reading a book but in reality not reading "you hurt yourself" was the thing that he said, and take you out of your trance, without letting you answer, he took your hand and began to put ointment on it and bandage it. your eyes round looked at him, but as always he just discussed what is in hand "i'm going to hide the cleaning products, if you keep going, you can't be hurt, understood?" he saw you, and you looked so helpless there, hair let down, pink babydoll, and eyes wide like a doe, nooding to answer to him "fine" he couldn't look you more so he looked briefly at the book in your hands, a novel. "not more cleaning, now rest" he left with a word more.
when you wakeup the next morning the house were alone, but there was tea waiting for you, and a fiction book in the table. when alhaitham arrived home an smile face was painted in his face as he saw you reading the book he left for you, without a world he put a candy box in the bureau and left to the studyroom.
alhaitham missed the shine in your smile, and your cheerfulness, but he could spotit sometimes everytime you looked at a new book, or saw a desert, even somethings so simple like flowers made you smile. so everyday without a word he let something for you, first only the thing and after that with a little nottee, he feel stupid, but you seemed to smile to the notes.
it was morning, it was strange, you didn't have hopes for the day, this last days, he seemed to disappear for some days only to cameback, an expeditions they where, in reality you didn't coment on it, all ways confused, the tug of war, of your feelings was getting out of crontol. and maybe the thing that made you crazy, was that he looked the same, you belived that you liked stoic man, but not the stoicism in person. in the other side there was his care, the gifts, but there also was the silence and the space. you looked to the vase of flowers with some rainbow roses, that he left there, was he so confusing, you didnt want to fall for him, you didnt want to be the one to get hurt, you were scare, that even after all this time, you felt helpless in his presence.
you wished you could sleep the day away, maybe was the better, so that were the plan of the day, if you sleep, nothing could happen, and life moved without you so it was fine. but after some hours, and some headache you couldn't help to cry, and just cry in the dark room of this house that wasn't your home and hounted your heart.
alhaitham hated sometimes those stupid scolars of the akademiya, he thought as he entered his house, it was dark, it was pretty late, so you must be asleep now, although he sometimes notted how you couldn't sleep at night. alhaitham new things were slow, but he could say they were a little progress, your eyes seemed to shine almost like at the start, and he conversed more with you, when he accepted to get married, he didn't think that he will feel so enchanted for his wife. but you were a nymph in his life, 《 you had bewitched him of body and soul 》 as the corny books you read put it. in the beginning he started distance for him, after that it was for you, and after that it was just a routine of you. but he was restless, all the time he did what he wanted, and say what he wanted, but with you it was different, he wanted you, but he didn't knew what to do now.
he saw the table and frown all was intact since the morning, he made its way to the master bedroom, that seemed almost yours, but in wanting his space and then in not making you uncomfortable, maybe he could change that, his thoughts close as he heard you sniff and cry, it seemed you were almost out of breath and he never felt so shitty in his life like in that moment, he didn't care what people thought of him, but now he care about your thoughts.
you fell him in the room, and telling you something that seemed far away, you tried not to, but you couldn't help of hugging him, of trying to hide yourself in his arms. you thought maybe just for night, he didn't say nothing, and he let you be. so you hide in him, until you felt asleep.
the next morning you wakeup expecting to be alone like always but he was there looking at you. alhaitham couldn't help himself looking you so helpless his hand traveled to your hair, getting it out your face "you know my little wife?" it seemed so surreal almost like a dream, "i have been thinking of the shitty husband i was being and how much i have neglected my marital duties" his voice was low and hoarse of the morning. his hand hold you chin and made you look into his eyes "i wonder if my sweet little wife could forgive me" you were left for word and only form a perfect o with your lips "maybe i should try harder to fulfill my duties as a husband" he smile when the words seemed to fall on you and your eyes shined like when he met you "maybe you should try" your voice were eerie "maybe i should but only if my so sweet wife let me" his face was serious, but you wanted, he was breaking the wall, yes it started with the presents the notes, but this felt real, you only nodded to him, for a reason you felt shy in his gaze.
his voice lowered more as he hold you "nymph you have been so sweet forgiving me, i promise that i will be better for you" there was that smile "you hadn't being that bad, i guest" you wanted to jock a little but you couldnt not know that it all seemed unreal "alhaitham thank you , for the books, and the sweets, and the notes and the flowers, you remembered my favourite flowers" his face was the same serious face of always but there were something in his eyes some shine and a little smirk that was appearing in the corner of his lips "so polite my nymph...."
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⋆❀ — a/n: i hope you like this, i am not so sure if i liked it, but is my first long post, so maybe if i do a change will be little and i will warn. i try to stay in alhaitham pov most of the time but the angst is better in the reader's pov, like always asks are open, if you have ideas, or want to comment something. dont know if the next post would be the second part of this or the ayato one. thank you for reading as always. if you had a better name for the tittle its welcome 🌸🍨🪼
⋆❀ — lovelies tags: @oveloof,
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celestialtrolls · 2 months ago
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The chained-up princess in need of rescue... ...Or the beast you've been sent to slay?
130+ layers later. ONE AELYNN BALL DRAWING FOR 2024 FINISHED
MAJESTY AND MYTHOS
FULL EXPLANATION AND PROCESS:
Earliest drafts:
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Original the concept was inspired by Dragonmom, [REDACTED], who is in-character known for destroying several cities during a rampage a few sweeps/years ago but also like. mother nature.
In character, Aelynn did get all the materials and start on this, and was planning on making a counterpart outfit for her twin brother, but ended up not liking how it was turning out and scrapped the project.
CONCEPT 2 SKETCH
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i'll type out all the writing on there + unwritten thoughts/elaboration
villainess knight vibes, but the beast lies beneath
fake horns for a scarier silhouette (also she canonically already had the materials to make fake horns)
lots of sharp points for hostile shape language
ghoul claws and eyes on for "beast"
tail still included in design because she already had the materials and it worked well for beast
red roses as a reoccurring theme each year to tie her outfits together, and also red is a 'dangerous' colour
holding something? gotta be something that fits the evil/villain concept
shoulder + knee armour for knight
"spine" down the centre of the chest
skull buttons, but might be too cheesy
wanted to cover the eye with dragonmom's symbol, while she's now dressing as a villain she doesn't want to represent dragonmom now
FINAL SKETCH
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added a lot more chains, removed some of the 'knight' concept, did plan briefly for her to hold a sword for that, but thought the dress shape was better more for the royalty/princess aspect
didn't remove the shoulder armour though because. i like it.
more spikes for the beast/dangerous silhouette
didn't like that the chest was the only place with a bone/spine feature, so also included it in the tail. i tried to add some of it to the gloves as well but it just didn't look good.
speaking of the gloves, i made it so the gloves actually have a faint divide into her real hands for the sake of in-character being able to return her hands to normal for interacting with people, since her claws ARE extremely sharp, but when she has them turned they blend in almost perfectly
LINES + FLATS
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make the heels ALSO spine just to have it reoccurring again
very dark palette but with the lighter purply-silver chains breaking it up
"red wine" is tinted closer to tyrian for. reasons. (eating seadweller reasons) (its not actually blood though)
tiara is replaced with a hair accessory tying some of her hair in a bun - in traditional formal settings, your hair should ALWAYS be up by classical western rules - and while aelynn isn't going to completely conform to that, she has enough hair that she can tie some up just for the appearance
still has a tiara SHAPE though for majesty/royalty reasons
she has her ghoul split-mouth not properly pressed closed for the fang shape it puts across her cheek for beast reasons - but she has good control and will not be opening the mouth past what a normal troll can do so it just looks cosmetic
FINAL PIECE: shown above
Thorns lace detail in the corset, thorns are often used in fairy tales (sleeping beauty, the original rapunzel) to ward off rescuers
Dripping "blood" makeup on one eye, just for drama really
Background is just an alternian skyline but with 'towers' and 'castle' like structure for the majesty theme
reduced the amount of shine in her eyes. it was too innocent and not evil looking enough.
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lilmisssammy · 11 months ago
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The Path Iceberg
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This is an Iceberg for The Path- created by myself with editing help from my good friends Samhain, Torr and Gloria. If you don’t know what an iceberg is, it’s a chart to discuss different levels of knowledge for a specific topic, the farther you go down, the more obscure or dark the topics become.
Before you read, I need to state that there are discussions of Rape related to people aged 9 to 19, Death, Potential Triggering content within links, and Spoilers for The Path. 
Thank you! And Enjoy!
This is an Iceberg for The Path- created by myself with editing help from my good friends Samhain, Torr and Gloria. If you don’t know what an iceberg is, it’s a chart to discuss different levels of knowledge for a specific topic, the farther you go down, the more obscure or dark the topics become.
Before you read, I need to state that there are discussions of Rape related to people aged 9 to 19, Death, Potential Triggering content within links, and Spoilers for The Path. 
Thank you! And Enjoy!
Tier 1 - The Sky
The Path is a psychological horror art game created by Tale of Tales, now Song of Songs, in 2009. It follows a modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood as it's experienced between six sisters, the wolf-loving 9-year-old Robin, the precocious 11-year-old Rose, the tomboy 13-year-old Ginger, the brooding 15-year-old Ruby, the confident 17-year-old Carmen and the responsible 19-year-old Scarlet. Each sister takes turns walking to their grandmother's house, with the only rule being to stay on the path. And the only way to win is by dying. The Path is a walking simulator and is seen as one of the best representations of the fact gaming can be art. 
Tale of Tales was a Belgian game development company that ran from 2003 to 2015. It was founded by artists Auriea Harvey and Michaël Samyn in an effort to bring art to an interactive medium. They're known for games like The Endless Forest, Graveyard, Fatale, Sunset, and especially their cult classic The Path. In 2015 they ceased making commercial video games after the release of Sunset, and now work on art projects together under the name Song of Songs. Currently, they’re working on a remake of The Endless Forest, which is currently in its beta stage open for patreons!
Little Red Riding Hood is a fairy tale about a young girl with a red cape who meets a wolf on the way to her grandmother's house. The basic story has Little Red walking through the woods to bring food for her sickly grandmother, where she meets the wolf who wants to eat the food and her. The wolf tricks her into telling him where she's going while she stops to get her grandmother flowers. When she finally gets there, the wolf has eaten her grandmother and tricks her into getting into bed so he can eat her as well. Depending on the version, a hunter may come in and slay the wolf saving the granddaughter and grandmother from his stomach, or the grandmother could be unharmed in the wardrobe. 
Auriea Harvey is a digital artist and sculptor currently living and working in Rome. She’s one half of Tale of Tales and is specifically credited for Design, Direction and Character Design on The Path. She was also the author of the post-mortem on The Path which you can see I’ve heavily referenced throughout this whole post. She currently has an art exhibit at the Museum of Moving Image called My Veins are the Wires, My Body is Your Keyboard which features images, models and the ability to play the path! 
Michaël Samyn is a graphic designer and digital artist specialising in VR from Belgium, currently living and working in Rome. He’s the other half of Tale of Tales and is specifically credited for Design, Direction and Programming for The Path. His most recent work, apart from actively working on The Endless Forest, is The Viriditas Chapel of Perpetual Adoration, an utterly stunning VR experience you can get on Steam.
Tier 2 - Tip of the Iceberg
The Path as a game is about building your own interpretations of the character's struggles via item reactions and rooms in Grandmother's House. There are generally two main interpretations believed by most who play the game. One is that the game shows each girl's death, Robin being mauled to death by a wolf, Rose drowning after she falls off the boat, Ginger being strangled/electrocuted on the flower fields wires, Ruby getting into a car accident, Carmen being killed and chopped up, and Scarlet being hung by the string seen on her wolf’s claws. However, these are also usually viewed as metaphorical examples of the sisters feeling like they died after extreme traumas. Using the items and images as clues, there is a common consensus of what each sister went through that made her feel like this. Robin's is learning about death and the consequences of actions, Ginger's is getting her first period and being forced to grow up, Ruby's is falling in with the wrong crowd and getting into harmful behaviours, Carmen's is getting taken advantage of while drunk, and Scarlet's is falling under the weight of responsibility placed upon her to look after her family.
Some places reported that the game would be about rape or pedophilia, like this spread in a Dutch gaming magazine. Something that gives credence to the rape interpretation is the basis of Perrault's version of the tale where the wolf tricks the sister to take off her clothes and get into bed together, as well as the uncomfortable positions the sisters appear in after their encounter. Though, this is how Auriea addressed it in the post-mortem- 'Some say blindly that the game is "about rape." And while that could be one of the interpretations -- and I understand it -- for me, those black-out moments after meeting her wolf are the moments of realization. Those are the times when a girl grows. And what happens in Grandmother's House is not a murder but a shedding of childhood and an initiation to womanhood. Each girl is one step closer to her fate.'
The Path may have intended answers that are mostly agreed on, but the format of the game is purposefully set up so there is no wrong or right answer, allowing for more personal or specific interpretations. You may notice I didn't mention Rose in the last section- and that's because there isn't an accepted answer. The most popular ideas are either her blooming spirituality, or dealing with illness, though those are both contested. There are other popular interpretations for each character- Robin having a family member pass, Ginger being a lesbian or trans man in love with her wolf, Ruby's experience with ableism or addiction, Carmen experiencing society's sexualization of teenagers, Scarlet having extreme psychological issues, with Rose's ranging anywhere from the struggle of a gifted child, actually dying or even the creators not having an actual set intention! 
Each sister you can play as has their own Live Journal- Robin's is named Kid Red, Rose's Innocent Red, Ginger's Tomboy Red, Ruby's Goth Red, Carmen's Sexy Red, and Scarlets Stern Red. Here the sisters post about their lives and talk to one another and sometimes other people, there seems to be a group of people who didn't know these were fictional characters, and one person talking about the Rio World Cup. Nowadays, this blog project could be seen as an early form of an ARG, considering its interactive nature.
The Company of Wolves is a 1984 gothic horror film about a grandmother warning her granddaughter about straying from the path and never trusting charming men. Multiple stories are told about girls falling for people who are secretly wolves and how it became their downfall. There are similar themes of femininity and sexual awakening, as well as the usage of Charles Perrault's Le Petit Chaperon Rouge at the end of the movie and in the trailers for the game. 
If you've played The Path in recent times you may notice that there are various bugs that range from bearable, game-breaking, beautiful or simply funny. The creators have an image folder of beautiful glitches from developing the game and the VK fanclub has compiled some glitches found themselves.
The game is turning 15 this year- and as time goes on the web aspects that hosted information about it are slowly going out of date. There's been an effort to archive images, the character models for the sisters, and object textures. 
Jarboe Devereaux is an experimental rock musician probably best known for being an early member of the group Swans, who co-composed the soundtrack for The Path with Kris Force along with lending her voice to some narration in the soundtrack and trailers. A lot of her music is experimental and I honestly recommend listening to it if you want! At the moment she’s working on her next solo album to come out in late 2024, as well as considering a tour in Europe after the album is released!
The Path of Needles or The Path of Pins is a line from one of the earliest versions of Little Red Riding Hood, the wolf asking which path she will travel down, the needles representing maturity while the pins represent childhood. It's said to be based on a French village in which a girl was sent off to become a seamstress for a year, as a sense of sexual maturation. This features heavily in the trailers as well as being part of The Grandmother’s Tale read by Jarboe, with it being referenced to by Ruby in her reaction to the needle. 
The Prologue is a short free version of The Path you can find on their website where you play as the mysterious Girl in White. You're unable to interact with items or go to grandmother's house in this version- but you are much more able to explore and find your way back to the path on your own, something you cannot do in the full game.
Izzzyzzz is a YouTuber who makes commentary videos who posts deep dives on things like famous fandom stories, old media and internet legends. In late 2021 they posted a video covering The Path which now sits at 1.4 million views, introducing a good chunk of the modern fan base to the game, as well as causing a surge in new content for the game, with a follow-up video in 2023! Their most recent video is about the game Palworld and it’s plagiarism, as well as having a new line of merch out.
Despite being released in English and Dutch only, The Path very quickly grew a fanbase in Japan and even more so in Russia. Screenshots from Auriea's post-mortem showed Russia was the second biggest purchaser of the game. The European social networking site VK has a fan club of 5.4k members as of writing this- as well as having produced 251 fanfictions on ficbook (for context, Rule of Rose, a game with similar themes and an overlapping fan base has 5 fanfictions on it) Japan's is a lot less archived, but on niconico you can find a lot of fan videos for The Path that is simply not there on the English net.
Though not like how it's used in other games- The Path has an inventory system in which you can collect, store and view items found in the forest. These are deemed "Distractions", and you're able to use these to unlock parts of grandmother's house. There are 30 items you can collect, the bread and wine are already collected which unlock the house and gate respectively, but there is also: A Knife (Unlocking a knife on the kitchen table), a Bullet (Unlocking a deer head), a Feather (Unlocking a Cage with a bird), a Mask (Unlocking the curtains in the kitchen), a Dead Bird (Unlocking a tv), Treasure (Unlocking a stack of money), a Needle (Unlocking pills), a Two-Headed Teddy Bear (Unlocking the bear in grandmother's house), a Boot (Unlocking a table), a Record (Unlocking a stereo), Flowers (unlocking hanging flowers), a Balloon (Unlocking Balloons on the ceiling), a Piano (Unlocking a Cobweb), the Playground Tower (Unlocking a picture frame), a Bunker (Unlocking beer in a fridge), and a Grave (Unlocking a Vase). Each sister then has three special items that unlock secret rooms. For Robin, an Open Grave, Swing and Shopping Cart unlock a crib with a birds-nest, a side staircase and a birthday party. For Rose, a Living Crow, a Skull and a Well, unlocking a long corridor of bathroom stalls, a flooding hallway of doors and a greenhouse. For Ginger, a Twisted Fence, a Climbable Tree and a Shed unlock a hallway, a bedroom and toys under the bed. For Ruby, a Scarecrow, a Wheelchair and a Car unlock a hallway, gymnasium and giant cage. For Carmen, beer, campfire and bath unlock a bush corridor, a basement and a row of fire. And for Scarlet, a cobweb, a clothing line, and a tv unlock a music room, a library and a hall of books.
Tier 3 - Beneath the Surface
Kris Force is an electroacoustic composer, performer and visual artist you'd probably best know from her work as Amber Asylum and with Neurosis. She’s an extremely talented multi-media artist, including such skills as painting, sound and photography. At the moment her most recent release was The Embrace, with Jarboe whom she collaborated with on The Path!
1001 Video Games To Play Before You Die is a spinoff book from 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, featuring games from 1970 to 2013, with The Path being listed right between Punch-Out for the Wii and EyePet the pet simulator. Listed as being so effective due to its interactivity.
The Girl in White, the mysterious forest girl who brings the sisters back to the path, seems to be tied with two of the sister’s Wolves. Ginger’s, The Girl in Red, and Carmen’s, The Woodsman. The Girl in White has a small tent next to the Woodsman’s area, as well as sharing the same skin colour, hair colour, eye colour and similar-looking boots. With the Girl in Red it’s much the same, the only things being different are the colour of their dresses, and the directions their pigtails point, and is directly named as the Girl in White’s twin. There’s even art of all three together named “The Woodsman’s Daughter” but not saying which one is his daughter. 
Fey Wolf, if you aren't familiar, is the name in the files for Scarlet's Wolf, the white-haired pianist found in the theatre. You'd not be faulted for seeing them as either an older woman or a long-haired man, or even a genderless ethereal being. The Fey Wolf was never specifically gendered by the creators, but insights about The Girl In Red Wolf reveal that she is intended to be the only female wolf.
Laura Raines Smith is an extremely prolific animator specialising in modelling and textures and was the main animator in a lot of Tale of Tales games. Some of her Tale of Tales animations can be found here, but she's also worked on games like Borderlands 3, Rage of the Gladiator and NHL 95. Her most recent work from what I can find was the animation and rigging on Saturnalia in 2022! 
If you’ve been in the community or if you’ve seen people discuss theories for The Path, you have probably seen the interpretation that Ginger is a lesbian, or transgender. This goes beyond just a shared headcanon, there’s a mountain of evidence for both camps that seems potentially intended. Starting with Ginger being transgender, just out of respect, in this section Ginger will be referred to with gender-neutral pronouns. Their appearance is particularly androgynous compared to their sisters, with a short bob cut and a black shirt and shorts- along with having the gender-neutral name Ginger that doesn’t quite fit the family naming theme that could be seen as a chosen name. Ginger also is associated with things that are seen as more masculine, their favourite video game is an action-adventure called Ico, they enjoy exploring the forest and trying to blow things up or fake crop circles, as well as having “boy” toys under the bed, little army men and dinosaurs. Ginger also notoriously dislikes things that are more “girly” like dressing up pretty, going as far as to make their entire family forget their birthday to avoid it. Their wolf can be seen as a manifestation of that, of all things girly and feminine, literally being only known as a Girl in Red- and the GIR’s obsession with barbed wire could be how they feel their feminity is trapping them. Ginger getting their first period is near-universally considered to be the “proper” interpretation of their route, but people who believe in Ginger being transgender use their overwhelming reaction to their first period being a sign of gender dysphoria, and fear of now believing they will be stuck to becoming a woman. This can be summed up in this image, of Ginger clutching their legs together with what's supposed to be in the middle being completely absent, instead with a drawing of flowers in place and barbed wire across, a clear sign of how they see their period as trapping them into womanhood. For the lesbian side, Ginger never specifically states that she doesn’t like men like Scarlet, but more shows her complete disinterest in them and romance in general. She mentions how she hates that “kissing stuff” and describes Carmen as “Hot, if you’re into that kinda thing.” While that does seem to show Ginger isn’t into romance at all, there are some things. The recurring image of two girls holding hands as a doodle can be found all over the game, and her general identity as a tomboy is sometimes seen in young lesbians yet to have come out, but most of the evidence lies within her wolf and their relationship. They’re clearly close, they have a handshake, and Ginger is more comfortable with affection with her than compared to her own grandmother, with the two girls hugging deeply and the GIR even lifting her into the air. The Wolf Encounter is comparably tamer and almost sweet compared to every other wolf encounter, ending with the Girl in Red grabbing Ginger’s hand and pulling her down to lie together in the sun. The final flashes show an image of the GIR leaning in, almost looking like she’s kissing something. On the GIR’s development blog, their relationship is described as “They are what is missing from each other's lives” as well as describing why Ginger was chosen to have a female wolf as “And the girl most likely to be attracted would be Ginger.” These development notes as well as the general tone of the wolf encounter seem to apply that Ginger and her wolf’s interactions weren’t as antagonistic as the others, almost as if her goal was not to hurt, but to trap her, seemingly to stay in the relationship.
If you’ve lurked on forums about the game for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard the question of “Getting an A” in the game's grading system, and speculation on how it’s possible. Well, I’m sadly here to tell you it’s impossible. Even if you get all of the items, all 144 flowers, successfully succumb to the wolf, and become Grandmother's favourite grandchild, you are unable to get an A. It honestly should not be a surprise- The Path is not supposed to be a normal game that rewards you for your completion, it’s… The Path.
Lisa Falzon is an Illustrator turned tattooer and multimedia artist from Malta. She was originally approached early on in the production to design the box art, though I don’t know if this was ever made or shared, and went on to inspire multiple other aspects of the game, being described as "Awkward Realism." She even drew Ginger when Tale of Tales interviewed her! At the moment she’s working in her own Tattoo shop called Upward Spiral Ink- her tattoos involve amazing detail and beautiful shading, I highly recommend checking it out!
Emriss, Redsbane and Bonedevill are three accounts found commenting and interacting with the sisters' live journals in the comments between 2008 and 2009. Most of Emriss' comments come from 2008, while all of Redsbane and Bonevill's are from 2009. The common through line is interaction with the accounts by the sisters and deactivation. Emriss plays a more neutral role, while Redsbane and Bonedevill lean more antagonistic with them referencing something bad happening to the sisters, Redsbane also seemingly implies the 'Bane' of the 'Red' sisters. With these accounts not archived on the Wayback Machine it's not clear if these were accounts used by the creators to provide interaction, or if they are actual fans playing along.
Ruby’s Leg Brace is probably the most iconic thing about her, with the rarity of video game characters using disability aids, her open usage of one is a welcome sight- but from the beginning of her development it’s not clear if she needs it. In her original plan sheet it’s noted that she may just be using it for show and later her description on the website saying “When asked about her leg brace, Ruby says she’s in pain, but she doesn’t specify where it hurts,” implying she doesn’t need it. Conversely, one of Ruby’s secret items needed is a wheelchair, and the final flashes put an emphasis on her legs and how they’re bent out of shape, seemingly saying she needed the leg brace due to a car crash, or an alternative reading is that Ruby was already disabled before the accident, as she gets violently thrown through a high school gym, as well as being the quickest character in the game, maybe signalling she used to be a school athlete before the onset of a condition or an accident.
Kirin San may be a kind of mysterious figure for non-Japanese fans of The Path, especially if you’ve gone through fanart, seeing a random man or giraffe in a little suit with the red sisters. The truth is, Kirin-San could probably be best described as the Japanese Izzzyzzz, being a big part of how the game became popular over there, with his playthroughs inspiring animatics and leading to a Japanese translation coming in 2010 from Zoo Corporation! This is a weird side note I didn’t know where else to put, but while I was researching this topic I found out that apart from translating games like GTA and Left 4 Dead into English, they also create hentai card games like Pretty Girls Mahjong Solitaire as well as developing medical prescription systems, so that’s hilarious. 
144 is described as the essence of the game by the creators, that it represents “a girl's restlessness, the sound of footsteps on dry leaves, the smell of pine trees, dim sunlight through filtering clouds.” The original working title of it was 144, with the original intent to have 144 red riding hoods. This was quickly abandoned due to the scale, but its importance remains, the 144 collectable flowers in the forest are the most obvious example of this, but it's all over the rest of the game. There are 36 items (144 divided by 4 being 36), 18 secret rooms (144 divided by 8 being 18), 3 secret rooms per sister (144 divided by 48 being 3) as well as six sisters (144 divided by 24 being six).
Something talked about in the postmortem but was not mentioned by name in the game is that The Girl in White is quite literally an older version of one of Tale of Tales past characters, The Deaf Mute Girl in The Pretty White Dress from 8. Her models were created based on making them look like the Deaf Mute Girl but at the age of 13. With 8 never coming out; the Girl in White is both the first occurrence of this character and the second time she was in a game.
Tier 4 - Middle of the Iceberg
An interesting detail that 1c changed when they translated the game into Russian is them choosing different names for the main six girls, unlike every other translation which keeps their original. The names are: Robin as Алина/Alina, Rose as Алиса/Alice, Ginger as Ада/Ada, Ruby as Агния/Agnia, Carmen as Алла/Alla and Scarlet as Аврора/Aurora. The translated names are no longer themed around red things, but around the alliterative A’s, probably due to their name puns being lost in translation.
This is an entry that’s probably more well known to people NOT into The Path, in that The Path is featured and shouted out by name in Hetalia. Yeah, Hetalia, that Hetalia the anime about personified countries that once was the second most popular Anime/Manga fandom on Fanfiction dot net, features The Path in both the anime and manga, with Belgium showing off the game as something from their homeland.
Something never mentioned in the games is that each of the sisters was given birthdays. On their livejournals, you can see posts of them celebrating Robin’s, Carmen’s and forgetting Ginger’s, but they aren’t the only ones with birthdays. On their live journal profile descriptions, their birthdays are listed as the 13th of October 2000 for Robin, the 13th of March for Rose, the 13th of September 1996 for Ginger, the 13th of May 1994 for Ruby, the 13th of November 1992 for Carmen, and the 13th of April 1990 for Scarlet. Rose doesn’t have her birth year listed but it’s probably just 1998, due to all of the sisters being spaced by two years. Something interesting is that all of the sisters were born on Friday the 13th, but only Rose would be her actual age as of the game release. Since the game came out on the 18th of March 2009, the actual character ages would be 8 for Robin, 11 for Rose, 12 for Ginger, 14 for Ruby, 16 for Carmen and 18 for Scarlet. Part of me thinks that this is why Rose’s birth year goes unmentioned on live journal, though if she wasn’t born in 1998 she would not fit the profile of being born on Friday the 13th, but it’s possible it was either a mistake or related to another entry on this iceberg.
Only mentioned in one development image and the development blog for Ginger’s Wolf, is the idea that Ginger and Rose were at one point supposed to be twin sisters, both being 13 similar to the Girl in White and her twin The Girl in Red being 13. In the accompanying image found on Flickr, you’re able to see above Rose her age is listed as 11, or as 13 if she was a twin. The thing is- the sister that has age 13 listed above her is very clearly NOT Ginger, it’s Ruby, and it’s Ginger who’s listed as 15. Well, they’re not listed by name, but Tomboy Red and Goth Red are the names used for Ginger and Ruby as seen on Livejournal, and their appearances are nearly identical to those from the final product. Especially weird considering that Ruby was the first character ever made for this game, and she was listed as 15 in that as well!
You probably noticed this if you looked at the image where Rose and Ginger are listed as twins, but they aren’t the only ones with stark differences that go unexplained. The Girl in White is listed as LDMGIAPWD, an acronym for the Little Deaf Mute Girl in a Pretty White Dress, simplified in print as the Girl in White and in fan discussions as the GIW. Another thing you’ll notice is that Scarlet has… A different design. With a long buttoned dress reminiscent of something straight out of a period piece set in an asylum, and a hat with things that look like antennas with flowers. And then it comes to… Rose and Carmen’s original names. Virgin Red and Sexpot Red. We’ll start with Carmen. Sexpot is a more crude way of describing someone who’s sexy, which is what Carmen’s nickname was then changed to. It’s still kind of a touchy issue with fans that Carmen, a minor, uses the name Sexy- but it’s still far more appropriate compared to Sexpot. Sexy gives more of a feeling that it’s self-appointed when compared to Sexpot which is more voyeuristic. And Virgin Red. Virgin has two contexts that are relevant here. Virgin within the context of purity and innocence, related to the Virgin Mary as an example of goodness not seeing bad. And Virgin within the context of never having sexual contact with anyone. Given the fact her name was then changed to Innocent Red and the fact she is ELEVEN- it’s likely that it’s related to that first interpretation, further giving evidence towards the view of Rose’s story being about her relationship to her spirituality. 
If you’ve read Rose or Ruby’s live journal you’d find out that on the 2nd of May 2008, Ruby dyed her hair black. That’s not surprising to begin with, you can see her with her hair as black throughout the game (Though sometimes it has a blueish look with some lighting)- a bit weird that it had to be pointed out as dyed due to all of her sister’s also having black hair (You can see Ginger’s black roots), but their live journals give a reason for why. In Ruby’s comment section, she’s asked about her original hair colour, which she replies was Green. It’s not clear if she means her hair was last dyed green, or if she has natural green hair. This seems like a reference to one of her final flashes that’s the same as another but with a green colouring. Anyway- this isn’t what we’re talking about. In the reply of that comment, someone calls her a liar, and says if it really was green, why did she get her sister to lie? What they’re referring to is Rose’s post about it- in which she says that Ruby had made her promise not to tell what her old hair is. There’s still a debate as to what her original hair colour is, and I don’t think we will ever actually get to know.
In 2022 @wammy4 on Twitter began multiple Twitter bots based on the sisters in The Path, posting various things sourced from lines in the game, live journal posts, quotes from grandmother's house and links to the game. It posted multiple times per day, now with so many posts it’s hard to keep track, but as of the fourth of April 2023, none of the accounts other than the creator has posted, due to Musk’s shutdown of free API bots and $100 per month bot subscription.
A staple of fandoms on the internet are Askblogs, where fans can ask characters questions and get a reply, usually with illustrated companions. The Path is no outlier, having a dedicated askblog on VK- with over 800 followers. It’s been active for years and has over 2 thousand different images, and has asks for all of the characters in the game, as well as gender-bent versions. If you can speak Russian I highly recommend checking it out, and even if you can’t, the art is stunning!
The Red sisters aren’t the only ones who have live journals, within the comments you can find Grandmother Red interacting with her grandkids, asking when they’ll next come down to see her. However this livejournal is different from the others given that hers is deactivated, even with the wayback machine- and her livejournal was never linked on the official website next to the others.
Fuco Euda is a Japanese-based surrealist painter focusing on the horrific, sensual and innocent, with girls nearly looking identical as if they were family, or the same girl. She was first referenced all the way back when Ruby was being designed as an artist to look into for inspiration. Her artbook LUCID DREAM is out, with a special bound edition if that’s something you’d be interested in!
Alice Knows Karate is an alt-pop band that takes inspiration from fairytales and J-pop, creating a unique nostalgic sound that feels straight out of a video game. They’ve got various albums you should definitely check out, but what we’re specifically talking about today is their 2018 album Fablewave, with their song ‘The Path’. It was originally posted on the head of the band Keiko’s YouTube channel in 2009, with an updated version coming ten years later. It’s outrageously good, it captures the essence of the game perfectly with amazing lyrics, and I got a bit too attached and it ended up as my number-one song on Spotify in 2023. The rest of Fablewave is also based on other fairytales and fairytale-inspired games, particularly ‘Alice, What Have You Done?’ based on American McGee’s Alice. Their most recent work is Grounded, and they’ve also been featured as the theme song for Penny Larceny: Gig Economy Supervillain! 
The Path was supposed to be Tale of Tales' first commercial project, and as so it included advertising, but being Tale of Tales, they did this the most extra way they could. Around where they lived, they made a Tear Off poster, with what I believe is Martha Samyan’s art of Robin. The poster asks the reader to choose the path of pins or the path of needles, while linking to the website. On their blog they provide a blank download of the tear-off poster so you can print it off, to draw on it and place it around you!
The Path was Tale of Tales' first foray into creating commercial games, and because of that, there are various different selections of merch, such as: Signed Posters, USB drives, CDs of the soundtrack, Polaroids, Shirts (via Redbubble) and a sticker. Nearly all of this, save the shirts on Redbubble, are no longer purchasable, being limited items when they came out, and then finally being sold in 2015 as Tale of Tales moved. I am still so mad I never got those Polaroids and am still madly searching for auctions of them.
The Rose Problem is a catch-all term I am using to describe basically ‘What the hell is up with Rose’. It’s no secret that Rose is divisive when it comes to interpretations- so much so that I couldn’t include her in the first interpretation section. So, what is it that makes Rose so difficult? Well, you can barely see her wolf, her house is almost all flooded and she speaks with flowery prose. The reason people seem to view her route as spirituality or disability is because of her continued mention of disconnect from herself. But there have been oceans of other disagreeing ideas, related to her perhaps going through puberty early, her experiencing guilt related to her family, her being potentially molested, or even her literally dying. It’s been put forward by some that Tale of Tales went into Rose not even having an intention in mind, or it shifted from one idea during development and becoming aimless during that period.
Scarlet is known to be the last created sister, Tale of Tales describe the making of her as being the first to be born and last to be made, and because of that, her wolf was the last to be made. The final wolf is named the Fey Wolf- related to the Fae Court. As an Irish person who’s in full belief of the Fae, I don’t see the resemblance. But that wasn’t his final name- maybe it wasn’t his final appearance. His original name, according to a rough floor plan of what Grandmother’s house would look like with the secret rooms was Boy Toy Wolf. That’s… A name change. Especially considering the fact Boy Toy refers to a young man in a sexual relationship, usually with an older woman, and the Fey Wolf is a sort of elderly-looking androgynous thing with a 19-year-old Scarlet who is not into relationships. But because the Fey Wolf’s making has no text, it’s not clear if his appearance or purpose even changed between the name change.
Quest3d was a tool used for making 3D applications, with an intuitive way of programming by using graphs and seeing it in real-time without the need for a compiler. On Mobygames only 8 games were ever listed as created by Quest3d, 6 if you don’t count The Path and The Prologue- with three of them being a Ship Simulator. I say was because it’s pretty much gone. You can’t open their unique file in anything so you’re kinda screwed if you want to do anything with the game files.
The Shrine and the Playground Sign are two interesting objects that you really can’t see in the rest of the game. They both appear along the path but not in the forest, and unlike the crow, you can’t interact with them. Though not immediately clear- the reason why those appear is to signal to the player that the Graveyard and Playground are accessible. That’s probably self-explanatory for the Playground Sign, but for quite a few people the Shrine may come as a surprise, including me before I researched it.
The Path, like everything, has speedrunners. There are two categories- All Girls and Failure%. There have been seven runs altogether, one in all girls and six in failure%. Failure% is reaching grandmother's house without interacting with any wolf, beginning when you gain control and ending when you leave first person in Grandmother's house. Though there are no guides available, the strategy is clear, using Ruby as she’s the quickest. The world record holder as of now is from Krayzar with a one-minute 35 seconds. There's only one speedrun for All Girls, and I’m going to be honest, I don’t think there’s a strategy, at least not one clear from the world record holder Multiwinner who admits that the run they sent in was their first and only attempt. If you want to try this out, go ahead! You’ll have the chance to make history!
In 2020 a zine by the VK fan club for The Path was released- featuring illustrations, comics and stickers, a full collection of all included is linked here. As far as I can tell, this is the only one of its kind! It really is a marvel, and I have said this for like the third time, but if you have a copy of this I would love to buy it from you. I do have to warn you- there is nudity in here of Ruby.
Tier 5 - Bottom of the Iceberg
Tale of Tales references three artists and illustrators that inspired the feeling they were going for The Path, naming them as Lisa Falzon, Fuco Ueda and Ray Caesar. For its first anniversary, three sets of interviews of those artists by the six red sisters. You can find the interviews here, but some highlights are: Carmen asking Lisa if she has a boyfriend followed by Scarlet asking if Lisa is a feminist, Robin asking if Fuco Euda's paintings showed "Good girls or naughty girls", and Ginger just asking if Ray Caesar would ever make a video game.
One of the more confusing things mentioned in the Post Mortem is the fact that Tale of Tales at one time considered creating a mechanic where you would have to dance battle your wolf. No, I am not joking. I just have one question. In a game about exploring your deepest trauma in a wolf-infested forest. Why did you make them dance?
The Path Tribute Project was a group of Vocaloid songs created based on characters in The Path on niconico. The project is from 2014, and due to this and a lack of updating links, I’m unable to find the original organiser of the project and one of the songs, but what I do have, is a Paste Bin of all the found links, the Tumblr blog it was advertised on, and a short compilation of all of the songs reposted on VK!
The canonicity of the grandmother house pages is up to discussion, with Rose, Ginger, Ruby and Carmen all seeming aware they’re in a video game created by these people with Scarlet not making mention of Kris’ involvement with the game. The outlier is Robin, who says not only is Jarboe real in their universe, but that she lives in a black house in their forest- and that she was the one who taught the family the Safe Song. There clearly is not a black house in the forest- the only house is Grandmother’s which is white. Maybe she’s referring to the tent in the Campsite, we never exactly do see the Woodsman go into it, or it could even be the Bunker, as it seemingly has a panel over the door, but neither of those are housey.
Given The Path’s limited characters and interactions, the game’s fanbase has never really been prime with shipping, the most you would see is Ruby and her Wolf along with Ginger and her Wolf. But one pairing stands among them all as the most. Ship to exist. The Woodsman, and the Fey Wolf. There’s a weirdly large amount of fanart for this, despite their status of never interacting or existing near each other, but I suppose what fandoms do best is see two men and decide they should kiss. Should I show examples of this? Yes. Am I going to? No. Just… Take my word for it and understand why I am not showing you a sweaty bald man making out with whatever the Fey Wolf is.
Shamus Young was a game critic and blogger who was an early modder in the Doom Community, and held some infamous views related to parts of The Path. I want to preface this by saying- Shamus Young passed away in 2022 at the age of 50, and out of respect for him and his family, I will be only relaying what he wrote instead of including my opinions. The reason Shamus gained a particular status in the fan community is for his interpretations of Rose and Carmen. Starting with Carmen- he states that he knew girls like Carmen in high school, that would “Find the biggest, strongest, best-looking complete-jerk they could get their hands on, and then endlessly whine about how ‘men are such pigs.’” He then goes on to explain that he believes Carmen was not raped, because despite being drunk she had taken the alcohol without asking, and that it was not rape because “She came on to him.” He does say that it “does not excuse the forester for sharing his beer and hooking up with an (in some states) underage girl-” and then proceeds to say “But I don’t think he’s a rapist.” At the end of the aftermath saying that “Maybe this one bad experience will make her more careful.” Rose’s analysis begins with him prefacing that “I don’t actually want to talk about this one, because it involves stuff I wouldn’t even bring up on my blog.” and then again stating “And I really hope you’ll keep a clinical head on when I bring this up and try to be polite even if you disagree, and furthermore I hope we can keep this discussion civil and remember that this is all open to interpretation.” Before he goes on to explain how Rose’s water motifs are a representation of discovering masturbation- that the reason why her wolf is a Cloudy Male figure is that “She knows she’s attracted to men but she doesn’t know what men look like yet, or how sex works”. As stated at the beginning of this entry and by Shamus himself, I’m keeping this civil and I am not shaming him for his personal interpretations.
There’s quite a bit of Micheal’s Daughter Martha present in the game at various points. Martha made the original pictograms, I believe the poster art was also by her- but the most clear inspiration is Robin herself. As mentioned in her Making of post, Robin’s outfit is based on her, specifically her outfit of her blue hooded cloak and stripey boots. Martha’s actually an artist now too! Martha Samyn is a textile artist and interior architect, with her last exhibit being at Texture Kortrvijk in January! You can actually see the start of her textile art related to The Path, showing off her Ruby-inspired outfit for her doll!
A last-minute change mentioned in the post-mortem was the fact that The Path did not contain any text until the playtest. And when I mean any text, I don’t just mean instructions- until they had people play the games they hadn’t thought to include text for the items, to show what the characters were thinking, because they saw that “Some players had difficulty to let their imagination work.” That’s a wise lesson for you all. Involve Beta testers.
The Path Fangame, titled The Path Fan Project, is a game by Kinder and Doll, a spiritual follow-up to The Path with less of a focus on horror and more on open-world explanation and interaction with the sisters. The graphics are astonishingly pretty, with quite a few new locations like a train, a cave, and a treehouse. The game also involves slight voices, giving the characters voices for the first time! I again urge you to play it, especially since I am unable to because of the age of my computer. 
The-Red-Path is a LiveJournal community never officially linked on the website like all the other LiveJournal profiles, with only six members- the six sisters. This account has only three posts, all posted in 2008, between April and August, only one of which I will be bringing up. On the 16th of April Robin asks whose turn it is to visit their grandmother, with Rose mentioning that they’ve all gone down the path already. There's a weird sadness in this post, with the normally boisterous Carmen asking why she couldn’t just go with anyone else.   
You have probably heard of the first urban legend about The Path, the ability to get an A, but this one you likely haven’t heard of. There’s a phone present on the road on the other side of the path, calling it will allow you to transport the sister back to the apartment without needing to go to grandmother’s house. The general idea is then, if you go through the wolf encounter, but turn around on the path and walk back to the phone- would you be able to call it and actually return back home without the sister disappearing? There have been testimonies of being able to do it, as well as fanfictions about the concept, and not a lot of checks due to the fact you can’t run after the wolf encounter and your speed is already extremely low. But I am going to come out and say, no, I don’t believe it’s possible. I don’t think the creators would have overlooked that idea, especially since they had a large number of beta testers, but I do really like the idea and I wish it was true.
That’s the end! I have quite a few things I left out, due to it maybe not being interesting or my losing of sources, but I’m glad I could finally do this. In all honesty, The Path changed my life. It’s helped me through a lot in my own journey of healing and accepting trauma, and I will forever be grateful. Happy 15th anniversary!
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Thank you for explaining it to me, can I ask for waking them up with true love kiss with Vil, rook, riddle, sebek, and Silver
Riddle Rosehearts:
Riddle looked more at ease than you’d ever seen him. You take a moment to admire the delicate lines of his face, wondering what kind of punishment you might receive for kissing him like this. You think he might understand considering the circumstances but you never knew what rule he might pull out of his pocket. You hoped to at least see an embarrassed blush on his face before you met your maker, leaning down to press a chaste kiss to his lips. You’re met with a startled reaction but Riddle seemed more relieved to see you than angry, pulling you into a tight hug to hide his undeniably tomato red face. You can't help but mumble about how happy you were that he was back, Riddle giving a whispered promise that he wouldn't leave you alone again.
Rook Hunt:
You think if Rook could see you now he'd get a kick out of it, comparing you two to an old fairy tale. You'd prefer his teasing to this eternal slumber he was stuck in, taking a deep breath before placing a gentle kiss to his lips. You lingered, head in the clouds as you pictured a more romantic moment than this one for your first kiss with him. If anyone deserved the whole nine yards it would be Rook, your dear friend and your beloved. You squeaked at the way he suddenly took the lead from you, positions reversed as you were now under him, almost as if Rook had planned this from the beginning. He seemed quite smug but happy, asking if he could request another kiss whenever he wanted or if you would only give them to him when he was sleepy.
Sebek Zigvolt:
You almost thought Malleus would be a better fit for a true loves kiss with Sebek, but didn’t say so out loud. Of anyone among your peer group you were voted most likely to have Sebek’s heart. He was still abrasive with you but it was accompanied by an odd tenderness that only a perfectionist in love would have. You can only imagine the look on his face after he realized what happened but you grit your teeth and bare it, hoping he showed your heart some mercy. You hold his face steady as if he might come to life pre-kiss, soaking in the glory of being this close without his annoyed blubbering. You’re greeted with a yelp the second after your lips meet, finding yourself facing a wild-eyed blushing crocodile with his mouth now covered. The only thing you can really make out is a WHAT ARE YOU DOING? but you’re too happy that he’s awake now to care.
Silver:
You had seen Silver like this countless times before but you’re not sure why right now it’s tugging on your heart strings. With the countless times Silver had saved you, it only seemed right for you to be his knight in shining armor and yet, you hesitated. Could Silver really feel that way for you? Why had he never confessed? You’d never find out if you didn’t ask and you wouldn’t be able to ask if he never woke up. You awaken him with a warm kiss full of promise, a promise to wake him up like this as many times as you needed to. You feel some pressure return, hoping you’re not deluding yourself into thinking he’s kissing you back. Silver stretched when he finally sat up, lavender eyes drifting to your lips as he apologized for falling asleep on you yet again.
Vil Schoenheit:
Vil isn’t even conscious and you’re nervous. You don’t know why you were offered up to try this, you could hardly imagine being someone live Vil’s true love. And yet you were here desperate enough to try, simply wanting him back and willing to humiliate yourself to do it. The kiss was meant to be quick but you round yourself enraptured with the softness of his lips, lingering just a moment longer than intended. It was like you were falling under a spell of your own. You jumped at the feeling of Vil’s fingers threading through your hair, keeping you close until he was finished with you. He seemed quite satisfied as he rose, commenting that his hair didn’t suffer at all, and you're relieved that he's considerate enough not to tease about the situation (for now, at least).
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gainaxvel3o · 1 year ago
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It's weird to think of Utena as a deconstruction of magical girls. Not just because it's reductive- though it is, there's so much more that's interesting about the show- but I just don't think that's what Utena is specifically going for.
Like, maybe I lack the context for how magical girls were like when Utena came out, but when I think of the stereotypical magical girl, I think of girls getting magic powers & frilly dresses, coming together through the power of friendship and fighting the forces of darkness. Utena's story doesn't really have a lot to do with that, it's story is framed in more male-coded fantasies, fairy tale imagery like princes and knightly duels, fighters using swords to "win" the Rose Bride. etc. It deliberately uses these in order to comment on how limiting gender roles can be for men and women. In particular, a lot of Anthy's resentment comes from having to play the role of the Rose Bride, but being rejected as a witch for how weird, creepy or off-putting she is.
I get the sense that if Utena is deconstructing anything, it's the idea that women can rise through a male dominated field like princehood without becoming the boot. Utena's desire to become a prince gets attacked by mysoginistic men, but it's framed as childish due to not realizing the true nature of her desire. To be a prince, as represented through Akio, is to subjugate maidens to his will. They go off, get married and live happily ever after inside of an illusionary castle, a symbol of the patriarchal world in which princes rule, while women could only be princesses or witches under this system. Utena isn't really "revolutionary" for wanting to be a prince in spite of sexist men hounding her (hell, Juri, a woman, is one of those princes), but just another participant in the cycle. Utena only really wins when she forsakes the sword to reach out to Anthy in the finale, seeing her for the whole picture rather than the idealized Rose Bride she unintentionally forced her into.
In essense, I think the show is about the follies of being a girlboss. Utena wasn't breaking the mysoginistic system so much as becoming an unwitting participant of it up until the end.
...
Hm, maybe Akio is meant to be a deconstruction of Tuxedo Mask? A seemingly mysterious cool dude, there's an age gap, helps out the heroine, but unlike the actual Mamoru, Akio is (rightfully) portrayed as having sinister intentions for his actions. I guess that's the director's apathy toward Mamoru at work there (though the anime version of him is way older than in the manga).
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lipglossanon · 6 months ago
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♔ 𝔖𝔦𝔵 ♔
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• A Dozen Roses • Fairy Tale AU •
Warnings: MDNI, dead dove, incest, possessiveness, abuse of power, mentions of suicide, depictions of bodily harm, off screen death
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The King sends out a courier to every neighboring kingdom before you rise from your bed the next day. Your chambermaids are all a flutter, whispering amongst themselves in hopes you won’t hear anything. 
It doesn’t take long for your ladies-in-waiting to gather you from your rooms to walk with you down to the great hall. One of them discretely tells you that your Father is summoning all the lower court today for an announcement. Nerves make your hands jittery, but you keep your composure and walk sedately with your ladies. The tryst between you and the King left no physical marks and yet your entire body bears the moment deep in its bones. 
The lower court members are seated and gossiping when you enter the room. Many of the lords give you dark looks with their wives and daughters looking upon you with undisguised pity. Their judging eyes are nothing new, but the room is filled with an unspoken tension. Skirts rustling, your group of ladies block you from view as best they can, ushering you to your chair. 
Seated in your usual spot near the head of the table, you try to parse what the gentry are muttering to themselves but without luck. It’s all for naught as the room falls silent once the King enters with a couple of his knights. His cold eyes scan the table, landing on you for half a beat too long before shifting away to finish his perusal. 
Feeling satisfied with what he finds, your Father makes his way to the head of the table. You squirm in your seat, body feeling hot under your gown at the remembrance of his touches from the night before. Heartbeat thundering loudly in your ears, you try your best to school your expression into a mildly pleasant facade. Once he reaches his chair, the knights flank either side, all three now facing the people gathered. 
“Today is a day for celebration,” the King announces, voice clearly ringing out into the hall. “I have decided upon who shall have my daughter’s hand in marriage.”
Your eyes drop to the clenched fists in your lap. It’s not like you didn’t know this day would come, but the betrayal of the King choosing someone after what you have given him is breath stealing. 
“She shall wed me and rule at my side as the new Queen.”
Gasps are the only thing to break the stony silence, everyone’s eyes now falling on you while you gaze wide eyed up at the man who has become your betrothed. 
“My liege,” a lord at the end of the table nervously stands. “It against the law is it not? To wed with one of your own line?”
A few other men stand from their seats, chiming in with agreement, pointing out their fellow clergymen who nod along with their claims. 
“Tis not right,” a wizened man steps completely away from the table. “You’ll smite us all with your blasphemous ways. We tolerated your witch wife, absolved of that sin when she took her own life.”
Your head jerks in his direction, “My mother?”
“Aye, lass,” a sneer crosses his weather worn face. “She communed with a devil and earned her fate on those cliffs. She—“
“Enough,” the King cuts off the old man’s tirade. He snaps his fingers and one of the knights leaves his side to roughly grab onto the ranting lord’s arm. 
“I know what you are,” spittle flies from his lips. “Coveting her damns us all. The spawn of that heathen—“
The King nods and the knight grasps the jaw of the elderly lord. Squeezing tightly, he wrenches the old man’s mouth open, and pulls a small dagger from his side. With one quick slice, the lord’s tongue falls to the floor with a wet splat, blood bubbling from his mouth like water in a fountain. 
It feels like time slows to a crawl. The old man cups his mouth, trying to stop the flow of blood and yet it drips like rubies from his wrists. A few ladies scream, including his wife, while the other lords who stood in solidarity slowly take their seats. The knight marches the elderly lord out of the hall, his garbled cries growing fainter until they are heard no more. 
“I will take your concerns into consideration,” the King levels his cool gaze at every person of the lower court. “But it is my divine right to choose what I will. Any insubordination will be met with a swift rebuke.”
He claps his hands and servants flood the hall with platters of food. 
“Now, let us rejoice. Enjoy this bounty provided by your King.”
He sits down, the knight standing at his side shifting to stand guard at his back. You’re unable to look at him any longer, questions running rampant in your thoughts. The old man spoke of your mother in a way you’d never heard before. Glancing down the long table, you catch sight of the man’s wife. Her glassy eyes staring vacantly at the far wall as maids quickly clean the mess left behind by her husband. 
Avoiding your Father’s gaze, you force yourself to take bites off of the plate prepared for you. The jangling of armor pierces the quiet as the other knight returns, blood coating his chainmail. Your stomach roils at the knowledge of why. 
Faking illness comes easily enough; you truly are not feeling yourself— it’s easily believed by your ladies-in-waiting so the King dismisses you to your chambers. Surprisingly, he does nothing more than kiss your knuckles as he bids you farewell. 
Stepping out of the hall, you wave down a serving boy to summon the newly widowed lady to your rooms. She arrives looking frightened and reluctant. It takes all of your willpower to adhere to decorum and not demand answers outright like a brute. 
The tale she weaves is bitter and sad; of a new bride found in the forest; whispers of her witch blood and the blood thirsty king silencing those who oppose. She speaks in urgent stilted sentences, telling you of the sadness that draped the new Queen like a leaden cloak. That she had another love before the King coaxed her away. The sudden news of a child growing inside her, a gift of their joining. 
The old woman clasps your hands in hers, a tight grip that makes your knuckles hurt. 
“Your mother tried to leave and your father couldn’t be seen as weak. He followed her to the sea. She would not return, even for the babe she bore. The King would have taken her by force if she did not jump. Some say she melted into the sea foam and still haunts those cliffs.”
A lady-in-waiting rushes in with scared eyes, warning of the King’s departure from the Hall. 
You thank the woman and gift her a brooch for her trouble. She straightens up and gives you a solemn nod before leaving your chambers. The maids bustle around you, ushering you into a chair and stoking the fire. You avoid their presence, the thinly concealed pity coating their tongues. 
Once they leave, you find your mother’s journal and begin to reread the passages in a new light. Your mother knew she could not keep a journal secret from your father. All of her possessions were buried or burned in honor of her passing. Angry tears fill your eyes as you read over the description of her ancestors—your ancestors.  
From her writings, you now knew what it meant for her to give herself back to the sea. That old woman was right even if she did not know it; your mother melted into the foam like her mother before her and her mother before her. A note of longing and resentment that the forest witch could not do as such; that wood magic had its own rules that did not cede to the waves of her home. 
As the sun begins to set, a blistering determination blooms in your chest like a briar rose. You ready a small satchel of the items you think you’ll need: the little jewelry you own, your mother’s journal, the apples left near your table. Hiding it while you’re alone, you wait, and once the chambermaids ready you for bed and depart, you slip into the simplest dress you own and make your bid for freedom. 
You don’t have much of a plan, but you know that you cannot stay, not with these questions burning your mind. The forest witch is closest; hoping she yet still lives. 
It’s easier than you thought, making your way from your rooms to the edge of the garden in the dark. The guards patrol at intervals easily skirted around and the darkened forest beckons you into its shadowy arms. 
Taking a deep breath, you charge forward, hope a small flutter of wings. 
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eanfee · 2 months ago
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I'm making a horror fairy tale inspired by Rule Of Rose!
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(no, I haven't forgotten about my Dark Crystal fanfic, or my Snupin fanfic, or my Shoto fanfic... I just don't have time to work seriously on it right now, but I need to express my creativity somehow or I'll explode).
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🌟 What's Going to Happen in 2025?
Are you wondering what 2025 might bring? Well, we've already been there. Here are a few key moments that are going to happen this year:
📅 Dated Events
All year: The Fifteenth Doctor will spend most of the year as a live-in employee at the Sandringham Hotel in London, after becoming stranded there.
30th January: Activist Jack Coulson will lead an energy protest in Trafalgar Square, attended by the Fourth Doctor and Leela.
31st January: The GlobeSphere corporation will set this day for a massive energy transfer from their moon base. However, the Daleks' plan to hijack the event will threaten to make Earth uninhabitable. Fortunately, the Fourth Doctor and Leela will foil the Daleks' scheme.
Christmas: The Fifteenth Doctor will bid farewell to Anita Benn at the Sandringham Hotel and head to the Exeter Hotel in New York City to meet a portal to the Time Hotel.
🌀 Undated Events
Tenth Doctor and Donna: The Tenth Doctor will take Donna Noble to the World of Aunty Winnie and meet Borace Gamnetyaac, a blue jelly-like creature from the Magneta Spool Galaxy.
Tenth Doctor and Rose: Rose Tyler will accompany the Tenth Doctor to a fairy tale-themed park, where androids designed to look and act like fairy tale characters will, of course, go wrong.
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Eleventh Doctor: The Eleventh Doctor will investigate mysterious disappearances on Moonbase Laika.
Borozhev's Manifesto: Borozhev will publish a manifesto advocating a return to pure Marxism, founding neo-communism—a movement that will shape the 22nd century.
🔀 Alternate Timelines
Seventh Doctor: In one timeline, the Seventh Doctor will visit a dystopian 2025 where Earth is stagnating under Benanki rule. He will travel to 1992 to prevent it from happening.
Ruby Sunday’s Alternate 2025: Another timeline, caused by the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday damaging a fairy circle in 2024, will see Ruby's life get super complicated.
👶 Births and Deaths
18 January 2025: Andy Stone will be born in Iowa in just eight days from now. (Fun Fact: Adelaide Brooke is already 24 years old and working at NASA's Johnson Space Centre.)
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What a lovely fella.
Whoniverse Facts for Friday by GIL
Any orange text is educated guesswork or theoretical. More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →📢Announcements |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts → Features: ⭐Guest Posts | 🍜Chomp Chomp with Myishu →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴
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writingamongther0ses · 1 month ago
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Fairy tales are the curse of the kingdom.
This is the order.
The first is the heir to the throne. At sixteen, they will prick their finger and sleep. They will sleep for a century and their parents will rule, long enough for them to awaken, to take the crown, to crumble into dust.
The kingdom has a ruler now, and they must stay, otherwise the roses will wrap tight again.
The heir will marry a mysterious person, either from the land or the sea, one after the other. The land spouse will appear at a party and dance until midnight, leaving a shoe. The sea spouse will walk out from the sea, leaving bloody footprints, silent despite the pain.
The order changes, but the kingdom always provides.
The first spouse will die, leaving the ruler with their child, with the flush of the roses in their cheeks and the darkness of slumber in their hair. The second spouse will appear and love them, except they are so very cruel.
There is always a pleasure to get rid of the stepparent after their safety crumbles to dust.
And it starts again.
The stages of life have happened again and again and again and again and again-
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silenthillii · 4 months ago
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Special interview with director Shuji Ishikawa, art director Makoto Hanafusa, and producer Yuya Takayama about Rule of Rose, formerly available on the official website.
These are the only screenshots I was able to find from the site itself, but the actual interview I was able to find in the form of a PDF! The full interview will be below the cut.
A disturbing tale of a dark, shadowy society formed by a group of young girls... Who envisioned this psychological adventure and its shocking themes? How did their creative vision take form? We spoke to key members of Punchline, the developers, Shirogumi, the visual effects supervisors, and SCE, the producers, for answers.
The following is an excerpt from an article in the February 2006 issue of Japanese magazine "Hyper Playstation 2" (published by Sony Magazine on December 28th). This article is presented, courtesy of Hyper Playstation 2 Magazine.
--First of all, would you tell us how you came up with the idea of a world of isolated children?
Ishikawa: It began when SCE asked us if we could create a horror game. We discussed this within Punchline and agreed on the type of game we wanted to make. If we were going to work on anything, we wanted to do something that was new and different for us--something that would make an impact on people. So we simply asked, what kind of game would command a presence in the horror genre? What kind of game had not been done before? This led naturally to the theme of darkness in children, from an adult perspective.
Hanafusa: Yeah. We put aside all complicated reasoning and thought very simply. An innocent child doing cruel things—what a scary picture that paints. We also paid attention to the cruelty that exists in fairy tales—"Little Red Riding Hood," for instance. When the Wolf's stomach is cut open, the aunt who was eaten climbs out, and they ultimately put stones in the wolf's stomach and drown it in the river. Fairy tales can be horridly graphic. This, I thought, would fit well with the dark side of innocent children. From there, the planning proceeded to take shape.
--I cannot easily express what this game is like in just a few words. It's more about the sensation you experience while playing it. The creepiness gradually builds and fear heightens. The story as a whole is pretty serious and dark...
Ishikawa: It ended up going in that direction. The results illustrate our attention to how children can sometimes appear scary to an adult. The story was gradually conceived through trial and error, as we investigated ways of generating fear. You see, things we don't understand tend to frighten us, don't they? Not just in children, but also in the opposite sex. We made a conscious effort to create gameplay that takes advantage of our inherent fear of things we don't understand.
--I see. Most of the children in the game are girls. Was this also a design choice related to that theme?
Ishikawa: In childhood, boys see girls as sweet and admirable, but they are in fact mysterious and misunderstood, aren't they? Maybe they are more like adults than boys, mentally. Furthermore, I think the relationships between girls are totally different from those between boys. This is something that men cannot really understand. They're in a world of their own.
Takayama: On the other hand, boys are pretty simple. I think even if they fight, they forget about it quickly and then get along without carrying a grudge. The boys who appear in this game are also simple compared to the girls. You'll see them having sword fights or playing with toys. The boys even willingly run errands for the girls. I hope that the relationships between boys and girls depicted in this game ring true when people think back to their childhoods.
Hanafusa: By producing this game with a focus on the mysterious nature of girls, we thought we could create a world that was baffling and unpredictable for the player. If we stuck to just the themes of fairy tales and children, then we could not have made a game that has this much impact. By adding the unsettling element of the girl's aristocracy, we were able to produce the game we had aimed for—a game with a powerful atmosphere never experienced before. The game, I believe, is a psychological mystery that provides plenty of thrills and chills. All of the characters and visual effects of the game embody doubt and fear.
--Besides children, a few adults appear in the game. What role do they play?
Ishikawa: They also represent something beyond our understanding, as the young girls do. When you were a child, didn't you ever have a strange feeling about an older person in your neighborhood, as if they existed in a different world? To children, these people can be very frightening, even if it's just in their imaginations. They may even start rumors that are untrue. In short, the adults are like the young girls: they exist as objects of fear for both the player and Jennifer.
Takayama: Children, adults, imps, and even the main character, Jennifer, is a bit unsettling. Nearly every character in this game who appears will make you feel uneasy, as if something's not quite right. They awaken hidden fears within us that disturb our sensibilities.
--What about the dog, Brown, Jennifer's only friend?
--Then, does that mean Brown is present simply to serve as her guide?
Ishikawa: Actually, Brown did not exist at the beginning of this project. But as Jennifer's character was solidified, we realized that the game wasn't interesting enough with Jennifer alone. Since she was so helpless and unhappy, we decided to give her a partner.
Ishikawa: Well, of course he serves as a guide, but he also has a role in terrifying the player, like the other characters. He's her only friend among all the characters, and he's sweet and reliable. But, he's not a human being; he's a dog. The Bucket Knight is also friendly towards her, but he's an inanimate object.
--After playing the game, I wondered if some of the mysteries were a little too difficult to solve...
Ishikawa: It is indeed difficult to proceed in this game if you don't carefully connect all of the fragmented hints, but to some degree that is what we intended. Many games these days are designed to be played easily without thinking all the way through. But when I was a kid, there used to be lots of games that you couldn't solve unless you really used your brain. It was fun to solve things after trying really hard to figure them out, and it felt really good afterwards. That's why I wanted to make this game require some thinking. The game itself is simple, but you cannot advance without thinking and making your own interpretations. Only bits and pieces of hints and images are offered, not the answers. My hope is that players pay attention to these hints and use their imaginations.
Takayama: Players may be able to progress relatively easily if they rely on the dog, Brown. But, I want players to think on their own. There is a limit to how far away Brown can smell something, so if Brown isn't able to use his nose, you'll have to think about where to look for an item, and then use the "Find" command. You can also stumble upon hints if you use the "Find" command in different locations. It's even possible to discover other stories which are not related to the game's main plot.
Ishikawa: We believe the game will appeal to a varied audience: from hardcore gamers to those who enjoy French and independent films. We featured many different elements throughout the game, and we're proud of what we've accomplished. We hope you'll have fun with the game and experience fear like you've never felt before, wether you're a fan of horror games or are looking for something new and different.
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moorishflower · 9 months ago
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Tower and Rose Ch. 2 (Dream/Hob Beauty and the Beast fusion, Explicit)
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Tower and Rose || Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling || Complete - Posting twice a week until it's done || 85k
Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Mystery, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Fairy Tale Elements, Alternate Universe - Beauty and the Beast Fusion, Threats of Violence, Alternate Universe - Medieval, How many more AU tags can I fit in here, Falling In Love, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Dream of the Endless | Morpheus is Bad at Feelings, Dream of the Endless is Kind of a Dick, Plucky Mercenary Hob Gadling, Dreams vs. Reality, Food as a Metaphor for Love, Minor Violence, Dream of the Endless Can Have Whatever Genitals He Wants, Queer Sex, Nominally PIV Sex But Who Knows With Dream, Anal Sex, Hostage Situations (Technically Hob is being held hostage)
After being dared by his friends to take a single rose from the garden of the dark tower outside of London, Hob Gadling discovers that he has inadvertently run afoul of the tower's keeper, a man who calls himself Dream, and who wields powerful magics. To prevent the deaths of his friends, Hob offers himself as a hostage: to be Dream's captive and confidant for all eternity, trapped together in the dark tower. However, once there, Hob discovers deeper and deeper mysteries with each passing day. What is the significance of the roses? What is the beast that roams the gardens at night? Why will Dream offer him no answers, and why can none of his servants speak of the tower's past? And why has Dream forbidden Hob from entering the topmost floor of the tower?
Chapter 2 is up! A meeting at the White Horse. A deal. Rules laid out.
Read chapter 2 on AO3 here!
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