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witchofhimring · 5 months ago

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Under the shadow of the Crown

Synopsis: Your life as Princess Baela's lady-in-waiting is ripped apart. Queen Rhaenyra decrees that you marry her younger half brother Aemond. Terrified, you are in no position to object. Such are the lives of those in the shadow of the crown.

Pairings: Aemond x Y/n

Part of my Dynasty of Blood AU series, built of this concept.

You had never payed attention to the second sulky son of Alicent Hightower. If fact you had not even come to mainland Westeros to marry him in the first place. Of course marriage had always been in the cards. As heir to Blackhalt, your families ancestral seat just off of The Reach. A great match had always been in store for you. Lord Cregan Stark and Jeoffrey Velaryon had both been put forth. Only Lord Stark's had been seriously considered as the third born son of Queen Rhaenyra was not yet ten. It was only a pity the eldest two of her boys were to be wed. Well, Lucerys and Rhaena had not been wed at the time you arrived at Kings Landing. Crowned Prince Jaecerys had already taken Baela Targaryen to wife by then. Your role, until it was time to take up the mantel of ladyship, was to serve the royal family and cultivate whatever ties you could.

You were placed in the service of Princess Baela. She was around your age, born within the same year. Admittedly you were more than a bit intimidated. Use to being the second highest ranking lady in the room it was strange to be standing in front of the third greatest lady in the land. Not only that but Baela rode a dragon. Her beauty was intimidating as well, with thick silver hair and wide violet eyes. Her skin was dark and smooth, the scars she obtained in battle only giving highlighting her features. Normally scars could not be considered pretty, but Baela seemed to wear them as one would their jewels. Clad in black and red the princess looked almost like one of those Valyrian gods. Not that you had ever met one before. But perhaps this was how they were depicted.

The two of you would forge a friendship. A combination of personal liking and ambition. However it was with Rhaena that you first became friends with. The younger of the two, Rhaena was less assuming compared to Baela. That did not mean, as many mistakened her for, a wilting flower. She simply preferred to be more guarded and taken to court etiquette more easily. The two of you had much in common, a love of fine dresses, music, poetry and an ability to connive when the situation so called for it. When you were free of duties the two of you would hide under the Weirwood and read poetry.

Two years passed and a new year was upon everyone. A New Years ball was to be arranged and it was up to a team of ladies (including yourself) to organize who was wearing what. It was already agreed upon that Baela would be wearing a high collared red gown with rubies sewn into it. Not that she knew it yet. The rest of you would wear colours representing your houses to show a symbol of unity. "I think everyone should wear a red ribbon to symbolize the princess." Rhaena pulled out a silver box from underneath a tall tower of various items. Let it not be said this was an easy job. A new years celebration was nothing to scoff at. Especially as this one would be a pre-celebration to the marriage of Rhaena to Lucerys. Rhaenyra's second son had been off to learn what it mean to be a lord. This had been to the great distress of Rhaenyra. But she finally relented, unusually, and allowed Daemon to teach her son everything there was to know about being Prince of Dragonstone. Now that he had experience and was a man it was high time Lucerys married.

"Oh dear." Lady Cassandra stifled a laugh as she held up a pair of ludicrously high heels. Lady Cerelle of Casterly Rock paled and looked to Rhaena. She would find no security in her look as Rhaena sighed. "Let me see." You took the pair from her hand and examined them. They were exquisite in design and any woman would be thrilled to have them. Except this was Baela who would likely be as friendly as Vhargar when it came to overly constraining dresses.

Rhaena sighed and slumped in her seat. She looked up at the ceiling, exasperated. "Baela is going to kill me." You looked up at her. "Why you?" Rhaena sat up and stooped down to gather loose fabric. "Because I was the one who commissioned Panella to make the dress. And I swear I told her to make the dress to Baela's tastes. But the Queen ordered her to make it luxurious as possible." Queen Rhaenyra was well known for her expensive tastes. Just a glance at her dresses was enough for anyone to know. This had worked in your favour when the Queen gifted you a dress of pink silk and pearls. You had yet to wear it but the dress was truly magnificent. However, at this moment, was it worth it if Baela ripped your head off?

Deliverance came in the form a knock. One of Dowager Queen Alicents handmaidens entered. She first curtsied to Rhaena and then turned to you. "Lady Y/n, the Queen Dowager has requested your presence." Getting up you bid the ladies farewell before leaving. Hopefully you would be kept away long enough to avoid Baela's terror.

Lady Alicent had settled in the Hands Tower, much to the annoyance of the actual hand Ser Corlys Velaryon. The moment you entered green clouded your vision. On the steps of a dais sat the women serving Alicent. They mostly hailed from the Reach and Westerlands. Sitting on a throne like chair was Alicent. She looked older than her thirty and four years, a statue of regality and sternness. Had you done something to incur her ire? There was nothing you could think of. So you curtsied, hoping that if she was upset a show of supplication (even if it irked you) might mollify her. To your surprise she smiled, or at least it looked like a smile. This unsettled you to a degree.

"Lady Y/n, the Queen, your father and myself have chosen a husband for you." Several things went through your mind, excitement, anxiety and hope. You had been endlessly curious as to who would become your husband and the future lord consort to Blackhalt. "You will be marrying my son Prince Aemond. Everything dropped out from beneath you. Not literally, but it felt like someone had just hurled you down a dark tunnel. Out of everyone why him!? You could not say Aemond was well known to you. Only the stories and the looks he gave anyone attached to his elder sisters house. As you were a member of Baela's household his dislike over spilled into you as well.

Was this your fathers idea? Or your mother, who despite not being the ruling lady held great sway. Always you had known you'd marry, such was the duty of every lord and lady. Never had you though as you did now, that this was all some great mistake.

You curtsied to the third most powerful woman in Westeros and said how honoured you were. An honour it may be, but not one you cherished.

"Absolutely not!" If one though Baela had been angry beforehand it was nothing to her tirade over Aemond taking one of her handmaidens. "My Princess, I can still serve you, surely." You held her hand in your own. In the greatest state of anxiety Baela hardly seemed to notice. Suddenly she bounded to her feet. Cerelle leapt back in fright and Cassandra rose to her feet. Baela seized your hand and headed out the door. She strode forward with such a great fury you nearly tripped. You could hear the other two following, also having difficulty in catching up. It was only when you entered a staircase lined with red tapestries did you realize where it was Baela was taking you. Before there was even time to protest Baela waved the guards aside and burst through the door. Queen Rhaenyra lounged on a plush chair, surrounded by her three youngest sons, little Princess Visenya and four ladies. As usual she was bedecked in the finest robes imaginable. Jeoffrey came to his feet and rushed towards Baela. Despite the animosity between Baela and her good-mother she was fond of her husbands siblings. Once they broke apart Jeoffrey rushed back to his mother. Tention filled the room was two Targaryen Princesses stared each other down. Baela may not be Queen yet, but she had enough spirit to outdo almost any other. Rhaenyra may have been older, but the fire dwelling within her blood was no less furious. Despite their differences they both had something starkly similar. They were the very blood of Old Valyria.

"Princess Baela. Please take a seat." Baela simply stood there, not budging. Nervously you stood there. While Baela might get away with this you may suffer the brunt of Rhaenyra's anger. She was quick to anger and slow to forgive. So you hung your head in hopes that she might consider you unworthy of her anger. "He who bends may rise again", it was a Greyjoy saying, yet your mother mentioned it had a great deal of merit.

Lady Cassandra quietly entered, paid her respects to the Queen, then stood there. "Lady Velaryon, please take my daughter to her room." Lasfy Velaryon, a cousin of Baela, rose and took the hand of little Visenya who had only recently celebrated her third name day. With some fussing the princess was spirited away. Rhaenyra waited until her daughters little footsteps disappeared. When Rhaenyra focused her attention back onto Baela she looked as gentle as a dragon. They said the Queen was quick to anger, slow to forgive. You prayed her anger did not fall on you.

"Your impertinence is noted, Baela. Remember I am Queen so watch your tongue." The subject of Queenship had always been a tense, provocative one. When King Laenor died the crown passed to his wife. At the time Prince Jacaerys was only ten and considered too young to rule. Fearing a war over regency as had happened in the time of King Jaehaerys they had the boys mother become Queen. It was all wrapped up in a neat little bow. No boy kings and the succession going down the natural path. Or it would be so if it were not for the face Rhaenyra's sons were not Laenor's. Whispers floated down the halls that it was the former Captain of the City Guard Ser Harwin Strong who had fathered the boy. If the succession had gone down the true legitimate line then it would have passed to Laena's line. Baela was Laena's eldest child. But Rhaenyra was quick. She married Laena's widower Daemon Targaryen and married their children together.

Baela, who should have been Queen, stood in front of her stepmother who was Queen. Veryone else shrunk back. Even little Jeoffrey. "I hear you mean to marry Y/n Blackhalt to Aemond." She practically spat out the last words. All these years later Baela was still smarting over the injustice of Aemond taking Vhaegar from her sister. The feeling was mutual. Aemond had hated the Velaryon girls ever since that terrible fight on Driftmark. After the funeral of Princess Laena Aemond had stuck out and claimed Vhaegar which had once belonged to Aegon, consort of Queen Visenya. Words were said and Baela punched Aemond. A brawl ensued and Aemond lost an eye. The relationship between the families of Viserys Targaryen's first and second wives had never been smooth. Rhaenyra was left imbittered after her lady-in-waiting Alicent married her father. The two had never reconciled. Or so you heard.

"I am aware. Myself, Lady Alicent and your father have all agreed to it." Baela puffed up. "As a lady in my service Y/n is under my care and therefore I should have been informed." "My brother is a prince of the realm. Lady Y/n should feel honoured." Rhaenyra's amethyst eyes then settled on you. Oh Gods no.

"Lady Y/n, what do you say?" This was possibly the worst situation you could be placed in. Either way you would offend someone. Your best friend and future Queen, or the current Queen. Your mothers lessons went through your head. What would she do in this situation? Feigning calm, you spoke. "My opinion hardly counts. I will do what is best for the realm." You prayed this appeased both Targaryens. Rhaenyra had a look of satisfaction on her face. Baela's you could not see.

"There we have it. Is there anything else you would like to add?" It was not because Baela had been calmed that she turned and left. You could see the tension in her shoulders and knew Baela only left to stop herself from doing something truly rash. She had let go of you and both you and Cassandra were forced to race behind. All the way to her room the three of you ran. Rhaena and Cerelle were still in Baela's room. Rhaena opened her mouth but Baela spoke first. Once inside she immediately rounded on you. "So you want to marry him!" The fury in her voice made you cower. Unable to speak, it took everything in you not to cry. "You betray me in front of the Queen! You! Are you truly my friend or will you open your legs to any many who will have you!" Everyone gasped. Cassandra dropped the pearls, Rhaena clasped a hand to her mouth and Cerelle had silently fled.

You could not even cry. Your fear was so intense you remained rooted to the spot, stuck dumb. By no means were you a coward. Under any other situation you would have defended your honour. But not only was Baela your friend, but a Princess and future Queen. Baela's furious person glowered at you. Trembling, you only just begun to think of anything to say when Baela turned on her feet and stormed out.

There was no air in your lungs. Or at least that was what it felt like. Everything seemed to be falling away leaving you in a deep sea of despair. One by one you imagined everything being taken away, leaving only burned friendships and a disgraced name. Baela shot you one last disgusted before turning on her heel and leaving. With a bang the door shut.

Everything swam before you. Darkness began to rise and suddenly you were swallowed by it. Fading voiced echoed and drifted further and further away. A dull pain echoed in your head.

Then everything was black.

Pain was the first to greet you. The sun nearly blinded you and the world came into blurry focus. Every movement was slow and it ached. The bed dipped slightly as a face hovered above yours. "Y/n?" You recognized Rhaena through her voice. Then another joined your view. With vision clearing you realized it was a Septa. A cold hand pressed against your burning forehead and she spoke. "Can you see?" The words that came out of you sounded strange, like someone was yelling across the great hall. "Yes. But faintly, I think?" Wincing you held up a hand. Your vision was clearing and almost perfect again. "Sit up if you can." A hand behind your back helped you up. Propped against pillows a cup was placed by your lips. Cold water wetted your parched throat. It made a world of difference. Your senses were clearing and the remains of grogginess disappeared. Unfortunately it also brought pain into sharper focus. Reaching behind you felt a bump.

"Thank the Gods that is all. It could have been so much worse." Cerelle was nervously chewing her fingernails. You noticed that Cassandra and Baela were missing. "Cassandra was summoned by Baela. But she is very worried." Said Rhaena noticing your mood. "Does the Princess know what happened?" "I don't know. Not unless Cassandra told her." Defeated, you laid back. Still coming out of a haze your thoughts darted here and there. All this information, Baela's anger, the betrothal and Queen Rhaenyra's animosity made you want to faint all over again.

Cerelle and Rhaena said nothing else as you lay back down. The three of you stayed in that room, the sun setting. All the while you wondered if this was the right decision.

You should have been happy at the choice of husband. Aemond was young, handsome and a prince. But on the morning of your wedding all you felt was dread. During the early hours of the morning you lay awake, Rhaena snoring a few inches away. As a princess-to-be you got new rooms in the Red Keep. These ones opened out onto the garden, a combination of roses and salt lingering on every surface. You would rather have been in the old rooms. At least Baela had been your friend back then, and Aemond had not been your betrothed. You missed those days were you were just Lady Blackhalt. After the wedding you would be sent back with Aemond to Blackhalt island. Away from the place which had been your home since childhood.

Everyone but you seemed happy. Only Rhaena seemed aware of your mood. Cassandra and Cerelle were with Baela, they would no longer be with you. And Baela...who knew. They washed you within an inch of your flesh. Scrubbed till it hurt they finally pulled you out and lathered on a sweet smelling cream. Every inch of you were fussed over by an army of women. When that was done they dressed you, a whole new ordeal. For the first time you wore the Targaryen black and red. The three headed dragon was sewn onto your bodice with rubies glittering on silk strings. For a moment you forgot every worry when looking in the mirror. Every move sent sparkles dancing around you, and as princess you would always have such gowns. At least that was one comfort.

The dress became a burden when it was time for the procession through King's Landing. They placed you on a chariot for all of the smallfolk to see. They called out to you, blessing you with good fortune and many children. You smiled and waved, ignoring the heat and painful corset. Yet to have so much adoration gave you a warm feeling. You tried to focus on that. White petals were thrown into the air. Several getting caught in your hair. Finally you arrived back at the Red Keep. The remaining court which had not come with you was waiting. Helped off, you were delivered into the arms of your father. Lord Blackhalt was a stranger to his daughter. Having barely seen him in years it felt strange to have him hand you off. Baela might as well have done the honours. Speaking of Baela she was there. It hurt when she barely looked at you. And after this you would likely hardly see her again.

They were now closing in from all sides. Walking into the Great Hall you felt all their eyes on you. 'From now on I will always be watched.' You thought. You would go from lady to princess. A member of the royal family. Waiting for you at the end was the High Septon and Queen Rhaenyra, looking on in satisfaction. You hated the queen, her satisfied look making you want to throw up down the stairs. How dare she act all pleased! And then you saw your betrothed. Aemond stood inches from his sister. His black leather made you want to shrink away. 'Don't you it.' The warning spurred you on.

Aemond's hand was calloused and cold. It was a shock compared to the heat of this morning. For the first time you looked Aempnd in the face. As a body you feared him, as a man you nearly ran. And now you would spend the rest of your life with him. His purple eye was hard to read. No expression passed his face. It was worse than showing anger, at least you would know what to expect. Right now you knew nothing. In truth despite the proximity for so many years you knew nothing about him. Always it had been the words of Baela and Rhaena which painted a picture. Now on your own there was a blank canvas.

'With this kiss I pledge my love.' Empty words. His lips were cold against your own ones. Your black and white cloak was whipped off, replaced by the Targaryen sigil. No longer Lady Y/n. Y/n Blackhalt, Princess of Westeros. You felt naked, unprotected. And now your girlhood was ended.

Notes: I just want to reiterate that this is not a story in the sense I will organize it into chapters. It will be a collection of one shots based off of scenarios. If anyone wants to further discuss these characters I am happy to do so!

About the characters: Cassandra is much nicer in this version. I suspect that the reason she was so bitter in Fire and Blood was because she went from a possible heiress to House Baratheon and promised to a prince, then promised to a King. Only she ended up married to a man well below her station. Personally I think she was definitely ambitious, but is less malicious in this version due to being Lady Baratheon by right. So she certainly has less to be bitter about.

Now, about the readers wedding. Because this is a world were women inherit the reader will keep her last name. But because she is marrying into the royal family she wears their colours. So that is why she wears the Targaryen cloak.

Rhaenyra does come off as cruel in this one-shot however she will get more development. Her actions are a combination of spite against Baela and to show her place as Queen. Baela resents Rhaenyra for taking the place she thinks is hers. I will at some point write a one-shot from Baela's point of view.

The other ideas I have in mind:

-Rhaenyra and the reader talking about their dead ancestors

-Baela and Daenerys (reader's daughter) talks about queenship

-Reader's friendship with Baela and Rhaena

-"Monarchs of Westeros" (part 1) Covering every monarch of Westeros in this AU from Visenya the First to Rhaenyra the Second.

#hotd x reader #hotd fanfic #aemond targaryen #aemond x you #aemond fic #aemond x fem reader #amond targaryen x y/n #hotd x y/n #house of the dragon #hotd angst #house of the dragon fanfiction #hotd imagine #aemond targaryen x reader #house of the dragon x reader

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overlyspecific · 7 months ago

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Part 6 of Merlin Hood

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12

Still in the past at Merlin’s magic trial, next part will be back to the present!

The first thing Merlin notices when he wakes up is that it’s daylight. He should have waken Arthur up hours ago, but somethings not right. Merlin knows he didnt need to wake Arthur up today for some reason, but what was the reason?

Uther: Merlin of Ealdor, you stand accused of using magic and treason to the crown. What do you have to say for yourself?

Oh, that’s right, its because Merlin is to be put to death today.

Uther: Well, do you have anything to say?

Merlin: *mumbles under his breath*

Uther: *angry* What was that?

Merlin: I said, ‘What makes me any different?’

Uther: 😡 What?

Merlin: Its just that you’ve murdered thousands of sorcerers and magical beings and never listened to them. What makes me any different?

Arthur: Merlin!

Merlin: No, Arthur, I’m already going to die, no thanks to you. I’d like to finally get the answers to questions I’ve been silent about my whole life.

Arthur looks at Merlin with a look on his face between apologetic and confused. Merlin has always found that look adorable, but under the current circumstances he has to look away. Arthur cant save him now.

Uther: You said you have your questions. I am willing to hear your last remarks. Ask away but do not expect any answers.

Merlin: Great! First question, when you decided to keep the last great dragon under the castle, did you do that just so he could torture me with half truths and vague prophecies or did he decide to do that on his own?

Uther: The great dragon?

Merlin: From the look on your face, I’m going to take that as a no and that you maybe didnt even know he could talk. Next question: the law says its illegal to ‘study and practice magic’ if I didnt study it, but just practiced it, would it still be a death sentence or could I be let off with a time served kind of deal?

Gauis: Merlin!

Merlin: What! I’m gonna die anyway, might as well see if there is any leniency.

Uther: So, you admit to practicing magic, then? Guards, take the prisoner to the pyre! I dont want to hear another word.

Merlin: *smiling a little too wide to be friendly* …And here I thought you actually wanted to hear me out. *Merlin shakes his head* Oh, Uther, you see, I don’t just practice magic. I am magic.

As the guards approach Merlin from all sides, he snaps his fingers and disappears.

Uther: Find him!

Merlin: *appears right behind Arthur* Arthur.

Arthur: *spins around too quickly in fright and tumbles into Merlin, who catches him* Ahh!

Merlin: *smiling while trying to keep Arthur upright* I don’t have much time.

Uther: There! *points at Merlin* Get away from my son!

Merlin: *takes off his neckerchief* If you ever need me for any reason, *starts to hand the neckerchief to Arthur, but Arthur doesn’t take it* seriously, Arthur, I’m trying to have a heartfelt moment here, you utter prat.

Arthur: *starts to smile at the insult, but quickly hides it with his blank princely expression* Merlin, you have to leave.

Merlin: That’s what I’m trying to do! *hastily ties the neckerchief around Arthurs wrist* If you need me, leave that in the darkling woods and I’ll be there as soon as I can.

Merlin jumps onto the throne that Uther vacated when Merlin vanished.

Merlin: People of Camelot! I will not die at the hands of King Uther in his unjust war on magic. I am Emrys, the most powerful warlock to ever walk the Earth. The Once and Future king is the only one I serve. I will be back when he reigns. Until then, however… *Merlin looks directly at Uther* …I’m going to make your life a very difficult. *turns to Gwen and Morgana* If anyone needs me I’m only a call away. *Merlin snaps his fingers and disappears again*

In Merlin’s absence, flowers fill the room and nobody says a word just staring at the flowers around them completely covering the floor.

Morgana: *picks up a flower and puts it in Gwen’s hair* Beautiful.

Gwen: *smiles, before creasing her eyes in worry* Do you think he’ll be alright?

Morgana: *looking over at Arthur who is staring solemnly at the neckerchief tied around his wrist* I’ll think he’ll be just fine.

#bbc merlin #merlin #merthur #arthur #merlin is robin hood #arthur pendragon #magic trial #gwen #morgana

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haikyu-mp4 · 3 months ago

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Struck gold

Fluffy workplace romance working at his chocolate shop with your husband Tendo, for my workplace romance event <3

requested by dearest @cottonlemonade. word count; 728 – f!reader, chubby!reader

It was very difficult to find skilled chocolatiers, even in Paris. Tendo had struggled for a long time to find someone who could help him in the shop and struck gold when you found him instead. You walked in with the kindest smile and he was sold.

Not only did he strike gold in that you were already knowledgeable yet also eager to learn everything, but you two got along so well that he eventually dared ask you out. One thing led to another, and now you’re a Tendo, too.

The two of you worked in perfect sync, handing each other tools you might need before the other even asked for it and avoiding any accidental bumps without even thinking about it. Satori sometimes made a show of it though, because his love for you would combust from his chest if he didn’t show it in his every breath.

“Mi amore,” he cooed, presenting you with a new bowl like a mere servant handing his queen a crown.

“Why thank you, mon prince,” you replied in the most posh tone you could muster. “T’was exactly what I needed, you know me so well.”

Satori straightened up and ran a hand up your side before sneaking it around your plump waist so he could kiss your lips, humming into it happily. He pulled away with a sickeningly sweet smack before returning to his own station. “I know I do.”

The two of you smiled innocently as the little bell rang, signalling that a customer entered. “Welcome to Tendo’s, how can we help you?” you asked, not even seeing the loving gaze Satori sent you but still feeling it.

As the rush came in, the two of you worked hard to keep up, but it was no issue. One type of chocolate ran out so you should have made more, and a lady had gotten quite annoyed with Satori’s happy attitude on her bad day, but it was nothing the two of you couldn’t handle together.

The flow of customers lulled as the sun cast an orange glow through your windows, leaving time for Satori to get his hands on his gorgeously soft wife again. He hummed a song that played on the radio about an hour ago that had stuck to his brain and ran both lanky hands up your back until he reached your shoulders.

Giving them a light massage, he left fluttering kisses below your ear before looking over your shoulder. “Getting a head start for tomorrow?”

“Those heart confections that sold out today, I think it might be because of a new TikTok trend, so we should definitely make doubles.” You explained it clearly, hands working flittingly until you had the time to turn your head and return a kiss.

“You don’t have TikTok,” he accused, lifting an eyebrow as if you had some secret side he didn’t know about.

You smiled sheepishly, turning all the way around so the chocolate stain on your apron smudged onto his as well. “I heard some girls talking about it.”

“What would I do without your observational skills,” he said dreamily, following you around as you moved the batch to the moulding station. He automatically pulled the moulds towards you, adjusting everything so you could start pouring.

“You would be just fine, Tori.”

He didn’t dare look away from the task, lest he waste your hard work, but he still did a double take. “That’s not true.”

“Naturally, you would need someone to help now that you’re so popular, but-” As you put the empty bowl down after pouring it all carefully and scraping it all out, Satori sandwiched you between him and the table.

“Seriously,” he said. “No one could replace you. Not as my coworker and most definitely not as my wife. I love you.”

“I love you too,” you squished his cheeks together and rubbed your nose against his in silly affection. Oh, how he loved you so loudly. “My chocolate monster. Now let’s get these to the fridge. There’s still an hour until closing time and we have a new recipe to try.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Satori, you have to lead,” you reminded him, as you still needed to learn some techniques. He playfully hit his head with his hand before getting to work on preparing what you needed.

“Silly me. Right this way, my protégé.”

masterlist

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 8 months ago

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you know i've been thinking about the consequences of malleus's actions in book 7 and i realized how much he's fucked everyone over including his grandma. bc like other than the fact that he ob'd (which literally has NEGATIVE connotations one of which being is idk ""UNSTABLE"" which isnt necessarily a good look for a crown prince is all im saying) he's literally causing terrorism (??? can you call it that idk how else to call it) which is going to setback his grandma's efforts (and lilia's and baul's, and every supporter of his and his family) in keeping peace in their kingdom and the favor of the humans towards the fae. Like. i feel so bad for grandmother draconia rn i can only imagine the stress and pressure she's under.

Then theres also aside from PHYSCIALLY compromising everyone's healths in sage island (BECAUSE THE MAJORITY ARE HUMANS OR AT LEAST THEY DONT LIVE AS LONG AS THE FAE). He's also fucked everyone mentally twice over!!!! By booting them straight into a world where none of their problems exist. Now that wouldnt sound bad if it weren't for the fact that dreams have to end, and life isnt kind. It rarely ever is, and i can only imagine how distraught i would be if i were to say, hypothetically lost someone a year before and the wound is so fresh and raw and, in my dreams, they never died and everything is okay, then i wake up and realize that it was just that. A dream, they are still gone and i wish i never woke up which would be a LITERAL DEATH SENTENCE. This isnt just an event that takes place in NRC either BUT THE WHOLE ISLAND and that domain is GROWING, GROWING. I can't imagine just how many would be so emotionally ruined after this. Like.....

If Malleus does not suffer the consequences of his actions istg i will be so pissed, at least REMOVE HIM FROM THE PREMISE OR SOMETHING GODDDDDDD this cannot be remedied with a slap on the hand!!!!!

(Note: Sorry for the long rant. I felt the need to get this out of my chest bc i dont mind malleus's archetype actually nor do i actually hate him, bc i enjoy him interacting w other characters a lot (my fave ever vigenette is him giving deuce the equivalent of minecraft diamon for fixing a retrobit gaming toy) BUT GOD DOES HE MAKE MY BLOOD BOIL)

Yeah, I do feel like the scale of Malleus's actions cannot be understated. I know it's kind of a fandom joke that the OB boys are left off with a slap on the wrist + maybe some social ramifications at school, but this is the ONE time in the main story where things are getting super big and the effects could be cripplingly long-lasting.

I don't know if TWST will seriously address the consequences after book 7, but I sure hope they do!! There is a lot of interesting ground to cover (many points which this anon has already brought up) in a follow-up main story arc or the next book.

For example:

Malleus obviously has to regain the trust of his peers and staff. He didn’t really have it before but now has to work twice as hard to make connections since he just took a drastic action that confirmed the rumors some were already spreading about how he’s a monster.

He’s the sole heir to the throne and has just betrayed the trust of the people of Briar Valley. How are they feeling about him now? Do they still trust him to lead them?

How does this impact their relations with other countries (since Malleus himself stresses how he represents Briar Valley)? This is a problem visible on a global scale, and surely this would damage their rep with other nations, particularly the predominantly human ones. It’s setting back what is hundreds of years of trying to fix the broken trust between their races.

Malleus’s UM potentially puts his victims in physical harm; in book 7, Ortho suggests that since everyone is sleeping, their bodies are not getting the food or water they need. As a result, they may physically waste away and then perish. (We have seen that there are sleep blessings that keep people sleeping for hundreds of years without detriment to the blessed though, such as the one cast on Silver—so we cannot be entirely sure if Ortho’s theory is correct or not.)

There is the possibility that Malleus’s dreams may traumatize or retraumatize his victims, particularly those with deep rooted troubles. An example of this is Idia, who had suffered the loss of his brother when he was like… 8 years old??? But then in his dream, Idia is living a happy false reality that Ortho never died. When he finally comes to this realization, he has to relive the trauma of the discovery all over again and breaks down sobbing. We also see in the most recent book 7 update that Vil had to face the evilest aspects of himself and a dark reality; Rook became very emotional upon waking himself. Admittedly, Idia and co. coped with it well enough—this is proof of their character development and the strength of the new friendships they’ve formed. However, all the people on Sage’s Island/Twisted Wonderland may not react so positively or be so accepting of their cruel realities.

Again, just the overall moral dilemma of one person robbing all of Sage’s Island (and soon all of Twisted Wonderland) of their autonomy.

Potential extra work for STYX and whichever countries Malleus’s magic manages to spread to (repairing any physical damage caused by the thorns + mental damage done to those that fell asleep). That’s money, time, and resources that aren’t going toward other everyday endeavors.

How will Malleus himself mentally and emotionally cope with what he has done? Is he going to show remorse and shame? How does he plan on rectifying his actions, if at all?

Will this change how his dorm members + family view him? For example, will Sebek become disillusioned with his liege/realize Malleus is not as perfect as he seems? Will Maleficia blame herself for not being there for Malleus? Will Lilia feel guilty for not teaching Malleus right from wrong? Etc, etc, etc.

I’d honestly love to read all of these! 🤔 It would add a lot to the lore and history of Twisted Wonderland, as well as serve as motivators for Malleus to change, “be better”, and actually earn the respect he’s so used to being handed by default. This would be huge for him, especially seeing as he has not really faced significant backlash or consequences for any other missteps he was responsible for or involved in. (I know I bring this one up a lot, but Endless Halloween Night is one such major example.)

#twst #twisted wonderland #Malleus Draconia #book 7 spoilers #disney twisted wonderland #disney twst #notes from the writing raven #Idia Shroud #Ortho Shroud #Ignihyde #Maleficia Draconia #Sebek Zigvolt #book 6 spoilers #Silver #Lilia Vanrouge #Diasomnia #Vil Schoenheit #Rook Hunt #book 7 part 8 spoilers

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too-much-tma-stuff · 2 months ago

Text

What Does it Mean for Us (Part 25)

Previous | Masterpost | Next

Jason and Ellie were at Danny’s side in moments but Danny only smiled at them. “Good, I wanted you both here, as witnesses,” He said, turning his back on and stepping away from Clockwork, ignoring his grumbling. “Will you stand by me?”

“Always,” Jason agreed immediately.

“Good, because I couldn’t do this without you,” He said, smiling softly and took his hand, drawing him closer. He wished he could kiss Jason but he was still wearing his helmet, later then. Danny turned back towards Clockwork, finding him not frowning anymore but watching them both with an odd and unreadable expression on his face. “What?” Danny snapped at him, and Clockwork smiled slightly and shrugged.

“We’ll have to have a conversation about his role in your council later,” Clockwork told him.

Danny rolled his eyes to disguise the pit that opened up in his gut. He and Jason hadn’t discussed that at all, at the time when Danny had told Jason about him being crown prince. It had seemed such a long way off then. He knew what role he wanted Jason to take, but it might be a fight with the council. “Right, let’s get this over with then. I want to go home.”

Danny heard Dan give an amused snort behind him and relaxed even more, and not just because he liked to know where his erstwhile brother was at all times when he was on-world. Having Dan behind him was reassuring, he was the one person left who could potentially really threaten Danny, and if he was behind this, maybe Danny would finally be able to feel properly safe. Clockwork gave Dan a look Danny could have sworn was nervous, but it was gone again quickly.

A few of the ghosts present grumbled he should be taking this more seriously, but Clockwork nodded and, though Frostbite frowned, he didn’t say anything so Danny thought he was fine. Danny stepped forward, and after a moment of hesitation and a subtle guiding gesture from Clockwork he knelt as he’d seen people in movies do when they were being knighted. Clockwork raised his hands and the crown of fire materialized between them, summoned by ceremony.

“The council has come to recognize the strength of Danny Phantom and his honourable defeat of the previous King Pariah Dark. The Infinite Realms shall recognize his well earned authority and accept his leadership until such time as he is defeated in honourable combat. May he be a good and just king, guiding out of this dark age,” Clockwork said. He announced his words clearly, projecting to be heard by the camera, and the heroes who had gathered around in respect of Danny’s wish that the mortal world also witness his coronation.

Clockwork lowered the crown onto Danny’s head. Or tried too, half way down the crown seemed to become too eager and leapt out of Clockwork’s hands to take it’s new place hovering Danny’s head. A wash of cold spread from the crown atop his head, through his body to the souls of his feet as it settled into its new place. For just a moment the green fire nearly blinded him before it settled into a much more comfortable soft blue glow.

“Ice!” Frostbite crowed, “Pay up,” He said pointing at Clockwork with a wide grin.

“Later,” Clockwork muttered petulantly and Danny couldn’t help but laugh, he doubted Clockwork lost bets very often. “Rise, High King Phantom of the Infinite Realms.” Clockwork announced, raising his voice again and moving on quickly from the interruption.

Danny stood up and shook his head subtly, becoming accustomed to the new feeling of the crown. It was… heavier than he expected. With the way that it floated he expected it to feel like nothing, maybe actually make him a bit lighter like a helium balloon, but no, he could feel the weight of it. On his head and on his shoulders, and weirdly, on his heart? Though that was probably the realization of new responsibility.

“Good, now can I go home?” Danny said, exhaustion and apathy making him sound almost bored.

“You should come back to the Realms and take up your throne immediately!” The Observants chorused. “There are thousands of years of task unfulfilled-”

“Well then they can go unfulfilled for a few more weeks! Go back to the Kings Keep, start putting things in order of whatever tasks are most urgent and begin preparations for any ceremonies that need to be done for the citizens of the Realms. I will come see what you’ve done when I have the chance. But I am still at least half Mortal, and I need to sleep! So get out before I make you.”

Apparently now that he was king his threats were going to be taken much more seriously because in a moment they were gone. He sighed and let his shoulders slump, turning back towards Jason who caught Danny and let him hide against his chest.

“They should have bowed before they left,” Dan commented casually. “You’ll have to teach them some respect, you know they forgot what it’s like to have a king.”

“You would know wouldn’t you?” Danny grumbled, glancing up to see Dan’s sharp grin and shrug.

“Better you than me,” He said, completely unsympathetic.

Danny sighed and forced himself to stand up, still leaning against Jason’s shoulder. “Do you know where you’re going?” He asked, if Dan wasn’t going back to space just yet Danny would offer him a place to stay.

“I think I’m gonna go see where Ellie has set herself up,” He said, ruffling her hair making her squawk and swat his hands away. “Don’t worry about me.”

“Are you sure? You can stay with us,” Danny offered anyway.

“Nah, I know you two want to be alone. Hood,” Dan said looking past Danny, he felt Jason’s shoulder tense a little against him. “Take the kid home before he finds something else to be responsible for,” Dan said with amused condescension.

“Oh fuck you,” Danny grumbled at the same time that Jason laughed with robust relief and wrapped an arm around Danny’s waist.

“I will,” Jason agreed and started to tug Danny away. “Come on Babe, let’s go home.”

“Come visit us when you can, both of you,” Danny said, waxing to Dan and Ellie as Jason led him away from the group.

“Do you want a lift back to Gotham?” Batman asked, making both Jason and Danny jump. Which was sort of silly since they had known he was probably around here somewhere helping with the clean up. He had left for a bit to check on Superman and they hadn’t seen him come back but they knew he probably had.

Jason started to bristle but Danny rested a hand lightly on his arm, and when he looked down Danny gave his best puppy dog eyes. He didn’t really know where they were in regards to Gotham since they’d come here directly from the UN meeting, and he hadn’t been lying about being tired, they had been up for more then 24 hours after all. He could fly them home if he needed to, but if they were going to be offered a ride he’d much rather take it, even if it would be a little bit awkward.

“Fine,” Jason ground out.

“Thank you,” Danny added in a chirp.

Batman nodded to them and swept off without another word, leading the way back towards his jet. He paused briefly nearby Tim, who glanced at Kon and then subtly shook his head. He would not be coming back to Gotham with them yet. Batman nodded back with the subtlest inclination of his head and then carried on, you could have blinked and missed it.

Only the three of them ended up in the jet back to Gotham since Nightwing had already been evacuated when he was injured. Speaking of Nightwing.

“How is Nightwing… and Superman?” Jason asked, he cared a lot more about Dick of course, but he knew Danny would feel bad if anything happened to Superman.

“They’re both stable. Nightwings injuries looked worse than they were and he’ll be fine after a couple of weeks, as long as he rests,” Batman said, the quirk of his lips letting Jason know he knew just how unlikely that was. Jason snorted.

“I’ll make him if I have to,” Danny said determinedly.

Batman hummed in response and pressed a button on his wrist computer that lowered the boarding ramp of the bat-plane. They all boarded, and even though there were plenty of seats Danny immediately sat on Jason’s lap without any shame. Finally he let the phantom form fall away and was once again fully living and fully Danny, warm and heavy against Jason’s chest. He was reassuringly familiar like this and as they took off, Jason let the tension bleed out of him, feeling Danny relax as well. Without the tension, and adrenaline, fatigue was really starting to hit both of them.

“It won’t take us long to get back to Gotham,” Batman told them, he must have noticed their heads nodding. The rest of the flight was quiet, but they stayed awake, and as soon as they landed in the cave Jason and Danny started to leave. “Before you go, When you’re ready Superman would like to talk to you,” Batman said, looking directly at Danny who fidgeted under his gaze a little.

“I’ll think about it,” He grumbled before quickly getting on the back of Jason’s motorbike, who sped out of the cave before anything else could sidetrack them and keep them from their bed even a moment longer.

------------

They slept for a long time, and the next day when they finally woke up they didn’t talk about anything that had happened, they just ordered a ton of takeout, watched movies, and napped more. By night Jason had energy to make dinner for them, which was amazing as usual, and then have sex before bed which was even more amazing. The next morning when they woke up again it seemed like they had finally settled back in their bodies and their home that they could properly debrief.

“So you’re king now,” Jason said as they settled back in bed with freshly brewed cups of coffee, Danny leaning against Jason’s shoulder.

“Yep, I’m king now,” Danny agreed heavily.

“Not to be self-centered, but what does that mean for me?” Jason asked with a dry humour in his tone.

“Well, that’s sort of up to you I guess? You kind of can’t not be involved if we’re going to get married, that will make you my consort if nothing else. But I’d rather you be my knight, if you’re willing, and advisor of course. I just, I can’t do this without you, you know? Besides if you won’t be my knight I’ll probably have to keep Fright Knight, and he’s loyal to the monarchy itself, not to me. He’d probably serve me well, but I don’t think I can get over how he fought for Pariah.”

“Ya you absolutely can’t trust him to protect you in that case,” Jason huffed.

“I don’t really need protection though,” Danny pointed out gently.

“Still, you need someone you trust to look after you so you can let your guard down. Of course I’ll do it if you want me to, but I’m not a ghost, are you sure I can do the job?” Jason asked, a little worriedly.

“We’ll make sure you’re properly equipped, I’m sure you’ll do a great job,” Danny promised and kissed Jason softly.

“Great, so we know what it means for me now. What does it mean for you? What does the king of the Infinite Realms actually do?” Jason asked.

Danny shrugged helplessly. “I have no idea honestly, None of the younger ghosts I hang out with were around before the old king went mad. I have no idea what a king is supposed to do but honestly as long as I’m not a mass murderer I’ll be better than the last one so the bar isn’t exactly high. I’m sure Clockwork and the others have more expectations of me than that, but they can’t make me do anything.”

“Sure, just don’t let them guilt you into too much,” Jason drawled fondly. Despite everything he was very aware of what a soft heart Danny had even under the defenses he’d been forced to build up.

Danny laughed a little guiltily and hid his face against Jason’s chest but he didn’t deny it.

“I’m really proud of you by the way,” Jason added, stroking Danny’s hair slowly. Danny gave a questioning hum so Jason explained; “You stood up for yourself, you didn’t back down even though I could tell that seeing those people hurt was hard on you. You did what needed to be done. I expect we’ll be hearing from the JL soon about the first batch of GIW operatives being rounded up for you. You did really well, and you were more reasonable then those fuckers deserved.

“What are you going to do with the GIW agents by the way?” Jason added.

“Thank you. It wasn’t easy, you really think I did a good job?” He asked, peeking up at Jason.

“Of course I do. And anyone with a bit of sense will think so too! About my question though?” He asked gently.

“I guess I might kill them, or I’ll imprison them their entire lives. Either way they're real punishment will start once I get their souls into my kingdom,” He explained, a little bit of vicious glee creeping in.

“As it should be,” Jason agreed.

“I love how you enable me,” Danny joked, and Jason laughed.

“One last question,” Jason added, and Danny hummed to show he was listening. “The wedding is still on?”

“Of course,” Danny laughed. “Though we’ll probably have to have two, one in this world and one in the Lands.”

“Sounds good to me, I’m not going to say no to getting to marry you twice.” Jason joked and it was Danny’s turn to laugh.

“You sap,” Danny accused, pushing Jason’s shoulder playfully.

-----------

Danny was putting off going to the Infinite Realms, he could admit that, but he also didn’t know how long it would take him to get back once he did go so he wanted to finish as much of his business here as he could. He had already visited Titan tower to check on Ellie, Kon, Tim, and Dan. They were doing alright, Kon and Tim were feeling better now that they were sure Dick and Clark were going to be okay, and with some distance from the fight. Dan was planning on going back to space soon now that all the drama was over, and Danny tried not to let on how much that relaxed him. He still didn’t fully trust Dan to be on world though he didn’t want to let on as much.

It was while he was visiting them that Kon had reminded Danny that Superman was asking to see him still. There was a hint of bitterness there, because even though Kon had gone to visit as well, Clark hadn’t asked for him. Though grudgingly Kon had admitted he had been nicer this time then during previous encounters, warmer somehow.

Danny had agreed to go visit Clark, for Kon’s sake at the very least. And because he had never really gotten the chance to look around the Watchtower as much as he would like. Every time he’d been called there before something had been wrong and he’d had to leave again in a hurry, maybe this time he'd actually be able to relax and watch the stars for a bit. He had to enjoy them now while he could since there weren’t any true stars in the Infinite Realms after all.

Of course Danny wouldn’t leave without Jason, and they couldn’t be let in without a minder, so Kon and Tim came along with them to the watchtower. Once they were there they split up and Kon and Danny (as Hyana of course), went to visit Superman, and Jason and Tim went check on Dick, Jason had yet to get to see his big brother after all. Once Kon and Hyena were done talking to Clark they would go join their partners and say hello to Nightwing as well, but Danny wanted to get Superman out of the way first.

Danny didn’t bother to knock as he entered the med bay Superman was in, barging in without a word like he owned the damn place. He only paused when he noticed Kon wasn’t right beside him anymore. He paused and looked back, seeing Kon hanging back uncertainly by the door he turned to glare at Superman. Trying to psychically threaten him into being nice to Kon and inviting him in, it didn’t work.

“Would you mind leaving us alone for a little bit Kon?” Superman asked. At least his tone was polite but what the hell?!

“He has super hearing, he could hear us whether he’s here or not. Why the fuck don’t you want him around?!” Hyena demanded and Clark winced.

“That’s not it, but I would like to talk to you alone. Please?” Clark asked awkwardly.

Danny sighed and nodded to Kon, who bit his lip and tried and failed not to look like a kicked puppy as he slipped back out of the room. Danny growled and stomped over to the side of Superman’s bed and sunk down into one of the chairs there. “So what did you want to talk about?” Danny snapped.

“I wanted to apologize,” Clark said, so open and earnest that it took Danny off guard and made him stop snarling. “I’ve been struggling for a long time. I was supposed to be the man of steel, I thought I was indestructible and undefeatable, that’s what people relied on me to be. When Kon was created it was a big crack in that and I tried to deny it, but I tried to keep it together. Then the idea of an entire species I was basically powerless against, I… I guess I was in denial. About a lot of things, and that’s why I tried to insist I could help, and did a lot of things really.”

He looked down and plucked at his bandages with a wry smile. “I guess I can’t deny I’m not really invulnerable anymore huh? I am… very mortal.”

Danny was silent for a moment, processing and organizing his thoughts before he answered. “I think I can understand what you mean, and where you’re coming from. But I hope you know that that isn’t an excuse for how you’ve treated him. You’re not invulnerable, you’re not infallible, you’re not a fucking God, and even gods are fallible. I should know I’ve fought a few. You need to get a lot fucking better at being a person.”

“I know I do,” Clark said with a little sigh. “I’ve never really used the Justice League therapists because I always thought that I was fine, insisted that I was. But I think it’s time I did.”

“Good. And be nicer to Kon, he’s a really good kid and he deserves better,” He insisted, glaring hotly.

“I know, I’ll try,” Superman said softly.

“Good. Anything else?” Danny asked, cocking his head to the side and Clark shook his head. “Good,” Danny repeated and stood up, leaving to check on Dick and collect Jason so they could go stargazing together.

#dc x dp #danny phantom #jason todd #dead on main #kon el kent #Hyena!Danny AU #tim drake #nightwing #batman #superman #multipart fic #dp clockwork #dp frostbite #ghost king danny

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canirove · 3 months ago

Text

The invinsible princess | Chapter 6

“It isn't a fairytale… and that's ok”

Chapter 5 | Chapter 7

Masterlist

“So your cousin Victoria is an influencer.”

“She prefers being called content creator.”

“Right…” Pedri says. “What's the difference?”

“Honestly… I don't know” I laugh. “But that's what she says when our cousins tease her about it.”

“Isn't it weird, tho?”

“What is?”

“That she is an influe… I mean, a content creator. Her mother is a princess.”

“Yeah. But Victoria isn't.”

“Why?”

“Uh?”

“Why isn't she a princess?”

“Because only the children of the future king or queen get that title.”

“So your children…”

“My children won't have any title. I mean, they will be part of the royal family and treated as such, but it won't be the same as Leonor's children” I explain.

“Because she is the heir and you aren't.”

“Exactly. Now can you please stay still? I don't want to butcher your eyebrow.”

“Sorry” Pedri chuckles. “And thank you for helping me with them. They were starting to get a bit wild and my barber still is on his honeymoon.”

“You don't have to thank me, Pedri. What are girlfriends for if not for taking care of their boyfriends crazy eyebrows?”

“Yeah” he chuckles. “Speaking of girlfriends and honeymoons… What about your future husband?”

“What about him?”

“Does he… ouch!”

“Sorry. What about my future husband?” I ask again, trying not to smile.

“Will he have a title?”

“Prince Consort. Don't you like it?”

“What?”

“You are knitting your eyebrows, Pedri. Don't you like how Prince Consort Pedro sounds?”

“What? No, no, no. I mean…”

“You are blushing, Pedri.”

“I'm not blushing, Sofía.”

“Yes, you are. Here and here” I say, touching his cheeks with my finger.

“Big mistake, my lady” he says, grabbing my hand by my wrist before I can put it down. “Big mistake.”

“Pedri!” I laugh as he somehow twists me until my arms are trapped between his and I'm sitting on his lap, unable to move.

“Now what, my lady?” he says, kissing my neck.

“Now I can't finish fixing your eyebrows.”

“What a shame” he says as he keeps kissing me.

“Pedri” I gasp.

“You liked that, didn't you?” he says against my skin.

“I did” I nod.

“Would you like me to keep going? To keep kissing you like this? To free one of my hands and touch you?” he whispers against my skin.

“I would.”

“Well, not happening.”

“What?”

“You tease me, I tease you” he says with his best smile, freeing my arms.

“Rude.”

“You started it all, my lady” he shrugs.

“Whatever.”

“Sofía, where are you going?” he says when I get up from his lap. “And my eyebrows?”

“They are done.”

“No, they aren't. I can't show up at the Formula 1 this weekend with wonky eyebrows! Sofía… Sofía, wait” he says, following me as I leave the bathroom. “Are we seriously going to have an argument because I stopped kissing you?”

“No.”

“Sofía… Sofía, hey. What is it?” he says, taking my hand on his and making me look at him.

“Nothing.”

“Sofía…” he says, caressing my cheek with the other. “I know there is something inside that pretty head of yours that is worrying you.”

“It's just… Your face.”

“What?” Pedri laughs.

“The face you made when I mentioned the Prince Consort title. It's like you… Nevermind” I sigh.

“Like I what, Sofía?” he says, closing most of the space between us.

“Like you didn't like it, Pedri” I say. “Like you… I don't know. Like you didn't see yourself being regarded that way. As if… as if your insecurities about not being enough were back and you had doubts about this. About us and our future.”

“Did you seriously get all that from me knitting my eyebrows?” he chuckles.

“Yeah.”

“Sofía… Sofía, look at me” he says, his hand moving from my cheek to my chin and lifting it. “I have zero doubts about us, you hear me? Zero. I'm all in with this relationship. All in. Titles, protocols, boring trips, the press, wearing uncomfortable suits and crowns even if when we met you told me you don't get to wear one… Whatever comes with it, I am all in. And do you know why?”

“No” I whisper.

“Because I love you, Sofía. I love you so much and you are so worth it, that I will do anything for you. Or almost anything because I'm not giving up on my career if the day we marry I'm still playing football.”

“Wait, do you want to marry me?”

“Don't you?”

“I asked first, Pedri.”

“Fine” he says, rolling his eyes. “It is a thought that has crossed my mind, yes. How it would be, how would we do it, how would I ask you…”

“Is that why you asked me about my cousin Victoria and her title? Because you want to know what to expect?”

“Maybe” he shrugs.

“Then why the… you know” I say, poking him between his eyebrows.

“Because you reminded me of Fermín constantly calling me Pedro I of Spain.”

“What?” I laugh.

“It's either that or Prince Pedro, and he's been doing it since the day we met after the Euros final. So when you told me that one day I may actually get to be called something similar, my first reaction was of…”

“Eww, no?”

“Something like that, yes” he chuckles. “But it wasn't because of you, or because I don't want to be with you, or because I don't want a future with you, Sofía. Because I do. I want it all with you. It was just…”

“Your annoying friend.”

“Yeah” he smiles. “So put away all those insecurities, ok?”

“Ok” I nod. “I love you, Pedri.”

“I love you too” he replies. “And before we start kissing and definitely get carried away, can you please finish fixing my eyebrows? I seriously do not want to show up at Montmeló with a proper eyebrow and a caterpillar next to it. I must look my best so you don't run away with Ricciardo.”

“What?” I laugh.

“I know you fancy him, Sofía” he smirks.

“Yes, and?”

“And if he asked you to leave it all behind and follow him around the world, you would.”

“No, I wouldn't. And do you know why?”

“Enlighten me.”

“Because I have everything I need right here with you. Wonky eyebrows and everything.”

“Aww, Sofía. Look at you going cheesy” Pedri says with a teasing smile. “But even if you like me like this, can we please go back to what we were doing?”

“The kissing my neck, you mean?” I say, closing the space between us a bit more.

“First the eyebrows, then the kissing.”

“Promise?”

“I promise” he says. “And just like princesses do, a future Prince Consort also keeps his promises.”

“Ok” I chuckle.

“C'mon” he says, kissing my nose and walking us back into the bathroom.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“Urgh, not again” Irene says.

“Uh?”

“That photo of you and Victoria with Leclerc has showed up again on my for you page on Instagram. It's impossible to get rid of it!”

“You tell me” I sigh.

“How does Pedri feel about it?”

“I don't know.”

“What?”

“Yeah” I say, biting my lip. “I don't even know if he has seen it. Though I guess that if it hasn't shown up to him on Instagram too, it definitely has to one of the boys and they've showed him. Fermín, probably.”

“So you haven't talked about it?” she asks me.

“No, we haven't. Things didn't blow up until Monday and by then he was already with the national team in Madrid.”

“Yikes, Sofía.”

“Irene, don't do that.”

“Do what?”

“Say yikes as if this is something that is going to hurt our relationship!”

“Well, you've been pictured giving heart eyes to one of the most handsome men on planet earth, everyone is talking about it and shipping you, your boyfriend hasn't said a word about it yet, and you haven't asked him about it either. That is a bit yikes, cousin.”

“It… urgh” I groan, closing my laptop and resting my head on top of it. Because she is right. Everything going online and the radio silence from Pedri, plus me not saying anything either, is yikes. And just after my little meltdown and him reassuring me that things were ok between us, that he was all in.

But, I mean, it is just a photo taken out of context. I have not done anything wrong.

While he had attended the Spanish GP invited by Red Bull with some of his teammates, I had done it with an invitation from Ferrari thanks to my cousin Victoria and her friendship with Carlos Sainz.

The plan was to have a nice weekend enjoying the race, spend some time all of us together without worrying too much because being seen together at such a big event that so many different people attend isn't that weird, and maybe fangirl a bit, which was what was happening when that photo had been taken.

Carlos had just introduced Victoria and I to Charles Leclerc, and I was politely smiling at him like I usually do when someone is talking to me or telling me something. But in that exact second when the photo had been taken, it looked as if besides smiling at him, I was looking at him as if he was the most beautiful human being ever, giving him heart eyes like Irene said. And, I mean, maybe there was a bit of that because besides Ricciardo he is my favourite driver and he is really handsome. In person even more than in photos. But that was it, nothing else was happening. There actually is a photo taken like a minute later where I look bored as hell.

But the press and the fans didn't care about that one and only focused on the previous one, making it go viral and saying things like the princess being in love with the “other prince of Monaco”, that royalty calls to royalty, that I was shooting my shot because he is single now… And then other crazier and less nice things that I prefer not to talk about.

So yeah, the past 72 hours have been kind of nuts online, and I haven't heard a single word from Pedri yet. He left after the race because the next day he had to be in Madrid with the national team, and since then we've texted a few times, the usual when he is away since he likes to stay focused. But there has not been a single word about that photo. More than once I've tried to bring up the topic and joke about it because it is something silly, but then I chicken out because maybe for him it isn't that simple, I don't want to discuss this via texts, and… Yeah.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“You are back!” I say, running to welcome Pedri after hearing the door of his house.

“Yeah” he says, throwing his bag in one corner and completely ignoring me, leaving me with my arms open waiting for a hug that never comes.

“How was the trip back? All good?” I ask him as I follow him to the kitchen.

“Yeah” he says again, opening his fridge.

“I've missed you.”

“Sure” he snorts, taking a sip from a beer.

“What?”

“I said sure, Sofía” he says, walking past me and not bothering to look me in the face.

“Pedri, what happened? Why are you behaving like this? And why are you drinking this late at night?”

“Do you seriously have to ask?”

“I…”

“Don't play dumb, Sofía” he says after taking another sip of his beer. “You know why I am like this.”

“Those two games you lost aren't that important. One was a friendly and the other…”

“Are you fucking kidding me? Who the hell cares about the games, Sofía?”

“I… I thought…”

“I can't believe it” he laughs. “I can't fucking believe you still have the guts to lie to me.”

“Lie to you? What…”

“The photo, Sofía. The bloody photo with Charles Leclerc.”

“Oh… that” I whisper, now being the one who avoids looking him in the face.

“Yes, that. The photo I knew nothing about because my girlfriend hadn't told me anything about it, and by the looks of it, was never going to.”

“I… I wanted to but I… I…” I mumble.

“But what, uh? What was so important that you couldn't tell your boyfriend, hey, this is going on, and avoid making him look like an idiot in front of all his teammates?”

“Pedri, I…”

“Do you know how I found out about it? Or more importantly, when?” he continues. “Today. I fucking found out about it today, Sofía. Almost a week after it became viral. And if it hadn't been because Ferran actually worries and cares about me, who knows if I would have found out at all!”

“I also care about you, Pedri.”

“Do you? Do you really do, Sofía?”

“Yeah.”

“Then why the fuck did you lie to me? Why didn't you tell me what was going on?”

“I didn't lie to you. I just… I chose to wait. I was going to tell you once you were back.”

“Of course you were” he snorts.

“I was” I insist.

“Well, no need to tell me now, because I already know that the whole world wants my girlfriend to date bloody Charles Leclerc!”

“They can say whatever they want, I don't care. I love you, Pedri.”

“Then why the didn't you tell me about that photo when it blew up? Like, I was so confused when Ferran came to me and said, bro, you can tell me if seeing everything that is going on online with Sofía is bothering you, you don't have to fake around me, I am your best friend. And then I saw the photo and the comments, and I understood why I had sometimes caught the boys giving me weird looks. They knew what was going on, but didn't want to tell me anything because I apparently wasn't giving a shit about it. But what they didn't know, was that I didn't care because I didn't know about it in the first place! Because my girlfriend hadn't said a single word about it and acted as if everything was ok every time we talked throughout the week!”

“I'm sorry, ok! But you always say that when you are away with the national team you want to focus just on that and disconnect from everything else and I didn't want to distract you. Especially after losing the first game and the way the press was going after you. And even if that photo is something silly, I felt like talking about it over facetime wasn't the best thing to do.”

“And haven't you stopped to think that maybe you didn't want to discuss it over the phone because it actually wasn't something silly? That it was something important?”

“Pedri, it is just a photo taken out of context! Like, there are others taken just seconds after that one where I look bored as hell and as if I wanted to go home!”

“Maybe. But the one that went viral and everyone is talking about is the one where you are smiling and looking at him as if he was the most beautiful thing in the world!”

“Ok, fine! So what if I was looking at him like that, uh? You know he is one of my favourite drivers, I was starstruck!”

“Starstruck, Sofía?” he laughs. “Seriously?”

“Yes! I saw one of my idols and they caught me smiling at him like the fangirl I am. That doesn't mean that I want to break up with you and go marry him tomorrow!”

“Then why didn't you tell me?” Pedri says, raising his voice more than he already was.

“Because I didn't want to worry you with something silly, I already told you!” I reply, also raising my voice.

“Bloody hell, Sofía” he says, running a hand through his hair. “Can you for a fucking second put yourself on my shoes? Yes, to you it meant nothing and it is just a photo taken out of context. But think about me now. Think about how I felt when I saw my girlfriend giving heart eyes to a guy like Charles Leclerc, and then read that the whole world was shipping them and wanting them to date, marry and have five kids.”

“Pedri…”

“It isn't the first time this happens, Sofía. You know it isn't the first time you are seen with a guy and people say you would make the perfect couple. When we started seeing each other, everyone assumed you were with Ferran, not me. They even thought of Gavi before me! Gavi!” he laughs. “And then you also have people wanting you to date that Danish prince who is like super tall and looks like he comes from a Disney movie. Or that British duke that looks like an extra from Bridgerton. Or that millionaire heir you dated when you were a teen. They all are guys who have a life and a background totally opposite to mine. Who look the total opposite of how I look. And that makes me feel insecure about myself and brings back all my doubts, because it is like people are rubbing in my face that I am not enough, that those guys are better for you than I am. That I will never be like them.”

“Pedri, that's not true and you know it” I say, daring to close the space between us a little bit. “You aren't less than any of them, and I don't care if people think they are better for me than you are. This is my life, not theirs.”

“Of course you don't care about what people say. You are finally being talked about like you always wanted, so let them say whatever they want, right?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You've always complained about not being seen, Sofía. About being left behind, about being the invisible princess. And now, you aren't anymore. You not only have people talking about you, but the press too. They've remembered that you exist and are putting your photos on the covers of their magazines only because of you and not because of your sister and your parents. You even have fan accounts dedicated to you! So now that you are finally being seen the way you wanted, who cares about me and my feelings?”

“Are you being fucking serious right now, Pedri? Do you really think that about me? That I am that selfish?” I ask him, his only reply being a shrug before taking a sip from his beer. “Fuck you, Pedri!” I yell, tears already rolling down my cheeks. “Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!”

“Sofía… Sofía, wait. Sof… Damn it!” I hear him say as I leave the kitchen and I run upstairs, somehow managing to not trip with the steps since my tears are basically blinding me. “Sofía!”

“Leave me alone!” I yell, closing the door of his room with such force that I'm pretty sure the whole house has trembled.

“Sofía, I'm sorry” he says from the other side. “I didn't mean any of that.”

“Didn't you?” I laugh, furiously wiping away my tears while grabbing my bag and starting to throw all my stuff inside, my hands shaking.

“I didn't, I just… I know this isn't an excuse, but you know it's been a really long and stressful week. You yourself said that you have seen how ruthless the press has been with us just because we lost two games. I haven't been feeling like myself, I've played like shit, then I found out about this stupid thing with the photo and…”

“Oh, so now it is stupid?”

“Sofía, I'm sorry. I was angry and frustrated and I exploded and let it all out on you. Everything I said about you... I don't believe a single word that left my mouth. I don't, I swear. But I just… I… Urgh” he groans, a little bang being heard on the door as he probably rests his head against it. “I'm sorry.”

“You already said that.”

“I know, I… Sofía, please open the door. Let's talk about this.”

But I don't listen to anything else he says, to whatever excuse he is telling me now. I am too focused on the envelope I just found in his wardrobe while grabbing my clothes, on what is inside of it.

“Sofía, can we…”

“What is this?” I ask him, opening the door and almost making him fall on top of me since he was leaning against it.

“That's… ummm… well…”

“Pedri, stop mumbling and tell me what is this.”

“That is something I was planning on giving you tomorrow after having dinner together.”

“What?”

“I was going to cook something for you, set a table with some candles, flowers and all that, and then ask you to move in with me” he shrugs.

“You…” I say, looking at what was inside the envelope: a key hanging from a keychain made with one of my favourite photos of us together. “You wanted me to…”

“I mean, we are basically living together already. You spend more time here than at your aunt's house, you have some of your stuff in the bathroom, clothes in my closet, your own mug in the kitchen, random things scattered around the house… And now that you are officially in charge of your sister's foundation, it makes sense for you to finally and properly move to Barcelona.”

“It does, but…”

“I know I've fucked up, Sofía. I've fucked up big time. But I just… I… I'm sorry” he says, looking away so I don't see him cry. “I'm sorry for ruining everything. Our present and our future.”

“Pedri…”

“You shouldn't leave now, tho. It is too late and you probably don't want to call Carlos and have to face him and explain everything to him. So sleep here, I'll do it in one of the guest rooms. And if tomorrow when I wake up… if I manage to sleep, that is… you are not here… I'll understand” he shrugs.

“Pedri, I…”

“Goodnight” he says before walking away and leaving me standing at the door of his room, looking from him to the keychain in my hand, to our happy faces, wondering if we can go back to that or if this is the end.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“And I think we should call the same catering company we used for our previous event. People loved the food, especially the burgers made of dragon meat. They were really good, weren't they?”

“Yeah…”

“Sofía, what did I just say?” my aunt Cristina asks me.

“Uh?”

“You haven't listened to a word I was saying, have you?” she chuckles.

“I… I'm sorry” I sigh. “I don't know where my head is.”

“Oh, I know where it is. There” she says, pointing at my necklace, the one I'm playing with. “You still haven't talked with Pedri and fixed things, have you?”

“No...”

“And what are you waiting for? You love him, don't you?”

“Of course I do! It's just that… that… urgh” I groan, covering my face with my hands.

It's been two weeks since our argument, and things have been… bad.

Neither of us have been able to focus on our jobs, and in Pedri's case, that has only made the press and the fans be even more ruthless with him since things already were bad after the international break. And I, of course, blame myself for it, because even though he was the one who said the hurtful things, I deserved them. I was the one who hurt him first by not telling him about the photo with Leclerc despite knowing about his fears and insecurities. I was the one who started it all and then made things about myself when they actually weren't because I am that selfish.

So if I had told him, nothing of this would have happened. If I had told him, we would be ok and definitely moving in together, no one would be hurting, he would be playing better, and his hair would not look as if it had been cut with the kitchen's scissors. Because he cut his hair, yes. He got a proper break up haircut, and it is all my fault.

“Sofía, you have to talk with him, put an end to this stupid situation and stop hurting each other!”

“But what if…” I say, back to playing with my necklace. “What if we talk and we can't fix things. What if… what if this is the end.”

“Then at least you'll know. And it will hurt, and you will feel like shit and think that nothing is worth it anymore. I know it better than anyone, you know I've gone through a tough breakup myself. But at least you won't be suffering and being as miserable as you are right now while thinking about possible what ifs.”

“Yeah… I guess.”

“I'll finish this, you go.”

“What?”

“Go talk with Pedri, I'll finish this” my aunt says, closing my laptop and basically kicking me out of the office. “I don't want to see you again until you've fixed things, you hear me?”

“What if we can't fix them?”

“Sofía, you love him, he loves you, and love always wins.”

“In fairytales. But this is real life, aunt Cristina.”

“This… urgh” she says, pushing me towards the door. “Just go or I'll drive you myself to his door.”

“Fine” I sigh. I am so not looking forward to this… Though she is right. We need to talk.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“My God. In person it looks even worse than in photos.”

“Sofía?” Pedri says after opening his house's door. “What are you doing here?”

“Why is the hairline uneven?”

“Uneven? What…”

“At least it is soft” I say, touching his hair. “But why did you do something like this? Why couldn't you, I don't know, grow a beard that makes you look like you've been living alone in the mountains for a year? Why did you have to cut your bloody hair?”

“I… I don't know. I was with Ferran when he was cutting his and…” he shrugs.

“Ferran. Of course” I say, rolling my eyes. “I'm gonna have a word with him next time I see him. For now, I'll have it with you.”

“With me? Because of my hair?”

“Because of what led you to cutting your hair, Pedri.”

“Oh, I see, ummm… Please come in” he says, moving to one side.

“Thank you” I reply, walking in and following him to his living room.

“Do you want something to drink?”

“I'm fine, thank you” I say, sitting down.

“Ok” he says, doing the same but as far from me as the sofa allows him to. After that, there is just an awkward silence, neither of us saying a word. Which is not what I came here to do. I came here to talk with him, fix things and…

“I'm sorry” I say, once again playing with my necklace.

“What?”

“I'm sorry, Pedri. I… I should have told you about the photo when it became viral. I knew about your insecurities, I understood them. I still do. Yet I completely ignored them and your feelings and only cared about me. We wouldn't be here, like this, if I hadn't once again only cared about me. Because I… because like you said, I'm a selfish bitch.”

“Sofía, you aren't any of that. I said a lot of rubbish that day. I wasn't thinking straight, got angry with you, and said things to you that I didn't feel or believe. Things that aren't true and that should have never left my mouth.”

“But they did, and they were right. I haven't learnt a thing and did the same I did during Fermín's birthday party when we started dating. I am selfish and only think about myself and my feelings.”

“Sofía…” he says, trying to run a hand through his nonexistent hair.

“And you were on your right to be angry, you know? I had hurt you too, and badly, because once again I only cared about myself.”

“Yes, but… But I should have dealt with it better. I shouldn't have attacked you the way I did. We should have discussed it the same way we have in the past, I… I miss my hair.”

“What?” I chuckle.

“I know that this is the most random thing to say while having the conversation we are having, and I promise you this isn't me trying to end it or avoid it. I actually think we still have a lot to talk about, that there are things we have to work on.”

“Definitely.”

“But I just… I miss my hair” he shrugs, this time making both of us laugh. “I don't know why Ferran let me to do this. What kind of best friend allows you to butcher your hair like this?” Pedri says while touching his head.

“Maybe one that is jealous because he will never have your curls?” I say with a shy smile.

“Yeah, maybe.”

“I'm glad he is your friend, tho. I know he's been taking care of you.”

“He is one of the good ones” he smiles.

“He is” I say before the silence comes back. Though this time, it is a little bit less awkward.

“He actually suggested something that may help us deal with all this. With all our feelings, insecurities and everything we have to work on.”

“Something like what?” I ask him.

“Therapy.”

“As in couple's therapy?”

“Something like that. He said… He said that seeing a therapist and talking with someone has helped him a lot with his career and to learn how to deal with everything that happens on and off the pitch. The fame, the pressure from the press and the fans, his own feelings... So maybe… Maybe that's what we need too. Or at least, I think it is what I need.”

“Honestly… I think I need it too” I sigh. “All this invisible princess thing… There are things to unpack there. Like the fact that it has made me a selfish bitch.”

“Only sometimes, tho.”

“But it's been enough to threaten and maybe destroy what I care for the most. What I love the most in the world” I say, looking at him and hoping he understands that I am talking about him. About us.

“Should I ask Ferran for his therapist’s number, then?” Pedri asks me.

“You should, yes.”

“Ok” he nods. “But now… what about us? What are we, Sofía? Where are we? Because I love you with all my heart. You also are what I love the most in the world. And I want this to work out. Us, our relationship. I want… I want to wake up every morning and go to bed next to you, and cook together while we dance in the kitchen, and take you to Tenerife and laugh our asses off at the bumper cars while complaining about how much the music they play sucks, and have you taking me to a museum or a monument and listen to you telling me the story of what we are seeing, and swim naked in the swimming pool until our fingers are all wrinkled, and keep teaching you to play football even if you weren't born for it because after all you do have two left feet, and… I want a life with you, Sofía. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Just you” he says, suddenly caressing my cheek and wiping away a tear.

When he had started talking I had not been able to keep looking at him, too overwhelmed by all the memories and feelings he was bringing back, and I hadn't noticed that he had moved on the sofa and he was now sitting next to me, his leg touching mine.

“Pedri…” I whisper.

“Oh, and just in case you are wondering… I still want you to move in with me.”

“Really?” I say, finally daring to look at him.

“Really” he says, his thumb still caressing my cheek. “It doesn't have to be tomorrow, we can wait until things are a bit less…. awkward between us. But like I said, I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and that includes living together.”

“I also want that, Pedri. To spend the rest of my life with you. Because I love you. I love you so much” I say before closing the little space that was between us and kissing him. A kiss that I hope tells him everything I feel for him and how sorry I am for everything that has happened between us. A kiss that tells him that I also want to fight for this, for us. That like he said, I also love him with all my heart.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

A few months later...

“Sofía, where do I put this box?” Gavi asks me.

“I think it goes on the kitchen, let me check” I say, opening it. “Yes, kitchen.”

“You own plates? And a pan?” he asks with a confused look.

“Yeah” I shrug.

“But don't you have like servants who cook for you and all that stuff?”

“Please don't call them servants, that sounds like something from the middle ages” I chuckle. “And we do have a cook in Madrid, but here in Barcelona my aunt cooks herself because it apparently relaxes her, and she's been teaching me some of her favourite recipes. That's why I have this stuff.”

“Oh… I see” he says. “Can I ask you something else?”

“Of course” I smile.

“What other serv… I mean, what other people do you have working for you at the palace? Like, is there anything extravagant like that king who had someone taking care of his toilet and it was like an honour?”

“I'm afraid we don't have anything like that” I chuckle. “Both my sister and I have actually made our beds and tidied up our rooms since we were little. It is true that there is someone who cleans them, but we do everything else.”

“Interesting…” he says. “Anyway, this goes on the kitchen, right?”

“Yes. Thank you very much for your help, Gavi.”

“Of course” he smiles, walking into the house. Into Pedri's house… and mine too. Because we are doing it. We are moving in together.

Things aren't perfectly perfect between us just yet and they may never be since this is real life and not a fairytale. But that's ok. Talking to someone has helped us a lot, and even though we keep working on both our relationship and our own feelings and insecurities, we've made a lot of progress individually and together. So much, that we've finally found ourselves ready to take the next big step in our relationship and move in together.

“Why are you smiling like that?” Irene asks me.

“Uh?”

“You have a weird smile, cousin. Were you thinking about how you and Pedri are going to celebrate that you are moving in together?” she smirks while moving her eyebrows up and down.

“Idiot” I reply, rolling my eyes. “I was just thinking about something Gavi asked me.”

“Something like what?”

“Something silly. Anyway, that goes up in our room.”

“Our room, uh?” she says, still smirking.

“Urgh” I groan.

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry” she chuckles. “But look at you, Sofía. You are all grown up now with your job, your relationship, living away from home, moving in with your boyfriend… We aren't teens anymore” she sighs.

“Irene, earlier when Pedri and Ferran were unloading the car, we both giggled when we saw them carrying a big box and their biceps were showing in all their glory. The teenagers are still there, and they may never go. Actually, I hope they never go. I hope I am grandma's age and I still giggle and blush every time Pedri tells me something naughty or does something I find attractive.”

“Everything I do is attractive” he says, showing up out of nowhere and hugging me from behind. “Naughty sometimes too” he whispers, kissing that spot on my neck that he knows drives me crazy.

“Uhm” I manage to say.

“Urgh, you two are so disgustingly cute and I am so disgustingly single” Irene says.

“You'll find your one one day too, Irene. You'll see.”

“Am I your one?” Pedri says, now kissing my cheek.

“My one and only” I smile, moving in his arms to face him.

“Ok, I think I'm gonna go check what Gavi and Ferran are doing. This is getting too uncomfortable to watch” she says, leaving Pedri and I alone, smiling and giggling like two idiots.

“I love you” I say, wrapping my arms around his neck. “You know that, don't you?”

“I do. But I may need you to repeat it tonight before we go to bed. And tomorrow when we wake up. And during each meal. And before I leave the house and when I come back after training or a game. And while we are watching tv cuddling on the sofa. And when…”

“And basically all the time” I laugh.

“Basically, yes” he says, pulling me closer towards him.

“You know what's the problem, tho?”

“Ummm… no” he says.

“That even if I get to tell you that I love you so often, it still would not be enough to express how much I actually love you.”

“My lady, did you just go cheesy?” Pedri asks me with a teasing smile.

“I may just have, yes. Though it is the truth” I shrug.

“Same” he smiles.

“Do you also love me so much that even if you spent a whole day saying just I love you, it wouldn't be enough?”

“Exactly. I love you, Sofía.”

“I love you too” I say before kissing him.

#pedri #pedri gonzalez #pedri x reader #pedri gonzalez x reader #pedri fanfic #pedri gonzalez fanfic #pedri imagine #pedri gonzalez imagine #football fanfic #football imagine

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doodle-pops · 3 months ago

Text

Drunken Autumn Nights

Fingon x reader

A/N: Some fluff for a change instead of my usual October content. I was in the mood for lots of cozy autumn fluff this time of year. So, to start Flufftober, have some Fingon. Enjoy!

Warnings: fluff, intoxication (drunk reader), humour

Words: 2.1k

Synopsis: The best way to spend autumn nights when your beloved was free of duties, was to give him an impromptu (drunken) task.

The evening had settled with a soft breeze that rustled the vibrant leaves, painting the world in shades of burnt orange, deep red, and gold. Fingon and you had chosen the quiet seclusion of a small forest clearing, far from the demands of his duties as Crown Prince. The air was crisp, biting just enough to be refreshing, but not so cold that it chased you indoors. A perfect autumn evening, really—where the natural beauty of Arda was at its finest, and the skies had only just begun to darken with the twilight.

You had both brought a few bottles of wine along, eager to unwind after a particularly long stretch of obligations that Fingon had been forced to endure. He had been working tirelessly, and the chance to escape into nature was a rare one. So here you were, seated on a blanket in the soft grass, bottles uncorked and laughter already in the air. Fingon poured another glass, watching the liquid swirl before he handed it to you with a gentle smile, his eyes sparkling beneath his dark, braided hair.

At first, the conversation had been light—about the trees and how their leaves looked like flames against the sky. About Fingon’s recent duties and how he felt relief now that he could spend time away from court. But as the night grew older and the wine flowed more freely, something began to shift.

You were laughing at something Fingon had said—something about how Maglor once tried to compose an entire song about leaves, and it somehow ended up being a dirge for lost love. “He’s so dramatic,” Fingon chuckled, his smile widening as he glanced at you. “I swear, if he could write a tragic ballad about his morning tea, he would.”

But you weren’t really listening anymore. Not properly, anyway. The warmth of the wine had begun to work its magic, wrapping you in a pleasant haze where everything felt a little softer, a little funnier. You leaned back, gazing up at the sky that was now peppered with stars, and took another long sip from your glass. Fingon’s voice was still in the background, but your thoughts were wandering, losing focus, drifting like the leaves that tumbled gently from the trees.

“Fingon,” you said after a moment, your voice just a little too loud and slurred at the edges. “Did you know…did you know that leaves…they fall because they’re trying to run away from trees?”

He blinked and glanced over at you with a bemused smile. “Run away? Is that so?”

You nodded, as if you had just revealed some great secret of the universe. “Yes. Yes, they’re done with the whole tree business. They’re like, ‘Nope. I’m out of here.’ And then—” You made a dramatic hand gesture that sent some of the wine from your glass sloshing onto the grass. “—they just drop, you know? Just…they’re free.”

Laughing, Fingon set his glass aside as he leaned back on his hands, watching you with clear amusement. “I had no idea you were such an expert on leaves.”

“Well, now you do,” you said, leaning forward as if to share something even more important. “And, and the pumpkins…do you know why we carve them?”

“I’m almost afraid to ask,” he said, trying to hold back another laugh.

“It’s to scare away the spirits of all the pies we didn’t make last year,” you said with utmost seriousness. “They’re vengeful. That’s why they’re orange. It’s the colour of rage.”

At this point, Fingon was openly laughing with his head thrown back, the sound rich and warm in the crisp night air. You, however, were utterly lost in your own world of autumnal conspiracy. “And the hay bales! Oh, don’t even get me started on those. They’re…they’re a trap for the woodland creatures. But they’re too clever. They know. That’s why you never see any animals near hay bales. Only humans fall for that trick.”

With all your enthusiasm for conspiracies, Fingon had shifted closer to you, his gaze soft but still amused as he took in your increasingly incoherent ramblings. “You’re quite the scholar tonight, aren’t you?” he teased affectionately.

“Of course,” you said, finishing off your glass of wine with a flourish. “I know all the secrets of autumn.”

The wine had hit you hard by this point, your thoughts growing more tangled with every passing moment. You tried to stand up, but your legs wobbled beneath you, and before you knew it, he was at your side, his hands gently guiding you back down to the blanket. “Easy now,” he murmured, his laughter still lingering on his lips. “I don’t think you’re in any state to be walking around.”

You pouted and rested your head against his shoulder as your body felt heavy and warm. “But I wanted to dance with the ghosts,” you muttered, your words slurring together.

Fingon raised an eyebrow. “Dance with the ghosts?”

“They’re here. Watching us. Waiting…” You waved your hand dramatically at the trees, your voice taking on a ghostly tone. “Ooooooooh, they want to join our fun.”

Wrapping an arm around your shoulders to steady you, he chuckled at your statement. “I think you’ve had enough wine for tonight.”

You frowned. “But what about the spirits? You can’t just ignore them, Finno. That’s how they get you.”

“I’ll make sure to keep an eye out for them,” he promised as humour danced in his eyes. “No spirits are getting to you while I’m around.”

As if weighing the sincerity of his words, you squinted up at him. After a moment, you seemed satisfied and leaned further into him with a contented sigh. “Good. Because I’d hate to be taken by a ghost during the best part of autumn.”

Fingon smiled down at you, brushing a stray lock of hair away from your face. “Of course. I wouldn’t let that happen.” Watching as you settled back onto the grass, your thoughts drifting along with the gentle flow of the brook. The night was growing cooler now, but the warmth of the flask still lingered in your veins, keeping you comfortable as you continued to mumble incoherently about leaves, stars, and whatever else your mind latched onto.

Fingon shifted slightly, pulling his cloak around himself as he kept an eye on you, making sure you didn’t attempt any more dangerous feats. He had grown accustomed to your antics over the years, and while he knew he’d likely have to deal with the aftermath of your intoxicated state in the morning, for now, he was content to enjoy the absurdity of it all.

“You know what else is spooky?” you muttered with your eyes half closed as you lay on the grass, your voice a little more sluggish now as the effects of the alcohol weighed down your limbs.

“What else is spooky?” Fingon asked, clearly humouring you as he shifted to sit more comfortably against the tree, his gaze still trained on you with a mix of amusement and fondness.

“The moon,” you mumbled, as if you had just revealed some great cosmic secret. “It’s always watching. But not like…the stars. The stars are nice. The moon is…suspicious.”

“Suspicious, you say? And why is that?” he chocked as he attempted to bit back a laugh bubbling in his throat.

You struggled to sit up again, your movements clumsy and uncoordinated as you pointed a wobbly finger at the sky. “It just hangs there, all big and bright, but it never says anything. Always just…lurking.”

“Lurking,” he repeated, nodding solemnly, though his lips were twitching with barely concealed laughter. “I see.”

You waved your arms dramatically, nearly losing your balance as you did so. “Exactly! One day…one day it’s going to do something. I’m telling you. We need to keep an eye on it.”

Before you could topple over completely, he reached out to steady gently. “I’ll be sure to keep watch,” he said, his voice gentle and amused.

Satisfied that he had taken your warning seriously, you gave a drunken grin. “Good. Someone has to. You never know when the moon might make its move.”

With a soft sigh, you finally allowed yourself to flop back onto the grass, your body sinking into the cool earth as the last remnants of daylight faded away, leaving the sky a deep, velvety blue. Fingon watched you for a moment, the smile still playing on his lips as he pulled his cloak tighter around himself to ward off the growing chill.

Despite your increasingly ridiculous ramblings, there was something endearing about seeing you so carefree, so lost in your own drunken thoughts. He rarely saw you this unguarded, and though you’d surely regret the amount of alcohol you’d consumed come morning, for now, he was content to enjoy the peaceful, if slightly absurd, moment.

You turned your head to look at him again, blinking slowly as if it took a great effort to focus. “You’re my favourite person, you know that?” you slurred, a lazy grin spreading across your face. “Always looking out for me…and listening to my nonsense.”

Fingon chuckled softly, shaking his head. “I wouldn’t say it’s nonsense. It’s certainly…creative.”

“I’m a genius,” you declared, raising a finger as if to emphasise your point. “A visionary. No one understands the moon like I do.”

Fingon raised an eyebrow, smiling. “A visionary, are you? Perhaps you should write a treatise on the subject.”

You gasped, as if the idea had never occurred to you before. “Yes! I’ll write a book. ‘The Suspicious Moon and Other Spooky Things.’ It’ll be a bestseller.”

“I have no doubt it will be,” Fingon said with a grin, unable to suppress the warmth that bubbled up in his chest at the sight of you, so thoroughly convinced of your own brilliance in this inebriated state.

The night deepened around you both, the woods growing quieter as the last of the birds settled for sleep, and the soft rustle of leaves in the breeze was the only sound that accompanied the gentle trickle of the brook. Fingon leaned his head back against the tree, his gaze fixed on the sky where the stars now sparkled in full force, the moon casting a silvery glow over the landscape.

Beside him, you had fallen into a more subdued state, your drunken ramblings slowing as your body grew heavier with exhaustion. Fingon could tell you were nearing the point of falling asleep where you lay, and as much as he enjoyed the peacefulness of the evening, he knew it wouldn’t be wise to let you sleep out here in the open.

“You know,” he said after a moment, his voice low but gentle, “it might be time to head back. The moon may be suspicious, but it’s getting cold.”

You groaned in response, rolling over onto your stomach with a grumble. “Don’t wanna move.”

Fingon sighed softly, though his tone remained patient. “If you stay out here, you’ll be regretting it in the morning even more than you already will.”

With a great deal of effort, you pushed yourself halfway up, your head spinning as you tried to find your balance. Fingon was quick to help, wrapping an arm around your waist to steady you as you swayed on your feet. As much as he knew you’d be feeling the effects of your little adventure in the morning, for now, there was a quiet contentment that settled over him, a rare sense of peace that came from knowing you were both safe, happy, and—for the moment at least—free from the worries of the world.

“Let’s get you home,” he murmured softly, his voice barely audible over the rustle of the trees. The night air was cool, but not unpleasant, and as the two of you walked together beneath the watchful gaze of the “suspicious” moon, Fingon couldn’t help but smile.

Despite the silliness of the evening, despite your nonsensical ramblings about leaf spirits and conspiratorial celestial bodies, there was something undeniably perfect about the moment. It was a brief respite from the weight of responsibility, a chance to simply enjoy each other’s company without the pressures of duty or the looming shadow of the future.

And for Fingon, that was more than enough.

Masterlist

Taglist: @lilmelily @ranhanabi777 @rain-on-my-umbrella @mysticmoomin @asianbutnotjapanese @batsyforyou @sakurayaxd @aconstructofamind @involuntaryspasms @stormchaser819 @addaigio @lamemaster @elficially-done-with-life @eunoiaastralwings @zheiya

If you wish to be tagged, click the Taglist Link to join.

#「 ✦ mina’s flufftober ✦ 」#house of fingolfin #fingon x reader #fingon imagine #fingon fluff #fingon scenario #fingon #silmarillion fic #silmarillion fluff #silmarillion imagine #silmarillion x reader #middle earth x reader #middle earth imagine #middle earth fluff #middle earth fic #x reader insert #x reader fluff #silmarillion #doodlepops writings ✨

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mellowwillowy · 1 year ago

Note

HEAR ME OUT!! Please please please!!

Yandere!prince who fell in love with the lady in waiting of the princess he is supposed to marry

A forbidden love that he is ready to do WHATEVER it take to make it happend

Why would he marry a princess when there this being who can but the queen of fae to shame with theire beauty ?

I'M LISTENING NONNIE!!

Yan! Prince x (neutral-f/m) Lady-in-waiting reader

I've actually written fics similar to this concept! This one is about a princess and a crown prince, the crown prince was supposed to marry another noble of higher status but the crown prince and priest found a way to make you the wife instead! (fem! reader)

This one is about reader being the former Empress' lady-in-waiting with the crown prince snatching reader from his brother's grasp! You were supposed to marry his brother (a knight) but he broke his legs and gave him the illusion of choice by becoming a priest instead. (gn intersex reader)

And as for this concept...

mmh... I can see the Yan! Prince going feral over you... you are the most beautiful woman (right?) he has ever laid his eyes on, even more than the garden of flowers he fancies so much! What do you like? What do you dislike? He wants to know everything about you this instant. He needs to.

I don't have much to say but yeah, Yan! Prince is capable of doing anything, even going as far as convincing everyone with the stage he prepares for you. Oh, you are a guy? Just keep up with the farce and no one will know though he would wonder why the princess had a guy dressed as her lady-in-waiting... were you her fucktoy or what? That irritates him and you are not spared with his gentle ass.

I'll use Erickson again for this idea (hehehe crown prince...). Erickson, falling in love with you? The crown prince? Say goodbye to your kneecaps or ankles once he gets his hands on you.

So how does he annul this whole wedding? With the help of his twin brother, they'll both dig or make scandals that will trample the princess family's reputation. It's nothing hard for two people of status and power after all.

Now that her reputation is tarnished, the prince's family will annul the wedding and he'll convince his mother to take you in as one of her ladies-in-waiting. He'll praise you and coax her mother into taking you in, anything, as long as you get to stay under the same roof as him. You bet your life would be a living hell the moment you upset or piss him off even just for the slightest.

Next would be having your hand in marriage. This will be tough, considering his status as the crown prince. Should he convince the former Empress to make his brother the next Emperor instead? He doubts she'll allow it as the prophet's dice had chosen him to be the eldest despite being born second.

If he can't do that, then all he has to do is make a stage for you, a fake family of reputation that was at the edge of a downfall, convincing rumors of you circulating around the citizens and a load of lessons about the royalties' history.

Now that you are completely perfect, suitable to be his suitor, this nation's Empress, another problem spurts out. Noel, his brother, has also taken a liking to you.

Seriously, of all the affections he had received, he wishes to have you as well? He sure is a gutsy bastard, perhaps he should strip him from his status as a knight to teach him a lesson?

The same turn of events happened again, Noel's legs were broken, he was sent to the church and you were wed to Erickson, everything was smooth perfect.

Depending on Noel's love for you, if it was high, it'll reach the same conclusion, with him coming back to overthrow Erickson in the name of the church and God. The only difference was that you did not share that much fondness for the two of them, alas the ending had you died without any last words to them.

If his brother didn't love you that much, he wouldn't return and you are forever stuck with him until he dies. (yup, you don't get to die first, magic is not as hard as it seemed.)

#yandere male #yandere #yandere x reader #yandere scenarios #yandere x you #yandere imagines #male yandere #yandere insert #yandere oc #yandere headcanons #yandere works #yandere writing #reader insert #x reader #oc #x gn reader #CatboX

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cam3lliaw · 6 months ago

Text

Catching the eye of a prince

Chapter 1

-crownprince!gojo x maid!reader

contents/ warnings: (some are mentioned in the prologue), might be ooc,

word count: 1.8k words

series masterlist

the prologue here

notes: sorry for the long wait :) i hope you like it

“His Royal Highness was looking for you, my lord.”

If only Suguru had a coin for every time he heard that exact sentence in the past 20 minutes. The walk from the gardens to the crown prince’s chambers shouldn’t have taken more than 8 minutes, a few more if the staircase was in the middle of being moped but that only happens really early in the morning and really late at night, and at this moment it was neither of them. At least 12 servants that were doing their jobs stopped Suguru on the way to his office, letting him know that the crown prince was looking around for him not long ago. Sighing, the dark haired man decided to go to the prince’s chambers and see what he wanted.

Upon reaching the door, and not hearing any noise from inside, Suguru thought that the prince might still be out and about, and he entered without knocking.

Turns out that not only the prince was inside, but he was pouting as well as he was sitting on the window sill.

“What’s with the pout, Satoru? Missed me too much?” Suguru smirked as he approached him and took a seat on the other side of the sill.

“As if.” Satoru scoffed. “I’m just…deep in thought.”

“Oh, that’s certainly new. Weren’t you the smartest in this palace? That’s clearly what you boasted about around the place, last week. But don’t forget Satoru-“ Suguru came closer and put his hand on the prince’s shoulder “it’s more than okay to ask for help sometimes, it’s a proof of your maturity actually-”

Satoru slapped the hand away before Suguru had the chance to continue talking.

“Ouch.” the dark haired man faked a pained expression. “Seems like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.”

“It’s your fault I’m like this in the first place.”

“My fault?? How is this my fault?” Suguru asked, genuinely confused.

“Who’s that girl from earlier?” the prince went right to the point.

“What girl?”

“Don’t act dumb, Suguru. You know who I’m talking about.”

The lord sighed “On the way here I was stopped by multiple servants, most of them being girls, telling me about the fact that you were looking for me, so I’m afraid you'll have to give me a bit more than just the fact that she was a girl, then maybe, I will know who you are talking about.”

“The girl from the garden! The one that was hanging the laundry. The one that you seemed awfully close to. Is this enough information for you?” Satoru inquired bitterly.

A smile stretched on Suguru’s face. “Ah, I see now. What about her?”

“Huh? What’s the deal with her? I never saw you that close with a girl, much less a servant.” Satoru remarked annoyed.

“What, you jealous? Don’t worry, Satoru. She won’t steal me from you. You’ll always be my one and only-“

The crown prince narrowed his eyes, interrupting his bestfriend again, with no shame whatsoever. “Jealous my ass. It’s pure curiosity. I’ve tried to make you talk with girls from the court or from foreign nations, for years, yet you never even glance towards them a second time. Yet, this maid seemed to have your attention without breaking a sweat.”

A short laugh escaped Suguru’s lips. “If you’re insinuating what I think you are, you can stop right there. Me and [name] are just good friends, nothing happened between us and nothing will ever happen.”

“Then what is it about her? I’ve seen her from afar but she doesn’t seem that big of a deal.”

“You have a bad habit of judging people based on their appearances, you know that’s not something a future good leader must do, right?”

Satoru’s face flushed ashamed.

“Of course I know that. And it’s not exactly judging-“

“It is.”

Satoru groaned. “Fine, I’ll chose my words more…carefully next time. But seriously what’s the deal with her?”

“She’s just a good friend and a nice company when I need to take breaks from your chaos.”

“Rude.”

“You’ll live.” Suguru smiled.

“So when do I get to meet her?”

“You won’t.” Suguru answered without thinking twice.

“And why is that?” Satoru inquired a bit offended.

“The last thing she needs, or would want for that matter, is to be center of attention, or even worse, to be roped into any of your schemes.”

“You make me sound like a villain of some sort.” The crown prince scoffed.

“From certain points of view you might be, yes.” The duke challenged.

“Hmph. Why does it seem like sometimes you forget that you’re talking with the crown prince?”

“Come on, Satoru, if everyone acted respectfully towards you or if they let you think you’re right all the time, you would become spoiled, or like, even more spoiled than you already are.”

Satoru hummed acknowledging what Suguru just said, but he seemed distracted for a moment, it seemed like he’s deep in thought again.

“What are you thinking about now?” asked Suguru as his eyes narrowed.

“What if…you don’t directly tell me how to meet her...but you give me a hint on how to find her. I mean, in that case it’s only a…50% chance I would actually find her. What about this?”

“Since I have a feeling you won’t drop this anytime soon, why not.”

The prince smiled victorious and waited for Suguru to think of something. A few minutes later, Suguru started chuckling.

“I got one.”

“Okay. Go on.” The prince nodded.

“You might find her...if you fall asleep in a meadow.”

“And?” Satoru waited for his friend to continue but he shook his head.

“That’s all.”

“What? How am I supposed to find her based on that?”

“Sounds like a you problem if you ask me.” Suguru added.

“Fine. But sooner or later, I will find her and I will see for myself if she’s such a nice person as you claim she is.”

A few days later the crown prince started getting annoyed. At first, he thought he can cheat and find you at the place where he saw you first, but over the next few days since the talk with Suguru, there were other maids working out there. Then, he thought he might just ask a random maid about you when he sees one, but then he quickly realized that was dumb, because there were thousands of maids working in the palace, some never see each other much less know each other’s names.

In every free moment that the prince had, his mind would wonder to Suguru’s hint.

“You might find her if you fall asleep in a meadow.”

One more thing that Satoru thought about, but didn’t have time for until the weekend, was going for a walk in the gardens hoping that he might spot you around there.

The gardens are like some sort of meadow, right?

Maybe you were assigned gardening work sometimes, it wouldn’t really make sense since the palace hired a lot of gardeners especially for taking care of the entire area, but what does he know about this kind of stuff really.

Satoru spent his entire weekend taking walks while scouting the entire area for you, hoping he’d at least see you once while passing, but he didn’t. However, he seemed to meet someone else in the gardens instead.

“I have to admit, I don’t think I’ve seen you spending so much time in the royal gardens since we were kids.” Shoko laughed as she gestured the bench she was sitting on, signaling the prince to take a seat.

“It’s not by choice unfortunately.” Satoru sighed as he sat down.

“I thought you were only doing the things that you wanted, something about being royalty and never having to listen to anyone.” The duchess laughed.

“You and Suguru seem to find pleasure in criticizing the things I say lately.”

“Well, if two people say the same things, without talking beforehand about it, that might mean they’re right.” Shoko smiled.

“What brings you here? Studying plants for your medicine exams?”

“Yes. It’s nice to study outside from time to time, the library is sometimes parched with people, so the best options to not be bothered by noise is either to read somewhere else or to read at night when there’s barely any people left.” Satoru nodded as Shoko finished explaining “What about you? What brings you out here?”

“A stupid riddle.”

Shoko giggled. “I thought you liked riddles…but I don’t think it’s just a normal riddle, am I right?”

“If I guess then I can find someone, but Suguru has been too vague.”

“Suguru is the one who riddled you? This has suddenly got even more interesting, who do you have to find?”

“A maid, [name], I think that's how Suguru called her. I caught her and Suguru once chatting and they seemed very close. But Suguru won't let me meet her.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t have let you either. [name] is a really nice girl, you would just get her in trouble.”

“You know her, too?” Satoru exclaimed surprised.

“I do. We don’t see each other often, and maybe we’re not as good friends as she is with Suguru, but she’s a good and smart person.”

“Then…do you think you can help me? With the riddle? Suguru said that I might find her if I fall asleep in a meadow, but as much as I hate to admit it, this is harder than I anticipated. I searched everywhere in the royal gardens and I came up with nothing. And there are no meadows close to the palace either, well as far as I’m aware anyway, but I know the surroundings almost like the back of my hand.”

Shoko burst out laughing. “That is so easy. You overcomplicated yourself so bad.” she continued “Satoru, do you remember our favorite activity in the rainy days? What me, you and Suguru would do every time we weren’t at the palace together?”

“We would send letters.” Satoru responded quickly.

“You need more than that. What would we talk about in said letters?”

“Hmm…we talked about a lot of stuff but I guess we talked the most about the books we read.”

“You’re getting there. What was the one book you would not stop comparing all the others about?”

“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland?”

“And what happens at the beginning of the book, Satoru? Where is Alice and what does she do?”

It took him less than a second to finally realise.

“She falls asleep-“ Satoru’s eyes widened “in a meadow!”

“There you go.”

“The library…how did I not realise before, you and Suguru wouldn’t shut up about how she’s smart. I should’ve seen it.”

“Well, its better late than never.” Shoko commented.

The prince got up quick but he remembered what his friends said. “She doesn’t like to be the center of attention” Suguru told him. And Shoko mentioned that the only moment the library is not full is at night…

“Thank you, Shoko. I owe you one.” Satoru smiled as he started walking away.

Seems like he has plans tonight.

taglist: @kalopsia-flaneur

end notes: thank you for reading :)

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2rats1gogh · 6 months ago

Note

what do you think of the rumors about Aemond's possible betrayal of Aegon in Ep4?

I wouldn’t be surprised. After the scene where Rhaenyra meets with Alicent, dressed as a nun, I gave up. They are making up the most random ass stuff that not only didn’t happen in the book, but wasn’t even implied. I don’t even know at this point. The show is slowly turning into something so absurd I don’t even know what to think of it. I can’t take it seriously anymore.

The showrunners are actively ruining and “breaking up” the greens for whatever fucking reason. I get that they are a dysfunctional family, but why does it seem like they don’t give a fuck about each other anymore?? The show is not fun anymore. In a way, it used to be “two sides, both flawed but both with strong aspects” now it’s just “team black is cool, and teem green sucks ass”.

Book Aemond would never betray Aegon. They are literally brothers and each other’s supporters. Even when Aegon was injuried Aemond never took his throne with force by crowning himself king. He was Prince Regent. They are a team in the book, and now? what the actual hell is going on in this show💀💀💀💀💀

Out of all 3 episodes that are out now, I genuinely enjoyed only the second one, mainly because Tom and Phia delivered some great acting, and also the argument Rhaenyra and Daemon had. That whole part was amazing. And then… yeah, it went downhill from there.

#house of the dragon #hotd #hotd critical #pro team green #team green #asoiaf #anti team black #fire and blood

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apomaro-mellow · 8 months ago

Text

King and Prince 19

Part 18

Waking up with morning wood was a wake up call Steve didn’t know he needed. He was able to calm it but now there was a thrumming under his skin. It was like realizing you were hungry and being unable to ignore it. Taking care of it himself was always an option. He had his own room. But he missed being with another person. The thrill of flirtation followed by the ecstasy of coming together as one.

The castle was filled with people. But most either ignored Steve or gave him glares when they passed. It was clear that his family name was causing some grudges and it was only because of Eddie that no one took out their grievances with him. Of the people who didn’t actively hate him, most were children and the other was Robin. She was perfectly lovely with hair that framed her face in a way that caressed her cheeks like a lover.

Honestly, there was a moment where Steve wondered if he was falling for her himself, but her disinterest in men meant she wouldn’t respond to any advances from him. Late one night, when that energy filled him to the brim, he let a bout of madness take him for only a second where he imagined seducing Eddie. In the dark, Steve snickered to himself at the absurdity of it. He was a hospitable host but no one had more reason to hate him than Eddie.

That only left people outside of the castle. People who didn’t recognize him as a prince and thus wouldn’t hold it against him. And Eddie did say that he was no longer a prisoner.

------------------------

Jeff liked to take pleasure in the little things. A nice cool breeze, the smell of warm bread, and the entertainment he got anytime Eddie and Nancy disagreed on things. Nancy was logical and loyal. Everything she did was in the best interests of the kingdom. Eddie, for all his experience, was often impulsive and emotional.

But it was because of this that Eddie often heeded her advice, knowing it came from a place of rationality. To an untrained eye, it may appear that Nancy ran the kingdom. Looks were deceiving. Eddie had years under his belt that most of them couldn’t fathom. It was what made him fit to rule. More important than the great power he held was the wisdom he had acquired.

“You want to be allowed to leave and go out into town?”, Eddie repeated.

Steve stood before Eddie, Jeff, Nancy, and a few others who made up the council. It was a bold thing to ask, given his title and position.

“I’ve been learning about your people and lands. I think I should see more of it for myself.”

“I didn’t realize you were such a scholar of culture”, Eddie brought his leg up to rest his ankle on his knee. He could tell that wasn’t the only reason Steve wanted out, but he also saw no reason to pry besides his own curiosity. The prince had no allies here, not counting the few bonds he’d made within his own walls. Certainly no one with which to conspire against Eddie and his subjects.

“You can’t be considering this seriously”, Nancy said.

“Why not?”, Eddie shrugged.

The others waited to see how the debate would go, keeping themselves silent until each party justified their point. Jeff could see both sides. The prince hadn’t really done anything suspicious to require him to be guarded so closely. Even so, he hadn’t officially denounced his home land nor pledged loyalty to this one.

“Because he’s from an enemy kingdom? Because he could be trying to get you killed or overthrown? I know you think you’re invincible, but try to remember that the rest of us are not”, Nancy said.

“Believe me, I am aware”, Eddie said. “I’m also aware that he has had zero contact with his own people since arriving. And there are no spies in my court. If he wants to go on an outing without having to corral our young wards, I see no reason not to allow this.”

Nancy frowned at Steve. She didn’t see him as much of a threat, merely what he represented and what he was attached to. It was still difficult for her to believe that a king would discard a crown prince. It just didn’t make sense to her. The others began to chime in with why this could go wrong. And many of their arguments were right. This one decision could end very badly. But Steve wasn’t his prisoner anymore. He had already offered to set him free. And it was like Nancy could read his mind.

“Letting him go home and letting him come and go as he pleases are two different things.”

Eddie waved her off. “Semantics. I’ll honor your request to explore, little prince. But you will have a curfew.”

--------------------------

Eddie himself took Steve down to the stables to ensure that the stablehands knew he had the official seal of approval from the king.

“I’ll let you borrow Sunflower here”, Eddie handed Steve the reins.

Sunflower was a beautiful color, almost golden and it reminded Steve that this place wasn’t all dark clouds and shadows. They had beautiful skies and flowers.

“Thank you”, Steve said, petting her mane.

“I want you back before sundown”, Eddie said.

Steve nodded. All in all, a rather generous curfew, given that the days were starting to get longer. He didn’t leave right away though. He went back to his room to get ready, putting on one of the new outfits he’d been given. It was meant for everyday wear so it wasn’t as nice as the one for the festival, but it was definitely good quality. He did his hair, checking in the mirror to make sure it was perfect.

By the time Steve was done, quite some time had passed, but he still had hours before the sun would set. He went to retrieve Sunflower and exited the gates, feeling free as he trotted out.

“Now how sure are we that he’s not just going to ride off into the sunset?”, Robin asked as she happened to catch him leaving from a window.

“Pretty damn sure”, Eddie said, focusing on twirling a fork in his hand.

When Steve got into town, he allowed himself to really take it in. Of course it was a sight to see during a celebration, but it was also lovely now too when people were just going about their business.

Back home, Steve never had to search far for a partner. Even the most frigid had melted when a crown prince gave them his attention. But he couldn’t just announce that he was royalty. That would end in disaster.

No, if he wanted to find a lover for the evening, he’d have to rely solely on his wits and charm. Thankfully, he had both in abundance. He figured a tavern was a good place to look and he found one. He tied Sunflower up outside and ventured in. Only about three steps in did he realize he had no money but he kept up his stride. This was where the charm came in.

There was a young woman at the bar, nursing a drink. Her hair was cut short, in a similar style to Nancy’s but much curlier. Her brown skin was complimented by her gold earrings and made it apparent that she appreciated the finer things. She looked up as Steve approached and smiled.

“Mind a bit of company?”, he asked.

She nodded to the stool next to her. “Help yourself.”

It was easy to take a seat and slip back into old habits, even easier when his conversation partner was a beautiful woman who had no idea who he was. He hardly even had to lie. All that mattered was that he was new to the area and looking for a bit of fun. She caught on quick and luckily had a room in the tavern they could go to.

Afterwards, Steve wanted nothing more than to bask in the afterglow, but he knew he couldn’t linger too long. He didn’t want to mess up what little goodwill he had from Eddie so fast.

On the way back, he was already thinking of his next outing. Who he might find and what kind of person they may be. Maybe if he behaved, he could convince Eddie to let him spend an entire night out. There had to be a place for entertainment other than drinking such as dancing. And perhaps he’d even find a regular lover and not -just a part time bed mate.

---------------------

Eddie resisted the urge to put eyes on Steve when he left the first time. He only kept his regular sentries that monitored the castle gates and walls. He knew when Steve left and knew when he returned but that was it. He tried not to think too hard about what he was doing and with who.

For all he knew, Steve was going to the tavern to drink his troubles away, playing cards with old men, or knitting with old ladies. Eddie had no idea what kind of hobbies Steve had back home but he could be a knitter.

The first time Eddie saw Steve after one of his excursions was about two weeks later. And there was only one way to describe Steve’s condition after reveling in whatever delighted him in town.

He was glowing.

Part 20

Taglist

@thesuninyaface @only-evanescent @snakeorsquid @ignoremyworld @theclichefortunecookie

@goodolefashionedloverboi @just-a-tiny-void @0body0disphoria0 @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @samsoble

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@justdrugsformethanks @potato-of-the-lord @notaqueenakhaleesi @swimmingbirdrunningrock @queenie-ofthe-void

@nebulainajar @lil-gremlin-things @nicememerino @robininblue @hornedqueenofhell

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@lil-gremlin-things @littlebluejane @puppy-steve

#apo writes #stranger things #steddie

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