#that was way easier than i feared it would be <33< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[m1d-45]

welcome to teyvat !

before you begin your journey, here’s my original take on the logistics of sagau, as well as an update after some more information from fontaine. while not essential, here are my thoughts on how nations worship.

if there’s anything in particular you’d like to see in the future, please send in your request to my ask box.

1k event m.list

(host to: aether, alhaitham, bennett, collei, cyno, diluc, dottore, kaeya, kaveh, kazuha, keqing, nahida, razor, tighnari, venti, wanderer, xiao, xingqiu)

warnings [⏵] : yandere / heavy cultish || obsessive

genre [title] : angst || fluff || hurt/comfort

traveller from afar — aether

‘I'm saying that I'm having a lot of fun traveling with you… It'd be nice if we could just go on like this forever.’

⏵ a new tomorrow

—⏵ my love, my god

twilight sword — dainslef

‘No, it’s just… I’m still waiting for my drink.’

⏵ will you promise that i'll see you again?

mondstadt

ah, the city of freedom. a wise choice as a first stop, to best wind up for what’s to come. a calm atmosphere and a soothing wind across your shoulders… truly, the only thing better is the wine.

choose the winds of anemo ?

(host to: albedo, diluc, venti)

liyue

the land of contracts… perhaps it’s a fitting choice, to visit the land so recently abandoned. the realm of illuminated beasts and host of history… unless it’s the music you prefer?

choose the stone of geo ?

(host to: baizhu, ga ming, xiao, zhongli)

inazuma

eternity… a false ideal, one impossible to chase, but i must commend ei’s determination if nothing else. all her effort, and the only thing permanent is its beauty.

choose the spark of electro ?

(host to: ayato, heizou, kazuha, thoma)

sumeru

hmph. the akademiya still runs rampant, and the desert is still a wash of ruin. i can’t promise much about here, except a few familiar faces. care to visit your friends?

choose the root of dendro ?

(host to: alhaitham, tighnari, wanderer)

fontaine

a nation submerged in water, surrounded by mirages at every turn. perhaps we could go see an opera, or catch a magic show… or have a cup of tea and catch up. what do you say?

choose the court of hydro ?

(host to: neuvillette, wriothesley)

natlan

…hm? ah, my apologies, but it looks like this destination isn’t available for travel just yet. thank you for your patience!

choose the ember of pyro?

snezhnaya

the land of ice and love, led by the lady of contradictions. have you found comfort in the snow?

choose the frost of cryo ?

(host to: il dottore, regrator, tartaglia)

series!

⏵ dearly beloved — complete trilogy

8.7k — being hunted across half of teyvat wasn’t exactly on your bucket list. but if he’s the one you keep seeing… maybe it’s worth it.

—⏵ on broken bones

—⏵ death, rebirth, new life

—⏵ the scottish play

⏵ abiogenesis — complete duology

10k — after being abandoned, albedo didn’t have the brightest hope for his future. travelling to mondstadt, he finds the closest thing to ‘purpose.’

—⏵ from soil…

—⏵ …was birthed chalk

⏵ secret contributions — complete trilogy

8.2k — false faith has forced you to flee to inazuma, barely surviving the trip. thankfully, the kamisatos are here to help.

—⏵ small miracles

—⏵ hidden blessings

—⏵ silent conclusions

⏵ spoken across stars — episodic

2.7k — voicelines characters would have in sagau.

—⏵ kaeya, diluc, thoma ft. noelle + candace

—⏵ kazuha, wanderer ft. tighnari + baizhu

—⏵ zhongli, ayato, heizou ft. xinqiu + chongyun

—⏵ lyney, lynette, freminet ft. arlecchino + navia

⏵ sanctity — incomplete

1.5k+ — to be shielded by the one you love.

—⏵ the eye of the beholder (zhongli)

miscellaneous / multiple

⏵ in excess (ft. zhongli + xiao)

⏵ new hopes (ft. the arataki gang)

⏵ emotions (ft. mondstat)

⏵ the young (ft. your main!)

—⏵ still too young (ft… a lot of ppl)

⏵ plagued (ft. diluc + kaeya)

⏵ reverse isekai drabble (ft. your main!)

⏵ slapfight (ft. a lot of people-)

⏵ mea maxima culpa (ft. zhongli + barbara)

⏵ in the stars (ft mona + your main!)

⏵ replacement (ft. kaeya + venti + albedo + xiao)

⏵ discretion advised (ft. mondstat)

⏵ warmth (ft. every pyro character as of 3.4)

⏵ a soft place to land (ft. zhongli + kaeya + diluc + alhaitham + tighnari)

⏵ constellations (ft. barbara + thoma + heizou + collei + kujou sara + sucrose + candace +ganyu)

⏵ connection (ft. diluc + kaeya + kazuha + albedo + kaveh)

⏵ your shield, a sword (ft. thoma + tighnari + zhongli + alhaitham + cyno + albedo)

⏵ divine favor (ft. yae miko + itto + kazuha + kaeya + chongyun + noelle)

⏵ dead leaves (ft. ..people)

—⏵ new sprouts (ft. chongyun)

⏵ the rule of threes (ft. albedo + his brother)

⏵ darling, my dear (ft. diluc + tighnari + childe + xiao + kazuha)

⏵ sandy refuge (ft. nahida + wanderer)

⏵ dancing soldiers (ft. aether)

⏵ a break in routine (ft. alhaitham + kaveh + sethos)

⏵ snapshot (ft. tighnari + neuvillette

please report any missing entries or misleading content as soon as possible !

thank you for reading !

[zriasstuff]

All because I liked a boy

Theodore Nott x reader

Before you scroll: THANK YOU FOR 314 FOLLOWERS RAHHH <<33 (the pi number is perfect) and special shoutout to @babygoddam who ALWAYS likes my shit first, you a real one. Feel absolutely free to send in requests (totally not because im running out of ideas)!!!! // pt.2 here

Summary: Theo is dating Pansy, but is also seeing you secretly behind her back. What happens when you get sick of that and present him an ultimatum. Will it be her or you? And what if a unexpected friendship develops from all this?

It’s your last year at hogwarts, so that makes you about 17/18 yo.

Everything about your clandestine meetups behind the quidditch field was morally wrong. As you’re walking up to your meetup spot, you feel the urge to stop yourself and go back to your dorm. You want to, and most importantly should stop making the same mistake again and again. But your lack of self control would be the eventual death of you.

Actually, no. Theodore Nott would be the eventual death of you. He was the reason for your lack of self control.

The freezing January air made it impossible to breathe, your red nose hurting from every drawn breath. Shivers ran through your body, all the way to your head where you were experiencing a first hand brain freeze. How was it possible that this is what your life has come to.

Through the foggy air, you eventually make out a tall and lean figure, approaching you with arms crossed and head down. Death has arrived.

“My bad on suggesting to meet up here in this crappy weather, but my dorm is occupied”, he breathed out while clouds of vapor escaped his mouth.

“What about the library then?”, you suggested. Any place inside would be better than this.

“No”, he decisively rejects your idea while shaking his head.

“Why not”, you ask.

“You know why”, he says, sounding increasingly annoyed.

“I don’t” You do. You know exactly why. You want to hear him say it.

“Don’t do this”

“I really don’t know”

“Stop, I really don't want to do this right now” Theo let out a repressed huff with his head lowered. One of his hands that was in his jacket pocket began ruffling through his hair. Whenever he was uneasy he did that.

“Fine”, you let it go. Truth be told, you were also afraid that you wouldn’t be able to digest what Theo would say. On one side, you knew that this was wrong. But on the other hand, admitting it was wrong meant that you would have to end it, otherwise it would make you guys horrible people.

Not that you weren’t horrible people now, but saying it just made it all the more real. Real is bad. Reality sucks. It was easier to hide in a bubble.

Theo looks you in the eyes again, assessing that this probably wasn’t a great time to do anything. But he didn’t want to make you feel like trash either.

“So how was your day?”, he awkwardly asks.

“We don’t have to do this, don’t pretend you actually care”, you sigh. His attempt was meant well, but it was futile. He could never make you feel fully cared for. And that was alright. You know you don’t deserve it anyway.

“I do care”, he exhales while nailing you with his intense stare.

“For your dirty mistress? How naive do you think i am”

“So you do want to do this right now” You thought you didn’t, but today seemed to be especially hard on you. Perhaps it was the stress from classes, perhaps it was the passive aggressive letter you got from your parents, or perhaps it was Theo barely acknowledging your existence in between classes.

“If not now, when then? I'm getting sick of not talking about it” It was time to face reality and put your fears aside.

“I thought you were okay with this”, he raised his voice confusingly.

“With being your side chick who can’t be seen or associated with you in public? Am I okay with seeing you prance around with Pansy, while I have to meet you out here like this?”

“Hey I'm not the bad guy who is forcing you to do this”

Theodore Nott wasn’t forcing you to do anything. No. He would just call you baby behind closed doors. Buy you flowers. Secretly spend nights with you. Anything a boyfriend would do, just without the emotional attachment.

And Pansy. His girlfriend he actually prances around with. His girlfriend who thinks she means the world to him. This slippery slope with Theodore down to where you were now started approximately four months ago. He had gotten into a really bad fight with her and at a party he started flirting with you. He lied about having broken up with her.

The worst part— you didn’t even find out up until two months later. In those two months he had obviously made up with her and didn’t end it, but he was sneaky. You had to give him credit for having juggled the two of you for that long without either noticing. You guess it helped that you were in Gryffindor. But after two months Theo got tired of being on edge all the time, so he decided to make his relationship with Pansy public again.

Why didn't you end it with him back then? Good question. All you remember is a bunch of unconvincing bullshit from him. But as unconvincing as it was, he gave you a sense of comfort. And although he didn’t make you feel fully cared for, he was still better than your supposed friends. Those two months you lived in the unknown were special, you had to admit. You felt special. But even the brightest spark eventually dies out.

“I know you’re not forcing me, but I'm getting fucking exhausted of this. And I feel terrible about Pansy”

“Why do you even care about her?”

“WHY DON’T YOU?!”, you suddenly burst out. Yes, he chose her over you because he had been together with her before you got together with him. Admittedly, he’s treating her better than you. But you don’t hate her. She actually didn't do anything. And unlike you, she isn't actively hurting you. It was so frustrating to know that you were choosing some guy over the “girls protect girls” vow. All because you couldn’t handle being alone again. Pathetic.

“Do you realize how ridiculous you sound Theo? Saying you like both of us, but in reality you treat both of us like shit.”

“Well what do you want me to do?”, he angrily asked.

“I'm giving you an ultimatum. Either you break up with me and stay with her. Or you tell her and deal with her breaking up with you. If she doesn’t, and if you also don’t, then I will anyway”

Perhaps it sounded a bit too extreme at the moment. You were definitely the last person to talk about morals, but it wasn’t too late yet. In the long run, it would benefit Theo too. A huge weight was finally going to be lifted off of your shoulders.

“Please, you’re not thinking straight”, he pitifully pleads in a last attempt to escape his responsibility and ultimately reality.

“I mean this works just fine. Pansy is happy, I can make you happy, and i promise you won’t feel like a dirty mistress”

A scoff is all you’re able to respond with. “You got until the end of the week, otherwise I will immediately cut off any ties with you”

Are you as important to Theo as he says you are? It’s wrong, but innerly you wish that he would break up with Pansy without telling her. That would be ideal for you. Freaking Theodore Nott, who showed you what kind of person you really were.

The next day, you caught Theo and Pansy making out in the hallways. “Ugh get a room”, you think to yourself. The day after, still no change. And on the day after that, everything was still the same. And as one could imagine, on the fourth day, still nothing.

With Friday approaching, Theo would only have two more days to make his decision according to your ultimatum. Perhaps he thought that you didn’t mean it seriously, but you did. You swore to yourself that if after two days still nothing happened, you’d break up with him. “Break up”, as in quit being fuck buddies, it wasn’t like you were in a real relationship.

Consumed by your own thoughts, you apparently missed McGonagall's announcement. Suddenly half the class was packing their stuff and getting up.

“Hey what’s going on”, you ask a guy sitting in front of you.

“Did you seriously not pay attention?”, he hisses.

“What do you think, smart-ass, since I’m asking you right now?” This was not the time to be lecturing you.

“We got a new seating arrangement, she just read out all the pairs who are going to be sitting next to each other. I think you’re with Pansy”

Shit. You swallow hard at the mention of her name.

“You sure?”, you ask dumbfounded.

“I mean she’s walking up to you right now”, he says shrugging his shoulders, “anyway gotta go”

You hope to fuck that he was wrong. But after turning around frantically, you observe that Pansy was in fact walking up to you. Out of all forty students, of course you would be next to her.

“Heyyy, looks like we’re going to be stuck with each other for a semester. Cute bracelet by the way, where’d you get it?”, she greets you in quite a chipper tone.

“You’re boyfriend actually got it for me after our first time”, is what you would say if you didn’t lie. Instead you reply “thanks, a friend got it for me but I don’t know from where”

“Y’know I actually have a really similar one”, she says as she’s sitting down next to you and pulls up her sleeve, “Theo gave it to me”. It was basically the same bracelet, just in gold instead of silver. So, what were the chances that Theo bought several bracelets in the same shop and just gave them out to whoever he fancied at the moment. Not even the slightest effort.

“How sweet”, you force yourself to say in the happiest tone you can manage.

“So what’s going on in your life?”, she continues the conversation, “I just realized that I barely know anything about you, even though we’ve known each other since year one”

You almost want to say “trust me, you don’t want to know what’s going on in my life”. Instead you say “nothing much, I’ve been thinking about maybe trying out for the quidditch team”

“Oh how cool, I’ve seen you fly in class, you totally should try out. You know during the last game between Slytherin and Gryffindor Blaise did this really funny thing where…”

What Blaise did, you’ll never know because you tuned out. But what you do know now is that Pansy is actually an incredibly nice person. In just five minutes she has shown you support, complimented you and began talking to you like you were her new friend. Perhaps she thought you could be friends. After the lesson ended, you felt almost carefree. You guys barely got any work done, but instead gossiped about anything that came to mind. Time practically passed away in seconds, and you were just hugging Pansy goodbye before going separate ways. Nothing felt weird at all until…

As you’re about to pull away from the hug, you catch Theo staring intensely from the corner of your eye. Was he suspecting something? Truth be told, you could’ve inquired more about his and Pansy’s relationship, but you decided to not be nosy. The less you knew, the better.

Later on, after you spent hours feeling like an empty shell of a human being, you slouch to your dinner table. During the day your thoughts felt like a huge, untieable knot, so you decided to ignore everything. When all classes ended, you immediately hopped into bed, rolling around, slowly rotting. Feeling nothing was better than thinking too much. There was simply too much. There was the question of whether you were a terrible human being, wondering if you should completely rebrand yourself, thinking about what Theo would do and about how it would affect Pansy, and so much more. In the end, nothing would be answered by just thinking about it.

Even while eating dinner, you have to restrain yourself from letting your most inner thoughts wander. Though, Pansy sure added fuel to the fire by smiling at you. Genuinely flashing you the purest, brightest smile. For no reason at all. Just to be nice probably. Instead of smiling back like a normal human being, you almost choke on your water.

This was it. You couldn’t pretend to be unbothered. You had to end it. You hated that option because it meant that Theo could escape from his responsibility, but it also meant that you could redeem yourself. Right? After all, you also carried some of that responsibility.

To contact Theo, you wrote “meet me at astronomy tower, important!” on a small piece of paper and slipped it into his hand after dinner was over. Hopefully no one saw that transaction. Since everyone always pushed another, it was only natural to bump into someone and touch their hand or arm.

Halfway on your way to the tower, you question if all this had been a huge mistake. Would you even have the guts to do what you had set out to do ? Theo could be so goddamn persuasive sometimes.

On your last few steps you lose a bit of balance and barely make it to the balcony, feeling like you would collapse any time soon. It even takes you a second to realize that Theo was already there. Before he turned around you just thought that it was some random guy.

“How were you faster than me”, you huff completely out of breath.

“I have my ways”, he says. “So why’d you want to meet me here”, he asks, seeming disturbingly nonchalant. As if he couldn’t guess the possible reasons.

“I want this to be as quick and painless as possible”, you begin. You gain an eyebrow raise from the otherwise collected looking guy.

“Let’s just officially end this. You and me. We are officially over.”

You were pretty sure that you didn’t sound as confident as you wish you had, but nonetheless you had done it. Officially calling the breaks would be your ticket to a normal life again. Whew did that feel freeing. But this wasn’t fully over yet.

“I thought it was up to me”, Theo sounded agitated now.

“Well i changed my mind”

“That’s not fai-“

“Seriously, Theo, you want to talk about fair ?”

“So what if i told you that I would’ve chosen you over Pansy”, he tells you while throwing his arms around. “You just want to give up like a coward?”, he spits at you, blowing up in anger and disbelief. His widening eyes and clenching jaw told you were enough to convince you that he was full on serious.

Is that what you were doing? Giving up on something genuine? You never thought about it in that way. Sure, your connection to Theo was undeniably strong, but were you ready for actual commitment?

“You don’t get to say that”, you defensively say as you take a step back. He immediately gets in your face again.

With tears forming in your eyes, threatening to spill out, and quivering lips, you try your best to curve your mouth upward and take your last stand.

“I am not giving up. We never had anything to begin with because you were a coward.”

He steps even closer, his nose touching yours. His dead brown eyes looked hauntingly beautiful in the moment. “But don’t you see, I want to give us a try”

“I CAN’T DO THIS THEO”, you yell in his face, not caring that your tears streamed down your face. All that bottled up anger came down to this. “WHAT DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND, THERE IS NO US.” Just as you say that, you frantically tear off his gifted silver bracelet and throw it in his face. “We’re done Theodore” are your last words before storming off.

When you notice him following, you run even faster, yelling “STOP FOLLOWING ME FOR FUCKS SAKE”. Eventually you stop hearing his footsteps, and you allow yourself to break down in an empty corridor. You keep muttering “it’s for the best” as a way of reassurance, but you don’t even know if that’s true anymore.

That night you went to sleep, wanting nothing but to drown out everything. Instead you got a fucking nightmare about the entire events at the astronomy tower. Only, you were watching from the third person point of view this time.

Luckily, as you wake up, you realize that it was a Saturday, so you could be in peace a little longer. Apparently you also woke up pretty late because you were alone in the dorm. Great, your “friends” didn’t even bother pretending to include you. It was always like that. They were nice to your face, but actively excluded you. What was it about you that alienated you from everyone?

*BANG*

HOLY FUCK.

You suddenly jolt up and watch Pansy come through the door. She looked furious and extremely messy. You notice her heavy eye bags and smeared mascara.

“YOU WANT TO TELL ME WHY THE FUCK YOUR BRACELET WAS ON THEOS NIGHTSTAND?!?”, she shouts, probably loud enough for everyone in Gryffindor to hear.

“What are you talking ab-” It was mid sentence when you realize that you in fact threw your bracelet in Theo’s face yesterday and that Pansy recognised it from McGonagall's class.

There was no point in lying. “Pansy please I can explain”, you desperately choke out, feeling a knot in your throat.

“Fuck you. I actually liked you, but i guess you are just another snake”

Before you can actually explain yourself, she already left. All by yourself, you begin to sob. Perhaps your “friends” were right in excluding you. You wouldn’t even want to be friends with yourself.

This mess you were in— what if you never went to that party where you met Theo? But that wasn’t even the most important part. You had to find a way to make it up to Pansy.

Argh this is it…for now ? So if you read the deleted original fic “Baby”, you will recognise the first part, but not the rest. I asked if you wanted a pt.2, but then i realised i could just make all of it into one, longer part. I really really hope you found this if you read “Baby”. And who knows maybe this storyline will continue.

Also thank you for the people who commented, i tagged y’all (except for two i couldn’t find), so you could find this more easily. @onyxwingsandcrowblackdreams @princessofsilverandserpents @pumpkinchee @laur20a23 @ladyblablabla @the-mrs-malik-styles @boomdolle @mmeskywalker

[z0-ne]

How would the Zoldyck family feel about seeing Future Killua, y'know future Killua is all powerful and all but they also see with KIDS and his wife, but his wife is powerful like POWERFUL POWERFUL, and so are his kids but Killua and his wife don't agree on the kids being assassin's. And the kids don't want to be either. But despite all that, they're like a powerful family that can't be touched. How would the zoldycks react to this? Like headcanons of each Zoldycks reaction😳

YES A HUNTER X HUNTER REQUEST <3 I've been wanting one of these for so long <33

This is actually a really good question, I can't imagine any of them having a positive reaction to their most promising family member basically ending the family "tradition" it'd be a big loss and they won't be happy, accept alluka of.

WHAT IF: What if the Zoldycks had their most promising member go against their traditions with their own children?

SILVIA

● To say he was disappointed would be a huge understatement.

● Killua has seen his father upset before but to visibly see it on his face? It was scary, but he had you by his side to make it easier staying stern with his decision.

● He was very quiet, and it was somehow worse than him yelling. Just quietly staring you two down with his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes filled with a chilling rage. The room felt colder and you felt the fear of an upcoming fight just building, not to mention Killua tensing his muscles in preparation didn't help.

●Then his expression softened and he closed his eyes and sighed.

●"Fine, that's your decision but I can't say I'm not disappointed that you're willing to waste such potential."

● You were both relieved to not have to destroy your home and possibly loose limbs just for the sake of not putting your children through some trauma.

● He leaves without issues shockingly. He doesn't even ask to see the children again, if they approach he'll speak and tell them goodbye but he makes no issues.

● In the back of his head however he's thinking that assassin is just in their blood and eventually he'll get his way and those children will give into their urges.

● It will happen. One way or another, he'll make sure of it

KIKIYO

● To be fair, Killua didn't even want her to know you were pregnant or gave birth, she only found out because she forced illumi to tell her once he came back from Stalking you two.

● Since she knew it was hardly anything stopping her from visiting, and with you trying to keep the peace for the sake of the children Killua really couldn't just kill her at the front door.

● She dotted over her grandchildren and kept talking so fondly of how amazing they'd be as assasins how they'd be merciless and talented.

"They won't be assasins." You quickly spoke as you had a butler take the children into another room, Killua and you standing beside eachother and looking at her as her face went to shock.

●She was very verbal with her disappointment and anger.

"HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT THE FAMILY LIKE THIS?! YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST MAKE THAT DECISION!?"

● You simply watched her, a bit amused at her tantrum and Killua was less than pleased to hear her loud banshee like screaming again.

"THESE CHILDREN MUST BE ASSASINS WHAT WOULD YOUR FATHER THINK?! YOU CAN'T JUST WASTE SUCH POTENTIAL-"

● It's hard stopping him really, especially with someone he resents as much as his mother with no fear of a fight.

"These are our children to do as we please until they get older and say otherwise and our decision is final no matter what you, or anyone else says." Killua makes it very clear with his stern tone and cold eyes as he forces his mother to stop her tantrum.

● Unfortunately her silence doesn't last long and she goes on a long loud rant about how he is betraying the family and being a disappointment.

● So to prevent Killua from lashing out you have security drag her out kicking and screaming. Literally.

ILLUMI

● Killua didn't even want him within one hundred feet of his children so this conversation was had far from your home.

● "You are wasting potential." He says in that blank tone, his large fish eyes staring into your soul as he shifts his gaze to you, making you uncomfortable enough to cringe. "Is it because of the woman? I'd assume such a distraction would effect you, had I known it'd be to such a severity I would have handled it long ago."

● His original plan was to use his pin on you, to shift your mentality to his liking so you'd convince Killua otherwise, and you didn't see it coming considering you hardly interacted with illumi since you and Killua were children.

● Killua however, having grown up with him saw it from a mile away and stood infront of you, immediately making his hostility known, not even hiding his bloodlust as he stares his older brother down.

●Disappointed with the obstacle Illumi sighs and puts the pin away, he's no idiot, a fight with Killua now that he's fully grown and unlocked his potential to its full is a death sentence waiting to happen, and now that you'll be made aware of what he was gonna do he won't risk fighting you either.

● "Fine, I won't. However I hope you know this is a foolish decision. Those children will be assasins, it's in their blood as much as it is in yours."

"Not if we have anything to say about it."

● Illumi stares at the two of you for an unnatural amount of time, it gets uncomfortable but then his gaze shifts to your home in the far distance.

● "Don't even think about it. You are to stay far away from my family, especially my children."

● Illumi looks back at Killua and then at you. "They are lovely assasins."

● Then he turns to leave.

● Out of everyone, Illumi is the worst member of the family to ever find out you two had children.

● Because he'll make sure they become assasins.

● One way or another.

MILLUKI.

(My love ♡♡)

● To be fair he doesn't care.

● When the news was spread that you guys had kids he just shrugged it off and kept either gaming or building bombs, whatever he does.

● Killua left the family quite a while ago and the animosity that was once held for him shifted into a lack of care for many of the things he did.

● However he did call him wondering what their mother was screeching about.

"Why is mother screeching about failure?"

"We won't let the children be forced to be assasins."

"Oh, whatever." He then hangs up.

● He's not going to waste his time convincing his competition over the years to make more competition with his kids. He's too old for that at this point.

● It doesn't benefit him or complicate things too much. If mother yells to loud he'll slap on headphones and let that be the end of it.

●Visiting? What for? So he can get banned like his mother did? No. He'll send a drone to see if anything changes with the children or if they inherited skills of any sort but that's rare.

● One time one of the children noticed and you watched from afar as they held a conversation with him for about fifteen seconds before the drone left.

● But really he doesn't care too much if at all.

KALLUTO

● As one of the only siblings that directly Apologized and made an effort to rebuild a strained relationship with Killua Kalluto is the only assasin who was willingly told of your pregnancy and the birth of the children.

● They are happy for you both for having the children albeit confused about the fact that they won't be assasins.

● They question it at first but when Killua stays firm and explains it's too much for them they back down and respect his and your decision.

● They weren't exactly surprised considering Killua hated being an assasin and your background on being used because of your family. It's not surprising assasin business isn't something you'd want your children apart of.

● They don't want children so they don't understand your love for them, but they are respectful and leave it at you both not wanting it.

♡♡ALLUKA♡♡♡

● Oh she was ecstatic when they were born. She lives with the two of you so of course she was first to know!

● She doesn't mind that they won't be assasins so when she finds now she shrugs it off. She'll love her nieces and nephews regardless.

● Her experience with assasins obviously isn't that great so she could be a bit relieved because they wouldn't be following that.

● So she's happy.

ZENO

● He likely passed away around this time so he's rolling in his grave.

[pinchofhoney]

You know I can't stay away from your writing for long so here I am againnn....angst prompt 5 and fluff promt 10. Besties to loverss plsssss.....with either Sirius Black or Kaz I can't choose

No angst...I can't take it rnnnn 😭

take a hint # 200 followers special event

» prompt event » special events masterlist

angst prompt five: “please leave before i lose myself to madness and beg you to stay”

fluff prompt ten: and it was when A watched B look at someone else the way they wanted to be looked at. does A realize how much in love with their best friend they were?

gif is not mine, credit to the owner

kaz brekker x fem!reader

word count: 3.8k

warning: kaz has no romantic feelings for inej in this one, it doesn't have a specific time in the canon, i made up one of the characters, best friends to lovers (between the lines), mention of murder

summary: It seems that Kaz always expects you to read between the lines, even though you are a thief and not an expert in interpreting written texts.

a/n: whenever i see notifications from you, i feel like a happy golden retriever puppy, hello!!<33 i feel that writing anything with sirius would be easier for me in almost every way, especially since that character has been my favorite since childhood, but i wanted to try something new and i was thrilled with the chance to do so! (it's a mess)

pages that may interest you: masterlist ♡ taglist ♡ who i write for

As you stepped out into the gloomy, rain-soaked streets of Ketterdam, you could felt the weight of the city's bearing down upon you. It was a place where danger lurked around every corner, where crime and corruption were the norm, and where only the strongest and most cunning survived. The city's winding, labyrinthine streets were treacherous and difficult to navigate, with slimy cobblestones that seemed to shift and writhe beneath your feet. The stench of sewage and decay hanged heavy in the air, a reminder of the filth and squalor that permeated every inch of the city.

The people of Ketterdam were a rough and ragged bunch, with sharp tongues and even sharper knives. Every interaction was a potential threat, every stranger a possible enemy. It was a place where trust was hard to come by, and betrayal was always just a heartbeat away. And yet, despite all of this, you couldn't help but feel drawn to the city. It was the only place where you've ever felt truly at home, where you could be yourself without fear of judgment or rejection. It was a feeling that both comforted and terrified you, and you knew that you'll never be able to escape it, no matter how hard you try.

You hated Ketterdam with a passion, yet you found yourself unable to imagine living anywhere else. Maybe it was because you hated yourself too, the mere thought of being ordinary filled you with a deep-seated loathing. You had no talents, no skills that could make others look at you with admiration, and to make matters worse, you weren't your parents' favorite child either. That distinction belonged to your older sister, the Grisha who had always been showered with adoration and affection, even when she was away in the Little Palace, thousands of miles from home.

Your parents had always compared you to her, highlighting your shortcomings and making you feel like a disappointment. Even when she was gone, they treated you worse than they ever had before, as if you brought them shame just by existing.

Yet, in Ketterdam, your ordinariness was a blessing. As a member of a gang of thieves, you were the perfect fit. Your lack of beauty and grace made you unremarkable, allowing you to blend into the shadows and avoid attention. You moved with ease through the convoluted streets of the city, navigating its twists and turns, always keeping your wits about you. Of course, there were a times of doubts, where you couldn't help but think that perhaps being strikingly beautiful would be an asset to your profession, especially when robbing wealthy merchants who came to Ketterdam seeking to indulge in its illicit pleasures. But even then, you knew that such a gift would come with its own set of complications, and in Ketterdam, complications were the last thing you needed.

You pulled the hood of your dark cloak over your head, lowering it slightly to obscure your face. You didn't want to be recognized by anyone, but at the same time, you needed to keep an eye on your surroundings and react quickly if needed.

You hastily tucked your frozen hands into the pockets of your coat and quickened your step as you saw two men who were part of the Dime Lions. Your heart skipped a beat as you recognized them. Lately, you had been avoiding these people more than usual, ever since you got into an unnecessary street fight with several members of the gang. They had made it clear that they weren't happy with you, and you knew that they wouldn't hesitate to attack you if given the chance.

But it wasn't just the Dime Lions that you were avoiding. Some people in Ketterdam knew about things they shouldn’t. It was no secret that rumors spread like wildfire in this city, and often found their way into the hands of those who would use them for their own gain. But in a world full of terrible people, you had to be worse.

You walked with no clear destination in mind, driven by the need to distance yourself as much as possible from the Crow Club. It was only moments ago that you had found yourself in a heated argument with the one person who mattered the most to you. His stubborn pride had come between you once again, making you curse his name to the heavens above.

The tension in the hallway was thick enough to cut with a knife as you and Kaz stood facing each other, both seething with frustration. His eyes glinted in the dim light, anger etched deep into the lines of his face. What had started as a minor disagreement had quickly escalated into a full-blown argument, fueled by the unspoken feelings that both tried to hide.

“You don't understand, Y/N,” Kaz growled, his voice low and scratchy. “You never do. You're always off on your own, thinking you know what's best for everyone. You can't keep taking unnecessary risks. It's not just your life on the line.”

“I know that,” you snapped back, your eyes flashing with anger. “But we can’t just sit back and do nothing. We need to take action if we want to survive.”

“Of course we need to take action,” Kaz shot back, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “I'm not saying we should do nothing. But we need to be smart about it. We can't rush in blindly. That's why I'm in charge. I know what I'm doing.”

You rolled your eyes, exasperated. “Sometimes being smart means taking risks. That's how we get ahead.”

A heavy silence hung in the air between you, filled only by the sound of your breathing and the rustle of your clothes. Kaz's gaze bore into you with an intensity that made your skin crawl.

His jaw tightened, and he spoke through gritted teeth. “Fine,” he said, his voice icy. “Do whatever you want. But don't expect me to follow you blindly into danger.”

You took a step closer to Kaz, your eyes blazing. “I don't need you to follow me, Kaz. I can take care of myself.”

His eyes narrowed, and he took a step back, his hand on his cane for support. “Then go ahead and do that. But please, leave before I lose myself to madness and beg you to stay.”

Your chest tightened with hope as Kaz's words registered in your mind. Could it be that he actually wanted you to stay? But your hopes were dashed as you saw him turn his back and begin walking away. The urge to call out to him, to make him admit his feelings, consumed you, but you knew it was pointless. Kaz Brekker was not one to bare his soul.

With a frustrated growl, you clenched your fists so tightly that your nails dug painfully into your palms. Without another word, you turned and stormed down the stairs. Ignoring Jesper's questioning gaze and Wylan's confused expression, you burst out into the rain-soaked streets of the Barrel, letting the cool droplets wash away your anger and frustration.

Your mind was a chaotic mess of emotions as you walked, all directed towards the one man who had the power to make you feel so much. Kaz's words echoed in your head, spoken in his rough voice, which usually sounded like the most beautiful melody to your ears, but now it was a curse that tormented you and did not allow you to find peace.

“I don't need you, Kaz. You're the last person I want,” you muttered under your breath, and as if fate was playing a game, you bumped into the very person with whom the whole argument began. What a coincidence.

You lifted your gaze, and your eyes met with the one who infamously called himself Ketterdam's most dangerous person. Although he didn't know you, you were familiar with him well enough to know that he would want to have you with him despite your undistinguished appearance and lack of special skills.

In a rush of panic, you lowered your head, feigning humility to mask your face. “I apologize, sir,” you began, trying to hide the hint of fear you could sense in your voice. “I should be more careful.”

The man smirked, his eyes scanning over your form. “It's no problem, sweetheart,” he said, his voice oozing with arrogance and entitlement. “But you should watch where you're going. It's not safe to be wandering around these parts alone.” His hand brushed against your arm, sending shivers down your spine.

You flinched at the touch, trying to pull away from him, but then he grabbed you. You knew what type of man he was, and the last thing you wanted was to be alone with him in a dark alley. You tried to think of an excuse to leave, but before you could say anything, the gravelly rasp of a familiar voice interrupted.

“Is there a problem here, gentlemen?” Kaz's voice was calm and controlled, but there was an underlying threat that made the man release his grip on you and take a step back.

“None at all,” the man replied smoothly.

Kaz stepped closer, his eyes narrowing. “I suggest you leave the lady alone then.”

The man scoffed. “I suggest you mind your own business, boy.”

Kaz's hand, covered with a leather glove, tightened on the crow's head ornamenting his cane. “I'll make it my business if I see someone harassing a woman in my city.”

The man sneered, clearly not intimidated by Kaz's threat. “Your city?” he asked with a hint of derision, studying Kaz more thoughtfully. Suddenly, as if he had just connected the dots, he added, “Last time I checked, it was still called Ketterdam, not Dirtyhands's kingdom.”

Kaz's expression didn't change, but you could sense the tension in the air. “Believe what you want, but if you don't leave now, I'll make sure you regret it.”

The man seemed to consider his options for a moment before finally releasing a grunt of annoyance and walking away, oblivious to the inevitable fate that awaited him regardless of his decision. Death was the only possible outcome and the only variable was who would carry out the execution.

Finally, the man was out of sight, and you released a breath you didn't even realize you were holding. Kaz turned to you, and you met his gaze with a mixture of gratitude and anger. Despite feeling indebted to him for his intervention, you couldn't help but feel frustrated by his interference. “I didn't need your help,” you said, trying to sound confident.

Kaz raised an eyebrow. “It sure looked like you did.”

You glared at him, feeling embarrassed and exposed. He had seen you in a moment of vulnerability, and you hated yourself for it. “I could have handled it,” you insisted, although you knew it was a lie. You couldn't have handled the situation on your own. You were a skilled thief, but you lacked the physical strength to overpower a man twice your size. You were not armed with revolvers, nor did you possess the abilities of a Corpsewitch. You were just an average person, with quick fingers and the ability to pick locks, nothing more.

“How did you know where to find me?” you added.

“Did you think I wouldn't follow you? I had a feeling you'd get yourself into trouble, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon.”

You rolled your eyes, but a small part of you was grateful that Kaz had your back. “And what about-”

“Inej will take care of him,” he said, cutting you off, signaling that he didn't want to discuss the matter any further. “Let's head back to the Slat. You're soaked.”

Kaz started walking away, disappearing into a dark alley without waiting for you. You sighed and followed him, feeling the dampness of your clothes sticking to your skin.

The walk back to the Slat was silent, with only the sound of raindrops hitting the cobblestones to fill the air. As you entered the place, you immediately noticed the curious looks of your crewmates. Jesper was there, even though he usually preferred gambling at the Crows Cub and Matthias stood at the top of the stairs, watching you with his arms crossed. It seemed like everyone was waiting for you to return, and you couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Ignoring the greetings, Kaz announced, “You'll never guess who Y/N met.” The room fell silent, and Kaz removed his hat as if to emphasize his point. “Antoon Beudeker.”

A hum of surprised sounds ran through the room, and all eyes turned to you. You felt uncomfortable being the center of attention. You had been trying to track down Beudeker for weeks, but he always managed to slip away from you, as if someone in the Dregs was tipping him off about your plans.

Nina spoke up, breaking the silence. “What do you mean by that?”

Kaz looked at you, not bothering to hide his annoyance. “A talent for stealing isn't Y/N's only skill. As you can see, the talent for trouble far outweighs it.”

You shifted uncomfortably under Kaz's gaze, feeling a mixture of embarrassment and frustration. You knew you had made a mistake by bumping into Beudeker, but it wasn't even your fault. All you wanted was to cut yourself off after the argument with Kaz, and now he was the one who was right again.

Wylan's voice carried through the quiet room, breaking the tension. “What are we do with him now?” he asked, but no one answered, assuming that it was up to their missing Wraith to handle the situation.

Jesper's frustration boiled over, and he jumped up from his seat. “It's not fair!” he exclaimed, pointing his revolver at the wall. “I was the one who wanted to put a bullet between his eyes.”

Matthias stepped forward, before anyone reacted to sharpshooter's words, his expression serious. “We need to figure out who's been leaking our plans to Antoon. This could be dangerous for all of us.”

“I agree,” Nina added. “We need to find out who's been betraying us and deal with them.”

Wylan's voice piped up, “What if we set a trap?”

Kaz nodded, considering the idea.

“We could feed different information to each member of the Dregs and see which version gets back to someone who will claim to be Beudeker now. That way, we'll know who we can trust and who we can't,” you suggested.

Nina grinned. “I like it. And if we catch the traitor, we can make an example out of them.”

Jesper's eyes gleamed with anticipation. “I'll provide the entertainment.”

Matthias shook his head. “No, Jesper. We can't take the law into our own hands. We'll handle the traitor according to our own rules, but we won't kill them.”

Jesper shrugged, disappointed but not arguing. “But killing is our rule, Helvar.”

Matthias's expression darkened, but before he could reply, Kaz spoke up. “That's enough. We're not discussing this any further. We need to focus on finding the leak first, not arguing about how to deal with them.”

Jesper and Matthias both looked at Kaz, but neither of them said anything. The silence in the room was heavy with tension, and you could sense the frustration emanating from Jesper and the anger radiating from Matthias. Kaz's tone had effectively shut down the conversation, but you knew that it was far from over.

“We'll start investigating tomorrow,” Kaz's voice filled the room again. “For now, let's all get some rest. We have a long day ahead of us.”

As Kaz's words faded away, the tension in the room dissipated, and everyone began to go their separate ways. You hesitated, still reeling from the events of the evening, unsure of what to do next.

Sensing your unease, Kaz approached you, his expression serious but not unkind. “I know this is a lot to take in,” he said, his voice low. “But we have a job to do, and we can't afford to let our emotions cloud our judgment. I need you to be focused tomorrow, do you understand?”

You nodded, feeling a bit guilty for today’s argument. “Yes. I'll be ready,” you replied, determined to not let him down.

Kaz gave you a small nod of approval before turning to leave. You watched him go, listening to the rhythmic tapping of his cane on the panels. The weight of his words settling on your shoulders. It was true that you couldn't afford to let your emotions get in the way of the investigation, but it was easier said than done. The events of the evening had shaken you to your core, and you weren't sure if you could push them aside so easily. Life in Ketterdam has been hard, but never before has such danger reached you directly.

With a heavy sigh, you made your way back to your room, hoping that a good night's rest would help clear your mind.

You were surprised to find the Antoon's spy so easily, feeling foolish for not discovering it sooner. Despite the setback, the mood in the Crow Club remained peaceful as the days passed. The seventh of you sat together, planning your next move and gossiping about Ketterdam's richest people. Kaz seemed more relaxed than usual, and even Jesper and Matthias were on their best behavior, seemingly content to simply enjoy the moment of peace.

As the night wore on and the group's conversation continued to flow, you couldn't help but notice Kaz's eyes on you. You caught his gaze a few times, and each time you felt a jolt of electricity run through you. It was a feeling you had been trying to ignore for a while now, but it was becoming increasingly difficult with each passing day.

As you turned to look at Jesper, who was recounting a funny story, you noticed Kaz's expression change slightly. It was a subtle shift, but you could tell he was suddenly distant, lost in thought.

After a few minutes, Kaz stood up and motioned for you to follow him. You looked around at the others, confused, but they simply shrugged and continued their conversation. You followed Kaz up the dimly lit hallway to his office.

Once inside, Kaz closed the door and motioned for you to take a seat. You sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk, feeling a bit nervous. Kaz took a seat opposite you, resting his cane on the desk, right next to the chair and leaned forward, his elbows on his desk.

His expression was serious, but not unkind. “I wanted to talk to you about something,” he began, his voice low. “I've noticed that things between us have been a bit... different lately.”

You shifted in your seat, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “Different how?” you asked, not sure if you really wanted to know the answer.

Kaz leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. “I think you know what I mean,” he replied, his gaze fixed on yours.

Your heart skipped a beat as you realized what he was talking about. “Kaz, I...” you began, but he cut you off with a wave of his hand.

“I just wanted you to know that I'm aware of the situation,” he said, his tone even, then he paused for a moment. “You know, Y/N. I've been thinking a lot lately about what it means to care for someone. To really care for someone,” he looked directly at you, his eyes intense, emphasizing the weight of his words. “And I've come to the conclusion that there's no one I care for more than you.”

You were completely taken aback by Kaz's words. You had never heard him express his feelings so openly before. Your heart raced as you searched his face for any sign of insincerity, but you found none. You were overcome with a mixture of shock, disbelief, and joy.

His heart sank as he watched you gaze at Jesper with a look of admiration and affection earlier, even if you two were just friends. It was then that he realized how deeply in love with you he truly was. He had been trying to ignore his feelings for you for so long, but seeing you look at someone else with such tenderness was too much to bear.

Kaz carefully chose his words, wanting to express his feelings without being too direct. “I've been thinking about our friendship,” he said, his voice low and serious. “I value our bond more than anything else in the world, and I want to make sure that nothing ever comes between us.”

“Why are you bringing this up now?” you asked genuinely confused by Kaz's sudden openness.

He shifted in his seat, looking almost uncomfortable, “Well, I just wanted to make sure that you know how much you mean to me,” Kaz said, his eyes meeting yours. “There's no one else I trust or care for more than you, Y/N.”

You could feel the weight of his words, the sincerity and depth of emotion behind them. You knew that he was a man of few words, and when he spoke, it was always with a purpose. It was hard to reconcile this Kaz with the cold and distant one you had grown accustomed to over the years.

You couldn't help but feel that there was an underlying message in Kaz's words, something that he wasn't explicitly stating. Your intuition was telling you that there was more to the story than what he had let on. You couldn't ignore the nagging feeling that something was amiss.

“Kaz,” you began, your voice hesitant. “Is there something else you want to tell me? Something that you're not saying?”

Kaz's expression remained neutral, but you could sense a hint of discomfort in his demeanor. You knew that he wasn't one to wear his heart on his sleeve, so you weren't surprised that he was hesitant to open up to you completely.

“I've said what I needed to say,” Kaz replied, his voice flat. “There's nothing more to it.”

His reply felt like a dead end, and you couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment. You knew that he was a complex person, with layers that even you couldn't fully comprehend, but you couldn't shake off the sense that he was still holding something back. Nonetheless, you tried to put on a brave face and show your gratitude for his honesty.

“Okay,” you said, rising from your seat. “I appreciate you telling me how you feel. Our friendship means the world to me too, Kaz.” You couldn't help but wonder what his true intentions were, but you knew that you needed to be patient and let him come to you when he was ready.

[osgoss]

My BKDK Band AU (part 1)

Aka my self-indulgent Drummer Bakugou x Bassist Izuku

First things first, Izuku probably learned how to sing first and became part of a choir before he learned to pick up an instrument. He always wanted to play in a band as a kid, and he'd join katsuki's rehearsals just to watch him play.

He only takes interest sometime in his graduating year of high school, when his music teacher (toshinori cough cough) points out how interested he looks while watching katsuki and his band rehearse for a class project. Izuku pretty much throws around excuses as to why he never really learned how to try, from choosing choir first or finding the guitar too complicated, and 'ahh the drums were always kacchan's thing not me' or just not having the talent to play an instrument. Intrigued, Toshinori points out the bass guitar, which isn't as flashy as a guitar or drums or even piano, but certainly just as important as the other instruments, and how learning it would be easier ("what with less strings and less complicated chords, you know?"). For a moment Izuku thinks, a bit hopeful, but then immediately shuts down because he 'wouldn't really have the time to practice it now, and assuming bass guitars are about the same price as an electric guitar, I don't really have that kind of money right now haha'. And then Izuku's final reason would be that he would never dare to outshine or much less step on the same stage as Katsuki Bakugou, the famed drummer.

Toshinori then goes on a tangent of how drums and bass most often than not go hand in hand. While pianos and guitars and singing take care of the melody and tones, drums and bass are important for both the tempo and rythm of a song.

The next time they meet, Toshinori is giving Izuku his old bass guitar, and thats the start of Izuku's journey to learning the bass!!! Personally I like to think Izuku is on the higher notes when it comes to singing, and so bass would also be a refreshing start for him!

As for Katsuki, he's always adored the sound of Izuku's singing voice despite never admitting it. Yet I like to think he has a core memory of them when they were kids, and Izuku sang to him to cheer him up. He never really visited the other's choir practices or rehearsals, but whenever there was a school event or Izuku was asked to sing, Bakugou would always listen intently. In fact, he might've even developed a certain hate for his own voice, with how loud and gruff his voice is, ever since he was a kid. This was the main reason he chose to pick up an instrument, too. He wanted to shine just as much as Izuku in his eyes anyway.

Oh and the reason why Bakugou got a head start on learning the drums was because he had a gameboy as a kid and liked to play rhythm tengoku ALL the time. He got so competitive over it, too.

When Toshinori announces that Izuku will be a part of the band for the project, Katsuki freaks the fuck out. They have this fight for a while, a few weeks before the presentation of their class project, ykno classic bkdk misunderstanding yowza <33 what with Bakugou feeling intimidated by how much Izuku is growing, while also having the slight fear of never hearing Izuku sing again (he feels stupid for it, but never admits it out loud). He does his best to make him give up or discourage him and tell him "you're better off using your ugly nerd voice", which of course Izuku takes the wrong way (can you blame him tbh), and yet Izuku finds himself challenged but hopeful. He doesn't want to throw away the chance (and the guitar) that his teacher gave him. The chance to finally be on the same stage as his childhood friend, to shine just as brightly and beautifully.

They still do rehearse together despite this, and through all the struggle, there are times when their practices turn out better than expected, and in these times, Izuku isn't sworn off at as much.

And then a big fight goes down between the two of them, and they're both angry and arguing because they're running out of time, and Izuku still can't get one part correctly. Bakugou has always been a perfectionist at heart, and Izuku has always respected him for it. But for the first time, Izuku feels just how far apart they are in skill, and he hates it. For now, all he can do is appologize and say "I'll do better" in any semblance to reassure the blonde, but they both know there's just too much at stake amd too much missing. Izuku spends the rest of the night practising until his fingers get blisters.

In the end, Izuku couldn't back out because the other bassist wasn't any better at the bass than Izuku was because he'd thought the greenette wouldn't be replaced at all. In the end, he couldn't perfect the segment he'd wanted to in time, not even on the night before the presentation, no matter how many band aids he used to wrap his blistered up fingers.

On the day of the presentation, Bakugou was driven to a boiling point, repeatedly starting the song over and over until Izuku got it right. Not having a single care about the audience of parents and teachers bellow. Only when they'd finally asked his mother to coerce him to play the song one more time, in full, and in a way Bakugou didn't want to, had Izuku realised just how much their relationship had deteriorated. Playing a song as a band had never felt so restricting, feeling as if your bandmate was your enemy. Feeling as if the people you were playing with didn't want you there at all. For Izuku's first experience on the stage, he was crushed to bits. Turned into a no one. A deku.

When he goes back to the music room to retrieve his(toshinori's-) bass, he finds the strings purposefully cut and left on display, and it doesn't take him a second to know who's behind it (most likely one of bakugou's 'friends' to send him a message). "We can always replace them," Toshinori reassures, "it would've been a real problem if they messed with the back." But the damage had been done, and the message was received.

(To Be Continued...)

"Toshinori-san, do you think I have what it takes to be a bass player?" The question catches him off guard. He takes a moment and then moves to sit beside the younger boy. "Hm. Well, you do have a bass in hand, don't you?" He makes eye contact with the other. "Doesn't that make you a bass player already?" And the boy bursts into tears.

They all pass and graduate despite the kerfuffle of their last project, and Izuku decides to go into a deep dive into learning the bass over his summer break.

Phew!! Wow, this took a lot longer to edit and write ngl, but it's my first written AU!!! YIPPEEEE!! This was actually meant to be a crack AU, due to an ongoing meme in the bands communities where bass players and drummers often get a long well and end up being 'shipped'. So i thought it'd be funny if bkdk was like that, and surprisingly, my brain just decided to brainworm the HELL out of it. So here we are! I'm definitely already working my way into making part 2 so u don't have to worry about that! Hope yall enjoyed reading!!!

[theofficialpresidentofmars]

have not watched legend of Korra and in deciding whether and when i want to, i have compiled a list of pros and cons of watching it:

pros:

Korra <33

more official Avatar universe content

expansion on lore and worldbuilding mechanics

Varrick and Zhu Li

A cast of new and silly characters to get attached to

The revival of the Air Nomads

The older Gaang and their children

DILF ZUKO

cons:

the concept of the Industrial Revolution and sudden change on a global scale is deeply frightening to me. watching humanity evolve from fighting with clubs and swords to driving cars and listening to the radio within the span of a lifetime gives me chills down the spine, especially when part of the first series’ appeal was the fantasy setting of the past, a time when things were simpler and the ignorance of the world made things appear more magical. but suddenly the old ways of the world being overturned as machines replace magic and machines replace people and individual culture is diluted as borders are broken down and larger societal structures are established and communication improves until everyone is irrevocably connected for better or worse and suddenly this large and fascinating world is small and understood and plain and we can never go back because we’ve opened a box that cannot be closed because ignorance is bliss but wilful ignorance is shameful? the jarring experience of watching characters move further away from the world they knew into a world that only looks more and more familiar to the viewer. the knowledge of where this leads, and the use of fantasy as escapism being invaded by the cold truth of reality. Korra being a natural fighter in a world that needs a diplomat, only one cycle too late for the world that needed a fighter. born too late for her time. every single moment we make decisions that cannot be undone, that will leave a mark on our world and on time forever and ever. it happens whether i start watching it or not, but it doesn’t happen until i begin watching. I’d say that I might be happier living in such a time myself, but the truth is that modernity and convenience has poisoned me and I wouldn’t last a day. The other truth is that we hold onto the good memories of the past and find it easier to discard the others, and as such everything will be tinted in rose coloured glasses forever and the past will always be painted with the pretty certainty that it all ends well, which is more than what we can say for the future, or even the present. Do we really miss the 2000s, the 1980s, any decade as you would have it, or do we miss being small enough to be carried by our parents into our bedroom when we pretended to be asleep, comforted by their embrace and with the knowledge that they were definitive rocks of strength in our lives, before we grew old enough to realise their own fears, weaknesses, and humanity? Was it the way old classrooms were decorated, was it the trends and music of the time that made the past better or was it that we only heard terrible news from the radio or the television and had the privilege to simply turn it off? Was it the bliss of the time or, again, the bliss of ignorance? What are we losing right now that we aren’t even aware of? What won’t we miss until it’s gone? What happened to Suki? What happened to the world?

All in all, I’m currently undecided, although from the various clips and edits I have seen scrolling TikToks, both Korra and older Zuko are making strong cases.

(Don’t take this too seriously lol)

[b0tster]

Adding to the discussion: I had figured out I wasn't a boy by the time I was 16, but for various reasons that shifted and changed for a decade and a half I stayed in the closet. The big ones as I got older were the (silly in hindsight) idea that I'd be more useful as a "cisgender" ally, the fear of being openly queer in a conservative, rural area, and, of course, the hassle of doing it. At 30, after being miserable in lockdown for a couple months, I decided enough was enough, started slowly coming out to friends, moved to a more welcoming city, and almost two years later started transitioning. I'm 33 now, and have been transitioning for almost a year and a half. It was, without a doubt, the best decision I've ever made, and I'm so happy with my progress, but if I had one piece of advice for others who are older and thinking of transitioning, it'd be to just fucking do it, and sooner than later if you are safe and able to do so. As happy as I am with my progress, there are still physical aspects of myself that I've lost due to aging that I wish I could have back and estrogen won't help, but with time and growth I've learned to make it all work for me. And the good news (at least in the province I live in) is that the hassle is slowly getting easier, I'm one of the last people in Nova Scotia who was required to go through a psych evaluation to start my transition. (The evaluation mainly consisted of the guy going "I basically just make sure you're serious and know what to expect, I don't know why we still do this, we're actually ending these soon" anyway and ended up being way less stressful than I was worried it would be)

"just fucking do it" really hits the nail on the head. even if its just admitting it to yourself. so many trans people i know say that they wish they just did it. ive yet to meet a single trans person who wished they did it later.

[ladytauria]

kissing in a stairwell, giving them an artificial height difference with jaydami <33

*puts on clown nose*

reverse robins, anybody? xD

thank sm for the prompt maya <3 i knew p much immediately what i wanted to do with it, but it took a bit for the fic to actually take shape, lol.

i hope you enjoy!

>> AO3 <<

Jason’s life would be so much easier if Damian wasn’t so damn pretty.

Every so often, Bruce is expected to host some of his peers for dinner and drinks—some long-standing tradition that Bruce can get away with skipping out on sometimes, but too much, and people will start to talk. It's stupid, but part of the cover.

If you ask Jason, they're worse than galas. He misses the days he could duck out after dinner. He guesses he still could, but— Now that he's older, it's a little more expected for him to actually participate.

Jason would rather not. He knows plenty of Gotham’s upper crust would rather he didn’t, too, no matter how well Jason has managed to assimilate. But… he has plans, and unfortunately, he can acknowledge that they’ll be raised if he’s in somewhat good standing among the folks with the money.

Doesn’t make attending any easier.

At least he only has to worry about attending the ones Bruce hosts. Eventually his peers will start inviting him to theirs, but for now, he’s still being very quietly snubbed. Which—for the moment at least—suits him just fine, plans or no.

Damian showed up this time, an hour before dinner started; wrapped in green and gold and looking like he just stepped off of a magazine cover. Jason barely paid attention at dinner tonight—too busy trying not to blush anytime Damian sent him a sly smile, or covertly rolled his eyes, or signed something discreetly across the table. He knew it was hardly private—Bruce had been there, he’d surely caught every one—but. The attention—

It made him feel… special.

Stupid, of course. Damian hardly sees him that way. He’s… To Damian, he’s family, and that’s all he’ll ever be.

But it’s kind of nice to pretend, when he gets the chance.

Bruce’s final guests are finally on their way out the door. Jason sits, chin in hand, at the top of the stairs, watching as Damian and Alfred see them out. He thinks the whole house breathes a sigh of relief when they finally leave. Alfred excuses himself to the kitchen, likely to oversee the temporary staff Bruce hires for these things. He’ll have them out the door as soon as possible, too, and then Jason will finally be able to sleep.

Damian lingers by the door for a moment. Then, finally, he begins to ascend the stairs. "Jason," he says. It’s a greeting and a question all in one.

Jason stands, smoothing the wrinkles from his slacks. “Can’t sleep until I know everyone’s gone,” he says. He knows they’d never be able to get into the family wing, not with Bruce’s security, but—

Old fears are hard to shake. Jason never sleeps well when there are strangers around, no matter how many locks Bruce gives him for his door.

Damian nods, like this is perfectly reasonable, and not a weird hang-up of Jason’s. ‘Course, considering... Damian probably feels the same way. That— It’s not comforting, ‘cause Jason hates to think of why he might, but… At the same time... it's reassuring to know he’s not alone.

Damian stops a few steps down from him. Like this, they’re almost at eye level; Damian’s eyes just past Jason’s nose.

“Thanks for coming tonight,” Jason says. Mostly just to say something. Keep the conversation going, even if just for a little while. It’s not often anymore that it’s just the two of them. He can’t begrudge Dickie the comfort of Damian’s presence, nor would he ever want to lose his time with Tim, but—

He does miss, sometimes, when it was just Damian and Jason—and sometimes Steph or Cass.

Damian hums. “Father is not as unbearable at these as he is at other functions, but. I’d still be remiss in my obligations if I left you to deal with him alone for too long.”

Jason knows his ‘obligations’ are purely platonic. He knows. His heart flutters, though; the traitorous bastard putting a more romantic lilt on the word. “Well. I appreciate it,” he says, softly. He bites his lip. “I… It’s nice. Having you around.”

Damian smiles. It’s small; mostly in his eyes, the way they upturn at the corners. “It is nice to, ah, ‘be around’,” he says. He reaches up to smooth down the lapel of Jason's blazer. Even through the layers, his touch burns like a brand. “You’ve grown up well, habibi.” His mouth curls up, just a little bit more.

The compliment is unexpected. The smile even more. And the touch—

Jason flushes scarlet. Every blush he’d fought back at dinner hits him now, and he feels a little lightheaded with it.

That, he decides, is the reason he leans down, foolishly, and presses a kiss right against one of those upturned corners. “Thanks,” he breathes—and then, heart threatening to beat right out of his chest, he flees to the safety of his bedroom, leaving Damian alone in the stairwell.

[ 50 Types of Kisses ]

[theconstellationprincess]

I watched twilight for the first time and. Thoughts have happened, mostly about Carlisle because he’s my favourite

—

I think everyone in the Cullen family regresses, though at varying ages and frequencies.

Carlisle and Esme both caregive for their children and each other, but none of the others have any true inclination for caregiving. Within their pairs (Rosalie and Emmet, Alice and Jasper) they care for eachother in their own ways, but all of them are young/teenagers and bad at taking care of themselves, let alone each other, so adults are necessary.

Esme has an easier time regressing than Carlisle, who fears that everything will fall apart the moment he takes a break, and as such pushes himself to his breaking point regularly. Esme scolds him for it, but he hasn’t changed this particular bad habit yet.

Carlisle makes sure that his family have anything they could ever want or need, so every house they have is very well stocked with little supplies- pacifiers, stuffed animals, diapers, blankets, bottles- everything.

Carlisle is quite content to take care of his kids, regardless of age, and enjoys it truly. Esme as well, she likes mothering her children. The Cullen kids have mixed feelings about regression in general (which though happens in both humans and vampires, feels like something none of them would have done if Carlisle had not turned them.) but they tolerate Carlisle’s and Esme’s caregiving

Carlisle is the best out of all of them, at caregiving. He’s very good at multitasking, and where Esme may become overwhelmed if more than one of the children slips, Carlisle thrives. It doesn’t matter to him if it’s one or all of them, everyone gets taken care off and gets to feel much better by the end of it.

Despite his extraordinary caring abilities, Carlisle will avoid a caregiver at all costs during the times he regresses. He rarely regresses, and when he does, he never fully lets it happen and ends up in a weird between state when everything feels wrong. He knows that Esme, or even any of his children, would try- and likely succeed- to coax him into fully regressing, so he avoids them whenever he’s feeling slightly small.

On the occasions where he gets caught and ends up slipping all the way into that headspace, he is a very quiet little. He’d rather sit and observe than do anything, and he is absolutely terrified of doing anything wrong. He generally does not speak, and when he does it is in short clipped sentences and very soft.

Esme tries to get him to regress more frequently, or at least come out of his shell a bit, but Carlisle is steadfast in the idea that he needs to be the taker of care, not the taken, much to Esmes dismay.

Okay that’s all for now, feel free to request stuff for twilight <33

[thisnameisnotspokenfor]

Kingdom of the Stars Chapter 33: The Favor

Previous: Chapter 32

Next: Chapter 34

((yeah this chapter was originally meant to be longer but was split into two too make things flow smoother!))

Reading her father’s journal hadn’t been any easier as she’d often found herself struggling with words, but comfort had come to her when she’d realized her father had also been having a less-than-ideal time in his recordings.

‘I think we’ve been ambushed,’ he wrote. ‘Several star soldiers have emerged from the depths of the jungle pointing their weapons at us. By their markings, I would say they were at the very least, a part of the noble or royal guard. But that hadn’t been the most shocking part of it all. No, it had been the sheer height at which they’d stood over us. The smallest soldier was ten feet. Their leader was a female star, who neared us, speaking in what I could only presume was Asterahi. I’m not sure really. I didn’t understand her nor did I have any intent on replying until my master leaned over and whispered.

‘I think she’s talking to you.’ To me?! What was I supposed to say to her when I could barely understand her?! I just started learning Asterahi last week! ‘It’s rude to keep the Apsuramal waiting.’

“Rude?! I’m not rude! I’m painfully ignorant!” I cried, as one of the figures standing next to the Apsuramal moved, perhaps chuckling at my remark. I’m not sure. It’s quite difficult to see through the hoods and large masks… 

Sensing we were getting nowhere, I stepped forward, doing my best not to completely fumble over my already deficient Asterahi as I told her that ‘we were peaceful travelers.’ To say that I failed, would be an act of generosity on my part as I quickly found myself standing before a confused group of soldiers. I could tell that one was doing his best not to laugh at me as their queen removed her hood and mask.

“His Asterahi is on par with your teaching methods,” Deneb del Apsuramal spoke. “Completely and utterly broken.” 

Had I not been so awestruck, I probably would’ve been more embarrassed at this, but my master had only shrugged, “Make a less Atlantean-like sounding dialect and maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to learn.”

“Speak a language not derived from our daughter dialect and maybe we’ll consider it,” she stoically replied as Master Vitrius fell silent, possibly conceding her point.

It was hard to believe that such a being was older than the order itself, as save for the faded scars on her arms and legs, she’d shown no sign of age. “Come,” she commanded us as we followed them through the jungle. 

“I see you’ve spared no expense with your security measures this year,” Master Vitrius remarked as we made our way through the guard-filled camp.

“It was not an option,” she replies as we continue further on. “We cannot afford the luxury of any risk-taking this year. Not when our opponents will be all but forgiving.”

“Hmm, Betelgeuse was always one to hold a grudge. Pity you had to go and make enemies with him,” Master Vitrius remarks before narrowly tripping over a branch and cursing. 

I’m not sure if it’s the master’s actions or his words, but the queen smiles, dismissively waving her hand. “Ha! You are far too generous if you think that he is the only enemy I have made in that court. But it is not him that I worry about.”

“Then?”

She stops.

“Polaris is here,” she breathes. But it does not sound like an observation, no, it sounds like an omen. Perhaps even a curse. “And I fear that he will do anything to win control of the Terracotta court. Even if he has to murder Sirius to do it.”

My master hesitates, “Your son is by all means his superior in title and rank, for Polaris to even attempt such a thing against the future Solarius would be unfathomable for the council to overlook.”

“Unfathomable, but not uncharacteristic,” the queen sighs as she pulls back the waterfall-made curtain of the gigantic palanquin, and we follow in after her. 

Unfathomable, but not uncharacteristic? Did the queen no longer trust the council? It made sense given how there’d been rumors of a scandalous fallout between the two several millennia ago. I’d never been able to get the details from my master, but it had been clear that whatever the high queen had done, the council had not taken too kindly to her defiance. A defiance that I suspected was now partially the reason why we were here and why the crimson court had always wanted her children dead.

It seems as if I’m not alone in this observation as I hear Master Vitrius speak, “Which is most likely why you insisted on the order’s involvement in settling the court’s control,” He notes as the royal guard kneels to their passing queen. “You’re seeking to leverage the order’s political neutrality and influence into limiting the crimson court’s options against your heirs, aren’t you?”

“Not quite,” she sharply corrected, taking her seat on the throne as the light seemed to dim. The blue in her eyes darkened.  “I have also brought you here to ask a difficult favor from you.”

“What would you have me do?” Master Vitrius, her astronomer, asks without hesitation. 

“Not you,” she calls as her eyes settle on me. “I have brought you here to ‘request’ that you allow your student to become Sirius’s personal astronomer.”

“Dad was chosen to be Sirius’s astronomer?!” Asha whispered, her grip on the journal faltering. Her father had known Sirius, the son of Deneb, the high queen of the cerulean stars and enemy of the crimson court. But if Sirius had been their crown prince and Cepheus had looked nearly identical to him…

No, there was no way he could’ve been a peasant, maybe in terms of experience yes, but rank? “That can’t be right,” she muttered to herself as she re-read the pages over and over. But the words and their meanings were still the same. The situation in which the two had met had sounded anything but ideal, but now she couldn’t help but wonder if it had earned her father the ire of the crimson court. Her mother had admitted that he had sounded frightened when begging for Polaris’s help when they’d be stranded in the ocean, the same Polaris who seemed hellbent on killing Sirius for-

“Do you mind if I join you? Amala’s voice suddenly came as Asha nearly dropped her father’s journal. Clumsily re-adjusting her grip on the book, she’d barely managed to return the approaching girl’s smile as Amala sheepishly added, “I’ve taken one too many visits to the sick bay for the past few days to stomach another.” 

 She hadn't meant to get that absorbed into her readings to not hear anyone approach, but it was hard not to be fascinated by her father’s detailed encounter with the stars. 

“Oh no, not at all! I was just enjoying the view.” Asha politely lied as she mentally scolded herself for not hearing Amala's approach. Quickly she slid her father’s journal back into her satchel before stepping back to allow the girl a spot at the ship’s railing. 

“Thank you,” Amala nodded as she leaned against the wooden railing and turned her gaze to the sea, leaving Asha to wonder whether or not she should engage in small talk. It would be the polite thing to do, wouldn’t it? But it also felt too early to be socializing….

Asha glanced at the sky, taking note of the sun’s position. From the looks of things, it was a few hours after noon, which unfortunately for her, was what most would classify as the perfect time to socialize.

‘C'mon Asha’ she mentally chided herself. ‘Don’t be awkward. star shenanigans aside Amala seems nice, right?  It wasn’t hard to see why the star was so…taken with her. She was beautiful and had magical potential. But come to think of it, hadn’t he mentioned most of the Ischanian people as having quite a bit of magical potential? How coincidental that they’d be coming to Rosas of all times-

Her thoughts quietly came to an abrupt pause as she heard Amala release a heavy sigh. her expression faltered from tranquility to unease.

Oh. what was she thinking, piecing together some strange conspiracy?! For all she knew these people were here, escaping hardships in hopes of a better future! Why did it need to be more than that? “I’m overthinking this,” she muttered as she too looked out towards the sea.

“Hmm? Did you say something?” Amala asked, snapping her out of her contemplative state as she curiously eyed her.

“Oh no, I was just trying to admire the view!” she nervously laughed, swallowing her panic. “It sure is beautiful, isn’t it?” Seriously, where were all her years of acting skills? Or had she subconsciously decided to only use those in the presence of nobles?

Fortunately for her, Amala only chuckled and nodded before turning her gaze back to the kingdom before them. “That it is,” she affirmed before mercifully letting the conversation slip into silence as Asha tried to relax. Heavy emphasis on the tried part. 

But doing so had nearly seemed impossible when Asha had strangely noticed how disheveled she’d look next to Amala, who by all means seemed…perfect. 

Sure Asha could probably blame her dishevelment on the fact that she had narrowly avoided an assassination attempt and death, but so had the star and he looked incredible! He probably couldn't look ugly if he tried. Maybe she just needed to- “I've never seen so many of them like this before. Not near the ocean like this anyway,” came her grandfather’s voice as Capella pleated. 

“You know I heard the last time someone saw them while sailing, the boat sank,” Mr. Bjorn added. “They say it crashed upon some rocks before quickly slipping underneath the waves. Apparently, they're the last things you want to see while sailing in Rosas.”

Asha paused, her eyes turning to the sky, as she spotted the outline of several crows circling overhead. 

“What are they doing out here?” the lookout called, quickly sliding down the ropes.

“Nothing good, that's for sure!” the first mate snapped as Captain Silver nodded in agreement. 

“Some birds are not meant to be trusted and those there are one of ‘em!”

Asha frowned. In the grand scheme of things, she’d never regarded the crows as anything bad or ominous. They were just normal birds after all, smart birds. But if there had been one bird that couldn’t be rusted, then it was the blackbird, something that Asha was beginning to wonder was ever truly a bird. Its eyes were too sentient, too knowing to be something of this planet, maybe even this world…. 

“You know, in Ischania, we have an old myth about seeing crows at sea.” Amala pleasantly smiled at the crows. 

“A good myth I hope,” Asha winced as Amala chuckled and nodded. 

“Of course! We believed the sea was the first place they flew to upon returning to Earth from the stars. It was good luck to see them circling overhead like this. It usually meant that there would be smooth sailing ahead.”

“Crows went to the stars?” she asked, taking note of the wonder that had filled Amala's voice as she’d spoken of the stars. 

She nodded, smiling as she glanced back toward her, “It's how our monarchs used to carry the dreams and wishes of our people to the stars above. Back then they'd also claimed that the crow was a white bird of great beauty and valor as it would venture through terrible winters and storms to reach the heavens. We would take care of their messengers and in return they would give us everything we needed.” Amala’s eyes lowered as her smile dissipated. 

Shame clouded her features as her voice lowered to a near whisper, “But it all changed the day the young king sent a rather selfish wish to the stars, asking for their powers to be tied to his bloodline. It was said that the stars did not answer, something they’d never done prior to that, and in a fit of foolish rage, he blackened the bird’s feathers before expelling it to the heavens where it never returned to our lands. It's how we believe the constellation Corvus came to be.”

“That's pretty interesting, and quite close to the Greek myth.” Asha replied, not  missing how Amala’s brows furrowed at the mention of the word ‘myth.’ Amala probably thought the story to be true, and given all that Asha had learned recently, she could see why. But if Amala were to learn to live in Rosas of all places, then she’d have to accept that such a story was far better off being seen as a myth than anything else. Still, not wanting to insult her, Asha quickly added, “It's fascinating to see how stories tend to differ from region to region, just like cultures and social norms you know? It always reminds me that the world and its horizons is a far bigger place than you think it is.” 

Amala subtly nodded, the faint tension in her expression dissipating as she took a deep breath, “indeed it is. My Altita used to say something along those lines, back when she’d explore the world too.”

“Your grandmother was an explorer?” Asha asked, trying to ignore the surprise she’d felt. 

“For a time yes, then she met my grandfather. They traveled a bit before she settled down in his home in Ischania so he could return to his court duties.”

“Court Duties? Was your grandfather a nobleman?” she asked. She shouldn’t have been that surprised, judging from the jewelry, perfume, and rather beautiful-looking clothes Amala was wearing, Asha should’ve known that she was anything but poor. 

 She smiled shyly, as her gaze quickly lingered on the ruby-encrusted golden bracelet she wore. “He was. It’s how they managed to fund their travels!” 

Huh. That made sense. Her mother always said that a traveler could only travel as far as their money could. “Which places did your grandmother go to?” Asha asked.

“Corona, Scotland, Arendelle,” Amala smiled proudly. “My grandmother has been all over the world, but no kingdom could touch her heart like Rosas did… “

“Really?” Asha smiled in disbelief. “Even after she went to Corona of all places?”

“Yeah, it beats me. Corona is wonderful.”

“You’ve been to Corona?” asha asked, trying not to feel jealous as Amala nodded. “How was it?”

“Warm and friendly. They’re just like the sun they fashion their kingdom after,” her smile wavered. “My grandmother loved it too. But she tells us that she could’ve traveled the earth thousands of time and Rosas would still be her favorite kingdom… he always speaks about your kingdom being a bridge of sorts…”

A bridge? Asha didn’t have the heart to tell her that she didn’t know what that had meant unless she’d been talking about the astronomer’s order… But she knew better than to talk about that in public….

For a moment Asha had nearly considered sharing her mother’s story with Amala to continue the conversation, and she probably would have if the circumstances had been different. But the more she’d thought about it, the more she’d realized that perfectly poised and polite Amala was nothing more than a complete stranger to her. One that for all intents and purposes could’ve been an assassin in disguise, trying to gain her trust to lure her elsewhere. Maybe she'd been overthinking this as well, but she couldn’t afford to take that risk. After all, she’d always trusted the people in Rosas’s castle and kingdom on a basic level, and look where it had gotten her. Trapped in a perfectly set-up assassination attempt. It was too coincidental to not be intended. Someone had known that she wouldn’t be at the castle today and they’d tried to kill her. They sent a whole group to do it, one that for all she knew could’ve held several contingency plans to carry out in case of initial failure….

But she’d needed to be careful regardless. At best, she could come off as terribly rude to a girl the star would potentially like more than her, and at worst she’d end up walking into a trap, one that she couldn’t escape from this time.

Silently cursing the star’s absence, she’d settle on giving Amala a polite smile before replying, “Really? That's quite interesting! Although I think a lot about Rosas has changed since then.”

“That's understandable,” Amala affirmed with a smile that nearly made Asha want to trust her. “A kingdom cannot thrive if it does not grow, right?”

“Right,” Asha nodded, swallowing the words of protest and challenge that had formed on the tip of her tongue. Amala didn’t know any better. Most of the world and the people of Rosas didn’t know any better. To all, they’d thought the kingdom was perfect, and she supposed that it was until you broke past the surface, and made a discovery that she didn’t think anyone on this boat would take too kindly to knowing. So she opted instead to let the silence replace her words as she resumed staring toward the castle before Amala spoke again.

“The others told me you are a royal apprentice of sorts. Do you work with the king and his family?”

“Occasionally,” Asha lied, wisely knowing better than to admit the truth to a noblewoman of all people.

“Is it true that your king has the power to grant the wishes of his subjects?” Amala asked, her brown hazel eyes warmly glowing with curiosity.

“It is. In fact, he pretty much incentivizes wishing!”

“He does?” Now she looked genuinely surprised. “A human has the power to grant wishes? How does he do it? Which star does he consult?”

“Yeah, he does have the power to grant wishes. But he doesn’t need to consult a star to do so. You see, there’s a whole system in place of maintainers he entrusts to oversee where wishes are taken before they’re sent to the capital. People can usually make whatever kind of wish they want or are required to as long as the king gets it in time for the monthly ceremony where he grants one or a few depending on his…mood.”

“So your king grants your wishes? No one else? Not even the stars?”

“Yeah, he’s kinda super possessive about it,” she grimaced. It was better that Amala learns this now rather than later. “He allegedly…went to war against the ‘stars’ for it.”

“War?” Amala asked, sounding somewhat alarmed. “How did he win?”

“That’s…actually a really good question. I don’t know but there’s a whole mural that explains it better that I’m sure you’ll be very well acquainted with before the day ends,” she assured Amala. But to her dismay, the girl’s smile nor ease didn’t return.

“Do you know when the next wishing ceremony is?” Amala asked, before sheepishly smiling. “Ah, I'm sorry. I know it might not be polite to be so anxious to get it granted soon, but…my Altita… fell ill a few months ago. We tried everything we could to heal her. We took her to every doctor we could afford, but nothing seemed to work… every day she wakes up in pain…” She shook her head, giving herself a moment before she softly spoke, “We don't know how long she has left. But if she were to make one last journey, we wanted it to be to the country she loved the most, the one where dreams are known to become a reality.”

Oh. Oh. Being suspicious of her had been harder to do when she’d heard that. Granted, Amala could have been lying for all she knew, but the pain that had now marred her face and voice had been sincere, and one that Asha herself had been all too familiar with.

“I was scared of leaving home,” Amala confessed, closing her eyes as the wind whipped through her hair. Her knuckles whitened as her grip on the wooden railing tightened. “I know I should be grateful that I and my family have the means to move comfortably to live elsewhere and to seek medical help for her, but I selfishly didn’t want to go, not if it meant leaving everything I knew behind. But I’d do it for her. If only to give her a little more time to live without the pain….”

“Well, “Asha began after a minute or so of thought. “You may be in luck, Amala. Our next wishing ceremony is coming up soon, but-” she gestured, for the girl to lean closer as she whispered. “-I’ve been hearing that the king has been feeling very generous lately.

“Generous?”

“Yeah,” Asha nodded. “Several wishes have been granted this side of Rosas. A girl named Anna wished to fly with her birds. People thought she’d never get her wish granted, but now she soars in the sky, singing along with them. So you never know Amala. Maybe your wish will be next!”

“Do you really think so?” Amala whispered back, looking unsure. “I've tried hard to be optimistic, but at the same time, I don't want to get my hopes up too high… it's impossible for the king to grant everyone’s wish… but I just couldn’t help myself.”

“I understand,” Asha nodded. “Don’t worry Amala. I have a feeling that your wish will be granted a lot sooner than you think.”

“…Thank you, Asha,” Amala smiled gratefully as the silence returned, feeling a bit lighter than it had before it had left. 

It was a serious assurance to give, but Asha would like to have thought that she’d been doing a rather good job lately of delivering on her promises. After all, she’d promised and assured the queen and apprentices that she’d bring the prince home, and she’d seen to it, hadn’t she? Now she just needed to-  “Do you think he’s okay?” suddenly came Abigail’s voice interrupting Asha’s thoughts as she looked at the returning crowd of girls who reapproached.

Had it just been her or had they just set the world's record for the fastest tour of Silver’s ship?’ She’d wondered before asking, “he?”

“Yeah, Cepheus,” Abigail elaborated as the other girls nodded, briefly glancing around the deck for any signs of the missing star. “He sure seemed like he was in a hurry before he left.”

“He’s been gone for a while too,” Maria pointed out. “He seemed like he was in shock…maybe even pain! You…you don’t think he’s hurt do you?”

“What if he ran into more assassins?! Or got cursed by a witch!” Moireach exclaimed.

“Moireach there’s no such thing as witches in Rosas, and even if there were I doubt they’d curse Cepheus of all people,” Abigail waved her hand dismissively. “He’s the most perfect gentleman! So what in the world could they be cursing him for? Breathing in their direction?” She exclaimed as the other girls nodded in agreement.

“I don’t know,” Moireach shrugged. “I’m pretty sure witches have cursed guys for worse. Wasn’t there that one who cursed a baby because she wasn’t invited to the party or something? And then there was like another one who cursed an eleven-year-old who adhered to stranger danger and wouldn’t let her into his castle, I think?”

“I’m pretty sure that was a fairy in both instances,” Mizuki pointed out.

“Fairy? Witch? What’s the difference? They both can be wickedly petty!”

“The names, Moireach. They have different names for a reason,” Maria commented. “But honestly it was kind of rude to not invite her to the party. I mean you could at least be cordial about it.”

“Yeah! I bet you Cepheus would’ve invited her if he were holding that party,” Abigail declared as all the other girls nodded. “He’s not petty!”

Cepheus? Gentleman? Not petty? There was no way they were talking about the star, were they? Asha blinked in amazement as Abigail gracefully spun.

“Did you see the way he danced with me?” She dreamily sighed as she placed her hands over her heart. “And none of you thought I’d ever get the chance to dance with him.”

“At the ball,” Mizuki corrected before pointing her chin towards the remnants of the dancefloor. “This doesn’t count.”

“Doesn’t count?” Abigail’s face twisted with indignation. “That’s not what you were saying after you were waltzing all over the place with him! Spinning and what not-,”

“It felt like I was flying,” Mizuki shyly admitted as a small blush overcame her face. Soon all the girls were discussing their experiences of dancing with the star. 

All save for one, who’d like to think that the star had a better future in the theatrical arts than anyone else she knew. How he’d convince these girls that he was the perfect gentleman had been a far more impressive feat than any royal play she’d seen. 

Now she wondered if a star's beauty had been more intentional than she’d suspected… perhaps it had been a part of a predatorial strategy to lull its prey into a false sense of security? It did sound a bit farfetched, but Cepheus’s sharp teeth had almost made her certain that stars were first and foremost carnivorous. Now what they could be eating was beyond her, but she had a feeling that she didn’t want to find out 

“Greetings Ladies, I hope I haven’t kept you waiting for too long,” Came a terribly pleasant voice as a familiar figure approached.

“Cepheus!” all the girls cried in unison as he took his seat with renewed confidence. His eyes briefly met hers before narrowing in a way she could only describe as menacing.

“Are you feeling better?” Amala asked, quickly approaching the star with a look of sheer sympathy. “You left so suddenly.”

“It was just a bit of sea sickness, but I’m feeling fine now thank you,” he smiled as Asha looked away, rolling her eyes. Anyone who knew the star would know that just from the grin on his face he was feeling far better than fine right now. 

He probably just wanted attention or something, which he promptly received as Lady Allard announced “Alright everyone our snacks have been prepared! Please properly line up e around the table while being served! I admit that it's not a lot of food, but don’t worry! We have something amazing prepared for you all later today!” she smiled as people began to line up.

“Would you like something?” Maria was the first to ask the star. “Tea always helps me feel better when I'm seasick.”

“Tea does sound nice,” the star admitted as he lowered his head. “But I’d much rather you ladies serve yourself before worrying about me. There might not be enough food left for you if you spend all of your time on me.”

“Oh I'm not hungry,” Maria reassured the star.

“Me neither!” Moireach added.

“I'm saving room for the feast later! I heard it’s going to be spectacular!” Abigail exclaimed as the other girls nodded in agreement. 

Now the star looked a little surprised, but if it had been at their generosity or insistence, Asha would never know as Amala stepped forward, suggesting, “How about this? We could just grab you something while serving ourselves. I'm sure there’s enough of us to get you a plate worth of food collectively! That way no one will be left feeling hungry.” 

“That sounds good to me!” Abigail declared as the other girls nodded in unison before heading towards the food table. 

Asha silently cursed as they disappeared into the crowd before menacingly glancing at the star. There was no way he could’ve been seasick. She’d been on a boat with him before on their way back from Antares, and back then he’d been practically unphased as he’d managed to cure the prince’s staff of their own ailments. 

The star was up to something. He had to be.

But before her thoughts could go any further, Amala reappeared. She hadn’t realized that Amala had lingered behind while the others had departed. But she soon realized why when the girl had said something in Ischanian to Cepheus. The star, of course, had to smile back, Asha thought, resisting the urge to roll her eyes in fear of actually becoming seasick. 

“Do you want anything from the food table, Asha?” Amala’s voice came, disrupting her thoughts. 

“Thanks, for the offer but I’m quite full,” she lied. “I had a huge breakfast this morning.”

“Ah, alright, we’ll be back soon,” Amala promised, and much to Asha’s chagrin the star waved at her before she stepped into the long line for the food table, effectively leaving Asha alone with him.

For Amala and her grandmother’s sake, she would need to do this quickly.

“So,” she started, feeling the star’s gaze drift towards her. “I’m glad to see that you’re feeling better.”

“Thanks,” the star replied, leaning back with his hands in his pockets. His smile was noticeably smaller now, but a lot sharper than before. He wasn't mad about earlier, was he? She hoped not. An angry star was an uncooperative star, which was the last thing she needed if she were to grant any wishes today.

So pressing forward, she’d asked, “So there’s no hard feelings about earlier, right? You’re fine?”

“Absolutely,” the star sighed, as he’d lapsed into silence again. He had nothing to say about her dancing? really?  

A part of her knew she should’ve reveled at this as she’d finally found the long-coveted peace that had promptly left her life the moment the star had entered it, but something about this had felt…unsatisfying.

She wasn’t sure why it would feel like that of all things. She knew it had been a while since she’d danced for an audience like that, and more than enough people had thanked her for her performance, but a small part of her had wanted to know what the star had thought. Of course, she didn’t care what he thought, he was a complete lunatic, but it wouldn’t have hurt to know if he’d liked it or not! He had after all been responsible for it.

But maybe she was overthinking it, just like how she always overthought things. 

She shook her head, pushing her thoughts to the side. The girls would be back any minute, and then she’d lose the opportunity to ask him this. “Cepheus you see while you were gone, I was talking to Amala.”

“Oh?” now he looked curious, maybe even…somewhat displeased. It was hard to tell.

Asha nodded, making a mental note of his expression before she continued, “Yeah and she told me that the reason why her family came, was for her grandmother. They don’t know how much time she has left, so I was wondering if you could…you know,” she shifted uncomfortably, watching as the star’s brows raised.

“You want me to grant a wish?” he’d asked as if he could scarcely believe she’d make such a request. “Amala’s wish?”

“Why are you saying it like that?” she squinted at him suspiciously.

“Well you hardly know her-”

“And?” Asha impatiently asked while crossing her arms. “I don’t need to be well acquainted with her to feel sympathetic for her. You remember how you wanted to help me even when we didn’t know each other right? So why is this any different?”

He shook his head, “The bond between us is far more intricate than you think. But I suppose I'm to blame for not explaining some of it earlier to you,” he stared at her as if searching for something. “I'm not saying no,” he began. “But I need you to Indulge my curiosities here Asha. I understand that your faith in your monarchy is understandably low, if not rightfully non-existent at the moment, but why ask me for help?”

“Well,” she slowly started as her heart began to feel heavy. “Her family is desperate. They've tried every scientific option available to them, Cepheus, they have no other choice. And besides, I know if that I had the choice to do something like this when my grandmother was still alive, I would’ve done it.” her gaze lowered to the floor. “I would’ve sailed to the ends of the earth if it had meant that I’d be able to see her for just another day. So if there’s anything you can do, even if it’s just to relieve her pain for a little bit Cepheus. Please.”

His eyes widened as if a sudden thought had struck him before he slowly nodded, “Very well then, tonight I will see what I can do.”

“Great! So when are we-”

“Not we,” he sharply interjected. “Me.”

“You’re not bringing me along? You’re going to go to Amala��s abode?! Alone?!”

“Asha you’ve got assassins after you.”

“And so do you!” she vigorously retorted. ”there was an equal effort to kill both of us, remember?”

“Yes but not an equal chance of us dying if they ever came across us separately. It's better if I go alone. Trust me, even if I am caught or attacked, I’ll be able to handle it and ensure that nothing makes its way back to you.” 

“Fine that sounds….reasonable,” she reluctantly conceded while the star smiled. “Just promise me that…no matter what happens…you’ll come home okay?”

“Oh?” he leaned towards her. “Is someone worried about my well-being?” 

“Why wouldn’t I be Cepheus?!” she’d exclaimed as he chuckled, evidently amused at this. 

“You don’t need to worry about me, Asha. You could lock me in a room with a thousand of those assassins, and I promise you that I’d be the only one to walk out.”

Her nose had wrinkled as she’d tried not to imagine the gory scene his reassurance had brought her. it had been hard not to, especially as she’d remembered how that female assassin had looked before she’d been swallowed by the dark waves of Salcona.

But truth be told, Asha had never deeply worried about the assassins in regard to Cepheus. No, what she feared had been…something else, or rather someone else, she’d thought as her gaze lingered on Amala. 

She quickly dispelled those thoughts as she reminded herself that she had bigger things to worry about, as she turned back to the star.

“Cepheus?” she started, remembering the scarlet-colored crystal she’d seen around the assassin’s neck. Those assassins “You’re not going to kill all of them, are you?”

“They’re assassins Asha,” he shrugged as if the answer to her question was fairly obvious. “the best way to handle them is to deal with them before they can deal with you. So I can’t make any guarantees on the condition I’ll leave them in if they choose to attack me. Unless of course, you believe that there might be something else I need to worry about.”

“What do you mean?”

“Like some confounding variable of sorts. Maybe even involvement from a third party?”

Her fingers tightly gripped her dress as she leaned away from him. “We don’t know anything about their infrastructure or who sent them. For all we know they could be a cult that martyrs their fallen members, using it as some sort of propaganda to encourage the survivors or other associates to pursue us even more ruthlessly.”

“What makes you think they’re a cult?” Cepheus asked. “Did you see something?”

“I…I’ll tell you later. I promise” she added, nervously glancing around the still somewhat crowded deck. Now was not the time to be telling him about the crystals or shattered wishes, not when they were still in public.

“You know Asha, speaking of promises,” the star suddenly drawled before her snapping her out of her thoughts. “You never answered my last question.”

“Last question?”

“Yes- remember our game from earlier?” he started as he leaned his head against the wooden railing.  “Three for three was the name, I think. You asked me three questions, in exchange for me being able to ask you three questions as well. Right?”

“Right…”

“Well, I never got to ask my final question.”

“You don’t have to use it on the assassins-,” she started. 

“Who says I was going to do that? No my dear, what I want to ask about is you.” He’d said it like something about her could be genuinely fascinating to a creature like him. 

“M-me?” Maybe he was going to ask about her father or the king. Neither of which she was certain she could answer honestly without pushing the doomsday clock forward by at least an hour….

The star nodded. “Admittedly it is rather personal, so I understand if you have…reservations concerning whether or not you want to answer it.”

“No, no,” she sighed, shaking her head. “You can ask it, I mean it’s only fair considering that I asked you some pretty personal questions earlier, right?”

He nodded, a small smile coming to his face as he gently responded, “Right. I just wanted to know why you w-,”

“We’re back!” Abigail sang as the star’s smile shrank. 

The girls quickly took their makeshift seats around the star as Mizuki added,  “And as we promised, we brought you some food, see? This should help you with your seasickness!”

“Ah, thank you,” the star replied rather politely as he’d taken the plate of food from them. He squinted at the sky now strangely absent of crows. “The sun is rather bright now isn’t it?”

“It is,” Moireach nodded in agreement. “And hot too.”

“It’s always obnoxious past noon,” Maria groaned.

“Would you like some shade, Cepheus?” Amala offered. “We can switch seats if the sun is bothering you-,”

“No, no thank you I’ll be fine,” the star smiled before placing his cloak on his head, shielding his face from them all before he continued. “The sun is bright, but I’ve dealt with far worse before…Would you girls like to hear another story?”

“Yes please!” Moireach dreamily nodded.

“You always tell the best stories!” Maria sighed as she switched seats with Amala, thanking her for the shadier spot. 

Why were they lying? Asha wondered. His stories were terrible, and this was coming from someone who had to hear the king’s stories over and over!

“Can we have one with a happy ending, please? Maybe make the heroine a noble girl this time?” Abigail politely pleaded. “And her true love a remarkably handsome, amazingly capable young man from abroad-,”

“I’ll see what I can do,” the star’s covered head shook with laughter as he began his story.

Cepheus had been oddly quiet after he’d finished his story. Every so often she’d feel his eyes rest on her from underneath his cloak. What and why he’d been staring at her had been beyond her as he hadn’t made any attempt to converse or annoy her. A sign she’d take for her to return her attention to her father’s journal.

The writing had become more fervent now, as if it had been scribbled in a hurry which had unfortunately made it even harder to decipher than before. But she’d managed to translate one of the more properly written journal entries that had read:

I have no choice. No choice. What can I do? To turn down such a personal request from the high queen was unthinkable, if not dangerous.

‘It's been an hour since she gave me the request, and it’s been an hour since I’ve started pacing non-stop. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't contemplated running away a few times, but I’ve instead settled for a small venture into the jungle, away from the curious gazes of the guards and nobles. Now I am alone. 

I think.

It’s strangely quiet tonight, something that I’m grateful for given my circumstances.

I need to think.

I must think. 

Master Vitrius seems to think this is a good thing. I can tell he has his reservations about it, as well as utilizing the tournament as I overheard him call it ‘a pointlessly pompous waste of time that they (they being Polaris and Sirius I think) could use to scar each other more if they were in a good mood. After all, it’s forbidden to maim and kill an opponent in the tournaments!’ He’d declared. 

But The Queen didn't seem to share his sentiments. She’d called it a compromise of sorts. 

Then He pointed out that the tournament had never held any enforcing power behind it. It was at best ‘ceremonial.’

But she said it was the only way she’d placate Betelgeuse long enough to ensure they’d have some semblance of peace before the council made their decision. 

((She’d said council with as much love as Magnifico usually says ‘cerulean court’, which, during the best of times, is a nearly negligent amount.))

I spoke with Master Vitrius a few minutes after the high queen had departed to speak with her children and court. 

He still doesn’t seem convinced about the whole ordeal nor what the high queen’s motives are, but I think he wants to be happy for me.

 He tells me that from what he gathers the crown prince personally requested I fulfill the position, and that it usually takes a well-seasoned or prodigious astronomer at least a few centuries to get anywhere near the noble or royal stars. 

Yet I, not having neither power nor experience have seemingly achieved the impossible in doing so mere months after making my allegiance to this court.

I’d been at the top of my class for academics, but my powers had been near non-existent. I do not think I will ever be an astronomer of great power like our late headmistress was…

Surely the prince must’ve known this during his search for an astronomer, and yet he’d picked me anyway. 

That couldn’t have been a coincidence.

It makes no sense- no sense! 

But nothing about this situation does! 

A tournament has never been used to settle court disputes before, especially one that’s so tumultuous as this! And yet the Nocturne took it as a form of compromise…the Apsuramal’s greatest enemy would take the one situation that strictly forbids him from slaughtering the son of his worst enemy as a compromise? 

Am I missing something?

But why would the Apsuramal offer to do it anyway? She trusts neither the crimson stars nor the council’s decision. She described it as a distraction of sorts, maybe even a compromise. But what compromise is there?

Even if Sirius were to win, the results could easily be overlooked by the council, who the Apsuramal believed would not punish the crimson court for slaughtering Sirius. She and the Solaris have made it rather well known that they expect the crimson court to cheat. To kill.

Everyone does, even the silver court and the order expects them to attempt something before the tournament….

So why even have the tournament in the first place? It’s not like it’s settling anything. All it’s done is bring Polaris and Sirius closer…far closer in a more public albeit dangerous combative proximity than any other occasion sans the battlefield would call for.

But the last thing the courts needed now was a war. It was to be avoided at all costs…

But Then there’d been the matter of Sirius himself.

I understood that from the moment he and his sister came to be, the crimson court had found their existence to be rather…unsavory. A fact that would’ve made any star scared ahead of the tournament. A tournament that even his own mother fears may be the end of him.

But from what I’ve seen of him Sirius seems to lack any and all fear, going so far as to make such a long-term arrangement as having an astronomer. 

But why? 

Dying stars don’t take astronomers, at least not young and painfully inexperienced ones. Unless of course he fully expects to be walking away from this, something that I feel would take more than just simple confidence from a star who knows that court better than anyone else. 

My mind is racing. I can hardly think or walk straight now. 

I’m in too deep.

Too deep in the jungle and too deep in the court. But I think I understand it now.

Maybe the queen is counting on this. Maybe Sirius is counting on this. They’ve already planted the seeds of something happening, haven’t they? 

So who’s to say that if by chance Polaris and Sirius cross paths of either’s volition, Sirius wouldn’t be the one to initiate it? Sirius benefits far more from killing Polaris before he ever set foot in that coliseum than Polaris ever would from killing him before or during the tournament. 

The royal family could fabricate it as being Polaris’s fault. A situation that to most would seem like Sirius had no other option than to kill Polaris both to protect himself and maybe…his astronomer. An astronomer, who would have to be protected

It’s perfect.  Sirius is the hero here. He gets to kill his enemy without doing so on a restricted battlefield, even if theoretically Polaris played honestly, most would believe the rather morally upstanding prince over the bloodthirsty one.

Then there’s the matter of me. I’m far too inexperienced and inept for this position. But if I were to be attacked, then Sirius would have to save me to abide by the order’s influence that all stars are commanded to respect. No one would think I’d be able to save myself. It would look dishonorable for the crimson court to attack such a weak opponent, wouldn’t it? So the backlash for such a thing would be tremendous. Too tremendous for even the council to overlook. 

But that would mean-...

Am I to be bait? Collateral damage? A pawn?

Stars. What have I gotten myself into?!

Wait. 

I think someone, no something is here.

The words had trailed off after that, the ink disappeared as various smears had taken its place on the pages after that. Smears that Asha had prayed weren’t blood.

But her prayers had been for naught as the writing had become more rushed as if her father had tried to write them while in a hurry.

Had her father been attacked? He’d said the jungle was quiet, a characteristic she’d known nature had only taken when a predator was nearby. A predator that she was certain had been a crimson star.

The crimson stars had been after her father…just like how those assassins were now after her.

Her hands were shaking as the surrounding laughter of the star and other girls felt distant and muffled. 

Surely history couldn’t be repeating itself, could it?

She shook her head, hurriedly flipping through more partially torn pages full of intelligible writing before she’d reached a decently written sentence.

“It’s for protection…” he whispers while quietly placing a yellowish-blue crystal in my hands as the soldiers and high queen depart the tent. I think they are going to examine the body, or what’s left of it anyway.

“Three days,” he had said as soon as we were alone.

I’d been too weak, to answer, as I’d merely stared at him, waiting for him to continue. 

“Work for me for three days and if you like the arrangement we will make it permanent.” 

“Three days?” I whispered. Horror coiling and winding tightly in my chest. I could’ve died tonight. I could die any night. 

To die and leave behind so many unfinished things was my worst fear.  A fear that may very well become a reality given my current situation. “You expect me to still be alive by then?”

It was a rude question to ask anyone, much less alien royalty. But the prince takes it well. 

“Yes,” he simply answers. “After three days, you will be given the choice to walk away. Another astronomer will be in your place and you will receive whatever financial compensation you are owed. Proper measures will be taken to ensure that your family and loved ones will be safe for the time being if you so choose to remain.”

“Why?” I ask, “Wouldn’t I be better off dead?”

“Dead,” he repeats, quietly taking off his armor. “I have very little use for a dead astronomer.”

“Then why chose me?”

The writing had ended abruptly after that as if he’d been forced to stop writing during that conversation. 

Why he would stop was beyond her, but she’d continued pressing on through more fervently written journals until she’d managed to find and translate the more properly written ones that had read:

“Is this your human babysitter?” his twin sister, Crown Princess Rigel asks as she kneels to examine me. 

She is beautiful, and save for the turquoise and jade streaks in her white hair and her changing eyes, she bears a strong resemblance to her mother. Yet her demeanor is nearly identical to her father's as she continues to playfully destroy me. Hmph! ((contrary to what she and my father thinks, my physique is far from diminished!))

“Scholar,” Sirius corrects as he adjusts the golden band on his right arm over one of his cerulean-colored tattoos. “He is my astronomer.”

He’s since changed out of his hunting gear and back into his princely attire, dawning cerulean-colored robes decorated with the golden and blue stars of all the constellations he’s acquired. 

Cerulean-colored tattoos marred his flesh, a well-known symbol of strength amongst the noble and royal warriors of the Cerulean court. 

 But unlike every other cerulean star, his body is golden, all the way down to his forearms which is sometimes a near-translucent mix of cyan and navy blue. His golden hair is long, no doubt a sign of his heritage from the golden court as it sports several blue highlights through it. It’s nearly identical to the crystal he’s given me, one that he claims will be enough to ward nearly any crimson star away.  Any crimson star save for Polaris or the nocturne himself.

Wonderful.

How he manages to stay so composed despite this is beyond me. But I fear from the scars on his arms and body that previous experiences and run-ins have dampened whatever natural fear he may have once had.

It had been the first lesson that all astronomers who’d sworn allegiance to the cerulean court had learned. 

I can almost remember Lord Vitrius’s parting words this morning: “If there was one thing that all astronomers could agree on. It was never to look a crimson star in the eyes. Especially one of royal blood. It never ends well…”

“Matim let you get an astronomer?” the princess asks as her brows furrow.  

Sirius smiles. it’s a small one, simplistic even but I can see that he’s enjoying his twin sister’s displeasure. “Jealous, Orionia?”

I don’t know what she says to him, but it’s enough to make him grin as he steps past her, briefly arming himself with some weapons. 

Today is the day we, well, he will kill Polaris. Allegedly. He’s already set up a decoy to go to his place for the tournament. It’s as convincing as it is dishonest, but I don’t have the heart to feel truly sorry for the crimson court, at least not anymore. 

Whether or not I survive this ordeal, I can’t trust them to forgive me for aligning with Sirius nor will I be able to trust them to not interfere with my family’s ordeals both present and future. We will need protection, the kind that only the cerulean court’s royal family will be able to provide if I survive….

Sirius says nothing as he makes his way back to me. He never says much actually. ((That's why I could scarcely believe that he’d been the same star who’d laughed when I attempted to reply to the high queen’s Asterahi.)) 

He never breathes nor blinks either. I’m not sure if it’s a thing most stars do (I am not brave enough to stare at the crown princess or her parents for answers) or if he is just trying to scare me. If he wishes to scare me all he needs to do is stand up. 

I do not understand a star’s excessive height! What scientific purpose does it serve?!? Is it for intimidation?! Because if it is then it is working!!!

Ah, but I digress. 

The most I’ve spoken to him had been yesterday when he’d finished healing me and had given me his offer. ‘Three days,’ he’d told me. 

Three days that I’m sure anyone would be shocked to see me survive.

“I’ve heard from our scouts that the Polaris planning to attend the tournament is looking a bit smaller than usual,” His sister says as a wicked grin teases her lips. “The only thing he has in common with his usual self is his armor.”

“They’re being blatant about it,” Sirius sighs as his sister conceals one of her weapons in her armor... 

“Can you blame them?” she sighs, grabbing a mask that rests near the palanquin entrance. “If the council let us get away with half of what they did, I would gladly cheat as well.”

“Polaris is cheating?” I ask. “How can you be so certain?”

“Polaris has scarcely been seen without his battle armor,” Rigel replies as she picks up a goblet from the table and begins to drink. “A battle armor that doesn’t leave any inch of his body exposed.”

“That’s rather fitting for a warrior star,” I admit.

“And even more ideal for say, someone who would rather have someone else go in their place-,” she pauses taking another sip from her cup. “No one would be able to tell the difference between him and an imposter. No one save for someone like Sirius.”

“So there’s no point in going to the coliseum early,” he called as he rolled up a scroll that had been resting on the table. “The real Polaris is most likely on his way here as we speak.”

“WHAT?!” I yell. 

“He’s probably bringing his entourage too,” Sirius comments like he’s not about to be in a fight for his life.

“How many soldiers do you think are in this entourage?” Rigel asks, setting the cup down. A bit of the liquid spills from the brim and onto the floor where the ground begins to sizzle and burn.

Poison. She’d been drinking….poison…

Sirius thoughtfully hums as he picks up her cup and takes a sip from it as well. Neither is phased by the contents of their drink as he replies, “Fifty to say the least.”

“Fifty?! Why didn’t you tell me this sooner Your Highness?! Er,” I pause, coughing as I remember that the two current royal beings I was improperly addressing were well over ten feet tall. 

I’d do well to remember that I needed them far more than they needed me….

“Because I don’t plan on staying here to greet them” he replied as he looked over to the group of royal guards who nodded. “Come. We leave now.”

“Now?! Where are we going?!” I call nearly stumbling out of his Palanquin after him and Rigel.

“Eastwards of the two suns,” he replies glancing at the sky to the moon that is still faintly visible. It wasn’t hard to see why they’d held the tournament here of all places on Earth. It was perhaps the only place on this planet where so many stars and moons of their world was visible. “Then we will travel west of the three moons.” 

It only takes Rigel and the rest of the royal guards a second to disappear. Where to, I cannot say, but I have a feeling that they are not far from us.

Sirius smiles and turns to me. 

If only I had known that by finding Polaris he’d meant willingly letting him capture us….

The next few pages of writing had been nearly unintelligible, something that she could understand given her father’s situation. He’d come face to face with the crimson court. The most vicious group of stars in the galaxy. But what had happened? She knew he’d survived, but had he agreed to become Sirius’s astronomer? Had he earned himself his enemies within the court? He’d mentioned that Magnifico hadn’t liked the cerulean court. But why? And then there was still the matter of the unexplained assassins, their red crystals, and the blackbird.

She’d nearly turned to the star for answers when the sound of Lady Allard’s voice interrupted her. “Alright everyone we’ll be on land soon! Please be sure to take your seats and hold onto something! It might get a little bump-AAAAHHH!” she screamed, nearly falling off of the crate she’d stood on as her servants reached out to steady her. 

“Sorry about that! The sea is a bit restless at this time of day!”  Captain Silver called as his crew scattered across the deck, grabbing various ropes and re-adjusting the sails. “But rest assured, we’ll have ye back on shore in one piece in no time!” he declared before barking more orders to his crew.

Asha quickly clutched onto the railing for dear life as she grabbed Valentino just before he could slide away. 

Amala, on the other hand, hadn’t been as fortunate as she’d screamed, nearly falling over until the star caught her, quickly pulling her down onto his seat with him. They had been close, too close for Asha’s tastes as Amala was practically in his lap.

She didn’t know why, but something about how they’d looked at each other and laughed before the star leaned his head against her had made her vision change color.

“Are you alright?” He’d asked her. His smile was far too gentle, and happy. But not completely unexpected.

She’d nodded, her words failing her before she’d sharply exhaled and gifted him a smile that could’ve easily won her the heart of any boy or star in Rosas, “I am now.”

Ugh, she was going to gag! ‘Someone, anyone please save me!’ she mentally screamed, but it seemed as if she were alone in her thoughts of discontent as the other girls grinned.

“Alright Amala, I see you,” Abigail teased as her eyes drifted to the star’s hands around Amala’s waist. 

“It should have been me,” Moireach softly whispered as all the other girls laughed.

All save for Asha, whose eyes were glued onto the star’s hand around Amala’s waist.

Now she’d begun to understand why she’d felt so uneasy from their conversation about him being alone tonight at her abode. Alone with her. The perfect noblewoman. 

And perhaps that's what had truly frightened her. Not him encountering the assassins he could handle with ease. But the possibility of him realizing that he didn't have to settle for her. Not when there was better out there. 

She’d swallow uneasily, trying to tear her gaze away from his hand which seemed all too comfortable on Amala’s waist when she saw it.

She’d forced herself to hold in the yelp that had nearly escaped her as she promptly did a double take.

That…that wasn’t normal. That couldn’t be normal. 

She’d waited until they’d all started conversing again. They were all too deeply ensnared in the star’s charms to hear her before she’d whispered to Valentino “Valentino. Do you see that?” She asked as she gestured to the star’s hand on Amala.

The goat obediently looked from her to the duo then back to her before grinning in that all too knowing way. “No! I meant his hand! Look at his hand! Don’t you see it?!”

Valentino glanced again at the star and then at her. His smug grin was gone now, as he shook his head.

“You don’t see that?!” She nearly quietly shrieked before gesturing to her hand. “Look at his fingernails! They literally changed color and shape!” Now the goat looked at her like she was the crazy one. “Val, I swear I’m not-,”

“Did you say something, Asha?” Abigail’s voice came as she halted, meeting the eyes of the onlooking girls and star. 

“Oh I was just talking to Valentino,” she lied with a smile. 

“Oh okay,” Abigail replied as the other girls resumed their conversation with the star as Asha had turned her attention to the nearing island.

But Asha had known what she’d seen. She just wasn’t sure why everyone else was acting so strangely….She didn’t know if it was because of his attractiveness or what, but there was no way they didn’t see his now blackened fingernails. Not when it had almost looked…like claws.

Had that been the reason why he’d left so abruptly before? She could’ve sworn that his nails were normal earlier, or at least they’d appeared that way…

Claws, wings, feathers, and sharp teeth…what was next? Antlers? Fur? A tail? Oh goodness she didn’t know what she would do if his true form actually had a tail-

“What are you looking at?” The star teasingly whispered. It had taken her a second to realize that he’d been talking to her, but the look of laughter in his eyes promised her that more headaches were quickly in tow.

“You tell me,” she retorted as she crossed her arms. “Because I’m honestly not sure what I’m looking at either.”

“Well if you must know o ye wicked one,” he haughtily started as the other girls laughed, somehow too absorbed in their own conversation to notice. “You’re looking at a very fine, and exceptionally ha-,”

“There are still no handsome men on this boat,” Asha interrupted as the star stopped, quickly clutching at his heart, as he made a sound that nearly reminded her of a wounded animal. 

“Cepheus?!” The other girls called out in alarm as he sniffled and gasped. “Cepheus what’s wrong?!” 

His eyes narrowed at Asha as she nearly contemplated apologizing. But one look at his hand still lingering around Amala’s waist had given her all the resolve she’d needed to stand on her words.

So she’d said nothing as the star laughed, assuring the girls that he’d been perfectly fine. How they’d believe him was beyond her, but all things considered she wasn’t worried.

After all, what could he do to her? Annoy her? Oh please. He’d been annoying her ever since he’d been on this boat and laid eyes on Amala. She’d grown used to it by now. All his antics and tricks? Yawn! 

She’d rolled her eyes, blissfully unaware of the annoying series of events that lay ahead of her. 

“Begin Defensive demonstration!” Came the king’s command as the blindfolded prince and his opponent bowed in unison before circling each other. 

1…

2…

3

The man swiftly charged. The sounds of his attack expectantly came from the prince’s right side as he angled his training spear to deflect. 

For someone fighting him blindfolded the man was good.

Better than good actually. If Ignacio had to guess, he’d presume the man was a well-trained soldier. His strength and stealth had revealed as much as he’d followed up his initial attacks with a series of far swifter ones, this time switching directions as he’d calculatedly forced the prince backward towards the boundaries of the training circle. 

Knowing better than to lose in such fashion before the king, he’d used his powers to slow himself to a quiet skid as he’d telekinetically deflected the remainder of the man’s attack, before countering him with a well placed leg swipe..

The man grunted as the sounds of his spear clattered to the ground and the king’s voice filled his ears.

“Again!” the king commanded, as he’d nodded resuming the starting position. 

The brief pause had allowed for his mind to wonder. This day had begun rather normally for him, hadn’t it? Well as normal as it could be given the circumstances….

He’d greeted the all too friendly court this morning before he’d made his usual rounds around the now empty halls, occasionally running into the scrambling chef and servants who’d tended to the king’s guests.

But it hadn’t taken long for the short-lived rumors about these newfound guests to begin circulating around the castle. On their own, rumors in the castle had never been notable to the prince who’d often been subjected to many of them. But the short-lived ones? Oh they always tended to carry an ounce of truth that he knew was the reason why they’d never lasted long to begin with.

From what little he had managed to catch, he’d heard that their luggage had been taken in during the cover of darkness to conceal the heavy metal that shook from within them. ‘Metal that no diplomat would ever be seen carrying to a foreign nation,’ one of his servants had told him. 

‘The scent of smoke and blood lingered in their wake,’ said another of his servants as they’d recounted assisting in the moving. 

Altogether, it hadn’t been much, but it had confirmed his initial suspicions.

The timing of these Ischanian diplomats and new Ischanian arrivals was too close to be a coincidence. Too close and too clever.

“Begin!” came the king’s voice as he’d paused his thoughts to sidestep a jab, feeling the air of the man’s staff swiftly past his chest before he’d struck the man’s thigh, eliciting a sharp hiss from his opponent before he’d dodge once more.

“Ack!” He’d spat, barely dodging a far more aggressive jab from the man’s staff. He hadn’t completely believed his servant’s words at the time, but the near hit from his opponent had almost made him reconsider it.

With the sheer speed and strength the man was using, he wasn’t just hitting him to spar. No, he was hitting to hurt, maybe even decapitate. 

“Pay attention Ignacio! Now is not the time to be distracted!” The king’s voice rang through the air, breaking his line of thought.

 He hadn’t needed to see the king’s face to know that he wasn’t impressed with the near dodge. 

‘A king who lived life solely on close calls was not a king destined to rule long,’ he’d recalled hearing his uncle say as he parried another attack.

Luck. That’s always what his uncle and his closest supporters had thought it boiled down to. He’d had the luck to be born a prince, luck to call a castle his home and a powerful king his uncle, luck to have powers. And there’d been a time when he too had thought he had been the luckiest person alive. 

But it would take more than luck to get him what he wanted, but perhaps it had given him what he’d already needed. 

He was certain of it. 

Now all he had to do was make his move. 

Swiftly he’d sidestepped the man once more, using his staff to strike his knee and trip him before telekinetically throwing him out of the bounds.

“Not bad,” came the king’s voice as he’d removed his blindfold before helping his sparring partner up. He’d forcefully swallowed his surprise at the king’s smile. He hadn’t expected him to be happy about him winning a sparring session of all things. 

“He can fight,” his sparring partner said with a noticeably thick Ischanian accent as he bowed to the king. 

“Of course he can, who do you think taught him how to fight?” he rolled his eyes before he turned back to Ignacio. “Do you know why I have brought you to these grounds today, Ignacio?”

“Tradition?” He’d asked, following the king to a table full of weapons. “You always told me that grandfather would bring you out here to train as did his father with him and his father before.”

“That’s not a bad guess,” the king chuckled as Ignacio exchanged his staff for a sword. “Although your grandfather would definitely think otherwise. He’d call this excessive.”

“Excessive?” Ignacio frowned as he examined the sword’s blade. “I’ve seen princes who were sixth in line train harder to than this!” He’d paused, realizing all too late just how…ungrateful he’d sounded as he’d risked a glance towards the king’s direction, expecting to see some hint of apprehensiveness or anger.

But the king had surprised him by laughing and nodding, “I know, right! But your grandfather was a peaceful man. A sharp contrast to his predecessor as he sought to unite the world for the betterment of everyone. People called him a genius. They thought he was brave, but only those who were close to him knew the truth of just how fearful he was of himself and others. He had the right idea really,” He sighed, staring towards the sea. “Pity it just wasn’t enough to save him.”

“Do you ever think he was afraid of you?”

“Me?” the king frowned, looking insulted. “Ignacio there’s far worse things than me out there. That’s why I’ve done everything I possibly could to keep you and everyone else in this kingdom safe. The day I lost my kingdom, I’d vowed that when I became king, I’d never let it happen again, just as you will soon vow when you ascend the throne.” 

The training grounds had grown quiet as the resolve in the king’s voice had strengthened, and now the young prince had felt as if he’d been listening not to his uncle, but to an admirable king from a time long ago. 

“As the future king of Rosas, you must always proceed with prudence and calculation. You must never be seen nor heard unless you need to be,” the king started as his eyes narrowed. “You must never move unless you have thought of every possibility and pitfall. You may not understand now, but one day you’ll see.” 

Obediently, he’d nodded, knowing that it was better to have the king think of him as stupid and reckless rather than competent. It would make what he planned to do tonight so much easier.

“You said you’d been working on your archery skills, haven’t you?” 

“Here and there,” he replied, turning his attention back to the table full of weapons that had been carefully sharpened and arranged, awaiting for whatever task the king had in mind. 

“Care to demonstrate for us? I’d love to see just how far you’ve gotten.” if by us, the king had meant him and the sparring partner that he had strangely yet to dismiss, then the answer was yes.

He nodded, as they made their way to the archery grounds next. 

“Whenever you’re ready,” the king called as he got into position.

“How do you stop a star?” Her voice echoed in his ears as the silence of the training ground surrounded him. The desperation in her eyes had seemed sincere to him as she’d unknowingly asked the question that would cement his suspicion of her. 

He’d wanted to believe in her. Believe that she was innocent. That she’d always been innocent. But it had been hard to believe that when the count had informed him that she’d been snooping around in the library for some undisclosed object. Then there’d been the matter of her mysterious arrival to the island.

The soldiers stationed on the island had combed through every port and corner to find the rowboat she’d used, but alas no one could find it, nor had anyone in Hamlet nor Banquo seen her depart in a rowboat either.

Dahlia had brought up several good points in their last meeting as he’d pondered the last conversation he’d had with Asha over and over.  

He’d remembered seeing how her fingers had lingered over the words Sirius and just how thoroughly she’d examined the list of star names before he’d revealed that he’d been watching her.

List of star names… he hadn’t thought of it before. But surely if she’d known the star’s name then she wouldn’t have spent so much time searching through those lists, would she? 

Maybe she didn’t know… 

He’d released his grip on the bow string, feeling the arrow tear through his grasp before it had firmly implanted itself into the center of the target.

“A perfect shot,” his sparring partner had whispered, looking somewhat impressed.

“A lucky one too,” the king sighed, before commanding, “again.” and so again he shot his arrow watching as it too firmly embedded itself into the heart of the target. 

The king had made him repeat his shot three more times before he’d sharply whistled and smiled. “that’s new. I don’t recall sending any archery masters your way-,”

“It was a trick I learned while I was in Scotland,” he answered, adjusting his quiver’s strap over his shoulder. “The princess taught me.”

“She must be an extraordinary teacher…and very patient too…” 

“Of course,” Ignacio answered with a stiff nod as he took his aim at another target before releasing another arrow, then another target. 

He’d hit the mark, watching as his uncle examined each target. If he hadn’t known better than he would’ve thought the man was proud of him, as he’d looked the target over again and again as if he’d suspected to find anything suspicious.

When he couldn’t find anything he’d swiftly taken them to another corner of the training grounds where he ‘suggested’ that Ignacio show him a demonstration of his power.

‘He’s strangely subdued today,’ Ignacio had thought as he’d finished transcribing another rune before watching it glow and ignite into flames.  

“Hmm, Very good Ignacio,” came the king’s voice as he examined his work. “Very good indeed.”

The prince smiled, bowing, “Thank you, your highness.”

“I can tell you’ve been improving,” the king added as he straightened himself. “Something you picked up from your travels no doubt. Did you take on a magic teacher that I didn’t know about?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t. I had a lot of time to kill while out and about,” he confessed. “And what better way to use it than to excel and improve so I can be a better protector for Rosas?”

“Indeed,” the king nodded. “A wise decision given all that is happening.” With a sharp wave of his hand, the table’s objects neatly rearranged themselves. “You’ve learned a lot, but there is one thing you have left to master.”

“Oh?” Ignacio asked, unable to hide the displeasure in his voice. “And what is that?”

The king grinned, his eyes scanning the clearing before it landed on a nearby potted tree. Immediately a brilliant blast of green magic emerged from his hand, striking the plant. 

Ignacio gasped, nearly stumbling backward as he’d placed his hand over his face, shielding his eyes from the power of the blast as he watched the tree shake and blacken, leaning ever so slightly towards the king before it wilted.

He didn’t remember walking towards it, but he had remembered reaching towards it. His fingers had been mere inches from the wilted leaves when he’d heard his uncle call from behind him, “I wouldn’t touch that if I were you. It’s not very kind to the skin, or anything really”

“It’s…it’s dead…” he was hardly able to keep the horror out of his voice as he looked back towards the king. “What…what did you do to it?”

The king smiled, observing a small sliver of green energy that slithered between his fingers before disappearing into the palm of his hand. “Just a simple draining spell,” he answered nonchalantly. “Nothing too special or big.”

“Too special?” Ignacio repeated, as he scowled. “You…you’ve been reading that book again haven’t you?”

The king rolled his eyes and sighed, “Don’t insult me, I’ve been reading that book long before you were born. And if you knew any better,  you’d be begging me to read it too. The power it contains is unlike anything else you’ll find on this planet. Trust me, you’re not the first prince to sail around the world looking for grandeur sources of power…”

Ignacio said nothing as the king sighed and shook his head, carelessly tossing his staff into his other hand as he declared, but since you insist on being so difficult, I guess there’s only one other way I can teach you.”

“Teach me?” he couldn’t hide the way he trembled nor the disgust in his voice as he’d asked, “Why?”

“Because my dear boy, to be king is a divine right for those who must make difficult sacrifices for the betterment of their people. It’s why there are those born to lead and those who are born to follow.” A servant stepped forward and placed a small potted tree down a few yards away.  “Here. You try.”

Try? He didn’t want to. But he knew that he was already on thin ice given his prior outburst. 

The prince swallowed, holding his hand forward towards the other potted plant. “Now?”

“Breathe,” the king commanded. “Focus on how your power flows through you. Then focus on the energy that flows through the plant.”

He could see it, feel the energy coursing through the plant as it breathed, growing and living like any other creature. 

In the grand scheme of things, killing a plant was small, but it was what else his uncle could use this power for that frightened him. He’d learned that lesson the hard way the day his uncle had shown him that he could make statues.

At first his uncle had used it on nothing more than rats and field mice. It had been funny and silly to see the twisting shapes of the rodent statues as Charo had enviously eyed them. But it had quickly lost it’s charm when the first human like statue had appeared. 

He’d tried not to remember the way how the man’s face had contorted as he’d turned, almost like he’d been trying to run away when his uncle had attacked. 

His stomach coiled and tensed as he’d tried to maintain his focus, trying not to see the tree for more than what it was. “Do you see it?” the king asked.

“I do,” he nodded.

“Good. Now… drain it.”

Drain it.  It was just one plant wasn’t it? No one would miss it if it were gone, and besides, he needed to stay in the king’s good graces if he wanted his plan to work.

So he began to do it, carefully tugging at the surface of it’s energy as he felt it enter him. It wasn’t enough to revitalize him in any noticeable way, but it was enough for him to see that it’s leaves slowly begin to lose it’s sheen as it’s branches ever so slightly wilted. 

“Look at you! You're a natural!” the king proudly called. “Now hurry it up, we don’t have all day!”

He nodded, slowly pulling deeper. But the more he’d pulled at it, the less he could see it as a tree. What would happen if his uncle had expected him to do this to the star or worse- Asha? Would he have been able to do it then?

He’d tried not to picture her face, horrified as he’d slowly pulled the life force from her body. 

Leaving her nothing more than a shriveled corpse. 

It was too much.

“I…I can’t. Can’t I do this without killing it?  It’s dying!”

“It’s a plant Ignacio. Rosas is full of them! No one is getting hurt if you drain the life of one little weed-”

“But it’s not the only thing you plan on using this against is it?” He’d asked in their olde tongue, taking a step back as he’d promptly stopped. 

“Ignacio…you fighting me over a plant is not the moral victory you think it is.” he groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose, “and here I thought we raised you better than this.” 

Ignacio bit his tongue, willing himself to be silent as the king smiled mockingly, “You must think you live in a fairy tale, don’t you? One where you can fancy yourself as a hero of olde. A morally unrighteous man destined to never stray on the path of evil as you save your people and fair kitchen maiden from any and all evil that your wicked uncle concocts, don’t you?”

“I-,”

His smile promptly dissipated as he took a step forward. To anyone who hadn’t known him, they would’ve thought his speed terrifying as he stopped mere inches before him, speaking “Listen to me now, and listen carefully…this life is no fairy tale, and you…are no hero.”

“I never claimed to be one!”

His uncle smiled, chuckling, before gesturing to the still-living plant, “And yet here you are, weakly protesting as if you’ve fooled yourself into thinking you have any semblance to one. But I suppose that’s what happens when you can delude yourself into thinking you can have friends. True friends. You almost feel like a normal person, don’t you?” 

The prince said nothing as he’d stared at the plant he’d spared, before the king whispered, 

“We share far more in common than just our resemblance Ignacio, remember that.”

“Your highness!” Came a choir of voices and footsteps as three servants quickly appeared, snapping the king’s attention as he’d quickly turned to them.

“Ah, it’s about time you appeared,” the king smiled. “With good news I hope?”

“Yes sire, the chefs have finished the meal. Now your guests await.”

“Perfect!” He beamed, clapping his hands in delight. “That’s enough for today,” he called to Ignacio. “We’ll resume this whenever I have time.”

“Yes your highness,” Ignacio muttered quietly, unable to meet the eyes of the retreating king. 

“W-wait sire, you still haven’t addressed the Nobles of Banquo!” The second servant, a nobleman panicked as the king came to a halt. 

“Pardon?”

“W-well,” the servant stammered, as he nervously fidgeted with his hands. “They were really looking forward to your presence being there this year, your majesty.”

“Again?” The king sighed, before waving his hand somewhat dismissively. “Tell them that I cannot make it.”

“B-but-,” 

“Regretfully so, but the safety and well-being of Rosas must take priority!” 

“With all due respect,” the second servant spoke. ”Surely we could come to some sort of compromise your highness…”

“Oh? And what do you propose?”

“I can go,” Ignacio spoke as all eyes turned to him. “Neither you nor Tia are in any position to travel. So If they want a royal, then I can go while you two stay behind here. So everyone wins? How does that compromise sound?”

“The prince’s presence would be welcomed,” the man quickly added as the king mulled it over, before relenting.

“Very well then, you may go. Just remember to take your entourage with you. Your full entourage.”

“Yes sir,”

“W-wait your highness!” the nobleman called once more. “There’s one other thing!”

“Yes?” The king’s patience was shocking to say the least…

“Well... we were sending out the court invitations to the royal fair at Banquo as per tradition, when we noticed we had,” he paused, digging through his satchel for a few envelopes, “-a few left over.”

“Left over?” the king repeated, looking surprised. “Ah you must be talking about the Clariveau’s! It’s a real shame that they couldn’t make it this year. I’ve always enjoyed their presence at those fairs you know….” the nobleman nodded in shared sympathy as the king turned his gaze to the prince once more. “Ignacio?”

“Yes sir?”

“Since you’re a very dear friend of the Clariveaus why don’t you handle this? Surely you can think of someone who they wouldn’t mind attending in their place for this year’s festival”

“Thank you, your highness…I will do my best.” He replied, bowing in tandem with the others as the king and his sparring partner silently followed after the other two servants.

His eyes lingered over the mockingly unopened envelopes of invitations in the nobleman’s hands as an idea struck him, one that he knew would give him just the chance he needed now….

It had only been a few hours later when the crowd of both Rosas natives and arrivals arrived on land, making their way back to the fairly busy market. 

“Ugh, I’m exhausted!” she’d heard someone groan.

“You’re telling me! I must’ve been dancing for hours! I can’t feel my feet!”

“I’m so hungry!” wailed someone else.

Of course, other things were said, most of which escaped her as she caught sight of her grandfather sitting on the seat in front of his bakery with Capella and Valentino by his side. “Hey Saba,” she cried, giving him her best smile.

Had it been anyone else she was approaching, she might’ve been able to fool herself into thinking she had some semblance of a chance of persuading them from her smile alone. But unfortunately for her, her grandfather knew better.

“Here we go” He grumbled as he handed Capella another spare Magnifico flyer. Eyeing her suspiciously, he stepped back. “What is it this time?”

“So Saba I was wondering if you could do me a favor….”

“A favor?” he replied, glaring at her, “what do you want?” 

“Well…” she took a deep breath. Her Saba was no stranger to receiving less-than-ideal requests…his choice in company had told her that much, but she had a feeling that he’d be a little less than welcoming to this suggestion. Not that she could blame him of course, it was admittedly a rather foolish thing to do, foolish and desperate… but her options were…limited to say the least… “I was wondering if you could…not tell mom about today?”

His brows furrowed as his lips turned downward, “Child-” he started to warn right before he did whenever he would scold her.

She gulped, quickly shaking her head, “Look I know it sounds really bad Saba, but- I swear I have everything under control, er, we will have everything under control soon enough-,”

“Control?!” he repeated angrily. “Asha need I remind you where we found you? Or rather where we wouldn’t have found you if it weren’t for that ‘Cepheus’ character?!”

She winced, trying not to think of the female assassin’s body that now floated lifelessly on the bottom of Salcona while her grandfather continued,  “Take it from someone who’s had more than their fair share of run ins with assassins. When it comes to people who only concern themselves with their end goals for money. There's no control there. Not when they’ll use any and everything as a means to an end to get to you!”

“I know, and I know this is serious but Saba, Mama has been more than stressed lately and I think she’s been worried about me, really worried. It wouldn’t feel right if I were to just give her more reason to worry.” 

“Worry? Child both you and I know that worrying would be the last thing she’d do! right after she  wisely gets us all out on the first boat that leaves Rosas-,”

“L-leaves Rosas?” Asha repeated, as her heart stopped and she trembled. “B-but I, we can’t leave Rosas Saba!

“Why not?!”

Rosas is our home!”

“A home is not a place where your life is consistently in danger!”

“Before now my life was never in danger Saba!” she retorted, trying to ignore the skeptical look on his face as she shook her head. “If anything is in danger, it’s Dad’s legacy! You should’ve seen the state that his library was in when I saw it yesterday or how his study looked when I received it! Nobody’s maintaining or looking after anything he’s been working on!” she cried as the old man’s eyes widened in shock. She winced, not meaning to shout at her grandfather as she lowered her voice, “Dad doesn’t deserve that Saba. Not when he gave everything to help build this kingdom. His life, his passion, his time…The least I could do as his daughter is try to help maintain it-,”

“No,” he shook his head as his voice grew cold. “Don’t bother. The kingdom your father helped to see to fruition is no longer the same kingdom that stands before you today. It hasn’t been for a while, but it’s just gotten better at hiding it.” he grumbled, turning his eyes towards the sea. “Nothing in this kingdom’s past, present and especially future is worth risking your life for. Trust me you could just ask the Clariveaus.”

“But Dad-,”

“Would be telling you the same thing too if he were still around…” her grandfather snapped as he accusingly pointed his cane towards her. “He knew how much of a man the king was, how much of a man the king no longer tries to be, and he also knew that you were far more valuable than this sorry excuse of said man’s kingdom!”

“Saba don’t say that about Rosas!” she cried.

“And why shouldn’t I?” his eyes burned with fury as his grip on his cane trembled. “Do you think if your father, my son, still lived that he would’ve valued whatever legacy this kingdom showed off? That the king would’ve let that happen?”

“They were friends Saba…” she protested. “of course the king would’ve-,”

“Answer my second question!” he sternly commanded. “Do you think your father would’ve valued this kingdom over the wellbeing of his only daughter?”

Her lip quivered as she glanced towards the Ischanian crowd currently enjoying the sights and sounds of the city, and then to the children who’d chatted with the star. An ironic symbol of her father’s past meeting the present, she thought before mulling over her grandfather’s question.

Did she really think her father would’ve valued the kingdom over the wellbeing of his only daughter?

The answer seemed so obvious, but their unfinished star maps and broken dreams had made her wonder.

Why wouldn’t he? Between her and the kingdom, at least the kingdom had offered a sense of refuge and hope for its people. What had she done? Other than crying, failing, and running around aimlessly, not much. Everything she’d achieved and promised had only been because of the star, not herself.

So how could she blame her father? Surely any man in his position would’ve strived to do the same, between contributing to a magical kingdom and tending to a non-magical daughter, only one would bring results and prosperity, while the other…well… she was just going to bring about disappointment with every passing day, wasn’t she? 

There’s a reason why her father’s projects and dreams had never gotten off the ground. How could they when he had an unspectacular daughter like her at the helm of each project? Her poor father, if only he’d known just how doomed his projects had been when he’d promised her that they could build them together.

Maybe he should’ve wished for a better daughter…

“I know, I know….It’s a foolish thing to ask and do,” she started, as she nervously twitched. “but Saba please, there are so many things happening in my life right now that I need to figure out. The past, my father’s legacy, our family history…and I can’t do that if we have to leave Rosas because of me….please Saba, I need to do something right for once!” she held her satchel forward, pleading,  “I found his journal today Saba…Dad’s journal, and if what he said was true, then this isn’t the first time our family’s been in danger like this, right?”

“No but I intend for it to be the last,” her grandfather solemnly answered. “And you know I always make good on my promises.”

“I know, and I’ll tell Mama, I will, but…just not yet. Is there anyway we could protect her too?”

“I wouldn’t worry about your Mother if I was you….at least not if you’re intending to tell her within reasonable time?”

She could practically hear the question in his voice as she nervously laughed. What time was a reasonable time? Well….

“After the astral ball-,” she hurriedly replied, grimacing at his incredulous expression before she quickly added, “I don’t think the king would be happy if I suddenly upped and left. I mean if I have to put in this much work just for a vacation. I don’t really want to see what I’ll have to do for a resignation.”

“Of course, he wouldn’t take kindly to it!” He fumed catching the attention of a few passerby's. “He’s never taken kindly to failure!”

“Taken kindly to failure?” she frowned, gesturing for him to speak quietly as the afternoon market crowd continued to pass. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You tell me, you were the one who just so happened to have assassins who seem to be rather well informed with certain royally handled things after you.”

“Saba are you saying that you think he sent? No, you’ve got to be kidding me” she laughed and quickly shook her head. “There’s no way that the king of all people would be behind what happened earlier.”

“Wanna bet?” her grandfather challenged as Capella briefly paused her chewing of the Magnifico flyer. If Asha hadn’t known any better than she would’ve sworn that Capella was now eating the flyer rather spitefully. 

“C’mon Saba, I know you’ve never been pro-Rosas monarchy, but the king isn’t a bad man. Sure he has issues, but wouldn’t anyone who’s been in his place be a little…well…unbalanced?” When the old man expectedly didn’t answer, she shook her head. “Plus even you have to admit that he’s done a lot of good for the people of Rosas and the world! right?”

“The king can go choke on rocks for all I care,” Sabino cursed before waving his hand dismissively. “The amount of excuses you come up with for that man is unfathomable!”

“Excuses? Saba, they’re not excuses!”

“No, they’re just statements to keep him from accountability because he gets to wear a nice little gold crown on his head and you don’t! But it’s all because it’s birthright so he’s destined to be owed all that and then some!” he mockingly sang. His voice imitated that of a court’s noble as he handed another Magnifico flyer to Capella who happily devoured it. “Please, if that man were to properly give everyone just how much they’re owed for all the service they’ve done for him, and his worthless kingdom, we’d be richer than the royal family!”

Asha doubted that. After all, how seriously could they of all people, be indebted to a king who had the power to grant wishes? Sure her father had helped out, but the extent to which he’d done so could’ve been argued.

Her grandfather scoffed, taking a few deep breaths to calm his temper before he tersely stared out at sea. “Lord knows how many secrets I’ve sworn to take to the grave!  Most of them were ones I never should have agreed to, but your father-!” his expression fell as his eyes met hers.

“Your father…” he shook his head, waving away the thought as if to banish it from his mind. 

“My father? What kind of troubled secrets did Dad want you to keep?” she asked, intrigue filled her as she remembered her father’s written words. Could it have had something to do with the crimson court? The assassins with the scarlet crystals? Sirius?  

Her grandfather didn’t answer, opting instead to shoot a glare at a few onlookers who quickly looked away. “Ones that certainly aren’t appropriate for speaking out about in public,” he grumbled as he eyed a distant pair of guards passing by. 

“Can you tell me when we get home then?”

“No,” he crossly answered as she glanced towards the star, somewhat surprised to see that he had been looking her way. 

“What why not?”

“Ah ah!” he cut her off with a sharp wave of his cane. “After what you’ve just asked me to do, you should be the last one to scold or ask anyone about keeping secrets!” he chided.

“Alright…that’s fair,” she conceded as he huffed.

“Fair? It’s unreasonable! I have half a mind to go straight home to your mother right now and tell her if I weren’t so busy with this feast! But…” he sighed, visibly deflating. “If you want me to be quiet about it for now until you can sort it out, then I suppose I can feel less compelled to tell your mother, if-,”

And there it was. The catch. “If?” she repeated with an uneasy swallow.

“You and that…Cepheus character helped me out in the bakery this evening.”

Ok, well, that sounded doable, and maybe even reasonable. After all, the incoming crowd was by no means small, she thought as she looked over the large crowd of people that had disembarked the ship.

“Alright. Just let me know when you need us,” she nodded. Her eyes wandered towards the star who was waving to the sky. 

 “Hello Corvias! I was wondering when you’d be back!” he called to the circling crows above. 

“Corvias?” Asha repeated as the rest of the crows landed, comfortably seating themselves around the star as a few members sat close to Mrs. Kurkaus’s stall, with a few even joining the line.

“Do you know these birds?” Edda asked as the children cautiously approached.

“I suppose you could say that,” Cepheus grinned as Corvias surveyed the children before them. It was funny seeing them all so silent like this, Asha thought as the other crows rustled their feathers. One nearly would’ve mistaken them for ordinary birds, if they hadn’t seen how they’d all been acting in the library.

“What?!” cried Lady Allard, nearly startling Asha as she caught sight of the noblewoman standing a few feet away on the corner street of her grandfather’s bakery. “What do you mean you’re still not ready?!”

Asha of course knew it was impolite to eavesdrop, but she couldn’t help but listen in as one of the members of the rather guilty-looking cooks and bakers, spoke, “We’ve already set up shop and decorated the bakery-,” one of the chefs explained. “But we will need some more time to get things ready.”

“How much is more time?!” Lady Allard panickily questioned. “I’ve already bought you at least three hours of time with the boat trip!”

“Ah,” the chefs smiled apologetically. “Indeed you have madame…and we do apologize for the delay. We only need one hour of time-,”

“One hour,” she took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. Then another, and another.  “Fine, but it’s all I can give you. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to stall them for that long…”

“My ladyship,” one of the officials spoke as he stepped forward. “I do believe we have more activities planned that you could use-,”

“Yes but those are activities planned for the adults,” she frowned. “I didn’t anticipate there being so many children!” she exclaimed as she gestured to the crowd of children that stood off to the side with the star.

“Uh, excuse me, Delphine,” Asha interjected as she cautiously approached. “If I may, I think I could be of help! With the children that is.”

“Really?” Lady Allard looked surprised. “But a few of them aren’t acquainted with our language-,”

“It won’t be a problem, trust me! I used to be a tour guide in the capital! I gave tours to people from all over who weren’t familiar with our language!”

“Even from Ischania?” one of the nobles asked.

“Well…maybe not from Ischania, but from a lot of places close to Ischania…plus there were a lot of kids…and I was really good at handling kids so I have a plan! I promise”

Delphine must have been desperate as she’d offered no further resistance before nodding, “Alright then. I’ll leave them in your hands.”

“Thank you, your ladyship,” Asha said with a small curtsy as the group of officials and chefs swiftly departed.

This was perfect, wasn’t it? A game would be an excellent way to get Ms. Nora’s son acquainted with the other kids! Now all she needed was the star’s help to do it…

Which of course would be much easier said than done….

[fangbanger3000]

snippet friday

thank you so much to my superbly talented friends, @lizziemajestic and @underthedark0 for tagging me!! i'm just so happy to be here.

here's a non-spoilery snippet from We The Stolen, chapter 52 ... which i really hoped to have published before my exam started today, but alas. i'm sorry for the delay <33

guess who's entering the scene in this one (note that im rubbing my hands together like an evil fly)

tw: panic attack, angst, daddy issues?? lmaoo

“That’s it,” he affirmed with a nod, beckoning her to continue. Some of the frenzied dizziness seemed to lift from her mind with each breath. “Keep going. You don’t have to tell me anything, you just have to breathe.”

She did what he said as best as she could. She wasn’t exactly sure why. Perhaps she had reached a point of such despair that she’d simply do what was asked of her. Obeying commands was easier than trying to figure it out herself, which she had greatly failed at up until this point. She felt as if her brain was broken.

And what do you know? It worked. Her breathing steadied, her trembling eased a little. She was still clutching his hand in a way that made the claw of his thumb dig into her palm, which he allowed, and she felt she just might float away if she let go. Her insides were still tangled up in fear and pain and emotions so large and overwhelming she couldn’t even begin to put words on them, but she didn’t feel like she was drowning as much as she had a moment ago.

How was he so calm? Was it a mask he was able to slip into, something he had learned when his fellow soldiers became shell-shocked beyond rational thought? Was he dealing with the same grief as she was, somewhere deep beneath the rock-solid surface?

No, she realised. He wasn’t, because he didn’t know. How could he possibly? He had disappeared in the dark alongside the others on the day of the ambush, as Rolan had told her. Someone would have to tell him that almost all of his people were dead. That someone would likely have to be Tav.

She couldn’t help herself. She burst into tears.

She didn’t doubt for a single moment that he would simply have stayed there with her and let her squeeze his hand while she cried, respectful of her boundaries and as understanding as anyone could possibly be, but she didn’t have the grace to return any of it. She had never felt this afraid and alone in her life and there was no end in sight, and suddenly she was missing her parents of all people, and so she threw herself at him like a child. She dissolved into sobs against his chest, ignoring how the sharp ridges of his armour dug into the skin on her face. He huffed out a breath when she knocked him backwards to the floor, but he did not otherwise protest. He merely held her, softly shushing her as he stroked her hair.

[laurencher]

Dosia 3, 6, 7 (as in, other children younger than him), 9, 12, 17, 18, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 42, 44, 49 teeheeee

Thanks for the asks @dullard, here you are!

3. Dosia is a very optimistic young man who always tries to look at the world in a positive way and not to give up. He keeps repeating the same thought: "I have no right to say that my life is terrible. I have a roof over my head, loved ones who care about me and goals for the future. Why should I be unhappy. Life is beautiful!" However, Dosia is unable to express his emotions normally. He is used to hiding all his insecurities, fears and pain behind a wide smile, he finds it hard to openly express his emotions even in the presence of his own owl mom/big sister. It's easier for him to accumulate it all inside until his guts are shattered.

6. His...huge... EARS. Sometimes he wishes he could get rid of them. He hates it when someone pulls on his ears, it's a very sensitive body part.

7. To be honest... Dosia is very afraid of children. He doesn't have hatred for them, but he feels like a fish out of water around them. But he would never hurt a child.

9. Fear of death

12. When people judge him by his looks.

He is a small fluffy cute harmless ecaflip, yes yes yes yes, but don't be surprised if he abruptly claws at your neck or strikes you with all his mighty hind legs

15. He chews on his paw when he sleeps...and he is a sleepwalker. Ro (his owl guardian) has gotten used to what he sometimes does in this state. Sometimes it's very funny and sometimes it's pretty scary. But it has become a kind of habitual action.

17. I think it is his unbreakable optimism and hope for a bright future, despite all the hardships and problems

18. His owl guardian (mom, big sister) Fukuro. They keep each other alive.  They love each other very much, even though they are always bully each other (it's their thing, only the person who loves you the most can lovingly tell you: "Dosia, you're an ecaflip asshole" or "Ro, if you stay up all night again, I'll pull your feathers out and make earrings out of them GO TO SLEEP FOR FUCK'S SAKE").

26. Cheerfulness, goal-orientedness and cyclothymic disorder.

28. Anger. He is incapable of experiencing anger in the usual sense. Every time he encounters it, instead of irritation and aggression, he starts crying...and he hates to cry, but he can't do it any other way.

29. Ro, their new shared home (their small village and its inhabitants) and his book collection (he dreams of learning to write one day too)

30. His anxiety, insecurities and many fears. And also that he slept together with Ro in the same bed even after he stopped being a little bow meow

32. He doesn't want to think about it too much, it's painful memories for him (the death of his parents, wandering around the world looking for a new home). And it's never going to happen again anyway, right? Why think about it...

33. Friendliness, sociability, empathy

34. He constantly puts up with everything and tries to hide his problems (this brings discomfort not only to him, but also to his loved ones who worry about him). Dosia also gets jealous of his owl mom quite often and worries that others might hurt her. And...he has problems with personal hygiene (if he had a cat mom he could teach it properly, but his foster mom is an owl).

42. His looks, his high baby voice...and the fact that in his opinion he has become an disabling burden for Ro (he hates himself for it, seriously)

44. Fear... Fear of losing Ro. Fear that HIS life will end abruptly and Ro will have to live with it. Long story short, fear of death in any form.

49. He is proud that he is old enough to make his own life, to take care of himself and to be able to help Ro with whatever he can. Ro is the village chief and Dosia is happy to be her right-hand man.

*it's me after the end of writing this post*

[skinny2tb]

€d update & motivation talk

Soo, I'm back, it's currently 3:55pm. and GUESS WHAT today was my math final exam.

Well, I'm pissed (in a good way tbh) because all the pressure I did to myself in the last couple of weeks was so unnecessary. It was wayyy easier than expected and honestly I'm pretty confident that I might even get a 2 or 3?? Whatever, today I almost fainted in the girls bathroom due to my liquid fast and low cal intake but luckily nobody was around so I just took a deep breath and went back to my friends. Not gonna lie I got quite nervous when they kept asking me if I'm alright because I 'looked pale' but I told them I simply didn't sleep well today and thank goodness they were fine with my answer.

Honestly I really don't want them to find out that my €d is back but right now it's just extremly difficult since it has gotten even worse this time.

But the one question I keep asking myself is what I'll do for the rest of the week since we finished all the finals and can now stay at home heh^^

My main fear was the temptation to b¡nge while my parents are still at work. That's why I called my mom and asked her where the keys for our basement are, so that I could go into our sauna and she fr bought it! So, now I got the keys and all the snacks locked away. Out of sight out of mind, rightt?

At least one would think so.. because despite of all the effort I put in hiding the snacks my cravings are literally haunting me. But somehow I also get nauseous even thinking about all the calories, unhealty fats and sugar at the same time. I guess I trained my brain pretty well lol

I'm doing this for the summer slimming, the compliments and validation you'll get when people notice your slim legs, people getting out of their ways just to help you, the hotpants... and the list goes on. (Side fact about me: the only thing I truly like about me is my extremly skinny waist, everytime someone hugs me the first thing they say is how small it is and that's the best compliment in my opinion lol)

C'mon now STAND UP, MOVE YOUR BODY and actually DO the workouts you want to instead of procrastinating it for another day, you lazy potato! It's up to you how this years summer will be like.. think of all the new friends you could make and the fun you'd have when you can finally be your true self without being reduced to your weight.

I'm doing the 'Le Sserafim'-workout since this one works best for me but if you wanna try it too make sure to drink enough water and take breaks in between the exercises. Passing out is not worth it. Especially when you're new to such workouts take your time and do it day by day my love.

Hope you guys have a great day, idk yet but maybe I'll post again today depending on my mood.

Mwah ly guys, stay strong<33

(By the way, if you happen to suffer from an €ating disorder or know somebody who might have one don't hesitate to seek professional help, everybody deserves recovery <3)

[deliciouskeys]

@cozycornerkinktober's prompt #14: Forced feminization

Private Halloween (Homelander x Maeve)

Warnings: Rated E. Top the Homelander, for the most part, although definitely some sublander, whippedlander elements and some genderfuck in case the prompt wasn't a giveaway. Precanon, set in 2014. AO3 link. Directly inspired by my favorite non-HL picture of Antony Starr:

Homelander laughs. “You’re crazy if you think I’m going out in that. What do you think the tabloids would say?”

“That you’re a fun guy with a sense of humor, maybe?” Maeve exhales smoke from her vape. Their relationship has really soured over the years, and she’s pretty sure she’s just acting purely from a place of spite nowadays, testing to see how far she can go before he decides to call it quits. Apparently he’ll tolerate a lot. It’s like he’s really in love with her or at least whatever sickening twisted version of love that his mind is capable of.

“Maeve, be serious,” he says. Oh god is he actually pleading with her? Why can’t he just see that they have nothing in common, that she’s smoking to annoy him, and that she’s specifically chosen a costume he won’t wear so she can tell him how lame and cowardly he is?

“What am I supposed to be serious about? You wearing a cheerleader costume for Halloween?”

Homelander purses his lips. “If I wear this in public they’ll think I’m a pervert.”

“Good. They’ll be right.” She’s really pushing it. She better be careful lest he decide that it’s easier to laser her in half than break up with her. But the grinding of his jaw stops and to her horror instead of walking out in a huff, he puts his hands on the bed and crawls forward, insinuating himself between her legs, nudging them apart and rubbing his cheek along one of her inner thighs. She tries to draw back but he just follows her body.

“If you really want me to, I’ll wear it. Just for you.”

Jesus, he’s in this kind of mood today? The ‘I’ll do anything for you’ knight in shining armor mode? Maeve really doesn’t understand what he sees in her. She’s not only not trying to be a good girlfriend, she’s actively acting repulsive towards him. And yet here he is, looking up at her with puppy dog eyes so she’s actually tempted to pat him on the head even though he’s a 33 year old man whom she’s seen do despicable things while out on missions together. Whom she’d already firmly said no to on the topic of marriage, despite the fear that he might kill her for it.

“What do you mean just for me? In the bedroom?” It’s not a good compromise at all, but Maeve does want to see him wear the outfit.

“Mmhmm,” he mumbles, making a trail of tiny kisses up her inner thigh, getting close to her boyshorts. He’s hated boyshorts ever since he found out that’s what they were called, so she wears them every day to annoy him. But he’s stopped complaining. Whatever she tries to do to annoy him, he just seems to get used to ignoring. He’s infuriatingly adaptable that way.

“Okay, fine, put it on just for me,” she says with resignation.

Homelander goes into the bathroom to change. Of all things to be weird and shy about, he still doesn’t seem to like her watching him removing the top piece of his suit. As if she doesn’t notice the contrast between the foam padded uniform and the smaller, leaner version that emerges out of that stiff structured shell unless she sees the undressing happen in front of her. Maeve wonders if she should be thankful he has never complained about any part of her body, given how many hangups he appears to have about his own.

Homelander walks out of her bathroom, red white and blue uniform on, “USA” in bold bright letters across the chest (Maeve was kind enough to at least keep that theme consistent). He’s still smoothing out the pleated skirt. Maeve has to admit the feminine getup actually makes him look muscular and manly, because even though she got a large size, his biceps are something a woman would find hard to achieve, and his calves have an unmistakably male musculature.

“Where’s the wig?” she asks.

Homelander looks up at her with a deer in the headlights look. “I… you want that too?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Maeve says coldly but gets up off the bed. “Here let me help you with the makeup too.”

Homelander follows her back into the bathroom, looking a little bit lost, probably wondering why she wants all this from him. If none of the other hints Maeve has dropped about liking women have ever sunk in, she’s sure this one won’t either. She puts the wig on him, tucking his real hair into the scratchy cheap mesh, a blond long bob with bangs and falling just below the chin. It doesn’t look half bad on him, somehow, despite being a cheap Halloween item. Maeve makes him sit down on the toilet lid and picks up her minimalist makeup bag. He doesn’t move a muscle as she does his face. She finds it surprisingly hard to do it for someone else, all her motions feeling strange when not directed by a mirror image. But she enjoys watching Homelander sit there so obediently, ramrod straight, face impassive, only moving his eyes when she instructs him to look up at the ceiling to get his upper lashes done, or to smack his lips to spread out the lipstick.

He glances in the mirror as they walk out of the bathroom but doesn’t seem to have any opinion on her work.

“Now you can eat me out,” Maeve says, spreading herself out on the bed, taking her underwear off and tossing it on the floor. Homelander’s nostrils flare– it’s yet another thing she finds disturbing about him, the fact that he can detect her arousal and visibly inhales it deeply. At least right now they’re in the privacy of her bedroom, but he’s done it when they’ve been out and about, and she was fully clothed. She’s never called him out on it, because she’s not sure he’s aware others can see him doing it, or even that he’s doing it at all.

Homelander doesn’t put any effort into acting in any way female, but when he hooks her legs over his shoulders, buries his face into her folds, and starts sucking and licking her clit like she’d taught him all those years ago, it suddenly doesn’t matter. Looking down at him in the wig and silly cheerleader outfit she can suddenly pretend this is someone else entirely, even a different gender, and it’s an amazing turnon. Maeve leans back and moans in pleasure, and Homelander redoubles his efforts, unaware of her little mental infidelity. She’s soaking his face and he, good boy that he is, doesn’t pause much at all, sometimes running his tongue further down to slurp up what’s spilling out of her, drinking it up as if he’s parched. She’s sure he wants to bury himself deep inside her, but he knows not to make a move until her say so. That’s another bit of good manners she’s trained in him.

“You’re such a good girl,” Maeve moans out, wanting to grab him by the long hair and pull but thinking better of it since the wig will probably slide right off.

Homelander doesn’t seem fazed by the particular words she's using in praise of him and reapplies himself with more fervor, sucking on a large area while still flicking his tongue across her sensitive spots. Maeve’s eyes are hazy with pleasure but she still watches the pleated skirt slide or bounce a little bit whenever Homelander has to shift to rearrange himself. She comes loudly, gripping the sheets, squeezing his head between her thighs with crushing strength. Any mortal wouldn’t survive that kind of pressure but she knows Homelander enjoys getting his head trapped in this orgasmic vise of hers.

She was going to be cruel. She was going to put on a strapon and make him get up on her cock and bounce around on it. She was going to make him do a cheerleading chant in falsetto and spell out her name and any number of other ridiculous things. But when she looks down and sees those same puppydog, now eyeliner-lined eyes looking up at her not just hopefully but lovingly, she can’t do it. He’s so clueless and pathetic, she can’t even mock him like she wants to.

“May I?” he asks, and oh how dopey and hokey he sounds with that formal question, and she can’t deny him.

Homelander picks her up with ease, and seats her on his cock as he’s standing. Maeve doesn’t like the position– all the boring aspects of missionary, but none of the comfort of being on the bed on her back. Her feet don’t even reach the floor so she’s dangling awkwardly, held up by him, at his mercy, and with a constant reminder of how weightless she is in his arms. But she won’t tell him she hates it, because that would mean she’s lied about the five hundred previous times.

“Oh Maeve,” he says, hiking her up higher so he can bury his face into her chest. Maeve sometimes wonders if he’s a boob man but has tragically resigned himself to her B cups because she’s the only one strong enough to withstand unbridled sex with him. “I love you.”

Maeve cringes. Maybe this is the one aspect where he easily take on the traditional female role– pining for a connection, openly talking about love, naively hoping it will get reciprocated even though he’s been unquestionably rebuffed. She thinks about this as he lowers her down, easily sheathing himself into her relaxed, still aroused body, fucking up into her with ugly low grunts and inelegant jerky motions. But the wig is still on, and rather than look at his twisted, pained looking approaching-O face, Maeve chooses to focus on the blond tresses framing his face bouncing to and fro with each thrust. She focuses on the tremble of his eyelashes– already dark and enviably long to start with– now garishly enhanced with mascara. And for a moment she can pretend this is a stranger, an athletic, strong, but still feminine stranger, who’s giving her the ride of her life. Maeve can’t remember the last time she came on his cock, but she beats him to the punch this time, another orgasm rocking through her and causing her entire body to shake in his grasp. He notices and grins weakly, before returning right back to his pained, scrunched up face as his own pleasure hits him.

They lie side by side in her bed afterwards, and he doesn’t make a peep about her vaping, just all smiles and cocky little winks from time to time. She didn’t realize how happy her finishing around his cock would make him.

“You make a pretty woman,” she says, trying to reemphasize what it was that revved her up so much. “Maybe you should wear that every time we have sex.”

He snorts. “Didn’t know you were a lesbian.”

“I’m bi, actually,” she says, wondering what on earth possessed her to finally tell him bluntly. Apparently she feels intent on testing how much he’ll put up with from her.

Homelander pauses, mulling over her words, and she starts to regret them, growing apprehensive. Sometimes she forgets how easily angered he can get at others, and how much damage he can do when the mood suits him. But the long pause culminates with a simple “Good one.” He won’t listen to what he doesn’t want to hear, that’s a trait she should know well by now.

[nogenderbee]

Hey hey bee! It's me again with another songfic request.

So yeah may I request toya and akito with song Aisle, be with you by Ring.A.Bell. Yeah it's another enstars song that I adore sm<33 For the lyrics, I'll let you decide it!

Here's where you could find the translation:

https://ensemble-stars.fandom.com/wiki/Aisle,_be_with_you_(Lyrics)

Hope it'll help you like before!

Of course darling! Sorry that you waited for so long but thank you for adding link to lyrics as it really made it easier for me! Toya turned out to be a bit shorter than Akito but I hope you enjoy it either way! <3

Akito, Toya - Asile, be with you

TagList: @yulikesminori @kuzui5201314 @coffeeykhs (not tagging you because you'll get notification either way)

Song: translation

Whenever we passed by each other ever so slightly

I would look away from you

You thought of Akito as of your good friend but recently he started acting strange around you... you really started thinking he hated you. He was giving you signs screaming so at least! He'd avoid making eye contact with you, wouldn't even say "hi" when you passed each other at school corridor and he wouldn't talk with you unless you initiate it and press him to the wall! You honestly wouldn't be surprised if he'd start avoiding you on purpose soon...

Fearing that you’d hear

The uncontrollable beat of my heart

But there was also other side of the coin to his actions... he really just had a massive crush on you and he knew it. He knew it because he'd blush like stupid whenever you locked eyes and he stuttered when he talked with you. He knew he had to make impression of "tough guy" so you'd like him back but it was honestly hard when you were simply around him! So in hopes to calm down, he tried avoiding contact with you as much as he could but not too much to not hurt you.

I turned at the clear sound of your voice,

It only makes me wish to be with you

But that one day made him understand that he failed at not hurting you...

Today you called for him when he simply tried to walk back home, he even tried to pretend that he didn't hear you but there he was now... he was stopped by you suddenly pinning him against the wall maybe even literally! He saw the determination in your eyes and he knew he can't get himself out of this... and the worst thing was that he knew well why you did that...

"Akito! I demand explanation!"

"W-What do you want from me?! Just let me go... i-idiot..."

But despite him trying to make you let go of him, you were simply too stubborn and he could already feel his face warming up while it was becoming harder to keep his voice away from stuttering.

I want to confess under the clear skies “I love you”

In that moment he wished to tell you that he simply has a crush on you but the thoughts of you rejecting and making fun of him were all over his head, and he certainly couldn't let that happen...

"Just say it! I just want to know the truth!"

"I like you, okey?!!!"

But in that moment he just let go of his feelings... he didn't even realized it when he did to be honest... it was just a quick but honest answer. He wished you could say the same and wanted to wait for you but his face was warming up more every second and he didn't wanted you to see him red like that so he decided to leave, taking advantage of the fact that you were currently stunned by his words.

"Don't make a big deal out of it. I admit, I like you. Now let go of me and don't talk to me about it ever again."

Song: same as for Akito

Whenever we passed by each other ever so slightly

I would look away from you

Toya had a massive crush on you and at first he tried his best to be gentleman towards you to hopefully gain your heart. But later on his feelings were growing stronger and stronger every day. He kne it wasn't very nice of him but he started... avoiding you or quickly end any conversation with you.

Fearing that you’d hear

The uncontrollable beat of my heart

It really looked like he hated you but for him it was covered with fear of him accidentally letting his feelings win. He was scared that he'll tell you how he truly feels and you'll reject him because you don't feel the same and your relationship will end because of him. He really would rather to stay friends with you than become strangers because of his confession, so he choose to remain quiet.

I turned at the clear sound of your voice,

It only makes me wish to be with you

But of course he couldn't go on like this forever, you'd eventually notice and when you did, he felt his heart sink as he didn't wanted to tell you but he couldn't just lie you in the face.

"Toya, you've been pretty distant recently, are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes, I am."

"Then why are you avoiding me? Have I done something wrong?!"

"No! It's just..."

I want to confess under the clear skies “I love you”

He can't continue this on forever. He knew he had to let go eventually and face you while saying those words because there's no way he'd be able to just change them or even forget about you.

But the scary sky that day got him... he felt like world was giving him a chance and he immediately took it trying to put his words in gentle way.

"YN, I apologize for my behavior but the truth is that I catched feelings. I love you."

❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉

[liminalpebble]

Masterlist

The Refugee

 (A Loki Fanfic, Description, CW and A/N, and AO3 link below, 18+ only)

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17 

Chapter 18 

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22 

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32 

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48 and Epilogue

Summary:

In a timeline where Loki, the prodigal prince of Asgard, struck out to establish his vast and powerful Laufeyson Empire, he stumbles upon Lenora, a refugee scarred by his bloodshed. One of the few surviving Morhari, she is captured and forced to use her considerable intelligence in service to the fearful warlord who destroyed her nation and her life. Will the peasant turned captive asset find her way to freedom and her own power, and will the cruel and scheming god of mischief discover that he can be more than a villain?

CW: Non/dubious consent. slow burn to eventual smut. violence and torture. Loki is very unambiguously bad, morally complex but bad, and does bad things.18+ readers only.

Notes:

Hello all 3's of you who are probably reading this. : ) This is my first fanfic and I'm incredibly nervous to post it, so please be polite and constructive in your critiques. I have many chapters already finished (or mostly finished, bar some perfectionistic tweaking and polishing) so I plan to post regularly if this goes over well. Also, be aware that I am playing very fast and loose with a lot of aspects of the original material and canon for the sake of the story, so please take it with a grain of salt, for example the Morhari are obviously a fictional nationality.

P.S. I mention sex work and sex workers but I intend to do so with respect and positivity towards their profession. I have tried to avoid any problematic words or descriptions, but please let me know if any exist and I will do my best to fix it.

On who I would cast for the major roles: Loki is obviously the Hiddleston Loki of the MCU. Magnus (original character) is very specifically Domhnall Gleeson in my mind. I imagine Queen Nadia (original character) as Lashana Lynch. Have yet to settle on casting for Lenora herself or Beatrice (OC).

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43897591/chapters/110372089

@vickie5446 , I think I’ve got it now. Hope this helps! @unlucky-number-13 @gigglingtigger @lokisgoodgirl @goblingirlsarah I hope this makes things easier! Thanks reading along.