#the evil queen is more concerned with raven being evil in general.

[xbomboi]

i’ve got a question to ask out of curiosity about the eah community’s general consensus

since the books and the show have different continuities and also within the world of the supplementary Ever After High media, the books themselves differ in continuity depending on series/author, i have a feeling this answer could vary depending on one’s bias…

i’m not adding an “other” option because you’re crazy if you think they met in infancy/as toddlers or if you genuinely believe the beginning of canon in the show (start of legacy year) is legitimately when they first meet.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hello Miss Raven!✨💕

I would like to ask you for an imagine/scenario or character interaction with Crewel and Vil (platonic ofc), where they talk about fashion and everything like the queens they are and they just always have the hottest tea! Talking about the school etc.

It's a casual fic idea without any angst or things like that, maybe somewhere along the way they start talking about Yuu who's Vil's friend, that he has a bit of a crush on? It may start at the Vil's alchemy lesson or smth-

Anyways, the main focus is hot tea between the fashion queens🙏👑 Thank you!💖

This interaction takes place after the events of book 6, so there will be spoilers for that.

I kept the “Vil has a crush on Yuu” element out of this particular interaction since I didn’t find it super relevant 💦 I want the focus of this blog event to be Crewel and his relationships with others. Maybe if the interaction had been posed like Vil coming to Crewel for love advice (since Crewel is a trusted adult for him), it could have fit better. Either that, or I’d advise waiting for more generalized writing requests to open ^^

If he doesn’t scare you, no evil thing will.

“Crewel-sensei.”

He turned at the call of his voice. “Schoenheit.”

Vil, dressed in his labwear, approached. A beaker of a bubbling substance carefully was ferried in his gloved hand, which he offered to his instructor. “The Peddler’s Disguise is done. You may evaluate it for its quality.”

Crewel accepted the potion, gently swirling it to test the viscosity and noting the color.

“It was brewed with mummy dust, black of night, an old hag’s cackle, and a scream of fright. I then churned over high heat with a blast of wind and a thunderbolt.”

"You've memorized the recipe. Excellent work." Crewel set the beaker down on a lab bench and marked off Vil's name on a clipboard. "You're making up for lost time at a record pace."

"Of course. There is no excuse for falling behind," Vil insisted, tossing his blonde hair over one shoulder.

Crewel quirked a brow. "Not even being kidnapped? How strong-minded of you. I was surprised when you came to me asking to hit the ground running with makeup classes upon your return.”

He looked Vil up and down. “You remain put-together for someone who has gone through an event most would consider unsettling. Is it your PR training keeping you cool in the public eye?”

Vil folded his arms. "... If you're trying to be subtle with your worries, then you're doing a poor job of it, sensei.”

"And is there a problem with a teacher having concern for his student?”

“No, not at all.” A smirk flickered onto Vil’s lips. “Then shall we drop the pretenses? Though so bear in mind that I am under a strict NDA, so I can only divulge so many details.”

“Let’s,” Crewel agreed. “I presume you cannot share the bulk of your harrowing experience.”

Vil nodded. “But fortunately, I can tell about the worst of it… The atrocious lack of attention to self care!!”

“Our school uniforms were taken away and we were made to wear the same sterile grey uniforms every day. Threads as thin as hospital gowns, collared like misbehaved mongrels… Why, it was the worst injustice I faced in that facility.

“Not only that, but the air in the enclosure was stale and terribly drying.” Vil patted his cheek and shuddered at the memory. “It wreaked havoc on my skin.

“Worse still was that I was denied access to any skincare products and cosmetics! I was told that they were a safety hazard and to ‘rinse off with water and soap and go bare faced for a while, what are you aggro’ing about’!! Can you believe the GALL?! I was just about ready to let the staff have my wrath.”

Vil paused, taking a breath to calm himself. “… I was only saved thanks to a gaggle of nosy potatoes and a certain huntsman.”

“Speaking of, Hunt caused quite the stir at school when he vanished. Pomefiore was already suffering without its dorm leader and expected its vice dorm leader to step up fill that role in your stead… but with Hunt mysteriously gone, Pomefiore was without anyone in charge.”

“As I rightfully scolded him for.” Vil sighed deeply. "I was informed that Trein-sensei served as acting headmaster while the situation was unfolding. How did he address the issue of Pomefiore's missing leadership?"

"You're looking right at him," Crewel replied with a dry laugh. "I was called in to supervise the dormitory on top of my usual teaching duties. It seems the old man... excuse me, I mean my esteemed colleague, decided to put his faith in his favorite ex-troublemaker. Who was I to deny him?

"For the time Hunt and his rescue squad were away, I stayed at Pomefiore and kept watch over its students. What a mess—there are hardly time for my personal upkeep, nor a moment to steal away and seek the comfort of my beloved dogs... My clothes were horribly creased and my hair unkempt when the news first broke of your return.”

"What a harrowing tale of sacrifice. I apologize for the inconvenience my vice dorm leader imposed on you. He'll be getting another earful from me.”

“Hmph, no need. Though it was an inconvenience at the time, I am glad to see that you’ve come back to us safe snd sound. Perhaps it is not so bad for you pups to act selfishly every now and again.”

“Oh? Careful, Crewel-sensei. We may just take that as the green light to behave even more selfishly.”

“Then I will be there to keep you in line."

"Is that so? I'll be holding you accountable to that promise."

"And I'll be holding you accountable for your dorm's students," Crewel promised with the same ease as Vil.

There was a mutual understanding between them, the same spark set in their eyes. Teacher and student, fashionista and fashionista.

Together, they radiated an overwhelming aura.

[whatabunchofalices]

some eah fun facts from shannon hale’s books!

maddie takes chemythstry, riddling and storytelling 101 (she takes more classes but these were the ones mentioned!)

raven takes general villainy, home evilnomics, poison fruit theory, history of evil spells, kingdom mismanagement and music

when raven was younger her mother would tell her stories about the marsh king, the boogeyman, the scissorman, the wendigo, hungry witches, angry tigers and wicked sorcerers

when maddie is sad she’s hops arounds because who can be sad while hopping?

maddie has a flag language with her father (he spells out messages with flags). the mad hatter can also speak riddlish with flags

one of the cards the queen of hearts gave lizzie said “above all else, avoid these things: vats of poison, Jabberwocks, paper cuts in fingertips and Concern For Others. If ever you detect Concern For Others squirming into you, shout at people till the feeling goes away. Or the people do.”

lizzie throws hedgehogs at people but mostly she uses them for croquet (don’t worry wonderland hedgehogs are strong and are meant to be able to handle such activities)

lizzie carries around a butter knife with a heart engraved on the handle

lizzie can play the dulcimer

daring is a katy fairy fan (katy perry)

cupid loves when hunter does that hero pose where he rips off his shirt

cedar’s biggest fears are woodpeckers, wood-chippers, woodchucks, axes, fires, termites, never turning real, being stuck in a wooden body with an honesty curse forever, disappointing her dad and letting her friends down

apples’s ringtone is “you don’t know you’re charming” by one reflection (one direction)

apple always keeps a basket of candy and coins on her balcony

when hanging up on the phone instead of saying goodbye they say “the end”

there is a zip line inside the sleeping beauty palace

dexter bites his nails when he’s nervous (in this case he did it while thinking about his unknown destiny)

the charming family plays a game called “bag” which is similar to tag but when you get tagged the person who was “it” puts you in a bag and drags you around.

during summers lizzie and kitty are the only students to stay at eah. the white queen also stays

apple white has an one reflection (one direction) action figure collection

while maddie and lizzie are kitty’s friends, cedar is kitty’s “almost-friend”

ashlynn smells like a mix of cypress tree, lily of the valley, lemon cleaning soap, and the crinkly paper that lines new shoe boxes (according to kitty)

kitty also said that hunter smells like wood smoke, fir tree shavings, and soy turkey patties

raven has a tailor quick (taylor swift) shirt

[robxstar]

Meta on calling all Titans and titans together? Felt like there were such cute Robstar moments in them <3 love your blog!

*dusts off blog, cracks knuckles*

The two episodes DO have some very cute moments for them and also some very brilliant symbolism that I have to assume is deliberate lol.

Under the cut as always, since I get long and rambly.

So our first moment is not exactly a direct interaction but I still think it's cute.

Beast Boy expresses some misgiving about handing out more T-communicators being the best course forward and Starfire casually backs up Robin's plan.

I dunno what it is about this moment I just like how it speaks to the faith and trust she has in him and in his leadership.

The next little bit comes after Starfire has made contact with Argent. We drop in on Robin in search of Bushido and he stops to answer her call.

My gosh look at that smile. He's happy for her successful contact and probably liked hearing her voice.

Skipping ahead several scenes, right when the shit is about to hit the fan so to speak, Beast Boy is eager and excited to be done finally and then Robin deflates him with a sudden, "Wait a second--"

Starfire is immediately concerned, probably recognizing that tone of voice Robin's using. (She is so ATTUNED to him hkjhas.)

Things rapidly start going south. Titans all over the world start reporting being attacked. Robin has to pull over and land in order to be able to concentrate through all the chaos. Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven at this point have all been waylaid on their rush to try and help the others by Brotherhood members.

So naturally the first thing Robin does once he sets down is worriedly call Starfire to check and see if she's okay.

She's interrupted responding to him when Kitten attacks, snatching the communicator from him. And when the line is cut off and the last thing Robin hears is Starfire's scream, he yells her name with worry and fear.

AND NOW I GET TO TALK ABOUT THE COOL PART.

THE CHESS METAPHOR.

You know how in the interludes where we cut back to the Brotherhood of Evil's hideout, Monsieur Mallah has a chessboard set up, and moves pieces around while he and The Brain coordinate their strike on the Titans?

This isn't just something to occupy their time. It's a symbolic representation of the battle itself. The Brain, himself looking almost like a giant chess piece, waxes poetical about the game being set, the pawns being in place. As they begin their attack, Monsieur Mallah moves a black knight to knock down a white pawn.

And immediately after the scene cuts to Argent being ambushed by General Immortus.

The board configuration continues to shift as the battle goes on. The Brain makes it very clear via his dialogue that he considers Robin the "king" piece. The most important. The one whose capture wins the game.

Right after Starfire is attacked, Mallah removes the queen piece from the board.

SHE IS HIS QUEEN.

"Titans Together" really only has the one RobStar moment, their reunion when he calls to her from the shelf, where he'd been a frozen trophy a few moments ago, extends his hand, and says, "I could use a hand."

He doesn't have to have Starfire fly him down. He's perfectly capable. But she's there and she's okay and they're both alive and well and by gosh he wants to see his girl.

(I would love to include screencaps but apparently Tumblr only allows 10 embedded images now which is asinine. Thanks a lot for kneecapping my meta posts, Tumblr.)

[violet-t-9]

My take on why Caleb doesn’t trust Astrid and Eadwulf

Why does Caleb not trust Astrid even though she helped the M9 multiple times by now and let them leave? Well, Liam has always kept good track of what happened in previous episodes of the campaign and I believe Caleb was drawing information from all his previous encounters with Astrid and Eadwulf, so here is just some highlights on what they know about them so far. This is another long post. Again, all quotes are not exact and straight from my memory. This is just my biased personal interpretations so take it as you will.

To illustrate my points, I recommend that you watch the Narrative Telephone episode Widogast’s Web of Words. It described the three of them this way:

1. Eadwulf as the boy whose mind was eaten, and he had “no mind of his own”.

2. Astrid as the girl whose eye was cut out, and she “never saw true again”.

3. Caleb as the boy whose heart was swallowed he “never knew love again”.

1. Eadwulf: From all the interactions we have seen with Eadwulf in it, he always appeared to defer to Astrid/Trent and this very much reminded me of the “no mind of his own” aspect. He “looks to Astrid” for what to do for multiple situations, and is clearly pretty content to be a follower. Otherwise, Eadwulf didn’t get to interact with Caleb a lot in general so to Caleb he must still be kind of an enigma. Whenever Eadwulf did answer Caleb’s questions he seemed like he was pretty content in his role as a Volstrucker as well and was pretty nonchalant about his job (basically talking about it like a summer job and very casually) without showing any hesitancy about what he does/carrying out his missions. His apparent association with the Raven Queen fascinates me and I don’t think Caleb knows what to make of that either. So far from what we’ve seen, Eadwulf clearly still cares about Caleb but also has lost some capacity to think for himself due to the trauma and abuse he suffered. This may also be why Eadwulf could be harder to reach than Astrid in a sense. So far, he has not given any indicator that he doesn’t believe in Trent’s system.

2. Astrid: “never saw true again” gave me the impression of her being “blind” to what is actually right and the true nature of Trent’s system, and given the evidence so far Caleb is right to think she is still buying into Trent’s ideology. When Caleb went to Astrid’s house to talk with her, she apologized and Caleb made a very high insight check. Astrid was “genuinely mournful for his pain” but there is also something “hardened” in her that was more like a “I’m sorry that you have suffered, as many people have, life is suffering and sometimes it is necessary”. Clearly, she on some level believe that what they are doing as Volstruckers to be the right thing. She said she felt guilty about her actions sometimes, but did believe that they were making a necessary sacrifice to protect the rest of the empire. Caleb even remarked that “he blinded you”. Basically, Astrid thought that Trent’s system and ideology is a necessary evil that is ultimately good for the empire because the Volstrucker does hard things so civilians can be safe. However, there is doubt in her, especially since Caleb continued to try to reach her. She made a remark at the dinner episode, something like “what we did was for the greater good... right?” and she sounded uncertain. I do think changing her mind would be easier and she may have started to see the flaw in Trent’s system already. As of right now though, Astrid seems to be already training other Volstruckers (I could be wrong, but she mentioned “tutelage”) and Caleb/Liam’s comment about her buying into the system is clearly not mistaken based on what we have seen from her so far. 

She is also ambitious in a sense that she wants to replace Trent, and she keeps reminding Caleb of that (”race you to the top”, “he is just an old man...”, “it could be an opportunity if you struck first”). She sees Caleb as an opportunity (I think Matt confirmed something about it or about her ambition when the Traveler was analyzing Astrid but can’t quite remember). She clearly doesn’t like Trent, and wants Trent gone, but it doesn’t mean she doesn’t believe in Trent’s system (all evidence suggests she does still buy into it). She also likely wants to use Caleb to further her own goals, and like Fjord said “not in an evil way” but that Caleb defying Trent would be very beneficial/convenient for her own goals. She clearly still cares about Caleb a lot and is happy to see him again, and like I said, this doesn’t mean she is trustworthy. Caleb’s concern is mostly what Astrid would do if she does replace Trent and he is right to assume things wouldn’t change much given Astrid’s belief in the system right now (her mindset of “Volstruckers are necessary and they do the dirty work so the empire can thrive”). Her helping M9 doesn’t really cancel out her ideology, it just shows that she genuinely cares for Caleb. Furthermore, so far Caleb’s presence is good for her goals. We don’t really know what she would do if Caleb appears more a threat than a benefit to her ambitions one day. 

So far, Caleb is the first one to break away from Volstruckers and I do think that gives Astrid hope that Trent can be taken down, but she could very well want to keep the program around if she ever gets in charge after Trent. She is very much dangerous, ambitious, conflicted and fascinating. Her caring for Caleb is clearly not all of her character, she has her own plots and I love her for it (thanks Liam for developing this character) and I love how Matt portrays her.

3. Caleb: another reason why Caleb may not trust his “old friends” is that his heart has very much been broken. “He never knew love again” is an apt description. This is more just interpretation from my part, but I think Caleb has partially lost his ability to trust others and he doesn’t trust anyone outside the M9, his immediate found family and their extended families (it took him a LONG time to trust them as well). Honestly? He is for the most part right to not trust people so far (exhibit A: Essek reveal) and all his paranoia from early episodes have come true, so I would not be surprised that this one does as well. [I wanted to use Yussa as a counter argument for trusting people then I remembered they trusted him with the knowledge of Aeor and he proceeded to yeet himself into the astral sea in 48 hours (the poor man).] 

So yeah, reason 3 is that Caleb is just not a very trusting individual in general. He has expressed that he loved Astrid and Eadwulf, but that feeling has of course faded after more than a decade of not seeing them. He does still care for the both of them, but he does not - and should not - trust them to want to reform the Volstrucker system and change the Empire the way that Caleb wants it changed. 

Now there is clearly still hope that Eadwulf and Astrid can change their mind, especially if Caleb keeps reaching out. Astrid has already shown some hesitancy and reconsideration. They also both helped the M9. I do believe that it is possible for them to eventually see Trent’s system as it is, and they have the capacity to change for the better. Right now though? Yeah, they are still pretty much buying into Trent’s system as far as I can tell. Helping M9, caring for Caleb and wanting Trent dead are separate issues and have nothing to do with what they believe in ideology-wise. I really hope that Caleb does make it back and gets to try reaching out to them again after the whole city thing is dealt with. I am very excited to see where both of these characters will go. They are very complex and fun to think about.

[whateverafterhigh]

Worldbuilding: The Kingdom of Goodfallow

I’m going to come out-right and say it, I don’t like the fact that the Kingdom Raven comes from/lives in is called Queen Kingdom. It makes sense, both in terms of what the in-verse society seems to value more in a character fairytale-wise (Snow White), and in terms of the Evil Queen being more important to the narrative story-wise (EAH) than the Good King. But at the same time it makes no sense.

I’m not even going to nit-pick at it being called a Kingdom when it being named after the Evil Queen implies it’s a Queendom. Queen Queendom would be a stupid name for a country, and it’s not even the only one to be called a Kingdom when the Queen is the one clearly in charge.

But I have other reasons with disliking it. Such as the outright lunacy that is having your primary sovereign be someone who signed a binding magical contract at the age of fifteen to get arrested or die before having kids. Or how the original Snow White story has the Evil Queen marrying into the family, suggesting a patrilineal succession (or at least Good King to future Good King).

So the Good King is the one left running the Kingdom after his wife is arrested and he was probably running the Kingdom before he married the Evil Queen. That makes the Kingdom Raven calls home The Good King’s Kingdom. And no. I’m not going to call it King Kingdom because that’s stupid.

I’m putting the rest under a line-break.

So we’ve established that the ruler of this Kingdom is The Good King, and now the Kingdom needs a name. Unfortunately, the same kind of lazy kingdom naming that most of the other kingdoms in the series get won’t work here. But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t an in-verse naming formula that can’t be used: puns and wordplay.

Originally, I was just going to call the Kingdom Goodfellow, which is obviously the words ‘good’ and ‘fellow’ put together. But then I spelt it wrong, leading to Goodfallow, and I wondered “what is a fallow?”

Fallow can be used to refer to different things, but the two that I’m choosing to focus on here are: the breed of deer that’s called a fallow deer, and the shade of yellow. Because now the kingdom has two things, a national animal and a national colour.

Well, three things. It also has a name.

This might not seem important, especially having a national colour for a kingdom when the characters all seem to have their own colour schemes (Raven and the Evil Queen wearing purple, silvers, and blacks, and The Good King wearing red and gold the one time he’s talked about that I can recall). But having a national symbol in mind for a kingdom is useful if I ever need to describe that kingdom’s seal or the colours on their flag.

So the Kingdom’s called Goodfallow, it has a couple of national symbols that can be linked back to the name, does this mean that the other characters in any fanfiction I write using this now call it Goodfallow also?

No. Where’s the fun in that?

After all, it is still canon-typical that most of the character’s would call the kingdom Queen Kingdom. For example, in the books the reader’s first look at Apple White has her calling some of the dwarfs working for her Pouty and Sloppy when their names are actually Frank and Phil, and even laughs and calls one of them silly when they try to correct her. Because the dwarfs having names like Frank and Phil don’t fit into her own personal ideal of what her fairytale and happily ever after are going to look like, and Raven coming from a kingdom called Goodfallow rather than one called Queen Kingdom also won’t fit into what she wants the narrative to be.

Of course, Apple White isn’t the only character in Ever After High. She does, however, share the same goals and ideals as Headmaster Grimm and as the Headmaster of the school he might even have some power over the course content in the Geografairy class that appears to be a compulsory subject.

The question is now whether or not Raven tries to fight it.

On one hand, she could. She’s the senior authority at Ever After High when it comes to the name of her own country, and insisting it is called something else is going to be massively disrespectful given she’s the Princess and presumed heir. You know that her friends are going to support her, and some of the other characters that aren’t necessarily Rebels but are respectful will too. While anyone still trying to save the sinking ship will look like an asshole and a very rude one at that.

On the other hand, there could be a reason for the misunderstanding and a reason for Raven to keep everyone else ignorant. The royal family in Goodfallow might want it that way.

Think about it, the Good King married someone who, at least as far as he’s concerned, signed a magically binding contract to be evil. Whatever his motives for doing this (and I have ideas on that of my own), there would have been some kind of acknowledgement that doing so could lead to the kingdom going to war. Marrying a main character could well be an acceptable in-verse reason for changing the name of the Kingdom, and changing the name of the Kingdom could well mean the need to reprint “updated” maps.

Presumably, these maps would have up-to-date information in regard to main roads used for trade routes, or have a particular note on which towns and cities are fortified and which aren’t, or mark areas where the geography of the landscape would be marshy and therefore a poor choice of battleground.

If Raven has little reason to believe that the future Rulers of the kingdoms that neighbour hers are going to accept her as her father’s successor, which is reasonable considering the push back against Raven being good. Then she’s not going to want to give up the military advantage she has when it comes to the defense of her boarders.

Especially, not when the biggest person pushing against her is her own niece, who due to a) brief in-verse implications about the Evil Queen marrying Queen White’s father means Queen White would have a biological claim - though generally speaking marrying into another royal family means abdicating titles held in one’s own home kingdom, and b) the original Snow White story has the Good King dying before the story takes place and the Evil Queen dying at Snow’s wedding to the Prince - presumably leaving the two of them in control of that kingdom as well as the kingdom that the Prince came from if he had a claim to the throne himself.

If White Kingdom does boarder Goodfallow the political drama Apple attempting to force Raven into being Evil would hold (and given the Storybook of Legends show Raven as being homeless after being banished by Apple) is a story in itself.

[sayuricorner]

Ever After High x Twisted Wonderland AU

Warning: English is not my first language so sorry if it’s confusing

Headcanons part 1

MASTERLIST

Recently I become obsessed with the game “Twisted Wonderland” and @virgil-is-a-cutie ‘s ever after high AUs give me an idea for a EAH x Twisted Wonderland AU with Apple salt, Headmaster Grimm salt and Snow White salt.

-So in Twisted Wonderland the Night Raven College which it and it seven dormitories are founded from the “Great seven” who are the Disney villains Queen of Hearts, Scar, Jafar, Ursula, Hades, the Evil Queen and Maleficent.

-What if they were the very first villains from fairy tales making some of the students from Ever After High the descendants of some of them?

-The “Great Seven founded the school in reponse to Headmaster Grimm’s ideology, to them repeting the same story over and over is grotesque so they created the school to give to potential great mages the possibilities to develop their true potential.

-In this AU Night Raven College is set in another dimension and you can only enter if you “invited” to enroll (aka teleported into said dimension and carried to the school in a dark carriage), normaly the descendants from the Great Seven’s bloodline are automatically invited to attend the school since they had inherited their powers but headmaster Grimm used a very old magic to keep the descendants from being invited to NRC so they will go to EAH.

-One day Raven endured another hard day of bullying from Apple and the Royals and pressure from headmaster Grimm because she refuse to be evil and follow her “destiny”.

-Completly sick of it she run away in the forest to be in peace and calm down, after calming down she decide to profit from this moment of peace to practice her magic but she lose control and create a magical breach which allow the Mirror of Darkness from NRC to teleport Raven to the school.

-When Raven wake up she is in the mirror chamber at Night Raven College where she is welcomed by the headmaster Dire Crowley and the seven dorm leaders.

-After being explained the situation, a rather confused Raven is presented to the mirror, which she recognised as THE mirror of the first Evil Queen, and after he saw through her soul he sorted her in the dorm of Pomefiore (the dorm founded on the heavy efforts of the Beautiful Queen) but not before reveal her lineage with the Beautiful(Evil) Queen.

-A revelation which is an amazing surprise for the NRC because their new student is a descendant of one of the founders which didn’t happen since the creation of the school.

-The students from the Pomefiore dorm were ecstatic not only the new student was a descendant of the Beautiful Queen but she was also sorted in their dorm, the dorm of very same founder.

-They are even more ecstatic when they found out she’s, from they words, a “stunning beauty” since they pride themself to be very conscientious with their beauty, Vil Schoenheit the dorm’s leader is as ecstatic, normaly he is annoyed when someone is more beautiful than him and work very hard to stay at the top but since Raven is the descendant of the Beautiful Queen to him it was only logical that Raven was even more beautiful than him.

-After that headmaster Crowley took advantage of the breach to completly destroy headmaster Grimm’s spell connecting once more the two dimensions, like this he was able to contact the Good King and explain to him the situation.

-Furious to learn what his daughter endured, the Good King made sure to make Raven’s transfer to NRC official despiste headmaster Grimm’s aptempts to change his mind.

-At Night Raven College, Raven is very satisfited of her new school, no bullying, no destiny pression just a normal school life in which she can finally learn to control her magic. Sure Vil’s obsession over the Pomefiore dorm students’s beauty was sometimes annoying but other than that she really liked her new school. She even reconcile with her mother’s bloodline, while she will not be evil and will write her own destiny, she decide to be similar to the “Beautyful Queen” as a powerful witch.

-She become very skilled in magic lesson which made her one of the most popular students in the school.

-Meanwhile at EAH things have gone downhill since Raven’s transfer with Apple being a total banshee about how she supposed to be Snow White, how Raven is so selfish, how she deserve HER happy ending yadda yadda yadda... Drifting away everyone in school, even her best friends, who are very afraid of Apple’s descent into madness and are very considering transfer to another school, perhaps to Night Raven College in the others “Great Seven” descendants’s case if it was possible.

-Snow White and headmater Grimm only make the situation worst, not only they ignore everyone concerns about Apple but they also make they reputation worst when they are trying to save their image.

-Headmaster Grimm desperatly tried to save face about the whole “putting a spell which cut their world from a dimension which could have been a whole new souce of possiblities for generations” by trying to paint the other dimension as an horrible one and how he did this for eveyone protection but no one beleived him. His reputation was officialy stained.

-With Snow White it wasn’t any better, she tried to use her image of the “Fairest of them All” to paint the other dimension as a treath and how dispactable and disgusting the people from this dimension were because some of them marry with magical non-humans. Unfornatly for her this created the opposite effect and people begin to see that Snow White wasn’t really the “Fairest of them All”.

-As for the Evil Queen, while she is sad Raven is determined to not follow her path in evilness she is still very proud of her daughter’s determination to become a great mage and to be honest she found the chaos from the recents events very entertaining.

[sasstrash]

It’s done. I’ve finished it. I’m so sorry it took so long I kept getting distracted while writing. I’ll try to get the next one out faster.

Quick note before we begin anything that’s highlighted like ‘this’ is someone speaking in sign and if it’s like ^this^ then it’s like what the first one usually means. Enjoy!

The Silent Queen 4; The Subjects Converse

In all parts of the school students were buzzing about the latest arrival. Turns out Blondie Locks got close enough to snap a pic to post on the school’s Mirror Blog about Raven. It wasn’t a long post but it certainly blew up.

-

In their dorm room Raven and Maddie were silently unpacking Raven two bags. After awhile Raven broke the silence with a question ‘So who was that girl, the one with the blonde hair?’

‘Oh that’s Apple White, you know the girl your meant to poison.’ Maddie casually answered. She immediately noticed the way Raven shrunk a bit after being reminded of her destiny. ‘Hey what’s wrong? You ok?’ She asked walk closer to her friend, she heard one of the narrators start to say something but a quick glare shut them up.

Raven let a small sound out, it was almost a sigh ‘Maddie I - I don’t want to be the next Evil Queen, I don’t want to end up in a mirror prison with my mother. I do love her but I can’t be with her alone forever. I’d rather find my own happily ever after!’ It was something that chewed at her, she hated the tale. She worried she would get one similar to her great-great-great grandmother Morrigan. She had the traditional tale, dying from dancing in burning iron shoes. She barely wore footwear after hearing the tale when she was nine. Maddie held her close as silent tears fell down her face. She then stood back with a warm smile on her face.

‘Hey,’ Maddie began ‘it’s okay you can find a way to fix it I’m sure of it! After all your story can change, it’s happened before! Remember that Princess and the Pauper story from a few generations back with the singer who got to spend time performing for all other? If it can happen then it can happen now!’ She comforted her friend, noticing how Raven smiled.

-

In a spare room across the school the Charming siblings were together talking a bit.

“So she’s deaf huh?” Dexter asked looking up from the burrito he was eating. Daring nodded before clearing his throat.

“It might complicate a few things for the school, but otherwise it’s fine.” Daring spoke calmly. After a moment of silence another voice came.

“How’s Apple doing” Darling asked noticing the way Daring flinched. The silence could have killed an ogre.

“She’s fine ... I think, she turned red once the crowd left and Briar pulled her away. I don’t know if she knows that I know sign language.” The blonde Charming states looking at his siblings concerned for his supposed future queen and wife.

“I told you it was a good idea to take that online class during summer break was a good idea!” Exclaimed Darling looking at her brothers. A year ago when Darling had mentioned the idea her brothers hadn’t been so keen, but after she explained it would help them be ^better rulers^ they jumped on the idea.

“Yeah you did Darl, and it’s probably a good thing too. I mean it’s not like everyone in the school knows sign, we could be a big help.” Dexter responded a bright glint in his eyes, ok so maybe he thought Raven was cute, but he had barely seen her so it wasn’t like had a crush, just a respect fo beauty.

“You said it bro!” Darling cheered before returning to her salad. This was going to be an interesting year.

-

Faybelle flopped on her bed and groaned, the second Duchess closed the door. “Of course the Daughter of the Evil Queen is deaf! That certainly changes things for ever after!”

Duchess look over at her roommate confused “How exactly does it change things?” She squawked while gliding over to her closet.

“Well it’s not like she can ask ^who’s the fairest of them all^ know can she. I mean I don’t think magic mirrors speak sign language.” Faybelle explained spinning her hair around her finger. It certainly changed things in her opinion. Duchess rolled her eyes as she sat down besides her bffa.

“Stories change, I mean Apple is blonde so there’s already one change.” Duchess pulled out a nail fail and began to use it on her left nails. Faybelle just nodded as she used her magic to bring a magazine to her pillow opening up to a random page.

-

“Wait, wait wait.” Raven came this year? And you guys didn’t tell me?!” Cedar exclaimed looking over at roommate.

“We wanted it to be a surprise, and you know the whole ^tell the truth only^ might have ruined it for some.” Cerise responded quite red in the face. She knew she should have told Cedar who had also known Raven quite well since her father was close with the Good King. “Sorry.”

Cedar sighed “It’s fine I just wish I had been at the front hall. It would have been great to talk with her.”

“We have the rest of the year Cedar.” Cerise pointed out.

“Yeah, we do have all year.”

-

Lizzie was currently sitting silently in Kitty’s dorm looking at the picture Blondie had uploaded. “She has a wonderful bone structure in her face. And her hair is quite lovely too. Don’t you think?” She asked waiting for the next Cheshire Cat to answer.

“Oh yeah she’s quite nice looking, honestly she looks more like a White then Apple ever has.” Kitty smirked before sighing “I just wish I wasn’t roomies with the girl this year. She’s fine but it is legacy year and she’s really into her destiny.” Lizzie walked over to her friend and put comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry you can always come to my dorm to sleep if you want to.” She comforted before continuing “by the way, it doesn’t look like Apple’s been in here yet.” She put a hand on her chin thoughtfully.

“She’s probably at one of her friends dorms right now.” Kitty responded before the two girls began talking about what many people would call random but to the Wonderlandians it was normal.

-

In Briar and Ashlynn’s room the two girls were trying not to groan as their friend Apple ranted to them. The rant began the second the three had entered the room, and hadn’t stopped once because neither of the two other girls had tried to interrupted the angry princess.

“I can’t believe her mother would do that! Snow White is the most important story and it won’t work now! We have to get Ravens voice back!” Apple finished look extremely peeved. She stared at her friends who had wide eyes “What?”

“Apple I’m pretty sure Raven was born that way.” Briar said “Not everything is something to fix. I’m sure that it will be fine, stories always change. I mean, look at you!” She motioned towards her bffa who now looked shocked.

“The Snow White story never changes!” The blonde exclaimed stamping her foot. “Oh I now! I can ask Headmaster Grimm if I can switch rooms and live with her! Then I can get her hearing back! I’ll go right now!” Apple was smiling almost as wide as the Cheshire Cat’s before zipping around to skip out of the room to the Headmasters office, determined to ^fix^ her story.

Ashlynn looked over at Briar “Does she know how to speak sign language?” Was all that came out of the strawberry

blondes mouth.

“No, she doesn’t, I offered to teach her before but she refused. Something about ^never needing to know^ and ^having someone else do it^ at least we learnt it.” Briar smiled, she knew that she’d have to sleep for a hundred years so she intended to do as many things as possible, and one of those was sign language. Ashlynn had learned sign when her grandmother had gone deaf at age seven.

-

Meanwhile underneath the school a man with bushy gray hair sighed, this would be long Legacy Year.

Tag list for the Silent Queen

@virgil-is-a-cutie @justafanwarrior @bee-a-garbage-shipper @spicybelladonna @starrry-nites @tired-butterfly @insomniac-nerd-posts-things @themagicmistic

[agentrouka-blog]

ASOIAF - Food symbolism: apples and Jon “You have to choose.”

Inspired by this amazing post by @thoughtsandgrumbles I felt compelled to look at apples a little. 

Apples are a deeply symbolic fruit on a good day, but I’m not going to go too deeply into the general use, because who has time for that? I’m looking at the text itself. This post will be all about apples in Jon’s chapters, once I get the preliminary rambles out of the way.

Warning: LONG. Many quotes.

Just a few things: 

Popularly associated with temptation and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the garden of eden, the realization of being nekkid, the Expulsion of Adam and Eve from paradise as a result. (That would botanically not have been an apple, though.)

The apple “to the fairest” handed out by Eris, godess of discord, for Paris to choose among the three godesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, ultimately leading to the Trojan War, which GRRM heavily draws from.

Snow White and the poison apple

Sansa is the name of a variety of apple that was developed in the 1970s, an early ripening mix of Gala and Akane.

Just by the general use, we get a theme of choice and destruction. Also Sansa is an apple. But - spoiler alert - that is NOT very central in Jon’s chapters. YET.

Also, some boring numbers, because this is not as easy a fruit as the persimmon to parse for the sheer amount of them:

Apples in general have 155 mentions in all searchable publications, 135 in the novels directly, 22 in Jon chapters. Only 9 of all the novel-mentions concern House Fossoway, 11 in the other literature. 

Top chapter uses: 

AFFC, Prologue - 14: Oldtown, Quill and Tankard inn backyard. Alleras shoots them with bow and arrow while the acolyte nerd squad discusses Dany and her dragon rumors. "Where's Rosey? Our rightful queen deserves another round of cider, wouldn't you say?" The apples are withered and wormy, the cider is fearsomely strong. Pate agonizes over his betrayal and theft for his creepy, obsessive love. His choice is “love”. Then he is killed. Complex.

ADWD, Jon V - 11: Jon passes out food and asks the wildlings at Mole’s Town to choose if they want to fight for the NW or not. Apples and onions, you have to choose. The apples are withered.

ADWD, Davos II - 7: Getting information about Manderly from an apple seller in White Harbor. Bad apple, good information. Theme in WH: who are you truly loyal to? The apple is dry and mealy, “bad”. Apples and onions, again.

ASOS, Bran III - 5, and ASOS, Jon V - 3: (8 combined) Rotten apples carpet the ground near an abandoned Queenscrown inn. They provide the background for Jon’s break with the Wildling Undercover Operation and flight back to the Watch. Theme: the abandonment of the Gift, the decline of the Watch, the Dream of Spring and Jon really doesn’t even really pretend to want a future with Ygritte. He chooses. The apples are rotten. 

POV uses: Jon 22, Arya 18, Prologue AFFC 14, Sansa 13, Davos 8, Jaime 8, Bran 8, Tyrion 8, Brienne 6, Catelyn 6, Dany 5, Eddard 5, Cersei 3, Theon 3, Samwell 2 JonCon 1, Asha 1, Quentyn 1, Arianne 1, Areo Hotah 1, Prologue ADWD: 1.

Jon is not only the single top POV character to feature the apple, he also has two of the top-use chapters that give the apple significance in setting the background. The apple is very closely tied to Jon. 

A short note on the  red apple Fossoways (Cider Hall) and the green apple Fossoways (New Barrel): 

The branches split at the trial of seven at the Tourney at Ashford (of the Ashford Theory), where the red apple fought for the bad guys (Aerion Targaryen) and the green apple for Ser Duncan the Tall.

Both had the red apple of the Fossoways painted on their shields, but the younger man's was soon hacked and chipped to pieces. "Here's an apple that's not ripe yet," the older said as he slammed the other's helm. (…)

"Ser Raymun, if you please." He cantered up, a grim smile lighting his face beneath his plumed helm. "My pardons, ser. I needed to make a small change to my sigil, lest I be mistaken for my dishonorable cousin." He showed them all his shield. The polished golden field remained the same, and the Fossoway apple, but this apple was green instead of red. "I fear I am still not ripe . . . but better green than wormy, eh?" 

(The Hedge Knight)

Again with the split of loyalty, with the following your moral code, with the choices. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So how do apples feature for Jon himself?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Apples are connected to Jon’s struggle of loyalty to the Night’s Watch, and with his inner struggle in general. Every time they show up, he is confronted with a choice of who to stay loyal to, what values to follow. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First apple: AGOT, Jon IX. 

Jon’s final chapter in the book. Big Drama!

Jon eats a brown, withered apple when he tries to flee the NW the first time. He is heading South because his father has been killed and he wants to join Robb. He is plagued by self-doubt and fear. Then he takes a break to eat. 

In his saddlebag, he found a biscuit, a piece of cheese, and a small withered brown apple. (...) He kept the apple for last. It had gone a little soft, but the flesh was still tart and juicy. He was down to the core when he heard the sounds: horses, and from the north.

Straight after, he is caught and prodded back in an incredibly moving, nonviolent confrontation by his new Brothers reciting the NW vows. 

"… and all the nights to come," finished Pyp. He reached over for Jon's reins. "So here are your choices. Kill me, or come back with me."

Jon lifted his sword … and lowered it, helpless. "Damn you," he said. "Damn you all." 

In his mind, Jon is determined to try and escape again, but the next day, Mormont lets him know they knew what happened. 

Jon’s throat was dry. “You know?” “Know,” the raven echoed from Mormont’s shoulder. “Know.” The Old Bear snorted. “Do you think they chose me Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch because I’m dumb as a stump, Snow? Aemon told me you’d go. I told him you’d be back. I know my men … and my boys too. Honor set you on the kingsroad … and honor brought you back.” “My friends brought me back,” Jon said. “Did I say it was your honor?” Mormont inspected his plate.

Jon thinks he’ll be executed. Instead, he will be taken along to the great ranging beyond the Wall. 

“So I will have an answer from you, Lord Snow, and I will have it now. Are you a brother of the Night’s Watch … or only a bastard boy who wants to play at war?” Jon Snow straightened himself and took a long deep breath. Forgive me, Father. Robb, Arya, Bran … forgive me, I cannot help you. He has the truth of it. This is my place. “I am … yours, my lord. Your man. I swear it. I will not run again.” The Old Bear snorted. “Good. Now go put on your sword.”

Apple = choice. The choice is the Watch. Because the war against the Others is more important. 

Apple Quality: Brown and whithered. But still tart and juicy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Second apple: ACOK, Jon I

A former green apple (the valiantly knightly Fossoway kind) is to be dispatched from the Wall to garner support from a Baratheon king... 

"Renly is not like to heed a quaking fat boy. I'll send Ser Arnell. He's a deal steadier, and his mother was one of the green-apple Fossoways."

"If it please my lord, what would you have of King Renly?"

The conversation turns toward maester Aemon, his repeated refusal to become king and the incredibly foreshadowy information about the ending of the dragon line. 

It made him feel odd. “My lord, why have you told me this, about Maester Aemon?” “Must I have a reason?” Mormont shifted in his seat, frowning. “Your brother Robb has been crowned King in the North. You and Aemon have that in common. A king for a brother.” “And this too,” said Jon. “A vow.” (…)

Jon drew himself up, taut as a bowstring. “And if it did trouble me, what might I do, bastard as I am?” “What will you do?” Mormont asked. “Bastard as you are?” “Be troubled,” said Jon, “and keep my vows.”

Apple = choice. The choice is the Watch. The bigger picture is more important.

Apple Quality: green and unripe. (But honorable.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Third apple: ACOK, Jon VII

Jon and the Qhorin Halfhand crew are on the losing side of a game of cat and mouse with the warg-powered wildlings. Squire Dalbridge is about to sacrifice his life by going to shoot the Wildlings that are stalking them. 

The squire bowed his head. "Leave me as many arrows as you can spare, brothers." He stroked his longbow. "And see my garron has an apple when you're home. He's earned it, poor beastie."

He's staying to die, Jon realized.  

And that’s almost right at the end of the chapter. This is the only apple chapter where Jon is NOT immediately confronted with a moral dilemma of loyalty or the making of choices. And Dalbridge’s self-sacrifice, his off-page death, all of that means it’s a more long-term projection of the dilemma. 

The next, final chapter, Jon and Qhorin Halfhand are captured and he is compelled to kill Qhorin to prove himself a turncloak to the Wildlings, in order to start his Undercover Operation. 

The flames were burning low by then, the warmth fading. “The fire will soon go out,” Qhorin said, “but if the Wall should ever fall, all the fires will go out.” There was nothing Jon could say to that. He nodded. “We may escape them yet,” the ranger said. “Or not.” “I’m not afraid to die.” It was only half a lie. “It may not be so easy as that, Jon.” He did not understand. “What do you mean?” 

(…)

Rattleshirt’s bone armor clattered loudly as he laughed. “Then kill the Halfhand, bastard.” “As if he could,” said Qhorin. “Turn, Snow, and die.” And then Qhorin’s sword was coming at him and somehow Longclaw leapt upward to block. The force of impact almost knocked the bastard blade from Jon’s hand, and sent him staggering backward. You must not balk, whatever is asked of you. 

(…)

He knew, he thought numbly. He knew what they would ask of me. He thought of Samwell Tarly then, of Grenn and Dolorous Edd, of Pyp and Toad back at Castle Black. Had he lost them all, as he had lost Bran and Rickon and Robb? Who was he now? What was he?

“Get him up.” Rough hands dragged him to his feet. Jon did not resist. “Do you have a name?” Ygritte answered for him. “His name is Jon Snow. He is Eddard Stark’s blood, of Winterfell.”

(ACOK, Jon VIII)

Ouch. From this point on, Jon will have to make his own choices, no longer guided by other people’s rules, other people’s honor. The choices will be harder, lonelier. They will be contradictory, they will involve even more tangible loss. They will involve dishonor. The reward is as distant as home. Sacrifice. Death.

But one day, the poor beastie will get an apple, he will have earned it. 

Apple = choice. The choice is the Watch. The bigger picture.

Apple quality: unknown. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fourth apple: ASOS, Jon I

As inconspicuously as above, the apple features in a memory of home, featuring not-yet-deserter Mance Rayder at Winterfell, meeting Robb and Jon up to shennanigans:

“I remember,” said Jon with a startled laugh. A young black brother on the wallwalk, yes … “You swore not to tell.”

"And kept my vow. That one, at least."

"We dumped the snow on Fat Tom. He was Father's slowest guardsman." Tom had chased them around the yard afterward, until all three were red as autumn apples. "But you said you saw me twice. When was the other time?"

"When King Robert came to Winterfell to make your father Hand," the King-beyond-the-Wall said lightly. (ASOS, Jon I)

A neat connection between desertion, vow-keeping and the events that led Jon to take his own path to the Wall. Before Meeting Mance, Ygritte has been praising the values of being “free” like the good Little Wildling Propagandist that she is. But Jon isn’t biting yet.

The following conversation gives the backstory of Mance Rayder’s desertion from the Wall. It was over a cloak, mended by a Wildling woman who tended to him while he was injured.

“And she sewed up the rents in my cloak as well, with some scarlet silk from Asshai that her grandmother had pulled from the wreck of a cog washed up on the Frozen Shore. It was the greatest treasure she had, and her gift to me.” He swept the cloak back over his shoulders. “But at the Shadow Tower, I was given a new wool cloak from stores, black and black, and trimmed with black, to go with my black breeches and black boots, my black doublet and black mail. The new cloak had no frays nor rips nor tears … and most of all, no red. The men of the Night’s Watch dressed in black, Ser Denys Mallister reminded me sternly, as if I had forgotten. My old cloak was fit for burning now, he said. “I left the next morning … for a place where a kiss was not a crime, and a man could wear any cloak he chose.” He closed the clasp and sat back down again. “And you, Jon Snow?”

Jon uses Mance’s story of visiting Winterfell to spin his own lie:

“And did you see where I was seated, Mance?” He leaned forward. “Did you see where they put the bastard?” Mance Rayder looked at Jon’s face for a long moment. “I think we had best find you a new cloak,” the king said, holding out his hand. 

What will the bastard do? Be troubled and keep his vows. So far, so true. But he did kill Qhorin Halfhand, he is pretending to be a deserter. Lines are a lot more blurry than they used to be.

Apple = choice. The choice is… the Night’s Watch. Shifting more and more toward simply the bigger picture. 

Apple quality: red autumn apple. 

Red silk patches. Conflicting values. Women. There is uncertainty on the horizon. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fifth apple. ASOS Jon V.  BIG apple chapter.

His final confrontation as an Undercover Wildling.

This confrontation takes place at the abandoned tower and village of Queenscrown, which gets a closer description in the accompanying Bran chapter: 

No one had lived in the village for long years, Bran could see. All the houses were falling down. Even the inn. It had never been much of an inn, to look at it, but now all that remained was a stone chimney and two cracked walls, set amongst a dozen apple trees. One was growing up through the common room, where a layer of wet brown leaves and rotting apples carpeted the floor. The air was thick with the smell of them, a cloying cidery scent that was almost overwhelming. Meera stabbed a few apples with her frog spear, trying to find some still good enough to eat, but they were all too brown and wormy. 

(ASOS, Bran III)

The abandonment of Brandon’s Gift is a subject of conflict between Jon and Ygritte. A carpet of rotting apples. It opens the very next Jon chapter, as they are on the way to Queenscrown. Ygritte mocks the farmers who left the Gift as fools. Jon doesn’t take the bait yet. He briefly indulges in a fantasy of introducing Ygritte to Winterfell before being overcome with guilt and shame again. Ygritte is super great at reading his mood: 

“Might be after we could come back here, and live in that tower,” she said. “Would you want that, Jon Snow? After?”

He doesn’t think about it, doesn’t answer for a while, it rather reminds him of Ned’s Dream of Spring, the plan to resettle the Gift. The Starks and the Watch. 

If winter had come and gone more quickly and spring had followed in its turn, I might have been chosen to hold one of these towers in my father’s name. Lord Eddard was dead, however, his brother Benjen lost; the shield they dreamt together would never be forged. “This land belongs to the Watch,” Jon said. Her nostrils flared. “No one lives here.”

Jon isn’t even tempted. Like, no, Jon, Bambi, you did not love this person, no matter what your telling yourself later. He doesn’t even really contemplate it. 

Instead of bonding them closer together, Ygritte’s invitation to make long-term plans has the opposite effect. It fans the flames of what divides them. They argue about raiding and rape. Ygritte spouts nonsense.

“You know nothing, Jon Snow. Daughters are taken, not wives. You’re the ones who steal. You took the whole world, and built the Wall t’ keep the free folk out.”

Ygritte, no, that is not why the Wall was built. You think they built a gargantuan magic ice structure to keep out Styr, Magnar of Thenn, or what? Really? Jon is also sceptical of this version of history:

“Did we?” Sometimes Jon forgot how wild she was, and then she would remind him. “How did that happen?”

"The gods made the earth for all men t' share. Only when the kings come with their crowns and steel swords, they claimed it was all theirs. My trees, they said, you can't eat them apples. My stream, you can't fish here. My wood, you're not t' hunt. My earth, my water, my castle, my daughter, keep your hands away or I'll chop 'em off, but maybe if you kneel t' me I'll let you have a sniff. You call us thieves, but at least a thief has t' be brave and clever and quick. A kneeler only has t' kneel." 

Ygritte is basically a bland political extremist. I could sympathize with her criticism of feudal culture if it didn’t come hand in hand with her passionate defense of violent theft and rape culture. Like, you paragon of intelligence, not everyone resides at the fair top of the food chain like you do in your peak fitness status within your warrior culture. But of course, rape is fun! Just bring a knife!

"Harma and the Bag of Bones don't come raiding for fish and apples. They steal swords and axes. Spices, silks, and furs. They grab every coin and ring and jeweled cup they can find, casks of wine in summer and casks of beef in winter, and they take women in any season and carry them off beyond the Wall."

Apples in a breath with women. People should not be “stolen”. But Ygritte thinks men who successfully abduct and rape women are sexy. She’s like Dany that way. There are some cultural divides that cannot be pretended away, and their entire conversation circles around it. Jon is plagued by terrible guilt, he tries to warn Ygritte that their plan is doomed, she (rightfully) suspects his loyalty to the Wildlings and Jon believes himself in love but he never wavers in his actual allegiance to the NW.

She grinned at that, showing Jon the crooked teeth that he had somehow come to love. Wildling to the bone, he thought again, with a sick sad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He flexed the fingers of his sword hand, and wondered what Ygritte would do if she knew his heart. Would she betray him if he sat her down and told her that he was still Ned Stark’s son and a man of the Night’s Watch? He hoped not, but he dare not take that risk.

GRRM is going out of his way to undermine the supposed romance by constantly referring to the conflict between them and the apples-of-choice are just all over. 

Anyway, Jon is thoroughly eaten by guilt over having to betray these human beings who are a vicious and brutal threat to the place and people he loves and swore to protect. His true identity is hinted at:

Jon wondered where Ghost was now. Had he gone to Castle Black, or was he was running with some wolfpack in the woods? He had no sense of the direwolf, not even in his dreams. It made him feel as if part of himself had been cut off. Even with Ygritte sleeping beside him, he felt alone. He did not want to die alone.

Ghost. Not Ygritte. Not the wildlings. Not the Watch, even. Ghost. Wolf.  

They arrive at the Queenscrown inn and an old man is captured.

Jon walked away. A rotten apple squished beneath his heel. Styr will kill him. The Magnar had said as much at Greyguard; any kneelers they met were to be put to death at once, to make certain they could not raise the alarm. Ride with them, eat with them, fight with them. Did that mean he must stand mute and helpless while they slit an old man's throat?  

The apples are rotten. Jon spends one last moment with Ygritte contemplating Queenscrown and then the “kill the old man” business starts. He struggles but ultimately refuses. Bran’s wolf Summer disrupts the tension with a bloody attack and Jon doesn’t hesitate to Escape. Like when they met, Jon didn’t slit Ygritte’s throat, but she slit the old man’s. He will not shoot arrows at her, but she did at him. Love. 

Thunder rumbled softly in the distance, but above him the clouds were breaking up. Jon searched the sky until he found the Ice Dragon, then turned the mare north for the Wall and Castle Black. The throb of pain in his thigh muscle made him wince as he put his heels into the old man’s horse. I am going home, he told himself. But if that was true, why did he feel so hollow?

Apple = choice. The choice is… NOT Ygritte. NOT the Wildlings. Time and again. But it also isn’t the Watch. Not as it had been before. Jon followed his instincts, his inner values, but it had a cost, it is hard. Jon is lost.

Apple Quality: rotten. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sixth apple: ASOS, Jon VII  

The Battle at Castle Black They await the attack, Jon and Satin share a meal. And they get a nod to Renly’s peach quote:

"Eat," Jon told him. "There's no knowing when you'll have another chance." He took two buns himself. The nuts were pine nuts, and besides the raisins there were bits of dried apple.  (ASOS, Jon VII)

Compare to Renly, which also took place before a nightly sneak attack. 

"A man should never refuse to taste a peach," Renly said as he tossed the stone away. "He may never get the chance again. Life is short, Stannis. Remember what the Starks say. Winter is coming." He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. (ACOK, Catelyn III)

Peaches have an air of incest and hedonism about them, nostalgia and summer, Baratheons and Arya and Asha. The apple is different. It’s about choice, about conflicted loyalty and personal values, about identity and the bigger picture. (And again and again, they connect to women.)

Jon commands part of the fight, it’s grim. He recognizes some of the wildlings as they pepper them with arrows but cannot shoot at who he thinks is Ygritte. Wildlings die, his brothers die. The battle is brutal, Jon’s POV is distant. Satin remains by his side all throughout, grounding him. Jon remembers advice from Theon, from Ned. They eventually beat the wildling attackers with a horrifying fire trap on the stairs, they win. Immediately after, Jon goes looking for Ygritte, Satin still by his side.

The ice crystals had settled over her face, and in the moonlight it looked as though she wore a glittering silver mask. The arrow was black, Jon saw, but it was fletched with white duck feathers. Not mine, he told himself, not one of mine. But he felt as if it were.

We get a Dany-Val nod… 

The light of the half-moon turned Val's honey-blond hair a pale silver and left her cheeks as white as snow. She took a deep breath. "The air tastes sweet."

"My tongue is too numb to tell. All I can taste is cold." (ADWD, Jon VIII)

...and a lovely double-layered “not mine, not one of mine”. Not his arrows, but he feels guilty. She is not his pack, but he feels guilty.

She just smiled at that. “D’you remember that cave? We should have stayed in that cave. I told you so.” “We’ll go back to the cave,” he said. “You’re not going to die, Ygritte. You’re not.” “Oh.” Ygritte cupped his cheek with her hand. “You know nothing, Jon Snow,” she sighed, dying.

Jon struggles to let go of the fantasy. He is loyal to the cause of the Watch, if not the letter of the vows, but he knows now that his souls want more. He indulges Ygritte’s fantasy of returning because it’s the only thing he has, the only thing he can offer. 

Apple = choice. The choice is… the Watch. But painfully. Numbly. No passion. Duty. 

Apple quality: dried. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Seventh apple: ASOS, Jon X 

Tormund’s daughter Munda.

After vicious attacking Janos Slynt for insulting Ned Stark during a hiostile interrogation in the previous chapter, Jon is sent to kill Mance Rayder under the pretense of parley to prove his loyalty. He is resigned and shame-filled, contemplating his future, where he will be remembered in honorless infamy.  Much bitterness, plenty of woe. His reception by Tormund is surprisingly jovial. They drink mead to honor their fallen Donal Noye and Ygritte, with surprisingly little bitterness. It helps Jon return some of his cheer.

"You bloody crows." Tormund's tone was gruff, yet strangely gentle. "That Longspear stole me daughter. Munda, me little autumn apple. Took her right out o' my tent with all four o' her brothers about.” Toregg slept through it, the great lout, and Torwynd … well, Torwynd the Tame, that says all that needs saying, don’t it? The young ones gave the lad a fight, though.”

“And Munda?” asked Jon. “She’s my own blood,” said Tormund proudly. “She broke his lip for him and bit one ear half off, and I hear he’s got so many scratches on his back he can’t wear a cloak. She likes him well enough, though. And why not? He don’t fight with no spear, you know. Never has. So where do you think he got that name? Har!”  Jon had to laugh. Even now, even here.

Autumn apple. Stolen women. Cloak. 

Stealing women was a hot topic with Ygritte and Jon is immediately concerned, but is reassured. The tenor of the conversation is conciliatory, while he is revealed to be loyal to the Watch, there is mutual respect. In Jon’s thoughts, Ygritte becomes a mentor voice, drifting away from the romantic woe of before. 

Easy for you to say, he thought back. You died brave in battle, storming the castle of a foe. I’m going to die a turncloak and a killer. Nor would his death be quick, unless it came on the end of Mance’s sword.

Similarly to Dany later, Jon is arguing with dead beloved abusers in his head, like she will do in ADWD with Viserys. Ygritte is less obviously horrific, but the “voices in my head” aspect and the sheer idealising that both of them engage in feels disconcerting. Never the less, we see Jon’s current identity status on Facebook is “turncloak”. Not Night’s Watch.

The rest of Mance’s “court” is less welcoming, but Mance draws him in for a private conference. The Horn of Winter is revealed, the mutual cause of the Wildlings and the Night’s Watch is identified.

“If I sound the Horn of Winter, the Wall will fall. Or so the songs would have me believe. There are those among my people who want nothing more …” “But once the Wall is fallen,” Dalla said, “what will stop the Others?”

(Dalla has the brains that Ygritte lacked. Why can SHE not be Jon’s mentor?) 

Mance offers to hand over the Horn of Joramun if they let the Wildlings pass through the Wall, or he will destroy the Wall in three days. Jon hesitates because he fears they will ransack the place, but he also has no negotiating credit with Thorne and Slynt. He contemplates just smashing the Horn, when suddenly Stannis attacks. The Wildlings are smashed, a helpless Jon enters the tent with Val to attend Dalla.

He is just... disillusioned.

Apple = choice. The choice is… the bigger picture. The Watch is headed by irrational scum, the Wildlings are no less dangerous to the North than they were before and Jon has no hope of saving his ruined reputation either way. He was about to murder Mance, then about to smash his bargaining chip, yet he has no ill will toward them. Only a depressed, numb resignation to preventing the worst of all outcomes. 

Apple Quality: autumn apple.

Again with the autumn apple. There are only 3 “autumn apples” in the books, all in ASOS. Jon I (above with Mance), Samwell II, and Jon X here. 

In Jon I it connected Mance’s disloyalty to the Watch to the red-and-black cloak given to him by a woman. Also Bael the Bard, deception and stealing. Jon consults his inner values, and chooses pragmatism. His break with “blind” honor will leave him flailing a bit.

In Jon X it specifically refers to a young woman being stolen. Jon consults his inner values, he chooses the bigger picture, but he’s frayed and his choice is interrupted. Stannis will offer him Winterfell. Ghost will remind him of who he is. Ultimately, he will become Lord Commander and his struggle with loyalty will cease for a long time.

What’s Sam’s autumn apple about?  They are listed with many foodstuffs that the angry NW brother’s at Craster’s after the fight at the Fist of the First Men expect to receive. Mormont just remembered the true purpose of the Watch. Gilly has just given birth to her son. Sam offers to take the boy, Craster gets mad. they bury a dead brother and the mood is mutinous.

“Apples,” said Garth of Greenaway. “Barrels and barrels of crisp autumn apples. There are apple trees out there, I saw ’em.”

A confrontation breaks out and they kill Craster and stab Mormont. Sam’s friends flee, the others raid and rape, Sam cradles a dying Mormont. Some wives approach and order Sam to take Gilly to safety. 

Gilly was crying. “Me and the babe. Please. I’ll be your wife, like I was Craster’s. Please, ser crow. He’s a boy, just like Nella said he’d be. If you don’t take him, they will.” “They?” said Sam, and the raven cocked its black head and echoed, “They. They. They.” “The boy’s brothers,” said the old woman on the left. “Craster’s sons. The white cold’s rising out there, crow. I can feel it in my bones. These poor old bones don’t lie. They’ll be here soon, the sons.”

The massive abundance of apples suggests a link to the abundance of women, to the connection to inner values over formal loyalty, to the “stealing” of Gilly to save her. To the massive bigger picture. With Jon it translates to his trademark quick-thinking pragmatism, with Sam it translates to compassion and identifying valuable information. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

8th and final apple: ADWD, Jon V  - The Grand Appling.

ADWD Jon V is another big apple chapter:  you have to choose!

Much time has passed since the last apples were mentioned. Jon is Lord Commander and has sent away Sam, Gilly and maester Aemon. The Wildlings are south of the Wall. Food is a constant worry. Bowen Marsh is upset with Jon, Jon is super-diplomatic. Not. It’s time to bring provisions to the Wildlings at Mole’s Town. A Mirror to Dany in ADWD, Daenerys VI, bringing food to the Astapori refugees. The Wildlings are grumpy. Jon struggles to balance the culture clash between free folk, Stannis’ men and Wildlings.

Pig ignorance, Jon thought. The free folk were no different than the men of the Night’s Watch; some were clean, some dirty, but most were clean at times and dirty at other times.

Jon is much removed from his earlier woeful struggles or idealism. A weary pragmatism guides his every action. Grey.

Apples ensue:

"You can have an onion or an apple," Jon heard Hairy Hal tell one woman, "but not both. You got to pick."

The woman did not seem to understand. "I need two of each. One o' each for me, t'others for my boy. He's sick, but an apple will set him right." 

Hal shook his head. "He has to come get his own apple. Or his onion. Not both. Same as you. Now, is it an apple or an onion? Be quick about it, now, there's more behind you."

"An apple," she said, and he gave her one, an old dried thing, small and withered.

"Move along, woman," shouted a man three places back. "It's cold out here."

The woman paid the shout no mind. "Another apple," she said to Hairy Hal. "For my son. Please. This one is so little."

Hal looked to Jon. Jon shook his head. They would be out of apples soon enough. If they started giving two to everyone who wanted two, the latecomers would get none.

"Out of the way," a girl behind the woman said. Then she shoved her in the back. The woman staggered, lost her apple, and fell. The other foodstuffs in her arms went flying. Beans scattered, a turnip rolled into a mud puddle, a sack of flour split and spilled its precious contents in the snow. 

Apples are once again almost aggressively connected to choices. Apples or onions. Not both. You have to pick. 

Barring another meta, I can’t really say what the onion is supposed to represent. Some things that echoe Jon’s apple themes:

His sons were good fighters and better sailors, but they did not know how to talk to lords. They were lowborn, even as I was, but they do not like to recall that. When they look at our banner, all they see is a tall black ship flying on the wind. They close their eyes to the onion.  (ACOK, Davos I)

Denial. 

Dany nibbled at an onion and reflected ruefully on the faithlessness of men. (ACOK, Daenerys III)

Faithlessness.

The feast was a meager enough thing, a succession of fish stews, black bread, and spiceless goat. The tastiest thing Theon found to eat was an onion pie. Ale and wine continued to flow well after the last of the courses had been cleared away. (ACOK, Theon II)

Theon about to be ordered to attack Winterfell. Betrayal.

The last time it was life I brought to Storm's End, shaped to look like onions. This time it is death, in the shape of Melisandre of Asshai. (ACOK, Davos II)

Life and death brought by the same person.

Melisandre’s manichean world view vs. Davos’ more encompassing one:

"What if I am? It seems to me that most men are grey."

"If half of an onion is black with rot, it is a rotten onion. A man is good, or he is evil."  (ACOK, Davos II)

Bless you Sam. 

Hungry as he was, Sam knew he would retch if he so much as tried a bite. How could they eat the poor faithful garrons who had carried them so far? When Craster's wives brought onions, he seized one eagerly. One side was black with rot, but he cut that part off with his dagger and ate the good half raw. (ASOS, Samwell II)

Considering apples represent the choice you make to serve an ethical bigger picture (not necessarily loyalty to an order), onions seem to show a contrasting duality of bad and good, a refusal to position oneself honestly, dirty compromises, the darkness in human beings. 

Davos’ entire arc circles around being a very decent human being who none the less supports a whole lot of questionable crap. Our resident kraken Theon is torn inside unable to choose between Greyjoy and Stark identity and becomes monstrous. 

Melisandre downright denies the existence of grey. The presence of bad cancels out all good.  Samwell, on the other hand, embraces the good while disregarding the bad. 

Ygritte smelled of onion. Dany eats wild onion on her dragon grassland chapter,  Jorah eats onion. Brienne has onion soup on her way to Lady Stoneheart. Jon offers the Wildlings onion soup after they burn their god’s for Melisandre in echange for safety. Dark compromises. 

So the choice between apples and onions is the choice to MAKE a choice. Stop hedging your bets or practicing denial, position yourself, one way or the other. 

The woman who refuses to choose, loses her apple, loses the fruit that will set her sick son right, loses her cance at following her inner moral compass and doing the right thing. 

There is a tussle, Jon tries to rally them with a speech. They are in a Mutiny at Craster’s Keep kind of mood.

“You want more food?” asked Jon. “The food’s for fighters. Help us hold the Wall, and you’ll eat as well as any crow.” Or as poorly, when the food runs short. (…)

“Fight for you?” This voice was thickly accented. Sigorn, the young Magnar of Thenn, spoke the Common Tongue haltingly at best. “Not fight for you. Kill you better. Kill all you.” The raven flapped its wings. “Kill, kill.” Sigorn’s father, the old Magnar, had been crushed beneath the falling stair during his attack on Castle Black. I would feel the same if someone asked me to make common cause with the Lannisters, Jon told himself. “Your father tried to kill us all,” he reminded Sigorn. “The Magnar was a brave man, yet he failed. And if he had succeeded … who would hold the Wall?”

Jon believes in the greyness of men, but he also believes in choices. You don’t have to be perfect to do the right thing. But you have to do the right thing. Or a thing, anyway. You have to choose.

There is more commotion. Jon decides to make it simpler.

"Hal, what was it that you told this woman?"

Hal looked confused. "About the food, you mean? An apple or an onion? That's all I said. They got to pick."

"You have to pick," Jon Snow repeated. "All of you. No one is asking you to take our vows, and I do not care what gods you worship. My own gods are the old gods, the gods of the North, but you can keep the red god, or the Seven, or any other god who hears your prayers. It's spears we need. Bows. Eyes along the Wall. (…)

He recruits, actively. 

“The choice is yours,” Jon Snow told them. “Those who want to help us hold the Wall, return to Castle Black with me and I’ll see you armed and fed. The rest of you, get your turnips and your onions and crawl back inside your holes.”

Apples yay, onions nay. Dany killed the slavers of Astapor, and left alive only children under the age of 12. Jon recruit ages 12 and up for the Watch, girls and boys. Dany killed 163 random slavers. Jon recruits 63 Wildlings.

By the time the last withered apple had been handed out, the wagons were crowded with wildlings, and they were sixty-three stronger than when the column had set out from Castle Black that morning. 

The apples win out. No more mention of onions in this chapter. 

The chapter ends on a grey note, uncertain but hopeful. 

Marsh was unconvinced. “You’ve added sixty-three more mouths, my lord … but how many are fighters, and whose side will they fight on? If it’s the Others at the gates, most like they’ll stand with us, I grant you … but if it’s Tormund Giantsbane or the Weeping Man come calling with ten thousand howling killers, what then?” “Then we’ll know. So let us hope it never comes to that.”

Hilariously, it is not the treachery of the apple-choosing wildlings Jon will have to worry about. 

The abundance of onions and apples in this chapter sets up the struggle Jon faces in later ADWD chapters. The bigger picture v. Arya. Apples are done, for now, the onions stalk him. He tries to strikes a balance. He hesitates, he sends Mance, he struggles. In the end, the Pink Letter sends him over the edge.

Apples v. onions.  Jon has chosen. 

Apples = choice. The choices is… NOT the Watch. Arya. The North. The bigger picture. House Stark. 

Apple Quality: withered. Like the very first apple. 

Jon stood tall. He told himself that he would die well; that much he could do, at the least. “I know the penalty for desertion, my lord. I’m not afraid to die.” “Die!” the raven cried. “Nor live, I hope,” Mormont said, cutting his ham with a dagger and feeding a bite to the bird. (AGOT, Jon IX)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In conclusion:

Apples signal the necessity for Jon make a moral choice according to his own personal values. 

Jon always has his eyes on the bigger picture. 

His choices becomes increasingly divorced from the concept of loyalty to the Watch.

There is a pronounced conflict between apple and onion, between moral choice and refusal to choose. Jon tries to walk the line between the letter of his vows and his values. He ends up choosing his values. It goes badly. 

The quality of the apples has a relationship with the ease of choosing. 

whithered apples are fairly clean choices, 

rotten apples are traumatic choices, 

autumn apples relate to choices influenced by the wisdom of women, the stealing of women. 

There is a future apple promised to “the beastie” as a reward. 

If we want to draw a connection to the show, Jon will clearly face another apples v. onions conflict and the need to choose will feature heavily. It will go badly. But there is the promise of home and reward.

[the-broken-truth]

My Magical Raven

Prompt: The Witch Queen has been slain but the powerful magic within her corpse has lashed out and sought out a new suitable vessel - The One Who Slain Her, Anastasia (MC). 

Pairing: Altea Bellerose x Anastasia (MC)

The war was finally over. 

The Witch Queen laid dead at the base of her throne with the tip of Anastasia's Sword still lodged deep within her chest, her blood staining the length of the blade, and the champion that struck her down, forever ending the nightmare held the handle of the sword. Grey eyes glared into the white lifeless eyes of the Evil Queen that bore her face and used her as an incubator for her restoration and hurt those she cared for; those eyes belonged to Anastasia, the Hero of Wolfson Castle.

Anastasia closed her eyes as she exhaled, letting her body slump over with her sword acting as a crutch to keep her on her feet. She looked in the direction of the people who have been with her the entire way.

Her comrades.

Her friends.

Her family.

Lord of Wolfson Castle - Reiner Wolfson.

Loyal Knight of Castle Wolfson - August Falke

Prince of the Elven Kingdom - Iseul Idreis

Last of his kind of the Demon Race - Saerys

And there was her.

The Former Princess of the Throne of Eclaciel, The Main Magician of the Retainers, and the love of Anastasia's Life: Altea Bellerose. 

"You did it, My Raven! You've slain the Witch Queen!" Altea cheered as she ran over to her lover in a blur of pink, latching on to her with a smile, snuggling into Anastasia's Neck. Anastasia took her hand off the sword and used it to lift Altea's head upward by lifting her chin.

"We did it, My Magical Girl." Anastasia smiled as she pressed her lips against Altea's, who just moaned, wrapping her around her neck to deepen the kiss.

"Alright. Alright. Enough of the mushy stuff! Save it for when we get back to the castle." August groaned as he folded his arms, glaring at the lovebirds, who just chuckled and smiled.

"Ah, you mad, August?" Anastasia teased, her spouse chuckling.

"Alright, everyone. Let's get back to the castle. Tonight, we celebrate!" Reiner smiled. Everyone nodded in agreement. Anastasia looked at Altea with on hand wrapped around her waist before looking at her sword, grabbing it by the handle and pulled it free; blood dripped from the blood...and that wasn't all. 

A shot of blue light came shooting from the opening in the Witch Queen's Body with a raging wind that blew back the hair of everyone in the throne room. Anastasia and Altea looked at what it was and their jaws dropped: It was magic. Magic in the purest form without being made into a spell, but not just any magic - this was the Witch Queen's Magic.

The Serpent-Shaped Magic swayed from the opening of its' former wielder's body before it shot forward in the direction of Altea and Anastasia! 

"Altea!" Anastasia yelled as she pulled her lover behind her in an attempt to shield her from the rouge magic' only for the magic to stab her in the chest, sending her flying across the room, crashing into the wall and slumped over the floor.

"Anastasia/My Raven!" The Retainers and Altea called out in horror as they watched the Witch Queen's Magic snake its' way into the opening in Anastasia's Chestplate and the wound in her chest.

"Ngh...Ngh...Gah..." Anastasia groaned out as her body curled in a fetal position, shaking as the magic-filled her blood and bones; taking root within her very soul. "Cold...So...Cold." She whimpered out. 

"Altea! What's going on?!" Lord Wolfson asked his Head Magician in concern for his champion. Altea lifted her hand and her magical emblem appeared in the palm of her hand, scanning the Champion as she shivered on the ground in pain; growling and groaning in pain, white and blue sparks of magic flashed in the form of cracks of lightning around Anastasia.

"I...I'm not sure, Lord Wolfson. I've never seen anything like this." Altea never took her eyes off her raven, who was sweating and wiggling in pain.

"Let's try to get her to the castle, maybe someone there can tell us what is going on." August offered.

"No need." A familiar feminine voice called out from the main doors of the throne room, everyone turning to see the only serving general...well...former general...of the Witch Queen walking in their direction: The Sorceress, Helena Klein. 

"What? Do you know what going on with Anastasia, Klein?" August asked with his sword drawn in Helena's direction; while she renounced the name of the Witch Queen, he still didn't completely feel safe around her.

"When the Witch Queen was slain, her magic detached itself from the dying vessel to a more suitable one worthy of holding such power." Helena gave a light smirk as she glanced down at the shriveling carbon copy of her former mistress, Altea blocked her view by stepping in front of Helena's line of sight to Anastasia. "Who better than the one who struck the Witch Queen down? The one who bears a likeness to her image and has a piece of her soul within her?" Helena asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

"You're telling us that The Witch Queen's Magic is trying to take Anastasia's Body?! Does that mean that the Witch Queen is trying to revive herself using Anastasia's Vessel?!" Saerys asked in horror at the possibility of the Witch Queen returning using his friend's body.

"No. The Witch Queen is dead. Her Magic, like all creatures in this world, is alive and it chooses to serve the one who wields it or die with the one who it has deemed worthy of it. The Witch Queen's Magic refused to die with her and sought out a new vessel, a new master to wield, and it chose the one who struck down its' previous master." Helena explained as she drew closer to the group.

"Then why didn't it latch on to Altea? Altea has magic and it's stronger; Anastasia has never had magic." Iseul asked in confusion.

"There's where you are wrong, Elven Prince. Your precious champion has always had magic; a fragment of the Witch Queen's Magic upon their separation remained within her, it's simply reuniting the missing piece of itself. Beside..." Helena paused to look into Altea's amber eyes. 

"Bellerose's Magic and the Witch Queen's Magic would never have properly mixed; the two magics have spent decades lashing out and repelling each other, they have a distaste for each other." Helena explained, stopping in her steps when she was just a few feet away from the group.

"Then..." Altea began as she looked at her twitching lover, "What can we do to help her?" Altea asked as she kneeled down, resting one of her hand against the cold armor covering Anastasia's back; she could feel her raven's heartbeat elevating through the metal and the shivering coming from her body.

"There's nothing you can do about it at the moment. You must let her body get adjusted to the presence of magic and then...I suppose you can train her with her new power but...if left unchecked; she might go mad with power and you might have to put her down...like you did the Witch Queen." Helena said.

"Never!" Altea hissed at the woman, who merely raised an eyebrow. "I'd never hurt my raven! I won't let anyone else hurt her ever again!" Altea growled. 

"Altea! That's enough!" Lord Reiner barked. "The war is over and the champion is in bad condition; let's return to Wolfson Castle and see to it that she will get the proper treatment until the magic settles in her body." Reiner explained. Altea looked into the eyes of her leader before her eyes drifted to the trembling armored raven.

"Yes, Lord Reiner." Altea called out. Before she activated her magic once again in the direction of her raven, summoning a pink bubble of magic around the girl which levitated her off the ground. Altea set the spell to remain until she deactivated it and to follow her as the Retainers, plus Helena Klein, walked out of the Witch Queen's Castle; leaving the corpse of its' former owner to rot away. 

Upon arrival back to Lord Reiner's Domain, the crowds cheered when August announced that the Witch Queen met her end at the tip of the blade of Wolfson Castle's Champion; the people rejoiced but when they saw their champion and savior locked away in a pink bubble of magic, their praises turned to shouts of concern. Lord Reiner calmed the people and made way for Altea to take Anastasia into the castle.

Right now, Altea sat in a chair at the bedside of her raven; who was locked away in slumber as the magic of her enemy occupied her body. Anastasia looked as if she was sleeping peacefully but at times she would twitch or grunt in her sleep, sending Altea on edge every time. The bedroom door opened, Altea's head darted in that direction to see Solaire with a tray of food and peach tarts - Altea's Favorite.

"Lady Altea. Lord Reiner informed me that you were watching over our champion; he asked me to bring you supper." Solaire said as she walked over to the bedside dresser, placing the tray of food down before looking at the sleeping knight. "How is she fairing, Lady Altea?" 

"The Witch Queen's Magic is strong but My Raven is stronger. I know she will survive this and..." Altea gave a light smile. "Honestly, I think this will bring us closer together; I can help her control her new magic and we would the strongest duo in the lands." Altea smiled at the thought of fighting alongside her raven with magic.

"Are you sure that is what Lady Anastasia would want?" Solaire asked this caused Altea to look at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" Altea asked.

"From her first moment in this world, she's fought against the Witch Queen's Forces and her magic. Do you think she would be comfortable using it?" Solaire asked.

"I don't know but I do know this: Whatever my raven decides to do, I will support her as she supported me." Altea smiled at the sleeping raven-haired girl. 

"Always and Forever, My Magical Raven."

[lilacmoon83]

Finding You Always

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 211: Uncharted Territory

Aphrodite was lost in her thoughts, as Snow drove them to Andresia and the raven haired beauty looked over at the Goddess.

"She's wrong, you know," Snow mentioned.

"About what?" she asked.

"All those things she said. She's just being a vindictive bitch. To be honest, I can't understand why I ever trusted her. Rumple is right...she is a gnat," Snow replied. Aphrodite smirked at that.

"Be that as it may...I can't really refute anything she says. I have a feeling I don't have some of my memories," she fretted.

"Well...what do you remember?" Snow asked.

"Well…I remember just being one day, on Mount Olympus. Zeus and Athena were there and told me who I was. They said I arose from the sea foam after a great battle with the Titan Uranus. They said I was the goddess of love, beauty, passion, and procreation. But I really had no idea what any of that meant," Aphrodite replied.

"I mean...I got a lot of attention at first ,but he myths got it all wrong. I was so naive and had no concept of...um, pleasing a man," she said a bit shyly. Snow smiled.

"That kind of makes sense. I mean, most of those myths were written by old men. It makes sense that they instantly turned you into some sex symbol," Snow reasoned. She nodded.

"Anyway...Hephaestus pleaded with Zeus to let him marry me and I had no idea what any of that meant. Then Hera, who hated me too, told me what men wanted me for in graphic detail and encouraged Zeus to let him marry me," she explained.

"And don't get me wrong...Hephaestus was very nice, but I didn't know what it was to love yet. I thought Zeus was going to allow, because he liked keeping Hephaestus happy, but he refused his request. He said I was too young and innocent to marry anyone, which considering all the things Zeus did was pretty out of character for him," she said.

"He protected you…" Snow said. She nodded.

"He and Ares almost came to blows, because Ares wanted me too, which was scary and led Athena to take me away to her temple. I spent about a century there, learning my place," she replied.

"Is that when you decided you wanted to champion only the truest love?" Snow asked. Aphrodite smiled.

"Hermes helped with that. She read me love stories from the very enchanted library that we're going to visit now. I think that's what made me angry when I saw many versions of love among both the Gods and mortals that never measured up to what I believed love should be...like the love in those stories," she said. Snow shook her head.

"It always comes back to stories...to the book," she replied.

"It truly does. I almost gave up until I saw the love between Serenity and Endymion. They were in love and the mortals in the Crystal Kingdom were facing a great evil; one that Zeus refused to get involved in. That was the first of many times Hermes and I defied him," she said in amusement.

"And strangely, no matter how angry he got with me...he never raised his voice," she added.

"And you're sure he's not your father?" Snow asked.

"I'm not sure of anything really, but why would he hide it?" she questioned. Snow nodded. She had a good point there.

"After Serenity and Endymion defeated their nemesis and I presented the chalice to them, telling them of their role, I found my own love," she said.

"Anchises...the shepherd," Snow replied with a teasing note in her voice. Aphrodite looked at her.

"Yes...we both have a type, except I don't remember much at all about Anchises, except the love. The love was true and real," she replied.

"Well...it was a really long time ago," Snow offered. Aphrodite looked at her.

"Would you ever forget even one detail about Charming?" she questioned. Snow relented.

"Not in a million years," she admitted.

"So...maybe this is where Blue comes in? I mean, she had a hand in leading her dark half to you and you losing your son, which you obviously remember very clearly. What do you remember after that?" Snow asked.

"Grief...pain...isolation for a really long time. Then Seth ripping all the realms apart, his banishment, and Gothel destroying the tenth realm. Serenity and Endymion survived and relocated their displaced people near Olympus," she said.

"Then my first charges passed on, after their thousand year reign had ended," she explained.

"Then there was a second spark," she added.

"The Dragon King and Queen," Snow recalled.

"Which I had much less interaction with," Aphrodite admitted.

"Really?" Snow asked. She nodded.

"The Dragon King was a good man, but prideful. He loved his Queen very much, but almost never showed her affection in public," Aphrodite replied.

"That's terrible...I can't imagine not holding Charming's hand, not having his arms around me, not kissing him…" Snow lamented. Aphrodite smiled.

"He regime was very militaristic and his true love was not looked upon well, especially since she was from outside his Kingdom. Like I said, he was a good man, but full of pride. His Queen tamed him a bit, but he did not always have the best advisers and generals around him. I did not get to interact with them as much, simply because his court distrusted me so much. And blamed me for bringing their King together with his Queen," she said.

"Wow…I had no idea," Snow replied. She nodded.

"Their time was cut short, thanks to the Dragon and the Dark One, Xanetakos, which we now know was really Yzma in disguise," she said.

"So...if their time was cut short, then you had a time gap between them and us," Snow realized.

"About six hundred years," Aphrodite said.

"And where were you during that time?" Snow asked.

"Sometimes Mount Olympus...sometimes my Temple. The same thing everyday," she replied, realizing how that sounded.

"Like curse memories," Snow said, as she parked the car.

"But why? And who? Why would they take my memories. What was I really doing during that time?" she wondered.

"I don't know...but we're going to find out," Snow replied, as they approached the palace gates. Fandral's head Knight and right hand, a masked man, greeted them with a respectful bow.

"Queen Snow. Goddess Aphrodite," he greeted.

"Hello Knight Zorro," Snow greeted in return.

"We were hoping to see Rose," Aphrodite said.

"Of course," he said, gesturing them ahead into the garden.

"Snow! Aphrodite!" Rose called, as she and her young ones greeted them excitedly.

"Whoa…" Zorro said.

"What is it?" Rose asked.

"Well, forgive me, Your Majesty, but while I'm used to the striking resemblance between you and Queen Snow, I guess I did not realize how much the Goddess looks like you both as well," he replied.

"What?" Aphrodite asked.

"He's right...you do, except for the hair. Didn't you know?" Rose asked.

"You know, now that I think about it, you looked different when we first met. I guess I never realized there was a change," Snow replied.

"What do you mean? I've always looked like this…" she said, as she poofed a compact mirror and looked at her reflection.

"And apparently never realized that I look like one of my charges and her counterpart," she realized.

"She looked different when you first met?" Rose asked.

"Yes...maybe it was a glamor spell!" Snow exclaimed.

"Why would someone put a glamor spell on me?" Aphrodite asked.

"Probably for the same reason they wiped away a bunch of your memories. That's why we're here, Rose," Snow said.

"We think the answers to the missing pieces in her past could be in one of your books," she said. Rose's face lit up.

"Of course," she said, as she motioned them to follow her.

"It would be a very old book. It could take an eternity to find it," Aphrodite warned.

"Maybe not," Rose interjected, as she showed them an electronic tablet.

"You got everything cataloged?" Snow asked.

"During the curse. Since I was awake and there wasn't a lot of ruling to do be done under Seth, it allowed me to spend more of my days in the library. Fandral convinced Seth that an electronic system like this would help us organize the texts that he didn't want people reading and tuck them away since he couldn't destroy them. But really it just made it easier to find everything once it was cataloged," Rose said.

"Now, sometimes hundreds of new books appear each day so there's always still plenty of work to do, but the majority, even the ancient stuff, is now cataloged," she explained.

"That's wonderful…" Snow gushed.

"I'm a little surprised that Hermes hasn't helped fill in your memories though," Rose mentioned.

"You know Hermes...she travels a lot and I know she'd tell me if she knew anything," Aphrodite replied.

"Which makes sense that maybe any memories concerning your life were erased from her too. What about Athena?" Snow asked.

"She either doesn't know or something has forbade her to tell me," Aphrodite replied.

"Well, then we need to find the answers on our own," Rose replied.

"And we will," Snow assured.

"If my memories really are missing...then maybe I am cursed. James...he could be in danger just by being with me. What if the Horned King was right?" she lamented, but they put their hands on her shoulders.

"You are not going to lose James," Snow insisted.

"She's right...true love is stronger than a curse and we all know that," Rose assured her, as they went into the library with the children to begin their search for answers.

~*~

David hopped off the Jolly Roger, followed by Emma, Xander, Hook, James, and Fandral, who had met them at the Harbor after David called him.

"This place...never changes," Xander commented, as they walked from the docks and onto the island mainland.

"As much as we hate it...I suppose everywhere has a place like this. Boston had places too that were no picnic," David mentioned, as they approached what appeared to serve as a Main street of sorts. It was lined with bars, clubs, and brothels, as well as an open market that was selling a number of goods.

"Ten bucks says most of those goods are stolen and there's drug trafficking going on at most of those kiosks," Emma said.

"No need to take that bet," Xander said, as he swiped his finger along one of the counter, while getting a glare from the owner. His finger was colored pink.

"Well, it's not white powder so what exactly is it?" she asked.

"Poppy dust. Like cocaine, back in our land, it was ground up and sold. If you sniff enough of it or roll it up and smoke it, you'll get a high like you wouldn't believe," he replied. She sighed.

"I thought Seth destroyed all the poppies," Emma said.

"Around Mount Olympus...but Aphrodite says they'll grow anywhere there's an exorbitant amount of evil," James said, as he pointed to the body they had come for. The poor man, though he was likely no angel, was still laying in the street. No one cared enough to cover him and he had clearly been walked over and jostled in the dirt.

"Okay...now I'm really glad we didn't bring Mom or Eva on this one," Emma said. It was too much. The level of cruelty and bad emotions would have been overwhelming for Eva and her mother as well. While she knew both of them were tough as nails, she and her father still did their best to protect them from this level of cruelty and evil when possible. Which they realized seemed silly since they had stood against Seth and some of the worst alongside them. But this place was decidedly something they hoped they never needed to see.

"He did this…" David said.

"Most likely, but we probably can't be sure until Bashful does an autopsy," Emma replied.

"Yes we can...because he left me a message," David said, as he put a glove on and brushed some dirt away from beside the body, before extracting a smashed and now dead snowdrop flower.

"Damn him…" Xander cursed.

"A snowdrop…" Emma said.

"He's taunting me," David said, as he stood up and looked around.

"It's like I can feel his eyes on us. He's here...watching us," he added.

"Knowing that psycho, he'll manage to get eyes everywhere," Fandral warned, as they put gloves on and ignored the stares they were getting, as they put the body in a body bag for transport.

"Can I help you?" David asked irritably, as one man decided to approach.

"Just hoping you finish picking up the trash, Your Majesty...because your kind ain't wanted here," the man said.

"Like I give a damn. Now, go back into your tavern," he snapped.

"This is Pleasure Island, Sheriff Charming...and we don't obey your laws," he refuted.

"Yet...but believe me, I'm going to find a way to clean this cesspool up, so enjoy it while you can, Mr…" he said, as he paused and glared at the man.

"No need for the Mister...I just go by Grimm and I'm a simple man, trying to run a business," he replied. David smirked.

"Grimm...something tells me with a name like that what you're into is far from simple," he replied. Grimm glared at him.

"Because of men like you. Lawmen...royals, who come and throw their weight around and impose their will on the little people," he said.

"I'm well aware that back in our land there were royals and lawmen that weren't kind and fed their own interests. But that's not me. All I care about is the safety of the people of the United Realms," David countered.

"Well...you have your body so maybe it's time you get back to the people you actually care about and not us...bottom feeders. That's what we are to you," he hissed.

"I have the body, but I don't have the killer," David said, as he pulled up a photo on his phone.

"Seen this man?" he asked.

"Sure have...I gotta say, watching your cat and mouse game with the doctor is satisfying. All that power and you still haven't bested him, though if you ask me, that Queen of yours is a bit more trouble than she's worth," he mentioned.

"No one asked you...where is he?" David demanded to know.

"Around...I suppose I get it though. She is a beauty and so is her product," he leered, as his eyes flicked to Emma. That was a huge mistake, as David punched him in the face and shoved him away. Xander stepped in and put a hand on his son's shoulder, as some of the other men around started to move in. He was having none of it and pulled the chalice sword from its sheath.

"Don't get stupid," he warned. It wouldn't operate at full power in a place like this where magic was suppressed, but it would still do its job.

"Dad...as much as I'd like to arrest this entire island, we need to go," Emma urged.

"She's right...they're never going to tell us where Jekyll is," James agreed. David hated this. He wanted nothing more than to find Jekyll at that moment and end him, but he knew it would never be that simple. He had found the perfect haven to hide and plot his revenge. He was already taunting him and probably enjoying his frustration right now. He relented and sheathed his weapon, as Xander and James hauled the body bag back to the ship.

"Have a good day, Sheriff Charming and kiss that pretty wife for us all, especially the good doctor!" Grimm taunted. David was practically boiling in his own skin, but Emma took his arm and led him back to the ship.

"Don't do it, Dad...he's not worth it," she said.

"I know, Em…" he said, with a sigh.

"She's right mate...Grimm is a bottom feeder for sure. His establishment has it all. Alcohol, gambling, drugs, prostitution and a dozen other things I pretended to ignore in the times I frequented his place in my past," Hook advised.

"Do you know much about him, beyond his tavern?" Emma asked.

"Not really. Pleasure Island is full of outcasts though. He hates royals and anything good. I've never been privy as to why," Killian replied.

"His name is Grimm though...it's curious," Xander said.

"Maybe Rose can find more on him. He seems to have supporters," Fandral mentioned.

"Oh he does...like I said, this place is full of outcasts and they ran rampant during Seth's reign. Before all this, they kept to themselves, but now that a sense of law and order is back...we may have a lot of problems from him and his cohorts," Killian said.

"Great...more troublemakers. Like we don't have enough trouble," she replied, as they boarded the Jolly Roger and Killian set sail back to Storybrooke.

~*~

They arrived back at the stables and dismounted the unicorns.

"Wow...that was easily the most amazing thing I've ever experienced," JJ said..

"I thought you might like that. We can go anywhere you want next," Summer replied.

"So...it's all real. Like the castles, the Emerald City, even Neverland?" he asked.

"Yes, I can show you around Misthaven if you want and Oz is real too. Most of Neverland isn't pleasant, except for Tigerlily's island. She's a very good friend," she replied.

"Well…I'd love to meet her," he said.

"Okay...we can go now. I'll just text my parents and tell them I'll be home later," she replied.

"So...you're going to Boston with them tomorrow?" he asked.

"I am...will you be going back there? You probably have a job to get back to," she said, a bit sadly.

"I do...unless you think the hospital is hiring here," he mentioned. She looked at him in surprise.

"You want to work here?" she asked. He shrugged.

"It sounds exciting, but I think I'll wait and just tag along with you tomorrow, if you don't mind. She smiled.

"I'd like that," she replied.

"Elsa and I have to get back, but go ahead and take Pegasus to Tigerlily's island," Leo said, as the winged horse landed beside them.

"Wow…I think I'll let you steer," JJ said, as she mounted the animal and he got on behind her, before holding on. The animal soured into the air, as Leo and Elsa watched on.

"I think your little sister is smitten," she mentioned and he sighed.

"Yeah…I guess it was bound to happen and he seems nice," Leo mentioned.

"Wow...that's a really mild reaction," she said. He chuckled.

"As long as she's happy and I doubt he'd hurt her, unless he has a death wish," he replied. She chuckled.

"Very true," she replied, as they headed home to Arendelle.

~*~

Jekyll chuckled, as he watched Charming make a spectacle, just as he knew the Prince would. It was a very good thing. He normally worked alone, but having potential allies in the riff raff on this island could prove to be very useful, indeed. He exited his lab and made the trek to Grimm's tavern.

"That was quite a show," he said, as the bartender gave him a weary look.

"I took a punch for you, so I expect some kind of repayment, like making that hotheaded pretty boy pay," Grimm said. Jekyll smirked.

"Oh don't worry...I plan to eventually burn Charming to ash, but it's far too much fun playing with him like this and making him fear me for the sake of his lovely Snow White," Jekyll said, as Grimm poured him a drink.

"It is refreshing to see someone finally stick it to those royal goody goodies," he agreed.

"But all this to possess a fairy tale princess? They are a dime a dozen in the United Realms," he mentioned.

"Oh no...not like her. Even her counterparts can't quite measure up. Sure, one is an actual Goddess and Rose Red comes close as well. But Snow White...she is perfection, even when she's not," he said.

"She is under my skin in a way that I cannot shake and I will break them down until she is ripe for my picking and he is crushed beneath my boot," he hissed, as he finished his drink and returned to his lab to continue his work.

~*~

"Zella...you just got released from the hospital...and forgive me, but this is the kind of thing that got you admitted to the mental ward in the first place," Lucifer fretted, as Drizella examined herself in the mirror.

"Relax Lucifer, I've been given a clean bill of mental health and I am in full control of my mental faculties now," she said.

"Then why are you being fitted for a wedding dress?" he asked.

"I told you...I'm just planning for my future. My future with Prince Charming," she replied. Lucifer sighed and went to get Rodmilla, hoping she would come and talk her daughter down. Things were not good for her either these days. Thanks to Snow White's darker half, she had gone from living in a mansion and a large bank account to living in a tiny apartment and working as a seamstress in this very store.

They had all been surprised to find out that Drizella had a counterpart that was stable and reformed, but the confusion was saved when the other Drizella decided to keep her curse name and now went by Ivy, as her birth name held too much pain for her.

"Drizella...what are you doing?" Rodmilla demanded to know, as she came into the dressing room.

"Relax mother...I'm just trying it on. Is that so wrong?" Drizella asked, as she exited the dressing room so she could use the large mirrors to look

"You see...the old, troubled Drizella would have run out into the streets in search for her dream groom, Prince Charming himself. But I told you that I'm mentally stable again," she said.

"Then you are no longer going after Snow White's husband?" Lucifer asked.

"Oh…I didn't say that. But that little bitch has utterly destroyed this family and left us in ruins. She humiliated me on numerous occasions, took our family fortune and our mansion, forcing us to live in squalor, and made a mockery of us," she replied.

"Meanwhile, she lives in a literal castle, has true love with her Prince Charming, and has turned most of her enemies into friends, including the Evil Queen herself. The entire United Realms looks to her as their Queen, but what is Snow White without the Evil Queen?" she asked.

"Drizella...while I agree that Snow White deserves to pay, we must abandon that road to revenge. We do not have the power or magic needed to face her, not to mention her litter of magical brats," Rodmilla reasoned.

"Very true, mother…" she said, as she stepped to the window and saw him in the town square. He appeared to be with his eldest daughter and a few others, including his counterpart and twin. It was definitely a treat for the eyes, but her desire for him went further beyond the physical, for the other two paled in comparison.

"That's why...I need magic and then a new Queen can be born. And this time...this Queen will make sure she puts Snow White back in that glass coffin...for good," Drizella said. Rodmilla and Lucifer exchanged a wary glance. It was clear that Drizella was still very disturbed.

~*~

Snow idly flipped through a large tome. They had isolated all the very old texts that were both still in Greek or Latin. Then Aphrodite had used magic to translate them all, but searching through them was still a huge undertaking. She didn't mind though and Belle had expressed an interest in joining their search as well, so she was going to drop off some books to her on the way home.

"Nothing…" Aphrodite said in frustration, as she closed her book and huffed, as she stood up.

"We can't give up...we've barely scratched the surface," Rose admonished.

"I know...I'm just impatient. I just can't shake the Horned King's words and if James really is in danger from me, I need to know," Aphrodite fretted.

"You are not a danger to James...I don't care what he said. Love is always worth any risk and I'm sure my brother-in-law would agree," Snow admonished. She sighed and sat back down.

"I know...you of all people have faced losing the man you love more than anyone should have to. It's suffocating," she admitted. Snow nodded.

"It is, but trust in love. Even in the darkest moments, it will shine through," she promised the Goddess. Aphrodite smiled.

"Thanks...but it's getting late in the day. I saw we stop for the day and each take our books home for later," she suggested.

"That's a good idea and Charming must be close too. We'll drop off this pile for Belle on our way to Granny's," Snow said, as her heart fluttered and her husband entered the library with Fandral and James. She smiled at him and saw him stride purposefully toward her. She welcomed his arms and his kiss, as she lost herself in him momentarily.

"Everything okay, my love?" she asked, as their lips parted. He nodded.

"Yes…Pleasure Island is just a very dark place, but you're my light in any darkness," he replied and she practically melted against him, resting her head against his shoulder.

"Oh baby…" she gushed, as she brushed a hand along the back of his neck in a soothing manner.

~*~

"Did you find anything?" James asked curiously, as their lips parted. Aphrodite sighed.

"Not yet...but I have plenty of homework to take with me," she mentioned, gesturing to the stack of books.

"That looks like fun…" he muttered

"Does that mean you'll help?" she asked. He rolled his eyes.

"You know I will if it's important to you. But I just hope you know that what's in your past is irrelevant to me. I love you, no matter what," he replied.

"I know...I just have to know. Something isn't right and there's a chance that I could be a danger to you," she lamented. He cupped her face in his hands.

"You are not a danger to me...you are not cursed," he insisted. She sighed.

"Maybe...but I still need to know what is being hidden from me," she said.

"I agree...and that's why I'll help read through all of this," he promised. She smiled and kissed him again.

"Thank you...and I'll make it worth your while," she whispered to him and he smirked.

"You always do," he said, as he picked up the stack of books.

~*~

"Was it bad?" Rose asked, as their lips parted.

"I have seen a lot of villainous places before in my time and it was definitely up there with some of the worst," Fandral replied.

"The victim I'm sure was far from innocent, but it was definitely Jekyll," he added.

"You're sure?" she asked worriedly. He nodded.

"He left a snowdrop on the body, I'm afraid. He is clearly taunting David," he replied.

"He will hide for now, but we will get him," he assured, as they kissed again.

~*~

Blue stormed into the hospital later that night, bringing one of the few fairies that still revered her as the true head fairy.

"What are we doing here?" she asked. She had white hair with pink streaks.

"There is someone I must see. He has secrets that he must help me keep from being unearthed," Blue said.

"Did you bring your wand, Opal?" she asked. The other fairy nodded.

"Yes," she answered, as they arrived at the door that led to the basement. The mental ward.

"I need in here," she said and the other fairy zapped the lock, allowing them in and they took the stairway to the basement. Opal followed Blue to the third cell and she peered in on the comatose King George.

"He's been a vegetable for years...I don't see how he would have any answers for you," Opal commented, but Blue took her wand and used some of the magic. Awareness filled George's eyes and the cell snapped open, allowing him out.

"Blue Fairy…" he uttered.

"We need to talk about your son," Blue said.

"My son is dead," George replied.

"Not anymore...you've been out of commission for many years and Zeus gave him a second chance at life," Blue explained. George was stunned.

"Why would Zeus do that?" he asked.

"You know why," Blue replied.

"Then she's here…" he realized and Blue nodded.

"And she's asking questions. The bimbo has finally noticed there are noticeable gaps in her memory," Blue said.

"And James?" he asked.

"He had no inkling, but if he got his memories back then we both know he could break her curse and she'll know everything," Blue replied.

"And everything we did will come to light," George realized.

"And we can't let that happen," she said.

"My James is alive…" he uttered in awe.

"And he's happy?" George asked.

"Yes, he's happy, but you never cared about that. You didn't want him with her either," Blue replied.

"I didn't, because I feared for his life with her...I took her away and his memories and turned him into what I wanted him to be. And then it got him killed anyway. Perhaps I was wrong," George lamented.

"You can't be serious...it was your idea to keep them apart," she reminded him.

"It was and if Zeus knew what we did, he would have struck us both down," George said.

"Zeus is dead...we will have no interference from him," Blue replied.

"No…James is happy and I won't interfere with that again," he refused.

"And if he finds out what we did...he'll hate you!" Blue warned.

"You promised my Kingdom prosperity if I helped you. Instead, I destroyed my son's life and lost my Kingdom to his twin brother and Princess Snow White," he called.

"In time...James may be able to forgive me if I attempt to make amends and tell them everything. But you...well, I suspect the Goddess will send you to the Underworld for everything you did, because you did unspeakable things to Aphrodite long before my time," George warned.

"Well...then I guess I have to make sure you can't tell your son our secrets. It's not like he or anyone else will miss you," Blue said savagely, as she struck the elder King with the magic of the wand. His face was alight with surprise, as he fell dead to the floor. Opal cried out in horror and was stunned by Blue's cruelty.

"Help me put him back in the cell," she snapped.

"You...you killed him," Opal uttered.

"He was a vegetable before. His death will be surprising to no one...unless you open your mouth," Blue replied, as they placed the body in the cell.

"The...the others were right about you," Opal cried. Blue sighed.

"And here I was hoping that I could count on you," she said. Opal didn't have time to scream, before the magic of her own wand hit her and stopped her heart.

"Now to make this look like an accident," Blue muttered, as she used the wand that was now hers to poof the body away. She then used the wand to disappear. She was certain now that no one would discover her secrets.

~*~

The sheets rose and fell, as the bodies underneath were entangled in the throes of lovemaking. Snow lay atop her husband, kissing him deeply and riding him in a sensual dance that had them lost in ecstasy. After leaving Andresia, they had enjoyed dinner at Granny's with their kids, before bringing Bobby and Summer home with them to their castle. They got their excited kids settled for the night and then were left their own devices, which as usual, led to amorous activities. They were glad to lose themselves in each other, for tomorrow morning, they would board the Jolly Roger and make good on their promise to work with Major Donovan. And facing a world that knew about them and who they were was not at all appealing. But as always, they would face it together.

As they collapsed together, David kissed her forehead and then rolled them over so she was beneath him, as he proceeded to kiss her again amidst the afterglow.

"So beautiful…" he rasped, as he kissed her throat and moved his way down, with her body writhing with every touch of his lips. The trembling in their bodies started to calm and Charming pulled himself from her depths, before settling beside her. Her green eyes flicked to his blue ones, as she remained facing him and pressed tightly against him.

"Are you worried about tomorrow?" Snow asked.

"A little…" he replied, as he kissed her palm

"But I think I'm more worried about what I found today," he admitted.

"Then the body you found...you didn't say so earlier, but you think Jekyll killed this person," she stated.

"I know he did...and probably just to send me a message. I found a snowdrop on the body," he revealed and she sobered at that.

"I feel like a failure...but I suppose that's exactly what he wants me to feel," he lamented.

"You are not a failure...you're my hero. You always are," she insisted.

"I know...I just don't know how I'm ever going to relax until I know he's dead and can never hurt you again," he replied.

"And you will. We defeated Seth and that's why he's hiding, probably holed up in some lab somewhere like the snake he is. He knows that facing you head on is an impossible win for him," she reminded him.

"Which is why he's experimenting with who knows what kinds of concoctions or drugs. The thought of him using something to torment you...I can't sit still," he said.

"And I worry about the same for you. I worry that he will use one of his drugs or creations to hurt you without even touching you," she replied.

"It's exactly what he wants," he realized.

"It is and though we won't be able to completely rest with him out there, I know we are both trusting in our love and really sticking it to him by being together and happy," she reasoned. He smiled and kissed her.

"I suppose you're right," he said. She smiled.

"I am in bed with my handsome husband, my Prince Charming, who just made incredible, passionate love to me and left me breathless and took me to the stars; something only he, being you, will ever do," she replied.

"And now, he's holding me in his arms and there is never anywhere else that I feel the most safe than his arms, he being you," she added.

"Our heart, that we share, beats in sync and my soul is entwined with yours. We're unbreakable...our love cannot be torn asunder. It's not possible and that's how I know peace," she said.

"Have faith...guess I need to take my own advice," he replied.

"Mmm...that's not the only thing I want you to take," she purred, as she hook her leg on his hip and watched his eyes glaze, as his body reacted to hers.

"Well...then I better not disappoint you, my darling," he said, as he rolled her onto her back.

"Oh, that's not possible with you, my love," she said fondly and then knew nothing but sheer pleasure and passion once again.

~*~

"And if you're just joining us, the world is still reeling from recent revelations that we are not alone in this world and no, we aren't talking about beings from another planet. We are talking about people from other places, whether you want to call it alternate dimension or universes, these people are those, until three days ago, that we thought to be fiction. Most of them were found in fairy tales, legends, and myths. And it's all been in this book," the reporter said, as she held up a white paperback book with the words Once Upon a Time emblazoned on it.

"Once Upon a Time, which was published more than seven years ago by a mysterious Henry Swan, is not the work of fiction it appears to be. We still have too many questions to name and our heads are still reeling from the battle just a few days ago. A battle where we saw magic and fairy tale characters save the world. While they are hardly the conventional super heroes we are used to seeing, the world is quite obsessed, whether it is with love or hate," she continued.

"According to various social media outlets and conspiracy theorists, who have now become the voice of reason, the leaders of these mysterious people will walk among us tomorrow. Word has it that they will arrive in Boston to meet with leaders of our country and the FBI. People are already in the streets to either welcome them or protest against them. Rest assured, no matter your views, we will be there to cover this historic event,"

At that point, the man listening to the broadcast muted the television and sipped at his expensive brandy. He was tall, with slicked back brown hair and chiseled features and hazel eyes.

"You've had the news on twenty-four seven for three days. They keep recycling the same story," a woman mentioned, as she entered. She was a beautiful blonde, with blue eyes and dressed in cargo pants and a khaki button down shirt.

"Digging in the dirt again?" he teased, noticing her dusty appearance.

"It was worth it. The jade I managed to get is a small fortune alone," she mentioned, as he poured her a drink and she accepted.

"Yes...another Jade mask and more ancient relics. The envy of any explorer...yet all the true treasures lay just out of our reach," he said angrily, as he finished his drink.

"Relax…" she chided.

"How can I? Even with this exposure, they are out of my reach! And it's my legacy!" he said. She sighed.

"That legacy and that collection is ultimately what got your father killed...both times," she reminded him.

"I don't need reminding or a lecture. All the reminder is right there," he hissed, as he pointed to the television that was showing various images of the two people known as David and Margaret Nolan, whom the world had just discovered were actually Snow White and Prince Charming. True loves, saviors of the world...and the reason for his father's demise, both times.

"The treasures from my father's collection...nothing in this world can compare to what's in Storybrooke," he lamented.

"Well, I'm no stranger to a good heist. We've done plenty of them, but we're talking a place with magic. We'd never make it past town square, let alone get to the Atlantis museum," she mentioned.

"True, but we would have a better chance if I had access to my legacy; my father's operation, which rests in that woman's hands," he said, pointing at the television, which now had an image of Major General Patricia Donovan, senior military official and FBI insider.

"So you still think she killed your sister?" the blonde asked.

"It's the only way she would have ever gained access to my father's operation. Cecily would have never just given it to her. No...she's the first step in getting back what's mine," he said.

"Then I guess we're going to Boston. Can I at least shower first?" she asked. He smirked at her.

"Sure...but you're a vision even like this," he replied. She rolled her eyes at that.

"You just want sex later," she retorted, as she made her way to the bathroom.

"Guilty," he agreed, as she went into the bathroom and he picked up his phone.

"Fuel the jet and tell the pilot we are leaving for Boston within the hour," he said to his assistant.

"Of course, Mr. Clayton. Just you and Ms. Zearing?" the assistant questioned.

"Yes...just the two of us," he replied, as he hung up and poured another drink.

~*~

The Jolly Roger made port in Boston that morning about nine, making the mere two hour journey from the United Realms. Thankfully, Patricia must have managed to make some kind of agreement with the Coastguard, because they were not chased into the Harbor this time. But the docks were crowded with spectators of all kinds, including apparent fans and protesters. The police were keeping them back at a safe distance, but the whole scene was surreal and a bit frightening.

On this trip, all five of their kids had come with them, plus Killian, Xander, Regina, Robin, Roland, Rumple, Belle, and Gideon. Everyone else had stayed behind for now, as they really had no idea how any of this was going to go. But by the looks of the crowd, the hype over them was definitely not going away anytime soon. Nora and JJ had accompanied them as well, as Boston was their home, though such would probably not remain that way for long.

"You're kind of famous it seems," JJ teased lightly and Summer smirked.

"Oh goody...that's going to be so much fun," she commented.

"Well, the fans have to be better than the haters, right?" he asked. She snorted.

"I wish...the fans can be worse. Trust me, my parents get way too much attention from both haters and fans. The haters usually just spout their hate verbally, but never much else, with a few exceptions. But the fans turn into stalkers like Drizella Tremaine and Dr. Jekyll," she replied. He nodded.

"Good point," he agreed.

"Ugh...look at those idiots. A bunch of bored housewives obsessed with a phony love story," Nora said.

"Phony?" Summer asked sharply. Nora smirked.

"Don't both defending your parents true love, sweet cheeks, because it's all a farce or it should be," Nora said.

"You may have come from true love, but I came from the opposite. One drunken night with two broken people, but because you came from true love, everyone believes you're special," she continued.

"But that kind of love doesn't belong in this world. Love may exist in the United Realms, but it doesn't out here. That's why you have bored housewives pining for something they'll never have. It's sad," Nora said.

"Love is not sad. My parents give people hope," Summer argued.

"Hope is a lie and their love is unattainable by most, yet people celebrate them. But some of us know the truth. That your world and this world will never mesh. Your world doesn't belong in this one," Nora said.

"Well, we're here so deal with it," Summer retorted.

"Oh I know...you've stolen my cousin from me. The only family I have," Nora replied.

"She hasn't stolen me, Nora," JJ snapped.

"Oh, so you're not moving to magic town?" Nora questioned and he went silent. She scoffed.

"That's what I thought. See you around," she said, as she left.

"I'm sorry," Summer said.

"Don't be...this is nothing new with her," he replied, as he walked down the gangplank and then offered his hand to help her. She smiled and accepted it.

"This is insane," David commented, as he hopped down from the gangplank and then held Snow's hand, before lifting her down, which seemed to make some of the crowd go crazy.

"Why are they so excited?" he wondered and she smiled at his obliviousness.

"Well...you're Prince Charming and you just did a very Charming thing," she replied.

"What? Helping you down?" he asked.

"Why wouldn't I?" he added.

"Well, you would, because you're you and I hit the lottery in the husband department. A lot of women don't. For many people in this land, romance and love fade over time. But you and I never leave the honeymoon faze," she explained fondly, as she nuzzled her nose against his.

"My love and passion for you will never fade," he promised, as he kissed her and that seemed to make the crowd go crazy too. Which annoyed him.

"Yeah…that won't be annoying or anything," he said, as she chuckled and hooked her hand on his elbow, just as Patricia approached.

"Oh, this is funny to you?" he asked. She chuckled.

"A bit…" she admitted.

"Please tell me we're not having a meeting here," he said.

"Don't worry...I have cars waiting to take us to the Boston headquarters," she said, as they all got into the cars and arrived at headquarters shortly.

David had been there before obviously, but the last time he was, he didn't have his memories. So walking in and receiving stares from former co-workers was unnerving to say the least.

"I feel like we all have giant heads or something the way they're staring," Killian muttered to Emma. She smiled.

"Yeah…I hate the attention and I know dad does too, but at the same time, I want to know how this woman got access to Clayton's entire operation," she whispered back. He snorted.

"Probably not legally. I know your parents are above doing anything shady and we love them for that, but I think if we have the opportunity to get it all back, then we do it and lock the world out," he mentioned.

"I've already talked to Gold and it's definitely on the table. Mom and Dad will agree if they see a threat. They're ready to protect the United Realms," she assured.

"I don't doubt that, love...we just know they have a habit of being very forgiving as well," he warned.

"I know...but I think they've come to terms with their darker halves too. I don't think they'll be as apt to ignore them now," she said.

"Fair point," he agreed, as they followed the Major into the conference room and she shut the door.

"Before we go further...there's one thing I need to know," David stated.

"Ask away," Patricia replied.

"Did Cecily Clayton die so you could get access to Clayton's operation?" David asked.

"She did, but she was far from innocent and I didn't hesitate putting a bullet in her skull and feeding her the alligators," she replied bluntly.

"Oh my God…" Snow cried.

"I know that is blunt and cold, but trust me...I did you a favor by getting rid of her. She would have been out for full fledged revenge on all of you, especially you two," Patricia warned.

"Maybe...but it's hard to trust you when you've committed cold blooded murder," David replied. She smirked.

"And yet you trust the pirate, the queen, and the dark one implicitly," she countered.

"Bloody hell...she has you there," Killian quipped, earning him a nudge from Emma.

"Okay fine...but they've earned our trust over time. You have yet to do that so let's be up front. What do you want from us?" David asked, as they all took seats.

"When I first took over Clayton's operation, my goal was to gather information. That's what I do for this country. I gather Intel. But I soon realized that Clayton's operation goes far deeper than just his collection of magical items and beings," she replied.

"You mean the network of investors he spoke about and that we met when we were captive in Atlantis," Snow said. Patricia nodded.

"Clayton is dead, but his network is very much alive," she said.

"We know Cecily was smuggling ancient artifacts for his museum in Seattle," David replied.

"Oh, but it's much more than that. His investors come from all walks of life. They're embedded everywhere and now that your existence has come to light, they will do what they must to keep their secretive dealings a secret," she said, as she pressed a remote and the screen lit up with a ton of Intel and information.

"Illegal smuggling of artifacts is just the beginning. He had dealings with human traffickers, arms dealers, drug cartels, prostitution rings, and this world's worst scum," she said.

"And you want us to help take down Clayton's operation?" Xander asked.

"Yes...and you of all people know how dangerous he really was," she replied, as their eyes met in a cool stare.

"Now that everything's out in the open, I'm almost certain they'll try to get into the United Realms and someone will want everything in that museum. But we all know they won't stop there," she said.

"It's Atlantis all over again. They want their playground back and we're their toys," David said. She nodded.

"Where do we even start?" Regina asked. Patricia pressed a button on the remote and the image of a man appeared on screen.

"With Clayton's son…" she revealed, shocking them all...

[wheremytwinwatches]

[Where My Twin Watches]: Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 40

Last time: Our protagonists put on a play for Kimblee, Yoki actually proved to be useful, and Al lost his map. Onwards!

Really digging the new intro. And hey, just noticed that Al’s still got his “hair” cut short from his run-in with Buccy’s chainsaw. Continuity! Hey, you’re the Central jerks who told Armstrong the Great to go south while you took her chair! Boo! I mean yeah, she did kill Raven like you suspect, but he totally deserved it! In Central Armstrong the Great’s walking along when she oh ho! She’s run into her rival, Colonel Roy Mustang!

They snark at each other for a bit, although Armstrong the Great’s not that wrong when she accuses him of getting the post for being “well-connected”. Further attempts at flirting are shot down (she’s both an Armstrong and lives in freezing weather conditions, do not offer to buy her food if you value your bank account), as well as a final attempt to pass off his Flower Mountain. Oh yeah, she should visit her grandmother while she’s here! Here we go, Fuhrer King Bradley vs Major-General Armstrong the Great. He gets right down to it, demanding to know what she’s done with Raven. Knowing she can’t completely lie, Armstrong the Great plays it off as doing Bradley a service, cutting down a blabbermouth who spilled all sorts of secrets like immortality, the plan of the country, and Bradley’s true nature. And knowing all of that, she still came within striking distance of this monster. Because heck, she hears that there’s an empty General’s chair… Wow. Ok, that’s badass. From being summoned for killing one of Bradley’s men, she’s spun this into a seat of power to strike against the Goths. Sure, she has to play along for now, and put her troops in the center of the trap, but damn if I’m not impressed. You go, Ice Queen. Slightly less impressed with Bradley though, while he’s normally all composed and menacing he’s gone all Glowing Red Eye and Smirking At Wordplay here. Still better than Kimblee. Anyways, give it up for General Armstrong! While she’s in Central, her troops are still up north, glaring at those pompous Central officers swanning around like they own the place. Pfft. Their boss might not be in the area, but the soldiers of Fort Briggs still act as one, and when the moment comes to do more than glare at the Centries’ backs… [Buccy]: “From here on, the bears will fight the tigers.” Episode 40 - “Homunculus (The Dwarf in the Flask)” ...ok, I was misled before with thinking “The First Homunculus” would be about Uncle, but second time’s the charm! Gimme Big Bad Backstory! Hey Riza! Hope you’re feeling better after that run-in with the creepy kid. Still have that cut on your cheek? Roy takes a seat at her table and damnit Bradley, why’d you have to go and split up the power couple, with the whole hostage situation hanging over their heads it’s just awkward work conversation with hardly any good banter. I mean, all Riza can say is that Roy is a slacker, I know she’s got way better insults than that. Yeah, especially after the Selim encounter she has to be careful what she says. But she taps her mug to get Roy’s attention? Twice? And the Plotting Music has started up as Roy double-taps his own pen, and oh my Leto they’re talking in code yes. Now Roy’s in a bathroom going over his papers, listing off oh I see, the code is she says a name and he uses the first letter. Clever! Roy’s listing off the names, starts getting shocked as he goes along… yup, I’d say that SELIM BRADLEY IS HOMUNCULUS is something to get shocked over. Roy immediately destroys the paper, wondering what the heck’s about to happen in Central. Down below Uncle’s lounging in his Pipe Chair, taking a nap? Uncle Flashback! To a young man, being yelled at by an electronic voice? Looks like a guy in ratty clothes with a broom, an Alchemist’s Apprentice?

And there’s a bottled-up flask with a shifting black cloud inside, I’m guessing that’s the titular Homunculus. Flask seems disappointed that Apprentice isn’t shocked at being talked to, but is pleased at the lack of fear. Apprentice is apparently #23, oh so he’s a Homunculus working for the Alchemist. Or a slave? So wait, is Apprentice human? Flask is explaining what “deeded” means, says that Apprentice isn’t very bright and wonders how he was born “from someone as stupid as you”. Ok, so the Alchemist used some of Apprentice’s blood in an experiment, that created Flask. Flask is grateful, and decides to give Apprentice a name. Something noble-sounding, but not too complicated for his stupid little brain… how about Von Hohenheim? Oooh, so we’re getting Beard backstory which should lead into Uncle backstory. Hmmm. I see what you’re doing Flask, offering to teach Beardless, raise him up from his life as a slave. I mean yeah, slavery is awful and everything, but I’m getting the distinct impression that your goals aren’t exactly Good. The little arms and Red Eye and manic grin you’re sporting aren’t helping your case, either. [Flask]: “I’ll tell you what, Von Hohenheim, you can call me “The Dwarf In The Flask”, Homunculus.” Eh, I think I’ll stick with Flask for now. Time is passing, suns and moons flying past an hourglass that’s picked up by Beardless while a man in blue robes scribbles away in the background. There’s talk about how All Things Are One, Beardless standing on a cliff with Blue Robe to the side carrying Flask. Wait, is he giving Alchemy lessons to Beardless? For a guy who has numbered slaves to do the drudge work, that’s a surprising act. Unless this is just so Beardless can be a more effective worker for him, so jury is still out on Blue Robe. Beardless seems to impress his boss by talking about how if All is outside the One then it is Nothing or somesuch, Blue Robe says he passed and that Von Hoenheim is now an Alchemist. Really? You give your slave lessons and name him your equal? I really don’t know what to make of Blue Robe. Regardless, Beardless is humble and says he’s still only a servant. Flask chuckles at that. Later Beardless is thanking Flask for his life being improved with the knowledge the Homunculus gave him, earning his Master’s respect. Heck, maybe he’ll even get a girlfriend one day! Flask mocks humanity needing to procreate in order to continue existing, Beardless argues that it’s the bonds of friends and family that people live for. That leads to the question of what makes Flask happy. [Flask]: “Well… I’d hate to be guilty of asking too much, but I think I’d be happy if I could just leave this flask…” Mid-ep pictures of a scuffed-up Beardless (Slave Number 32) wielding a stick, and The Little One Inside The Flask with his huge grin.

Uh oh, creepy music in a darkened hall. Flask is resting on a cloth stand, asking why “someone with so much power and prosperity” would need immortality. Uh oh. Blue Robe snaps at Flask to mind his manners when in front of royalty, seems the noble that Blue Robe works for wants to be immortal. Blue Robe even threatens to smash Flask’s flask (so would that set them free or kill them?), but Flask talks back saying that he wouldn’t dare destroy such a source of knowledge. King certainly looks old enough that mortality is a pressing concern, he demands the secret from Flask who remarks on the age of the King of Xerxes- oh dear, that’s a name that we recognize. So for one we know that this will not end well for the kingdom, and also GOOD LETO Beard is freaking old if he’s from the Precursor civilization to our modern characters! So I think it’s safe to say that the little black-and-red grinning ball of smoke is Evil, it looks like the King’s ordered his people to dig “irrigation canals” all around the country. No sooner do they go to bed after a hard day of standing around and talking about how awesome their King is, that a bunch of soldiers come riding in and slaughter the workers to “carve out a crest of blood”. Dude, not cool. Later Beardless is carrying Flask around as townsfolk murmur about how villages have been getting wiped out, Beardless remarks that it’s an awful tragedy. [Flask, being totally sincere]: “Yeah, real tragic.” A couple more slaughtered villages later, an hourglass runs out and the King is woken up by Blue Robe, along with another Robe Alchemist and Slave Number 32 who is now rocking the Beard. The King just snarks that the TC took long enough. Time to get some immortality all up in this royalty! (Gee, I wonder if it’ll work…) The ceremony begins, the King giving some blood to an urn ask Beard looks on in awe, so happy to see his ruler achieve immortality oh gosh look at all that black smoke and red lighting, looks like things aren’t working out so well. Spindly black arms rise up from the ground to freak out the Xerxians in the circle, the King has just enough time to realize that this isn’t immortality before he and his flunkies start dying. Turns out the real center of the circle is where Flask and Beard are, Flask used the blood of his blood-brother to open the doorway for both of them. A great eye appears below a shocked Beard before enveloping him and growing to encompass the entire city, dozens of giant shadow arms erupting across a screaming nation before they descend on the eye. In the Whitespace Flask and Beard are Deconstructed and the light show ends. In the morning, Beard wakes up next to a broken flask, calling out for his Majesty and his Master before stumbling outside to a city of corpses. [Beard]: “Somebody… there must be someone left…” [Uncle]: “It’s no use. All of their souls have been taken from them.” Beard thinks that the one standing above him is his King and bows, but looks up to see his own face. Uncle says that he created a body using Beard’s blood, now he can walk on his own two legs. [Uncle]: “To thank you for your blood, I’ve given you a name, and I’ve given you knowledge. And now, I’ve given you a body that will live forever.” Yup. Beard’s immortal, carrying half of all the souls of Xerxes in his body. You know, I can kind of understand why he calls himself a monster now. Beard springs back to the waking world on a train, seems he dozed off. So where are you heading now? Finally going to join your boys and be useful, or are you still kicking around Amestris doing whatever it is you do? Ooh! Teacher! Looks like Izumi and Sig are on the same train as Beard! Wait, have they ever met before? Ok, Teacher’s talking about how she finally gets to meet Papa Elric, and Beard finally gets to meet the teacher of his sons. Uh oh, Izumi’s having some stomach problems, Sig goes to get her medicine before Beard offers to take a look. Right, he’s got his Philosopher’s Stone blood, he can patch her up. Sig is sent to “get a car” so he can talk to Teacher privately, he confirms that she’s seen the Truth and she sacrificed her internal organs. Ok, now he can WHAT WHAT NONONONONONONONONONONONONONO BEARD WHAT THE FUCK YOU JUST STABBED TEACHER WHAT THE FUCK I FINALLY SETTLED ON YOU BEING A GOOD GUY (barring you abandoning your family) BUT NOW YOU’RE KILLING OFF THOSE WHO HAVE SEEN THE TRUTH IS YOUR PLAN SERIOUSLY TO KILL OFF UNCLE’S POTENTIAL SACRIFICES SO HE CAN’T USE THEM FUCK THAT, FUCK YOU, KICK HIS ASS SIG wait Teacher is ok? She’s breathing easier? There’s no wound? Ah. Ok, well aside from Beard’s deplorable bedside manner and scaring the living daylights out of me, he’s done a good thing. He apparently can’t replace Teacher’s injuries as they were “a testament to her sin” (so is that the reason you haven’t fixed your kids yet with your Philosopher Blood?), but he did rearrange her organs to allow better blood flow. [Teacher]: “You’re the boy’s father, but who… who are you?” [Beard]: “Who am I? I am a Philosopher's Stone, in the form of a man. That’s what I am.” Post credits has Ed explaining Philosopher’s Stones to Sideburns, who’s skeptical about so much power being held in such a small package. Ed says he’s never seen a Stone larger than that, to make one you’d have to kill thousands. Cue image of Beard eating dinner with the Curtises. [Ed]: “Maybe it’s possible, but I would never want to see it.”

[pastelbatfandoms]

O.C Character Survey

1. Your first OC ever? My WWE one Roxy,I wrote her when I was 13. I also made Naru aka Molly from Sailor Moon a Sailor Senshi named Sailor Sun. She had a yellow sailor fuku with a blue bow. 

2. Do you have a personal favourite among your OCs? I’m not sure. I will say that my easiest one’s to write are Renee from The Flash and Suzanna from TWD.

3. Have you ever adopted a character or gotten a character from someone else? Kinda. my Ex let me use his OC’s in stories. He has Alien Races called The Cartanians and Tarians and a Vampire Nightmare lord named Shirowen. Who is based off of the lead singer of Dimmu Borgir.

 4. A character you rarely talk about? Carrie aka The Carrion Crow just because I haven’t been interested in finishing My Gotham fic,or I have been but just never wrote anything down...

5. If you could make only one of your OCs popular/known, who would it be? My Vampiress Levathia for My Original story. Just because then I can make all My other OC’s known by extension. 

 6. Two OCs of yours that look alike despite not being related? All the Tarians and Cartanians look like each other lol (it is a race that has all white hair and red eyes and a race that has all different shades of green hair and purple eyes)

Image Photoshopped by me of Tessa,Soven and Aahren 👇👇👇👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

Otherwise I think that the actresses I used for My Characters Esme (From Descendants) and Helena (From AHS) look alike. 

7. Are your OCs part of any story or stories? They’re part of all kinds! I guess I could list My Non Original stories lol (only going to put one Actress for each,although My Characters are played by multiple Actress’s.)

Mughead (Riverdale)-Michelle Riley

  Wells of Hearts (The Flash)-Renee West

The Carrion Crow (Gotham)-Carrie

Mischief on Wings (Marvel/Loki)-Amara 

The Alpha (Teen Wolf)-Marianna Mccall

Kings and Queen of Destruction (TWD)-Suzanna Greene

Half God Half Devil (AHS Apocalypse)-Helena

The Dream Lovers (Freddy Krueger)-Rika

Strange Days (Stranger Things)-Mandy Moorington

Gods and Pirates (The Descendants)-Meghana

The Snakes and The Raven (Harry Potter)-Rihannon Hickleberry-Black

Ash Vs Evil Dead-Ashlee

8. Do you RP as any of your OCs? If you do, introduce one of your RP OCs here! No.

 9. Would you ever be willing to give any of your OCs to someone else? Maybe.

10. Introduce an OC with a complicated design? Looks wise I assume, I’m going to go with a non Fanfic Character and say Shirowen,He still looks like a vampire with long black hair and fangs,but he also is decayed looking,like he might have the plague and is pretty terrifying really. But being the lord of Nightmares that suits him just fine. He also has a very Black Metal look to him. 

 11. Is there any OC of yours you could describe as a “sunshine”? lol no

 12. Name an OC that isn’t yours but who you like a lot 

13. Do you have any troublemaker OCs? I have tons lol 

 14. Introduce an OC with a tragic backstory. All of My Characters have a bit of a sad past.Mandy,Renee and Suzanna’s parents died,Marianna’s parents left her ect. But I think the saddest is probably Helena,read My AHS story to see what I mean!

 15. Do you like to talk about your OCs with other people? Yes

16. Which one of your OCs would be the best at biology (school subject)? I don’t know

 17. Any OC OTPs? I mean I pair up My OC’s with my favorite character of the show usually. So I’ll just list those.  (Crackship gifs make by me)

MichellexJughead Jones

I love Renee with ALL The Wells’s but I feel like Eobard Thawne was her OTL. 

MariannaxPeter Hale

had a hard time picking between Suzanna’s Current Bou Negan,her ex The Governor or Merle. But in the end I think Merle was her ride or die,he was her first in basically all aspects and if he hadn’t died they would still be together. 

HelenaxMichael Langdon

RikaxFreddy/Robert Englund (Their basically the same person in My Fic)

Steve Harrington was Mandy’s first crush but I really think despite there ups and downs that Billy was her OTL,even though her and Steve became endgame after Billy died.

MeghanaxHadesxHarry Hook (because I can’t make up my mind!)

EsmexChad Charming

18. Any OC crackships? Already did lol

 19. Introduce an OC that means a lot to you (and explain why) 

20. Do any of your OCs sing? what kind of songs do they like? Only ones that sing are In My Descendants Fics. So Esme and Meghana.

 21. Your most artistic OC. I would say Michelle since she’s loosely based on me,also Renee since she went to collage for Fashion and Graphic Design. 

22. Is there any OC of yours people tend to mischaracterize? If yes, how? 

 23. Introduce OC that has changed from your first idea concerning what the character would be like? I don’t really change my characters rough drafts lol if I have idr how. 

24. If you could meet one OC of yours, who would it be and why? I should say Helena or Carrie so...yeah them.

25. The OC that resembles you the most (same hobby, height, shared like/dislike for something etc?)  Michelle,we were both Goth in HS,had a big group of friends,dated someone “misunderstood”,wrote poetry and fanfiction and like dancing. 

26. Have you ever had to change your OC’s design or something else about them against your will? Against my will?! lol no

 27. Any OCs that were inspired by a certain song? Not certain characters but Relationships or stories definitely.  TWD Kings and Queen of Destruction title is based off of Queen of Destruction by Lana Del Rey,Esme and Chad Charming’s song I wrote was inspired by Taylor Swift’s Miss Americana and The Heartbreak Prince. But yeah I have entire playlists revolving around My Fics and Characters. 

 28. Your most dangerous OC? Helena obviously. She is married to The Anti Christ,and is pretty much the queen of hell. 

 29. Which one of your OCs would go investigate an abandoned house at night without telling anyone they’re going? Michelle,though Jughead and Betty would show up,wondering why they weren’t invited.

30. Which one of your OCs would most likely have a secret stuffed animal collection? Marianna or Mandy.

 31. Pick one OC of yours and explain what their tumblr blog would be like (what they reblog, layout, anything really) I have a headache and don’t feel like going into that much detail. 

32. Which one of your OCs would be the most suitable horror game protagonist and why? Helena for obvious reasons.  Also My Original Story character Seezee,she’s pretty much created from a horror story since she has a split personality and killed her father. Although Ashlee would make a perfect protag. Considering she’s a part of The Evil Dead universe. 

 33. Your shyest OC? Mandy at first,until she moves to California. Amara when she’s younger. 

34. Do you have any twin characters? No

35. Any sibling characters? Yes. Marianna is Scott Mccall's Adoptive Sister and I also made Aladdin and Jasmine Daughters,as well as a son Ali. 

 36. Do you have OC pairs where the other part belongs to someone else (siblings, lovers, friends etc)? No...?

 37. Introduce an OC who is not quite human  Well Helena’s a reincarnated Witch who later becomes half demon,Amara’s a Valkyrie,Marianna is a Hybrid WereWitch,Levathia is a Vampire,Renee has Lightning powers,plus there’s all the Aliens,Gargoyles and Half Were’s running around. 

 38. Which one of your OCs would be the best dancer? Michelle

 39. Introduce any character you want 

 40. Any fond memories linked to your characters? Feel free to share! 

41. Has anyone drawn fanart of your OCs? If yes, maybe show a picture or two here (remember sources & permissions!) 

42. Which one of your OCs would be the most interested in Greek gods? I mean Meghana obviously,seeing as she is one.

 43. Do you have any certain type when you create your OCs? Do you tend to favour some certain traits or looks? I suppose I have an affinity for Brunettes and Redheads lol 

44. Something you like about your OCs in general 

45. A character you no longer use? All My Original story Characters,i should use them more,I just never get inspired too. 

46. Has anyone ever told you that you treat your OCs badly? Nope

47. Has anyone ever (friendly) claimed any of your OCs as their child? lol No

 48. OC who is a perfect cinnamon roll, too good for this world, too pure. Um again probably an OC I haven’t used in forever,Windy. She is half Demon/Cartanian (Alien) but is actually really sweet (unlike her Mother) and wants to become a part of The CTA (Cartanian Tarian Alliance) when she grows up. 

49. Which one of your OCs would most likely enjoy memes 

50. Give me the good ol’ OC talk here. Talk about anything you want

[dontdowhatisayandnobodygetshurt]

So, I see you write in tags about your OCs. Could you tell us more about them?

YES!!!!!! OH MY GOD THANK YOU FOR ASKING I LOVE YOU FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER AND EVER AND-

I’m going to answer for my “main seven”/my favourites atm, AND for Var, Jose, Eva, and Claudia (these 4 are from a different original universe of mine than the “main seven”) bc I’ve been thinking about them a lot, BUT I have 25 OCs in total… it’s just overwhelming to answer for all of them at once. I hope this is okay!! A main masterpost for all my OCs is coming soon in the new year if Tumblr survives that long!!

Joseph is a 25 year old man. He’s got blondish brown hair and blue eyes. He has anger management issues that are a sure fire way to get him into trouble. He is all too loyal and protective of the people he loves and can love very deeply, which can also get him into trouble. He’s reckless, impulsive, but his heart is always in the right place where his loved ones are concerned.  He has a daughter, Claudia, by his late wife who he loves more than anything in the whole world. He was raising her alongside his best friend, Var, before the apocalypse hit. He later becomes a part of a poly relationship with Var and Eva.

Varisse is also 25 year old. He’s got close-cropped black hair (and a few grey hairs to show the years he’s spent putting up with Jose’s shit), dark brown eyes and dark skin. He is patient, intelligent, and caring, the ying to Joseph’s yang. He tries to try to see both sides of an issue, almost too much so. He worked as a DJ before the apocalypse and he has a lifelong passion for music… though he can’t sing a straight note to save his life, he’d be the first to tell you that, with a rueful smile. He’s known and been in love with Joseph since kindergarten, and was happy to raise Claudie alongside his best friend.

Eva is a 26 years old woman. She has fair hair, green eyes, and pale skin that burns very easily. She tries her best to be brave and level-headed but is far out of her depth, since she’s used to being a teacher and dealing with a bunch of 6 year olds, not hordes of ravening undead. She can still show spine when pushed to it, though, and is capable of ripping apart arguments and ego with no effort at all. She was Claudia’s teacher before and after the apocalypse and over that time developed a crush on both Varisse and Joseph. After they meet up again amid zombie-filled hardship, that crush developed even more and was quickly requited. She’s out of depth as Claudia’s mother but is learning more each day, and is always a pillar of faith for her boys.

Claudia is Joseph’s 6 year old daughter. She may have her father’s sandy-brown hair but otherwise she’s a spitting image of her mother, with her olive skin and hazel eyes (she’s cranky she didn’t get her dad’s eyes). She’s made up of pure precocious intelligence and sass. She doesn’t take shit from anyone, least of all her dad; Varisse is the only person that can order her around and she’ll listen to no matter what. She has no problem with doing what she’s told… so long as that person asks her respectfully, she thinks it’s a good/fun idea, and they don’t try to boss her around. She has her Dad’s recklessness and will and her mom’s wit and cute face, not a great combination if you’re an authority figure, she’s a master manipulator. She’s very proud of her dads and mom and will loudly support them.

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June is a demon. They’re agender, have black hair cut down to their chin, olive skin, black eyes, and an oval-shaped face with a sharper jawline. They’re covered in tiny crucifix-shaped scars all over, one in particular above their left eyebrow. They’re tiny (4′9) but armed with a mouth full of razor-sharp shark teeth, hands tipped in claw-like nails, and a ready willingness to use them. They dislike the features of the modern world and are generally a Grinch about everything. They only like about 2 people in the whole world. They believe complaining to be an art form and practice it - regularly. In a nutshell they’re a bitter, cynical, PTSD-filled, cantankerous ball of apathy and hate. They’re the leader of Hell’s pack of hellhounds. They were in a very abusive relationship with Mars but after a particularly horrific event, they left with Dante’s help. They keep a lessor hellhound with them at all times as a companion; on earth, it takes the shape of a small black pug named Taco. They somehow mix not caring about anything and being very Extra. They sleep in expensive silk pajamas. They’re fond of red wine. They also love fast food - they particularly enjoy it when it runs. :) yes June’s my favourite how can you tell

August is a drama queen angel. They’re genderfluid (they go mostly by gendered pronouns but since their gender isn’t clear or pointed out in most posts I make on Tumblr, I use ‘they/them’ as a catch-all kind of thing.) They’re Asian in appearance but since angels are not natural humans, they have silvery-blonde hair down to their shoulder-blades and their eyes are a bright crystal blue (they hate looking so unusual though so most of the time they use dark contacts and hair dye to blend in with the humans.) They’re tall at 5′11 and they love elegant dresses. They excel at dancing (they’ve mastered all kinds but their favourite is ballet) and swordsmanship. They have AD(H)D but rather than sort it out like a normal person, they deny it and disguise it as them just not caring. They also have anxiety and struggle with overthinking. They’re somewhat (understatement) of an alcoholic due to the constant deaths of their mortal lovers from old age, while they themself remain unchanged. They’re aloof and think of themself as superior, though they’re easily flustered if you try and can actually be quite clingy. They’re very emotional despite their shows of coldness in public.

Myriad is a demon. They’re also genderfluid and they’re indifferent to pronouns. They’re very tall at 6′5, they have very dark skin, and wear their black hair in dreadlocks down to their shoulders. Their eyes change colours like a kaleidoscope, shifting eerily between shades of yellow, grey, blue, and green depending on the lighting and their mood. How they treat you depends entirely on how you treat them and others: if you’re kind, they’ll be fine with you, but if you’re a bad person… well, they are the demon of punishment after all. They do have a soft spot for the small, the sweet, and the helpless and can be quite protective, but mostly they’re entirely self-centred and act on their own whims. They’re quite sexually prolific. They enjoy pranks with malicious glee. They’re very physically intimidating. They have 2 sets of fangs, both potent, one full of a paralytic venom and the other an excruciatingly painful and lethal venom. They also have a harmless pet ball python named Albert and their favourite item of clothing is a soft knitted sweater with kittens on it. :D

Ben is a fallen angel/demon. He identifies as male. He’s medium to smallish height at 5′8. His facial features are quite plain, with a slightly crooked nose and a squarer chin. His eyes are calf-brown and his hair, the most noticeable thing about him, is wavy/loosely curly down past his ears and a bright, dark, unnatural red colour (though it is quite natural for him.) He fell in love with a demon and fell from heaven for her, but it turned out that she was tricking him and left him soon after. His angel grace is out-of-control since he is now technically a demon, and randomly bursts out of him every few months, obliterating everything around him with black fire. Despite how volatile he is, he’s a very quiet person who keeps to himself. He has trust issues and is wary of people, and can be quite timid and easily embarrassed. He works on earth as a primary school teacher, since he loves kids and the demons in hell scorn him and he can’t return to heaven. His fashion sense is absolutely abyssal and he dresses like he’s a 90 year old (technically he’s older even than that but, come on, man, get with the times!) He is very, very depressed.

Ginger is a demon. She identifies as a girl and, unlike the others, who are all pansexual, she is mostly only attracted to girls. She is chubby and has carrot-orange hair (thus, the nickname-that-stuck-and-became-her-name-while-on-earth) and pale turquoise eyes. She doesn’t have a filter and loves very loudly, openly, and strongly. She has a big heart but that can be hard to see since she mostly only thinks of/about herself. She has a great need for speed and her version of heaven is being behind the wheel of a fast car. She has a hard time settling down and is constantly itching for her next adventure and/or challenge. She thinks of Ben as a big brother and constantly annoys him like a little sister; she’s the only demon who accepts him as one of them. For somebody who is so loud, she has a hard time really and truly expressing her feelings when she cares deeply about someone. If she has a crush, she is the stereotypical ‘teenager in love’, stuttering and blushing bright red. She swears a lot, is pretty brash, and - you guessed it - has a strong Australian accent.

Mars is a stink man, evil horrible person, most hated OC an angel. He identifies mostly as male with some exceptions. He has white skin, cherubic blond curls, bright golden eyes, a kind, handsome face, and a charming smile. He’s also an abusive piece of shit . He often dallies with the mortals, luring in lovers with charm and sweetness, and then abusing them in every way possible before eventually killing them. If somebody refuses him, he hunts them down, murders their loved ones in front of them, before raping them and murdering them, too. He’s very possessive and volatile and will throw very dangerous tantrums when denied what he wants. He’s spoiled rotten and has never had consequences for his actions. He wears a ring adorned with a crucifix. He’s got an excellent sense of fashion and is very rich. He’s owned a great number of mansions throughout the years and still does, though he currently lives in a very expensive penthouse.

Dante is a demon - a hellhound, to be exact. He identifies as male, and is the only of the seven to have been born a human before being inducted to hell. He’s not very tall but is bulky due to pure muscle, Vietnamese in appearance, with brown skin and a large scar across his collar bone and shoulder like he’d been savaged by a massive dog at some point (spoiler alert: that’s exactly what happened.) His black hair is cut short military-style. He’s second in command of the pack of hellhounds, under only June, who he sort of took under his wing after they left Mars, built them back up from the years of servitude  and abuse. He cares about them more than anyone… That being said, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t call them out if he thinks they’re making a dumb decision. They banter like siblings and he finds great delight in taking his life in his hands and messing up their hair. He’s fiercely loyal but strong willed and will only take orders that he thinks are good ones. A solider born and raised, from human life to demon existence. He loves adrenaline rushes and thinks all fun has to involve danger of some kind. He’s absolutely deadly in a fight, whether it be in his ‘normal’ form with its proficiency with all kinds of weaponry, or his hound form - a mountain of sheer muscle and terrifyingly large jaws. He shows affection in rough ways, such as headlocks and friendly punches, but make no mistake, he really cares. also his ears stick out a bit and he sleeps with his mouth open and hes actually kind of adorable

If you made it this far… thank you so much. Getting questions/messages about my babies honestly keeps me going, so… thank you!!!

[rihon-scribe-some-writer-guy]

My Take on Critical Role…

I have lived the majority of my life as a “closet dork”. I have interest in hobbies that wouldn’t have been perceived as popular to my childhood peers. When I was informed that my parents were concerned about my social skills, those hobbies would be put on hold. Video games took a backseat to Rugby and I never experienced TTRPGs because theatre presented itself as a way for me to expand my social skills, provided that I dedicated my time to rehearsals and productions.

D&D wasn’t introduced to me until after college when I viewed Heroes and Halfwits from Achievement Hunters. Developing a curiosity, I took the suggestion of one commenter and began watching Critical Role. The story presented by Matthew Mercer and the characterization performed by the cast hooked me in. As episodes past, I slowly picked up on the mechanics of the game to the point to where I had caught up with the series and wanted more, I obtained a copy of the players handbook and looked into playing on Roll 20.

D&D has become one of my favorite hobbies, as the experience provides creative freedom and an outlet of expression that had surpassed my experiences in theatre.

Now, I have dropped off from the series. I did so long ago around the start of season 2. I don’t think that there was anything wrong with that season, rather I found it difficult to get invested in another campaign due to gaining a full time career, being invested in games that I actively played in, and doing theatre here and there.

Yet I began writing this when I heard about Season 3 Episode 33. If you’re in the same boat as I am and aren’t caught up with the series, this is your courtesy spoiler warning. You probably don’t want to read past this paragraph.

So, from my understanding, S3E33 sees the death of multiple player characters. It also seems that multiple viewers are dissatisfied with these deaths, as I the posts I have seen implies that some have expressed their opinions in nonconstructive ways. That’s basically the extent of my knowledge of what has recently happened in the series. From here on out, the rest of this is purely my speculation.

The first thing that I speculate is that it might not be just the character deaths that are upsetting. The reason why I say this is because we’ve had character deaths in season one, yet those deaths were more like being knocked unconscious as the character’s generally got better. The only character to truly be taken out of the game was Vax right before the epilogue. I’m not a big enough fan to be certain that similar backlash wasn’t made on these character deaths from the community, but I feel that they weren’t. My belief is that because character deaths in season 1 were handled well (for the most part; a few exceptions exist) by allowing the character deaths to reflect the possible theme.

The first campaign seemed to carry themes of ‘the family chosen’ as well as ‘Good shall triumph over Evil.’ Whenever a character experience death, the death and resolution tended to complement these theme. From Vax bargaining with the Raven Queen even to Keylith swan-diving from a mountain cliff, I could probably tie in a thematic element to each event. In Keylith stunt, she died attempting to gather a dropped treasure for Vex. While there’s a clear lesson of pride before the fall, the theme of chosen family comes into play when Vex cast revivify and suggests that they forget about the treasure.

I state this because I didn’t get into Critical Role because of the dice rolls in combat, but rather the story telling that portrayed it. In all honesty, I cannot claim that I have watch all of season one because there were some combat sections that I skipped because they felt irrelevant to the plot and I got bored when the rules clarification held up game play.

With all this in mind, here’s my address to S3E33:

First off, I don’t encourage bullying Matt Mercer. While I have never personally met the man, will probably never meet him, and don’t always agree with him, bullying him isn’t constructive.

With that in mind, I also have to empathize with those who were discouraged from the episode. If this was merely a game between friends, then it would be easy for criticism to be dismissed. However, Critical Role has evolved. It’s an entity that is profiting off of the sells of related material. It has built a community of followers of both veterans and newcomers to D&D. Such an entity has a responsibility to its community of supporters.

Part of me feels that D&D podcast would benefit from including GM-style information at the intro of their series. There’s a vast variety of way that D&D can be run, and I have seen many groups end because discussion on how the game would run weren’t communicated clearly. I can only imagine that that issue is multiplied when campaigns gain a massive passive audience.

[sayuricorner]

Ever After High x Twisted Wonderland AU  Headcanons part 5.5

-Part 5      Part 6

AU concept 

MASTERLIST

Warning: English is not my first language so sorry if it’s confusing!

This part focus on the second possible path for Apple White’s fate in which she stay in the salt.

-Apple White’s Badly Ever After:

-So in this path everthing is the same than in the “redemption path until Apple’s hospital bedroom scene.

-Only some times after she woke up, Snow White stormed in the room being her over-dramatic self.

-She around about how she is relieved to see she is okay and she don’t had to worry that they would find a solution to all this mess and yadda yadda yadda...

-A confused Apple asked her mother what happen.

-Snow White explained as much as she can how she finish in the hospital and reassure her at the same time.

-”But don’t worry my little apple seed as soon as you are released from the hospital we will find solutions with headmaster Grimm to bring Raven back! you will have your happy ending!”.

-Apple, rather incertain, ask her if it was really worth it because in the end all her friends left and even Daring her “prince charming” and with her reputation been very low, was bregging back Raven and make her become the “Evil Queen” really going to fix the damages?

-Snow White give Apple a very severe stare before telling her to not say nonsenses like those, that she is a member of the White family and the future Snow White, that as such it’s her destiny to be loved and respected as it has always been for their family for many generations, that all what happen is not her fault but all those fools’s fault for going against destiny and that soon they will see how foolish they are and be reasonable again.

-Apple reflected on that before a realization came to her. Her mother was right, it was not her fault! It was Raven’s fault for being selfish, it was her so called friends’s fault for being fools and leave, it was Daring’s fault for abandoning her when he was supposed to stand by her side and it was this stupid magic school’s fault for dared driving people away from destiny. Yes they were all fools! Fools who needed to be put in their place!

-With a bad glow in her eyes she tell her mother that she is right and apologized to her for darring question her destiny and she will do whatever it take to accomplish her destiny and make honor to the White family name.

-Snow White, very pleased by her daughter’s new found determination congratulate her and tell her she will even find the doctor to make her released immediately.

-The doctor and Apple’s father tried to stop her but it was no use, Snow White was the queen, the hospital was in the White kingdom and by so she give the order she want.

-When Apple’s father asked for the divorce he tried to get the whole custody of his daughter but Snow White was prepared and she managed to having the divorce in her favor and became the main legal guardian of Apple.

-Apple even cut ties with her father for, i quote, “dared to humiliated her mother and the White family in a such way!” and her father not having any other choice leave the White kingdom heartbroken.

-At their castle, Snow White instructing Apple to be careful to not having another little “outburst” since as member of the Snow White lineage they must always remain dignified for the sake of their family’s image.

-And so she does: When Apple was in public she put a pleasant smiling mask, but at home she give everyone a hard time, being mean, rude and cold to the castle’s employees, passing most of her time in her room where sometimes creepy whispers can be hear “I’m the fairest of them all... I’m the fairest of them all... I’m the fairest of them all...”

-She was even more mean and paranoïac with the maids, she even shot horrible murderous stare to the ones she found a bit to beautifull and force them to make themself ugly.

-The servants tried to talk to Snow White about their concerns about Apple but she ignored them.

-Sometimes when she hear the maids talk about her behind her back she will violently slap them to the point of leaving on them bloody marks.

-Worst! Most of the time those accidents happened right in front of Snow White’s face and she does nothing about it instead she would maenly scolled the poor injured girls and tell them that she deserved that slaps.

-Apple will often watch Night Raven College’s content on social media on her mirror pad in order to slak “the fools” and everytime she found a picture of Raven she would have a scary wicked smile.

-”Enjoy your new little life while you can Raven! Because sooner or later you will be back at the place you belong... As it was always mean to be!”.

-Gone was the sweet Apple and now at her place instead was a rotten bad seed.

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