#the little snowflakes with the blue and white gems is so pretty

[dawnbreakersgaze]

My custom ring stack came in today and I'm ahhhhhh 😍😍

Now I can take my snowflake, my fishie, and my star with me wherever I go~ I told y'all I was a doofus and I meant it lol.

Also forgive my blindingly pale skin. I'm literally allergic to the sun lmao 🥴

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Meteor Shower (Part 20)

The sun sets early here. Bloom swears that it had barely risen at all Icy says that that’s how it works for most of the year. Dyamond doesn’t get a whole lot of sunlight and they prefer it that way. Bloom finds it to be rather disorienting. 

The bejeweled bark trees glisten under a moon that hasn’t fully risen. 

Everything glimmers here in the kingdom of frost and snow. 

There is no sunlight, just an endless rolling of gray clouds.

Beneath them, the bejeweled bark trees flash crowns of white leaves held up on branches that look like glass. True to their name, these trees have bark inlaid with all sorts of gems mostly diamonds, sapphires, aquamarines, and kyanites. Some of them have a mix of different gemstones upon them. They are the second prettiest thing that Bloom has seen today. The prettiest thing that she has seen today currently sits beneath the tree with the sapphires, snowflakes dusting her lashes and lips slightly parted as she looks down those long lashes and inspects her finger nails. 

She looks bored, disinterested and Bloom can’t fathom how she could be so nonchalant in the face of such beauty. Maybe it is because she has seen this many times before and familiarity takes the charm out of the scenery around her. 

But surely she can’t ignore the ribbons of green and blue dancing overhead. “Icy, look!” She points towards the sky.

But Icy doesn’t. “Oh those. Those are just the Light Ribbons. They’re here almost all the time. So long as Solaria does its thing.”

“Its thing?” 

Icy shrugs. “I’m not an astronomer…or whatever type of scientist keeps track of that sort of thing.”

“They’re so pretty.” Bloom remarks. 

“Yeah, I guess.”

Bloom grabs her hands, “what do you mean, you guess!?” She tugs the witch to her feet. “We have something like these on Earth. They’re called the northern lights because they show up in the…”

“South.” Icy fills in.

“Haha.” Bloom mumbles. “I’ve never seen them in person before.”

“You’re really excited about this?”

“You aren’t?” 

“Like I said, they show up all the time.” 

“But they always look different, don’t they?” Bloom asks and Icy finally looks up. 

“I suppose that they do. Yes.” Icy agrees, curling her bangs around her finger. “I liked them a lot when I was a child.”

Bloom finds herself trying to picture that; small, little Icy staring up at the Light Ribbons with big, bright eyes. The lights reflecting in them as they do tonight. Bloom cups Icy’s cheek in her palm. She has such soft skin. Frigid skin. But smooth and soft. 

She has to stand on her toes but her lips do find Icy’s. And Icy’s lips are just as soft as the rest of her skin.

She finds herself wishing that they hadn’t had to cut the woman’s hair so that she could run her fingers through those long silky locks. Not that running her fingers through it now isn’t satisfying. 

Bloom draws back and settles her weight back onto her heels. Their kiss lingers in the air as a delicate plume of breath. Icy’s breaths are too chilly to rise as steam. The witch says nothing and for a moment, she is terrified that she has just pushed her away. That she has acted too soon. Icy turns to look back up at the sky and Bloom is almost certain that she has, indeed, gone and made a mess of things. 

“Yeah, I guess that they’re pretty mesmerizing if you haven’t seen them in a while.”

Bloom blinks. “So we’re just not going to acknowledge the kiss.”

“Hmm? Oh yeah. That was fine.” She doesn’t turn her attention away from the Light Ribbons. And Bloom can’t tell if she is truly captured by them, if she is trying to avoid feeling awkward, or a mix of both. 

She ought to just drop it but she doesn’t exactly know when to quit. “Would you kiss me again?”

.oOo.

Icy glances at the fairy. “Right now?”

“Ever, would you ever in the near or distant future be willing to kiss me again?”

“I didn’t kiss you the first time.” She is dodging the question. Wittily and cleverly, if she did say so, but she is being avoidant all the same. 

Bloom rolls her eyes.  “Will you let me kiss you again at any point in time?”

This is Bloom. Bloom Peters. Her arch nemesis. Her rival.

This is Bloom. Bloom Peters. The woman who sat with her and bought her snacks and CD’s while she went through withdrawals. 

“Sure, Bloom.” 

The fairy smiles. She wishes that it didn’t make her tummy flutter pleasantly. She wishes that she didn’t have this kinder side. She finds herself a spot on one of several benches. 

“Aren’t you going to brush the snow off?”

Icy shakes her head. “I would never.” 

“Okay but I don’t want frosty buttcheeks.”

“Then place them on my lap instead or something.” Icy shrugs.

“Or something? What other option is there besides sitting on a snowy bench.”

“Sitting on the snowy ground, sitting on a snowy rock, leaning against a snow covered tree.” Icy suggests. And so Bloom finds a comfy spot in Icy’s lap. She rests her head on Icy’s shoulder. The fairy seems content enough with this. For herself, Icy isn’t sure of how she is going to explain this one to Darcy and Stormy. 

They stay there for quite a while, content to watch the Ribbon Lights shift and swirl overhead with a light snowfall to accompany them. The world is silent save for a few gusts of wind and the rustling of frozen leaves. 

The silence remains long enough for Bloom to partially nod off. And the soft crunch of footsteps on snow aren’t enough to rouse her. Icy looks up.

The other girl winces, “sorry, I hope that I’m not interrupting something.” 

“Nothing at all.” Icy replies. 

Nothing but her peace of mind.

The girl walks away, wanders up to the kyanite tree. 

But her presence lingers.

Icy tries her best to not pay Chalcedony any mind.                

.oOo.

Wicked. 

Sinister.

Punks and rebels. 

Untrustworthy.

Itimidating. 

Imposing. 

Bitchy.

Mean.

Such are the words applied to witches. Evil is sometimes used but not often. Not these days. Most people have come to agree that witches aren’t necessarily evil so much as they are unkind or morally gray. They keep to themselves and come off as uncaring and uninterested. But most of them mind their own business so long as their paths are not crossed. 

But Icy is evil. 

She will be soon anyhow. 

Her sisters won’t know. It is better to leave them out of it. Better to make sure that they have no connection to her most heinous deed. Especially since she can’t guarantee that things will go as planned. 

But it has to be done. 

She knows that it does. 

But she still finds herself lying awake and coneplating it. 

If she truly wants to do it. 

If she does, there is no going back—she  will be altered soul deep. 

If she does she won’t be just a witch anymore. She will be a black witch—her magic will bare a stain. If she does, her magic will be altered forever and she will be condemned to add just one more secret to her list of them. She will have to do spells to cover up the look of her spells before she uses magic. 

But she is already damaged. 

Already tarnished.

She already has so many secrets.

What’s one more?

She will, she decides once and for all as she lies awake staring at the ceiling, trade her soul for peace of mind. 

She promises herself that tonight will be the last time she cries herself asleep. The last time that the sleep that she finds will be interrupted by nightmares. After tonight, he will never hurt her again. Or anyone. She will never think about him again. 

With flutters in her stomach and a sense of impending doom, she creeps across the dorm. She spares one more glance at Darcy and Stormy. She wonders if she should leave a note…just in case something goes wrong. Just in case they never see her again.

No.

They found her dying in an alleyway.

They know that she has problems on top of problems. 

They won’t miss her too much if she disappears, they haven’t known her for that long anyways.

But covens are for life…

That doesn’t count if she dies. 

They can’t say that they didn’t see it coming.

They also can’t say that, if she does live but gets caught instead, they didn’t see her as a problem. As someone who was bound to end up in a cell. 

And so she doesn’t leave a note. It is better if she doesn’t.

She simply slips out of the dorm and makes her way out into the night.

No matter how this goes, her life will once again change forever.

[hasarjunadoneanythingwrong]

Nursery to me was probably the easiest one to find inspiration for. She’s themed primarily after precure and cardcaptor sakura, with some minor inspiration from puella magi madoka magica and ojomajo doremi (pmmm being more informed inspiration than visible, as they don’t have set uniforms). Her land was the land of stars and song, in the sweets kingdom and her gem was a diamond (placed on her chest due to her emotional nature) so these all also inspired her theming-she probably has the strongest theming related to her actual role in the prillya event out of all 4 girls. Despite her color palette she isn’t a pink magical girl, her theme color is still black. It’s precure logic idk.

Helena was the hardest for me to figure out, mosty because her general vibe in fgo is a more futuristic sci fi inspired look. Her name, Mahatma Helena, also doesn’t really mean anything (at least in the context she uses mahatma in fgo) sci fi does work with some magical girl franchises but it’s not something I’m very practiced with. I ended up going more 90’s with her, mainly using corrector yui and galaxy fraulein yuna as the primary inspiration. I also took some ideas (namely the belt skirt) from lyrical nanoha. I ended up going with a blue color scheme for her over purple-black or red because I was concerned with the colors of every girl getting too similar, but kept red and white as a sub theme. She definitely matches with her familiar lol. Her gem is the orange rectangle and I stuck it on her forehead after seeing some random 90s sci go girl with a headpiece like it and decided that would work-she’s the most intellectual anyway. Overall while her outfit works the least on the context of her land it does work well with her, imo. I do like her shoes lol.

Medea lily was the magical girl of love and healing, and her land was the land of dragons and sea. She gives off a less physical vibe as opposed to the magical warrior who’s tays in place and casts spells, so I wanted to keep her elegant. The first thought was to use sailor moon but that felt too obvious so I went with wedding peach instead, as the love theme is stronger. I also took inspiration from magical knight rayearth for her, which came through in the chest armor. I ended up using her green as the main color as otherwise the colors were staying in a very pink-blue range, and I think it worked out well. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen anime elves with the stamped-on headpiece look which was what I was trying to go for but I can’t think of an actual example off the top of my head. Her jewel is the red diamond and I stuck it on her thigh bc I didn’t want it on her head or chest. It’s fine.

Medb is god-themed end post

That aside, I was trying very hard to just give off a strong ‘super form’ vibe as she was the strongest overall out of every girl there, so I gave her a different accent tone (silver instead of gold) and utilized transparency, more hair transformation and sparkles to try and further hammer that in. Her theme was honey and geis which…probably doesn’t come through here? I did consider adding yellow to her design but overall decided all white worked better. Her land was the land of snow and honey, and while not majorly obvious I tried to give her snow like eye highlights and the pearls in her hair were an attempt to give off the effect of snowflakes that won’t melt. The fur trim is also a little bit like how magical girl outfits will make a ‘winter’ version. Overall she was less an attempt to be inspired by something specific and more me drawing what I thought looked good on her, but there’s some traits found in outfits like god madoka and the average precure super form. Despite the large quantity of pink on her her them color is actually white, btw <3

the prillya collab was incredibly disappointing to me on many levels but one of my sillier gripes was that none of the girls used as a magical girl ruler/general got any sort of exciting transformation outfit to match. however, im an artist so

a fun fact about this is that theyre all based off different types of magical girl anime/themes

[seriouslysnape]

Can I make a request please! I love your work btw! Can we get a Severus x Reader where the reader reveals she is pregnant by gifting Severus a pair of baby mittens she knitted herself for Christmas? 🥺

THAT’S SO CUTE SKDKDNSKDNSIDJ

Here ya go! (Below the cut :) )

A Christmas Miracle

__

Severus Snape x Fem. Reader

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1,214

“It’s a wonderful Christmas morning, Severus.”

__

Flurries of snow fluttered down from the gray skies that cascaded over the castle of Hogwarts. The nippy air was cold enough to chill the skin of anyone who dared to brave it longer than a few minutes. It had been a few years since the last white Christmas. You had missed the holiday snowflakes and the blankets of snow on the frozen ground.

While you enjoyed the frightful weather, you were personally just fine with staying within the warm comfort of the indoors. You were pretty sure that the baby currently growing inside of you would appreciate that as well. You had a hand instinctively resting on your barely risen belly as you stood over the kettle of boiling water on the stove. You were only about two months along, just hardly beginning to show.

You were ecstatic to be pregnant, considering it had been a long road to get to this point. Time and time again you and Severus had failed to conceive a child. It had been a long two years of trying and ending up disappointed. Now, you were pregnant with your first child.

You hadn’t told him yet, for you hadn’t found the right time to break the news to him. However, it was Christmas morning, and you saw this as a perfect opportunity. He was tending to the fire in the fireplace, keeping it stirred to ensure that the room stayed warm. You poured two cups of hot water, the steam rising and pleasantly spreading over your cheeks. You were short on loose leaf tea, so you placed a tea bag in each cup. It wasn’t your favorite way to enjoy tea, but it would satisfy you.

With a piping hot cup of tea in each hand, you approached Severus who had stood from his kneeling position in front of the fire. You offered the cup to him, to which he happily accepted.

“Thank you, love.” He said gratefully, his voice still thick with grogginess from just being woken up not long before.

He sipped gingerly, the taste of the tea dancing over his taste buds. His pale, slender hands were wrapped around the cup, sending warmth through his arms. His dark, black eyes were gently set on you. He could tell something was different. You had been more irritable than normal, your skin had a certain glow to it, and you even seemed happier all at the same time. He just couldn’t put his finger on what was so different...

“It’s a wonderful Christmas morning, Severus.” You spoke contently.

You sipped your own tea, relishing in its refreshing taste. Severus gave a nod with a small smile.

“Quite. I’m more than pleased to be spending another Christmas with you.” He replied, drawing you into his hold.

He smelled of a fresh fire and clean linen sheets. His hair was as unkempt as usual, but it seemed a little more voluminous today. You let out a happy hum, motioning towards the side of the room where two presents had been wrapped. You had suddenly realized you couldn’t wait any longer to tell him the news.

“Well, let’s get on with the gifts, shall we?” You suggested.

He agreed, letting you lead the way to the other side of the room. Both of you had agreed a few years before that you would each give each other one gift. It gave it more thought and more meaning.

“Would you like to open mine first?” He asked, plucking the beautifully wrapped gift.

The box was no bigger than a deck of cards, wrapped in a silvery wrapping paper with a black bow. Surprisingly, Severus was quite the skilled gift wrapper. You took the box into your hands, pulling at one end of the bow to let it unravel. You delicately unfolded the wrapping paper to reveal a dark red, velvety box. You opened the lid to reveal the most gorgeous necklace you had ever seen.

It was a medium length gold necklace with a small gem in the middle of it. It was a beautifully crafted diamond that you had your eye on for months prior. You gawked over it, not even wanting to know how much it cost him.

“Severus, I...” You trailed off as he stood to place it around you.

“Shh. A woman as beautifully perfect as you deserves something just as exquisite.” He spoke in his wonderfully deep voice.

He latched the necklace around your neck, his fingers lingering around your collarbones. He adored how it looked on you. It was stunning. He leaned down to kiss you before returning to the seat across from you. He was less than a foot away from you, your knees were almost touching his.

In the excitement, you almost forgot that you were telling him you were pregnant.

“Your turn!” You announced gleefully.

You handed him the box, which was slightly bigger than his. It was about the size of a well-written novel, wrapped in a dark blue wrapping paper with a golden bow on top. You were nervous, excited, and hesitant all at the same time. It seemed like it took him years to get it open. You watched as he opened the present (in a less neat fashion than you had previously done) and let the paper fall to the floor.

He removed the lid and paused at the sight of what was inside. A very, very tiny pair of dark green mittens. You were a very skilled knitter. You had knitted him scarves, gloves, hats, and even socks for various occasions. However, he noted that these mittens were surely too small for him. He picked one up and let his thumb run over the warm, soft material before it finally hit him.

No way.

He looked to you with eyes so wide you were amazed they didn’t pop out of his head. A certain sparkle twinkled in his eyes as he looked at you, waiting for you to confirm what he was thinking. You didn’t say anything, but the smile on your face told it all.

“Are you pregnant, darling?”

Immediately, you nodded and tears streamed your face. He let out a happy, surprised gasp and lunged forward. He scooped you up and kissed you all over like he had never done it before. He held you to his chest, excitedly sputtering over his words.

“I can’t believe this. How did- How long have you known?” He questioned once he was calm enough to look at you again.

You laughed heartily at his giddiness, tears still falling steadily.

“About two months. Not very long.” You admitted.

His hand went to your belly, amazement clear on his face. He had wanted a child for so long. He wanted to grow your little family.

“A baby...our baby, [Y/N].” He cooed, absolutely on cloud nine.

You nodded again, overwhelmed with joy and emotion. He wiped your tears, kissing your forehead gently.

“You’re going to be a wonderful mother.” He praised.

“You’re going to be a wonderful father.” You returned the compliment.

He kept you close for the rest of the day. He asked questions and even began to think about baby names. He was the happiest he had ever been.

This was truly a Christmas to remember.

[stargazer-balladeer]

Setting: Kingdom AU

[King! Zhongli x Female! Reader]

Notes: At first, I didn’t know what to write for the Valentine’s Gift in Discord. I was about to just write a Diluc fic when I came across the Cendrillon video. I rewatch it and loved the idea. Zhongli fits the prince (im making him a king here-) perfectly, this is going to follow the Vocaloid Cendrillon version (because the actual Cendrillon is basically the Cinderella movie-), but I’m gonna tweak it a bit. I hope I manage to capture Zhongli’s personality, atleast a little- 😅. Hope ya’ll like this!

Warning: small mentions of being blackmailed, abandonment and blood.

Word Count: 4.7k

» A valentine gift for @zhonglisemptywallet,, I hope you like this- hshshs

“Say, Zhongli, do you know the story of “Cendrillon”?” “Hm… it doesn’t ring a bell, I’m afraid. May I ask why you ask of that?” “I used to read it when I was young. Since you don’t know of it, would you like to read it together? Or are you currently busy?” “I was about to ask you if you want to have tea with me, but since you suggested that, of course I would read it together with you.” 

The warm hue of the light that illuminated the room and the chatter of the people within greeted you immediately when you stepped foot inside. Your eyes darted from person to person, not familiar with any of them. The target isn’t anywhere in the vicinity it seems, perhaps later. The warm atmosphere made you sigh in relief, it was a great contrast to the coldness of night outside. Not wanting to be of disturbance to those entering, you quickly went away from the entrance. You were overwhelmed by the grand interior of the room, walls decorated with golden brown and amber designs, one you usually find in an antique item, waves, vines, flowers, all sort of design. Golden-colored chandeliers hanging in the ceiling in a row, making the room brighter. The golden curtain being tied to the side, revealing the full moon in its finest glory. 

The palace king really likes golden-colored stuff, you noted. Everything looks so ancient, like there’s a history in every design and every item inside. Glancing around, you adjusted your dress, making sure your dagger isn’t visible underneath your skirt. An assassin tasked to kill the king of the Liyue nation. A joke, you thought at first, a child’s play. This task is usually seen in a fairytale, but you suppose it’s inevitable when you have 7 kingdoms, each with their respective king and queens. Breathing out a sigh, you take a glance at the moon. Your task is due at midnight, when the moon is high above the skies. Precise exact hour, no seconds shall pass. If failed, execution shall be your punishment. 

Then a ring rang through the room, gaining many’s attention including yours. You gaze at the balcony-like booths on the second floor, seeing familiar faces of the members of the Qixing. Them being here isn’t gonna make your mission any easier, well, it wasn’t easy to begin with. Quickly switching your attention to the butler, making sure your actions aren’t suspicious. “We thank you for attending this royal ball, hosted by our beloved King. I shall now introduce you to the special guests tonight.” The butler’s voice rang, sounding young yet stern. He nodded to the area of the Qixing members. “Please allow me to introduce Lady Ningguang of the Qixing, miss Keqing of the Qixing and Miss Ganyu of the Qixing.” 

Many people started clapping for them, you decided to join in them in order to not appear suspicious. Ningguang, in her fullest glory, stood up and waved elegantly to the people below her. Her eyes, which reminded you of Rubies, scanned the crowd before befalling on you. You stiffened at the coldness within, was her eyes always this harsh? You thought she was about to call you out but she simply turned around and sat on the throne-like chair. You breathe out a sigh of relief, closing your eyes when you feel the tension on your shoulder being released. But you knew that her gaze on you was a warning. She knew your intention, she could’ve called you out right there but she didn’t. Why? Was she amused that there was an assassin in the ball, wanting to kill the king? It doesn’t make sense.

You tuned out the butler, who was introducing the four Adepti, the counsel of the king. You couldn’t care less about them, but you were still on guard. Although they all respect their king and would kill anyone who dares to threaten his life, the young-looking guy is the one you’re watching out for. The young adepti, Xiao was his name, Conqueror of Demons, swift like the wind. “Now..” Your ears pick up as you look at the butler once more. “The moment you all have been waiting for. May I introduce the host of this evening, please applaud to the king of Liyue, Rex Lapis!” 

And just like that, an applaud of cheers erupted into the room when the king was announced. You joined in with the claps, feeling nervousness rising within you. Now’s not the time to get nervous. This is an important mission. You shall not fail this one. The light in your eyes darkened when the king made an appearance, there in his crowning light was Rex Lapis. With eyes like the Cor Lapis, hair like the soil of the land, and clothes fitting for a ruler. He has a small smile present on his face, as he nodded to the crowd. “Thank you for coming to my ball on this humble night. Please enjoy yourselves to the fullest with the prepared banquet and dance.” His voice is so soothing…

He reached out his hand, snapping his index and thumb. “Let the feast begin.” 

“What?” You breathed out, staring at the man before you with eyes wide and face in disbelief. Not knowing whether to laugh or what. The mission you’re given, to kill the king of Liyue, Rex Lapis. How absurd. “You expect me to kill that wanna-be king?” You scoffed, letting out a few chuckles. You thought it was a prank, a funny joke, and that your superior was made to do by one of his subordinates. You bet your money that it was that “Childe”. You tried searching his face, any sign of him lying or joking, but there wasn’t. He was serious. 

Coughing lightly, you straightened yourself up again, staring at the eyes of your superior. He sighed before placing a document on his desk, facing you, with a dagger on top. “You should be grateful that the Tsaritsa decided to give you this task, if I were to choose, I’d choose someone else. But alas, she chose you. How unfortunate.” He scoffed, shaking his head in disapproval. You paid his indirect insult no mind as you stared at the dagger, which you noticed was laced with poison. The dagger was silver in color, with the hilt decorated with light blue and white snowflakes. The end contains a Cor Lapis gem. 

Hesitantly, your hand rose to reach the dagger. You can feel the sharp eyes of your superior on you, taking note of your shaky hands and hesitated moves. When you finally grasp the well-designed dagger, your superior’s voice rang through the room once more.

“Do not fail this mission.”

How are you going to approach this exactly? You felt your sweat drop when you realized you didn’t prepare a plan on how to kill the king. Which is pretty dumb, now that your thinking about it. Like, what did you expect to happen? You going up to him and just stab him? Before your dagger could hit the king, your head is already on the ground. You groaned in frustration, leaning back on the white-colored pillar. Great, now you're stuck. You sighed, rubbing the nape of your neck, as you gaze at the scenery before you. 

Gazing at the people dancing, you couldn’t help but feel the green of envy rising within you. Unlike you, they have the best life. Once living in the slums of Snezhnaya, many times almost freezing to death. One of those times is when you met the queen of the frozen land, the Tsaritsa. Many wondered why she took you in, a girl abandoned in the streets. From her patience and pitied love for you, she took you in and made you a member of the organization known as the “Fatui”. Trained under a strict teacher, you grew up to be an assassin. An assassin whose hands are stained with the blood of the victims you killed for the Tsaritsa herself. 

“Excuse me.” A voice so silk, maturity evident in it, one that you heard earlier. You look up from your gaze at the ground to meet the eyes like the sun. From the distance, you didn’t notice how his white iris looks sharp, but now upon closer inspection, you can see it clearly. He gave you a soft smile, moving his hand from behind his back and extended it to you. You stared at it, confusion dancing in your eyes before gazing at the man you were destined to kill. “Would you care for a dance with me?” He said, amusement clear in his eyes. You felt your cheeks warmed up at your obliviousness. “Uhm… sure.” You said in a low voice, placing your hand on his. Despite the gloves you two are wearing, you can feel the warmth radiating from within. 

Feeling albeit awkward, obvious tension in the air, he guided you to the dance floor, hand firmly yet gently grasping yours. You weren’t sure if he noticed the air of tension surrounding you two or if he was simply ignoring it. Twirling you around a little bit, he stops your mini twirl by placing his large hand on your waist. You, knowing the dance steps ever since you had to undercover in a masquerade party, placed your hand on his shoulder and took a step back, him following suit by stepping forward. A dance with the king of Liyue, what a cliche moment. You can feel his eyes on you, feeling embarrassed about his obvious staring at you (and the stares you were getting around you), you continued staring at the amulet on his chest. 

“You know, when dancing, one must look at the eyes of their partner. Not at their chest.” The king said in a low voice, chuckling a little. How is he amused at this situation? The king is really a strange person. Flushing in embarrassment for getting called out, you look up to meet his expectant gaze. Seeing his lips quirking up as your gaze met his, he tilted his head slightly as he spun you around in tune with the others and held you close when you faced him once more. “Tell me, where do you hail from? I don’t think I’ve ever seen your face before.” You knew that this was coming, so you rehearsed your answer while going here. “I came from Inazuma, being sent here by my father, Chief Haruki. I came as a replacement for him, he humbly apologizes that he cannot be here at the ball tonight.” It wasn’t technically a lie, chief Haruki was indeed a real person living in Inazuma and was secretly working for the Fatui. 

You noticed how his eyes narrowed slightly, yet his entire face still remains unchanged. Closing his eyes while sighing softly. “I see.” You stared at him a couple of minutes before opening your mouth. “The people around us.. They’re not all nobles, are they?” Asking softly, only reserved to the two of you. His eyes scanning the people around you two before leaning in your ear, his hot breath near your ear made shivers run down your spine. “Quite an eye you have, my dear. But nevertheless, you are correct. Some of them are the orphans I’ve taken in under my wing.” You let out a chuckle. “How noble of you, your highness.” “Call me Morax instead.” Leaning back, he lets go of your waist as he clasps his gloved-hands on yours, dragging you gently. 

You raised a brow at this. “And where do you think you are taking me, Mr. Morax? I have no intention of doing any frisky rendezvous with you.” You can hear him laughing in front of you, turning his head to the side to glance at you. “Rest assured, my dear. I have no intention to take you to bed. I just thought a fresh air is what we need.” He explained, chuckling at the end before facing forward again. Flushing a bit at his laughter, you pouted while glaring at him. “You could’ve just told me that.” You mumbled angrily. He simply ignored your complaints, using his free hand to push open a door leading to a garden. 

You marveled at the sight of it, it was beautifully decorated with glaze lilies and silk flowers. Adding to the beauty were neon-orange-colored butterflies flying around. While you were in awe at your surroundings, you didn’t notice the fond look that the king was giving to you. He lets go of your hand as he steps forward into the enchanting garden. Missing already his large hand against yours, you followed suit, resisting the urge to hold his hand once more. “What a beautiful garden.” “Thank you for your kind words.” He slightly leaned forward to hold a glaze lily in his hand. “Did you know that glaze lilies only reveal their beauty at the sound of music? A pure song, one that used to belong to someone who loved this flower more than any other.” He said, on his face is a gentle smile, yet you noted how sad it seems. 

His eyes and smile so captivating and warm, yet hiding so many secrets. It made you want to know more about the man in front of you, not as the ruler Rex Lapis but as Morax. You stayed silent as you gaze at the flower in his hand. “They used to be everywhere in Liyue, but now… there are hardly any of them left. They are now rare and almost to the brink of being extinct.” He said, not hiding or masking the sadness in his voice as he lets go of the flower. Straightening his back again, turning to look at you, smiling apologetically at you. “Apologies. It seems like I went into my infamous rants.” Morax said, bowing his head slightly. 

You shake your head, smiling in return. “It’s fine. Your voice is oddly.. soothing.” He chuckles at your comment. “Indeed. I have gotten comments about my voice being soothing to hear.” “That’s why I shall suggest that you continue your rant. I can see it in your eyes that you have much more you want to share.” You chuckled. His eyes widened a bit, surprised that you manage to see through him before shaking his head slightly while huffing in amusement. “You are an interesting girl, my dear.”

“Why should I have a ball to begin with?” The question left Rex Lapis’ lips before he could stop them, making every head within the room turn their heads to the king. He doesn’t need to host a ball when there is no special occasion to celebrate as. “Rex Lapis, you must understand that the nation needs two rulers. A king and a queen. It would not only be beneficial for the people, but for you as well.” Ningguang explained, spinning her smoking pipe around her fingers, her gaze sharp as ever. Her red eyes staring at Rex Lapis’ face, curious at what his reaction would be. Rex Lapis only sighed. “I see..”

Closing his eyes as he stands up from his chair, opening his eyes to look at his fellow Adepti and the people in the Qixing. “I think this meeting is over. I shall take my leave now. Good day to you all.” Without any wait for a reply, he quickly left the room. When the door closed behind him, he sighed deeply as he started walking to his sanctuary, the garden. The garden that used to belong to his previous wife, the previous queen of Liyue. Opening the doors, he smiled at the beauty of the garden. It was as if she never left. 

He sat down on a nearby bench, gazing fondly at the geo-Crystalfly, only landing beside him. He gazes at it before sighing once more, running a hand through his hair, messing up his front hair slightly. “‘A new queen’ they said. ‘Beneficial for both the people of Liyue and me’ she said. I don’t understand mortals at all.” Rex Lapis tried to understand the minds of his people, but he still can’t grasp how extreme their minds can be sometimes. And this makes Rex Lapis more intrigued with them even more. The growing desire inside him continues to grow each passing day. Since when did this desire to be one of the mortals began? Was it when his late wife used to speak so fondly of them? He’s not sure but a thought kept lingering at the back of his mind, his attention shifting from the butterfly to the silhouette of Liyue Harbor in the distance. 

Should he leave the crown for good now?

He gazes at the blue-colored sky above, silver linings around the clouds as they form various shapes. “... not yet.” He whispers to himself. “It’s not yet the right time.”

Your laughter breaking the silence of the night as Rex Lapis finished telling a tale. It seemed like his knowledge about many things concerning Liyue is unending, you didn’t mind listening to him ranting about how the Guhua Plains came to be, how the rocks formed in various places in Liyue, and so on. A blush dust your cheeks as you stared at Rex Lapis who was about to tell a story yet again. Suddenly a sudden gush of cold wind blew your way, making you visibly shiver, cursing in your head for not wearing something suitable for the cold. You blink when you felt something placed on your shoulder, looking up, you noticed that Rex Lapis wasn’t anymore wearing his coat. Connecting the dots, and looking at your shoulders, you felt your face become more warm when you realized he noticed you shivering and gave you his fancy coat. “T-Thanks..” You mumbled, clutching his coat tightly while giving him a shy smile. “It is only right for me to share my coat when I was the one who dragged you out in this freezing evening, no?” He chuckles as he picks up where he left off in his tale. 

You stared at his back, now noticing how well-built he is from behind. You tried your hardest to not stare at his lower area, it is sacrilegious afterall. You let out a loving sigh, but that made your eyes widened in horror. Deep inside you, you felt something unknown yet so familiar. It was welcoming and warm. Heart thumping widely in your chest, the warm feeling spreading, the warm smile and that sigh just now. Realization struck you hard, making you even more scared than before. The horrifying truth you’ve concluded when adding all of your symptoms. You were falling in love with him. 

Rex Lapis noticed that you stopped walking judging from the lack of footsteps behind him, his words trailing off as he turned around to see what was wrong only to be surprised at tears falling from your wide eyes. “Are you alright, love? Why are you crying? Did I say something that made you cry? If I did so, I apologize sincerely.” He was panicking. It was evident in his voice that he’s panicking as he walks to you and wipe away the tears flowing with his thumb. Worry etched his face as he gazed at your [E/C] eyes. You continued to sob, not anymore needing to hide the tears. Why? Why did you have to fall in love with someone you were meant to kill?

What made you even more surprised, and made your poor heart jump, is when Rex Lapis leaned in and kissed your eyes. “Shh.. Don’t cry. Tears don't suit your beauty afterall.” You felt your face heat up at his action, wanting to shy away from him but at the same time, wanting more of his gentle touch and lips. You sniffed as his hands wiped away your leftover tears. Looking at him, you were met with his gentle and reassuring gaze. A smile that says everything would be alright. Lies. You inhaled sharply as your eyes travelled from his face to the clock, conveniently placed, behind him. It was almost midnight. His death is almost due. 

Please don’t let the bells sound for midnight. Please no. 

But you knew you needed to. Despite the limited time you two have, he was able to give you unforgettable memories that you’ll forever cherish with all your heart. Who knew you were into this kind of cheesiness? Childe would always tease you about being secretly cheesy, it seems like he’s right about this one. “... Are you alright, love? Is there something still wrong?” Your gaze shifted back to Morax, who was looking at you with great concern. You take a deep breath. It’s now or never.

You gave him a smile, a smile holding regret and love for the king. Even if your feelings were mutual, it would still remain unrequited as you take his life. “Thank you for this night, my king. This has been a wonderful evening indeed.” Rex Lapis stared at you with a blank face, his smile that you were used to seeing isn’t anymore visible in his face. It was replaced by a hard and stoic face. Deafening silence surrounds you both in this chilly evening, the silence making you shift slightly. After what seems like forever, he opens his mouth to speak. “You sound like you’re saying farewell. The ball hasn’t reached its conclusion yet.” You can feel tears starting to build in your eyes again as you forced them back. “I’m really sorry.”

Before he could make a comment about your apology, you grab your dagger and try to stab him through the chest but thanks to his fast reflexes, he was able to dodge at the last minute. Your dagger grazing at his clothes slightly. His eyes wide, maybe he was surprised at your betrayal? Was he furious? Would he call for the guards now? You cannot hesitate, not now. Not when you’re so close in fulfilling your mission. You went for the kill again, and without missing a beat, he dodge, catching your hand in the process. “Stop this, my love.” He whispered in your ear. You inhaled sharply, feeling your heart fluttering from the closeness, but you shouldn’t let this feeling of yours get in the way of finishing the king. 

Summoning a dagger made out of water, using your ‘delusion’, on your other hand, you strike him with it. Rex Lapis eyes widened as he tried to dodge your incoming second dagger by jumping back, but he wasn’t fast enough as it stabbed him in the side. He groans, placing his hand on the wound. The blood was staining his shirt as he clicked his tongue. You huffed, breathing in and out before opening your eyes, clouded with bloodlust and nothingness. It was glowing beneath your bangs. “Target spotted. Killing target now.” Your voice resembles a robot, a mindless slave. 

His eyes saddened at the thought of what you have been through to be like this. He knew you were after his life, Xiao and his fellow Adepti warned him about this. But he was intrigued by you the moment he laid his eyes on your lonesome figure. Even though you tried to hide it, he noticed how your eyes shone with awe as you gaze at the ornaments decorated the room. Cute, that was his thought. A childish girl behind the cold facade. Interesting. He knew you were part of the ‘Fatui’. He knew that you were ordered to kill him before midnight. He knew and yet he didn’t care. The possibility of dying in your hands still lingers at the back of his mind, yet he can’t help but get drawn to you. You were special in his eyes. A glaze lily, so rare and beautiful. 

You could even say he was falling in love with you with each passing second he spent with you.

Rex Lapis lets out a chuckle at the thought of his fellow Adepti reprimanding him for falling for you, but he can’t do anything about it. A heart wants what a heart wants, he knew that perfectly. And from his foolish love for you, he allowed you to strike him in the chest, piercing the amulet in the process. Your eyes widened at what you did, not believing what you had just seen. Why didn’t he move? He could perfectly dodge it like he did earlier so why? While your mind is in a frenzy, he allowed himself to hug you in his chest as he bled out. 

“W-Why-? Why didn’t.. you dodge?” You whispered in pure disbelief. He chuckles, running his hand through your hair, destroying its style earlier. “Who knows..? Even I am wondering that.” Feeling himself weakening, he pulls himself away from you as he gaze tenderly in your wide, frightened eyes. He smiles gently, moving closer to kiss your forehead. “You should probably get going, my love.. You wouldn’t want to get caught by the Millelith now.” He whispered. You didn’t say anything as you pulled away from his hold. Looking at his eyes as he nodded his head, urging you to go. Without saying anything, you run away. Stumbling a bit with your heels, you felt it slipping from your feet but you could care less about it as you continued to run, leaving the shoe behind. 

Watching as your figure disappeared from view, he placed a hand over his wound, feeling himself healing from his wounds. He knew he wouldn’t just die from a simple stab. What he didn’t account for is that the dagger you used is laced with poison, making him weak, to the point he has to sit on the ground. Huffing and puffing his eyes landed on the forgotten glass slipper, chuckling a bit. “Maybe.. It is truly time to depart.” 

“Eh? What do you mean Rex Lapis disappeared?!” 

“Calm yourself, Keqing. There must be an explanation for this, I presume?”

“We don’t know, lady Ningguang. We tried searching for his highness everywhere but he can’t be found. But there was blood in the garden along with a glass slipper.”

“Hm… I see.”

“What should we do then? We can’t just tell the people that Rex Lapis just mysteriously disappeared.”

“I speculate it was an attempt of assassination. But the question is, where is he? Where is his body?”

“An assassination for the king?! Who would dare to do such a thing?!”

“Hm… let us think this thoroughly with the Adepti. Now that Rex Lapis is gone, we must take over as the Qixing of Liyue.”

“... alright.”

“You. Call the Adepti. An important meeting is about to happen.”

“Yes, lady Ningguang.”

“.. Your highness?” Appearing before you like the wind was the king himself, but you noted his appearance changed. Despite still appearing all regal, he seems more lax than the last time you appeared before him. Guilt consumed you when memories of that night came rushing to you, but it made you wonder. Why was he here before you? Why was he still alive? Weeks passed since you ‘killed’ Rex Lapis. But it appears you failed your mission since his highness is before you, looking healthy and alive. Questions filled your mind, making you more confused than ever. The Qixing and the Adepti have already announced his passing, his Rite of Passing was due a few days from now. So what exactly happened-?

“It seems my appearance has confused you, my dear.” He chuckled, calm as ever with the same amused glint in his eyes. You tried searching for anger or resentment in them, for ‘killing’ him but you couldn’t find any. All you saw was amusement and affection. “Why are you still alive..? Did the Qixing and the Adepti lie about your death..?” You asked, your voice barely a whisper. “.. may I at least come inside? I’ll explain it to you once we’re out of the public eye.” He said. You numbly nodded, still couldn’t wrap your head around Rex Lapis still being alive. Did the poison not work? Did I fail my mission-?

“By the way… you mustn’t call me Rex Lapis or Morax anymore.” He said, entering your humble home. Staring at you with the eyes you fell in love with, the same one glinting beneath the moonlight and under the light of the dozen chandeliers. “Call me Zhongli.”

[x] Main Page || [x] Liyue Page

[kevin-day-is-bi]

For my dear @frenemies-to-lovers ​, who is my Knife Wife!! This did turn out on the long side, but I hope you like it!

It’s a Human Thing

Cardan was absolutely, completely, and totally in love with the girl in front of him. He was also not able to focus on how amazing she was because of how odd his human pants felt against his skin. Jeans, Jude had said, thrusting them into his arms. They, she had told him, were going to buy presents. And now they were in this store, this store that was bigger than the High King’s Palace in Elfhame, where everything was bright red. Jude had a list clutched in one hand and was pushing a shopping cart, as she had called it. 

“Okay,” She said, turning the cart down an aisle. “We both need to think of something for Taryn. I am going to get her a new scarf. A human scarf.” She turned to me. “You need to get her something, too.” 

Cardan frowned, staring at what they were walking past. He pulled one off the shelf and popped off the lid. It was a candle.

 “It’s a scented candle.” He looked up at Jude. She was leaning on the cart and smiling slightly. “Sniff it.” 

He raised an eyebrow at her, then sniffed the candle lightly. It smelled like vanilla. Cardan hummed and looked at the other candles on the shelf. He pulled another one off and smelled it. It’s light, jasmine. He held it out to Jude. 

“Would Taryn like this?” She smelled it and nodded. He tossed it in the cart and they kept shopping. 

This was going to be Jude and Taryn’s first Christmas since they were stolen. In Elfhame, they celebrated Solstice. They celebrated it much like they celebrated everything else, with drink and dancing until dawn. Cardan had been assured that they still had drinking and dancing for Christmas, but that there were a few important differences. 

Vivienne and Heather were hosting a party Christmas Eve and Christmas day, and Jude had invited the original Court of Shadows to come. Somehow, three humans and six fae were going to fit into Heather’s incredibly small apartment. When Cardan had voiced his worry, Jude had given him a look. 

Cardan received a lot of looks from Jude. There was a ‘you are being very annoying’ look, a ‘you need to stop drinking now’ look, a ‘you are making me very turned on in the middle of this important meeting’ look. Cardan felt he gained a new look at least once a week. This was a new one. He was pretty sure it meant ‘if you ruin this for me I will cut off your head with Nightfell’. So he had simply assured her they would easily find the space and changed the subject. 

“Ok!” Jude said, tossing a soft-looking midnight blue scarf into the cart. “Ready to go? We still need to wrap them.”

…

“Explain the hat.”

“It’s a human thing.” Cardan raised his eyebrows, looking skeptical. Jude sighed and plunked the red-and-white hat down on his head. “There’s this story they tell kids, I don’t know where it came from, but this fat old man  goes around the world Christmas night and delivers presents to all the kids who have been nice, and coal to all the kids who have been naughty.”

“Is he a fae?” Jude made a face.

“Not that we know of.”

“But he is magic?” 

“Yep.” 

Cardan tilted his head, soft black hair falling over one eye. Jude had her hair pulled back in a thick knot, and Cardan found himself wishing he could run his fingers through it. 

Decorating was more fun than Cardan had thought it would be. There was a tree - not real, Vivienne had said with a scoff. Real ones were messy, - and several garlands of holly strung over windows and doors. Heather had pulled out several boxes of decorations from somewhere. Jude had held the plastic and glass ornaments in her hands every time before she hung them up, seemingly trying to comprehend their existence. Cardan was helping, although he wasn’t entirely sure he was doing it right. There didn’t seem to be much of a pattern, it was more of ‘hang things up where you want’. 

Oak was also helping, though he was doing more talking than hanging. Cardan found himself fascinated by tales of mortal school; hearing a fae child talk about lunch lines and playing games felt like the whole world was slightly tilted. 

“Oh, and in art class we made Christmas decorations! We cut out snowflakes and glued them to blank CDs and decorated them with Sharpies and gems. I brought mine home.” 

Oak ran to the door and dug around in his backpack, pulling out the ornament. It was slightly misshapen, with very bright red and green scribbles on it. Cardan raised a brow, but Jude grabbed it and hung it up right in the front. 

“I hope you aren’t ruining the tree,” Vivienne called from the kitchen. Cardan examined the tree. It had several empty spots and looked as though they had simply thrown the boxes at it. 

“No,” He called back, and Oak snickered. Vivienne came in balancing a tray of mugs and began passing them out. It was hot chocolate with white floating things in it. 

“What are these?” He asked. Heather, having followed Vivienne in, gasped.

 “You’ve never had marshmallows?” She looked horrified, and distantly Cardan wondered if she was as horrified as him on the first night Jude had kissed him. He doubted it. Oak jumped up and down, sloshing his hot chocolate down his arms. 

“They’re amazing! They’re fluffy and light and sweet and you have to try one.” 

Cardan hesitantly took a sip, catching a marshmallow as he did it. After a moment of thoughtful chewing, he nodded. 

“I believe I do enjoy marshmallows,” He said, trying to get another one with his next sip. Oak giggled. 

When Cardan looked up, he noticed Jude giving him another look. He had seen this look before. ‘You are incredibly attractive right now and I am struggling not to throw myself at you with wild abandon’ was the general meaning of it. Cardan was not one to leave and let lie, so he smirked at her, showing just a flash of teeth. Her chin jutted out, challenge ripping through her eyes. 

Cardan went for another sip, but someone knocked on the door. Vivienne went to get it, but when she opened the door she inhaled sharply. 

“It’s a fae,” She said, voice quiet. Jude and Cardan looked at each other and walked over. It was indeed a small fae, short and furry with distressingly long teeth.

“My King,” The creature gasped, bowing. “My Queen.”

“Yes, what is it?” Cardan was annoyed. He had hoped not to be called upon, just for tonight and tomorrow. 

“Your pardon, Majesties. I was told to bring this to you.” The fae held out a cream envelope with a shaking hand. The thick red seal on the back had already been broken, but Cardan could see it was Madoc’s. 

Next to him, Jude drew in a sharp breath. Cardan unfolded the letter and scanned the few short lines of text. Wordlessly, he passed it to Jude. She gave him a quick look and read the letter. Cardan was carefully still, shoulders tight. Her head jerked up to look up at him. 

To Their Majesties,

I will arrive at sundown. I am excited to see the girls and Oak. I am bringing presents.

…

“He’s coming?” Jude stared, wide-eyed, at Vivienne. Vivienne was leaning against the counter, hands wrapped around a mug of coffee. Her own cat eyes went huge, and she pushed off the counter. 

“He isn’t supposed to be.” Vivienne set her mug down and put her hands on her hips. “He certainly isn’t coming into this apartment.” 

Next to her, Taryn pursed her lips and shifted. She fixed her attention on her own cup of coffee and took a sip. 

“Taryn?” Cardan cocked his head slightly. “How do you feel about Madoc coming over?” She mumbled something into her coffee, not looking at any of them. Jude spun to her, eyes narrowed. 

“What was that?” Taryn lowered her cup and reached a hand up to push her hair over her shoulder. She still wasn’t looking at them. 

“I may have invited him.” 

“What?” Vivienne and Jude spoke at once. 

“Well, he raised us! This is his first Christmas and he’s in the mortal world and we haven’t payed him any heed and I wanted to be nice.” Jude stared at her, horrified. “It’s not like he can ruin the whole day. Even he doesn’t have that much power.”

“He almost took over all of Elfhame.” Jude grabbed Taryn’s shoulders, shaking her a little. “He ruined our childhoods and almost ruined both Cardan and I’s reign! Why would you think he can’t ruin Christmas?!” 

Taryn looked taken aback. Cardan crossed his arms. She really should have thought this through. 

“I thought-” Taryn bit her lip. “Maybe Oak would want to see him.” Everyone craned their necks to see into the living room where Oak was furiously typing on a laptop. Jude was the first to snap out of it. 

“Maybe, but if they miss each other a half-hour visit in the park does just fine.” There was something in Jude’s voice, and Cardan turned to look at her. There was anger and annoyance, but Cardan could see in the tightness of her mouth eyes that she was worried, as well. Worried and scared and hurt. 

Taryn kept stammering, but Cardan stopped paying her any attention. He watched Jude, watched the annoyance and anger crest, watched her eyes turn stormy. She turned and left in the middle of Taryn’s pleading to Vivienne, who was just watching with narrowed eyes. Taryn stared after Jude. Cardan followed, nodding slightly to Vivienne as he went. 

Jude stormed to her bedroom and stood by the small window. Cardan shut the door quietly behind them and perched on the bed. He remained silent, waiting for her to speak. She broke after only a few short moments.

“I don’t want him here.” Her breath was coming short and fast as she crossed her arms. “I don’t care if it’s childish. This is my first Christmas since I was six, our first break since Eldred stepped down, the first time we are together and not being attacked, not fighting, not having to plan and plot and handle Orlagh or Nicasia or Locke. I wanted a time where I could be with Vivienne and not be mad at Taryn and see Oak smile.”

She broke off, tilting her head back slightly. When she spoke again, it was softer than before. “He has been a presence in my life forever. Even before I knew it, my life was ruled by him. I just wanted this nice human holiday without him.” 

Her voice rose, and she lashed out a hand and punched the wall. The plaster cracked ever so slightly, and Jude grunted softly. Cardan rose and skirted the bed, going to stand by her. He took her hand gently. Her knuckles were red, and one of them had split open. He glanced up at her face. 

To say she was angry was to say the sea around Elfhame was wet. True, as he couldn’t lie, but vastly underplaying. Cardan had never wished more that he could lie, just so he could hold her and tell her Madoc wouldn’t ruin anything. But Madoc was in the habit of ruining things. Jude sniffled. Cardan looked at her in surprise. 

“I’m not going to cry,” She said sullenly. “Unless it’s out of anger.” 

Cardan hummed and pulled her close. He tucked her head under his chin and rubbed her arms. Cardan had found out that when Jude was upset, physical touch grounded her. Otherwise, she got in her head and spiraled into anger. Cardan, having the opportunity to touch someone he loved for the first time in his life, was all too willing to comply. 

“I can’t stay here,” Jude whispered. “Not with him, not in the same apartment. I don’t want to fight, and I know he’ll ruin it.” She sighed, shoulders hunching under his grip. “I suppose we can go back to Elfhame.” She didn’t sound thrilled. Cardan wished he could just snap his fingers and disappear Madoc. 

“If we go back to Eflhame,” Cardan said, mumbling into Jude’s hair. “We could spend the night in my rooms. We need not deal with anyone else.” She pulled back and wrenched her head towards the window. 

“I don’t have a choice. I simply cannot be in the same apartment as him.” Cardan straightened. Spending Christmas alone was not the worst idea, but it was for Jude. Cardan wondered…

“Come back to Elfhame, and I will try to distract you.” Jude flashed him a smile. 

“You always do such a good job.”

…

Jude opened the carved door. Hair dripping down her back from her bath, she slipped into a blood-red doublet and thick green tights. She sighed, relishing the feeling of the velvet and wool against her skin. It felt like home. 

She squeezed out her hair, then braided it back. Cardan had said he had to do something, then left her to bathe. The bath hadn’t been pleasant, all her anger and fury and worry over Madoc coming out in great heaving gasps. When she had dragged herself out, she had sworn not to think about him for the remainder of the night or for Christmas tomorrow. 

Someone knocked on her door, and she rushed to open it. She blinked in surprise. It was Fand, out of her usual armour and in a black doublet. Fand bowed. 

“Your Majesty. The King asked me to find you.” 

Jude reached back inside the door and found her boots, the comfortable worn leather supple beneath her hands as she laced them up. Then she followed Fand, slightly confused. Fand did not lead her to the throne room, instead leading her to a small dining room attached to Cardan’s rooms. 

When Fand nodded at her and opened the doors, Jude was taken aback. Inside, someone had put up a large pine tree, and it was covered in bright berries and soft glittering cloths. The whole room seemed to shimmer, and wreaths were flung over every chair and onto the mantlepiece. But what was more shocking were the fae inside. 

Surrounding the table were Cardan, The Bomb, The Roach, The Ghost, and Grima Mog, all dressed in fineries. Fand slunk by her and joined them, cerulean skin standing out against the soft browns and greens. The Roach even had on a velvet Santa hat, though it looked odd on him.

Cardan stepped forward, holding two spun glass cups of wine. He handed one to her, taking a sip of the other. Jude shut her mouth, which had fallen open slightly, and gave him a grin. 

“Merry Christmas,” He said, the words sounding odd in his mouth. Jude laughed, taking Cardan’s goblet and setting both of theirs aside. She flung herself at him, hugging him tightly enough he gasped for breath. The Bomb cheered loudly as Jude kissed him. She reveled in the softness of his mouth. He put his mouth to her ear and breathed. “I love you with all of my shabby, worm-eaten, and scabrous heart.” 

“I love you, too,” She whispered back, laughing again and clutching him tighter.  

Merry Christmas!!!

Thank you, @jurdannet​ and @jurdannetrevels​, for hosting this!

[marvelfansince08love]

LAAAAAAY!! My beautiful Lay!!! Here's a prompt for you! Kid!fic in where Wanda has to take care of Pietro's bby (yes, Pietro is alive!!!) And she is all confident about it until she meets Reader on the park and she a jfjkjdss (Gaymess™) and things happen? Bonus points if Reader gets to be part of Pietro's life 🙃 thaaaaaank you, Angel! Ily ✨💜

Veeee! I hope you enjoy this love, I’ve changed it a little I hope you don’t mind x Thank you Aro for editing, you gem @canarypoint

Whipped Cream and Snowy Days 

Word count: 1466 

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x Reader 

Warning: pure fluff 

Tags: @waitingfortheendtocome @natasha-danvers @the-enamorando-deity @j-does-life @dynnealberto

I do not own this gif

The park is usually quiet around this time of year, the icy cold weather keeping people locked in with a warm open fire covered in blankets and woolly pyjamas but not you, you loved being outdoors when the white snowflakes fell upon the ground feeling the odd white speck fall upon your cheeks as you sipped your hot chocolate on the icy bench wrapped up in your big warm coat. You close your eyes for a moment basking in the peace and quiet that falls upon the usually busy park. 

"Whatcha drinking?" The sound of a young boy asking next to you startles you from your daydream. You turn to investigate the voice wondering why such a small child is talking to you, a simple stranger.

The boy sits comfortably next to you on the bench, his legs dangling in thin air too small to touch the ground. A blue scarf wrapped tightly around his neck covering up to his chin, a blue bobble hat and gloves to finish the matching set. His youthful cheeks glowing red from the cold but the beaming smile on his face shows you he's unaffected by the weather.

"Oh um.. it's a hot chocolate," you mumble, your eyes searching the empty park for the boy's guardian.

"Cool! Do you like the whip cream on top? It's my favourite bit!" he exclaims, his eyes sparkle in excitement as he licks at his lips. You chuckle at the sweet innocence before grinning.

"Then why do you have the drink? You could just have the whip cream straight from the can," you inform, before internally cringing.

'You don't even know the boy and you're already giving him bad ideas' you scorn yourself.

His eyes widen in astonishment, his mouth open in a perfect 'o'. You go dismiss your last statement not wanting to be accused of any recklessness you may have passed onto the boy but before you can comment a loud voice echoes throughout the abandoned park making you and the boy turn in the direction of the voice.

"Amil!" the angelic voice shouts across from the other side of the park. You stand almost immediately wanting the woman to know you mean no harm, as you watch her eyes scan over you, glaring ever so slightly in suspicion.

"Aunty Wanda!!" Amil screeches, jumping from the bench and speeding over to his 'Aunt', if you had blinked you would have missed but the small trail of dirt tells you what you saw. You gape at the spot where the boy had stood only a second ago, who now sits comfortably on the woman's hip as she silently scolds him, you shake your head mistaking the quick movement on your mind playing silly tricks due to being out in the cold for so long. The boy pouts and points towards you making you squirm uncomfortably. The dark haired woman slowly makes her way over towards you, her eyes taking in your form seeing for any potential threat but relaxes once she's close enough to see you mean no harm to her nephew or her..

"See! I was safe Aunty Wanda! Did you know you can eat whip cream from the can! The can Aunty! So now we don't have to use all the hot chocolate!" He bounces slightly in her arms, a permanent grin on his face. The woman brushes away the runaway strand of silver hair making you frown in confusion.

Did he have silver hair before-

The woman grins almost sheepishly, completely different to her hard exterior from before and brings a hand towards you to shake. You take the gloved hand into your own and squeeze in greeting.

"Hi I'm Wanda, I'm terribly sorry about my nephew here. He likes to run... a lot actually and away from us. He gets it from his father," Wanda apologises, you stare into her green eyes watching as they sparkle just like Amil's did earlier on.

"It's quite alright, he was no bother really. I'm just glad he decided to run into me instead of continuing into the trees.." you whisper leaning in ever so slightly as if letting them in on a secret, you subtly wink at the brunette letting her in on the secret. Her eyes show mischief as she clicks onto your attempt to help reign in the boy, who's eyes have widened in curiosity.

"The trees?" You stare at him in disbelief. 

“Why yes. These trees are full of secrets, some even say they have magic in them and that they scold naughty children if they swing off their branches. You don’t wanna walk through them alone,” you fret, making sure your voice is low as you take in your surroundings. You see Wanda bite her bottom lip refraining from smiling at the corner of your eye as you continue to tease the boy. 

“I promise, I’ll never run away from you again Aunty Wanda!” he promises, burying his head into her shoulder while keeping an eye on the snow covered trees to the side of us. The brunette leans her head on top of the boys and mouths a quick ‘thank you’ before throwing you a beaming smile. 

“I didn’t catch your name before,” she mutters, feeling slightly flustered at your charming effect.

“That’s because I didn’t give it to you,” you tease, grinning widely as you watch her roll her eyes in good nature. You laugh at your poor attempt to tease the woman before replying “Y/N Y/L/N, I would shake your hand again but I can see yours are pretty full,” You continue to flirt lightly with her. You lock eyes for a moment, as if taking each other in. 

‘I swear I’ve seen this woman before,’ you think to yourself, trying to rack your brain for any similarities. 

Before you can ask her, a male’s voice approaches the three of you startling you both from your staring match. An excited screech from the boy indicates who the new stranger is.

“Papa!” Amil scurries out of his aunt’s arms and runs towards the familiar looking man who’s now crouched down ready to grab the boy at any second as if all too familiar with the boy's sudden movements. The boy's father swings him into his arms before making his way over to you, his eyes linger on you for a second before turning towards his sister with a knowing grin on his face. You can see the resemblance once their both up close, the mischievous smile giving them away instantly. 

 “I’m sorry if the little man bothered you, he’s far too friendly for his own good.” He smiles, as Amil begins to climb over his shoulder, hanging there for a moment giggling. You all smile at the infectious laugh from the innocent child before you address the man. 

“He was no bother honest. Besides I kinda  like the company he brought along with him,” you admit, eyeing Wanda flirtatiously as she smiles shyly, tucking a piece of long brown hair behind her ear. The man whistles low before reaching for your hand and bringing it to his lips. 

“Ah a woman with charm, I like her already sestra. The names Pietro,” he husks, winking subtly before whisking him and the endearing boy away. Amil waves enthused still hanging from his father’s back. 

“Bye lady! Thank you for teaching me about the trees!” he shouts through his giggles. You laugh and wave back with just as much enthusiasm, the boy's vibrant nature rubbing off on you.

“I uh, I better catch up with them. Thank you for keeping him company, I was so worried,” Wanda confesses, her worry still evident in her tone. You briefly touch her fingertips in comfort, suddenly feeling the urge to make all her worries disappear. 

“It’s okay I get it but like I said it was not a problem. The kid’s cute.. Just like his aunt,” you flirt, a small smug smile appearing on your face as you watch a soft red glow cross her cheeks. 

“Aunty Wanda come on! We’re going to be late for Morgan’s party, there’s gonna be cake!” Amil shouts from across the park, now stood by his father's side hand locked tight in his grasp. You feel a strange sense of disappointment knowing that your time in this beautiful woman's presence is over but a small satisfactory feeling creeps its way forward as you notice a similar look in her big green eyes. 

“It was nice meeting you, Y/N. Hopefully see you around sometime, yes?” she breathes, her voice lower this time that tells you it isn’t a question but a promise. You lean forward, tugging the stubborn loose strand of hair that seems to escape again under her ear, your fingertip brushing softly against her cold cheek, so close that you can hear the quiet intake of breath as she leans slightly into your touch.

“Most definitely.”

[dansnaturepictures]

11/04/22-Peregrine and more in Winchester and at home

It was so wonderful to get up and walk to the station this morning with the sun awakening the week by lighting everything up perfectly. I took the first picture in this photoset of a tree out the back with more greenery. I really enjoyed seeing House Sparrows in the hedge by Lakeside this morning as I often do and with my bridge camera with me was able to get some rare photos at this location of a male and a female the second and third in this photoset. Precious intimate moments with a lovely bird and I had the same with Blue Tits shining brightly on the way in too.

Plant wise little delights of green alkanet, beautiful ground ivy, white and red deadnettle and cow parsley and great trees going green including birch which I am noticing everywhere at the moment with lovely blossom looking brilliant against a bright blue sky and in the sun was great to see.

In Winchester at lunch time and on the way in and out doing a lunch time walk taking in St. Thomas Church and the nice area near with lots of daffodils I discovered last week, Winchester Cathedral, Abbey Gardens and the river Itchen had some great floral sightings, lots of forget-me-not including looking great next to other highlight ivy-leaved toadflax which I took the seventh picture in this photoset of, lots of green alkanet, many lovely bluebells, tulips, daffodils, spurge, speedwell one I hadn’t seen much of here before, lesser celandine, probable budle, possible pitcher plant, dandelion type flower, hyacinths, a gem of a snowflake by the river a really great and pretty one to see and others looked fantastic. So much bright colour with bits of blossom and growth looking great too looking especially stunning in the sunlight. I took the fourth picture in this photoset of a church by the railway station this morning with the stained glass windows shining nicely and looking colourful, fifth of the area by St. Thomas Church with a few of the daffodils still going and sixth of the river Itchen. 

I saw William the male Peregrine last Wednesday lunch time on a day I didn’t have my camera at the top of the cathedral but not Thursday or passing by the cathedral on the way to the river today the second of the days together this month I committed to bringing my bridge camera in my work bag. Walking back at the end of my lunch I thought my chance was gone for a Peregrine picture on these two days and I don’t think I would have done a special extra visit with the camera later in the month even if I saw him consistently, not least because I was so fortunate to see so much of both the Peregrines in the flesh and take a lot of photos of them in the two days I brought my bridge camera in March . And I was expecting I might not get to photograph a Peregrine this month in Winchester as the next few weeks in the breeding season it’s not common to see the Peregrines in person if you just walk past in a day as I do as Winnie is incubating the eggs in the ledge out of view expect for the webcam.

But I was amazed when passing the cathedral on the way back to the office today I saw the majestic and smart coated William upon the north tower ledge. I was immensely excited to be looking at a Peregrine, and I got some photos including the eighth and ninth in this photoset. I felt I was in bonus territory to get a photo of a Peregrine this month, and if I was being greedy the photos I got of him were from an angle I’d got of them in past years but didn’t feel I had yet this year with him facing out on the ledge. So with the hybrid working system from February and an essential cover rota day before that I feel I have got an extensive set of Peregrine pictures this year already on various points at Winchester Cathedral and St. Thomas Church. It was so amazing to see this bird and as if by magic as I took the first of the photos the sun that had gone behind clouds a little by that point reappeared. 

I have really enjoyed taking all sorts of photos in my two April bridge camera office days to support the spring time photos I am currently taking all the time, but the Peregrines on Winchester Cathedral were the first and are the ultimate subject when I put my bridge camera in my work bag for a day in the office. So the list maker in me is thrilled that this is a box ticked, an item crossed off. I look forward in the few office days I have left this month as I am on leave at the end of April, to now potentially just enjoying seeing William and following them both and particularly seeing Winnie on the webcam. This evening I enjoyed seeing a silver-sided sector spider the regular one the other side of the window in the middle level which I took a photo of with my macro lens and tweeted and a little micro moth flying around the living room. There were nice sky scenes with interesting cloud formations and a little bit of pink sky and green scenes at home this evening as there was this morning, I took the tenth picture in this photoset of such a view with the nice tree looking good as well.

Wildlife Sightings Summary: Two of my favourite birds the Peregrine Falcon and Buzzard with the latter seen over Shawford railway station on the way home, Starling, House Sparrow, Blue Tit, Robin well, Jackdaw well at the cathedral, Magpie and Carrion Crow at home tonight, Woodpigeon, Mallard and Grey Wagtail the other key Winchester bird this set of bridge camera working days was a success for on Thursday and it was nice to see last Wednesday too sat together on a piece of land in the river a unique sight for me, Mute Swan further down the river on the train journey home, silver-sided sector spider, moth and I heard Greylag Geese and saw their shadows as they flew over home this morning and had similar with Starlings and possibly heard a Pied Wagtail too.

[omgrachwrites]

Tell a Tale of You and Me - Chapter Nine

Pairing: Sirius Black x Reader

Summary: You knew that making a bet with Sirius Black was like making a deal with the   devil but you just couldn’t help yourself. You had never been a heavenly  woman.

Warnings: fluff, mutual pining, angst

Words: 2403

Disclaimer: This gif doesn’t belong to me!

A/N: I hope you guys enjoy this part and please let me know what you think and let me know if you would like to be tagged! I love you all very much! xxx

Chapter Nine

Sirius huddled into his fur lined coat as he walked down to the Quidditch pitch with Remus, Lily and Peter. Despite it being so cold it was a really beautiful morning, the frost that had settled over the lawns in the middle of the night sparkled like diamonds under the watery weak sunlight and the sky was a pure white colour. Sirius hoped that it would snow later on; he loved it when it snowed, and it was his favourite part about winter, well apart from Christmas. Though, he didn’t know how much fun Christmas would be this year.

The thought about the beautiful morning was pushed out of his head when Lily gave a quiet and frustrated huff. Sirius smirked as he looked at the unhappy expression on her face. James had scheduled a short practise on the morning of the Hogsmeade trip. Lily and Y/N wanted to look at gowns for the Yule Ball, even though it wasn’t happening for over a month. Despite Lily’s unhappy expression she had never missed watching a team practise – even when she was sick – since James had become Captain. It was plainly obvious that she was so proud of him, it was sweet to see.

“Oh lighten up, Evans!” Sirius joked, earning a glare from his efforts, “I don’t understand why you and Y/N simply have to find a gown at this early stage.”

Lily rolled her eyes and looked at him like he was stupid, “of course, you wouldn’t understand. It takes a lot of time to find the perfect dress, if it’s not perfect it simply won’t do. It’s hard being a woman sometimes Sirius,” Sirius laughed as he shook his head.

“I don’t know why you care about some stupid ball,” Peter started glumly as he shoved his hands into his pockets, “I probably won’t find anyone to go with,” he moped.

Sirius chewed his lip thoughtfully as he slapped his friend’s shoulder affectionately, “what about that girl, Evelyn? Haven’t you gone to Hogsmeade with her before? You could ask her.”

Peter shrugged, “she probably won’t want to go with me, there must be something wrong with me.”

Sirius frowned, there was nothing wrong with Peter, he just lacked confidence, “look, Pete,” he sighed, “there’s nothing wrong with you. I don’t know why or how you’ve got that idea lodged in your head.”

Peter scoffed, “it’s easy for you to say when every girl in this damn school wants to date you.”

Sirius pushed his hair off of his forehead as his cheeks grew warm and there was a fluttering feeling in his stomach, “not everyone,” he mumbled, chewing his lip and looking at the ground as they entered the stands.

When he glanced up he found that Lily was looking at him with the most peculiar expression on her face, it was somewhere in between a shocked expression and a smug one, “what?” he scowled at her. In response she shook her head but she nudged his shoulder all the same.

The Quidditch practise started off quite slow, it was obvious that the players were tired and it was freezing to top it all off. Sirius was almost glad that he wasn’t on the team this year because he certainly didn’t miss the early morning training sessions. It took a while for the team to warm up and get some enthusiasm but when they had, they were unstoppable as they whizzed around the stadium. Hufflepuff didn’t stand a chance in the next house match.

Sirius thought that Y/N looked especially pretty today; the tip of her nose was flushed from the bitter wind, as were her cheeks. His stomach performed somersaults as he watched her hair blowing in the wind and he knew that he couldn’t deny his feelings for her any longer.

Though, he didn’t want to be vocal about his feelings yet but due to Regulus’ interfering, he had to speak up about it. If Regulus wasn’t Sirius’ brother then he wouldn’t have cared that Regulus had obvious feelings for Y/N. But, if there was only one thing that the siblings had in common it was their undeniable good looks.

At the end of the Quidditch practise, Regulus walked right onto the pitch and even Sirius from where Sirius was he could tell that Regulus was fiddling with his fingers, a dead giveaway that he was anxious. Regulus engaged Y/N in conversation for a couple of minutes and it made Sirius feel a little angry. He loved his brother by why did Regulus have to have feelings for Y/N as well?

“What in Godric’s name does my brother think he’s doing?” Sirius snarled, not taking his eyes off of what was happening on the pitch below him. His three friends all rolled their eyes and exchanged exasperated looks.

“Why do you care if Regulus is talking to Y/N, Sirius? Why do you care that he’s got an obvious crush on her? Is there anything you want to tell us?” Lily asked innocently but Sirius knew what she was getting at.

Sirius sighed and momentarily squeezed his grey eyes shut. If he couldn’t admit it to his friends, how was he ever going to admit it to Y/N?

“Because I have feelings for her alright, is that what you wanted to hear me say?” his friends all seemed to let out a relieved sigh.

“Finally, you’re admitting it,” Remus said and Sirius could hear the tell-tale smirk in his voice, which Sirius didn’t appreciate.

“So, what changed for you to have feelings for her? You’ve certainly never mentioned it before,” Lily asked with interest.

Sirius shrugged, he didn’t understand it any more than Lily did, feelings were hard, “I’m not sure, sure she’s very beautiful,” the butterflies were back in his stomach as he spoke those words, “but it also seems like we’ve just really connected this year. I don’t know if it’s because we’re spending more time together or maybe it’s because she doesn’t seem the least bit interested in me. Maybe it’s because she’s one of the few people that I have an emotional connection with, I remember how kind she was to me when I got kicked out while the other girl’s I was seeing didn’t give a toss. I can’t explain it.”

“You don’t have to,” Peter started and he almost sounded wise, “but are you going to tell her at least? I think that she deserves to know about your feelings.”

Sirius shook his head, feeling a little bit queasy, the thought of telling Y/N, of being that vulnerable terrified him, the first step was telling you guys, I’m not ready to tell her yet. I only admitted it to myself that I have feelings for her after the kiss we shared at the party.”

“Well, that’s okay, just go at your own pace sweetie. How about you just dip a toe in and ask her to go to the Yule Ball with you? I think that’s a good first step,” Lily said understandingly as she rubbed his arm.

Sirius smiled at her gratefully, he really appreciated his friends’ support right now. It was kind of scary to have such genuine feelings for someone when he was so used to sleeping around and not getting attached, “yeah, I think that I will.”

Before Sirius could ponder for much longer, James whistled up at the stands to grab his friends’ attention as the team filed out of the Gryffindor changing room. They had obviously got changed into their own clothes while Sirius was busy pouring his heart out to his friends. The four friends laughed at each other as they made their way down to the frosty pitch.

Y/N greeted Sirius with a tight hug that warmed him from the inside and he felt his cheeks go warm, he supposed that his face was beetroot red. When Y/N pulled away from him she quirked an eyebrow at him, a slow teasing smile making its way onto her lips, “are you alright Sirius?” she giggled.

Sirius nodded, “I-I’m fine,” he stammered, he really hoped that now he had admitted his feelings out loud he wouldn’t start stuttering in front of her. Y/N nodded at him but Sirius could tell that she was trying her hardest to conceal a smirk.

It started snowing halfway on the walk down to Hogsmeade which Sirius was very happy about. Y/N giggled and ran forward with Peter and they immediately started trying to catch the snowflakes on their tongues. Sirius thought that Y/N was adorable and she looked so beautiful as the snowflakes settled on her eyelashes and melted into her hair.

“When are you going to ask her? I’m not trying to rush you or anything,” Lily whispered.

“By the end of the day,” Sirius assured her. He started rehearsing what he was going to say to her in his head. He was feeling nervous already. Though he knew he wasn’t going to truly enjoy the ball if he wasn’t going with her.

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

You sighed as you looked at your reflection in the changing room mirror while you were dress shopping with Lily, truly the dress you were standing in was beautiful but it just wasn’t right. It was a gorgeous powder blue dress but the skirt wasn’t big enough, you wanted a dress with a big skirt that you’d have to hitch up when you were walking up and down the stairs. You wanted to feel like a princess. There were so many fake gems that had been sewn into the bodice and it just felt a little too tacky for your tastes.

“Come on Y/N, let me see it!” Lily knocked on the door, sounding excited; she had been giddy all morning, like she knew something that you didn’t. You sighed as you walked out of the changing room, “I love it!” Lily’s face lit up with an excited grin and you pouted.

“I don’t,” you chewed your lip and Lily gave you a sympathetic look, you just wanted the perfect dress. Was that too much to ask? “let’s just call it a day, I’ll look elsewhere,” you fiddled with the dress; you just wanted to get it off.

“Are you sure sweetie?” Lily asked kindly and you nodded, feeling very disappointed.

As you were walking out of the shop you rested your head on Lily’s shoulder, the snowflakes tickling your face. Lily had found the perfect dress right away, “you’re so lucky that green looks like it was made for you,” you pouted.

Lily giggled as she kissed the top of your head, “don’t you worry, Y/N. We’ll soon find you the perfect dress.”

You were itching to get to The Three Broomsticks – that was where you were meeting the boys – you knew that a warm Butterbeer on a cold day was the perfect remedy. Unfortunately, before you could warm into the warm pub, Sirius cornered you, his eyes wide and vulnerable you had never seen him look like that before.

“Can we go for a walk and talk? It’s important, please.”

You nodded, your heart going about 100 miles a second, you wondered what he could possibly have to talk to you about, “of course Sirius.”

The both of you walked through the snow in a comfortable silence; you glanced up at his gorgeous profile. It looked like he was internally arguing with himself and he looked nervous, it was so unlike him, “so, what did you want to talk about?” you prompted.

“Right, right,” he mumbled like he’d only just remembered, “I’m just gonna go for it,” he chuckled nervously and chewed his lip, “do you want to go to the ball with me?”

It felt like someone had dropped a rock into the pit of your stomach as you gazed up at his beautiful, hopeful face. You wished that you could go with him, you longed to go with him, really you did but you had made a promise. Immediately, you began to stammer, “the thing is Sirius is that someone has already asked me and I’ve agreed to go with him. I’m sorry,” you felt so sad.

The hopeful smile dropped from Sirius’ face as that vulnerable look was back in his eyes – it hurt you so much – before he plastered on an artificial grin that didn’t reach his eyes. He shrugged, “no worries, I just thought that it might be fun if we went together but it’s not a problem,” he brushed off your apology. His voice cracked and you felt like the worst person in the world.

“Sirius, I really am sorry,” you told him as you cupped his cold cheek.

He turned away from you with a sigh, “let’s just go and get a Butterbeer,” he said that he was okay but you knew that you had hurt him.

When you were getting ready for bed later on that evening you still felt really bad about having to reject Sirius so you decided to tell your best friend about it.

“So, Sirius asked me to go to the Yule Ball with him today,” you started casually as you ran a comb through your hair.

Lily gasped excitedly, “really?! Y/N, that’s amazing, I know you said that you don’t like him romantically but I bet that you’ll have a really good time with him,” she sounded so happy for you.

You felt like you were on the verge of tears, “I do like him,” you finally admitted, “I really like him, I can’t believe I’ve managed to conceal it and lie to myself for so long,” it felt good to finally get the truth off your chest, “but I said no. I had to say no.”

Lily looked at you with wide eyes and she went to join you on your bed and she wrapped an arm around your shoulders as a tear ran down your face, you didn’t want to cry, “why did you say no beautiful?” she asked as she wiped the tears from your eyes.

You sniffled, letting more warm tears cascade down your face, you had to tell her the truth, “oh, Lily, I have to tell you something but you have to promise not to tell anyone,” you almost sobbed as you felt an awful stinging pain where your heart was. You had finally told someone about your feelings for Sirius but what would it cost you?

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@approved-by-dentists @thefuturelawyer @a-miserable-hufflepunk @firelordmillie @seriouslysiriuss @sleep-i-ness @play-morezeppelin @pregnant-piggy @sleepingalaska @smiithys @blisfvll @rexorangecouny​ @findzelda​ @wangmangagavroche​

[electricfied-wolf]

I need to know more about your Diamond OCs because I wanna make art of them so bad

OH OH OKAY OKAY- This is gonna be a long one, idk if I can fit it all here, might have to rb with the rest. First, I suppose I should show off the one that does have art. Snowflake (and her pearl)

I colored it in, but I wanted to show the version done by the person who I got em’ from.  Their sizes are NOT to scale, Snowflake’s pearl fits in her palm. They r very close and in love and they care about each other SO SO much. Snowflake would be really upset if she lost her pearl (who goes by Snow when she’s being addressed as somethin’ other than “Pearl”) Snowflake, at least during what would be the main events of the show, is a young teenager-aged Diamond, created through the gemling process (she’s the child of Red and Black) instead of the injector process, like some of the others. She’s got ice powers, and can move her hair sorta like Entrapta from She-ra. Her pearl has these powers as well. Snow is a little shy and nervous, but she loves her diamond (romantically) and her diamond loves her right back (also romantically).

Then, we move onto Purple...aka my FAVORITE. She’s tall as hell, like, White only comes up to her waist, and she’s also kinda White/Black’s mom, since she created them, also through the gemling process! Nobody created her though, she was the first Gem (in my lore) and just kinda popped out of a planet one day, full grown, spent most of the time figuring out her existence before creating her two children. She sorta has a build like Holly Blue, and even a similar style, but her hair is up in a sort of bun, and her heels have little diamond-markings on them. She has cape (back cape, not arm cape), that’s sparkly underneath, but on the top is just a royal-purple cape with some pretty sparkly lining, and a diamond marking in the middle. Her gem is sorta like where Steven’s is placed, just a little bit higher, like, right below her chest, haven’t really decided on which shape her gemstone is. Her clothes are kinda fancy, she has sorta drooping shoulder pads, all of her clothing has the same silver-lining as her cape does. She doesn’t wear a dress or any flow clothing (except her cape), just sorta, fancy outfit.  Purple is huge mom, literally, and she’s the most loving thing in the universe, constantly doting on her children (and grandchildren), her love knows no bounds and she’s never ever seen any other gem as inferior, that all sorta developed in the others. She can lift, and boy does she, with her size, she could carry Blue and Yellow both.  And she does. They do not like it because they think it ruins their image. She’s the oldest, and she has the special power of being able to project any event she was present for from her gem, or try to construct a scene based on another person’s accounting of it, but her projections are in full color, as accurate as she can manage. She also has fun glowy magic, but that’s really just for show. She kinda disappeared for a long time when Yellow and Blue were teenagers, and that may or may not have resulted in the authorities downfall. She didn’t intend to go missing though, and she came back in what would be SuF here!!! i love to ramble about her rhngggfdg

Black is White’s twin, and she actually looks a lot like Blue (despite no relation), but her long dark abyss-looking hair is tied in a braid, and her dress cuts off just above her ankles. Her gemstone, like White’s, is on her forehead, they both have the same shaped gemstone. The frilled sleeves of her dress are long, and her whole outfit is kinda frilly. She’s a really sweet Gem, with a really scary power: the ability to freeze anyone in place just by glaring at them, it drains all their color and makes them look far darker, a mirror to her sister’s ability to control other Gems. She can get mad when she wants to be, however, she’s mostly just a sweetheart who’d do anything for the other Diamonds.

Next up is Red! Her hair kinda spikes back (not in a Phoenix Wright way, it’s long and doesn’t have as many spikes), and she sorta has an outfit bearing some slight resemblance to Pink’s (Red is far older than Pink tho), just with long transparent white fabrics protruding from all sides except the front. She has heels because she wants to feel taller than Black (they are so cute omg...), and her gemstone is on her back, just below her neck. She wears gloves!! They’re kinda fire-looking, and you might’ve guessed, her power relates to fire. She has a temper and can be a little too stuck up at times, but she’s good deep down, and cares so so much about her wife n’ kids. She feels really really bad about her uh....well....she did something not-so-great before the split.

Kids? there’s another other than Snowflake? It’s Green! Or rather, more commonly known as Dresden. No, she isn’t the child of Blue and Yellow, but rather of Red and Black. Her gemstone is on her chest however, and she has part of her hair covering her left (if u were looking at her) eye. Her dress is a bit wonky, a little rough at the bottom like it’s been tore up, and she also has heels, along with kinda curly hair.  Instead of being made as a gemling like Snowflake, she was planted on Earth, and somehow didn’t kill the planet, but because she didn’t kill the planet, it took far longer for her to absorb the energy she needed to form. She’s shy and confused and she just a sweet bby. She emerges somewhere during where SUF would take place tho.

And that’s all! Woah, I did manage to fit em’ all in one post. I’m so glad I get to ramble about them, and in case you need a size chart, here’s tallest to shortest in order (the shortest is still a giant, just a bit of a smaller giant, not Pink sized but y’know): -Purple -White -Red -Black -Yellow -Blue -Snowflake -Dresden

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 8: Black and White (originally published on January 25, 2021)

Author's Note: At long last, the long-awaited conclusion to Part 1 of Steven Universe: Alternate Future is upon us! This may seem like an innocuous love letter to the mockumentary genre (I even watched This is Spinal Tap on HBO Max for inspiration), but the ending will change everything you will see in this chapter! But I'm through being dramatic, let's boogie!

Synopsis: A Black Rutile and her partner White Topaz want to get answers from Steven.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven, Onion

Estelle as Garnet

Michaela Dietz as Amethyst, Ocean Jasper

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl, Black Rutile’s Pearls

Uzo Aduba as Bismuth

Jennifer Paz as Lapis Lazuli, Zuli, Mean Lapis

Shelby Rabara as Peridot

Kimberly Brooks as Cherry Quartz, Jasper

Ian Jones-Quartey as Snowflake Obsidian

Michelle Maryk as Little Larimar

Amy Sedaris as Teal Zircon

Aparna Nancherla as Nephrite

Grace Rolek as Connie

Crispin Freeman as Doug

Mary Elizabeth McGlynn as Priyanka

Tom Scharpling as Greg

Zach Steel as Ronaldo

Eugene Cordero as Jamie

Joel Hodgson as Mr. Dewey

Reagan Gomez Preston as Jenny, Kiki

Brian Posehn as Sour Cream

Lamar Abrams as Buck

Matthew Moy as Lars

Kate Micucci as Sadie

Alastair James as Rainbow Quartz 2.0

Shoniqua Shondai as Sunstone

Della Saba as Aquamarine

Charlyne Yi as Eyeball

Jinkx Monsoon as Emerald

Christine Pedi as Holly Blue Agate

Hayley Kiyoko as Morganite

Olivia Olson as Black Rutile's Citrines

Featuring Noël Wells as Black Rutile

And Lauren Ash as White Topaz

--

"Is the camera ready, Topaz?"

"It's ready, my Rutile!"

"You idiot, you forgot to turn on the lens!"

"Oh my goodness, I am so sorry, my Rutile, let me fix that!"

A camera was turned on inside a black-colored dropship, where a matching-colored Rutile in a green visor and white cape sat down in a captain's chair, confident and charming. "Hello, universe!" the Rutile greeted. "My name is Black Rutile, and welcome to Eye on Era 3, the special interview show where we discuss with Gems about the changes a certain Steven Universe brought to our proud culture!"

"And I'm White Topaz!" the Topaz operating Black Rutile's camera turned the lens to herself and cheerfully waved to the audience.

"Uh, Topaz, over here." Black Rutile ordered.

"Oh, sorry!" White Topaz muttered and turned the camera back to her superior.

"Anyways, we've traveled across the stars to chat it up with all sorts of Gems." The Rutile continued ecstatically. "From Pearls free from slavery, to proud Emerald pilots! Agates with no one to order around, Lapis Lazulis thinking they're lost in the world, and even a few fusions here and there! But today, we're gonna get answers straight from the mouth of this so-called "new Pink Diamond" himself!" she stated, making air-quotes while calling Steven the new Pink Diamond.

"My Rutile, we are closing in on Earth." A Citrine piloting Black Rutile's ship announced. "Is there any good spot you'd like to land?"

"Let's try that Little Homeworld place I've heard so much about." Black Rutile suggested. "We're bound to get tons of special guests there."

"Yes, your clarity." The Citrine complied, and she returned to her station.

"In case you were stuck in a Kindergarten for the past couple hundred years, Little Homeworld is where tons of Gems formerly corrupted by the Diamonds at the end of the Rebellion have made their home." Black Rutile narrated over footage of Little Homeschool. "The number one hotspot of this little bit of home is Little Homeschool, where Gems from all over come to learn how to mingle with the life on Earth and let go of the old ways."

"Hey, you think maybe we could go to that place, BR?" White Topaz grinned eagerly.

"Don't forget about our plans." Black Rutile said under her breath to her Topaz bodyguard. "I mean, we should be nearing Little Homeworld any minute now, so stay tuned!"

--

Gems began to gather when Black Rutile's ship made its landing in Little Homeworld, and the landing door opened to reveal its owner and her sidekick strolling out.

"Oh my, we already have quite a crowd here!" Black Rutile laughed into a microphone. "Now then, I'll pick a few lucky Gems from our audience here to answer some questions about their experiences on Earth." Looking around, Black Rutile managed to pick out Bismuth, Peridot, and Lapis Lazuli from the huddling Gems. "Ah, you three, over there!"

"Us?" Lapis asked.

"Could you care to tell us how life has been on Earth for you?" Black Rutile asked, sticking her microphone out to the trio.

"I've actually been on Earth about as long as Lapis here." Bismuth answered, gesturing to Lapis. "I was one of the original Crystal Gems under Rose Quartz, chosen because I wanted to build whatever I wanted, with no uppercrusts to order me around! But my methods of dealing with the enemy was a bit more extreme than what she was used to, so Rose took one in particular a bit personally and had me poofed & bubbled. In hindsight, maybe Rose was worried that her cover would've been blown."

"As Bismuth said, I was on Earth for a very long time." Lapis began speaking into the mic. "I was supposed to be there for only a little bit to assist in terraforming, but then I got caught in the war and was poofed before being confused for a Crystal Gem. I was interrogated while my gem was stuck in a mirror, but that kind of got cut short when the Diamonds unleashed their final attack and forced everyone to flee. I was left behind by accident, and someone cracked my gem by stepping on it, and years later, I was found by Pearl, who kept me in her gem until Steven freed me."

"Aw, what a happy ending!" White Topaz cooed.

"Yeah, no." Lapis sardonically corrected White Topaz. "After I was freed from the mirror, I nearly drowned tons of people because I wanted to get home, but then home turned out to be a lot different from when I left it. I was once again made a prisoner by Peridot and Jasper, who then invaded Earth because I met the Crystal Gems that everyone thought were defeated in the Rebellion, then I fused with Jasper to protect Steven, which took a number on both of our mental states, I was freed yet again, then I left Earth because I was told the Diamonds might be coming, before coming back only to get poofed by Yellow Diamond."

"Much like Lapis, I was only supposed to be on Earth for a short while to perform my duties." Peridot began telling her story. "I was supposed to check up on the old Galaxy Warp, but then the Crystal Gems kept getting in my way no matter what. Before I knew it, I was without help, without any working technology, and then without my limb enhancers. I don't think I even bothered to ask where the Gems put them."

"A Lapis, a Bismuth and a Peridot. What an unlikely trio." Black Rutile mused. "Tell me, what was it that made you three decide to work alongside each other in the first place."

"Well, it all began when Steven and the Crystal Gems left Earth to convince White Diamond to help them cure corruption." Bismuth said. "I elected to stay behind on Earth to watch over these two."

"Ooh, ooh, can I do a reenactment?!" White Topaz asked, to which Black Rutile responded with a sigh.

"Proceed." Black Rutile muttered, tapping on her camera to produce a light shining on the surface of the dropship. White Topaz began to shapeshift her fingers into various characters, and started a shadow puppet show.

"Bye Bismuth, I'm gonna go to Homeworld and hope we can convince White Diamond to help us save the corrupted Gems." White Topaz said, imitating Steven. "You do you kid. I'm gonna watch over those other Gems while you're away." She continued, now impersonating Bismuth. "Have fun!"

Steven's shadow puppet was raised into the air as White Topaz made rocket sounds, followed by turning more of her fingers into Peridot and Lapis. Black Rutile just gave an annoyed glare to the camera.

"Hey, where's Steven?" White Topaz's impression of Lapis asked. "Oh, him? He ran off to Homeworld with the Diamonds." Her mimicry of Bismuth answered. "Oh my stars, are we too late?!" an aping of Peridot cried out.

"Do I really sound like that?" Peridot muttered as the shadow play went on.

"No little guy, he's fine!" White Topaz's impression of Bismuth continued. "Just something about corruption or whatever."

"Okay, I think we've seen enough!" Black Rutile laughed awkwardly as she interrupted the puppet show.

"Aw, but I was getting to the good part!" White Topaz moaned sadly.

"To be fair, you were almost spot on." Bismuth stated. "When Steven told us through some weird watermelon creature that looked just like him that trouble was indeed brewing on Homeworld, Peridot and Lapis reformed not too long after and we came together out of a desire to help him out."

"United by a common goal, how quaint." Black Rutile smiled and folded her hands behind her back, trying to hide their fidgeting. "Now then, would anyone else like to come up and chat?"

"I would, I would, I would!" Teal Zircon cried as she pushed her way through the crowd. "Hi, name's Teal Zircon, nice to meet you!" she greeted Black Rutile while rapidly shaking her hand. "So, you wanted to learn about my time here on Earth?"

"You're awfully excitable." Black Rutile pushed up her visor by the bridge with a grin. "More to the point, I'd like to hear your story Ms. Zircon."

"Gladly!" Teal Zircon exclaimed. "Like many of the Gems here, I was once corrupted by the Diamonds and became a long-tongued speedster that Peridot tried to capture no matter what, through hell or high water. Eventually, she did succeed, and I was stuck in the barn she and Lapis called home, until the Crystal Gems took me to their place. One day, I was healed by Steven along with a Cherry Quartz and shown around Little Homeschool. That same day, Steven took me along to see a Jasper who didn't want to go to school, and I was willing to become her friend, but I'm pretty sure she hates my guts."

"I'll have to check up on this Jasper sometime." Black Rutile commented. "Now then, anyone else care to share?"

"I'd like to." Zuli answered as she flew up and touched down next to Black Rutile. "I only came here a few weeks ago after Steven recommended the place to a former friend of mine and me. We were terraforming this moon called Aozul 2, but Steven and this other Lapis that we were buddies with back in our terraforming days told us that wasn't cool anymore, so they taught us new ways to express ourselves. I was a lot more accepting, but my ex-friend didn't want to change. To this day, I still don't know where she's at."

"May I go next?" Cherry Quartz asked Black Rutile.

"Sure, go ahead." Black Rutile answered, passing the mic to the Quartz.

"I was an average Quartz soldier made to fight in the war, but then I got corrupted, of course." Cherry began. "Then Steven came along and healed me along with TZ, and introduced us to Little Homeschool. I was a little nervous at first, but while Steven was away, I met up with some fellow Quartzes who told me all about how great it was here."

"I was the first corrupted Gem Steven helped defeat." Nephrite said, taking the mic from Cherry Quartz. "I was actually brought back out a few times, the first was a complete accident & I was poofed soon after, but the second time was when Steven thought he could try to heal me, but instead he reunited me with my old crew."

"Okay, we're running out of time here folks, I got other people to interview, and I haven't got all day!" Black Rutile yelled. "Which one wants to cap off this part?!"

"Little Larimar and I wanna talk." Snowflake Obsidian answered. "Hi, I'm Snowflake Obsidian. This is my buddy Little Larimar."

"We were corrupted Gems too." Larimar said. "I remember when Steven dropped us into that fountain, and we were all right as rain. Then years later, he helped us all find jobs that he thought were right for us, but then hilarity ensued."

"Wow, pretty much everyone here has such nice things to say about Steven." Black Rutile commented while putting on an eerie fake smile. "Isn't there anyone on this planet that doesn't love him?"

"Well, there is Jasper, kind of." Bismuth answered. "I say kind of because I have no idea what's even up with her ever since she was uncorrupted. I mean, she does express a teeny bit of gratitude for it, but she still would rather stay as far away from us as possible."

"To be frank, I wouldn't blame her." Lapis agreed. "Anyway, if you want to interview her, she's in a cave in the woods nearby."

"Good to know, Lapis." Black Rutile thanked Lapis. "I do hope we can see each other again sometime." She laughed as she and White Topaz began leaving Little Homeworld. "Perhaps even sooner than you think."

--

"We've all had our fun in Little Homeworld, but there's still a Gem we've yet to cover as we move on with our tour of Earth." Black Rutile continued narrating while walking in the woods. "This Gem, in particular, has been living in the woods ever since she was cured of an unfortunate case of corruption, and refuses to join her fellow Gems at Little Homeschool! Well, let's see if she can tell us why."

"Is that where she's living over there?" White Topaz asked as she pointed the camera to a cave with a tarp over the entrance.

"I think you might be right!" Black Rutile exclaimed as she raced over to the cave. "Excuse me, does Jasper live here?!"

"No she doesn't, now get out." Jasper's voice grumbled from within the cave.

"If Jasper isn't here, then who are you?" White Topaz asked, forcing Jasper to emerge from her cave.

"Someone who's going to pulverize you if you don't leave me alone." Jasper snarled.

"But we just wanted to ask about your time here on Earth!" Black Rutile nervously explained.

"Guess what, I'm not interested." Jasper added. "Now let me repeat myself, beat it, or I'm gonna beat you!"

"I think we should do as she says, my Rutile!" White Topaz began sweating nervously and slowly stepping away from Jasper.

"Righto." Black Rutile agreed before they ran away from Jasper. "But trust me, I think she might be useful to us."

--

"Well, that went horribly." White Topaz commented the farther she and Black Rutile got from Jasper. "Now where are we?"

"I'm not sure." Black Rutile answered while gazing at a terraced house. "But I do believe we have our next interviewee!"

"Which is?" White Topaz asked her superior.

"The residence of one Connie," Black Rutile declared, bringing up data on Connie on her visor, but then stopped at her last name. "Moo-hee-swear-ann. Seriously, how do you pronounce that?" The reporter decided to brush that off with a shrug and proceeded to knock on the door. "Good day Ms. Moo-hee-swear-ann, my name is Black Rutile, here to interview you about your experiences on Earth."

"It's Maheswaran, in case you're struggling to pronounce it." Connie's mother Priyanka corrected the Rutile. "Now, can I help you?"

"Oh, my apologies." Black Rutile said. "You look a lot taller than my data says."

"I believe you have me confused for my daughter, I'm her mother." Priyanka stated. "If you wish to speak with Connie, she's busy with college preparations, so you can only speak for 15 minutes."

"Uh, question!" White Topaz raised her hand. "What's college?"

--

"So you're doing all this for a TV show?" Connie asked Black Rutile moments later in the living room.

"You could say that." Black Rutile answered with a grin. "I'm working on an investigative report chronicling everyone's experiences with Era 3, and I'm working towards interviewing all the Crystal Gems and their allies, you included little girl. Now tell me, how did you first meet little Steven?"

"Well, it all started a few years ago." Connie began retelling her first meeting with Steven. "I was minding my own business, Steven was trying to get my attention because he wanted to be my friend, but one thing led to another, and we were stuck in a bubble together."

"Not how I'd expect your species to make new friends, but you do you." White Topaz commented with a grin.

"Anyways, it's all thanks to him that I was able to get out of my comfort zone a bit over the years." Connie continued. "I learned sword fighting from Pearl, became able to fend for myself, and we even fused!"

"Yeah, we still find that a little strange." Her father Doug interjected.

"Fusing with humans, just like they said." Black Rutile whispered to herself.

"Did you say something, miss?" Priyanka asked.

"Oh, nothing." Black Rutile covered up what she just said before moving back to Connie. "It seems like you two are just inseparable!"

"Well, mostly." Connie stated. "When Steven let himself get captured by Aquamarine to save everyone, we were all so worried sick for him. And even when he came back perfectly fine, I still felt like this all could've been avoided if we fought together."

"Oh, poor little girl." Black Rutile comforted Connie, though with a secret hint of condescendence in her voice. "It must be hard to lose someone so dear only for them to come back and disregard your feelings by acting like everything's fine."

"It's okay." Connie said. "We did get back together eventually, and now our bond is stronger than ever!"

"Woo, love wins!" White Topaz cheered, inciting yet another angry glare from her boss. "Um, can I do the shadow puppets again?"

"Go ahead." Black Rutile frowned in embarrassment.

"Wait, your documentary has shadow plays?" Priyanka wondered aloud.

"Don't ask me; this was all her idea!" Black Rutile replied grumpily. "What a childish clod."

"Hey Connie, I'm back from Homeworld! Hope no one missed me." White Topaz began another puppet show, this time of Steven and Connie's brief falling out, while trying her best to mimic Steven. "We did kinda miss you, you could've died!" she continued while imitating Connie's voice. "I don't see what the problem is, I'm standing right here!" the Steven puppet replied carelessly. "Well, we could've stopped Aquamarine together, but you gotta make everything about you!" the Connie puppet declared. "So screw you Steven, I'm going home!"

"Wait, I didn't say anything like that!" the real Connie said nervously.

"Sorry kid, I'm just making this up as I go." White Topaz apologized, and just as she was about to continue her show, Black Rutile cut it short. "Aw man!"

"Well, I think we've just about wrapped up here, friends!" Black Rutile announced. "We've got places to be, people to meet, and more opportunities for me to be humiliated by you, Topaz."

"Well, it was nice to see you." Doug said goodbye as the two Gems left the Maheswarans' house. "Hope your documentary is a big hit!"

"Thank you; you're too kind!" Black Rutile waved back and closed the door, allowing some privacy as she scolded White Topaz. "Was it really necessary for you to go all "love wins" on us, you softhearted fool?" she scowled as they began walking away from the house.

"I'm sorry, I just think they're so adorable together!" White Topaz tried to justify her actions, before Black Rutile pulled her down by her collar.

"We have no time for sappy romances!" the Rutile yelled in her bodyguard's face. "We are here to gather information, and that's final! Are we clear?!"

"Yes, your clarity." White Topaz bowed her head in shame.

"Good, now where were we?" Black Rutile tapped on the side of her visor and pulled up a map of the surrounding area. "Ah, yes! Beach City!" she declared while the map began pointing to the little seaside town.

"Ooh, that place sounds fun." White Topaz commented. "Think maybe we could take a vacation there some time, just you and me?"

"Apologies, but we're on a mission." Black Rutile declared as she put the map away. "We'll have time for fun later, but it'll be my choice of fun. Understand?"

"Yes, boss!" White Topaz gave a comical salute, and the two began setting off for Beach City.

--

"Now then, this place should be full of Steven stories!" Black Rutile announced as the duo strolled into town. "And maybe we could find some of his weaknesses too."

"Hey, check out this funny sign!" White Topaz said while gazing at the sign for It's A Wash. "What do you think is a wash?"

"Hey new Gems, welcome." They heard Greg greet them. "If you came here to sign up for Little Homeschool, you should take it up with the Gems first."

"Oh no sir, we already saw that school." Black Rutile said. "It's all part of a series of interviews I'm doing for my show, Eye on Era 3. Which reminds me, how would you describe your experiences with the Crystal Gems?"

"My experiences?" Greg wondered. "Well, it all started one night when I was just a young rocker on tour. I had arrived in Beach City for a show, and Rose Quartz was the only one who showed up."

"Ah yes, Pink Diamond always had a fascination with humans," Black Rutile interjected. "often at the expense of her own kind."

"Yeah yeah, Pink kinda stunk, but don't we all sometimes?" Greg philosophized. "Like I was saying, Rose was the only one who came to my concert at Beach City, and from then onward, I felt like it was destiny. I even wrote a song about it!" He then walked to his van to search for his guitar, and began to play. "Do you believe in destiny? Close your eyes and leave the rest to-"

"I'm sorry, we have no time for a song." Greg's interviewer cut him off. "Could you please continue, sir?"

"Sorry if I was any trouble." Greg apologized, putting away his guitar. "The Gems didn't have a very high opinion of me when we first met, especially Pearl, but we were still able to get along with each other. Amethyst in particular took a liking to me."

"Speaking of which, are the Gems in town today, or are they off on some magical mission or something?" Black Rutile asked Greg.

"Oh, they kinda retired from going on missions now that everything's at peace." Greg answered. "But, Steven's still at home over there." He then pointed over to the Crystal Temple not too far away from Beach City itself.

"Yes, pay-dirt!" Black Rutile grinned eagerly. "Come along Topaz, we shall hit ratings dynamite!"

"Coming!" White Topaz cried as she raced after her master. "Hey, maybe we can chat with some of the people here along the way! They might give us some good info!"

--

"It was kinda thanks to Steven that I died and came back to life." Lars admitted to Black Rutile. "But also thanks to him, I came back as a completely new man with my own awesome spaceship, a serious attitude adjustment, and ever since I came back to Earth, I've taken up some combat training in case I ever go back to space and fight new threats, like I learned musti-yuddha from Connie's dad for example!"

--

"Lars's disappearance got me kind of depressed for a while." Sadie said while her band prepared for practice. "But I found a new way of expressing it with horror-themed rock music!"

"We had trouble finding our sound before Sadie became our frontman." Buck Dewey stated.

"And since then, we became an overnight hit!" Jenny Pizza exclaimed.

"But I have a feeling our differing paths might cause a break-up." Sour Cream admitted.

--

"Steven had good intentions when he helped me run for re-election," ex-Mayor Dewey said. "but ultimately I lost. But hey, I did find a new calling at the Big Donut!"

--

"I was having stress dreams about my sister making me do her work, which took the form of a giant pizza monster, until Steven used his crazy dream powers to help me out." Kiki Pizza said.

--

"I'll admit, I had a crush on Garnet once upon a time." Jamie declared. "But really, can you blame me?! She was just so stoic and radiant and-"

"Get to the point!" Black Rutile sternly ordered.

"I'm sorry, got a little distracted." Jamie apologized. "But I had since moved onto better things, like my future career in the theater!"

--

"Okay, that should be all." Black Rutile sighed in exhaustion. "Now then, let's not waste any more ti-"

"Wait, I want to talk to you!" Ronaldo cried out as he raced to the Gems with a notebook in hand.

"What do you want?" the reporter grumbled. "We're wasting daylight here!"

"You've been going around asking people questions about Gems, but this time I want to ask you for a change." Ronaldo declared.

"Okay then, fire away little guy." White Topaz said with a smile.

"There are still tons of unanswered questions about your kind that I must inquire about!" Ronaldo said while flipping through his notebook. "Like, for example, do you know who created the Gems in the first place? How was Homeworld first colonized? When did they start colonizing other planets?"

"I don't believe we have time for your questions." Black Rutile snidely shut Ronaldo's questions down before making her way to the Crystal Temple. "Come Topaz, we have work to do."

"Yes, my Rutile!" White Topaz obeyed and followed behind, leaving Ronaldo in the dust.

"You can run, but I will get my answers!" Ronaldo declared loudly, but he was too late. "And they're gone."

--

"Okay, Topaz, we have to make a good first impression here, so no silly games or shadow puppet shows." Black Rutile commanded as they ascended the beach house's front steps and reached the front door.

"Aw man." White Topaz moaned in disappointment.

"Quit being such a child you moron." Black Rutile exhaled in disgust as she knocked on the door. "Hello, is anyone home?"

"Just a minute!" a voice the two Gems were eager to hear answered as its owner raced downstairs.

"Oh my stars, the moment has come; he's finally here!" White Topaz squealed happily before she received a slap to the face.

"Hello, what brings you here?" Steven greeted Black Rutile.

"Steven Universe, at long last!" BR exclaimed. "I'm Black Rutile, host of Eye on Era 3, and this is my camera-Gem/bodyguard White Topaz! We're here for an investigative report on the state of Earth in this new era, and have been interviewing many of your family and friends."

"You're a bit shorter than I expected." White Topaz commented.

"I see my reputation precedes me." Steven declared. "Come on in."

"Nice place you got here." White Topaz complimented the house as she and her boss were shown inside.

"Thanks, the Gems helped build this place." Steven accepted the compliment. "Hey, I got a question. I've met a Topaz and a Rutile before, but they sound nothing like you. Why is that?"

"We're just special Gems. Comes with being former members of White Diamond's court." Black Rutile answered while sitting down on the couch. "But enough about us, let's talk you! Could you give us a little life story first?"

"If you want." Steven answered while sitting across from the Rutile. "I remember first discovering my powers like it was yesterday. I was super bummed that my favorite brand of ice cream was discontinued, but then the Gems told me they got tons of it from other stores, and taking a bite out of one coincided with me summoning my shield for the first time, which led me to believe I could do so by eating Cookie Cat."

"Hahaha, oh the innocence of youth!" Black Rutile chuckled nostalgically. "I remember when I first emerged for White Diamond. A real young hotshot, a little arrogant even. Could you tell us more about these powers, kid?"

"Over time, I learned tons of Gem powers." Steven regaled. "Like shapeshifting, control over plant life, making bubbles, telepathy, sticking my mind in others' bodies, but fusion gave me tons of new abilities. This reminds me of a story."

"Ooh, shadow time!" White Topaz exclaimed, but her happiness was immediately put to rest.

"What did I tell you?! No shadows!" Black Rutile yelled strictly at her sidekick, and then immediately changed her mood. "Please continue."

"All right." Steven was a little taken aback by Black Rutile's cold behavior towards White Topaz before he began his story. "Anyways, it all started when I had to take care of Onion for the day, and Pearl helped out."

--

"Thank you Explorer Gal for saving us from that dastardly Bandit Guy!" Rainbow Quartz 2.0 said, taking the role of one of Onion's toys. Onion was playing with Explorer Gal, who thanked the other toy in Onion's unintelligible matter.

"For your heroic efforts, please accept money." Rainbow continued while handing Onion a dollar bill. "Our city was a mess before you came along, but now…." Rainbow then began to break character as they took notice of Onion's messy room. "Well, I suppose it's still a mess." They commented. "It's been so much fun playing, but now we have to clean, which is also fun!" they declared while making a rainbow with their hands. "Are you ready to tidy up?"

Onion stared blankly while slowly sticking a piece of broccoli out of his mouth.

"Oh Onion, don't you be that way." Rainbow 2.0 chuckled. "Your best friend Rainbow will help you tidy up!" Just then, they pulled a parasol out of Pearl's gem. "Let's make things a little more animated in here!"

With that, Rainbow made Onion's toys come to life, and they began marching to their proper places in his room while Rainbow started a song. "Stick by stick, the little blackbird makes a nest." They began singing while making Onion's clothes fly into his dresser. "A mess to some, but the little blackbird isn't stressed."

Rainbow then allowed Onion to give the umbrella a try, making one of the boy's toy cars come to life and race away. "Stick by stick, the little blackbird makes a nest." The fusion continued while Onion marveled at the parasol's powers. "And then he naps, cause even blackbirds need to rest. The fun won't stop if you have a friend around. The fun won't stop if you have a friend around."

As Rainbow began to finish the song, Onion kept playing with the umbrella, making more of his toys come alive, along with a Venus flytrap. "And when you laugh, it is my favorite sound." Onion then discovered some darts in his drawer, and used the parasol to make them fly. "And that's what life is all about."

"What the?!" Rainbow stuttered before dodging the darts, making them land on a dartboard. With that, they finally decided to take their weapon back from Onion while noticing a stack of dirty dishes. "Next time, please wash your dishes." They instructed before sending the dishes off to be cleaned, and then taking notice of a stuffed toy in Steven's image hidden near Onion's bed, eerily waving to them. "And could you please explain what this is?"

Onion didn't answer, aside from blowing Rainbow a few kisses.

"Alright, thank you for the kisses." Rainbow thanked Onion before Steven's phone began to ring. "Just give me five or so minutes."

Rainbow un-fused into Steven and Pearl, and Steven answered his phone. Garnet was on the other end, holding her cellphone extremely close to her face. "Steven, you're late." Garnet said. "I need you for the Sunstone Safety Geminar."

"Oh no, that was today?!" Steven began panicking. "But Rainbow Quartz promised to hang out with Onion today!"

"Don't worry; I'll handle the Geminar." Garnet stated confidently. "I'll explain every possible future where they could get hurt around the house."

"I don't know if that'll be a good idea, I'll be right there." Steven responded before hanging up and turning to Pearl. "Pearl, I'll be back as soon as I can." He promised. "Could you watch over Onion for me while I'm away?"

"Of course." Pearl agreed. "Onion loves Rainbow, I'm sure he'll love me as much."

--

"In hindsight, that wasn't my best idea." Steven took a break from his tale to confess. "Onion can be a real handful."

"Like, how much of a handful?" White Topaz asked.

"Let's just say, he's a real oddball who loves causing trouble." Steven stated. "I can never really get a read on that guy, no matter how much of a good friend he is. Heck, he doesn't even seem to age normally!"

"So, about this Geminar." Black Rutile began. "You said Rainbow Quartz is a fusion between you and Pearl, but who is this Sunstone running that event?"

"Oh, Sunstone is the fusion of Garnet and I." Steven answered. "They're all hip and radical and like giving important life lessons, kind of like those old PSA characters from the 90s. Speaking of which…"

--

"I slip on the stairs?" Ocean Jasper wondered while watching a television screen with Garnet, the Heaven & Earth Beetles, and a Nephrite.

"Indeed, and you shatter on impact too." Garnet bluntly replied, causing Ocean and the Nephrite to scream and hug each other in fright.

"Garnet, I'm here!" Steven called as he entered the house.

"Thanks for coming, Steven, but I need help." Garnet stated. "I think I'm scaring our guests."

"It's okay; we got this." Steven assured. "Let's get this safety Geminar started with a very special guest!"

Garnet got up from the couch, and the two began to dance, eventually forming the totally cool fusion Sunstone.

"Your rockin' pal Sunstone's here to shine!" Sunstone announced merrily.

"Watch out Sunstone, it's dangerous here!" Ocean Jasper cautioned Sunstone.

"Not unless you guys practice home safety." Sunstone assured the scared Gems. "Don't slip up. Clear objects off the stairs." They instructed by taking a water bottle off the steps to Steven's bedroom and throwing it like a ball. "Foul shot!"

The bottle landed in a trash can near Lion, which prompted another tip. "Be sure to cover up your trash, or else you'll attract bugs or hungry animals." Sunstone demonstrated as they shooed Lion away from the garbage. "Come on, let's go!" they declared. "Don't waste water. Turn off any faucet still running." Sunstone then shut off the sink. "Put protective covers over your electrical outlets, especially when kids are around." They added while doing just that. "And don't even think about sticking a fork in there! But most importantly, turn off motion smoothing on the TV."

Sunstone then used the remote to operate the television, allowing clearer picture and sound for everyone. "Okay, hold tight gang, gotta take a phone call." They said. "In the meantime, check out this commercial."

--

"Well, seems like you had things handled." White Topaz remarked.

"Famous last words White Topaz." Steven gravely informed. "Pearl later called me on my phone because Onion was giving her a serious headache, so I came back to her to calm Onion down. Then Garnet was trying to do a home safety obstacle course, but that went horribly wrong."

"Okay, color me wrong." The Topaz guard said. "I suppose hilarity must've ensued?"

"Oh so much." Steven declared. "I tried merging both the Geminar with playing with Onion, but one thing led to another."

--

"It's important to keep in mind that all of these horrible things did happen to you in alternate timelines." Garnet instructed her seminar attendees near the lighthouse. "Safety rules."

"Hey, Garnet." An exhausted Rainbow 2.0 called for their fellow fusion as they flew in via umbrella, with Onion in front. "Would you mind taking on another student?" they asked as Onion was let off the umbrella. "I'm feeling a mite PLPBBT."

With one last raspberry noise, Rainbow un-fused into Steven and Pearl. Steven just groaned tiredly.

"You shouldn't have brought him here Steven." Garnet forebodingly scolded the boy as Onion took a seat in front of her with the Gems.

"No, no, it's fine. It's good." Steven stuttered, having had enough of the stressful day he had. "No one needs safety training more than Onion! I'm combining all of my responsibilities into one responsibility! It's brilliant, it's brilliant! It's fine. I'm fine. Really, it's fine. I'm fine. I'm fine."

Onion wasn't paying attention the whole time, and instead picked up a blade of grass to play like a musical instrument, hypnotically commanding the other Gems to follow him. And Steven was too busy assuring Garnet and Pearl that he was fine to notice too late what had just happened.

A madcap chase soon ensued, with the three Crystal Gems following Onion and the Little Homeschoolers throughout Beach City, into the woods, and finally to a hill, where Onion let go of the leaf. Despite that, Ocean Jasper, the Beetles, and the Nephrite continued marching to the point of falling over the edge.

"Oh no!" Pearl cried as the Gems fell off the hill.

"Steven, we need Sunstone to save them!" Garnet urged Steven.

"Okay!" Steven yelped, and they fused into Sunstone.

"No, we need Rainbow to save them!" Pearl began arguing with her de-facto superior as she swiped Steven away to form Rainbow Quartz.

"I'll catch them with this!" Rainbow declared as they presented their umbrella.

"Can't all three of us fuse to save them?" Garnet wondered just as Amethyst raced up to them.

"Hey wait!" Amethyst cried. "I need Steven!"

Rainbow un-fused so Steven could speak. "What is it Amethyst?!"

"I miss you, man!" Amethyst yelled. "I haven't seen you in like, eleven minutes! But it felt like even longer!"

Steven couldn't take it anymore, and without a single word, he collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

"STEVEN!" Pearl screamed as she raced to Steven's side.

"I shouldn't have overbooked my schedule." Steven groaned one last time before passing out from exhaustion.

"Nooooooooo." Garnet unemotionally cried out in despair.

--

"Oh-hohohohoho, I know what it's like!" Black Rutile cackled as Steven finished his story. "Must be so hard to be so overworked at such a young age."

"Guess that's what happens when you're running a whole school." Steven chuckled in reply. "So, guess that should be it, right?"

"No, I'd like to speak with Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl first before we wrap up for today." Black Rutile answered, just as the Warp pad began glowing. "Oh, and look who should show up now!"

The core Crystal Gems stood at the Warp Pad, ready to kick back after the long day they had today. "Good thing it was so easy to get that crowd under control." Pearl exhaled. "Still, who was that interviewer they were talking about?"

"I believe that would be me." Black Rutile answered as she stood up from the couch to meet the Gems. "Hi, Black Rutile, intelligence officer of White Diamond turned news reporter. Pleased to meet you."

"I wasn't aware White had a court." Garnet said as the Rutile shook each of their hands. "Pleased to meet you too."

"I just got done interviewing Steven, and he told me the most hilarious story about his troubles with balancing two things at once." Black Rutile said.

"Yeah, things went kinda crazy that day." Amethyst reminisced. "But thankfully, everything went back to normal after that."

"Oh good, the way Steven ended things left me on the edge of my seat!" White Topaz exclaimed while positioning the camera to face the Gems. "One more question before we go, what would you say are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?"

"A little oddly specific, but okay." Pearl remarked. "I pride myself on orderliness, swordsmanship, and intelligence. But I can be a bit doting and perfectionist at times."

"I can be kinda foolish and impulsive, but I'm pretty much past that." Amethyst added. "I'm also more street smart than book smart, and super tough too!"

"I'm a very stable fusion, which especially helps in battle." Garnet said. "My future vision is also seldom wrong, unless the current timeline becomes too unpredictable."

"Well, that should be enough for now." Black Rutile said as she entered all of her data into her visor. "Apologies if we couldn't talk anymore, but I've got places to be and missions to go on, so toodles!"

"Hope we can see each other again, Black Rutile!" Steven said goodbye as the two visiting Gems took the Warp Pad back to Little Homeworld.

"Maybe sooner than you think." Black Rutile smirked before they disappeared.

"She's right, we'll be seeing her again many times." Garnet predicted with an adjustment of her glasses. "But none of them will be friendly."

Steven, Amethyst, and Pearl just laughed at Garnet's prediction, ignorant at what could be to come.

--

Upon returning to Little Homeworld and boarding their ship, Black Rutile and White Topaz finally left Earth and launched into hyperspace.

"Wow, those Crystal Gems really are swell!" White Topaz commented while her superior sat down in her chair. "I don't see why we're plotting against them."

"It's because they've become far too powerful." Black Rutile answered gravely, a far cry from the persona she put up on Earth. "Does Steven really think he can change our entire society with just hugging, crying, singing, and a cheeky one-liner? Bah, I've done so much better without any of those!"

"My Rutile, we should be exiting hyperspace above Revanche 666 in approximately 15 seconds." One of the Rutile's Citrines confirmed. "Would you like to inform your allies of your coming?"

"Bring Emerald up." Black Rutile commanded, cuing a video screen to appear, showing the tall, green Gem pilot on the other side. "Hello there, Emerald."

"Your clarity, has your reconnaissance ended well?" Emerald asked with a bow.

"Indeed it has." Black Rutile answered with a grin. "Those clods never suspected a thing!"

"And we got it all on video too!" White Topaz added.

"Excellent, we'll soon have everything we need." Emerald declared. "We're all waiting for you at the base, hoping you won't disappoint."

"Oh, don't worry, Emerald, I won't." Black Rutile replied. "That will be all." With a clap, the screen disappeared, and the ship exited hyperspace to reveal the skull-like planet of Revanche 666 before them. "Prepare for landing."

--

When the dropship finally landed at Black Rutile's headquarters, two rows of Pearls patiently awaited their master's return.

"Ah, my Pearls." Black Rutile announced as she disembarked. "When I ordered Shell to create all of you, I knew it wouldn't disappoint."

"Thank you, my Rutile." The Pearls thanked in unison while one of them took the camera from White Topaz. "Your minions await."

"Perfect." Black Rutile purred before beginning her stroll to her meeting room. "Come Topaz, we have much to do."

--

"Geez, what's taking her so long?" Lapis Lazuli 1J9G-5KL complained as she, Holly Blue Agate, Morganite, Emerald, Aquamarine, and Eyeball kept on waiting for their boss while seated around a round, white table.

"Patience Lapis." Aquamarine soothed her fellow Gem's annoyance. "She did say that she'd be arriving soon."

"The sooner, the better!" Eyeball yelled, pounding her fist on the table. "I want revenge on Steven for making me a pariah, and I want it now!"

"You're awfully eager." Emerald muttered to her fellow eye Gem before turning to Holly Blue and Morganite. "So, how goes that Zircon's democratic campaign?"

"That navel gem Ruby we planted as her campaign manager has been feeding her lies, and the Zircon doesn't suspect a thing!" Holly Blue answered excitedly.

"More and more Gems have been unknowingly swayed to our cause." Morganite stated. "Soon, we shall have an army strong enough to topple even the Diamonds."

Just then, Black Rutile and White Topaz finally arrived in the meeting room, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and salute her. "Welcome, your clarity."

"You're all too kind." Black Rutile thanked them sarcastically as she took a seat between Aquamarine and White Topaz. "I suspect your missions have been going well too, no?"

"Indeed it has my Rutile." Holly Blue revealed.

"That brat has been controlling us all for too long." Aquamarine declared. "Now it's time we take back our planet from those tyrannical pacifists."

"Are you all sure this is a good idea?" White Topaz asked the other Era 3 insurgents. "I mean, the Crystal Gems have become far too powerful to be challenged, and the Diamonds will no doubt come for our gems if they find out!"

"The Diamonds are yesterday's news!" Black Rutile roared, forcing her Topaz into silence. "And speaking of which, Steven may not realize this, but he's no better than his brat of a mother! Thinking he can force all of Homeworld to obey him by being a controlling twerp! Thankfully, he doesn't do so by throwing tantrums left and right until the Diamonds do what he says to shut him up. For now at least."

A Black Pearl entered the meeting room with White Topaz's camera in her hands, and she set it down on the table.

"Thank you my Pearl." Black Rutile thanked the Pearl before turning it on to reveal all the information that she collected on Earth.

"Is this all we need to know about the Gems in time for Phase 2?" Morganite asked her black-colored superior.

"You bet it is." Black Rutile declared with a sociopathic grin as she gazed at one of the holograms of Steven and plucked it out to hold in her hands. "You can have your happily ever after as much as you like, Steven." She declared evilly. "Cause your little Universe will soon be mine."

END OF PART 1: LITTLE HOMESCHOOL

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 2: GRADUATION

--

At last, Part 1 is finally complete! And here, unfortunately, is where I must go on hiatus. Second semester of college and all that, and I think my classes might be harder than last semester. But hopefully, this cliffhanger should tide you over until we come back. Anyways, Black Rutile is finally upon us! A character that I think I'll have fun writing since I consider her to be like the Lex Luthor to Steven's Superman, the Frieza to his Goku, the Megatron to his Optimus Prime, the Aku to his Samurai Jack, etc etc. In other words, Steven's got a new archenemy coming and he doesn't even know it yet. Stay tuned! (evil laughter)

[animezing-fandoms]

The Baby Race Chapter 5: Gray and Juvia’s Wedding

Masterlist

Warnings: Some implied smut. 

Relationships: Gruvia, Nalu, Gajevy, Jerza.

Summary: It’s Gray and Juvia’s Wedding Day! And it’s full of love and other surprises too! 

A/N: I'm sorry this was so late! I got caught up doing other stuff and forgot about this series for three months! But I'm hoping this chapter will be good enough to make up for it's lateness!

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

Natsu groans as sunlight hits his face in the morning. He felt something was off and he turned on his side and noticed that Lucy was missing. He got up out of bed, wearing nothing but his black boxer briefs and made his way downstairs to find Lucy cooking in the kitchen. Her hair was up in a bun and she was wearing one of his short sleeve t-shirts. Natsu quietly came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She tenses a bit in surprise, but she quickly remembers that it's him and calms down, relaxing in his hold and leaning against his bare chest.

"Good morning Lucy." He mumbles into her hair.

"Good morning Natsu." Lucy replies softly. "Did the smell of breakfast wake you up?"

"Actually it wasn't the smell of food but the absence of yours that woke me up." Natsu says.

Lucy blushes before Natsu looks over her shoulder to see what she's making.

"So why are you making pancakes so early in the morning?" Natsu asks.

"Because today is a big day remember?" Lucy reminds him.

"It is?" Natsu asks. "I don't remember having anything big planned for us today."

Lucy giggles from Natsu's ignorance.

"You were at Gray's bachelor party last night you big dummy! You should know what's going on today!" Lucy cheerfully reminds him.

Natsu looks stumped for a minute but then his face lights up when he remembers.

"Oh! It's Gray and Juvia's wedding today!" Natsu exclaims.

"Yep! And since I have some extra cash now that I don't have to pay rent anymore, I can spend as much as I want on food for the three of us." Lucy explains.

Natsu gasps softly and he gets a serious look on his face. He ran his hands along Lucy's lower-belly.

"Three of us?" He asks.

"Yeah..." Lucy says, confused by his tone and she looks over his shoulder to look at his face. "You, me, and Happy." She clarifies.

"Oh!" Natsu says and scratches the back of his head. "Right. I forgot about him for a second."

Lucy arches an eyebrow and returns to flipping the pancakes.

"I hope you can pull your head out of the clouds soon. Right after breakfast we need to go help Gray and Juvia get ready." Lucy reminds him.

"If I pull my head out of the clouds can I put it in-between your legs?" Natsu asks.

Lucy gasps and almost drops her spatula from Natsu's dirty comment.

"Natsu!" She exclaims and gasps when she feels Natsu's hands against her skin under her shirt.

"N-Natsu, w-we don't...have time." She breathlessly protests as Natu's hands started to get grabby.

"I can make it quick." He mumbles against her neck where he left her tender kisses.

"But then we'll burn breakfast." Lucy giggles.

"I can still eat it if it's burnt." Natsu reminds her.

Lucy was about to protest but then his mouth found that sensitive spot on her neck and she caved.

"Fine. You win you lustful animal, now make it quick." She moans.

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

After the little escapade that morning Lucy was in her blue bridesmaid gown with the other Fairy Tail ladies helping Juvia get ready for the ceremony.

Erza, the maid of honor, took her role seriously and made sure that everything was perfect down to the last detail. That's why Juvia picked Erza for this role, she wanted this day that she's been dreaming of since she met Gray to be perfect and Erza would definitely make sure of that. While Juvia stood on the fitting stage in her wedding gown, Erza was checking every flower pot in the room and making sure Juvia's dress was free of any tears or blemishes.

Juvia stood on the fitting stage in a long, white, strapless gown with matching white sleeves that went up to her mid-upper arm, lining up with edge of the bodice that pushed up her already ample bosom a bit more, making her cleavage more defined than it already was. The bodice was patterned with sparkling snowflakes that framed the edges of it as well before the pattern turned into raindrops that ran along the length of the skirt. The sleeves were decorated in the same pattern, snowflakes bleeding into raindrops. And to tie it altogether, Juvia wore a tiara with raindrop-shaped gems in it and Levy held a veil that had sparkling snowflakes as well.

"Levy, I've diverted some of your tasks for the wedding today for Lucy." Erza informs her. "You're due to have the twins any day now and I wouldn't want you doing anything strenuous that could trigger your labor."

"Don't worry Erza. When these two birds are ready to leave the nest I'll definitely know." Levy assures her before going up onto the fitting stage to give Juvia her veil.

"You know, Juvia I was worried that as today got closer and closer that you'd get more stressed and nervous but instead it seems like the opposite has happened. It's like you've been glowing brighter and brighter these past few weeks." Levy comments as she places the veil on Juvia's head.

"Yes, Juvia has felt different lately." She says and smiles at the ground in thought.

"Do you think Gray-sama will find Juvia pretty?" Juvia asks.

"Do you even have to ask Juvia?" Cana slurs before taking another long swig of alcohol from her flask.

The other bridesmaids frowned. They were certain that they had taken Cana's flask away from her before coming into the dressing room.

"Look at you girl! You're gorgeous! If anything Gray's gonna get a huge boner as soon as he sees you! In fact, all of the guys at the ceremony probably will too! Even the Priest!" Cana jokes.

"Oh no!" Juvia exclaims. "Juvia does not want Gray-sama getting an erection for her in front of the whole guild!"

"I mean it's not like he hasn't already-" Cana starts before the other girls shush her.

"Juvia you're just nervous about the ceremony and that anxiety is putting crazy thoughts in your head." Lucy says. "Don't worry about a thing. Gray's going to think you're beautiful and the ceremony's going to go off without a hitch I promise!"

"Well then if you're sure nothing can go wrong, then Juvia is ready to become Gray-sama's wife!" Juvia declares.

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

Inside the sanctuary, all of the Fairy Tail guild members were seated in their assigned rows and Gray and his groomsmen stood at the altar with the priest. Juvia would be coming through those big double doors any minute now and Gray was nervous as hell. The sound of his foot tapping against the marble floor echoed throughout the walls and it was starting to piss Natsu off.

"Hey will you quit it with the tap dancing already ice princess? It's really starting to get on my nerves!" Natsu scolds him.

"Get on your nerves? How do you think my nerves feel? I'm about to bare my soul to the woman I love in front of all of our friends and family! So forgive me for being a little tense!" Gray barks back.

"Really? That's what scares ya? I thought you'd be more worried about stripping in front of everyone by accident." Natsu teases.

"I would be if you didn't take care of that problem for me." Gray reminds them. "How did you do that by the way?"

"I lined the inside of your tux with double sided tape." Happy says and holds up a roll as he floats overhead. "There's no way you'll be able to take it off now that it's stuck to your skin!"

"Well yeah that's helpful for now but how am I supposed to take it off for my wedding night?" Gray asks and Happy sulks.

"Whoops. Natsu and I didn't think of that." Happy says sheepishly.

"You imbeciles!" Gray scolds them.

"That's enough you two." Lyon says. "The bride will be coming any minute, and I doubt she'll want to walk down the aisle to the sound of you two arguing."

"What the hell are you even doing here anyway Lyon?" Natsu asks. "Did you come here for one last chance to steal Juvia away from Gray?"

"Oh I wouldn't dream of it." Lyon says. "That would be horribly rude to my dear friend Gray, especially since I am his best man."

Natsu scoffs.

"You ain't the best man here! I could take you down in three punches right now if I wasn't so terrified of what Erza said she would do to me if I wrecked this place before the wedding." Natsu says and shivers.

"Natsu that's not what it means." Gray says. "The best man is a role the groom assigns someone for their wedding. The best man is the one who gives a speech about the groom at the reception and he organizes the bachelor party and helps me out in any other way I need it."

"Ew that sounds like a lot of work all for nothing." Natsu complains.

"It's not all for nothing. Marriage is a very important and special milestone for a couple. This ceremony represents Gray and Juvia's undying love for each other, and how they are pledging themselves to each other for life in front of all of their friends and family, so that we can all celebrate in the joy that is true love together. Once this ceremony commences you'll see that for yourself." Lyon explains.

Natsu frowns in thought before the organ starts playing and everyone stands and faces the large double doors that were opening.

Wendy enters first, wearing her cute blue flower girl dress, and she tosses rose petals down the aisle as she makes her way towards the alter.

Then the bridesmaids enter and Natsu, Gajeel and Jellal blush when they see how pretty their girls look in their bridesmaid dresses.

But the gasp of awe was audible when Juvia enters through the doors. Everyone was taken aback in awe of how beautiful she looked. Gray was frozen where he stood, unable to take his eyes off of her as Gajeel took her hand and walked her down the aisle.

Originally it was supposed to be Makarov who would hand Juvia off to Gray. But Juvia requested that it be Gajeel instead since she's known him the longest out of anyone in Fairy Tail and he was like a big brother to her.

When Juvia finally reaches the alter, Gray's hand was shaking as he held it out for Gajeel to place Juvia's into. He couldn't believe how radiantly beautiful she looked right now. She was like an ice goddess, and she was about to become his wife.

"If you hurt her, I'll kill you." Gajeel sneers.

All Gray could do was gulp and nod as Gajeel gave him his blessing and places Juvia's hand in his and Gray brings her up to the alter to stand beside him, the whole time unable to take his eyes off of her.

"Beautiful..." he whispers to her as the Priest begins the ceremony.

After what felt like an eternity they reached the end of the ceremony. Now it was time for the vows. Juvia volunteered to go first.

"Gray-sama, before Juvia met you her world was a never ending storm. There was literally a raincloud over her head everywhere she went. Juvia always longed to find love one day, but no man she ever met had the power to love the rain. As time went on, she feared that nothing could ever chase the clouds away. But then everything changed the minute Juvia met you darling. It was love at first sight and from that moment Juvia knew that you were different. Juvia knew that if anyone was meant to be her soulmate, it was you. And sure enough, you were the one that chased the clouds away and let Juvia see the sun. All these years Juvia has known you have been the happiest of Juvia's life. Even if at first you ignored her, Juvia was still happy just being by your side. Juvia could have gone her whole life without you ever loving her back and she would have been happy, but then one day, you did and Juvia did not know she could feel even happier than she already did but she does. This is better than any romantic fantasy Juvia has ever thought of because this moment is real for both Juvia and Gray-sama. Juvia has been devotedly in love with her Gray-sama since the moment she met him and she will stay by his side forever as his wife."

Gray was tearing up during her speech as was everyone else in the guild. Gray wipes away his tears before continuing with his own vows.

"I know that I used to be pretty cold to you, and I mean hey, I am an ice wizard, that's to be expected."

That earned a laugh from the crowd.

"After I lost my master I encased my heart in ice, I was worried that if I let anyone get too close I'd get hurt again when they left. So when you attached yourself to me after we first met it scared me. I didn't want to get attached to anyone or let anyone get attached to me, because I always thought I'd sacrifice myself for the guild someday, and I didn't want you to get hurt. But then time went on, we went through a lot and then the relentless stream of your love finally cracked the ice around my heart. I realized your love gave me a reason to want to live. When I look at you I see the future Juvia. I want to spend the rest of my life with you at my side, and I swear I'll love you until the day I die and even beyond that. You have my word Juvia, not just as a wizard of Fairy Tail but as your husband who loves you more than anything in the world."

Now everyone in the guild was full on sniffling and some were crying. They'd never heard Gray say something so emotional before, and they were all feeling the effects of it.

Juvia's bottom lip was trembling before she burst out crying tears of joy and threw her arms around Gray and hugged him tight. But because she was a water wizard, the sanctuary was starting to flood.

"Hey Gray get a handle on your wife before she drowns us all!" Droy exclaims from the pews.

"Hey she's not my wife yet!" Gray reminds him.

"No, but she will be now." The Priest says.

"Juvia Loxar, do you take Gray Fullbuster to be your husband?"

"Yes! She does!" Juvia exclaims without hesitation.

"And Gray Fullbuster do you take Juvia Loxar to be your wife?"

"I do!" Gray declares while looking into her tear-soaked eyes.

"Then I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride!" The Priest announces.

Juvia and Gray's mouths met the second he finished that sentence. Gray held her in his arms and they kissed each other deeply as their guildmates cheered around them and the church bells rang.

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

As if it was a sign from the universe blessing Gray and Juvia's union, it snowed during the reception. The cold didn't bother Gray and Juvia since they were both fairly used to it by now. But everyone else felt a little bit chilly so Natsu went around and made some campfires for people to gather around to keep warm. But he made sure that Lucy was extra warm by draping his jacket over her shoulders and lending her his scarf while she waited in the crowd of other bridesmaids to catch the bouquet that Juvia was about to throw. To Erza's delight, she was the one to catch it, and Jellal's face was bright red as she looked back at him with a look of pure joy on her face. He loved how adorable she looked when she was happy.

Lucy was partially disappointed that she wasn't the one to catch the bouquet. But knowing Natsu, it was probably going to be a long time before the thought of marriage crossed his mind. Or so she thought.

"Hey Lucy." Natsu says, catching her attention. "Have you ever thought about getting married?"

Lucy gasps and looks at him with wide eyes.

"Uh...why are you asking?" Lucy replies softly.

"I dunno really." Natsu says and shrugs. "I guess it's because this is the first wedding I've ever seen before, and seeing Gray and Juvia up there today exchanging rings and vows to each other made me wonder if that's something that's important to a relationship."

"Well, if you grew up the way I did then yeah it is. But when I was growing up, marriage was less about love and more about money. Sure when I was little I had dreams of falling in love with a handsome Prince Charming who would sweep me off of my feet and marry me. But, those days and that life are behind me now. Stuff like that doesn't matter to me as much anymore. Maybe because instead of ending up with the Prince, I ended up with the dragon." Lucy giggles.

Natsu smirks then looks at Lucy lovingly as she perks up and begins writing something down on a napkin, claiming that she just got some inspiration for a new story.

Then Lyon clinks his glass and everyone quickly raises theirs to toast to the new Mr. and Mrs. Fullbuster.

To Gray's surprise Juvia raised her glass of water to the toast instead of her champagne fluke.

"You avoiding the alcohol tonight so you don't get drunk and strip in front of everyone?" Gray asks.

"No. Although that is part of the reason." Juvia admits. "Juvia is not drinking because Porlyusica said that would be unwise for someone in my condition."

"What?" Gray asks, worry creeping onto his face. "Juvia are you sick?"

"No. Juvia is in perfect health, and so is the baby inside of her..." She says and blushes while holding her hand over her womb.

"You're pregnant!" Gray exclaims.

Everyone in the guild gasped, hearing Gray's outburst and turning towards the couple.

"Yes, Juvia has Gray-sama's baby inside of her." She repeats.

"Juvia don't say it like that it's just as much yours as it is mine..." Gray says softly and places his hand over her womb and she places hers over his.

"Just when I thought I couldn't get any happier tonight." He says before kissing her deeply while everyone congratulates him and Juvia on starting their family.

"Ugh! Finally!" Natsu exclaims and lays down on the table. "I've been smelling that bun in Juvia's oven for weeks! It's been killing me not to say anything to ice princess!"

"Hey uh, while we're on the topic of babies!" Levy shouts. "I think this would be a good time to let everyone know that mine are coming! Now. My water just broke!"

And then there was another collective gasp as everyone saw the puddle under Levy's chair.

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

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed! Please comment if you liked this!

[pixelatedrose]

ahh ro!! i was sleeping when you posted your ranboo art and i didn’t see the notification when i woke up im so sorry he looks sO amazing!!! i just scrolled down on your blog to see if i missed anything and i nearly fell off my chair- i’ve been staring at him for the past five minutes now. okay okay okay, i don’t even know where to start, his tail! it looks so cool :O !! i really like that you alternating between black and white instead of just having it all one color, and the bit at the end looks sick! and his crown is so heckin’ fancy!!! i love twisty part and the little chain looking bits crossing between it, it’s so dramatic and i absolutely adore it :D oh! i really like the colors on his boots (the light blue to dark blue is such a nice touch) and his cloak (and the sparkly piece in the middle! anD the little green gems on the connecting bit and his earring like techno had, and i think phil did too). and finally, his face, wOw. i love his eyes and his hair and his freckles (are they freckles? they look like sparkly freckles) and the way the black and white collide on his face- he just looks so wonderful!! i understand why you haven’t drawn in a week now, he looks stunning! i hope you get the recognition you deserve because he looks so great and you should be really really proud of yourself :) you are so talented !!! i hope you’ve been well and you have a lovely day- oh god tubbo’s gone live. thank you for making me smile one more time before i’m sentenced to a life of tears, good luck with everything that’s going on today. love you, big man 💛 !!

Thank you so so much for the kind words as always Anon!! And yeah, i wanted to do close ups on both the cloak and gloves (since the gloves are actually special gloves but you can't tell cause i don't draw fucking hands) but i was so tired out with slaving over the details of the first two drawings i just,,,,,,couldn't.

I'm not 100% satisfied with the face/head bc its so hard to see my expresion lines against the super dark purple and super bright white and the hair really blends in with the skin patterns :/ but yeah, you actually got it pretty spot on that i gave him sort of freckles! I will say that the green and red freckles were actually supposed to be swapped, bc i wanted to do a cool color swap with the eye color- but uh...haha...when i first colored his eyes....i swapped the colors ._. My cousin pointed it out and i freaked out so bad lol i fixed the eye colors, but i couldn't fix the freckles cause i drew all the spots and skin on the same layer to help with lag skakskak

When i colored his boots with the blue and gold it reminded me of like a constellation and so i tried to kind of emulate that with the flowy fabric on his cloak too! And i didn't do details (cause i was tired) but all the little spots and such on the cloak are supposed to be like snowflakes too!!

I'm so glad you noticed the crown!!! My design for techno's crown is sort of this crown with uniform, but still a little unpredictable spikes, but with like a lot of scattered gems and such. I wanted Ranboo's to be a lot less uniform and a lot more chaotic, less gems than Techno's but the actual shape of the crown is something that i can see Ranboo always working on and fiddling with. Like when he's stressed he goes and makes another gold chain to connect to his crown or he'll go and twist up one of the points- idk i thought it was a fun reflection of his unpredictable instability :)

Also yeah that stream was s o m e t h i n holy shit i was on the edge of my seat lol

Thank you again for the kind words, i hope you didn't cry too much, ily okay bye! 💛

[fanfoolishness]

a world for the birds (3/10)

Andy DeMayo took up birding years ago, but his favorite hobby takes on new meaning when shared with his nephew Steven.

A series of looks at Andy and Steven’s growing family relationship.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4

***

Chapter 3: hard work

It was a few months before Andy found his way back to Beach City again.  He couldn’t say why.  Sometimes, it felt good to be back in Delmarva.  Other times, it felt like a pair of boots he’d outgrown, a place where ghosts and memories didn’t exactly fit with Gems strolling the countryside and alien buildings rising up above the landscape.  

He’d never liked change.  It galled him, the older it got, knowing how much it bothered him.  How hard it was for him.  Like there was something inside him digging his heels in, resisting anything different as hard as it could.  It’d always been like that.

But then people like Greg, they could wander off and change their name, their life, everything.  Steven was living proof of that.  He missed them, and Aunt Deb and her partner, and the other cousins, scattered to the winds, but sometimes, it was still easier to be on his own.

So he spent a few months flying around the Southern Hemisphere, places he’d visited before, places he’d never heard of.  He took odd delivery jobs for food and lodging, traded for field guides of local birds, sent the occasional text message to family in the rare occasions he got service.  He sent Steven a blurry picture of a marvellous spatuletail (a lifer!), a Peruvian thick-knee, a tiny dot that he swore was a waved albatross.  He was gratified when Steven sent him a few amateur photos of northern cardinals and a nice one of a blue grosbeak.  

And then there weren’t any messages for a few weeks, and Andy got worried.

***

There was a lot more change than he’d expected.  

Gems and humans roamed the boardwalk of Beach City, performing construction on storefronts that looked like they’d been through a hurricane.  The grass on the lighthouse hill was patchy and bare in many places like it had been burned.  And all along the beach were rocks and patches of sand with filmy pink residue on them, caution tape strung up around them, and Gems working feverishly to clean the areas.

Andy had to argue with one particular Gem before they’d let him pass to the beach house, a towering black and white person with a face that reminded him of the sun.  “Sorry, it’s not safe for humans,” she said.  “It’s snow joke, it’s seriously toxic.”  She winked.

“Uh, right,” he said. “But look, Steven’s my nephew and he lives just around the bend.  I’m just in town to visit.  What the heck happened here?”

“Uncle Andy!” Steven called, hurrying up to him across the sand, carefully avoiding the roped off pink-stained areas.  “Oh, man, I’m so sorry you had to see this.  We’re working as hard as we can to clean it up.”  He closed the distance and catapulted himself into a hug with Andy.

Andy patted him on the head.  Had he grown a little more?  He looked different, a black t-shirt today instead of a blue one, shadows under his eyes.  “You okay, kid?”

“Thanks, Snowflake,” said Steven.  “I’ll keep him safe.”

“You got it,” said Snowflake, leaving them alone.  Andy watched the massive Gem walk off, shaking his head.  Maybe this was one of the former monster Gems Steven had been talking about.  She certainly looked less like a normal hippie than the rest of Steven’s family.

“So what happened?  I stopped hearing from you and your dad for a while --”

Steven rubbed the back of his neck, sighing.  “Ugh.  Everything’s been a mess.  Basically it turns out that not everyone agreed the Gem war was over.  A Gem my mom hurt came to Earth to try to destroy it.  We stopped her, mostly, but she still did a lot of damage.”

“Looks like you and your people are fixing it, though.  That’s good, right?” Andy asked uncertainly.  He listened for the sound of gulls and terns on the air, but all he heard was the breeze and the waves.  He let out a long sigh.  

Steven yawned.  He really did look exhausted, his hair mussed, his clothes rumpled.  “The Gems are taking care of the areas where there’s still detectable bio-poison, but I can’t help with that part.  It hurts me, too.  But once an area’s clean --”  He spotted a patch of bare soil beside them.  He licked his hand, then knelt and pressed it to the dirt.

“Uh, Steven --”

The bare soil sprouted over with green and olive moss, shimmering in the sunlight as it grew before his eyes.  “Once it’s clean, that’s where I come in,” said Steven, sounding both proud and tired.  He straightened up, stretching as he did so.  “I’m the only one with healing powers, so, you know, it’s a lot of work.  I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner,” he said.

Andy crossed his arms, staring at the long stretch of beach, the patchy hillside.  “You gotta do all this?”

“Yeah,” said Steven blankly.

“But it wasn’t even your fault.”

“So?”

Andy tried to figure out the words. You’re just a kid probably wouldn’t go over well.  He tried a variation.  “Don’t you got your own stuff to do?  You shouldn’t have to do all this work.  Not at your age.”

“But I’m the only one who can fix it,” said Steven, a stubborn note creeping into his voice.

“How many hours a day are you doin’ this?  Healing the earth?” Andy asked, trying to sound casual.

“Pretty much as soon as I get up until it gets dark,” said Steven.  “There’s so much to do.  All the Gems are helping with reconstruction and removing the poison, and I have to do my part, too.”

“Didn’t you say once Gems don’t even sleep?”

“What does that have to do with anything?” asked Steven defensively.  “Look, I said I would protect the Earth, and it almost got destroyed on my watch.  This is my duty as a Crystal Gem!”  He was flushed, his cheeks pink, one hand splayed over the star on his chest.

Andy opened his mouth, then closed it again.  Okay, sure, he had to believe him if the kid said he was the only one with this kind of magic, however it all worked.  But still.  It bugged him how much the kid looked like Greg right now.

Greg, who got more and more quiet during summers at the barn.  Greg, who’d been grim and resentful that last summer, constantly fighting with his parents.  Greg, who never came back.

There’d been a lot of reasons, he’d learned more recently, that Greg had left them all.  This wasn’t exactly the same.  But something about Steven’s pinched face and his narrowed eyes made him look so much like his dad, and Andy’s stomach clenched.

“Look, kid, I -- this is all over my head,” said Andy.  “Just try to be careful.  Okay?  You seem worn out.  Don’t forget you’re part of the Earth, too.”  

Steven’s face relaxed, then creased in a smile.  “I know, Uncle Andy.  Thanks.”  He sighed.  “I still have to do a lot of work today.  But my dad’s probably free if you want to hang.”

“I’ll go swing by and see if he wants to grab a bite,” said Andy.  “Maybe you can join us for dessert or something, huh?”

Steven stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets.  “Um, maybe.  But the ice cream place has been closed down after… after all this happened.”

“Oh.  Right.”

“Don’t worry about me, seriously,” said Steven.  “Your next visit, everything’s gonna be back to normal.  I promise.”  He flashed him another grin, and headed back down the beach, his shoulders hunched.

***

Andy pushed his crab cake around on his plate, watching it crumble and flake.  Good chunks of crab in there, only the barest minimum of bread needed to keep it shaped.  It was decent stuff.  Too bad he was hardly hungry.  He took another drink of his beer, a crisp lager.  

“So this crazy Gem almost blew up your town?  And the Earth?” asked Andy.

Greg took a drink of his own pint, searching for words.  “Well, to hear Steven tell it, she wasn’t crazy.  Just in a lot of pain.  He had a lot of compassion for her.  It probably saved his life.”

“Well, hell,” said Andy.  “Does this kind of thing happen often?   I mean, he really could have died, it sounds like.”

Greg nodded, letting out a long breath.  “I got hit with that poison myself.  I think it actually killed my arm.  Thank goodness for Steven’s healing powers; it’s good as new.”  He flexed his fist.  “Gem stuff’s dangerous.  It always has been.”

“But how does Steven always get mixed up in it?  I mean, you and me, we ain’t got any magic powers to protect him with, but what about his Gem family?” Andy asked.  “You can’t tell me out of all them alien ladies that none of them can fight.”

Greg chuckled, taking a bite from his stuffed blue crab.  “Oh, they can fight. But sometimes they’re just plain outmatched.  Rose’s family, the Diamonds, they’re literally over fifty feet tall. Each.”

“You’re shittin’ me.”

“Promise I’m not.  One of them picked me up like I was a toy in the palm of her hand, and kidnapped me to a human zoo in space,” said Greg, nonchalantly taking another drink.  “Steven and the Gems had to rescue me.  Good thing they did, too, since I accidentally started a riot because I wouldn’t say yes to an arranged marriage in the zoo.”

“Greg!  What the hell!”

Greg shrugged.  “I’ve seen a lot of weird shit, Andy.”

Andy laughed.  “Shoot, Greg, that’s what I always liked about you.  Always letting stuff roll right off your back.  Does anything ever bother you?”

He knew the answer, though.  Remembered Greg’s mom and dad, sweet like pie until he saw them chewing out Greg behind the barn, grinding him down with cruel calm words that weren’t even proper yelling.  He’d seen how those words stuck to Greg, a corrosive poison all its own.

He remembered it, but didn’t mention it.

Greg answered him. “What can I say?  It’s a gift.  So what’s been going on with you?”

“Oh, you know, the usual.  Flyin’ around wherever the wind takes me.  Spent some time in South America for a couple months.  Chilly this time of year south of the Equator, but that’s okay.  I like the winter weather.  It’s quiet, except when it’s fierce as hell,” said Andy.  “Sometimes I just need time to myself, you know?”

“I know,” said Greg.  He smiled, taking another drink.  “You were always like that as a kid.  We’d be playing some loud crazy game and you’d be off by yourself, grumping about how loud our made-up songs were.”

“Did not,” protested Andy.

“Nah, you did.”

“Well, so what?  Nothing wrong with alone time.”

“C’mon, like I can talk,” said Greg.  “I’m the one who ran off and changed my name, aren’t I?  Guess I really needed some alone time.”  He leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling.  “I’m really glad we reconnected, Andy.  I just wish I’d looked for you after Steven was born.  I tried writing my folks, but…. They never wrote back. I kinda assumed the rest of the family didn’t want anything to do with us, either.”

“Your folks are stuck-up snobs, though,” said Andy, taking a bite of his crab cake, some of his appetite returning.  “It always surprised me, how they had a kid like you.  Not that you were a bad kid.  Just different.  My mom and dad never really got on with them, but they always made the effort because they thought maybe you and me could be friends.”

“Heh.  Thanks, Andy.  I used to wish sometimes I could’ve had your folks for parents instead.  They were good people.  At least they would have wanted to meet their grandson.”  Greg finished his ale, gazing at the waves behind Andy.  

“Your folks are missin’ out,” said Andy.  “You got a good kid, Greg.  Though I worry about him a little.”

“What do you mean?”

“I dunno.  I mean, maybe it’s nothing,” said Andy hastily, not wanting to step on any toes.  “Like I said, he’s a good kid.  He puts up with me and my birds and all.  I think he’s even birding on his own sometimes.  How neat is that?  But I saw him at the beach today and it seems like he’s runnin’ himself ragged.”

“I know,” said Greg, leaning his elbows on the table and resting his chin in his hands.  “I’m so proud of him, Andy.  Like I said, if it wasn’t for his compassion, I think the Earth would have been toast.  He’s so kindhearted.  But on the other hand, he works so hard.  Harder than I’ve ever worked at anything, except maybe raising him.  I know he didn’t have a normal childhood, and I didn’t want him to, but… I do wonder sometimes, how does he do it?”

“How does he?”

“I don’t know,” said Greg, and they fell into a silence, the waves soft and distant in the background.

[let-it-show]

All The Love I Found in You 4/?

Got part 4 for you all! You can read part 3 HERE. Oh, things appear to be deepening, but are they any closer to an answer for their situation? Elsa is processing a lot, but Anna must be too. This part here is one of the fluffiest damn things I’ve written, lol. Please go HERE for part 5! Tag for @hellodemoiselle !

The bath lasted a long time. Anna's gentle carressing of her hair and skin felt like like a dream. She rubbed her shoulders and soaped her back, even reached around to soap her boobs with a small giggle. Elsa shook her head after with a little smile and returned the favor after. She washed her hair with skilled fingers, knowing just what made it hang best. She went over her back and chest quickly and eventually they had just sat side by side.

With no words spoken between them they still communicated with looks and light touches. Elsa had taken Anna's hand and rested it against her knee as their heads rested against each other. She turned over everything Anna had said in her mind.

Forgiven. Cherished.

Did she really deserve all that from Anna? She wouldn't usually be sure. But with the way Anna had spoken to her, with conviction and love, she had no choice but to believe her. Anna would never lie about how she felt.

When Elsa eventually shivered a little, Anna sighed and said she better dry off. Elsa had nodded slowly. Being cold and wet wasn't something she knew. She didn't even know why she was cold and wet with the nice warm tub. As she watched Anna rise from the water and start going toward the steps, she noticed a very thin layer of ice break on the side of her that had been opposite Elsa.

No wonder. She never did that but Anna was hitting the point where she needed to use it again and lacked the expert control.

"It's so chilly," Elsa admitted, feeling totally weird saying so. She was too cold leaving the water to even feel weird about the nakedness again. Her own body was still odd to look at but Anna covered up with a towel soon enough.

"Mmm, that's how it is after a bath." Anna came toward her with a big warm blue towel spread out. She hugged Elsa in it tightly and the soft fabric along with Anna's embrace had an immediate effect. "I'm here to keep you warm though, no matter what body I'm in." She pulled the towel up a bit to dry Elsa's hair.

Elsa smiled against her. It felt even easier than before to melt against her. The bit of conversation had helped. Her mind still struggled to understand what it all meant and what she should think of Anna, but she focused on being with her instead.

"We need to get you dressed warm and in bed," Anna told her. I'll get myself set and then give you a robe for the walk to the bedroom." Her protectiveness continued always.  

As she stepped back Elsa shivered again immediately. Anna waved her fingers over her own head and sparkles of magic fell over her as she dropped her towel. As soon as it hit the floor a nightgown sprung up, coming over her legs and to her shoulders. It was a dark purple color with snowflake stars over the chest and down the sleeves. The bottom again kept sunflowers with the snow dancing off them. "Oh. I love it," Elsa said, staring and memorizing it. She really did love the nightgown.

Anna giggled and flicked her hand at Elsa. A long cloak suddenly draped over her. It was a light purple with a white furred edge and little white gems decorating along the bottom. If it weren't made of ice, she imagined it would be warm. For the time being it was something she could wear over the towel and get the short distance to the room with. It did make her shiver even more. The way cold intens++ified, she could imagine it deep in her bones.

"Let's hurry," Anna said, frowning. "This cold really gets to you. I want to get you into something warm."

"So protective," Elsa murmured and Anna laughed a bit, putting her arm around her to escort her to the bedroom.

Once in the bedroom, Anna picked a warm nightgown for Elsa. It was green of course. There were designs of wheat on the torso and that was about it. Mostly it was long sleeved and soft. Anna held it out to her and left her to get dressed, going to the balcony to shoot off some more ice. Elsa would have gone with her if her hair was not still damp. She wasn't sure she'd handle the cold and Anna promised she'd be quick. In the meantime Els set about feeding the room fireplace, craving the heat. It still didn't grow big enough for her, neither did it surround her. She needed more.

Anna returned just as quickly as she had promised. After carefully setting the curtains to allow a bit of morning light, she saw and laughed at Elsa. She had pulled a red blanket around herself while she stood near the fireplace. How a chill could hold on! Elsa never imagined it like that. Her thoughts could only travel to when she had struck Anna's heart with ice and how slow the process had been for her. In Ahtohallan Elsa had frozen pretty quickly, but for Anna it took painful hours.

That shame was up there along with leaving Anna for the forest.

Guilt hit Elsa often enough, day by day it still entered her mind. It wasn't always there, but on some days it took her over. Even with the sweet things Anna had said to her she couldn't feel as good as she should. For most of the day she hadn't felt that bad but as cold clung after their bath, it really hit.

She still tried to smile as she looked at Anna. "Yes, yes, I'm cold. You'll never let me forget this, will you?"

"Nope. And something is wrong." Anna opened a trunk she had near her closet so she could fetch another blanket for them. "What's wrong?" she asked over her shoulder.

"Oh just-just thinking."

"That's not an answer," Anna said as she dragged a large white blanket over to the bed, kind of throwing it on. It wasn't a very neat job but it didn't matter.

Avoiding talking wouldn't help. "I...I can't stop thinking about when you froze because of me, and hold cold you were for hours. That has to have been torture and I can't believe I did that to you." She wasn't sure how she managed to spit it out but at least she did. Elsa looked back to the fireplace, not wanting to meet Anna's gaze.

As usual, that also didn't work. Anna walked over to her, tugged the blanket, and turned her back around. "You know how I said you deserved to be forgiven? I forgave you a long time ago, Elsa. Yes, it was painful. Yes, it was difficult. It hurt and was unlike anything I have ever felt... But I'm well past caring that it hurt. I wish you could be too."

"Hurting you in the first place as kids is what turned our lives upside down," Elsa said, knowing she was just pulling down the mood further, and unable to stop. She didn't know why.

Anna sighed. "I wish I could remember it, still. I'm imagining it was a two person effort, you wouldn't have just shot me with ice."

Anna was right, but Elsa didn't say it. She just shrugged. "This is why, even though we've come so far, sometimes I wonder if it's better I'm in the glacier and away fr-"

"It ISN'T." Anna's voice - well, her usage of Elsa's voice - startled her a little. "I want you here. I want you here all the time. I don't want you to wallow in some kind of sadness over me instead of spending time with me. That's the last thing I want."

"I know..." She did.

Anna tugged on the blanket. "Yes, you do. Give me your time, then. Don't punish yourself by taking yourself away from me. Don't punish us both."

The heat from the fire was suddenly almost too much on Elsa's face. The blanket nearly overheated her but she didn't want to shed it, not yet. She turned to face Anna. "Okay."

Anna took Elsa's wrist and tugged her toward the bed. "We're going to cuddle, and then we're going to sleep. I'm going to stay here with you the whole time and get it through to you that the best thing for me is to have you."

Again she sounded so firm so Elsa didn't argue. They got to the bed and Anna managed to push the big red blanket off her. She said they would leave it across the foot of the bed so Elsa could pull it up if she wanted to. Anna told Elsa to get in the bed first, pulling back the blanket for her.

"Why?" Elsa asked but obliged. She slid into the luxurious bed, the plush pillows offering her a world of comfort. The bed felt better than usual, for some reason. She laid on her back and stretched.

The white blanket was raised and Anna slid right in. Instead of settling on the bed next to her, Anna crawled right on top of Elsa as she dragged the blanket over them both. She settled her body right against her sister's and propped herself with her elbows on either side of Elsa's torso. She smiled down at her as the long hair draped on either side of them both. "Warmer?"

"Yes." Elsa blushed up at her own face. "Very. Are you comfortable, though?" Anna was a warm and soothing weight against her.

"Very," Anna whispered. She purposely focused her eyes on Elsa's. "Relax."

The connection happened again. They looked into each other's eyes and Elsa felt like she was traversing some divine odyssey in and with Anna. Bliss overcame her, filling her entire soul. Had anything ever felt so perfect? She would drown in it if she could. Anna had done it as if she knew exactly what she was doing and Elsa was thankful for it.

Elsa was sure she was merged with her and they were one being. To pull away would be simply too much and she would never survive it. Light was so bright it blinded her, quiet so deep it deafened her. All she needed was Anna.

How long they stayed like that, she had no idea. When Elsa felt like she had returned to a normal, maybe 'mortal' feeling, Anna's face was over her shoulder with their cheeks pressed together. Elsa's arms were around her and she held Anna to her. Their hearts beat together.

And-

For a minute, they were fixed.

Anna was suddenly Anna and underneath her. Elsa was Elsa and her cheek was against Anna's. Somehow Elsa knew it wasn't permanent but she was too relaxed at the moment to care. She picked her head up and nudged Anna's nose with her own. Anna smiled at her and gently slid one hand up her back, fingers dancing through her hair.

Elsa's lips found Anna's as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She pressed them against Anna's firmly and Anna kissed back. It was really a chaste kiss, no slip of a tongue or nibbling of the lips -but it was a meeting, a union, and devotion surged through Elsa's being. Her eyes fell closed and she was sure Anna's did too.

When Elsa opened her eyes she was in Anna's body again, looking up at herself. And Anna had opened her eyes as well, looking down. Elsa lowered her hand from her hair to palm her cheek. Anna leaned into it. "I-I don't know what just...Well that was amazing," she managed.

Elsa smiled. "Yes. It was. I don't know exactly what happened there either...but I'm happy it did." She turned her hand to stroke her cheek carefully with the back of her fingers. "Can you shift off me, a little bit?" she asked her.

"Is this...but...am I crushing..."

"No, no." Elsa laughed a little and started to turn her to the side. "I just want us both able to hold each other," she told her. Her guilt and anxiety had faded entirely for the night. All she wanted to do was appreciate Anna. She deserved to be hugged and cuddled rather than having to soothe Elsa.

When they were both wrapped in each other Elsa kissed her nose and closed her eyes again, happy. She was sure Anna fell asleep right as she did.

She saw the lightning again.

It struck hard and bright on the ice and for a moment Elsa thought she had suddenly awoken. She thought she was knocked out and that everything she just experienced was a dream. The sadness she felt at that was incredible - to suddenly not have Anna, to find her and realize it was all a sick fantasy. Could she possibly survive all of that?

But the lightning flashed brilliantly again and she saw Anna's eyes. She saw her smile, her freckles. She heard her voice but she couldn't understand what she was saying. She was there and Elsa reached for her even as she was pulled to her.

'I'll never let you go again I'll never let you go again,' repeated in her mind.

There was a gentle glow and she found herself stirring.

The night was still around them though Elsa was sure it was fading. She had rolled to face the nearly covered windows but Anna clung to her. She spooned her, face buried in the back of her neck with her arms around her. Elsa relished the comfort, sighing. Anna's grip on Elsa was tight, not loose and relaxed, as though she were awake.

Maybe she was. "Anna?" she whispered.

"Elsa?" was the response.

"I just suddenly woke up, what about you?" She raised her hand to touch Anna's arm. The blanket still covered them.

"I did as well." Anna repositioned to rest her head on Elsa's. "Are you okay?"

Elsa let out a sleepy laugh. "Yes. I promise, you didn't randomly wake up because something happened to me," she assured her.

"Oh." Anna giggled lightly. "You know me..."

"I do." She squeezed her arm and settled down into her as much as she could. "I had a dream. I dreamed of the storm I'd watched before I was knocked out and woke up here."

"You had a dream too? I dreamed I was in my bed, where I had gone to-you were knocked out?" Anna asked suddenly.

Oops...Elsa hadn't told her that part. "I was...I wasn't struck directly by lightning, I don't think, but it came down too close and the energy knocked me out. That's my best guess," she admitted because she didn't know. "I'm sorry. I don't know why it took me until now to say that," Elsa told her. She was too sleepy to feel super guilty or awful. She just hoped Anna wasn't mad.

At first there was no response. Then Anna moved the arm she had over Elsa, gently stretching it from Elsa's grasp. She took Elsa's hand in her own and stretched both their arms across the bed. Their fingers laced together and Anna traced her lips over Elsa's cheek.

Her response was thick with sleep. "I'm too sleepy and too happy to be mad at you. I worry about you and you'll hear about it later...not right now." She gave her cheek a proper kiss.

Elsa snorted. "Oh, thanks," she mumbled, but a smile stayed on her face. She continued to stare out the window, swearing it had begun to lighten as dawn inched ever closer. "Why do you think we both work up? Usually you're not even close right now..." Maybe it was because of their different bodies, but then Elsa swore she'd be asleep.

Once again Anna didn't answer right away. She stayed quiet against her. When she did speak, Elsa was actually surprised. "To watch the dawn come. To watch the sun rising, together."

It was a sign of a new beginning, a change. Hope coursed through Elsa's being in a way she'd never known while she squeezed her hand. "You're right," Elsa replied. She had nothing else to add, because the moment was perfect as it was.

Somehow their eyes stayed open, and every now and then one would squeeze the others hand to give a sign they were awake. Elsa took in every moment as the light grew and spilled in more. The sun began to paint their faces with thin rays as the new day began and Elsa could pick up the chirping of birds who liked to stay in and around the castle. Snowmen glittered in the light as light snow formed from Anna again. They held stick hands and spun in little circles as though they were dancing.

When the morning was fully lit, Anna finally moved against her again, snuggling in. The snowmen laid down to rest. Elsa drew their joined hands back to fold their arms and rest against her chest. Their eyes fell closed and again they were pulled into sleep.

They slept for a couple more hours, before Elsa felt herself stir again, to the sound of a light knock on the door. She knew that knock and had it been anyone else, she would have told them to leave. With a glance back at Anna, who had continued to hold her, Elsa called for the visitor to come in.

In hurried Olaf, politely closing the door after him. "Wake up! Kristoff is back and Menander would like to have breakfast! We let you sleep in, you know," he said as he made his way to the side of the bed.

"Huh..wha..." Anna began to stir. She stretched against Elsa. "Mmmno."

Elsa laughed. "Mmmyes, Anna," she said even though she wanted to stay put as well. However they had a day to get on with. There were queen things to do, along with solving their own mystery. "You've got to wake up," she said, turning on her back.

"Huh. Something big happened, didn't it?" Olaf asked, sounding almost impressed.

Elsa wasn't sure what he meant and was more focused on waking up Anna, who was just trying to snuggle on her shoulder as one leg crossed over her sisters. That was not helpful to the situation. "Big? No, we just slept. And we need to stop - Anna, come on, wake up. You need to get up."

"Comfy," Anna responded.

"Anna!" Elsa had to keep from laughing again and she rolled a little more and pet Anna's head to make her face her. "Come on you."

"Something big," Olaf repeated again, but added nothing else.

Anna looked at Elsa finally, her eyes half open. If it were Anna's face, Elsa felt she would have been useless from how adorable she was. As a result she was able to keep her mind on track and so she did something else that felt weird. She leaned in to kiss her own lips. The kiss was like the one night before, though a little shorter. "Wake up," she said gently, not really pulling away.

Olaf gasped. "I just sensed it again! It's like the air shifted, is there a draft in here?" he asked. "All I feel is the warm sun though! I love it."

"I feel it too." Elsa said, stroking Anna's face and slowly waking her up. It was difficult to look away from her.

"Elsa..." Anna sighed, studying her.

"Anna, you rise and shine. You are my sun, after all," she told her softly.

"Wow," Olaf said and somehow that distracted Elsa enough to look at him. Her glance was questioning and he smiled at her. "I'm sorry, it's just that every act of true love between you two makes me feel a rush of strength! Everything in this room feels so good."

Elsa raised an eyebrow. It shouldn't be so surprising that the feelings flowing between her and Anna affected him. He was created from both of them and now had experienced both of them powering his lifeforce. Regardless she hadn't expected it.

When she looked back at Anna, her eyes were wide open as well and gaze settled on Olaf. "I didn't realize..."

"I wouldn't have either," Elsa told her and then kissed her cheek. "We'll learn more I think, once you get up," she told her. She had no idea if that was true but hoped it was.

Anna did finally start moving. She sat up with Elsa and they both pulled themselves off of the bed. Olaf left the room so they could get ready and Anna went to the balcony to make some ice while Elsa selected what to wear. Oh how easy it would be if she could snap her fingers like usual! She was already very tired of undergarments and thinking about corsets and dress lengths...

Once again Anna used the sunflower dress she had created for herself, choosing to put her hair in a braid. Elsa had rarely worn her hair like that since entering Ahtohallan and it felt sort of weird to look at.The staff always seemed to like the familiarity when she had worn it like that in the past though, so she didn't really comment.

She did allow Anna to pin hers into a bun for breakfast even if it felt a bit heavy on her head. Anna decided to dress her in one of her more normal dresses with the light green along the bottom and dark green on top with an equally deep green cape. Elsa wasn't a fan of it but she wanted to appear very normal since they knew they had a guest.

Kristoff met them on the way to the main dining room. He looked very tired, still in the same clothes from yesterday and hair messed up. All of that was fairly normal but he also looked a bit unhappy. "I didn't really find anything," he said to them both as Anna greeted him with a little hug from the side.

To even it out and not make herself look odd, Elsa gave him a side hug too. There were a few members of royal staff milling around, going about their normal tasks. Elsa didn't need them to ask weird questions or start rumours about her and Kristoff.

"So nothing at all?" Anna asked quietly, and Elsa didn't really believe him.

"Not really. The trolls don't do this kind of magic and Pabbie said it was the act of something bigger. He did seem concerned," he explained and that bit was something Elsa believed. She wished she could press him for more answers but aside from her feeling, she had no way to prove he was lying.

They had a breakfast to get to.

Kristoff walked with them to the dining room and opened the large double doors to lead them in. The table was already set with hot chocolate and waffles along with other breakfast treats. Menander was standing and waiting for them in a similar outfit to the night before. He bowed as the staff seated the girls across from each other. Menander was next to who he thought was Anna, and Kristoff was next to her in reality. Olaf sat on a side of his own sort of between the girls.

"Ah how wonderful! I woke at sunrise, I'm sure you two have been up for hours!" Menander declared happily, raising a mug of hot chocolate in cheer.

"Oh yes," Anna said while Elsa chimed in with a "Yup".

"And I'm so pleased to have my truly great friend Kristoff here!" he said, looking at the blonde. Kristoff actually smiled. "It's glorious! You and Sven will help us decorate today, correct?" he asked.

Kristoff nodded. "Yes! I even brought some things from my trip last night! This will be one of your best parties yet, Menander."

"Yes! I even plan a short production for you two girls, if Kristoff would be so kind to help us read lines before lunch!" Menander added with a wink to Elsa.

"A production?" Elsa asked.

Menander raised his mug again, nearly hitting Elsa in the face in his enthusiasm. "Like the comedies we have done for you before!" he said. "As there is a party tonight, we will keep it short for everyone will want to drink and dance!"

Elsa had to stop herself from saying a 'thank you' out loud. She wasn't in the mood for a play or even a party. Of course, if most in attendance were a bit drunk, perhaps it would be easier to escape with Anna to figure things out - or to kiss her again.

Outside of the bed she hadn't gotten to think about it yet but as it occurred to her at the table, her face flushed. She didn't want to stick her tongue in her mouth or anywhere else for that matter. At the same time she wanted to kiss the whole of Anna's body and touch her skin and make her feel like the most loved person in the world. Anna deserved the appreciation.

Menander laughed happily and she snapped out of it, noticing Anna staring at her with confusion. "What's so funny?" Elsa asked slowly.

"Nothing, nothing," Menander commented, catching himself and finally picking up a fork to eat with. Kristoff already had a mouthful and Anna had managed a bite of a waffle. "It's just the joy in the air! I have never been in the presence of a twin flame and never thought I'd be."

Anna was about to eat another bite when she paused. "A what?"

Elsa echoed her. "What?" Twin flame?

"Ah.." Menander put his fork back down and leaned back. "In my country, we have a story from long long ago. When humans were first created, they had four arms, four legs, and two faces. They were strong creatures, so strong that the greatest God feared them. Fear has always overpowered people and gods alike, and so he made the decision to split them apart to what we are now. We have two arms, two legs, one face, and a pain only one other on this earth may soothe. Whether we get this one lifetime or multiple to find this other half, our twin flame, the other piece of our soul...no one is really sure. Those who know are the souls who have found their other, who have finally formed their perfect bridge of emotion and understanding they have carried for so long."

Elsa's mouth was dry. She felt dizzy as he told his story, nearly gasping at the end. She looked at Anna who was staring right back at her in surprise, waffle on her raised fork and syrup dripping slowly to her plate.

They both were realizing it. Elsa's mind buzzed and she thought of when she and Anna were separated by her door. It was all because of fear. Shame was secondary to it, or maybe part of it, but it was mainly fear.

Anna was her...

"You and Kristoff will experience happiness that many have only dreamt of!" Menander told her and Elsa's stomach turned hard.

Of course Menander would think it was between Anna and Kristoff. He was only so 'psychic' after all. "Oh, I..aha..." Elsa knew she should respond better but she couldn't. She couldn't think at all.

She especially couldn't think as a harsh breeze blew through the room and the walls began to ice up. Cracking patterns of ice went up quickly and light snow fell in the room. A storm was starting to brew and Anna's eyes were still wide.

"Elsa," Elsa hissed, starting to panic.

"Elsa!" Kristoff chimed in, giving Anna a meaningful look.

Menander's smile wavered. "Ah-did I say something wrong?" he asked. He looked to Olaf, who stared too at Anna. "Um..."

Anna blinked and then looked at them all. "Huh? Oh-sorry." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The snow started to stop though the walls were still icy. "I got really caught up in the story," she said weakly.

Kristoff just gave her a look while Menander calmed down,laughing a little. "Goodness me!" he said. "I thought perhaps I had misspoken, or that there was trouble with the upcoming wedding."

"No," Elsa shook her head. "No trouble," she lied.

Kristoff was staring at his mostly eaten waffle then, clearly not looking at anyone else. "Going smoothly," he managed.

"Is that so?" Menander asked him, and it was clear everyone at the table knew that Kristoff had grown upset, pushing the waffle around on his plate.

"He's stressed," Anna added in and took a bite of her waffle in an attempt to bring things to normal. Elsa tried to sip her hot chocolate and get to her food. No one wanted the conversation to go where it was trying to go and it was immensely awkward.

Menander's enthusiasm could not be stopped. "Ah my friend, don't worry! We shall rehearse vows, walks, anything you need tonight at the party after the party!" he said while Elsa rolled her eyes. Good thing he was watching Kristoff.

"I don't need any of that." Kristoff pushed his entire plate away. "I actually-I'm tired. I got to the valley late last night and came back so early this morning." He started standing up.

"Kristoff?" Elsa asked, watching him with concern. There was certainly a shift in the mood with him getting up to leave and it brought back the familiar and quite frankly annoying feeling of guilt. The feeling had become so repetitive she wanted to scream at it.

He offered her a smile."I'll be alright Els-Anna. I just need a good nap in the hay with Sven. He's tired too after all."

"You want me to come with you? I'll sing you to sleep!" Olaf offered, but Kristoff shook his head.

"Thanks Olaf, but that's okay! I'll catch up with you all later," he told them before turning to leave.

Elsa watched him go with pain in her chest, sure that Anna felt the same way.

[likediamonds]

I have some fairy OCs and I wrote short snippets about each of them to keep track of who they are as I better develop them!

Misty: Water talent. Long, blonde hair and blue eyes, pale skin. She loves fashion and fancy flying, she’s always very helpful whenever something is asked of her, and is generally sweet. She’s also dating her best friend and fellow water talent Cera.

Skater: Water talent. Dark brown hair and skin, dark green eyes. Skater is really high-energy for a water fairy—he’s very into sports and will try to help non-water talent fairies try out pond-skating out with lily pad skimmers. He very much has a sense of humor and can get along with any kind of fairy

 Sienna: Animal talent. Strawberry blonde hair in 2 long bubble braid pigtails, tan skin and green eyes. Sienna is a quiet animal fairy with a surprising dry wit. She prefers spending time with wise old animals rather than the babies or dangerous cases. Dating Topaz.

 Colin: Animal talent. Black hair that’s always messy, blue-green eyes, tan freckled skin. He’s very much a people-person for being an animal talent. He loves critters of all kinds, especially reptiles, but he’s also just as concerned with fellows of his own species, offering translation services to be inclusive to non-animal talents in conversation with his buddies.

 Topaz: Light talent. Medium brown skin and eyes, dark brown hair with bangs, up in a bun. She’s super outgoing and talkative, really friendly with any fairy, and a little bit dramatic. She also adores gem-hunting and anything sparkly really. Dating Sienna.

 Rory: Light talent. Pale skin, medium length dark red hair, dark blue eyes. Rory was actually given the name Aurora when he arrived, but he transitioned to sparrow man and changed it to Rory instead. He’s a bit sarcastic, but chill and friendly for the most part. He’s not super desirous of being the center of attention, being pretty humble.

 Kelly: Tinker talent. Light brown skin and eyes, red hair with bangs in two braids. She’s the sweetest tinker fairy aroud—always ready with cookies and tea whenever somebody drops off or picks up a repair. She’s also a pet-lover and feeds stray bugs. Also likes reading and has a crush on Scribble.

 Zen: Tinker talent. Light blonde hair, light tan skin, silver-blue eyes. Zen has a lot of patience for a tinker. He doesn’t stress out when things don’t work right, and he takes his time on projects to ensure the best outcome. He’s always polite and thoughtful to others as well, while his sister Zyla has her heart in the right place but can be quite brash.

 Camellia: Garden talent. Light tan skin, curly black hair and dark brown eyes. She’s quite shy, and it takes her a while to become comfortable with others to speak much in front of them, but she has a secret love for singing. She sings to her plants when she thinks no one can hear. Dating story-teller Rune.

 Linden: Garden talent. Blue-black hair, tan skin, dark brown eyes. Linden is a very handsome sparrow man, and he knows it—he’s not cocky or vain, but he is aware of himself. He’s very content within his talent, but he’s a little lonely and concerned that others aren’t really friends with him for his personality itself. He wants to expand his hobbies and become a more interesting person so he knows that there are reasons for people to like him beyond the exterior.

 Kyra: Scout talent. Brown, shoulder-length hair, dark brown eyes, tan skin. Kyra lost half of her left arm after fending off a wasp, having to have an amputation at the elbow. She doesn’t regret the loss of limb because if she hadn’t stepped in and done her job, somebody else might have died. Duty to the kingdom coming before anything else, she hasn’t really taken any time for romance in her life and her best friends are fellow scouts. But among the group they have their fun and mess around sometimes, and she does have quite a soft heart and gentle attitude compared to some scouts.

 Marianne: Dust talent. Short black hair, pale skin, golden-brown eyes. Marianne is a very ordinary dust talent. She loves dust-keeping more than anything, has the twinkle in her eyes for a good joke, is hard-working and non-confrontational. She also loves studying pixie dust among other topics.

 Julienne: Baking talent. Medium-length blonde hair, often with braids, blue-green eyes, light tan skin. A very passive kind of baking fairy—she easily takes orders and is somewhat of a doormat, but though she says she doesn’t mind, she’s working on it. She mostly just wants to mind her own business and bake nice things, she’s neither outgoing nor unfriendly.

 Nora: Art talent. Medium brown skin, dark violet hair, lavender eyes. Nora’s artistic talent expresses itself best when she makes small pieces. Rather than murals or large pottery projects, she loves making the kind of beautiful little decorative knick-knacks that sit on fairy’s bedroom shelves or charms that are carried around. She sculpts, carves, crafts and paints them in as much detail as she can and gives them away freely, always making more than she can store in her workshop. She’s somewhat socially awkward, but doesn’t really seem to notice the fact.

 Hazel: Nursing/Healing talent. Light tan skin, medium brown hair in bun twintails, dark brown eyes. Hazel is the most relaxed nurse there is—when she’s not potion-mixing she’s usually the one sitting for a quiet chat with patients and making them feel calm rather than harping on how they need to take care of their injury. She’s easy going.

 Piper: Messenger talent. Short red hair, dark brown eyes, tan skin. Only really serious when it comes to official announcements, Piper is quite friendly. Being a messenger-talent fairy, she gets to see a lot of different people in a day, and pretty much knows everyone in Pixie Hollow. It’s a good thing she’s not a gossiper.

 Zyla: Fast-flying talent. White hair in a bob with side bangs, tan skin, hazel eyes. Zyla is a fast-flyer of the people. She’s not selfish about her talent just performing for the sake of it, but tries to help others. She can be kind of blunt as well as impatient, but is never trying to be rude. Her brother is Zen.

 Sage: Story-telling talent. Long black hair, light brown skin, dark brown eyes. Sage doesn’t just tell stories on stage or around a campfire with a large crowd—she’s an every-day kind of story lover. A slice-of-life narrator who may amuse or annoy fellow fairies when she tells descriptive stories of seemingly ordinary events in their friends’ lives, or embellishing whatever they’re currently doing with speculation on what they could be thinking or what’s about to happen. She makes stories happen.

 Gemma: Mining talent. Short brown hair, light brown skin, blue-green eyes. Like most mining talents, Gemma and her brother are quite monotone and gruff compared to other fairies, rather spending time underground than at fairy dances. Gem does have a little bit of a romantic heart despite not being very girly.

 Jet: Mining talent. Short brown hair, light brown skin, dark brown eyes. Jet, similar to his sister and talent mates, is not the most talkative and outgoing sparrow man, but he’s a fiercely loyal friend and also has a sense of humor hiding under his rough exterior.

 Allegra: Music talent. Sandy blonde hair, misty silver-blue eyes, pale skin. Allegra is blind, having Arrived that way, but she’s never been bothered by it. Her talent is music, so to her, she “sees” through sound and that’s all she really needs. She’s somewhat reserved in personality, not revealing too much about her thoughts or feelings, but she’s never been shy or had stage-fright. She’s willing to fill any silence with music.

 Snowdrop: Winter garden talent. White hair in ponytail, pale skin, grey eyes. She’s not the bravest fairy out there, and not very interested in exploring outside of her comfort zone. She’s perfectly happy tending to the plants in Winter Woods and hanging out with the couple of friends she already knows. Snowdrop is very kind, and she will speak up when she’s uncomfortable.

 Wren: Winter animal talent. Medium-length curly white hair, tan skin, medium brown eyes. Wren is not super talkative or playful, unlike most animal-talent fairies. She’s not shy, she’s just really interested. She’ll interact if necessary, but she’d rather be with her animals or enjoying some alone time.

 Crystal: Frost talent. White hair in bob style with bangs, medium brown skin, blue eyes. Crystal is a typical frost fairy, artistic and bubbly—but she’s also not a push-over. She’s not afraid to speak up for herself and go her own way if necessary, and has the most leadership skills amongst her friends.

 Lumi: Snowflake talent. White hair in up-do, dark brown eyes, tan skin. Lumi is Deaf, having arrived that way, and uses fairy sign language to communicate. She has a very simple and funny personality, and likes to be included in conversations. She has a little bit of an adventurous streak as well.