#the noble bachelor spoilers

[red-umbrella-811]

Okay can I just say. These Victorian people are like fainting goats: they play dead as soon as something slightly confusing or embarrassing happens to them.

[babiebom]

Sdv Bachelor/ettes as Doctor Who Companions

A/N: because the specials are coming out soon(the first episode of the three part special is coming out tomorrow I’m so excited I missed ten and Donna) I wanted to combine my two prominent special interests. Keep in mind gender has nothing to do with this, and it’ll be nuwho focused because I have never watched classic who except for some compilations that were chaotic.

Tw:maybe some cursing? Some spoilers but like the show and episodes have been out for so long idk what to tell you

Wc: idk it’s headcanons. I wanna make it at least 3 or 4 or each. So that times all 12???

Sdv Masterlist

Sebastian

Nardole

I KNOW I KNOW

Starting off chaotically

It was SUPER HARD to figure out who he fits

Like genuinely so hard it took me SO LONG

But I think he does fit Nardole in the way that both of them are loyal to their friends and very no nonsense when it comes to their responsibilities

Like I know that Seb seems antisocial in the game but like it’s mostly when he needs to get work done (which is always) which seems to me more like he needs to get his shit done in order to do anything else his responsibilities come first

Nardole is the same in that yes he loves his friends but shit needs to get done and that’s what’s important first, no distractions, no going off the beaten path, just do what needs to be done

Also Nardole seems passive he isn’t very submissive actually. Like yeah he gets scared but like Nardole is good at taking charge when he needs to

Sebastian is the same he seems quiet and submissive when in actuality he just doesn’t take charge unless he has to

Also Nardole isn’t anything more than a platonic relationship and I think that despite how attractive Sebastian is, he would probably prefer things to stay on the platonic side of things rather than fuck everything up with romance

Also would think it would be cool to be a humanoid cyborg thing

Sam

Bill Potts

I feel like Bill was a funny companion and her personality fits Sam

I mean they both seem chill and excitable

And both are very in tune to their emotions and able to understand what other people are feeling

I also think that Sam would be a more platonic companion rather than romantic.

Also I do think in serious times that Sam could be a little intimidating.

Both are extremely wrong and loving towards those they view as friends

And I feel like both are easy to get along with.

Also would be both comic relief and exposition

Also Bill is very inquisitive and curious and very smart

And I feel like that describes Sam somewhat with the curiosity

I feel like he would ask so many questions that everyone around him would be annoyed even though he’s doing it to gain an understanding of what is happening around him.

Also would gain crushes like Bill did ngl

Shane

Donna Noble

NOW LISTEN

Both of these people have very horrible self esteem issues

Like both feel a negative way about themselves

Think they’re unimportant and stupid that they’re just some person that exists and that they aren’t special at all

I think the main difference between them is that Donna carries herself differently

She will scream at the world to get it to listen to her, Shane just accepts that no one cares to listen to him and it makes him spiral more

Like Donna speaks about herself in a very sad way through her episodes

And so does Shane. Most of his conversations are just insulting to him and downplaying how much he means to anyone in general

Donna saved the doctors life by being there

And in a way Shane saved Jas’ life by being alive because he is her guardian even though she stays with Marnie in the game

He is her literal guardian

Without him who k owns where she would’ve ended up?

Also both are funny

I think Shane would be an extremely funny companion

Harvey

Graham O’Brian

Silly goofy old man

Is absolutely confused

Like I know Harvey is a doctor and all

But dude would be absolutely lost in every situation if it isn’t medical related.

I wanted to cast him as Martha but I don’t think he fits her very well

Like the only thing he has in common with her is the doctor thing

Like is he capable of a lot?

Yes

Can he save people?

Yes

But I do not think he could go through the year that never was like Martha did

This is why I think he’s similar to Graham

The old man is very protecting and loving and the main point is even though he’s terrified I don’t think Graham ever refuses to try to save anyone

And even if he did it was in a very sad way like he thought there is no way to save them.

I think Harvey would be similar

Terrified but ready to help

Elliott

Jack Harkness

Tell me I’m wrong bc I’m not

You can argue with a wall

I swear Elliott fits this role too well

Not that he’s a whore(affectionate) like Jack

But that he would use his looks and verbal prowess to seduce people for absolutely no reason

Literally him saying hi is him flirting

Would’ve flirted with EVERY alien he came across I know he would

Would recite a poem to them about how beautiful they are

Cause them to fall in love

Them be like heheh I’m cool right? I’m so sexy :)

Also despite all of that Jack is a very caring and protective character in my opinion

Like yeah he jokes a lot and is a very unserious person

But he is good hearted and tries hard to help

Like who do you know that is scared of death that would use the ability to come back just to help save other people

Especially if they’re unsure if that ability will last forever or not

Like I think Elliott would be similar

Alex

Ryan Sinclair

I think there is something about guys specifically that lose their mothers that act similarly

Like they both seem closed off to people and use either humor or being standoffish to keep from actually showing their feelings

And when they feel their feelings it’s in an angry and unfair type of way

Also Ryan loved his grandmother more than anything having being raised by her(I think?)

And Alex has been being raised by his grandparents and I do like to think that he is a grandma’s boy even though he does love his grandfather as well

I also think he would be the one to ask how people are doing on the side.

Like without anyone noticing he would be like “hey you okay?”

Is actually super sweet when he works through his insecurities and becomes one of the best companions due to his compassion grounding the doctor

Like is super sweet during the later half of his season or maybe the second season he’s in.

Maru

Yasmin Khan

I think that Maru fits Yaz well

It took me a minute to decide but when I went back to read the wiki I realized that they are very similar

Both are very ambitious and want to be the best in their fields

And both love to learn and are naturally curious

Both are very focused on their jobs and in Maru’s case she’s very focused on her work in science

Maru doesn’t really have friends or relationships thanks to (Demetrius) her focusing on her work and Yaz is the same, never bringing friends home or anything because she’s focused on growing and becoming head of the police force.

I also think Maru would be very in love with traveling with the doctor and the doctor themself

Maru already likes robotics and science in general, traveling throughout time and space would be perfect for her

She would fall in love with the doctor and want to travel forever

I also think that due to her having feelings she would grow in confidence and in protectiveness

Would shove the Master to the ground in anger because wtf do you think you’re doing?

After returning home would probably be depressed and lost without the person she thought she would be with forever

Abigail

Amy Pond no doubt about it

I think they both have the same level of chaos and love of adventure

Like Amy is a very first girl that is sort of sensitive and hides it behind her confident and toughness

I can see Abigail being similar

All they want is to have adventure and not be forced into some role they are supposed to play

I can see Abigail being the girl who waited

Out of the characters she would be the one to survive so long in a foreign place and waiting the entire time

Only to have rescue come when she finally lost hope so she’s pissed off at them and hurt but not really wanting to show it because showing it is weakness.

Like Amy I think she would have a crush on the doctor for like a second because who wouldn’t when being offered the chance to explore the universe by the most mysterious person you’ve ever met

But that crush would go away quickly and would be boiled down to a platonic relationship.

Leah

Martha Jones

Now listen

She and Martha are similar personality wise instead of like oh they both have the same career or something

Like I feel like out of all the bachelor(ettes) that she would be the one to survive the year that never was

Like I think she is a lot stronger than people think she is

And she would be the one I can see having a crush on the doctor but not letting it get in the way of doing what she needs to do

Also would leave a toxic situation quite easily

And by easily I mean it would take a lot of strength but she does it beautifully

She did it before when leaving her ex to go to Pelican Town and she would be strong enough to leave the doctor.

Both are very headstrong and firm in their beliefs

And I do think Leah has a temper, she doesn’t prefer to use violence but will if she has to.

Being with the doctor only makes her stronger and when she leaves she uses her knowledge to help

Penny

Rose Tyler

Not just because they both were raised only by their moms

I think that Penny has the Rose quality about her when it comes to romance. Like I could easily see her being the love interest for the Doctor, and being the one they get torn from in the end.

And not to be a hater but I can totally see myself getting annoyed at her the more the romance grows

Because Ten and Rose started to become annoying when the romance became sort of the focus (yes I am a nine and rose enjoyer)

Like them Penny and her doctor would get so “obsessed” for each other that they start to not see the importance and impact of what they’re doing.

Like yes traveling through space and time is a silly goofy thing but at the same time you’re messing with peoples lives. Like even if you’re saving them, you’re still messing with them and it needs to be taken seriously instead of thought of as dates and “fun”

But on the cuter side I can see her being the type of person to slowly and quietly make her way into someone’s heart and make them remember that life is worth living.

Emily

River Song

She has that air of weirdness about her like River does

Like isn’t around all the time

And out of everyone I think Emily would be the one to meet the doctor out of order.

Like tell me I’m wrong

Out of everyone her timeline would be the one that’s backwards

And while I don’t think Emily has the violent streak in her I do think she would be part time lord like River is

Also I think she could be the one to get married

Both are strong and smart and knows what they know and don’t need anyone to help or tell them different because it’s not going to change their minds at all

Like yes she knows what she’s doing is unconventional but it’s what she’s doing and she’s almost 100 percent sure that it’s going to work so back off

Very confident

Just very amazing women

Haley

Clara Oswald

Because I think Clara and her are similar

Both are fiery and stubborn

Would be the one the doctor gains feelings for after somewhat getting over Rose

Like she’s pretty and strong and doesn’t take any shit

Also would be the one to somewhat become like the doctor but still not act like they’re a god

Also would be funny in certain circumstances like if she needed to act like the doctor who read the fuck out of them

Would be the one to call people out and do what needs to be done

I can also see her being extremely hurt if something happens to someone she loves and she becomes an absolute bitch while she’s hurt

Realizes she’s in the wrong but like she’s HURT

Would also steal the Tardis and go on her own adventures

Added headcanon that she would take pictures of every place they visit

[quill-of-thoth]

Letters From Watson: Scandal in Bohemia

Part 1, the fun bits: - There are (at least) three major cases between Watson's marriage and this case. - Watson has returned to private practice: presumably he has recovered considerably in the last eight years and has the funds (possibly due to his marriage to Mary?) to set himself up in a practice. - Holmes doesn't give a shit that he's got a client coming, he's not wasting the chance that Watson came to visit. - There were apparently reference books listing out companies: some sort of yellow pages equivalent for an era where you had to write to a company to order things? - Astrakhan is a fleece, or a fabric made to resemble fleece. A vizard mask is a plain black mask that covers the upper half of the face (there are also ones that cover the whole face but this one is not one of them.) - A two year guarantee of secrecy would expire in March 1890 (if given on the canon date in 1888) but if my proposed timeline holds, a date of march 1889 wouldn't prevent publication in 1891. - Holmes' scrapbooking clippings for name recognition reference really feels like a wikipedia assembled out of period newspapers. - If Irene was born in 1858 she's either 30 (1888) or 31 (1889), very close in age to Holmes (Who by my estimate was born some time in 1857-1859) - I always love it when a client buries the lead - you came to ask Holmes to burgle you back that photograph, Ormstein. You should have started there! - Ormstein has had people burgle Irene's house twice, had her luggage stolen, and had her "waylaid." Without the presumption that Irene was an unrepentant blackmailer, how would Holmes and Watson have reacted to that admission? - Here's that fictitious king of Scandanavia again. Presumably, if this is referring to the same person as referenced during Noble Bachelor, his reviews of Holmes' work were good enough for other european nobility. - Spoilers, but considering the timeline: If Irene did threaten to publish the photograph on the day of Ormstein's engagement announcement, we have no evidence that she did not do it after at least one attempt on Ormstein's part to have it stolen from her. After all, what we learn of her motivations and present circumstances (getting married and leaving for America) directly contradicts the idea that she's at all interested in Ormstein's future so long as he leaves her alone. - One thousand pounds (total) to start the investigations is more than 100,000 pounds (120,000 ish USD) today. Fuck it, I'd take this case for that. It's not sketchy enough from this description that Ormstein couldn't be telling the truth. - The pancake recipe attached in the Letters from Watson mailing sure sounds like crepes.

[bendingwind]

For the writing meme! :)

8. What project(s) are you currently working on?

16. At what point in the process do you come up with titles?

19. Give us a small teaser from one of your WIPs.

:D

This got long so I'm putting it under a cut.

8. What project(s) are you currently working on?

I have just like an insane number of Bleach plotbunnies running around freely in my brain these days, but right now I'm mostly focused on three four stories; One is a pre-relationship Renji/Rukia story I've been talking about, The Most Eligible Bachelor in the Seireitei, in which Renji becomes very popular among minor noble houses as a prospective match. It's not really about that so much as it is about Renji and Rukia beginning to mend and rebuild their friendship in the wake of the Soul Society arc, though, under the shadow of the upcoming war. With a little jealousy in the mix. I think I'm going to finish this one today or tomorrow, edit Sunday, and post sometime next week hopefully.

The second is an Ichigo/Orihime story from Ichigo's POV that I'm still hashing out. I had an outline all prepared and then you actually reblogged something that made me rethink the whole thing, so that one's back in the drawing board stages lol.

I'm gonna preface this next one with the disclaimer that there is no combination of Rukia, Renji, Orihime and Ichigo that I don't ship.

The third is one I may not ever post, because I kill Renji off in it (not a spoiler, the entire topic of the finished prequel is Rukia mourning) and it makes me very very sad. In it Ichigo dies unexpectedly in his 40s and a proactive local Shinigami sends him to Soul Society via konsō, causing him to lose his memory, and Soul Society being what they are, nobody can seem to find him despite his massive spiritual energy. Everyone mourns and eventually moves on, and the story starts after Orihime dies of old age and joins Squad 11 (this is hilarious to me and makes absolute sense in context of the story and is one of my favorite parts) and she and Rukia rekindle their friendship. It starts out Rukia & Orihime, becomes Rukia/Orihime and eventually becomes Rukia/Orihime/Ichigo. There's a possible Byakuya/reincarnated!OC!Renji story sequel in the mix as well I think? There's also a much!older!Karin/Toushiro story that I vaguely want to write in that universe, which is a ship that I don't generally like unless you give Karin like forty years at a minimum to marinate.

I'm also planning to work soon on a Rukia & Orihime story in which Rukia asks Orihime about her feelings for Ichigo and why she's never acted upon them. It focuses a lot on how Ichigo protects everyone and Orihime wanting to be the one to protect him.

(I'm also vaguely trying to figure out my headcanons for Byakuya/Hisana and Ikkaku/Yumichika because I really want to write some stuff for them, but I don't have anything really concrete there at the moment)

(ALSO I can't remember if it was you or polyna who headcanon that Renji had a gruesome crush on Ikkaku back in the day but if nobody else is going to write it I WILL)

----

16. At what point in the process do you come up with titles?

Sometimes I have a title going into a story, and sometimes I write a line in the story that I immediately know is going to be/inspire the title, but more often than not I finish a story up, slap a Hozier lyric on it, and call it a day 😅

----

19. Give us a small teaser from one of your WIPs.

I don't think I'm likely to ever finish this little series of micro-vignettes about Isshin and Ichigo so I'm just gonna use this as an excuse to post what I do have written!

****

It’s a bad idea for a hundred thousand reasons, Isshin thinks.

Their child will be an abomination in the eyes of some, an unholy amalgamation of shinigami and quincy and hollow. He knows the stories from history as well as anyone, and even they do not describe this thing that the two of them have created.

But Masaki places his hand on her belly and he feels the baby kick, and he sets his apprehension aside for the sake of the smile that graces her lips.

****

Ichigo is an entirely normal little boy, Isshin tells himself. So what if he turns his head when ghosts pass by? Children are sensitive to that kind of thing regardless, aren’t they? 

Masaki thinks he can see them, and frowns every time it happens. It was inevitable, she says quietly-- even if he were just quincy, it would be expected.

Isshin hopes she’s wrong. He wants their little boy with Masaki’s clouds of orange hair and his eyes to grow up safe and sound and normal.

He knows better, but he’s always been good and lying to himself.

****

He catches his son talking to the ghosts sometimes, as he grows a little older. He’s a happy child, as prone to laughter as he is to tears, all skinned knees and sticking weird shit in his mouth if they take their eyes off of him for a moment.

He resigns himself to this one quirk of his son, who is sweet and perfect and otherwise remarkably normal. He shows no signs of quincy powers, and Isshin learns to count his blessings.

“Dada,” Ichigo calls, and he stands.

“What is it, my son?” he booms, and Ichigo giggles and toddles towards him.

[casualjacobwrites]

FFXIV Write 2023 Prompt #7 - Noisome

Did you know "noisome" has nothing to do with noise despite how it sounds? Yeah, uh, I just thought that was kinda neat. Also, I'm a touch late, but fortunately the whole 24 hour deadline doesn't start until today's prompt.

Ahem, here is my WoL Pasha again, this time after Heavensward patch 3.3. No real spoilers apart from mentions of you-know-who's death. There's vague hinting at something between her and Artoirel, but in her story they never actually act on anything because it's too soon for her. She goes on a path of self destruction through Stormblood. Anyway, this just has to do with petty nobles being assholes to people.

Word Count: 1703

---

Pasha Silverblade had faced many foes in her day. From lowly brigands and bandits to dragons and demigods. However, nothing in her life had been quite as daunting than entering a room full of Ishgardian nobles.

From the doorway she watched more than two dozen heads turn to gaze at her as the herald announced her arrival. Amid familiar faces who smiled, there were many more who stared at her the same way she did an opponent on the battlefield. The weight of their stares made her wish she could have worn her armor rather than the breeches and long coat she'd chosen.

Once the herald exhausted the list of titles attributed to her name he gave her a stiff nod to let her know it was time to enter the ballroom. With visible hesitation she stepped forward. The crowd parted to allow her passage and she couldn't help but notice how they seemed to break into factions. Women and men alike cast furtive glances her way then spoke in hushed voices with their companions. Here and there she caught a single word or a snippet of conversation.

Words like “champion” and “hero” were expected and spoken with abundance. One person said, “I thought she'd be taller,” which amused her. She wasn't the tallest of elezen, but she still cut a striking figure. Then again, the liberties some of the bards took with their ballads made her sound as though she should be twice the size of the largest roegadyn. Just as she started to feel her anxiety lessen, she passed by a group of nobles who wielded their words like sharpened blades.

“She is dressed like a peasant,” a noblewoman remarked. She used a fan to cover the lower half of her face as if to conceal her identity. Beside her a grim-faced elezen with a heavily wrinkled face nodded.

“Gridanian,” he said as if her homeland explained all her flaws. “No breeding,” he added as the woman nodded.

Before Pasha could turn to utter a cutting remark of her own, a slender figure swept in front of her. “My apologies for my delay, Mistress Silverblade. As my honored guest, I should have been here to greet you personally.” The man bowed then offered his arm to her. When she accepted, he turned to the two nobles with a curt nod of his head. The woman's fan couldn't hide the reddening of her cheeks upon realizing both Pasha and their host had heard every insult.

The man patted her hand and guided her away from the hostile couple. “Durendaire,” he said. “Albeit somewhat distant relation and at risk of losing their title if their daughter doesn't secure a husband above her station. They were most disheartened to learn that my duties as host tonight would keep me from sharing a dance with her.”

“Thank you for your timely rescue, Artoirel. Estinien warned me it could be...well, he warned me.”

Artoirel de Fortemps chuckled. “I should be thanking you for providing me with an excuse to fend off desperate suitors. I knew taking on father's title would be a great deal of responsibility, but I hadn't considered it would also turn me into Ishgard's most eligible bachelor.”

“I'm sure Emmanellain can barely contain his envy.” Pasha let go of Artoirel's arm as they found a quiet corner. A servant passing by stopped to offer a tray with glasses of wine. They each took one with a nod of thanks. “How is your brother?”

“No doubt lurking nearby gathering all the latest gossip. I'm sure he'll be happy to share it with you when he finds you.” Artoirel sipped from his glass, his eyes sweeping over the crowd of people. His eyes were a darker shade of blue than his elder brother's, but they conveyed the same shrewdness when taking in the measure of those around him.

At the though of Haurchefant, a surge of emotion washed over Pasha. She was quick to tamp it down with a deep breath and a reminder to focus on her surroundings to keep her mind in the present. It wouldn't do to let grief overtake her at a party that was partially thrown in her honor.

“I fear I can't keep you all to myself tonight, as much as I would like.” Artoirel winked at her. Several strands of his dark hair had fallen to frame his face adding to his handsome countenance. “I can offer to be your shield to spare you from some of our more eccentric peers. Francel is here representing House Haillenarte. He will be more than happy to assist in keeping you from becoming a victim of noble infighting. And once Ser Borel makes his speech, he'll come to our aide too.”

“You needn't go through such trouble. I can hold my own, and if not, I can always challenge anyone who insults me to a duel.” She smiled to show she was teasing, though the look on Artoirel's face told her he wasn't so sure it was a joke. To calm him she patted his forearm and said, “I can weather a few unkind words for tonight. Please, don't be afraid to tend to your duties as host.”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than his personal attendant appeared from crowd. The attendant whispered in the newly titled Count's ear and then gestured toward the other side of the room. Artoirel nodded with a frown and turned back to Pasha. “As you say, I do have other duties to attend, but before I do, might I ask you spare some time once the evening draws to a close? I do wish to speak with you about some other matters.”

“Of course,” she answered without thinking anything of it. There was a moment when it seemed he was going to say something more, but instead he gave a small bow and headed toward the group his attendant had pointed out.

Alone for the time being, she sipped at her wine and surveyed the crowd. Just as Artoirel had said, she spied Francel speaking with a small group. He waved to her and held up a finger to signal he would join her soon.

“Lovely party, isn't it?”

Distracted by finding familiar company, Pasha hadn't noticed she'd been approached by another woman. Barely managing not to jump out of her skin, she greeted the woman with a bow of her head. “Yes, it is, lady...?”

“Oh, my name isn't important.” The noble elezen waved her hand in dismissal. “You are the guest of honor, of course. I'm simply thrilled to stand in your presence.”

“Ah, thank you?” Though she tried to speak with confidence it was difficult to contain her uncertainty. She cleared her throat. “Is there, um, aught I can do for you?” She took a step back as the woman moved uncomfortably closer.

“I wouldn't dare impose upon the Champion of Eorzea.” She placed a hand at her chest as if aghast at the very notion. “I merely wanted to ask a question.” The woman leaned forward with an eager expression.

“What is it?”

“What is your relationship to our dear Lord Artoirel?”

Taken aback by the question, Pasha stopped herself from rudely responding that it was none of this lady's concern. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, as you may be aware, House Fortemps has had some rather unpleasant events in the past.” The noblewoman wore a sickly sweet smile as she spoke. It was condemnation disguised as a sort of kind concern. “And while I'm sure you are a wonderful person aside from all your heroic actions, you aren't, how can I say this? You aren't Ishgardian are you?”

Feeling a gnawing dread in her stomach Pasha answered with a quiet, “No, I'm not.”

“Mm, yes, and House Fortemps can scarcely afford another noisome scandal so soon after Lord Edmont had to step down. It was dreadful enough that he acknowledged a bastard son—”

The wine splashed against the woman's face before Pasha realized she'd thrown it at her. The noblewoman cried out loud enough for other guests to notice. They all turned to see the Warrior of Light holding a now empty wineglass next to a woman whose dress and hair were stained red. Francel rushed over, but Pasha ignored him as she turned away from the crowd and stalked toward an open window leading to a balcony.

Several nobles formed a circle around the noblewoman and the entire room began to fill with muffled conversation. Pasha tuned it all out as she stepped onto the balcony and eyed the closest buildings. It would be easy for her to escape. The distance to the next roof was nothing for a dragoon. A few leaps short leaps and she could be back in The Brume within a few minutes. Perhaps she could get Hilda to join her for a few drinks, or ask Tataru for news about her search for the other Scions. Anything that didn't involve speaking about Ishgardian nobles or the sons of House Fortemps.

As she climbed the balcony's railing she heard someone call out, “Please, wait!”

“I'll speak with you later,” she said to Artoirel over her shoulder. “I'm sorry I ruined your party.” She didn't wait for his response. Putting all her strength into her legs, she pushed away from the railing and leapt high into the night sky. She landed softly on the neighboring home's roof and broke into a run as she jumped from building to building.

The cold air stung her eyes, but she knew the tears had nothing to do with the air hitting her face. The grief was still too near, the loss too fresh. She'd had no time to mourn and yet the world demanded she continue on with her life with little care as to what was stolen from her.

The noblewoman was right. She wasn't Ishgardian, and she certainly wasn't of any noble birth. She didn't belong in their High Houses or their city. It didn't matter that she'd saved them all from death and ended a thousand-year war. And strangely, she was fine with that. Haurchefant had loved Ishgard enough for the both of them.

[christinesficrecs]

hi chrissss, i need your help! i am desperate need of fics w alive hale family! xoxo

Mother’s Day is a great day to talk about Talia Hale! 🌺  Also, seriously, when do I ever rec just a few fics and move on. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Marking Against Instinct by fullmoontonightt | 44.6K | Mature

The guy in front of him is looking around the shop with interest, letting his eyes scan over the flash art on the walls. He's beautiful and Derek's wolf purrs in his chest, wanting to get closer. He frowns when he realizes the guy is human.

Derek faces him, eyes serious. “You know this is a wolves only shop right?”

Alpha Derek Hale has had his wolves only tattoo shop for years. Before Stiles Stilinksi walked in, asking him for help with a tattoo, he'd never thought about how a single tattoo could change his life.

Why don't you say so? | 8K 

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What will happen if Derek Hale cannot be coerced to the altar? Will the bargain be revoked?

The Key by aussiebee | 7.4K

Eligible bachelor Derek Hale has announced that whomever can take the key from around his dog's neck will be the person he marries. Stiles Stilinski think this is utterly ridiculous.

Meet Your Mark by SylvieW | 24K

Stiles was born with his mark on his chest. He didn’t worry too much about meeting his soulmate, until he got pulled into the principal’s office to determine if his soulmate was part of the werewolf pack that lived outside of town.

After a rocky start, Stiles has to get to know his soulmate, and decide between the life he’s known and a life with Derek.

Wanna Bet? by isthatbloodonhisshirt (wasterella) | 1.7K

“This book is dumb,” Jackson proclaimed, tossing it aside and grabbing for another one.

“Just because the words are too big for you to understand doesn’t mean it’s dumb,” Stiles informed him.

Scott and Isaac snorted. Jackson flipped him off. Boyd just let out an aggrieved sigh, like this was the worst thing he’d ever had to endure in his life.

So Shed Your Skin and Lets Get Started by halfhardtorock | 21.8K | Explicit

He's sixteen and in the woods on the wrong side of the town-line and he's so fucking fucked.

He knows he's not supposed to run, they teach that to you in preschool (don't run from a Were, back away slowly and walk with care), but they never told you how it would feel, standing alone in the dark with your heart beating in your throat as those glowing eyes tracked you from the shadows.

Bonds of Blood, Bonds of Family, Bonds of Love by TyReed | 44K | Mature

After being beaten up by a door, werewolf Stiles Stilinksi finds himself bonded to Derek Hale, of the Hale Noble Bloodline. For a scrawny, wimpy, Tainted Bloodline werewolf, Stiles runs away, embarrassed and humiliated as he worries about bringing shame to the Hale Family, and even more shame to himself. Because the Nobles and Tainted just don't mix, never have, never will.

Except, things aren't exactly what they seem.

With the help of the (meddling) Hale family, his adoptive (meddling) human parents John and Claudia Stilinksi, and one very persistent Alpha Derek Hale, Stiles might come to see himself as more than just the blood that runs through his veins, and open his heart to find the happiness, friends, pack, and the family that he'd always wanted.

Hale’s Modern Encyclopedia of Playing Cards (and Dating Humans) by thepsychicclam | 49.6K | Mature

Wolves don't date humans. And Derek's okay with that. He's got his Pack, his friends in the Pack network, and lacrosse. Plus, he plays cards with his grandma all the time. Stiles Stilinski definitely doesn't factor into his life - no matter how much of a crush Derek has on him.

But when bird creatures attack Derek, Stiles, and their friends in the Preserve, Stiles finds out about werewolves and things get pretty complicated. For Derek at least. And he thought school was his only problem, but now he's grounded and Stiles is hanging around way too much for Derek to ignore him any longer.

Summer Contest by kits_lightning | 18.8K | Explicit

The moment Derek stepped into the fighting ring and faced Stiles he remembered why he was doing all of this.

The omega gawked at him and barely paid attention to the other competitors Talia was mentioning and Derek smiled at the thought of having all of his attention. Stiles blushed from the tips of his ears to his neck and began to run his fingers through his hair while looking away.

Derek began to wonder how far down that blush traveled when he shook his head and tried to focus on the imminent battle. He caught the last of what his mother was saying. “—have a good fight and good luck.” More clapping and the horn that signaled the beginning of the fight sounded.

Now as Ever (All That Is and Has Been) by venis_envy | 52.2K  | Explicit

Stiles can't remember what happened to rearrange the time-space continuum, or how he ended up being pulled into the past. All he knows is that he's there now, in 2003 Beacon Hills, with a teenage werewolf and a possibly-crazy veterinarian as his only allies.

[kingdoms-and-empires]

Now that you mentioned us the top list of the most eligible marriage candidates in the eye of nobility, can you please also give us the most popular bachelor/bachelorette based on the eye of normal people? I mean you can include nobles too but the thing this time is more like "The top hottest male characters" and "Top hottest female characters" in the eye of the npcs. Popularity because of what they are rather than political stuff. You can ignore this if this is a spoiler

Burh come on!!! This is such a subjective thing that would get readers pissed at me for favoring one over the other!

....

theyre all hot

But to really answer your question...this will be a list of children of nobility. So commoners or less known characters like Maximillian, Mary, or Lucina and Veriel are out:

1) Alfwen and Alfred, while traveling with their father (who no matter what butts into provincial affairs and tries to make commoners' lives better by building infrastructure or solving legal disputes), have gotten some of the love the people have for Gareth by association and familial ties. Being the children of Gareth the Kind certainly has its perks among the common people. Even more when the Sword Saint is their mother. She singlehandedly slayed one of the biggest V'era ever seen by the empire with her Blessed weapon. The commonfolk really have high expectations of the twins, and give them lots of love. Plus they're VERY down to earth and friendly. Nice kids pretty much.

2) Amina without a doubt. Her parents King Yousef and Queen Khari have basically propelled the Kingdom of Jelaytha into new cultural, intellectual, and economic heights. Theyre literally in the middle of a new renaissance due to their efforts. All that money gained from being the empire's shipbuilders and generous trade privileges arent used on their military. Theyre already protected by the empire, and have no domestic enemies save for some troublemakers in the island so there's no need. So all that money went straight into public works and infrastructure, patronizing the arts and the medical field (particularly child birth since it's sacred and important to their society). Basically, Japan post-WW2 economic miracle, if i had to compare with a real world scenario. Amina is very charismatic and self-assured, and gets along well with the commonfolk, and is regularly seen with Queen Khari as they give alms and food to the poor in Ravenfall (Imperial Capital). Since Jelaytha hasn't raided or attacked in centuries while providing expert doctors and services to the continent, the commonfolk really like the family and Amina.

3) Edward. Dude is like too good to be true. Homie likes to walk around his city with Frederick (Bestfriend/brotherfigure/Daerin's bastard) Whenever there's public works he can be seen working alongside the commoners, and not faking it or just doing it for a bit. Dude STAYS there and works just as hard as the others. He's very pious and takes the teachings of the Goddess seriously. Hasnt happened yet (will be a POV of Freddy boi and him fighting off pirates while saving merchants) but he'll become even more loved alongside Freddy boi for this. So Edward is extremely popular among the commonfolk for being hardworking, pious, and even brave enough to fight for his people. He's the first in the list who isn't JUST riding the tailcoats of his parents, and earned the love of the commoners on his own.

4) Voryn. His mom, the Grand Vizier, is hated among the nobility...but absolutely loved by the commonfolk. Taking the land of the nobility and giving it to the people or army can do that. Or stopping the use of feudal serfdom and introducing reforms that allow commoners to move out of land when appropriate (at least near the Imperial Crown lands). While his mother seriously helps in giving him points, Voryn himself does not care about hierarchy. He treats people as equals, and gives an ear to any commoner who may have a problem hoping it reaches the Grand Vizier through her son. And it does. Especially if it's something like "This noble person took my daughter and no one has seen her." Voryn and his mother are especially fond of taking care of those problems. He regularly drinks and parties with the commonfolk while usually paying for the drinks. Due to his own actions and helping his mother strike at the corrupt nobility, he's become famous among the common people who know that his mother's policies would continue with him when he takes the post.

5) Nysthe. Ever since she was little she was seen helping her brother with documents or forms. Now older, she actively helps her brother in administrating their territory with efficiency and purpose. She lowered taxes, introduced special merchant protections, and handles the monopolies given to her family expertly without endangering their profit-lines or hurting the market with flooding the empire with exotic textiles or spices from the markets of Jelaytha. Inside the continent, only the Imperial Capital can boast a wealthier citizenry, stronger economy, and higher standard of living. When commoners bring up trade disputes, legal questions, or concerns, it's Nysthe's face they see. Being gregarious, pleasant to be around, and witty all while dispensing her decisions, Nysthe has become a point of pride for the people in her territory.

6) Everyone else. The rest are less famous or not as well known. Zera is the exception, who is NOT liked by the commoners of the empire. Poor dude...

heh, i was still able to include a Bojji meme lololol

[paralumansakalyetrese]

Of Clovis, Lelouch, and Killing Siblings: An Overly Critical Analysis

NOTE: THIS IS AN ADVANCE NOTICE THAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ A PIECE ON MURDER, MENTAL HEALTH AND OTHER TRAUMATIC THEMES. READER’S DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

Code Geass remains one of my top anime series of all time (second only to Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood). I first saw it back when I was still in gradeschool (2010), and I can still recall my incredibly malleable pubescent mind being blown to metaphorical tiny bits. Whatever I saw at that time, the characterization, the writing, the premise, (I can’t remember) really agreed to my appetite after having just finished consuming 37 episodes of Death Note in a span of two school nights. Now, a decade later, I decided to revisit the series and boy oh boy. It’s still as hair-raising as I remembered it to be. But now with the mind of (*cough) an adult with four years of serious college publication experience under her belt (I GOT PAID. YOU KNOW IT’S SERIOUS WHEN THERE’S MONEY INVOLVED), one diploma for a Bachelor’s degree, and two years in medical school, I came to appreciate the tiniest details that I may have missed during my first view of the series. One of which is the death of Clovis la Britannia, 3rd prince of the Holy Britannian Empire. It was a pivotal point in the story, but not in the way I had initially thought it to be . Yep. His death did cause Cornelia and Euphemia to transfer to Area 11 and for Jeremiah to start his purist rally, but those are not the best part about it.

SPOILERS ALERT! Fasten your seatbelts because things are about to get technical and overly critical.

Re;view: The day a demon was born was also the day a prince died. Viewers loved Lelouch vi Britannia and his flair for the dramatics. This is evident in the fact that he was voted the most popular male anime character in the Anime Grand Prix THREE TIMES. (How about you? How many times were you voted most popular? Kidding. Why am I hurting myself?) His main selling points are his genius-level intellect, good looks, good background, and machiavellianism going off the charts. We all love it when our heroes go all manipulative and cunning, and Lelouch is an absolute Slytherin. Looking back, I was eating it up like woah after watching L and Light Yagami double-double-cross each other in Death Note. It was the era of edgy heroes. But unlike Light, fans loved Lelouch- this is interesting because they are practically reflections of one another. (That’s not the point of this word vomit; I will write more on that in the future though.) Code Geass R1 started off with a very bold scene after the customary montage. The writers made an interesting choice with the chess battle between Lelouch and the noble. This effectively gave us a headshot of our main character: Lelouch Lamperouge. Student. Genius. Gambler. Maker of miracles. (Yes, the last one is intentional. Please laugh.) It was established early on that this Lelouch boy is different from all the other students you’ve encountered in the past. (Who would’ve thought Code Geass dipped into the Wu Xia pocket of tricks before it got popular ammaright? Errr... No. Actually this is more appropriately referenced to the Chunibyuu culture, but humor me in this one.) We were also given a glimpse of Clovis, then viceroy of Area 11. But the way he was eased into the series was more lackluster than the introduction of Lelouch. It’s quite an irony because Clovis’s first appearance is him giving a passionate televised speech about a truck of (cough) poison gas (cough) being stolen by the Eleven terrorists from the Britannian government. The scene panned out to reveal him giving the said speech in the middle of a party. At this moment, of course, I got the sense that Clovis was written as just another corrupt government official. But if you look at the script or storyboard sequence, you can see that this alone does not make a very compelling case for his death later on. He’s also Xenophobic and elitist, by the way. The episode proceeded with Lelouch briefing us to the world of Japan/Area 11 post-Britannian invasion. We see this bizarre alternate universe unfold right before us one petal at a time. This is a particularly great choice for the narrative, because the writers did a good job revealing to us how our protaginist sees his own world: Is he optimistic? Is he a committed critic? Etc. Etc. Fast forward to episode 3, where Lelouch killed Clovis, we weren’t really given a view of Lelouch shooting the prince into the head. If you think of it long and hard, this comes out peculiar. Code Geass is not one to shy away from depicting its characters shooting themselves at the command of His Highness, Lelouch vi Britannia, to “DIE.” But, why is it that we weren’t given the satisfaction of seeing Clovis’s lifeless body? Instead, we were treated with a screen blank.

No Joffrey Baratheon moment. Why was there no crime scene shot? The answer lies on the context of how the scene was closed. Lelouch vomited right after the screen blank, hence ending his remembrance of what happened to Clovis. Before shooting Clovis, he said, “You cannot change the world without getting your hands dirty.” Let me break this to you one by one. A. Lelouch has PTSD Vomiting in anime (and other pop media) is a common act presented right after killing someone. Medically speaking, it is actually a symptomatic presentation of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). According to a paper by Michopoulos, et al. (2019), they found out from a cohort investigation that peri-traumatic nausea- or vomiting around the time of the accident- is a prospective predictor of PTSD symptom development. The list of potential traumatic events is quite long, but killing one of your brothers definitely made the list. We can also see in the series that everytime Lelouch remembers Clovis’s death, he gets this urge to vomit. Does it mean that our favorite anime character has PTSD or- at the very least- is slowly developing one? It could be. One very common misconception about Lelouch is that he is either a psychopath or a sociopath. But there has never been an indicator of him being one or the other. A true psychopath is someone who cannot feel remorse even after commiting a crime, but usually this person would have the presence of mind to evade capture and lead a normal everyday life. Whilst a true sociopath is someone who exhibits erratic and rage-prone behavior (mha-em.org).  With Lelouch experiencing acceptable periods of highs or lows and having the capacity to plan extensively to achieve his goals, he is therefore disqualified from the criteria of both psychopathy and sociopathy. Furthermore, having a metaphorical “blank memory” in literature also meant that the event is something that’s far too scarring for the character to want to remember. Now, Code Geass is an anime that tells a story using a shifting point of view. This means that we can see what each character thinks during a specific situation so long as it is relevant to the narrative. For me, the blank screen effectively emphasized that Lelouch was traumatized from killing his own brother. But he already killed a group of Britannian soldiers earlier, why is there more weight emphasized on the former than the latter. Is this because they’re brothers?  To resolve this, let me borrow a beloved quote from Joker in the Dark Knight, “Do you want to know why I use a knife? Guns are too quick. You can’t savor all the... little emotions. In... you see, in their last moments, people show you who they really are. So in a way, I know your friends better than you ever did. Would you like to know which of them were cowards?”

In Lelouch’s situation, the guns would be his geass and the knife would be the gun he used on Clovis. (Quite confusing but bear with me on this one.) Somehow, shooting Clovis himself made the situation more real than the detached death sentences (pun intended) he gave out using his geass. This puts meaning on his statement before shooting Clovis, and hence brings us to the next point- which could be the other implication of the blank screen. B. “You cannot change the world without getting your hands dirty,” is the true moment Lelouch the demon was born. If Clovis's death became Lelouch's true point of no return, it is only fitting to use a clean transition from it. The blank screen could be akin to awakening from a long slumber wherein he is nothing but another face in the crowd. But if you can recall, Lelouch has already given his long protagonist speech way before episode 3. It happened at the end of episode 1. So how did I arrive at the conclusion that the true birth of the demon happened after he murdered Clovis? Why is it the true point of no return? When Lelouch commanded the Britannian soldiers to kill themselves on episode 1, we were treated with an interesting facial expression. (Another interesting thing I've noticed; try playing this scene side by side with R2 episode 1's sequence of C.C. triggering the return of his memories.) It lasted approximately 20 seconds on screen. The expression itself is not just a single emotion, rather it is a series of emotions and thoughts. As if he does not know what to feel, culminating with- finally- our beloved smirk of triumph and realization. Here's my resolution: What if everything that transpired from that moment to the moment he killed Clovis, was just a showcase of his naivete. What if he hadn't trully realized that his life was about to change? Still one would feel compelled to ask, "Didn't he just command the Britannian soldiers to kill themselves? And didn't he just witness C.C. die? Plus, didn't we witness with him the massacre of Elevens in Shinjuku (which included babies by the way)?" I have already given a potential answer to the first. As for the second and third, it would do well to remember that Lelouch came from Britannia where the ultimate law is survival of the fittest (or so we are lead to believe from Charles's impassioned speeches). Using other people is the norm there. Additionally, we do know that Lelouch actually witnessed the murder of his own mother, plus Britannia invading Japan. He has already been desensitized to death and violence at some degree. But it is probably accurate to assume that he had not killed anyone prior to Clovis. Hence, justifying how pivotal it was for his character. He had effectively detached himself from the deaths he had caused, but not from the death of Clovis. Because quoting him, he "got his hands dirty".

So in summary, Clovis's death was valuable not only as a stepping stone to bringing Cornelia and Euphemia into the scene. It is valuable because it actually highlighted Lelouch as a weak human and then re-introduced him as an empowered "demon".

[teefa85]

So yeah...(spoilers under cut)

I was freaking right about Ryker being a thief of some sort!  Not only that, but he’s from a line of noble bandits!  As if I already didn’t take him for the most Hawkeye like of all the bachelors, now he steals from the corrupt like the Nevarl Thieves!

(and of course the battery clicked low the second things started getting good...so I can’t do the rest till tomorrow...)

[bevioletskies]

call it magic (when i’m next to you) [chapter four]

summary: As the long-lost grandson of the illustrious Gramarye family, Apollo already knew his life was going to change for the better and for the worse. After spending his formative years on the run, adjusting to his new place in magical high society was never going to be easy. It’s only when he finds himself locked in a metaphorical - and sometimes literal - dance with Klavier Gavin, both his potential suitor and the bane of his existence, does he realize just how complicated things are about to become.

word count: 4,463

a/n: This fic is a magical ‘verse set in the regency era, where some artistic liberties are taken with the time period to accommodate the story and the magic lore. Most of the details of how this ‘verse works is explained in the fic, but I’ve made an explainer that also includes some image links to characters’ familiars, which can be found here.

Spoiler warning for minor plot points and character relationships in Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney and other games, including Investigations and Chronicles. Fic title is from the song Magic by Coldplay.

preview:

“I-I’m not much of a romantic, but I’d like to marry someone whose company I can, at the very least, tolerate.”

“Don’t we all,” Simon drawled in a manner that somewhat endeared him to Apollo, though not enough to keep from cowering under his steely gaze. “...Gavin-dono is in good health, by the way; I suspect the only wound you’ve inflicted upon him is to his precious ego.”

“What are your feelings, Lord Simon?” Apollo couldn’t help but ask. “I find him astonishingly awful, but…”

“Oh, absolutely insufferable,” Simon agreed, shuddering, causing Apollo to snort indelicately as he sipped his tea. “What a shame that you may very well have to marry him.”

Apollo promptly spat tea all over his lap - or, to be more precise, all over an unsuspecting Mikeko, who yowled profusely in pain; Apollo’s reflexes only just managed to spare him from the wrath of Mikeko’s claws as he swiped at his master with a spitting hiss for good measure. “What?!”

“Did you really not foresee such a possibility?” Simon remarked, unimpressed. “Your grandfather would have made a match of you and that snobbish prince regent in no time at all, were you not raised as brothers, so we can only assume he intends to marry you off to me, van Zieks-dono, or Gavin-dono; no one less than any of the three of us will do. Even Debeste-dono, being a noble in his own right, is too lowly in the great Magnifi’s mind to matter, and there are precious few noble families left that he would care to consider. And, of course, there are a great many families he would consider that boast no eligible bachelors, only bachelorettes - the Skyes, the de Fammes, the Hawthornes, to name a few.”

Apollo offered another expression of complete disgust as he wiped his damp face. “I mean no offense, Lord Simon, but I sincerely hope that you’ll laugh in Grandfather’s face if he ever attempts to persuade you in favor of me.”

“I will howl like a wolf, Justice-dono,” Simon droned flatly.

(read on ao3)

[destieltropecollection]

Destiel Trope Collection 2020 Day 3: Bed Sharing

Stay on your side unless you actually want to cuddle | @the-madness-linked-to-a-hat

Rating: General Word Count: 1059 Main Tags/Warnings: Sharing a bed, rock paper scissors, cuddles Summary: Pretty much what it says on the tin

Watching You | @cr-noble-writes

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 1341 Main Tags/Warnings: arranged marriage, mutual masturbation, voyeurism, first time Summary: Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak barely knew each other when they were forced to marry by a legal contract between their respective fathers. That was a month ago, and though they’ve been sharing a bed for that entire time, they have yet to consummate the marriage. But Castiel can’t deny his new husband is sinfully hot, and the more time they spend together, the more he thinks he’s falling for him. But Dean never gives any indication that he might feel the same way. Until one night when he thinks Castiel is asleep.

Faith | @pray4jensen

Rating: Mature Word Count: 1977 Main Tags/Warnings: Sharing a Bed, Angst with a Happy Ending, Love Confessions, First Kiss, Coda to 15.02, Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining Summary: It’s an hour later and Cas has spent it lying on his back with his eyes wide open, watching a stream of moonlight through the lone skylight in the gymnasium’s roof while Dean’s hand rests an inch from his own. A sliver of light hits Cas’ cheek as Sam enters the gym at last, ushering the last of the townspeople inside. There are hushed whispers and the uncomfortable sound of rubber shoes dragging across the squeaky floor as everyone settles in, and then Sam goes group to group, distributing shock blankets—he must’ve found the emergency supplies at last. When he reaches them, he stops. He stops for a long, long time. Then, carefully, “One blanket or two?” For some reason, it feels as if everything is riding on this answer.

Sleep Drunk | @suckerfordeansfreckles

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 2025 Main Tags/Warnings: friends to lovers, masturbation, sleepy sex, love confessions Summary: Dean wakes up, mostly, with a happy little sigh into the pillow below him. It smells like Cas, like honey and cedar wood and Cas, and that suddenly reminds him again of where he is, whose blanket is wrapped around him, who’s lying just a few feet from him. It’s not like this is the first time he’s waking up in Cas’ bed, either — far from it. But with this… this ridiculous, useless crush on his best friend he has been quietly nursing for way too long — it’s just hard to stay away and not touch. He takes another deep breath, basks a little longer in being able to stay here, warm and safe and wrapped in Cas’ smell. He’s well on his way to just falling back asleep for a little while longer when he hears a noise beside him, a hitching breath, and then the bed rocks with gentle movement.

The Warmth of your skin | @notfunnydean

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 3414 Main Tags/Warnings: Human!Cas, hurt!Cas, sharing body heart, slightly nsfw Summary: Dean and Castiel are in the middle of a forest, when a snowstorm surprises them in the middle of the summer. To make their luck perfect, Castiel breaks into the ice of a lake. There is only one way to survive this cold. Body Heat.

In a Log Cabin in the Middle of Nowhere | @gii-heylittleangel

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 3468 Main Tags/Warnings: bottom!Cas, top!Deam, light sub/dom, dom!Cas, sub!Dean Summary: Dean and Castiel are caught in the middle of a snowstorm. Their only choice? Stop somewhere and hope they won’t freeze to death.

Safe Space | @notfunnydean

Rating: General Word Count: 3756 Main Tags/Warnings: Nightmares Summary: Dean can’t sleep, no matter what he tries. The nightmares haunt him every night and nothing helps. That is, until a certain angel starts to research and makes it his mission to help Dean fall asleep.

snow can melt the silence | @procasdeanating

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 4561 Main Tags/Warnings: canonverse, first time, angst with a happy ending Summary: In the middle of a snowstorm, Cas and Dean have to find shelter in a small cabin. Spoiler: There is only one bed.

Warming up with you | @Dreathandonn

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 5014 Main Tags/Warnings: First kiss, first time, frottage, roommate AU Summary: An ice storm hits the apartment Cas and Dean share, and the heat goes out. How are they going to stay warm?

Bacon, Baby and the Backseat | @castielscarma

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 9679 Main Tags/Warnings: Light angst, communication, only one bed, top!cas, bottom!dean Summary: Finishing a case takes longer than expected, so even when Dean really wants to do an all-nighter so he and Cas can be back in the Bunker as fast as possible, after some persuasion, Dean agrees to check into a motel for the night. They meet the motel manager Lucille, who happily gives them a special room... with only one bed. The morning after is fraught with tension, over things said and unsaid. As Dean and Cas drive the few remaining hours home, tension rises until Dean breaks.

only when the stars are out (WIP) | @kweenratmother

Rating: Mature Word Count: 15952 Main Tags/Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Nightmares, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Cuddling, Protective Cas, Bed Sharing, s14, top Cas/bottom Dean, slow burn, Eventual Romance Summary: Set in S14. Cas comes by to comfort Dean after a nightmare. But Dean has trouble sleeping every night...and as Cas visiting becomes a nightly ritual, their relationship begins to change. Dean is left with no choice but to face the feelings he's been hiding from all these years...

Poughkeepsie is not just a Safe Word | @gii-heylittleangel

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 16000 Main Tags/Warnings: explicit smut; bottom!Castiel; top!Dean Summary: The one where Sam thinks Dean's in danger just because he said he found a case in Poughkeepsie and Dean and Cas have to share a bed.

Looking for a Miracle | @kitmistry

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 23997 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas, Light Angst, Snowed In, Sharing a Bed, Writer Castiel, Mechanic Dean Winchester Summary: Dean Winchester is used to family dinners and his brother’s dog running around his house on Christmas, but when everyone seems to have better plans for this year, he takes the chance to house sit for one of his friend’s clients. If he has to be alone for Christmas, then he’d rather be in a grand house with a fireplace than his own small, bachelor apartment. His plans go downhill when the grumpy but gorgeous owner of the house decides not to leave after all. Bestselling crime writer Castiel Novak doesn’t want anything to do with Christmas. Even the mere mention of the word is enough to make him break out in hives. Isolated in his house since the death of his wife, he plans to spend another Christ—the Holiday That Shall Not Be Named alone with the ghosts hunting him and the book he can’t seem to write. But when the brash and overconfident housekeeper—who shouldn’t have even showed up on his doorstep—is snowed in at his house by the storm of the century he might have to make a few compromises. Will a Christmas miracle be enough to give both men what they need?

[tremendousdetectivetheorist]

Can you give me your top 3 reasons to love The Eligible Bachelor? Another stupid question: Is Holmes the eligible bachelor? -- yours sincerely TheAnon

Eee i saw this earlier and was going to watch it today in order to give a fresh answer but i ran out of time and i want to answer this before going to sleep. So! 3 things to love about The Eligible Bachelor from my memory:

~(i want to put a cut here for SPOILERS but i don't know how on mobile D: Sorry!)~

1. How the heroine, Hettie, listened when the actress (i can't think of her name but her sister was locked away by him) warned her about "the eligible bachelor" and investigated him herself. (How frustrating was the episode The Illustrious Client when the young fiancee didn't listen to Kitty's allegations about Gruner? And irl these situations are sadly pretty common.) Women believing other women: I'm here for it. And women looking out for other women and bringing down a monster together. ✊

2. It's such a tripped out weird episode with Holmes drawing obsessively about the visions (or dreams?) tormenting him. His maybe psychic connection to the woman locked up by "the bachelor" is something i wish they'd get into more, but perhaps it was too far out of a concept to get into (which in this episode is saying something haha). Anyway, I'm also here for Holmes sympathizing with women. Watching this in a watchalong was the first time i heard the trans Holmes headcanon, so there's another gift. 🎩

3. Maybe this is silly...i adore the elder dog lesbians, or the ladies who reminisced--hand in hand and with dogs in their laps--about parties on that estate in its glory days. Hettie is intimidated by them at first, but she has a lot of pluck and perhaps in her old age she'll be in a circle of badass elder cat ladies. 🐱

Is Holmes "the eligible bachelor?" The cover picture I've seen for that episode suggests it. 😅 I think the title "The Noble Bachelor" is really a sardonic dig at the bachelor/villain but they used "Eligible" for the film because tv audiences might not get that and would be like "wtf?" 😂 "Eligible" is its own joke, too...idk if I'm making sense so I'll end this here. XD Thanks for the ask :)

[andoqin]

C-Novel Rec

So, I have a Deep Abiding Love for Chinese Webnovels, but not often do I get one that actually gets me deep in my heart in a way where I think about it after I’m done and so I wanted to talk about it a little here.

The novel I want to talk about is called Rebirth of a Star General (重生之女将星) , by Qian Shan Cha Ke (千山茶客). If you’ve read (hetero) c-novels, you might know her name, since she also wrote the novel Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage, which is almost a classic in this kind of rebirth genre. 

This Rec/Review/overlong essay is going to contain spoilers, so if you’re completely allergic to those I’ll just give you my TL;DR here: I preferred it a lot over RMEML.

Now to my endless wall of words:

Rebirth of the Star General is pretty much what it says on the tin, main character He Yan, is a famous general in her own right, but no one knows about it because she was only the stand-in for her sickly brother. When her brother grew up and was no longer sick, the family decided that he should receive the military honors she had earned and she would be married off. This was possible thanks to the fact she had always worn a mask, so as not to be discovered.<o:p></o:p>

He Yan was not entirely happy with this decision, but she thought she would make the best of it. Of course, it gets worse because not even a year into her marriage she is first poisoned and then blind as a result and later murdered by her cousin, a concubine of her husband.

She gets reborn as He Yan, beloved and spoiled daughter of a city guard and vows revenge, both on her former husband and on her family, but most of all she longs to become a general again, but this time under her own name and with acknowledgement of her being a female general. 

If you want your rebirth novels to include lots of face slapping or intricate revenge plotting, this is not the novel for you, since soon after she is reborn, she kills a guy out of self-defense and when his family and the city guard are after her she uses this chance to enlist in the army, disguised as a man. 

This is where she meets her arch-rival in her previous life, a man so gorgeous, once again entire paragraphs are filled trying to describe his magnificent beauty - a hallmark of this author if I ever saw one. She decides she will use this chance anyway, her knowledge of military tactics and her knowledge of her rival (and former classmate) possibly being beneficial in this case. 

The author makes it a point to emphasise that He Yan struggles initially to keep up with the military training, since she is now inhabiting the body of a woman who does not have experience with hard work and that she has to work twice as hard to be even mediocre, in the beginning. Obviously mediocrity does not lead to quick military advancement, so her getting incredibly fit very quickly anyway is not very realistic, but even before she had enlisted, He Yan had trained her new body and she has many years of experience as to how to get better and fighting experience, so I gave the novel a pass on that one. 

Up to this point the novel was entertaining, but it didn’t really grip me too hard, although I was impatient enough to MTL it, but as the story goes along He Yan really developed into one of my favourite c-novel heroines ever. So often in novels like this, the female character is treated as exceptional and all other women are dumb bitches, often just in the way of our main couple and dispatched accordingly. But He Yan does not treat other women like this and over the course of the novel builds lasting connections with all sorts of women.

And then there is the scene that made me go: okay yeah, this is going right up the favourite list.

He Yan meets up with the Second Male Lead (who never really is a serious threat to the OTP, He Yan only ever sees him as a friend and somewhat nice guy) and he tries the “oh you’re so unique and special, no other woman is like you” speech, but He Yan stops him and rips into him and the patriarchy in such a beautiful way, that even MTL doesn’t hamper:

   "A-He is very different from ordinary women."

     He Yan looked at her, "What's different?"

     Chu Zhao continued to walk forward, his voice still soft: "Most women, even though they are faced with such a predicament, are already numb and indifferent, and do not think as much as Ah He does. If A-He is thinking about them now, it is very likely that they wont enjoy it, and they will even complain that you are meddling in their affairs."

     He laughed: "This sounds a bit condescending."

     Chu Zhao smiled, "Why do you say that?"

     "The court is a man's court, the world's affairs are a man's world affairs, even when studying in the battlefield, it is men who are the only ones who have the grace. It is so unreasonable that men take advantage of the world, but in turn blame women for being numb-minded and unmotivated, what is this if not superiority?"

     "Brother Chu thinks that I am different from ordinary women because I have studied, I have left the house, and I even went to the military camp. But if you let those women be like me, who have seen the snow of Liangzhou Wei, the water of Jiyang City, the long moon of the desert, the rivers and mountains, do you think they would still be willing to be trapped in a jealous mansion, would they still be complacent and numb and foolish?"

     She smiled a little bit like Xiao Jue, "I think the men in the world are worried about this, so they have set up many ridiculous rules to bind women, breaking their wings with the three rules and five rules, and using those unwarranted 'virtuous wives and beautiful women' to judge them. The more foolish they are, the more reassured the men are, and the more they say, 'See, the women are shallow', when they are the ones who caused it!"

     "Because they also know that once women are given the chance to 'choose', they will never become a vase in the harem with their hands outstretched waiting to be fed by their husbands. Those good women would become generals, chivalrous men, scribes, staff, and compete with them for the grace of the world, and they, in turn, might not win."

     The girl's eyes were as clear as the water in the springtime of Ji Yang City, transparent and clear, seeing clearly and distinctly, as if they could reflect the most splendid daylight.

     He was always able to speak well and would not bring the atmosphere to an awkward point, but at this moment he did not know what to say. It was as if there was nothing he could say to refute the person in front of him. It was clearly a ridiculous, insouciant, naive and annoyingly righteous statement, but it shone out the shadow of a human being, with nothing to hide.

    He was also uneven in his heart.

     Although pretending to be "He Ru Fei" had brought her a lot of pain in her life, it had also taught her to see sights that many women would never see in their lifetime. If she hadn't pretended to be "He Ru Fei", she would not have known that men could do so much more than women. If you were talented in literature, you could be a bachelor with a full belly, if you were skilled, you could be a general with a good war record. Even if you were mediocre at everything, you could still be the most ordinary man on the street. To put it mildly, even at the Raketongzhuang, women were gambling prostitutes and men were gamblers.

    It was only because she later became "Madam Xu" and worked as both a man and a woman that she realised that the world treats men and women so differently, that it is not that men do not suffer, but their suffering can be the basis for judging themselves. The women, on the other hand, spend their lives waiting for the men's affirmation of their hardships.

    It is obvious that they are both born as human beings, but who is more noble than the other? It is ridiculous that some men still look down on girls from the bottom of their hearts, which makes people speechless.

and this is when the author pretty much states why He Yan would never be with SML 

   Chu Zhao and Xiao Jue were, after all, not the same. With women, they both considered them weak and unable to protect themselves. But the former's judgement had a hint of negativity and condescension in it, while the latter, as evidenced by the treatment of the female corpse in the Sun family's backyard in Liangzhou City, had more to do with pity.

And I loved that so much??? Yes, both the ML and SML have patriarchical attitudes towards women, but for He Yan there is a subtle and important difference. And this continues to be a theme throughout the book. One woman later keeps telling her son “Don’t underestimate women!” to later add, after He Yan has become a female general in her own right, under her own name, that He Yan might not be the only female general, there will be two, three or even more.

The romance is of the very, very slow variety and the main couple doesn’t even get together until the last quarter of the novel, officially, but before that we have all sorts of delicious fake relationship, cohabitation and other delightful tropey shenanigans.

The slow romance and relatively easy way the revenge is dealt out might mean this is not for everyone, but if you’re into a nice novel about a woman realising her goals, with a man who will always support her by her side, this might be for you.

And yes, she continues to lead armies after they are married :D

[atissi]

Eva Yan?

How I feel about this character:

[Spoilers for Bachelor Route in first paragraph]

I like her but I don’t think I know her! For a long time it didn’t make sense to me why she died, and I think it's because I wasn't paying attention for that day, or an event was missed, or maybe it's cleared up when you talk to her on Day 12. (As you would know, Niru) I’ve been studying her character to get a sense of her voice, but I still feel like her ideals and motives elude me...

That might be because I find it hard to engage with characters who are friendly and helpful...they aren’t as compelling to me as characters who are terrible at talking to others jfklgfg. I do enjoy what P2 is doing with her character, and how spacey and idealistic she is, while being simultaneously so morbid. And the way she was in P1, scared of everything but also very stubborn and brave when committing to her own dreams, can be so fun! Her conversations are definitely interesting but it’s difficult for me to get into that mindset and replicate it. Her anxieties about the quality of her soul, and her relationships to the Stillwater and the Cathedral, are already interesting based on what we get from the art book, so I hope to see more of it in Bachelor’s Route!

And I do love her airy, floral aesthetic. She’s one of those characters I enjoy drawing and collecting Pinterest boards for, but can’t really understand lol. Hopefully that changes the more I roleplay as her.

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

Eva and Maria, obviously! I also think how Eva and Yulia respect each other’s very different perspectives is cute, but I don’t have an idea of how their dynamic would play out. I actually like Eva and Daniil too, even though Daniil is rude to her a lot in P1, just because she’s one of the best people to take none of his shit while still being his friend. I think the dynamic of like, loving each other, but never meeting at the right time or right place to really make it work for their respective life goals, is tragic in a sweet way. Just like Eva!

My non-romantic OTPs for this character:

...I feel bad for saying this, but I have no thoughts about this. Uh, Daniil technically counts? I know she’s friends with the Stamatins, but until Matt and Caden convert me to caring about those guys, I remain completely apathetic towards their existence.

Wait, wait, fuck it. Eva and Grace. I like their parallels and I think they’d really vibe with each other’s outlooks and personalities. They probably hang out at the graveyard and talk about death while weaving flower crowns.

Niru, can I just recommend all of your Eva writing and call it a day?

My unpopular opinion about this character:

[Spoilers again]

Eva is capable of being quite cowardly and mean, and I wish I saw more content of her focusing on that! Her fear of Artemiy and Clara is funny and also so revealing of her social standing...she’s probably a rich girl from a noble family, if she lives in the Bridge Square. She dreams of being a Herb Bride, but the outside world scares her. She’d rather just dress up and dream of souls and death in a metaphorical sense. It was undeniably bold of her to throw herself from the Cathedral, but what I want to see is the hours leading up to that choice...writing letters with twyrine-numbed hands while praying that she dies cleanly and painlessly. Checking her hair before she leaves the house. Closing the windows so it isn’t cold when Daniil comes back. That sort of stuff.

One thing I wish would happen/had happened with this character in canon:

If I knew where any of her family was it would be so much easier for me to figure her out. How did she grow up? How did she end up moving to the Stillwater? How did she first meet the Stamatins? Has she ever been to the Capital? How does she feel, always living with someone new? Did she always think and act like this, or did something change as she grew up? Please, I just want more backstory for her!!!!

[krystalreverb]

Something Human Fic Preview #7

This is under a readmore because it contains spoilers for the ending of Something Human. 

Hubert found himself doing as he was told, and came upon a table laden with coffee in fine tea cups on fine saucers in the courtyard of Enbarr palace. “Really, Ferdinand, our good porcelain? That was meant to be used in the actual wedding feast. Edelgard won’t be happy.” 

“And it will be! After I am done! Edelgard can wait!” Ferdinand insisted. “Come here, taste this one. I’m detecting a bit of a nutty aroma, but I can’t seem to taste it past the bitterness. There is a reason I don’t drink coffee.”

“Then it’s a bloody good thing I do, isn’t it? Give me that, you’re going to spill it down your shirt, you fool.” Hubert snatched the cup up gracefully before Ferdinand had the chance to dribble it down his shirt. Hubert took a sip of the coffee and made a disgusted face, his nose curling up at it. 

“You’re awful at making coffee, that’s why you can’t taste anything. Spill all these out, let me.” He insisted, pouring the coffee in the cup unceremoniously on the ground. He pulled out his own personal coffee press and began to measure the grounds more carefully. “See, you made it too strong, which means you used too much coffee and the water was too hot, scorching the grounds. The water needs to be hot, but not boiling.” He explained, carefully measuring his grounds and pouring water heated by magic to the perfect temperature into the press. “That’s why it was bitter and unappealing. You didn’t make coffee, you made burned mud.” 

He poured another cup and handed it to Ferdinand. “That’s a proper cup of coffee. Taste that.” He said firmly. Ferdinand took a tentative sip, and his eyes lit up.

“By the Gods! It’s delicious!”

“See?” Hubert chided. “What do you taste? Give me a description of your experience.”

Ferdinand took another sip and contemplated it for a moment, swishing it around in his mouth for a few seconds before swallowing it down.

“Hmm… There’s notes of hazelnut, and smoke, and a subtle sweetness underneath, like fine Brigid vanilla and Adrestian sandalwood. It’s smooth and velvety and not at all harsh on the palate. There is the residual bitterness from the coffee, but it serves to complement the entire experience, rather than detract from it. It’s incredible.” Ferdinand reported, swirling the coffee around in the cup and putting it to his nose to take a sniff. “It smells like heaven, and I don’t even like coffee. I think it’s perfect for the wedding feast! Even the council will partake!” 

“Excellent. I shall begin ordering coffee beans post-haste.” Hubert said, pulling out his notebook and scribbling down a note to himself to order coffee beans later. Ferdinand studied him for a moment. Hubert still didn’t quite realize, or perhaps was ignoring, the fact he was no longer considered a servant. 

“You realize you don’t have to do a servant’s work anymore, Hubert, yes?” Ferdinand asked tentatively. “You’re marrying the Emperor.” 

Hubert shrugged. “I’m a simple sort of man.” He said, “And it’s hard to break old habits. Besides, why delegate when I can do it myself and ensure a desirable outcome?” 

“The point is, you don’t have to anymore.”

“Ferdinand, my place is by my lady’s side. Whether that be as her vassal or her husband, I take my role very seriously. My place is kneeling at her feet and walking by her side, and taking on the menial things that are beneath her, like preparing the wedding. You may not understand that, having been raised as a prime minister’s son, but my entire being is devoted to Lady Edelgard. This is as much her wedding as it is mine. Believe me. I am ecstatic that I am lucky enough to be allowed to marry her. I love her, with all my heart and soul. I am thrilled to soon be her husband. But I am, first and foremost, her servant. And I will do a servant’s work, if it benefits Lady Edelgard. This wedding benefits Lady Edelgard. Therefore, I will ensure that we have the proper coffee beans for the reception, and I will prepare the coffee myself if necessary.” Hubert said seriously. “Now, all that being said, we should get these teacups into the kitchens so they can be cleaned before the wedding feast.” 

“Right you are, Hubert. I may have been a bit overzealous.” Ferdinand admitted. 

“As you are in everything you do, Ferdinand.” Hubert began placing cups and saucers on a silver serving tray to bring back to the kitchens. “I’m used to it by now.” 

Hubert picked up the tray laden with cups and saucers and began carrying it on his shoulder back to the kitchens. Ferdinand followed, carrying his own tray. When it looked like the stacked cups on Ferdinand’s tray were about to topple over, Hubert gently put out two fingers and stabilized them until they got to the kitchens, and were able to put them down. 

“I never knew coffee could taste like that.” Ferdinand said, still in awe. “I always thought all of it tasted like mud.” 

“You would have known if you’d ever let me make you a cuppa before, you simpering noble fool. I offered, don’t you remember? You refused, repeatedly. I make a proper cup of coffee, Ferdinand. I pride myself on it. I would not serve Edelgard anything less than the best.” 

“I suppose that’s true. You always did hold yourself to a high standard when it comes to her.” Ferdinand said. 

“Only the highest standard, of course. What kind of Vestra would I be if I did not devote my entire being to my lady? A failure, that’s what. As much as I detested my father, he didn’t raise a failure.” Hubert set to work cleaning the dishes alongside a maid who had come to help. When she expressed concern that the Emperor’s consort was washing dishes alongside her, Ferdinand put up a hand.

“I already told him. Stubborn as an old mule, he is.” 

Hubert rolled his eyes. “I’m as much a servant of the imperial household as I am the Emperor’s consort, you realize. My title of Minister of the Imperial Household doesn’t just magically go away.” 

“But you’re marrying the Emperor.” Ferdinand stressed. “You technically outrank everyone in this room. You don’t have to wash the dishes. That’s what she’s there for. We hired her for a reason.” He gestured towards the maid. Hubert sighed and took his hands out of the sink begrudgingly, wiping them dry on a hand towel. He replaced his gloves and rolled his sleeves back down, following Ferdinand out of the kitchens. 

“You know, if you keep taking away my opportunities to work, I will go insane.” Hubert muttered. 

“Your job isn’t to work anymore, Hubert. Your job is to be the Emperor’s personal sex toy.” Ferdinand said.

“Like Dorothea is for you?” Hubert teased. Ferdinand flushed wildly. 

“No, Dorothea’s job is to sing operas on stage and mine is to donate a substantial amount of money to the Enbarr opera house in which she sings.” Ferdinand insisted. “But let’s face it, Edelgard is happy. She loves you, and she’s willing to take away all the responsibility and dissolve your oath of servitude in order to show the world that she loves you. Instead of working yourself into the ground, try reveling in it for a change.” Ferdinand gripped Hubert’s shoulders and shook him gently, but firmly. “Let’s go into town. You and me, what do you say? I’ll drag Caspar and Linhardt, let’s throw you a bachelor’s party, shall we? No women! Caspar will leave Petra to care for Edelgard, and Linhardt can leave Bernadetta at home in peace!”

“Isn’t the bachelor’s party supposed to be the night before the wedding, so that I show up to my own highly-publicized royal wedding hungover and sick?” Hubert asked.

“That’s the point of doing it now! You’re expected to be all prim and proper on the day of your wedding, so let’s throw you a party now! That way the council is happy, and you’re happy, and she’s happy! Everybody wins!” Ferdinand insisted. 

Hubert sighed dramatically. “Alright, fine. I’ll throw around a little of that Emperor’s-consort money and we’ll go to that club that Linhardt brought Bernadetta to when they started dating. Is it still there?”

“The Spiral Horn? The one with a unicorn on the sign, right? Of course it’s still there. We’ll watch a couple dancers, have a few drinks, it’ll be fun!” 

“Well, I do have more fun when there’s vodka involved. Alright, let’s round up the boys and we’ll go.”

[shipmistress9]

FTLOAP - 40: If I'm Not Made For You Then Why Does My Heart Tell Me That I Am?

Fandom: HTTYD

Theme: Hiccstrid - Medieval-style AU - Romance - Angst/Hurt/Comfort

Summary: Reduced to little more than a stable boy, Hiccup, despite his noble birth, has few prospects for more in life. But when he meets a girl who came to look at the horses, being a stable boy might not be enough anymore. Together, they have tough choices to make and great risks to navigate if they want to survive and be together.

Rating: Explicit

FF-net  -  AO3 -

Discord-server for discussions and questions

Part 1: Prologue; Chapter 1; Chapter 2; Chapter 3; Chapter 4; Chapter 5; Chapter 6; Chapter 7; Chapter 8; Chapter 9; Chapter 10; Chapter 11;

Part 2: Chapter 12; Chapter 13; Chapter 14; Interlude 1; Chapter 15; Chapter 16; Chapter 17; Chapter 18; Chapter 19; Chapter 20; Chapter 21; Chapter 22; Chapter 23; Chapter 24; Chapter 25; Chapter 26; Interlude 2; Chapter 27: Chapter 28 ; Chapter 29 ; Chapter 30; Chapter 31; Chapter 32; Interlude 3; Bonus 1; Chapter 33

Part 3: Chapter 34; Chapter 35; Chapter 36; Interlude 4; Chapter 37; Chapter 38; Chapter 39

Alpha/Co-author: @athingofvikings

. – * – _ . o O o . _ – * – .

AN: This chapter... I'm incredibly curious about the reactions! It contains more scenes that have been planned for nearly a year, some were even already written out since November! And... well, I hope that I'm able to get across what's important for me in this chapter. I'll see...

Also, in November, I posted a small spoiler on Tumblr. I was asked to put a warning for when that spoiler would come into play, so that's what I'm going to do now. THIS is the chapter where that spoiler line comes up.

This week's title comes from the song If You're Not The One by Daniel Bedingfield. Ever since this song first came out, it's been one of my all-time-favourites. But it actually took me a while to discover how well it fits this story, especially at this point. I admit that, in the end, it even inspired an additional scene near the end of this chapter. You'll see what I mean.

. o O o .

“Eret? Do you want to marry me?”

After she’d realised what Snotlout was doing, Astrid had wondered about that insanity for a couple of days now. His behaviour had become more obvious – and more obnoxious – with every time they met, and by now, it was impossible for her to pretend it wasn't happening.

He was flirting with her. There really was no other way to describe it, and even though she'd always thought fondly of him, she now couldn't help but cringe whenever she saw him. A part of her wondered how other women before her had endured and even enjoyed his attention – but she also recognised how different his behaviour toward her was from how he'd acted toward others. He was so sure, overconfident even. He obviously knew about the King's wish of her marrying one of the ducal heirs and seemed to think that advertising himself like this would make her choose him.

But did he really want to marry her? She still couldn't believe it, couldn't even think about it without dismay. How could one of her brothers want to marry her? No matter how long she thought about it, it made no sense, and eventually she acknowledged that thinking on her own wouldn’t get her anywhere.

Meeting Eret had been pure chance but a welcome distraction. It was early in the morning, hours before today's tournament would begin, and she'd wanted to enjoy at least a small sense of freedom by taking a walk over the castle's grounds. Now, they sat near Lake Vola, with Tuff acting as chaperone from a distance, and enjoyed both the peace and the comfort. But she didn’t want to waste such an opportunity.

At her question, Eret, who was lying on a sunny but likely not-entirely-dry patch of grass next to the low stone wall where she sat, cracked one eye open and tilted his head to throw her a funny look.  After a moment, he returned to his former relaxed position though, eyes closed and head resting on his arms behind his head. “You know, Swanja… In your current position, you should be careful with a question like this,” he said, sounding utterly unperturbed. “One might think you just proposed to me.”

Astrid rolled her eyes and made a half-annoyed and half-amused noise. Eret would know better, after all. “Don’t be daft. You know what I mean.”

Sighing, he turned his head to look at her in earnest. “Yes, I know what you mean. But the answer is not as easy as the question.”

Astrid wanted to snort. She'd fully expected Eret would laugh and answer with a resolute ‘No!’. He had to be joking, right? Because it was insane and impossible and… and…

Except that he didn’t look as if he was joking.

He seemed to notice her bafflement, because he sighed once more and made himself comfortable again before he gave her an explanation. “I see that’s not the answer you’ve expected,” he began, strangely quiet. “And I’ll admit I didn’t expect to have this kind of talk today. But it’s better than not talking about it, I guess…” He paused, gazing into the light blue sky overhead as if it was the most interesting piece of art he’d ever seen. “I’m not in love with you, if that’s what you meant,” he eventually went on. “That hasn’t changed.”

Astrid nodded, even though he couldn’t see her. They’d already been through that three years ago, after all. After Thuggory’s constant teasing over the span of one summer about how close they were and what a cute couple they would make, they’d almost believed it themselves. What followed had been a few awkward days of blushing, of averting eyes and stiff conversations – until they’d decided to put their feelings to the test. They’d kissed, the whole program with gazing into each other’s eyes and cradled faces, with lips and tongues. And then, they had decided that was definitely not what was between them.

Thinking back, the thought made her smirk inwardly. Kissing Eret had felt weird, unnatural. Not really unpleasant, if she was honest; just… not right. And now, comparing that kiss back then with how it had felt to kiss–

Stop right there!

“So, you don’t want to marry me?” she asked, mainly to force her thoughts into another direction. She couldn’t think about that, not now. Not ever again.

“I… didn’t say that,” Eret muttered, still refusing to look at her.

He wasn’t making any sense. “What do you want then?” The question came out more aggressive than intended, but Astrid wasn’t in the mood for beating around the bush, not now, not after everything. She was tired, having cried for almost the entire night again, tired of the games, tired of the verbal dancing and indirect responses. By Thor, she was going to get a straight answer out of someone, even if she had to shake it out of them!

“What I want...” Eret scoffed. “Since when does it matter what anyone of us wants?” He sighed again, shaking his head, and Astrid knew all too well how he felt… “If it were about doing what we want, Dagur and I would just… leave. We’d go, and start a simple life somewhere far away.” Now, Eret threw her a wary glance, as if to see how she would react. But even though the words surprised her, Astrid was beyond showing any reactions, especially not emotionally, and after a minute of silence, Eret continued in a softer tone.

“We’ve even talked it through, you know? What we’d do if we had the options… We’d go somewhere remote where people wouldn’t know who we are. We’d approach the local lord, get a land tenancy, settle down. Build a paddock for a couple of horses and a garden, maybe an orchard. I’d earn us some money by breeding and breaking in horses for the locals, and Dagur would distil his own alcohol from the fruits in our garden.” He chuckled weakly. “It would be a simple life, without much luxury to speak of. Calm.”

Astrid swallowed. “That sounds beautiful,” she whispered. Eret's words reminded her of other plans, other ‘what if's’…

Quickly, she again shook those thoughts off and concentrated on Eret and his words again. On how they puzzled her. She’d always thought Eret and Dagur wouldn’t mind becoming the next Grand Dukes.

“Right?” Eret agreed, but then shook his head. “But it’s nothing but idle dreams. We can’t just drop our responsibilities and leave our homelands in such a chaos. We wouldn’t want to do that. Lavo would become Head of House Jag’r, and while he’s a good man, he’s certainly not a good leader. And House Berserker… If Dagur doesn’t inherit his father’s title, Hel herself will show up down in Southshore to collect the bodies.”

Again, Astrid nodded; the precarious situation with the two Grand Dukedoms was well-known to her, after all.

Eret let out a deep breath. “But that’s not what you wanted to hear right?” He slightly shook his head, lips twisted into a grimace. “The thing is… we eventually have to marry one day. If we stayed bachelors forever, we could simply continue like now, spending time together every now and then. But for the sake of sustaining a line of heritage, we can’t inherit if we refuse to ever marry. And once we’re married…” He shrugged, and Astrid remembered the words she’d heard some nights before.

Marriage is a sacred vow, and one does not break it. I won’t turn you into an adulteress.

Astrid felt as if she couldn’t breathe, the memories like a crushing ring around her chest. But luckily, Eret didn’t seem to notice.

“You asked whether I’d even want to marry you,” he went on, suddenly sounding eerily solemn. “And the honest answer would have to be yes. Yes, I’d like to marry you. Not because I love you, and I’m sorry about that. But marrying for love has never been a real option for us, so I’d opt for the second-best choice – marrying my best friend.” He turned to give her a brief smile, but then continued to stare into the distance. “You’re my best option for a good future. I mean… I know that I won’t be the best of husbands. But unlike any other wife Father could pick for me, you at least already know that. You know that I won’t be your ardent lover. You wouldn’t be disappointed or angry. Or at least I hope you wouldn’t be.” He swallowed, and when he continued to speak, finally looking at her after all, he sounded incredibly vulnerable.

“If you were to choose me, Swanja, then I can promise you that I’d be a good and loyal partner to you. We’d live a happy life together. I won’t be your lover, but I'd be your partner, your friend. I’d do my best to hopefully be a good father to our children, and I’m certain I’d treat you better than most of your other suitors. And... and the same goes for Dagur, if you were to choose him.”

It seemed like Eret was waiting for a reaction, but Astrid was unable to speak, stunned. He was serious!

Eventually, he exhaled a deep breath, and pushed himself up on his legs. With his back turned toward her, he said, “I do love you, Swanja, just not like that. And I want you to be happy. If… if you have someone else in mind, someone you want to choose for yourself... then by all means, please do so. Neither Dagur nor I want you to be miserable for our sake. We will all go our way, one way or the other. But know that we are an option, and hopefully not the worst there is. I’d be happy and proud to bring you back to Eastervale as my wife, and I dare say that living at our stud farm would suit you.”

And with these words, he left her.

For she couldn’t say how long, Astrid sat on that low wall, eyes unseeingly cast over the lake's calm surface, as tears ran down her cheeks in never-ending streams. Gods, she was such an idiot, had only thought of her own problems.

But Eret was right… For all her life, she’d been prepared for a loveless political marriage. And yes, if she couldn’t marry the man she loved…

...then her best friend would certainly be a good second choice.

. o O o .

For once, she didn't need to ponder endlessly. In fact, it was more as if she’d known what to do for a long while already without being able to see it. But when she reached the fighting ground a couple of hours later and saw him hustling about among the other squires and, as always, not even once glancing in her direction… it all became crystal clear. He wasn't an option anymore – and maybe never had been. She would have to pick another path, one that, hopefully, would be bearable.

She paused in her steps, pondering for one last moment, and then gestured Tuff to follow her. Instead of directly going toward her usual seat under the pavilion, she headed for the large tent where the men were getting ready for their fights. Many eyes turned toward her when she entered, confusion and anticipation in most of them, and the tent fell completely silent.

"Sir Eret?" she called out as firmly and clearly as she could manage. "May I asked you to keep me company today?"

Eret met her eyes with an unreadable look, but nodded after a seemingly endless heartbeat. “Of course, your Highness.” He took off his heavy gloves and handed them, his helmet, and his sword to his squier before following her. And not even now, he would look at her.

Astrid’s lips twitched, but she quickly turned away, and, with Eret at her side, made her way toward her pavilion.

At first, they sat in heavy silence, but eventually, Eret audibly cleared his throat. “Are you sure about this, Swanja?” he asked in a subdued voice.

He didn’t need to elaborate; the meaning of his words was clear enough to her. Her inviting one or more of her suitors to sit with her during the tournament when they weren’t fighting was something she was allowed to do. Without a doubt, it was considered an honour, but the fact that she had never bestowed it on anyone before made her singling out Eret now even more noticeable. She could practically feel the countless eyes on them, could hear the hushed whispers all around the arena. But she didn’t care for any gossip her action might start. She’d never cared about the rumours they’d caused by acting like a couple. At least this time the rumours would be true.

She swallowed, and, unable to meet Eret’s eyes, instead gazed down at her hands in her lap. “You were right,” she whispered. “Marrying for love has never been a real option for either of us. So I’m going to pick the option with the best prospect of happiness and follow the path everyone apparently wants me to take anyway.” Now, she looked up after all and threw him a tentative smile. At least, she wouldn’t have to pretend with Eret. They weren’t in love and never would be. But they would give each other comfort and that had to be enough.

He returned her smile and, as if to prove her thoughts right, reached for her gloved hand and squeezed it. It made her smile turn a shade brighter. Yes, they didn’t love each other. But friendship was a good basis for marriage too, right?.

They watched the first rounds of the melee without saying anything more. Five times, ten men entered the arena and fought until nine had either been knocked prone, unconscious, or had a wound sufficient to spatter the grass with blood. Snot’s turn was in the second round, and he won without any difficulties, sending his opponents sprawling or bashing their faces in so that their noses bled freely onto the grass. There was something to his boasting after all, Astrid reminded herself as he blew her a kiss across the arena before he left it. Growing up in Westhill had turned him into a better fighter than most.

Then it was Eret’s and Dagur’s turn to fight, and it wasn’t until she saw the other eight fighters all ganging up on them that she realised what her open act of favouring Eret had done. Now he had a target on his back, and more than once she gasped or froze when one fighter launched at him. People died in these tournaments! What if someone managed to injure, maybe even kill him, just to get him out of the way? It would be her fault, and hers alone.

She watched the fight with more attention than she had before – and also with a fair bit of anxiety. But her worries were unfounded... for now at least. With Dagur and Eret fighting back to back, the other men had no chance and when it was only the two of them left, they shared a look, a handshake, and then Dagur went to his knee, placing his weapon to Eret’s feet.

The sight made her throat tighten even further. To everyone else watching, it would look like Dagur forfeiting to the Princess’s favourite, probably in hopes of gaining her good will for the future. But Astrid knew it was more than that. So much more… It wasn’t just Dagur giving the victory of this melee to his friend. It was him freely giving up his lover, giving in to the inevitable without struggling and without hard feelings. He knew that he’d lost, and what he’d lost, on the altar of the Kingdom’s Hel-spawned politics. If Astrid would have had any tears left, she’d have cried.

When Eret returned to her after being cleaned up and his armour having been removed, he seemed weaker and more beaten than the fight alone would explain. This time, it was she who placed her hand on his lower arm, in an attempt to comfort him but also to apologise. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled weakly.

She was relieved when Eret placed his hand over hers and asked, “For what?”

“For everything. For making you a target and… and for…” She didn’t dare to phrase the rest, to mention Dagur. Her pavilion offered a certain amount of privacy so that she didn’t expect anyone to overhear their low conversation, but that wasn’t the point anyway. She didn’t want to hurt Eret further.

He hissed out a low and unamused laugh, almost a pained groan, but gave her a reassuring smile nonetheless. “Don’t worry,” he replied. “We always knew it couldn’t last. And as for the target… You don’t need to worry about that either. It’s not that much different than before. They always knew me, Dag, and Snot where your most likely choices, so not that much changed now. Besides, as much as they want to see me defeated… well, let’s just say that my status still offers a certain amount of protection. They wouldn’t dare to attack one of us for real, simply out of fear of repercussions.”

Astrid nodded, but only felt slightly eased by his words. There had been too many accidents already. “I hope you’re right,” she sighed. “And… and I hope this wasn’t the wrong decision – for both our sakes.”

He squeezed her hand once more and scooted a little closer to her. It was weird in a way how easy it was to just continue their usual comfortable closeness under these strangest of circumstances. But then, that was part of why she’d made this decision. She knew Eret, knew that they got along. There’d never been any real shyness or awkwardness between them, and she was relieved that that hadn’t changed.

“We’ll see,” he eventually replied. “But at least we know that Daniel will be pleased.”

There was a certain bitterness in Eret’s voice at these words, one that made her frown in confusion. “What makes you think that?” So far, she hadn’t spent much time thinking about Daniel, not beyond the burning pain she felt over his betrayal.

Eret snorted, and made a vague waving gesture between the two of them. “Well, this is what he wanted, what he’d planned for all along.”

“He… what?”

Now, Eret grimaced, but also noticeably put in an effort to stay calm as he explained. “Oh, he didn’t tell me anything, in case you were wondering,” he scoffed with the same bitter tone as before. “But after that announcement on your birthday and realising that he knew about all this… it started to make sense, you know? A while ago, he became strangely gloomy from one day to the other, and there were so many things he said before he left, things that made me wonder what was on his mind. It all started a few days after Dagur’s accolade. The day we first went to meet Cami, remember?”

Astrid sucked in a breath at those words, but instantly shut her mind down. No, no, no. She didn’t want to remember that day, couldn’t bear it. The first night they’d talk more openly, the first time he’d touched her…

Her hands were trembling, but if Eret noticed, he didn’t react. He just went on with his explanation, suppressed anger tinting his voice, and she was grateful for the distraction.

“Daniel was supposed to come with us, but was forced to cancel his appointment when he received a note. I don’t know what it was about, but it was then when he changed. Late that night, we met him in the corridors. He wouldn’t tell us what bothered him, only that we would learn about it soon enough, that it was better if we didn’t know right away… and that he ‘very much counts on my loyalty for all this to end well’. I didn’t know what he meant back then, but now… And there were other comments, too. Like how he asked me to keep an eye on you until he comes back from Westhill. Or how he blatantly asked us whether we could imagine getting married anytime soon when we all went to the tavern that last night.” He swallowed thickly. “All those small things came back to me lately, but they only started to make sense when… when I talked to Hiccup the other day. Apparently, Daniel told him that he was hoping for us to marry. That we would be good for each other.”

At the mention of his name, Astrid’s mind turned numb out of sheer reflex, but there was still a small functioning part that registered what Eret was telling her. That Daniel apparently hadn’t been happy about this plan and that he’d hoped for her to find comfort and solace with Eret, her best friend. A sob tore itself from her body, making her shiver and tremble, and this time, Eret noticed. His hand around hers tightened, offering her comfort from amidst his own pain and sending a wave of gratitude through her hurting soul.

They didn’t speak much more until the tournament was over, but the companionable silence was proof enough to her. Living with Eret would be effortless. It would be good. Not what either of them truly wanted but better than the alternatives

Daniel had been right, she realised with a grimace. She and Eret were good for each other, the best option they had to ever live a somewhat happy life. Even with how betrayed she felt, she still couldn’t shake off a budding sense of gratefulness that her brother had at least planned this far. And he couldn’t have known better, after all. Daniel didn’t know about the feelings Eret and Dagur had for each other, didn’t know about her and… and… him. He didn’t know how much pain this solution brought to so many people he cared about. But he was right in that it still was the best solution they had.

When the tournament was over, she accompanied Eret back to the tent. She’d meant to directly move on to her own rooms, to get ready for tonight’s dinner. She expected it to be an awkward meal, with the older man congratulating them and the younger all suffering. Idly, she wondered how Snot would behave now, but quickly decided that she didn’t care.

Especially not when someone else stepped into their path all of a sudden.

Nervously biting her lip, she met Dagur’s gaze, expecting to see hurt and pain or maybe anger in his eyes. He, too, had been hurt by this development after all. But he, who always wore his heart on his sleeve, now wouldn’t let his feelings show. He made a hesitant step toward her, even had a small smile on his face, and pulled her into one of his usual bear hugs once Eret had let go of her arm.

Overwhelmed, she clutched at his back, and couldn’t keep herself from sobbing into his tunic. “I’m sorry,” she whimpered against his shoulder. “So, so, sorr–”

“Shh, shh, it’s all right, little sis,” he interrupted her in an equally low voice. “I wasn’t expecting anything else. And I won’t embarrass either of us by asking you to make him happy, but… But I’m asking you to both be happy, okay? As happy as you can be.”

She sobbed again and for a heartbeat clung even tighter to him before they let go of each other. She took a step away when Dagur turned to Eret next, giving them a bit of privacy, when she noticed another figure standing a few steps behind Dagur.

He didn’t say anything, didn’t move. He only looked at her with those incredibly green eyes of his, really looked at her for the first time in days. It made her freeze, with only a fleeting thought about how Dagur and Eret hopefully would be too occupied with each other to pay them any attention. She held his gaze and tried to convey what she felt. Not her pain, but an apology. The apology for, finally and ultimately, betraying their bond and turning down every plan they might have had. She expected to receive some form of pained accusation in return, but none of that happened.

Instead, he just stood there, a weak smile around his lips that wouldn’t reach his eyes, and nodded.

. o O o .

That night, Astrid stayed awake for a long time, but in opposition to past nights, she didn’t cry. She felt too empty for that. Her eyes were fixed on the wooden figurine in her hands, the one that resembled Markor and that he had given her.

“It’s not much, I suppose. But it’s something… personal? Something to remember me by when I can’t be here with you anymore.”

His words rang clear and true through her mind, but for once the pain didn’t hit her as hard as she’d expected. ‘...when I can’t be here with you anymore...’ He’d only meant the months of separation, but now, it felt so much more relevant. Without her help, her hand wandered to her chest, the other caressing over the smooth wood. No matter how much she wished it would be otherwise, she could still feel his warmth in her chest; even though the blazing inferno had simmered down like a glowing coal. A reminder of the former fire that would never extinguish.

“I will always love you, Hiccup,” she whispered into the darkness of the night. It was a last confession before she stowed the wooden figurine away into her treasure coffer. “Goodbye, my love.”

Then she went to bed, determined to move on. From now on, she wouldn’t let herself be in pain all the time anymore. Her mind and soul were so frail and thin by now; more pain would eventually break her apart. So she clung to the only solace left to her. She would be Eret’s bride now, and… and it was good that way. The only path she could take.

She closed her eyes, willing herself to sleep – even as the small part deep inside her was still screaming. And she couldn’t make it stop.

. o O o .

Hiccup hadn’t expected for the pain to be this unrelenting. He’d expected that it would take time, time before he could even consider getting over her. He had expected that seeing her at Eret’s side, her arm wound through his and their obvious closeness, wouldn’t exactly help either. But the reality was so much worse. No matter how many days had passed or how often he’d seen them together since her open preference during that tournament, it was still like sharp pokes to an open wound. Over and over he told himself that it was good, that it was better this way, the best he could hope for for her. And it was! He knew that it was the truth. In Eret’s presence, she was less tense, at least a little more at ease.

But it hurt!

Because he remembered the time, not too long ago, when all he’d wanted was to be the one to make her happy one day, and the constant reminder of how that would never happen felt like getting stabbed over and over and over again.

Every time he felt her presence or spotted her amidst the crowd, all he wanted was to tear out his heart in the hopes that it would make the pain go away. There was a voice in his head that was constantly screaming at him, “Wrong, wrong, wrong. This is wrong, all of it!”, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t smother it. It was tearing him apart.

The worst were the nights. When he was laid out on the couch in Eret’s rooms, so close to where she was, under the same roof and on the same floor even, and yet unable to ever be with her again, he felt the full weight of their loss. It pressed down on his chest like someone sitting there and keeping him from breathing. More than once, he’d caught himself idly playing with her key, which he still wore around his neck on a simple leather cord. He’d thought about taking it off multiple times already but he’d never found the strength to actually do so. He knew that he should, that holding on to it was only his weakness of not being able to fully let her go. It was him clinging to some elusive hope that only kept cutting and hurting him over and over again. Occasionally, he even caught himself getting up, a half-baked plan to sneak through the corridors and into her rooms in his sleepy mind. If only he could see her, talk to her, hold her one more time. Odin, he would do everything if only it meant they would get another chance.

But there was nothing for him to do.

All he could do was watching her attend one event after the other, with Eret always at her side, and remind himself that this was the only way for her to be happy.

. o O o .

“Ah, good evening, Sir Eret,” Fyrir Mala greeted them as they entered Freya’s Temple a few days later. “Sir Dagur, Lord Hiccup. Welcome. You can go right through to Cami’s rooms; she’s already waiting for you.” She nodded at them all with a friendly smile which they all returned dutifully – even as neither of them truly felt like smiling.

More than anything else, Hiccup felt weird to be here again, even though he probably should have seen it coming. Eret’s and Dagur’s days were numbered, so it wasn't really a surprise that they'd wanted to ‘visit Cami’ as long as they could. And of course, they’d invited him to come along too, just like they’d always done. They didn’t know about his own pain after all.

But right now he dreaded the thought of Cami and interacting with her, of the conversations that would inevitably come up. Of how unexpected it was that they were all still here after all, of the latest developments in Eret's life… and her usual questions after his lady love once Eret and Dagur retreated. Because he didn't feel strong enough to lie, to make up some tale about how they enjoyed the reprieve, no, certainly not. Instead, he felt brittle, as if he'd break apart and crumble at even the slightest nudge. He’d even welcome that over the constant pain.

But of course, he wouldn’t simply fall apart and stop existing. There was no way to escape the inevitable.

“Oh, dear Freya!” Cami exclaimed as soon as they entered her rooms and the door closed behind them. She threw herself around Eret’s and Dagur’s necks, pulling them into a tight hug. “I’ve heard what happened, of course I have. And… I know everyone else would deem congratulations in order–” she pulled Eret a little tighter “–but I’m so sorry! For both of you. How are you feeling?”

Carefully but firmly, Dagur and Eret pried themselves out of her arms. They looked miserable and Hiccup was once more reminded of how he wasn’t the only one in pain. As much as he might want to hate Eret for having everything Hiccup wanted – he just couldn’t. Eret was as much a victim of this entire scheme as he and she were, and he was suffering from it too.

“What do you think how we feel?” Dagur asked, noticeably missing his usual joyfulness. “Even with always knowing that it would eventually come to this, it’s…” he broke off, and turned away from them, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

Hiccup almost expected he’d turn away further when Eret stepped toward him to place his hand on his lover’s shoulder. But instead, Dagur sighed, relaxed, and leaned into the touch, and Hiccup couldn’t help but look away at their moment of intimacy. Yes, they were both suffering just like him.

“I’m sorry,” Cami said again, sounding truly miserable, but Eret cut her off directly.

“It’s all right. Dag’s right, we knew it couldn’t last. All we can do now is make the best of it.”

“I sure hope you do,” Dagur threw back, an odd mixture of sadness, joking, and sincerity in his voice. “If I hear only one complaint from Swanja about you, I’m going to come and rip off your head!”

Eret chuckled, if a little strained. “Hey, I already tried to do her a favour by convincing her father to arrange that ride tomorrow. I mean, it can’t be long with the ball in the evening, and it won’t be a fast ride either with her having to use this horrible side saddle and at least some members of the party not being experienced riders. But I still think it’s better than nothing. Or I hope so, at least.” He sighed. “Anyway, I’m holding you on to that promise, just so you know. Making sure she’s happy will be my highest priority from now on.”

Eret’s reply made them share a weak but true smile, and even with how numb and hollow Hiccup felt, he still was grateful for the reminder that they did care about her. She was in good hands. That was all that mattered.

“Anyway,” Eret went on. “Before we leave you alone, I wanted to thank you, Cami. For taking our request for an appointment on such a short notice. It’ll probably be the last time anyway.”

She gave him a comforting smile. “Of course. I’ll always have time for you.” Then she frowned. “But why do you think it’ll be the last? It’s still over six weeks until the wedding.”

“Aye.” Eret shrugged. “But the betrothal will become official in two weeks already, and me coming here after that won’t be regarded with any form of leniency. And then there’s the ball tomorrow night. Even with it just being meant as an entertaining diversion, her choice of partner for the opening dance will still be regarded as her making an unofficial choice.” He shook his head, a despondent expression on his face. “No, this will be the last time we come here. It has to be.”

Again, Hiccup had to avert his gaze – to give them privacy when it now was Dagur’s turn to comfort Eret, but mostly to hide his reaction to Eret’s words. He’d effectively pushed aside every thought of this, but he was right. After tomorrow night, she would be considered betrothed to Eret, no matter how unofficially. The thought gave him a new sting, and he almost laughed in surprise at how his heart could still hurt more.

“I see,” Cami sighed. “Well, then off with you two. If you want, we can talk more later. I hope you can enjoy this night as much as possible.”

They didn’t need another invitation and only seconds later, Hiccup was alone with Cami. And no matter how painful the previous conversation had already been… What came next would be worse.

“So, and what’s up with you?” she asked in a noticeably more cheerful tone. “I get why they are so depressed, but I honestly didn’t expect that from you too, not even out of sympathy.”

With his lips pressed into a thin line, Hiccup ignored her words and walked past her to where wine and glasses were already standing ready for them on the small table. He poured himself a glass and downed it in one. Maybe the alcohol would make enduring this easier. Behind him, Cami said his name, clearly confused, but he kept ignoring her. It was only after he’d nearly emptied his second glass of wine before she more firmly demanded an answer.

“Hiccup, what’s up with you?” Her hand was on his arm, keeping him from turning away as she stepped in front of him. “After our last conversation about how much you and your lady love dreaded the separation, I thought you’d be happy about this postponement.”

Snorting, he turned his head away from her anyway. Right… Oh, how much they’d hope for just any way for them to not have to part. Once again he thought about how the prospect of being separated for weeks and months had felt like the worst that could happen to them. How foolish and naive they’d been. And how much he’d give to return to those times…

“Hiccup?”

This time, Cami sounded worried, and almost despite his own will, he turned to look at her. And even though he’d sworn to himself to lock his pain deep inside him, to never let anyone see… right now, he couldn’t hold it back anymore.

“Hiccup, what happened?” she gasped when his mask crumbled away to reveal his pain. She pulled at his arm until he sat down in one of her chairs. “You look… horrible. Gods, did something happen to her? Is she alright? What–”

“She’s fine,” he mumbled, if only to keep her from worrying further. And it was true, wasn’t it? Physically, she was fine...

For a short while, Cami was quiet, watching him closely. “What is it then?” she eventually asked, softly. “You seemed so sure, but… Did you two break up?”

Again, he snorted. “In a way,” he mumbled, remembering the conversations they’d had, at the stables on her birthday and at the armoury on the day after. They had broken up, even as that phrase sounded too weak to describe what happened. Once more, pain flooded his mind and body, and he reached again for the wine, refilling his glass and taking a big gulp. Why couldn’t he turn numb already?

“Why?” Cami probed, and no matter how gentle that one word had been, it still felt like a sting, as if it had torn a hole into his thin layer of protection. From one heartbeat to the other, he wasn’t able to hold back any longer.

“Because she’ll marry someone else!” he burst out, eyes stinging. “Not by choice, but what does that matter? In six weeks, she’ll get married to Eret, and there’s nothing we can do. I lost her.”

There, he’d said it. And now, the desired numbness sat in with full force. He slumped down in his chair, too weak to even hold his head up anymore. For the first time in almost two weeks, tears were welling up in his eyes and he didn’t even try to hold them back. It didn't matter. He’d lost her, forever, and now nothing mattered anymore.

He wasn’t sure how long it took Cami to react again. He was dimly aware of her staring at him with wide eyes and her jaw dropped, but he just didn’t care...

“The Princess,” she eventually whispered, and a tiny sarcastic part of his mind wanted to applaud her. After so many weeks of her trying to pry for any information about his lady love, she now knew. So what? It wasn’t as if things could get worse. “You… are you trying to tell me that this girl you talked about, the one you spent nearly every night with, and who I encouraged you to introduce to sex was the Princess?”

All Hiccup could do was nod weakly, but it seemed to be enough for Cami.

“Are you insane?” she nearly shrieked. “The Princess? H-how… how did that even happen? And what were you thinking? You said you were certain to marry her one day, but… But she’s the Princess, for fuck’s sake. Everyone knew that she would marry for an alliance one day, even she. What in Loki’s name made you believe you could circumvent that?”

Hiccup groaned. Every single one of her words felt like another blow to his battered soul. Yes, they really had been stupid to hope and to dream, hadn’t they? But it had all felt so real…

For a few minutes, Cami went on with her tirade, scolding him, but after a while, it stopped affecting him. He couldn’t take any more, and he also understood that by now, this was more Cami venting out her shock than anything else. Eventually, she stopped, and a heavy silence covered them like a blanket.

“We thought it would work,” he eventually murmured into the silence. “We were so sure… Because… because it had to work…” He could feel that Cami didn’t understand though. And how could she? If he listened to himself now, it barely made any sense to him either. Except… “She and I… we share a bond, one that I can still feel even now when all hope is lost. And we thought… If the Gods bound us like that, doesn’t that mean that we will be together? That it’s our inevitable fate? Isn’t that part of what being soulmates means?” He shook his head, the hopelessness of everything once more crashing down on him.

“Oh, Hiccup…” Cami reached out her hand, hesitated visibly, but then placed it onto his arm after all. “I… I don’t doubt that you thought you’d be soulmates. There are many young couples so madly in love that they feel like that. But… but true soulbonds are rare. So rare that I haven’t even heard of a true one happening in the last thirty years or so. I’m sorry, but… but that wasn’t real.”

Hiccup groaned. He’d known that this would be the most likely reaction to them ever telling anyone. But it still stung to hear her say it. She was wrong, though, he knew that deep in his heart. What he and she shared, that was real. Wasn’t it? “I don’t believe you,” he whispered.

“I’m sorry, Hiccup. But… Let’s think this through. If yours was a true soulbond… then you would have been right. Nothing on Midgard can keep apart what the Gods forged together – not even a King’s decision. So how can you be soulmates when, as you all pointed out, she will marry Eret instead? Her decision falls tomorrow at the ball. Not officially, but binding enough. What made you even believe your bond would be true?”

Almost against his will, his hand wandered to his chest. He could still feel her heartbeat and that spark of her soul deep within him. How could that not be real? But he couldn’t make Cami feel what he felt, so he had to try and put it into words. “I… just know it’s true,” he explained in a whisper. “I can feel her, even now. Right here. And… and I felt her before, too. You remember how she got attacked shortly before Midwinter? I was miles away from her then, asleep at the outer stables. But I still felt her anxiety – her fear and her pain – strong enough to wake me up. There is a bond between us, a connection,” he insisted. Cami still didn’t look convinced though, so he tried to think of what else to tell her. “And we had visions! Well, one vision, but it was the same for both of us. We saw the same thing: our future together in a small house, me coming home after a journey, and she and our son greeting me at the door. That was real!”

In what was probably meant as a comforting gesture, Cami squeezed his arm. “I don’t doubt that you believe that,” she repeated her words from earlier, sighing. “But that doesn’t change the facts, Hiccup. She will marry Eret, as it had always been meant to be. Your bond can’t be real.”

. o O o .

Until deep into the night – with Eret and Dagur still not having returned from the temple – Hiccup kept pondering over Cami’s words.

They made no sense.

He knew, without a doubt, that their bond was real. Vividly, he remembered how her fears had reached him even though he’d had no idea that something had been wrong. He hadn’t made that up. And it was the same with their vision. They both had seen the same future without even knowing each other. That hadn’t been a coincidence. It can’t have been!

No, their bond was real. The longer he thought about it now, staring at the decorated ceiling above him, the clearer it became to him. It wasn’t just a fluke or a pipe dream. It couldn’t be.

But if Cami was right and nothing could ever overcome a true soulbond, what did that mean in return? Did that mean that… that there was still hope after all?

The mere idea made Hiccup’s heart stutter painfully. Had he given up too soon? Should he have fought for her after all? But how? If only he knew what to do. He’d do everything for her, whatever it would take.

The facts remained the same though. He couldn’t think of a solution, no chance, no way for them to be together. And he was running out of time. If there was something he could do then what was it?

So what if Cami had been right after all and he was chasing nothing but a dream. Was it possible that they’d interpreted too much into their feelings? Or maybe it was something else entirely, something he’d thought about before and that Cami hadn’t mentioned. Not even a King’s decision could overrule the Gods’ will, she’d said. But what if the Gods changed their mind? Was it possible that them getting intimate had angered them enough to part them again?

Groaning, he covered his face with his hands. All this pondering wasn’t doing him any good. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t thought about uncountable options already. But he couldn’t think of a way out and he wasn’t optimistic about getting an epiphany anytime soon either. And it would have to come soon, before tomorrow night preferably.

“Please,” he murmured a prayer into the darkness of the empty room. “Please, if it is your wish that we are together then send me a sign. I’d do everything for her, but I need your help. Is there still hope for us? What can I do?”

But it didn’t seem as if the Gods had heard him, or maybe they just didn’t care. There was no sudden lightning strike, no foreign voice speaking in his mind, nothing. For over an hour, he kept pondering and wondering before sleep eventually overcame him.

. – * – _ . o O o . _ – * – .

He found himself in a forest that he didn’t recognize. Pine, fir, some oak, with light underbrush. Nearby, a mighty tree had fallen in some years past, and there was a cluster of saplings reaching up towards the gap and the light, with blackberry bushes around them. He noticed that he had a heavy basket in hand, filled with the berries, and without thinking, he set off down the well-beaten path behind him. Birds fluttered around in the air above him and he heard squirrels and woodpeckers hard at work.

Then he emerged into a clearing, and the moment Hiccup recognised the small but neat house with a garden of flowers, vegetables, and herbs around it, he knew that he was dreaming. He’d only seen this place once before, and just for a fleeting moment, but it was enough. His heart was beating furiously as his feet led him closer. If this was the same like the last time, then there should be the noise of a barking dog at any moment and then the door would open to…

But this was not a repetition of the vision he’d had some months ago, he realised. There was no barking dog, not even when he reached the still-closed door. He waited, and when nothing happened he lifted his hand to open it himself. It was locked though, so he knocked instead, eager to see her. Maybe indulging in this dream wasn’t a wise idea, but he honestly didn’t care. He only wanted to see her…

But still, the door didn’t open. Instead, he heard a voice in his head, old and gnarled somehow.

I am locked.

With a start, he looked around, but there was nobody. Shaking his head in puzzlement, he knocked again but had no time to even wait for a reaction from inside when the voice spoke again.

Still locked.

Somehow, it sounded amused this time, and finally the words started to make sense, even as nothing else did. But this was a dream, Hiccup reminded himself. Things didn’t need to make sense…

“Can… can you open up for me?” He felt stupid talking to a wooden door, but it also felt weirdly right.

The voice in his mind chuckled. No, I can’t do that.

Hiccup’s shoulders slumped. He had the strong feeling that this was more than just an ordinary dream. The answer to his questions was inside this little house, their future home. But if he couldn’t get inside, then–

But you can open me.

Hiccup blinked and reflexively tried to open the door again. But it wouldn’t budge, only rattled a bit. “No, I can’t. You’re locked.”

Don’t you have a key?

“No, I don’t. Why would–” he broke off when the door’s voice again chuckled in his mind.

I think you do.

Hiccup didn’t understand. How was he supposed to have a key, either to this enchanted door or it’s future counterpart? He had no keys at all, had nothing on him except the clothes he’d fallen asleep in – the basket had vanished at some point without him noticing – and–

With a start, he scrambled for the cord around his neck. For her key.

See? the voice chuckled again, then faded away. He didn’t expect to hear it ever again.

Instead, he looked down at the key in his hand. It was bigger than in reality, sturdier, but it very clearly was the same key. With shaking fingers, he pushed it into the lock and wasn’t even surprised when it fit perfectly. With an audible click, the door unlocked and opened without his doing, revealing the person standing behind it.

“I’m so glad you made it,” she said in her usual slightly nasal voice, her blue eyes beaming and her pink lips stretched into a loving smile.

Hiccup could do nothing but stare. It was her. She was here! Joy bubbled up inside him and a wide grin stretched over his face. It might just be a dream, but still. Looking at her, openly and without having to hide anything, was balm for his soul.

“Come with me,” she said, smiling, and took his hand to lead him around the house and into the garden. It was bigger than he’d realised, with a patch of soft grass beneath an old tree where they made themselves comfortable. The branches and leaves build something like a roof above them, with only small spots of sunlight dotting the ground and dancing when the breeze caught in the tree overhead.

On their way, he took the time to look at their surroundings, her hand in his warm and reassuring. To their left, there was a stream and a little lake and to the right, he spotted the edge of the thick forest he’d come out of. Behind the building and the garden was a steep wall of solid stone that stretched to surround the clearing in a wide arc on nearly all sides except for a narrow opening somewhere in the forest. A caldera?

He shook his head, inwardly laughing at himself. Finally, he had the chance to spend time with her again, or something close to that at least, and he wasted it by looking at the scenery? Quickly, he focused on her again, on her hair, her face, the feeling of her hand in his – and frowned. Clearly, it was her, but at the same time, she was… different. He looked at her more intently, trying to pin down what exactly it was that threw him off. She certainly didn’t look the same as when he’d seen her earlier that day. She was older by some years, more grown up. Her face had lost a bit of its roundness and was more defined, her golden hair a shade or two paler. But that wasn’t what bothered him.

Somehow, she didn’t feel right. Of course, she wasn’t real, was just a product of his dream, but still there seemed to me more. She was too alive for a dream, and she was different. As if it wasn’t his soulmate at all sitting there at his side, but instead someone else.

He pushed the thought aside as something ridiculous. This was a dream. None of this was real and nothing needed to make sense. A part of him tried to convince himself that it would be better to simply wake up. It would be too easy to get lost in this fantasy and the longer he indulged in it the more it would hurt when he woke up again. But even with her not feeling right, being here in this beautiful garden with her to simply enjoy their time… it was too wonderful, and he couldn’t bring himself to even try to wake up.

She didn’t say anything, only watched him with that warm smile of hers that he loved so much as his hand cupped her cheek, his eyes taking in her achingly familiar features. He savoured every moment of the illusion of being so close to her, of feeling her warmth beneath his hand, and of the faint mayweed scent surrounding her. Even if nothing of this was real, it still felt real enough to pretend. For a few minutes, they continued like this, with him marvelling how well their hands fit together and how their soft caressing each other made him shudder, until he invited her into his embrace and she followed without a moment’s hesitation. At that moment, he didn’t care how much this dream might pain him once he woke up. Simply holding her like this was worth everything, and it only strengthened his resolve to keep fighting for her in case he ever got the chance.

“I miss you,” he murmured a good while later. It was hard to tell the passing of time, but he would say that at least an hour had passed with them simply cuddling in the comfortable grass. By now, he lay with his head cushioned in her lap, her hand carding through his hair. It felt good, so peaceful and right. He never wanted to leave again.

“I know,” she replied. “I felt your pain and I heard your plea. That’s why I came to you.”

Hiccup frowned at her odd choice of words. She’d come to him because of his plea? What plea? And how had she come to him, when this was only a dream? It didn’t make sense, unless–

“But don’t give up,” she went on, interrupting his line of thoughts. “You were right right from the beginning. Don’t give in to doubt now.”

With wide eyes, he looked up at her, at her face, beautiful as always yet with an intense, almost divine inner glow... None of this made sense, unless it wasn’t a dream after all. Was this the answer he’d asked for?

He took a deep breath to calm himself. If he was right...

“Is there still hope then?” he asked breathless yet carefully, unsure what he even was allowed to do in her presence.

Smiling, she nodded. “There is always hope.”

Hastily, he scrambled up to his knees to look at her. “Please. I… I need your advice, Oh Fair One. I don’t know what to do.”

She smiled at him, and there was no question to him that this wasn’t Astrid, for all that She wore his love’s form. “Do what comes naturally to you.”

“I... I have been,” he said, pained. “But it isn’t enough!”

“I know it feels that way,” she said, and her eyes seemed to gleam with an inner radiance, blue like the sapphires he’d once seen in a shop held up to sunlight. “Foresight is a painful gift, but We had a purpose in Our selection...”

“My Lady...” Hiccup began, and her head jerked towards him, a wry smile on his beloved’s lips.

“Yes?”

“Please. Please. It hurts so much being parted. All I want is to hold her again. Is there a way?”

She scoffed. “You are strong enough for the work ahead, although I know the path is difficult. Do Our work and know that your reward will be yours.” She motioned to the clearing and the house inside it. “Success–or failure–is entirely in your hands.”

“Then why are you here?” he asked.

“You called,” she said simply. “And in answer to your question... do you want to know? Truly? Foresight is a painful gift, as I said.”

Hiccup didn’t hesitate and knelt. “My Lady, please. You bound my heart to her. Just tell me what I must do to hold her again.”

She patted his head and said softly. “So We did. Well then. Yes, you can hold your beloved in your arms again. Soon. But first, you will end the life of someone dear to her.”

. – * – _ . o O o . _ – * – .

It was strange, Hiccup thought the next morning, how little it bothered him to prepare Crusher for Eret. Even though he was incredibly grateful Eret had rescued him, it had always pained Hiccup to tend to his father’s former stallion and to hum his mother’s lullaby to calm the beast. But today, it barely affected him at all. His mind was too occupied with that dream. That vision.

You can hold your beloved in your arms again. Soon. But first, you will end the life of someone dear to her.

She’d said that and he’d woken, and in the hours since, the words of the Goddess had continued to echo through his thoughts. There was barely anything else that registered in his mind. Every stroke down Crusher’s silken black fur and every movement to bridle and saddle him was done through pure force of habit, just like it had been with Cassie before. What did those words mean?

Was he supposed to kill someone for her? That… that seemed rather crass and he couldn’t see how that would be good for her in any way. She hated pointless deaths... Besides, he didn’t even know who. Eret maybe, so he couldn’t marry her in his stead? Or her father, in revenge for his decision and to render it useless? Or someone else entirely; Dagur, or Daniel, or someone he couldn’t even think of right now?

His heart was thrumming with hope, with the prospect of how maybe they still had a chance after all. But the circumstances were daunting, to say the least. He’d thought he was ready to do everything for this chance, but this… Could he kill someone, just out of the hope that it would somehow get them back together again? And if he could do it… Who and how and when?

The whirling thoughts in his mind made him dizzy, and he had to sit down for a minute. More out of reflex, he rubbed his twinging leg as he gazed into the distance with unseeing eyes. End the life of someone dear to her… Was this really what he had to do? Or had he just imagined it all, had it been nothing but a dream made up by his desperation? Gods, he couldn’t even trust his own mind anymore!

His hand wandered to his chest, feeling for the key and her warmth beneath. Last night, in that dream or vision or whatever it had been, holding her in his arms had reminded him of just how much he needed her in his life. If there was a chance for them, then he just had to take it.

But did that mean that he could murder Eret if it came down to that?

“Hey. You all right?”

Hiccup jumped when, unexpectedly, Eret’s voice cut into his thoughts. He looked up at his cousin, a spark of panic flaring up inside him. Would he be able to read Hiccup’s thoughts from a moment ago on his face?

“H-hey,” he stammered in greeting. “Yeah, everything’s good. Fine. Uh, Crusher is ready, but if you want you can check him over again. I’m feeling a bit fried – rough night – so I’m not all here right now. I-I hope I made no mistake.” Oh, wouldn’t that be ironic? If he killed Eret by accident simply because he hadn’t correctly taken care of his kit? Or would that even count as an accident, with a small dark voice in the back of his mind demanding him to do it? A shiver ran down Hiccup’s spine, and he averted his face when he felt Eret’s scrutinising look on him.

“Hiccup... what’s wrong?” He paused for a moment before he went on with a low sigh. “Listen… You don’t have to come along today if you don’t feel like it. This is just a joy ride, nothing more. You’ll really be needed as squire at the ball tonight, so you’d better rest until then.”

Hiccup grimaced as Eret’s words brought a new idea to his mind. Could he kill Eret simply by not being around when he needed his help? These thoughts were driving him insane!

“No, I’m good, really,” he muttered and tried to force something like a smile on his face. “But still, you better check that all buckles and straps are where they should be.”

“As if you’d make a mistake when it comes to horses,” Eret snorted. “No, I trust you. Besides, we don’t really have time for that anyway. I’m… well, I slept too long and I fear the rest of the party is already waiting. Let’s get going.”

With a tight smile, Hiccup nodded and was glad when turning to get Cassie provided him with a welcome excuse. Interacting with Eret had never felt this awkward before, and he was certain that his unusual tension hadn’t escaped Eret’s notice.

He had to admit, however, that going for a ride was a wonderful diversion from their other activities lately. Hiccup rarely ever felt as free and relaxed as when on horseback, and even with how anxious he was today, Cassie’s familiar movements beneath him filled him with a certain calmness.

As Eret had predicted, it was nothing but a slow ride through the countryside, hardly a joyous ride; in fact, it was more of a discomforting plodding, which Hiccup knew that she and her brothers all hated from how they’d reacted over the last few months. But it couldn’t be helped, given the number of riders in the party. Most of the hundred and more suitors were riding with them, and their horsemanship left much to be desired, especially as they crowded around her, unable or unwilling to just yet accept that they’d lost. But that was understandable, as they were the survivors of the contests so far, after the injuries during the tournaments and hunts had killed nearly two dozen, with that one boar having accounted for four deaths all on its own, and another two dozen-plus were wounded or maimed. They wouldn’t give up that easily, not now, not after everything.

From his place close behind Eret, he could barely even see her on Markor’s back where she rode at the front of the party next to the King. And their speed wasn’t helped by her having to use that ridiculous side saddle for this official event. He figured she wouldn’t be all too happy right now from that, but hoped that she’d at least find some form of comfort by being allowed to ride again for once.

Trying not to focus too hard on her and trusting in Cassie to stay in her place amidst the group, the slow pace gave Hiccup the chance to further brood over the riddle She had given him – even as the sober thought of the Goddess Herself having appeared in his dreams nearly made him hysterical. It all felt so surreal, impossible, and only left him more confused than before. Yes, he’d asked for help, for a hint at whether and what he could do, but had that vision – if it had been a vision at all – really helped him? He wasn’t so sure about that. She’d been right. Foresight was a painful gift.

For well over an hour, they rode along the shore of Lake Vola while Hiccup’s thoughts still whirled around in circles. He hadn’t paid their surroundings any mind, but from one moment to the other that changed. There was a commotion at the front of their party; a horse whinnied and others snorted, men yelled, and there was abrupt movement among the packed riders, some halting and others urging their steeds on.

Then a sudden shriek of pure agony rent the air, and it was only by dint of long experience that Hiccup kept Cassie from bolting in panic. A number of horses did bolt, sending their riders tumbling out of their saddles or carrying them off, and shouts of surprise and dismay joined the agonized cry of someone in mortal pain.

And from the sound, Hiccup knew, knew who it was...

. o O o .

Right... and I'm back into hiding...

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