#thinking of adding more from how young he was when he became a lord and how rising that fast affected him but here’s this for now

[wacky-nameless-inventor-24]

royalty au is a lot about Mads trauma ik but I really want to go into NFentons from when he served under NScrooge- as a sort of reaction to that I’m thinking of giving him control issues (though he’s kinda already been written with those anyway)

Being forced to be complicit in everything NScrooge did from murder to imprisonment to raids to greed and just everything means he just had to watch a lot of it and couldn’t do anything about it. Now that he’s in charge he has to be in charge of everything that happens so he can finally do it the correct way. Most of the time it’s not noticeable (he just has a reputation for being very Particular) but sometimes it’ll get bad and he either has to do everything personally himself or the people doing things for him (like his advisors) have to do everything Exactly how he tells form to and afterwards they have to give him an extensive report on what happened. Even though he is a very logical Greater Good Cut Our Losses kind of person it still has to be done the way he has figured it out to help as many people as possible and any variance from that really makes him angry. All of this only serves to wear him out more which makes is mood worse and it’s a hard cycle to get out of. He has a tendency to yell (that he is working on!) which really no one reacts well to but Mads and Blue especially have a hard time with it.

For example ig when Mads first started causing chaos NFenton was really hard on Blue about it because there were bad things happening (riots and fires and stuff) that he couldn’t stop, and so he figured he had the strongest person in the world who was also incapable of doing something about it. He was really nasty to them about not being able to catch him and really took his anger out on them- though nobody really recognized at the time it was a trauma response. Still doesn’t excuse it though and he did apologize to them throughly afterward and hasn’t done anything like that since (over my head was supposed! to cover this but I might just write it independently afterwards). Another example that isn’t as bad is after NGyro’s betrayal things get bad again, and he tries to assign everyone bodyguards- which like. they refuse cause it’s blue and beakley and mads they. all know how to take care of themselves and their refusal only makes his mental state worse. At that point he’s doing better about handling it tho so he’s never really mean to anyone about it he just gets extra grumpy which does lead to some bad arguments and work environments ig. I do have a fic about this I’ve been almost finished with for months now sldlglgkhkg He is also! shit about talking through his feelings so he has a tendency to hold things in until he explodes at someone.

Anyway on a more lighthearted side of it Mads has developed an attack plan for when he notices this from NFenton which is to make him stop working for the rest of the day (so he can’t be in charge of/control anything else and has to let other people take over so he can step back and calm down about it and see that it’s fine), give him a bath, maybe a massage, then distract him with food while braiding his hair and trying to talk about it with him. Talking doesn’t always work the first time so it becomes a sort of ongoing conversation until it’s resolved. The hair braiding is some extra physical contact to help him calm down sldlfkf

[drunk-person]

Leather gloves, jealous and dragons

Pairing: Aemond Targaryen x wife!reader

Summary: After the moons pass and Aemond and Lady Y/n's marriage becomes increasingly stronger, there is only one creature capable of keeping the prince away from his wife for more than a few hours, Vhagar. Sometimes Y/n cares, sometimes she doesn't, but if there's one thing she never cares about, it's the thick black gloves that her husband wears when he goes flying.

WARNING: 18+ mdni! Smut, p in v, gloves being used inappropriately (a lot of things have been used inappropriately on this blog lately, I'm talking about you training yard), fingering, clothed sex, dom/sub tones if you squint, no description for reader.

Word cont: 2.900 k

Author's note: Okay, I was just casually scrolling through Aemond's tag when this idea came up, and yes I was writing the bottom half of the fourth chapter of The Gossip, but I HAD to write this story! @peachysunrize I hope you like it, I added some inventions from my head in the middle of it 💕💕. English is not my first language so be kind if you can.

Y/n Arryn was a respectable and well-regarded lady, throughout Westeros there were men fighting for her hand as soon as she was old enough to marry. Proposals came from the North, the Rech and even Dorne, but the one that was of most interest to Lord Arryn was the one that came in a black envelope with red edges sealed with the Targaryen family crest.

The hand of the king had proposed marriage between Y/n and his grandson Prince Aemond Targaryen. The young woman felt her heart come to her mouth as soon as her father told her what he had decided, she would marry Prince Aemond in two moons.

The first time Y/n set foot on Kings Landing she was terrified, the idea of marrying a man she barely knew making her thoughts cloudier than water. And when she met Prince Aemond, this terror increased even more, something she didn't think was possible.

He was as scary and taciturn as they had told her, he barely gave her a look and only said two words of courtesy, other than muttering every now and then while looking down on everyone as if he were from a race superior to mere mortals.

Y/n's fear became even more overwhelming after she met Aegon, Aemond's older brother. Her heart ached as she listened to the gossip around the fortress about how he cheated on his wife, how he was always drunk, and how he spent more time in the brothels than in the fortress. Sadness took over her, and she imagined how terrible life itself would be from now on.

How wrong she was.

Things began to change on the night of the wedding when the prince vehemently denied a bed ceremony. Y/n was so nervous, the fear of the nuptials was already consuming her, combined with the fact that other people would be watching it made her tremble, until Aemond denied the ceremony and ripped that fear out of her.

The remaining fear was quickly extinguished when Aemond gently laid her on the bed and made her cry with pleasure in a way she never thought possible. Her hands tangled in his silver strands of hair as he touched her in places that made her blush with embarrassment as she remembered the other day.

From then on, little by little, she got to know her husband and every day she became more grateful for that. He still had that stoic and arrogant air, but now Y/n could see behind it, she saw the small acts of importance he gave her daily.

How he made a point of having at least one meal a day with her, how he asked how her day had been, how every now and then she would wake up after a passionate night and find an arrangement of beautiful flowers on the table in her room. And each of these things from the smallest to the largest warmed her heart until it was completely melted by her husband, to the point where she couldn't wait to be with him.

Little by little Aemond spent more and more time with her, and when they weren't tangled in the sheets so close together that you didn't know where one began and the other ended, they were sitting in the gardens talking, or reading together in some quiet place, or even just quietly enjoying each other's company. At a certain point, the only one who could receive more attention from Aemond than Y/n was Vhagar since he almost always went on long flights with the dragon.

That afternoon in particular Aemond was taking much longer than usual and Y/n was waiting for him impatiently as she walked around the room. He had promised to arrive before sunset so they would have time to walk around the garden, but now the sun had already set and the maids had even lit the candles.

The loud noise of the door suddenly invaded the room and Y/n promptly got up to wait for her husband, as soon as he entered her field of vision Y/n arched her eyebrows ironically.

-Did you decide to show up, husband? - Moons ago Y/n wouldn't have spoken to him in such a way in her wildest dreams, but now she was so familiar with him that she often didn't have as much politeness when speaking.

-I'm sorry, wife. - He said, removing the belt with the dagger and sword and throwing it on the couch. -Vhagar was a little sensitive this afternoon, she tends to want to fly longer distances when she is like this.

Y/n just made a humming sound with her mouth instead of responding, a habit she had picked up from Aemond without even realizing it. However, Y/n couldn't help biting her lower lip lightly when she saw him still wearing his riding clothes, she had never said anything to him, but seeing him returning from the flight always affected her mood and it was almost automatic so that she got excited.

-Wife… - Aemond murmured, approaching Y/n from behind and holding her firmly by the waist. -Are you by any chance jealous of Vhagar… a dragon?

His voice was incredulous and Y/n burned with embarrassment. Before she could respond Aemond laughed, something that rarely happened, which made her blush even more as she tried tried to free herself from his arms.

-You don't need to be embarrassed, I find it very flattering that you feel such appreciation for me to the point of feeling jealous. - He arched his eyebrow, still smiling. - No matter how unreasonable it may be.

-Husband.. - Y/n complained grumpily looking at her feet.

At that point she was no longer red only from the small misbehavior, but also from the thin, rough texture of her husband's riding gloves against her sensitive, soft skin. That was always a problem, she couldn't help but sigh every time she saw Aemond arrive wearing those damn gloves. And when he ripped them off and threw them haphazardly on the table? She felt a pressure between her legs that made her want to jump on him.

-What is it? Why are you all bristling, wife? - Aemond rubbed his hands against her arms and Y/n shivered even more making him arch his eyebrows again.

-They're your gloves, husband. - She said looking at the floor. – They are rough.

-I can take it off if you want. - He spoke, still gently stroking her arms, but after speaking he noticed that his wife lowered her eyes and didn't respond and then, approaching her lips to her ear, he spoke in a low voice, almost making her sigh. - You don't want me to take it off, do you?

-Do you like rougher things, dear wife? - And with the question he ran his hands down Y/n's body and slowly pulled the fabric of the dress up and accumulated them on her hips, making Y/n gasp as she felt the rough gloves passing over her thighs and squeezing them. slowly. Aemond couldn't help but smile when he noticed his wife's reactions to the roughest touch.

-Come here my dear, I'll show you how much I missed you. - He said, pulling her more and more towards him, sitting in one of the armchairs in the room while he placed her on his lap facing the large mirror and guided his hands to his wife's knees, slowly separating her legs, now being able to see the moisture that had formed in her intimacy.

-I haven't even touched you yet, dear wife, and you're already so wet for me. - His delicious voice sounded in her ear as he slowly moved his hands up her thighs, making her desperate for him to get to where she needed him most. The sight of his gloved fingers running up her legs made her roll her eyes with desire.

Aemond smiled mischievously and Y/n held her breath, not knowing where to look. His smile intensified as he brought his fingers to her cunt and at this point Y/n was barely breathing with desire.

Slowly he guided two fingers to her entrance and rubbed gently, pulling some of the moisture concentrated there and taking it to the pearl, which he began to rub languidly, eliciting sighs and moans from Y/n.

-You look so beautiful when you open your legs for me. - He murmured, brushing his lips gently against the shell of her ear, making her let out a louder moan. - So beautiful making these perfect sounds when I've barely touched you yet.

He then moved his fingers down and with a smooth movement that made Y/n roll her eyes, he penetrated just one gloved finger into her cunt. The sight of his finger disappearing inside her as he admired her with that look of pure adoration made her want to cry with desire.

-Very good beautiful girl. - He sighed as he slowly moved his finger teasing her, knowing very well that she needed more. - You always welcome me so well. How about another one?

He had barely asked and Y/n was already nodding her head practically begging for him.

-Such a needy lady my wife is. - He murmured as he inserted another finger inside her, making her moan his name with praise. - I can't leave our bed for a few hours because it becomes a meaningless mess.

Aemond guided his free hand to the front laces of Y/n's dress and pulled them tightly, loosening her wife's neckline more and more until her breasts were exposed to his pure delight, who guided his gloved hand to her erect nipple. of her gently pinching him as he admired her reflection in the mirror.

Meanwhile he moved his fingers slowly inside her and the feeling of the rough fabric of her husband's gloves against her own soft and wet insides made Y/n see stars and sigh in contentment with the double stimulation. As Aemond fucked her with his fingers he found that spongy spot that took her body out of orbit, and when she moaned uncontrollably he smiled even more mischievously against her neck, leaving kisses and bites there, pinching her nipples even more.

-So good husband. - Y/n sighed, leaning on his shoulder.

-You don't know how much I want to fuck you right now. -He murmured, biting her ear and sucking it while he nuzzled his nose in her hair.

Aemond penetrated her third finger making her whimper, but unlike before where he caressed her gently, he now started to get into a rougher rhythm, still slow but with force. And Y/n in turn just clung to his arms as she threw herself back, leaning against her husband's clothed chest, and moving her hips in search of more friction.

-So desperate my wife, throwing herself against my fingers like a beautiful filthy whore. -He brushed away a few strands of hair that had fallen across her face when he said that, so that Y/n could see herself better in the mirror, and the sight of her made her moan even louder.

His gloved fingers moving in and out of her cunt, his palm firmly massaging her mound, the fabric of the gloves slightly moistened and a white ring forming at the base of the fingers contrasting strongly with the dark color they possessed. The contractions of pleasure of her cunt crushing Aemond's skilled fingers as he smiled and bit her neck working even harder to coax pleasure out of her, he loved the feeling of her silky walls squeezing around him.

The way he curled his fingers and then moved them in and out made every nerve ending in Y/n burn. The roughness of the fabric was driving her crazy and she wanted so much more, she wanted to be set on fire.

-Husband. - She moaned, arching her back and pressing herself even more against him while turning her neck slightly to face him, taking one of her hands to his hair and removing the eye patch in the process. - I'm so close… so close. Please.

-I like it as much as you implore my dear. - He guided his other hand to her chin and squeezed it tightly, forcing her to keep her eyes exclusively on the mirror's reflection, the rough fabric of the glove making her gasp, while the sight of Aemond's now uncovered sapphire eye made her moan. - But I want you to keep your hungry little eyes on your pussy.

-See how wet she is for me, how well she takes my fingers, you are dripping my dear wife. - The movements became faster and stronger and Y/n felt some tears run down her cheeks as she moaned uncontrollably at the sight of Aemond's gloved fingers buried so deeply in her soaked cunt.

And when he accelerated the movements of both his fingers inside Y/n and his palm against her sensitive pearl, Y/n cried and screamed as she came against his hand, shuddering with pleasure.

Aemond was lost at that scene. He couldn't take his eyes off his wife's cunt writhing against his fingers as her juices oozed out between his fingers. Her face full of pleasure as she screamed and begged for his name was another thing that could easily kill him in that instant, he would certainly die happy with that scene.

-Look at the mess you make, my dear. - He said after removing his fingers from her trembling cunt. - Clean up for me like the good wife I know you are.

Aemond guided his hand to Y/n's lips and she lazily sucked on his gloved fingers. The taste of the fabric mixed with her own taste further numbing her mind, still clouded by the orgasm.

And Aemond could no longer contain himself when he saw that expression of contentment on her face as she sucked on his gloved fingers. And he quickly took her off his lap and bent her over the carpet, still facing the mirror, making her gasp from the abrupt movement.

Y/n had barely balanced herself and Aemond had already undid the laces of his own pants and guided his cock to her sensitive pussy. They both moaned senselessly as soon as he penetrated her completely. And he quickly brought his hands to the top of her dress, dragging it down and leaving her breasts completely free for him to massage and squeeze as he pleased.

He fucked her so well, and Y/n lost her breath with each firm thrust from Aemond and panted with pleasure as she whimpered for more with tears in her eyes.

She raised her head, looking towards the mirror again, and the sight of his hand massaging her hips and squeezing her nipples as he fucked her while still wearing those damned riding gloves made her eyes roll with pleasure, and she begged for him with Even more willing looking into his eyes and sighing when finding that blue glow that she had learned to love so much.

-I love that look you have when I'm inside you. - He groaned, rolling his eye with pleasure as he fucked her, and Y/n lowered her face once again. Aemond then guided his hand to her chin, forcing her to look at the mirror again, he wouldn't miss a second of that passionate look that his wife directed just at him and that made Aemond's heart race.

-No my dear, you keep those shining eyes on me while I fuck you like you deserve. - And removing his hand from her chin, Aemond went up to her hair and pulled it back, holding her firmly and keeping her gaze fixed on the mirror.

-Aemond, please. - She whimpered, enchanting him with those eyes that made him lose his head, and once again he guided the tips of his gloved fingers to the top of her thighs and caressed her forcefully, making his wife gasp and moan as she collapsed in front of him, who held her. by her hips as he fucked her with abandon looking for his own climax, which didn't take long to come when he came deep inside her.

The two remained motionless, their bodies pressed together and their breaths labored. Y/n brought her own bare hand to her husband's gloved hand and caressed it with gentle circles still completely lost in fleeting pleasure.

-You look even more beautiful when you're cumming all over my cock. - He murmured, still lost in pleasure against her hair, making his wife smile.

Y/n in turn, faced the mirror and sighed with contentment when she saw their reflection. Aemond behind her still panting with his usually stoic face relaxed in pleasure as he held her against him still holding her thighs firmly to keep her in contact with him as she squeezed lightly every now and then.

-Love you. - She said tiredly, still with her head lying on his shoulder, looking at him through the mirror.

Aemond didn't respond with words, he just mumbled like he always did. But Y/n no longer needed words, she had learned to distinguish every look, every touch and every sigh of her husband to know that he was also in love, especially when he pulled her even closer and left a soft kiss on her neck .

Tag list: @slut-for-m3 @fallout-girl219

[thebadboyfanclub]

One Can Only Hope (Cregan x Reader)

First of, I don’t know why this particular song was stuck in my head while I was writing but I think it fits the aesthetic of how the couple works together, also I don’t care that they didn’t pick this actor for me THAT is what Cregan stark looks like, and also sorry for not adding the last detail it just naturally went with a different approach

'may I present my second-born child and my precious only daughter, (y/n) Targaryen, the heiress of driftmark"

(y/n) bowed lightly before the stoic man that it deserves to be noted how thick his fur was which engulfed him, the man nodded as a sign of acknowledgment to the princess and the young heiress (y/n) could swear that she detected a faint smile forming on his lips, to be quite fair no one could tell since the lords' lips were faintly visible due to his distinguished beard, once (y/n)s deep blue eyes met his there was an instant influence on her that cause her to slightly shiver, mostly from anxiety and somewhat fear of the unknown.

(Y/n) could only describe the sensation similar to placing yourself at the very sharp edge of a tall cliff, as one would gaze down at the water the little voice would whisper to take a plunge, release yourself from the shackles of overthinking, whilst your mind begged you to take a step back and forget about all of this.

Unfortunately (y/n) was well aware of the reason why she had to take this long of a flight on dragon back and introduce herself to the new lord of the North, her mother had put a tremendous amount of effort into making this a trip that could be enjoyable too (y/n) but to no avail, she did not blame her mother, ever since she was a toddler (y/n) would catch whispers of numerous people around her castle that would venture on whom she would marry, as the moons passed and (y/n) became a lady the pressure became tighter than her corset.

"judging by the tremble and pink nose you are not accustomed to such a cold environment"

"I'm afraid not, I am willing to try though, if need be"

She suggested as her voice usually would be colourful and loud- something that princess rhaenyra adored- was now barely audible, Rhaenyra dreaded asking this of her only daughter, seven hells the reason she even had (y/n) was because of her failed match that was created under ambition and desperation for allegiance, now she had to bare the curse of the prey becoming the hunter as she set her daughter up in hopes this could bring peace and safety not only to the realm but to their family.

“It is an honor to have the Targaryen family as our guest, I believe last time it was with Queen Alyssane, was it not?”

“Indeed, my lord, though I cannot recall if we have ever United our house bloodline”

“That is correct, such a pity don’t you think Princess Rhaenyra? We must correct that mistake as fast as we can, before all that let me escort you to your chambers, you must rest after such travel”

Cregan's humor was a breath of fresh air for mother and daughter, both of them felt more comfortable through his commentary and light-hearted chatter.

Rhaenyra was extremely thankful that her daughter understood why this must be done if she had to be completely honest with herself partially the reason she chose Cregan as her daughter's match was how the whispers of his strength and his handsome nature made it to the red keep, another thing was a desperate attempt on keeping her daughter guarded, mayhaps if she found refuge in the north of the vicious Hightowers pushed Rhaenyra to war (y/n) would be tucked away and protected by the Lord.

As they walked through the castle Cregan started blabbering about all kinds of things his brain could master, he was certainly nervous when he got the letter from Rhaenyra herself asking for her daughter to be betrothed to him, Targaryen and Starks had, of course, rumors of laying together but never being United in the eyes of the Gods, and to add the fact that the lady is in line for the throne, the wedlock and children would bring such different aspect to his house.

"the lady of the north has to endure the stinging sensation of the icy air, but I believe having a humungous dragon that spews fire on command should help"

Rhaenyra smiled at the slight declaration of interest and almost a very subtle way of claiming their betrothal to be a fact, it was (y/n) 's turn to nod excitedly and let out a small giggle, Cregan was not a man that went unnoticed, young, tall, strong, beautiful, any woman of her status would thank the gods for such a match and a part of her was curious.

Due to the small sign of hope (y/n) careless tucked a strand behind her ear, revealing a part of her to the Lord that he had never seen before.

“Your ear”

He said almost in a question, subconsciously his head tilted in order to get a better view, hastily (y/n) let her hair fall back again, concealing her left ear, flustered and internally cursing herself.

“I don’t believe I have seen something like it before”

“I apologize, I-it is-“

“Unique, I know that Targaryens usually have violet eyes as your mother has, however, I can only guess you found that boring and chose something entirely different, you have quite the taste”

(Y/n)s eyes slightly widen at the kind-hearted nature of Cregan's comment, (y/n) was born with pointy ears, her mother would always jest that it was because the fairies brought (y/n) to her as a gift, others would say that the Targaryens started to blend more with their dragons and that Rhaenyra indulged in blood magic to have the daughter she always wanted.

Gossip and fairytales aside, (y/n) tried her best to conceal that little thing like a well-kept secret that she now had pulled the covers from. Cregan only smiled, (y/n) seemed like a peach on a summer day, full of sweetness, and the nectar could bring back the dead, her smile could make your teeth hurt like how they used to when he ate pie, the pointy ears in his eyes only gave her a boost in her ethereal presence.

Despite that (y/n) had to acknowledge that the man was nothing but a stranger, she had witnessed countless loveless marriages and men that sucked the life out of their wives,  besides all of that she pushed those types of thoughts to the side and masked her dark thoughts for the future with a brave face.

-

"Mother!"

(Y/n) exclaimed as she skipped over to Rhaenyra who rushed to her daughter's side, it had been months since (y/n) had seen her mother, and as content as she was with her new life no one could replace the place Rhaenyra had in her daughter's heart.

"oh my dearest, how lovely it is to see you, take a turn for me let me look at you"

(y/n) let out a snicker at her mother's request even though she complied almost immediately making Rhaenyra nod in approval, to no one’s surprise (y/n) had grown to be a proper lady, her red cape with the thick lining and fur, her hair down and disheveld from riding her dragon, plump red cheeks from eating well, and how could one forget her smile, shining through the realm and blessing her mother with a sigh of relief, Rhaenyra was relieved to say the slightest that her only daughter was taken care of.

"Princess, thank you for inviting us"

"nonsense, I would take any chance to see my baby"

"Mother" (y/n) whispered in embarrassment

"hush now young lady, to me, you will always remain the small babe that curled in my arms, you will know what I'm talking about sooner than late"

"about that, Mother, it might be sooner than you anticipate"

Rhaenyra froze in her spot, her eyes doubling their original size as an audible inhale of breath was heard, (y/n) 's eyes watered and her arms seemed to have a slight tremble whilst she took off her cape to reveal the cutest swollen belly. Rhaenyra stood still for only a second before she wrapped her arms as tight as she possibly could around (y/n) who did the same.

"no, my baby, why didn't you write me about this?"

"I-"

"We wanted to wait this time, I believe you understand, (y/n) wanted to tell you as soon as possible, I advised her not to, forgive me, princess"

Rhaenyra might not have birthed Cregan though she had given birth to (y/n) and that meant that she knew when her daughter was hiding, like now.

(Y/n) wanted to be cautious, after they suffered an early loss of their first baby before her belly could even swell, inevitable fear overtook her, she had refused to ride her dragon for the first three moons and she did her best to remain abed as much as possible.

Thankfully, Cregan shook her out of it, asking her to take a walk as often as his duties allowed him to, he would also attempt to ever so casually bring up how her dragon kept all of the town awake from roaring and complaining, even for this visit  (y/n) only agreed after Cregan offered to get up on the dragon with her so she can feel safe.

"it doesn't matter, all that I care about is that my baby is happy and healthy"

"Don't worry Mother, the north has been extremely good to me"

“For that I am certain, well then, let us celebrate, my little babe is having a little babe”

-

"It is good to see you back and we’ll, my lord"

"it is good to be back, especially with such a catch might I add, tell the cook to prepare the Stagg for supper, give the wild pig for you and the others"

"you are utmost gracious my lord, the princess is waiting for you in your chambers"

"wonderful, do not let anyone disturb us, I wish to stay by her side until supper is served"

Cregan skipped the way into his chambers, he was too caught up in the rush of the hunt and the excitement of reconnecting with his lady wife to notice the nods and stiff giggles of the servants and guards.

He didn't bother to knock, even if he was indecent there was nothing he hadn't seen, secretly he hoped to see her swollen belly bare, as it grew bigger Cregan had adored to kiss on her belly and rub it as he felt the kicks and moves of their child, together they would make plans for the future, like making sure the babe receives an egg for their cradle or getting a wolf cub as a pet.

"my de-"

"shush, you'll wake her"

medusa had cast her spell over Cregan as his eyes focused on the most extraordinary sight, his lady wife holding their babe while she sat up in their bed. (y/n) had never looked more beautiful in his eyes, her hair falling past her shoulders as her arms wrapped around the child and her big eyes sparkling with joy.

The baby was wrapped in a white blanket and (y/n) slightly rocked it, it almost could fool someone that (y/n) had already given birth to numerous children by the graciousness in her moves, Cregan could pull a chair and watch this for the rest of his days, alas his curiosity and excitement rushed him to her side, sitting right next to his lady wife in awe.

"bless me, when did this happen?"

"last morrow, the labors started hours after you left"

"my strong dragon, you did this without me, I must admit I am slightly wounded"

"I did not want to send someone until I delivered her, make sure she is fine and all"

if it was humanly possible Cregan would swear he could hear her trembling heart, as her pleading eyes uncovered the insufferable pain she went through that held hands tightly with distress and a splash of grief.

(Y/n) ached for the babe she had lost, wondering if it had been a boy to a girl, if it would have their father's eyes, or if they would prefer music over hunting, Cregan felt helpless, watching his love suffer as he also grieved in silence, though now it did not matter, the gods took mercy on them.

At just the perfect queue, the small babe cooed pulling both of them out of their trance, simultaneously the pair looked down at the fruit of their ever-growing bond with humungous smiles and cloudy eyes.

"she is gorgeous, once you fully heal we will throw a feast, I'll send some of my best men for a hunt, you should write to your mother, and ask her if she can find Dornish wine-"

"my lord, let us enjoy her before we present her to the realm, she is barely a morrow old"

"she is a princess, our princess"

"Precisely, our princess, come lay with us"

as much as (y/n) comprehends the weight of duty and the strict order of customs that came with such wonderful news, she had grown up with a mother who had wrapped her and her siblings with a cloak to protect their childhood years, allowing them to be kids amid chaos and now it was her time to step up and build a fort that kept her happy and safe.

Cregan puffed out a breath of defeat before he complied and climbed as carefully as a man of his statue could

“Let me see, oh perfect”

“She will grow out of it”

“She better not, maybe the next one can have slit eyes as well”

“My love, I do not believe I can give birth to a full dragon”

“One can only hope”

Cregan jested as (y/n) laughed, the young babe had inherited her mother's ears, Cregan would often brush (y/n) 's hair away from her face to take a look at her ears, or brush his fingers over them as she laid her head on his chest at night, sometimes (y/n) would slap away his hand while he roared with laughter, others she would just bask in his admiration, thanking whoever took favor in her and gave her the man that loved her, pointy ears and all.

Requests are open!

[tobitofunction]

the pact of ice and fire 4

part 1 part 2 part 3 part5 part6 part 7

"I apologised already for it" Cregan defended but Sarah scoffed at that,"Oh he apologised" she mocked,"How about you sleep alone tonight will I take your wife out for the night" she said grabbing your hand which made you smile, "What?" Cregan asked,"Have fun sleeping alone Lord Stark as your wife won't be there to warm you, luckily wolves have thick fur" she smiled and dragged you away.

As soon as you left the room she let go of your hand,"I'm sorry for my behaviour-","Where will be going? Nights are long, what does Winterfell have to offer" you smirked taking her hand making her cheeks darken,"There is a nice little tavern within Winterstown, the food is good, I went there often as before Cregan became Lord his Uncle didn't like me eating with them" she said shyly making you frown,"Let's not dwell on it" she said taking your hand in hers and leading you towards to winter's town.

Every eye was focused on you, the silver-haired Westerner who became their Lady,"Princess Y/N, it's an honour to see you walk about" an elderly lady said," You have a beautiful town, it looks like a fairytale with all the snow" you said with a smile,"I own a tavern would you like to have a drink Princess" she said,"Your lady in waiting can join too" she said looking at Sarah,"She's my friend but I think she would love too" you said looking at Sarah who smiled warmly at you,"My apologies".

The tavern was small but cosy, people were chatting, and music was played by a couple of people but it came to a hold when you walked in,"It's Princess Y/N" someone said,"She married our Lord Stark in exchange for the Winter Wolves" someone else said,"So the north will be plunged into a war?","I heard her Uncle Aegon took the throne","I thought it was supposed be Princess Rhaenyra?","The House of the Dragon doesn't seem to know who rules it" someone answered the previous statement" Ignore them" Sarah said squeezing your hand, the old woman sat the two of you in a corner away from the crowd,"I bring you some wine" she smiled before leaving," I never thought about, how the people of the north would feel about being dragged into a war" you said playing with your rings,"House Stark made an oath and breaking it would be more controversial than being dragged into war" Sarah said,"The men are excited as they finally can do something besides hunt, and the women will have something to gossip about, it's not like we do much here anyway" she added as you sighed as the older woman came back with chalice filled with wine,"I hope it satisfactory for you Princess" she smiled,"Thank you for your kindness, here take this" you said handing her a handful of gold coins,"Princess, I can't-","Yes you can, I am sure you need it for something" she bowed her head,"Thank you Princess, I am glad that Lord Stark has wedded to you" she said before leaving again,"How do you feel about this war?" you asked Sarah as she took a sip from her wine," When your brother first came, I couldn't really care about it, the north isn't affected we are are to far away and don't have enough resources for the west to care, but my father made an oath and Starks don't forget their oaths so I knew my brother will join the fight, this marriage was something he didn't care for, he didn't need a marriage but his council did, my brother has no heir and you being unbetroth and as a Princess of the realm was like godsend, it was a pact they couldn't let slip and my brother knew that as well, so begrudgingly he accepted, but I can see he didn't expect to become fond of you so quickly" she smiled making your cheeks darken from embarrassment.

You were eating some rabbit stew when a young man approached you, he looked northern, with thick dark curly hair a matching beard and brown eyes,"Princess may I have this dance?" he asked hopefully, you looked at Sarah who nodded, you smiled at him and took his gloved hand,"You may" I said making his eyes twinkle, "What's your name" I asked," Harold, Princess, Harold Snow","You are bastard?" he nodded," A bastard of House Cerwyn, I'm the bastard of the previous Lord, I'm sorry it unforeseen of to ask you for a dance" he said letting go of you but you grabbed his wrist,"Why? You and I aren't as different as you may think, I enjoyed dancing with you" you smiled making him smile back at you,” I hope we can meet again” I said with a bow before turning to Sarah,”Let’s go we let Cregan suffer enough” she sighed,” he can suffer a bit longer” she muttered.

Cregan was still wide awake, sitting beside the fireplace when you opened the door,” I prayed you be back soon” he said getting up,” That’s considered of you Lord Husband” you said moving towards your closet,” I am truly sorry for leaving you” he began as you undressed,” It’s alright this a marriage of convince rather than love which is unlike your other marriages” you said making Cregan sigh,” Let me help you” he answered seeing you struggling a bit with laces at the back,” Thank you” you whisper feeling the pressure vanishing as Cregan unlaced your corset, his finger gently traced your spine when he saw the exposed skin,” Soft like silk” he muttered making your cheeks warm up,” Your hands are rough like dragon scales” you answered making him remove his hand slowly,” I am sorry-“,” It’s comforting makes me feel save” you cut him off while turning around, Cregan sighed softly and smiled, he continued to pull down your dress gently while gently caressing your skin as well,"I won't leave you again" he whispered,"You better not or I feed you to my dragon" you said softly making him smirk,"Wolves don't taste that well","Dragons eat anything, and I have to disagree Wolves do taste well"you smirked before kissing him and moving him to the bed.

Cregan slightly grunted when the back of his knees made contact with the bed,"I think it's only fair if you help me get undressed as well Princess" he teased against your lips. You smirked and untied his cloak," You have more layers than I do" you pouted while removing his layers of clothing," Wolves need layers to keep them warm and their dragon warm" he said grabbing your wrist as you were about to unlace his breeches, he pulled you flush against his body,"I want to make this marriage work, I don't want to be only about an alliance" he said," I don't want that either" you whispered, your purple eyes staring into icy grey ones, he kissed you in response and carefully lifted you onto the soft furs which covered your bed, your silver hair a stark contrast against the dark fur,"You are truly closer to the god than us humans" he said tracing your jaw before kissing you again.

*time skip*

You laid on Cregan's chest your leg thrown over his waist, with Cregan's arm was draped around your waist his thumb rubbing circles on your soft skin," Can I be honest with you?" you lifted your head,"Of course" Cregan sat up leaning his body against the headboard making you sit up as well,"I left because it became to real for me, as you know I lost two wives, one during childbirth the other due to sickness, I don't want you to die, I am clearly cursed-", "I am a Targaryen people already believe we are cursed, have you never heard the saying 'Every time a Targaryen is born the Gods toss a coin'?, another curse thrown my way won't do much." you said caressing his cheek, Cregan bit his lip and moved out of bed making you sigh, but instead of getting dressed and leaving as you thought he would he walked over to the dresser and pulled out a small box and handed it to you,"I couldn't find the perfect moment to give it to you, but I think this is the one" he said as you opened it and revealing the necklace he showed Jace," the valeryian steel dragon wrapped around a dragon glass sphere,"It's Valeryian steel, how did you-","It's a mystery I found in our vault" he said while taking int from your hand and placing it around your neck,"When I found I was advised not gift it you as every woman who wore it died soon after so it wasn't worn for centuries but I guess a Valeyrian Princess would be the only one who can wear it" he said admiring you with the necklace on,"Or you going to get yourself a third dead wife"you smirked,"I thought curses don't bother you" he joked back.

The next day you walked through the castle when you walked past the meeting room," How many were captured?" Cregan said making you stop and listen, unlike Kings landing no guard was stationed at the door,"4 my Lord" Lord Manderly of the White Harbour said,"The greens are coming closer than we thought, we need to engage soon lord Stark" Lord Cerwyn said,"That one-eyed bitch" a Lord cursed,"Aemond" you whispered,"Does we know what he wants in return of the hostages?" Cregan asked," Maybe an alliance" Crewyn said,"Who did they capture to think they can have that" The same voice who cursed Aemond out asked," Your son Lord Bolton alongside Torrhen Madly they were captured during a hunt" Lord Cerwyn said after a bit of silence,"What shall we do than?" Lord Manderly asked his voice full of emotion,"We send some men to them and get them back by force" Lord Bolton said, you shook your head before bursting through the door," Send me, I will get them back" you said making Lord Bolton chuckle,"What can a Princess do save some hostages, you are the reason we are in this situation anyway, your mother should just have accepted that Aegon -","Enough Bolton" Cregan said,"You will treat her with respect as both my wife and Princess of the realm" he said calmly," I have a dragon, let me face my Uncle" Cregan shook his head,"I appreciate the offer but I can't risk loosing your or your dragon. We go with Lord Bolton's plan and get back with force, Cerwyn you stay here, I be taking up arms with a portion of the Winter Wolves, we leave in two hours" Cregan said making the meeting come to an end.

You watched as Cregan left with some of his men," It's for the best little girl, a battlefield is no place for someone like you" Bolton said as he passed you,"Don't mind Bolton, he's an asshole to everyone" Cerwyn said,"How long will it take for them to arrive at the location of the hostages?" you asked making Cerwyn lift a brow,"A week at most" you hummed,"Thank you my Lord" you said before leaving,"You are welcome Princess" he said slightly confused. One your way to your room you saw Sarah," Just for the person I was looking for, I need your help" you said grabbing her arm.

taglist:

@southernraven @lunnnix

[darklinsblog]

Instructing Pleasure | Lucerys Velaryon

Summary: As you are soon to chose a husband, your brother Luke, realizes you know nothing of sex. so he decided to teach you.

Pairing: Lucerys Velaryon x TargaryenReader

Warnings: Smut

Part II

Author’s note: Basically following Targaryen traditions, yes. If you want to be added to the taglist of HOTD please lmk!

Born as the last child and only daughter of the marriage of Rhaenyra Targaryen and Laenor Velaryon brought a lot of attention, as you were a bloody living imagine of both Sir Laenor and Rhaenyra.

There was absolutely no way anyone could question your offspring and truth be told, you became the next Realm’s Delight but your giving nickname was the Enchanting Ember.

People of King’s Landing adored to watch you turn into the beautiful young lady you now were, and ever since your birth it was easier to mitigate rumors of your brothers potential “bastardy” so you quite literally, brought the family together.

Your mother had become Queen, as it was planned from the very start, Jacaerys had taken more responsibilities as heir to the throne and to start your mother’s regency on a happy note, Jacaerys and Baela celebrated their union.

Lucerys was a year away from becoming Lord of Driftmark, which meant he was also soon to celebrate his arranged marriage.

By this time you were sixteen and overall you had no political obligations like Jacaerys, Lucerys or Joffrey, but by your age both your mother and Daemon, who was very much your father, thought it was the perfect age to start looking for potential suitors.

There were in no rush to marry you, in fact, the simply wanted to give you enough time for you to choose your spouse, therefore, giving you the freedom of choosing your fate.

As your focus was now to find a husband, you began to take more care of your appearance, you had to represent your House, you had to present yourself as the rightful daughter of a Queen.

Your brothers noticed this, especially Lucerys. Both of you were very close since childhood, always sitting together at family reunions and dinings, but one night he noticed his perception of you, was changing to him.

It was no surprise when you were coming late for the supper, it was quite usual of your character and Lucerys was chatting with his brothers when the doors opened, reveling you in a rosy- silver gown, with your hair falling on your back yet perfectly arranged, not a single hair out of place.

He lifted his brows in awe, suddenly feeling a notorious lack of air in his lungs, truly everyone was mesmerized, from your uncles and aunt to your own brothers and parents.

“Forgive me all, for the tardiness” you gracefully excused yourself as you walked slowly to your place at the table, Luke was quick to react and help you sit beside him, you looked at him with a smile, you were always smiling at him but this time, his cheeks rapidly turned red as he finally took his own seat.

“You look divine, my dear daughter” your mother, Rhaenyra, complimented you and soon everyone else at the table did too. It was so obvious that Lucerys couldn’t keep his eyes away from you,

He was truly at the loss of words by the sight of you and your unique beauty, your clothes accentuated every curve in your body, how your breast were showing from your dress, not too much, but enough to make him want to see more…

What in the fuck was he thinking?!

It was nothing like him to have such sinful thoughts, much less of his sister, but he wasn't looking at you as his beloved sister, but as a woman that awakened a blinding desire.

For the next weeks, Luke tried his best to keep his emotions at bay, but whenever his eyes laid on you, whenever he heard your sweet voice, calling his name, your laugh, anything at all, his knees would shake.

He knew it was best if just focused on his own duties but against his better judgment, he offered to serve as companion and counselor even, in your quest of a suitable husband.

Your mother allowed it, because being rational, Luke was betrothed to Rhaena for long enough to be a good advisor.

What could go wrong?

Basically everything, because now Luke and yourself were practically joint to the hip, always chatting, walking, inspecting suitors.

He would even crack a joke or two about some of your prospects.

“This one isn’t much of a charmer, is he?” He muttered in your ear, making you hold back on a laugh, resulting in a grimace.

“You promised to be nice” you reminded him on the low

“You deserve more than just nice, dove” he said on a more serious note, because truly, he meant it

Lucerys was enjoying his privileged position because he could have you near, but he could not ignore the fact he became jealous of you, whenever a suitor caught your eye or when you were receiving generous gifts and praises of this men.

Because you were the Enchanting Ember. Of course men from all the lands were coming just to have a chance at earning your hand.

Your quest was soon to be over, only three men were left as the legitimate options; so to make something out of this event you had another family reunion.

Evening was going quite nicely, between the chatting, the small dancing and the food, it all seemed to be ending on a very high note.

That was until your drunk uncle Aegon, stood up and dangled his cup up in the air, spilling a few drops of wine on the table cloth.

“I wish to make a toast” Aegon slurred, everyone at the table shared glances between awkwardness and somewhat amusement.

“To my lovely niece Y/N! You have grown quite nicely but soon you’ll become a full woman as a complete stranger puts his cock in your-!”

“We’ve heard enough, Aegon” Alicent deadpanned, sitting him back down.

Everyone in the room went awfully silent and when Luke turned to meet your gaze he only found eyes of deep confusion, you were trying to look at your parents, but they avoided your gaze knowingly.

Had they not explained to you what was supposed to happen when you were married?

Helaena took Aegon back to his chambers and as we was dragged away both Rhaenyra and Daemon tried to approach you, but you took a few steps back.

“I’ll go back to my room” you spoke breaking the absolute silence.

“Y/N…” Rhaenyra murmured, but you ignored her and left the room at a fast pace, Lucerys looked at his mother whom looked awfully troubled.

“I’ll go see her” Luke eased her mother as he followed your steps, as he reached the door to your room he opened it quietly to see you in some sort of wrestle to get your corset out of your body.

Your maidens were a few feet away from you, not sure what to do in this scenario.

“May I?” you jumped, looking at your brother with embarrassment, you slightly nodded, right now the only thing you needed were truly familiar faces.

Luke dismissed your maidens and they closed the door behind them, after being left alone, the black haired prince approached you from behind, resting his hands on your and enclosing them tightly.

“Talk to me, please” he begged

“Luke… I’m not like you or Jace or even Joffrey, my only duty to this realm, to our mother is to marry a good Lord and I don’t even understand what my marital duties entail” you explained distressed and ashamed of yourself.

Lucerys placed his hands on your back, freeing you of the restraining piece of clothing rather easily, then, he exhaled deeply.

“Sex”

He said finally, making you turn in your heels, you were looking for further explanation, because still, the word meant nothing to you.

“You know how you must give birth?” You nodded quietly

“Sex is what a man and a woman must do, so that you are with child” he tried his best to explain as his cheeks were tinted red.

“Okay, but what does the act entail?” You asked, right now he didn’t know what to do, or even what situation was he getting involved in, but out of nervousness his gaze fell on your breast, his eyes went down instinctively scanning the thin fabric of your dress, it would be so easy to…

Then something clicked inside his brain.

“Let me show you” he said.

Before you knew it, you were out of the castle, dressed in the dirty rags pacing down the land in the quiet night.

Until you reached some strange place filled with all men and women. Luke was holding your hand tightly, guiding you.

“Where-“

“Shhh!” Luke shut down almost immediately, you were perfectly hidden in the shadows, your ears pricked as you heard some really strange notices and Lucerys instructed you to take a peak.

What you saw was beyond your wildest dreams, this people were all naked, you saw the men inserting their cock into different holes of the women’s bodies, fingers going in and out, man and women both having their cocks and cunts even on their mouths.

You just could not bring yourself to look away, too impressed with the scenes before you eyes.

The raven boy saw how aroused and mesmerized you were and carefully sneaked his hand inside your garments, causing your breath to become more faltering.

“This is what sex is” Lucerys whispered in a husky voice, his hand found it’s way to your core as he started to place long and sloppy kisses around your neck.

Your whole body was pulsing, tingling, burning all at once, every sensation was new and intoxicating, even when you couldn’t see his face, you could feel his hot breath on your neck, his breathing getting more elaborated, how firmly he was grabbing you.

He was touching and playing with your folds expertly, he wasn’t forceful, instead he was methodical, quiet even as he entered a single finger inside of you.

You had to catch your breath quick, the feeling of his digit inside you in that moment was pure insanity.

“Luke…” you moaned as he pumped up and down into your walls, groaning at how your insides clenched on a single finger of his; the more he pumped, the more your walls were constricting him and even as he heard you moan under your breath, he couldn’t take it anymore.

He plugged his finger out of you, earning a whimper from your lips and then he turned you to face him, to look him in the eyes.

So he could finally kiss you.

It was a kiss full of lust, need and urgency, the kind of urgency only lovers could understand.

Lucerys felt as if he was in Valyria, he was deep into the bliss over the sensation of your lips on his, of your tongues dancing gracefully with one another, he just kept clinging onto you for dear life, drawing you impossibly closer to him.

Out of the lack of oxygen you both pulled away from the kiss, but you were still holding each other.

“Do you want this?” Lucerys asked before this could go to the point of no return. He wanted you, desperately. But he would never do anything you wouldn’t consent to.

“I do” you confirmed, Lucerys felt the air in his lungs almost purifying with your answer, he smiled widely as he took your hand in his again.

“Let us go then, the castle is a better place to fuck” he jokingly said, making you giggle and soon Lucerys was almost dragging you at full speed back into the castle.

This time around though, he led you into his room and as soon as the door closed Luke was all over you.

He kissed you and lifted you from the ground to finally place you on the bed with gently and start removing your clothes one by one, you applied the same principle on him until you were both fully naked.

Both of you took a moment to soak in the sight of the other as all was very new.

“Fucking hell. Your body is utter perfection” he said truly mesmerized.

You blushed madly at his comment, smiling as he sneaked closer and closer to your face, he kissed you softly before going down to your neck, now intently sucking on the your soft skin, while his hand made its way back onto your core.

As Lucerys reached the valley between your breast, so did two of his fingers inside your folds, this time around, your sounds of pleasure were louder, which he absolutely adored.

His fingers were curling and pumping inside your cunt as his mouth was swirling and sucking on your nipples harder and harder.

For the first time in your life, you felt yourself hot and growing wetter under Luke’s skillful ministrations. Your nails were starting to dig into his shoulders, as you couldn’t control the sounds coming out of your mouth.

“God, Luke!” You moaned close to your edge, although you couldn’t put it into words, Lucerys could definitely feel it and so he stopped abruptly.

“Why did you… stop?” you said almost out of breath and notably flustered.

“Because I wish to feast on you” he said smiling wickedly before positioning himself between your legs and pulling your core closer by dragging you down by the ass.

Before you could even let out a sound, Lucerys had started to taste your, running his tongue up and down your folds, poking at your very center with the tip of his tongue, he went in all possible directions, sucking on all the right places.

Out of instinct and completely drunk in the moment you placed your hand on the back of his head, keeping him in place and even pulling him deeper.

“Y-yes! Luke keep g-going!” you begged in ecstasy, a knot was tightening around your stomach and you needed a desperate release.

Lucerys Velaryon was, quiet literally feasting on your juices and no matter how much you squirmed nor moved, the man was on a mission, a mission to make you ride the fuck out of your own ecstasy.

At this point there were no words, just incoherent sounds of absolute pleasure and even as you felt yourself come undone, Lucerys wouldn’t let go and instead, drank every drop of what you had to offer to him.

When he was done, Luke found your eyes, pleased with his doings as he could tell it had been successful to the purpose of making you cum.

The sight of you, glistening in sweat, with heavy breathing and rosy cheeks was arousing to extends he could not describe.

His cock was undoubtedly hard as he towered over you his green eyes seemingly darker and lustful.

“This will hurt, but I promise it won’t take long before it’s pleasure what you feel afterwards” he explained to you calmly, you placed your hands around his neck

“I trust you, Luke” you both smiled at each other and still looking at you in the eye, he positioned himself at your entrance, slowly entering you.

You gasped at the strange sensation of him being inside you and as he went deeper you understood him completely.

You could feel yourself adjusting to his size, and yes, it wasn’t comfortable, truly you did feel a pain you had never felt before.

Luke got your mind of the pain as he kissed you passionately and you reciprocated immediately, his cock went slightly in and out of you, trying to give you time to familiarize yourself to the sense of him fully inside you.

Just like Luke had said, the pain at one point turned to pleasure, your whimpers were now turning into moans as Lucerys placed sweet kisses on your cheek.

“Luke… please fuck me” you pleaded him and he was quick to answer to your command. The future Lord of the Tides held onto your leg, keeping it wrapped around his waist while his other hand held your hip.

His pace was firm and bit by bit he started going faster, being careful not to hurt you but still looking to suffice his hunger and need of you.

His head was buried in the crook of your neck, your eyes were shut in pure bliss and you were dragging your nails up and down his back as Lucerys found your g-spot.

The sounds of pleasure and the act itself echoing the room, you were chanting on each other’s names like a prayer. Your climax came first and not long after Lucerys followed, filling you whole.

As you both breathed heavily, Luke pulled out of you and it was amazing how hollow you now felt without his cock in you.

He reincorporated himself just to grab a fur large enough for the both of you to be covered, he grabbed the fur around him and hugged you inside the blanket keeping you incredibly warm and close. 

“Luke?” You looked up at him

“Yes, dove?”

“It’ll be okay,right?” You asked.

There were a lot of things implied in that question, he knew that well, the honest answer was he didn’t know, he hoped so, but a lot of the things that were implied in that question were very much uncertain, but Lucerys knew that right now, everything was quiet, everything was okay.

So he went with that.

“Of course” he said as relaxed as ever, giving you the peace of mind you needed.

But that, was the last moment of peace the two of you would get.

[remembrancer-of-heresy]

Replica (Part 3)

Summary: It seems even the primarch doesn't understand who you are to him.

Perturabo/fem!Reader

Warnings: incest (kinda), possessive behavior, manipulation, hint of masturbation.

Word Count: 2397

While I was writing this part, I was listening "Darren Korb - Song of the Sirens". Hope you enjoy it.

Song: Mitski - Washing Machine Heart

Perturabo fulfilled his promise. No one else dared to offend or touch you. All serfs knew this and even the Space Marines had to reckon with it. You still couldn’t figure out how you managed to earn such an attitude from the Primarch of the Iron Warriors. But you don't want to complain, just enjoy your new life.

You began to live next to the Iron Lord in the next room. It had already amazed you with size and wealth, but this was not enough for the primarch. He began to reinterpret it, adding new details that, according to him, you should like. No, he knew you would be delighted with them.

Even your wardrobe has undergone changes. No more gray serf robes. Although you weren’t able to wear such strict and sophisticated outfits as the girls from Olympia. Instead of complex hairstyles, your hair was always loose or tied up in something simple. When Perturabo first saw you like this, he was about to reprimand you, but in the end he changed his mind.

You even got two servants. You tried to resist such innovations, but the primarch refused your request. After all, a girl of your position is supposed to have maids. Besides, if you refuse, the serfs will be sent to do hard work. You didn't get to experience such life, but you heard enough from the other slaves to make your skin crawl. Seeing the fear in your eyes, Perturabo grinned, noticing that you were always kind.

Sometimes you forget about his other side.

You were also aware that the primarch continued to attack Imperial worlds, taking resources in the form of fuel and people for the Iron Blood. He consumed all living things and left hell behind. It was frightening and devastating. You should have felt disgust and pure horror towards him. But as soon as you saw the primarch again, only tenderness remained in your soul. Perturabo continued to pamper you in every possible way with an absolutely stoic face.

Although sometimes you were puzzled by him. Once he told you about the customs of Olympia, when mature young men chose a new name for themselves. Perturabo, of course, refused to follow this rule and you shook your head and whispered his name. At this moment, the man tensed and looked at you. Closely and deciding.

“Perhaps you would like to undergo this ritual?” - the primarch began carefully. You became nervous at how slowly he chose his words. As if afraid of your reaction. And it’s not clear which one exactly. - “I know a suitable name.”

“But I’m not a young man. Besides, I like my name. Do you like it?” - You smiled softly at the man, gently placing your small hand on his. The Iron Lord looked at it and then into your eyes. Did you imagine or did you see a mixture of disappointment and relief? It was as if he himself was not sure what answer he wanted to hear.

"Yes. It's very beautiful".

Finding yourself in the primarch's favor, you nevertheless spent all your time only with yourself or with the Iron Lord. But soon Perturabo completely forbade you to leave your room under any pretext. According to the lord, Iron Blood will have to go to a rather dangerous place and not alone. Moreover, the primarch's companion is an extremely pretentious person whom you should not have met. You soon learned from the maids that he was talking about Fulgrim.

There was a strange tension in the air. Unnatural. It tastes disgusting. Your slaves told you that Perturabo's guest behaves absolutely terribly, throwing away his own and Iron warriors as well as toys. As for the Emperor's Children, they no longer looked like perfect warriors. You tried to find out the details, but the serfs fell silent.

You think that was the last time you saw them. Later they disappeared and a servitor began to serve you. All you could do about this was cry into your pillow. You really didn’t want to be alone and you hoped that you could protect these girls. You disered to befriend with them. Now your only company is a slave of flesh and metal. And your food has acquired a reddish tint and a strange iron taste. But you had to give it credit, you felt much healthier after every meal.

This went on for some time and you got used to the new daily routine... until one day the primarch came into your room. Only it wasn't Perturabo.

“I knew that he was hiding something valuable from me, but I could not even think about it,” Fulgrim spoke with a grin.

You felt the stench. A sickeningly cloying smell, as if the primarch had gone too far with perfume. And not only with them. His entire face was covered in powder, and his whole appearance screamed defiantly. He stood and looked at you like you were a bug, barely holding back his laughter.

“So many worlds, so many solar systems. Billions, trillions of lives. But still he met you.” - an evil grimace painted the primarch’s face, and a long tongue crawled across his lips. You cringed. He reminded you more of a snake than a demigod. - “But you are different. I wonder what he does to you.”

"Nothing. We're just talking. I-I,” you started to stutter, unable to handle the pressure. And how could you explain to Fulgrim your relationship with Perturabo if you yourself did not fully understand it. You couldn't say that you were his friend? It is unthinkable for a demigod to be friends with a mere mortal girl. He had his own reason for keeping you with him and you would never dare ask him about it.

“You, you.” - The primarch knelt down and took your chin. It was as if he was feeding on your fear, enjoying your trembling and appearance. - “Don’t whine. Give me your attention, which my brother lacks so much, imperfect replica.”

“Get out.”

Fulgrim didn't even have time to turn around or stand up before the Iron Lord picked him up by the scruff of the neck like a kitten and threw him into the corridor. You covered your mouth with your hands, holding back a scream. Throwing an unreadable look at you, Perturabo walked out into the corridor, closing the door behind him. You saw no more of the primarch of the Emperor's Children. But you heard his groans and cries of pain while Perturabo beated him.

You've never been so terrified. It seemed to you as if all the Iron Blood was rusting from the surge of emotions. Once again you heard the sounds of beating, but this time you were not the cause of the quarrel between the brothers. A couple of times the ship entered into battle, but you couldn’t even see them because your window was tightly sealed and you were hiding under the blanket. But you heard, you felt. It was driving you crazy.

And yet, after some time, everything calmed down. It was as if everyone had died. Until the primarch came to your chambers. He sat down loudly on the bed and your heart bled with pity. He looked so tired, as if every second he was carrying a huge stone on his shoulders. The already gray eyes dimmed.

“He betrayed me” - you didn’t even have to ask who exactly. Your hands began to tremble on their own as soon as you remembered that carnivorous look. - “My brother wanted me dead. He didn't receive it. Lost honor. But he became perfect.”

The man whispered the last word with contempt and looked at you. His face took on a strange expression and you thought he was going to cry.

“But you won’t leave me?”

"No, of course not". - You couldn’t hold back your tears. You began to sob even more when the primarch's hand began to stroke your hair. He did it so carefully and easily, trying not to break you. Surrounded by nothing but iron, you were now nothing but flesh and blood. Alive.

Everything was supposed to return to its place, and the meeting with Fulgrim was to be forgotten like a bad dream. You started visiting his workshop again, talking about everything in the world. You didn’t bring up the topic of your slaves, strange food, and especially not about his brother. You just couldn't make him sad. Or angry.

Moreover, every day the primarch became gloomier and depressed. You heard how he took out his anger on everything he could get his hands on. The screams of the serfs. And once he scolded the Iron Warrior right in front of you. You felt in your gut how the Space Marine felt shame while Perturabo humiliated him in front of a mortal girl.

You didn't know how to explain it, but your relationship had also changed. Perturabo has let you into his life again. But it was as if he had built a wall. Even if you now had lunch with him. And he carefully made sure that you ate all your rations. He let you take a nap in his chair. Taught you how to make simple things. He started asking you to do other duties. And you were only happy to please him.

You didn’t notice how only you two were left.

The primarch was very tired. He didn't tell you much about his research. But all you cared about was that he finally rested. So now you served him fruit and wine while he took a bath. The murmur of warm water and puffs of steam completely engulfed the chambers, creating the illusion of safety. There was no war, no suffering and no smell of burning iron. Just completely calm.

While the primarch was soaking in the bath, leaning his elbows on the bars, you sat next to him on the pillows. He remained silent, and you continued to chirp about the recent book he gave you to read. You were delighted with the Olympian poetry, but this did not surprise Perturabo at all.

"Help me". - the primarch croaked. You, relaxed, looked at him. Without the implants on his head, he looked less intimidating. In addition, he recently decided to grow a beard, as was customary at Olympia.

Seeing him pointing at the oils made you smile. Iron Within, Iron Without? You were ready to argue with this statement as you soaped the man’s shoulders, feeling him relax under your touch. No, he is not alien to softness, but he is trying to hide it behind seven locks. You understood that you loved him as a friend. Like a brother.

Suddenly you felt the man tense. You looked at him perplexed until you heard his whisper.

��Come down.”

You involuntarily licked your lips. You carefully lowered your feet into the water. You didn’t want to get your dress wet, but you didn’t want to be left without it even more. Even if many serfs could go without clothes and there was a demigod in front of you, you could not cope with shyness.

The man was reclining and you could almost reach his chin. But only almost. You felt his eyes touch you and pursed your lips. Trying not to pay attention to the strange tension, began to soap his shoulders and torso. Gradually, the awkwardness passed and you almost decided to continue the conversation, but made a mistake.

You looked straight into his eyes.

Can steel burn? The primarch's gray eyes turned into two lights. The man clenched his jaw, but he didn't look angry. With your palms you felt his body tense and he leaned towards you. A shadow fell on your face, absorbing your entire insides. A little more and you will fall into the abyss.

Breath hitched and a squeak escaped your lips. The man continued to take your space. His hand landed on your back. It almost hurt. You tried to say his name, but only one syllable came out.

“Bo.”

Suddenly everything stopped. Few would have believed you, but you clearly saw the shock on the primarch’s face. He was dumbfounded, his lips trembling. You could almost hear his heartbeat.

"Leave me." - Perturabo was still holding your back, loosening his grip. Seeing that you were still standing, he frowned and turned away from you like a child. “NOW!”

Stunned, you had no choice but to leave the primarch alone with himself. Alone with thoughts.

***

He couldn't get this image out of his head. Rosy cheeks, gentle eyes, small hands on his body. That tousled hair and those clothes falling awkwardly off your shoulders. He saw you, but he also saw her. He heard you sigh, but he heard her say his name. You both merged into one.

Perturabo didn't know how to describe his feelings at that moment, but he wanted to break you. Strangle. No. Squeeze in a hug. Save her image or, on the contrary, destroy her so that only you remain. You're almost the same. Almost. You are imperfect.

“She’s not your sister, you know that, right?”

“So pretty.”

“Imperfect.”

Yes, you were imperfect. You were supposed to be a copy, a replacement. You had her eyes, facial expressions, body, voice. You even loved the same things. But it was still different in some ways. Be it the way you wore your dresses and carried yourself at ease. How you remained silent when he said things she didn't like.

You won't contradict him. You support. You respect. You obey. You love him.

He hated you for it.

He adored you for it.

Perturabo still could not throw out the words of his traitor brother, continuing to replay them in his head. He knew this. He couldn't explain the desire he felt. He loved her. And he loved you too. But differently. Quite different.

The primarch felt not only his hearts, but also his body being overcome by a previously unfamiliar desire. He had no choice but to surrender to it and throw out the accumulated tension. Take relief.

He was grateful that you left. You should not see him in such a state, in such an action. The primarch took a deep breath, remembering your voice like a siren's song. How deeply you have sunk your roots into his soul.

Yes, you were more than a replica.

[istadris]

On the Koopalings and Bowser

I never know on which foot dance when it comes to Bowser's relationship with the Koopalings.

On one hand, yes, Bowser being a tired dad to 8 kids with most of them being adopted is cute (and a nightmare for me to handle in fics), and I respect and appreciate fanworks including that. I also understand that Nintendo retconned the familial bond and most Mario fans are used to the Koopalings being considered Bowser's family.

On the other hand, I didn't grow up with material where they are Bowser's kids, most of my exposition to them were games where they're his lieutenants, with Junior as Bowser's only son.

It so happens that I love complex relationships; found families that are difficult to define and don't fall neatly under the usual family labels; ambivalent feelings about a parental figure who clearly isn't your official parent.

With that said, hear me out on how I see the Koopa royal family dynamics :

Koopas can reproduce either with a partner or through parthenogenesis, birthing on their own a near clone of themselves (although if you ever call a Koopa kid born this way a clone in front of their parents, they're likely to beat the shit out of you and everyone in the vicinity will agree the reaction is justified, if a bit overemotional). Because laying an egg and providing for a baby all by yourself is very demanding, Koopas reproducing through this method go into a very intense nesting/brooding mode, basically turning off every function that isn't "take care of youngling" and becoming very aggressive.

When Bowser decided to have Junior (and morphed into a very broody Giga Bowser), everyone in the castle stayed clear from him...which facilitated sneaking into the castle for a bunch of half-feral orphaned Koopalings scrapping by to survive and hoping to nab enough food and money to live another day. Thankfully for them, when Bowser came across them, instead of registering them as "threat" (and eating them alive), due to how young and malnourished most of them were, his brain went "hungry baby. Must feed baby" before he dragged them back to his nest. When Bowser turned back to normal, he basically went through his day as normal, except now "normal" includes a bunch of kids.

Main reasons for this attitude :

He's Very Bad at talking about his emotions beyond "I HATE MARIO"

As far as he's concerned, the Koopalings are his kids now too. Even if he doesn't mention. If they're okay with it or course. If anyone else has an issue with it, he'll deal with them, and if they don't like it, they'll bring it up, but otherwise why make a fuss?

Kamek is the one doing the paperwork, so he's waiting for a sort of green light to put them down as his kids or something.

Kamek has been diligently dodging the question of adding 7 kids to the royal line of succession for several years now.

So for a while at the beginning, the Koopalings ended up in a weird limbo state where their status within the Koopa Troop was unclear. Ludwig, worrying the wind might turn someday, encouraged the oldest (and later the youngest) to make themselves useful. Which led Bowser and his officers and mages to give the Koopalings more stuff to do, and through the years, they gradually went up the ranks and became Bowser's Terrors and main lieutenants. Still, neatly calling Bowser "Dad" is a tad more complex than their actual feelings on the matter.

By the time Junior is 10, the dynamics go like this :

Ludwig (in his early-mid twenties) has always minded the Koopalings and is very protective of them. He's also deeply devoted to Bowser, who got them out of the gutter and gave them a chance. He's extremely informal towards Bowser and would never dare calling him Dad or even Father : it's "Lord Bowser", "Sir" or "His Majesty", and he would die for him (although not without making sure his death has an efficient, long-lasting impact useful for the kingdom). Even Bowser thinks he needs to chill.

Roy (very early twenties) is one of the only ones who remember having a dad, and it wasn't a fun experience. Still, he remembers what it was like, and Bowser being actually a decent father figure messes a lot with Roy's daddy issues. He wants to hate Bowser, especially once he's in his teens, because that's what being a cool guy is for, but even he can admit Bowser is badass. Still, most of the times, it's easier for Roy to call Bowser "Boss" and treat him as such, respect and all.

Wendy (around 16) is more than fine being Bowser's Most Specialest Daddy's Girl. She was born for this. She doesn't remember a lot from the pre Bowser life but she does keep in memory being insanely jealous of pretty girls with fancy toys, and never truly got over it. She noticed Bowser hardly refuses her anything when she calls him "Daddy", so of course that's what she uses...except when she's on the job and has to be taken seriously, in that case she falls back on "Lord Bowser"

Morton (??? either close to Wendy's age or one of the youngest, I can't decide) had no previous model for what having a dad is like. He's following the other's lead on it, but Junior calls Bowser "Dad" and Ludwig calls him "Lord Bowser" and the twins call him "King Dad" and it's Confusing. So it's Big Bowser and Little Bowser. All he knows is that he loves them both very much and the mere notion of losing them is enough to make him stress out.

Iggy (around 14) doesn't need a dad, he needs supervision to avoid blowing something up. He just loves being Bowser's "kid", whatever that entails, because he gets to mess with a LOT of people. He resorts to "King Dad", but mostly because Lemmy does it, and easily switches between "Boss", "Sir", "Daddy" and "BBB" (Big Bod Bowser. Who spent several days recovering from it the first time Iggy used it).

Lemmy (around 14, same as Iggy) is here to partaaaay. He doesn't remember anything of their life before Bowser, so for him, there's always been their big lug of a "King Dad" who needs them to bail him out of messes. He's close to Junior (due to being one of the youngest) and even if he does know Junior has a different status from him, it never bothered him and he never got trouble from pranking him.

Larry (around 14, can't decide if he's younger or older than Iggy and Lemmy) has also always known Bowser, but he's a bit more self-conscious about the situation of being sort of adopted but not officially? Usually he sticks to "King Bowser", so when he slips and calls Bowser "Dad", he usually feels pretty embarrassed, even if no one bats an eye.. He was actually a bit jealous of Junior as a kid for "stealing" Bowser's attention, but he's gotten better.

[snakegorl212006]

Not so bad

“Your highness. wake up” a voice spoke. I woke up in an unfamiliar room. I sat up clutching my head still feeling nauseous “take this” the voice spoke again as a hand came into view. I turned to see lilia who gave me some herbs “chew on these, the headaches will go away eventually” He stated. I grabbed the herbs and did as I was told. The more I chewed, the more bitter these leafs became but my headache was gone tho. Once I was done chewing, I spit them out in the trash that was provided for me. “Better” he asked and I nod “good, Malleus is waiting for you in his study. You two need to discuss things about the wedding next week” Lilia said. My eyes grew wide “n next week. Isn't that too soon” I asked as I sat up straight “malleus wants this to happen as soon as possible. You should be grateful I managed to convince him to change the date” lilia said. I stayed quiet which only made the general sigh “I hoped you had some Opinions to share with our young lord or you don’t mind your first and only wedding to be handled without your supervision.” Lilia stated as his face palmed as it snapped me out of my daze “Right. Thank you general”

“What do you think?” malleus asked as he beams at me. I could only glance at the plans in total disarray “malleus perhaps a little less gargoyles can make the altur less cramped.. I don’t even see a place for the priest” lilia sighed which made malleus pout “I have to agree perhaps you can remove that huge stature and put it in the lobby when people inter” I add and malleus sighs “Fine. If that’s what my queen/king wants” malleus snaps his fingers and removes the gargoyle statue “Lilia may i have a moment. I want to speak to my spouse alone” Malleus asked and Lilia bows “take all the time you need” he adds before teleporting off. “I must confess I never thought this day would come” Malleus said as he scooted closer,towering over me “I also must apologize for this” he states as he looks down barely meeting my gaze “Humans are not as adaptable as fae and change brings humans stress. I thought it would be fine If I met you right away but you..collapse” He rambles “I don’t want you to hate me or find me…monstrous” he confessed. I didn’t know what to think. I couldn't believe that this was malleus. He’s so nice but now he’s so…manic. I grasp his hands making him look at me “well…yes this was all shocking to me. Being dragged away from home and being used for universal peace but. That’s just the way the cards we were given” I said “How about we just get to know each other. We have a week right?Lets just take this slowly” I suggested. Malleus' eyes glowed as his tail swayed “I knew it. I knew you were as kind as they say.” Malleus added as he brought my hands to his lips and kissed them gently. “How about we choose the flowers for the venue.” I suggested as I smiled almost like an instant connection...

“It was not so bad at the beginning.like a fairy tale. I would never thought things would end this way”

[gnougnouss]

Ya know I feel like there's a shit ton of hyprocrisy going on when people compare RTD's writing and Moffat's on dw but nothing irks me more than when they say Moffat era made the doctor too important when he was portrayed as just a guy in RTD. Like. Are you fucking kidding me. Be for real.

In the GODDAMN first episode, one of the first thing we learn about the doctor is through Clive (rip) in that scene :

The Doctor is a legend woven throughout history. When disaster comes, he's there. He brings the storm in his wake and he has one constant companion. ROSE: Who's that? CLIVE: Death.

So yeah the Doctor is a Legend. Next, in New Earth he is called "the lonely God". Very normal guy core.

It gets worse, who could forget this wonderful speech in The Family of Blood ?

LATIMER: Because it was waiting. And because I was so scared of the Doctor. JOAN: Why? LATIMER: Because I've seen him. He's like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night and the storm in the heart of the sun. DOCTOR: Stop it. LATIMER: He's ancient and forever. He burns at the centre of time and he can see the turn of the universe. DOCTOR: Stop it! I said stop it. LATIMER: And he's wonderful.

The Next one is by Steven Moffat but crucially still during 10s era so STILL part of how the doctor was characterised. RTD approved you might say.

DOCTOR: Don't play games with me. You just killed someone I liked. That is not a safe place to stand. I'm the Doctor, and you're in the biggest library in the universe. Look me up. (There is a pause, then the shadows withdraw.) ANITA: You have one day.

I added it because I saw people act as if the Eleventh Hour's resolution with a doctor boast was completly out of character and not something he literaly did one series before.

Ok now for the real silly, that scene in Last of the Time Lords where the power of PRAYER turned 10 young and hyper powerful. For real. Yeah like a sort of Space Jesus.

Bonus: that part in Voyage of the Damned when he flied with two angels lifting him like ok lmao.

Those were just the ones I could remember out of the top of my head but "just a guy" my entire fucking ass. Go rewatch that show.

I feel like Moffat is often accused of turning the doctor into too much of an incredibly powerful figure not because he did it more than RTD but because he discussed the trope and as such put a lot of attention on it . All of those I pointed out in RTD are played incredibly straight but in Moffat's era the doctor's legend is a problem. It's the plot of the s5 finale, he became so big his ennemies allied. It's the reason he gets called out in "A good man goes to war"

RIVER: This was exactly you. All this. All of it. You make them so afraid. When you began, all those years ago, sailing off to see the universe, did you ever think you'd become this? The man who can turn an army around at the mention of his name. Doctor. The word for healer and wise man throughout the universe. We get that word from you, you know. But if you carry on the way you are, what might that word come to mean? To the people of the Gamma Forests, the word Doctor means mighty warrior. How far you've come. And now they've taken a child, the child of your best friends, and they're going to turn her into a weapon just to bring you down. And all this, my love, in fear of you.

It continues in Asylum of the Daleks where Moffat tries to erase the doctor's legend and is concluded somewhat in s8 finale with the proposition that what the doctor actually is, is in fact an idiot.

DOCTOR: I really didn't know. I wasn't sure. You lose sight sometimes. Thank you! I am not a good man! I am not a bad man. I am not a hero. And I'm definitely not a president. And no, I'm not an officer. Do you know what I am? I am an idiot, with a box and a screwdriver. Just passing through, helping out, learning. I don't need an army. I never have, because I've got them. Always them. Because love, it's not an emotion. Love is a promise.

But nobody saying stuff like "Moffat made the doctor too important" ever watched Capaldi's era anyway so it's not like they would know.

[victoria-daydreams]

The Hare and The Tower

Chapter Eleven: Bundles of Joy

AN: The way I wrote this chapter, I hope its not OOC for Otto, but given the nature of the chapter I can't imagine anyone not reacting like this. Saddle up y'all, we're getting angsty. Also, important announcement, after this chapter I will be taking a brief hiatus. Don't panic, I just want take some time and work on my own original story and also start getting the second act of this fic written/revise previous chapters.

Trigger Warnings: age gap, complications from labor

Word Count: 2.9k

Taglist: @dogmatic255 @sidechrisporn @amethystwonders11 @ladysindar @sweetwanderlust05 @newandykes @helloimlateforeverything @loveofvernonslife @stitchattacks @dariequeen @kishie8 @girlonfireice @snowymarvel1205 @greenlightower @harrypotteranna23-blog

If you want to be added to the taglist just leave a comment.

Summary: The joys of new motherhood can all change within a blink of the eye.

Chapter Twelve: If I Die Young

116 AC, Westeros

Two days had passed since the joyous birth of the twins, but Jesmyn still remained weak from her labors. It was during this time when the coughing started. At first, there was nothing particularly alarming about it, a few coughs here and there. However, this sentiment swiftly evolved the instance her coughing fits became more and more frequent, making her body tremble with the force of them. Sometimes it left her gasping for breath between each uncontrollable cough. Jesmyn knew something awry, but like her labors, she believed this affliction would soon pass too.

Propped up by pillows and wrapped in fresh linen, Jesmyn a soft smile graced her lips at the sight around her bedchamber. Otto, along with her family had came to see her and children. She sat forward looking at the son she had borne. Tobin was small, but strong as he moved his tiny limbs in his gown. She kissed the babe’s soft head and breathed in his calming newborn scent as she held him.

"Tobin, my handsome boy," Jesmyn said, looking at the dark haired child who was watching all with his quick eyes.

“Might I please hold my nephew?" Celesse asked, holding her arms out.

"Of course sister, but I must ask of you to not pass on your troublesome tendencies," Jesmyn quipped, making Celesse laugh as she took the boy.

"I will try Lady Hightower, but some things are quite contagious," she tickled the boy under the chin and smiled as the baby cooed.

Jesmyn grinned, her eyes drifting away from her family who were gushing over her children and towards the doorway. Otto and the maester were standing just outside of her door and spoke quietly amongst themselves. Otto’s eyes flitted over to Jesmyn’s causing her face to light up with a brighter smile. He mirrored her expression. Although the corners of his lips went up, the smile never reached his eyes. It looked somewhat forced, almost sad.

A sharp pain in her chest broke her musings. Harsh coughs erupted from Jesmyn, a violent coughing fit seizing her body. Otto was by her side in an instant.

"I-I'm fine," she croaked out, noticing how quickly silence swept across her bedchamber. The expressions of her family ranging from grim to alarmed. "I'm fine," she repeated breathlessly, looking directly at her husband, who watched her with concern.

A strong breeze swept through from the window of her room, causing a chill to run down her spine.

"Shut the window!" Otto ordered, his tone a bit more forceful than necessary while looking over his shoulder.

"Yes, Lord Hightower," a handmaiden responded quickly.

Leaning back onto her pillows, Jesmyn closed her eyes for a moment. With every day that passed it seemed like her coughing spells were draining her strength. Worse, everything ached; she didn't think it possible, but even the hair on her head. On top of that, she was always so cold, a window wouldn't have to be open for her skin to resemble gooseflesh. A large and warm palm gently pressed itself against her stomach. Jesmyn’s eyes fluttered back open and smiled weakly at Otto as he nodded to her.

"You must continue to rest, my dear," Otto said. "You are very tired,"

Jesmyn mirrored his actions, nodding slowly in agreement. "Yes, so very tired," she said, barely stifling a yawn.

As everyone filed out of the room, Lady Clarick moved over to her bedside and placed her hand on top of Jesmyn's.

"Rest, my sweet girl," she said, giving her hand a squeeze.

Once her mother left, Otto lingered in the doorway momentarily before finally withdrawing from her chambers. Shutting the door behind him, he sent one last worried stare over his shoulder just as the door quietly clicked shut.

~~~x~~~

She was half asleep when Jesmyn felt a tickling sensation softly run across her knuckles. A sigh escaped her, nestling her head deeper into the pillows and ignoring the feeling. Slowly, a weight sank onto the mattress next to her, causing her eyes to flutter open. Even through bleary vision she knew who the unmistakable figure was.

"Husband," Jesmyn greeted groggily, wiping the sleep from her eyes. Once she blinked her eyes clear, she noticed Otto was dressed for bed himself. "Gods," she exhaled, pushing herself up in bed. "Have I slumbered the whole day away?" she questioned.

"'Slumbering the day away' are the maester's orders," Otto reminded, with a small laugh. "You must regain your strength," he added.

"I know, but I cannot help from feeling guilty," Jesmyn replied, shaking her head. "I’ve been confined to this bed when I should be tending to Vanesha and Tobin," she complained, folding her arms across her chest.

Otto took a hold of Jesmyn's hand, pulling it away from her body with ease. A smile tugged on her lips at the act.

"Well, overexerting yourself will not help them nor yourself," he lectured. "Fret not, our children are under the watchful eyes of the wet nurses, making sure their every need is met," Otto finished, raising her hand to his mouth and pressing a kiss to her fingers.

Jesmyn hummed, "Your words offer me comfort, Husband," she said, shifting slightly and lowering herself back onto the pillows. "Will you join me?" she asked, using her free hand to lightly pat her abdomen.

A hesitant look flashed across Otto's face, "I could hurt-"

"You won't," Jesmyn cut in. "Come, let us lay together like we once did," she beckoned, with a smile.

Wordlessly, he swung his legs onto to the mattress and his body fully stretched out on the bed. With care, Otto slowly sunk his head onto her stomach.

He nuzzled his face into her stomach, "Gods, have I missed this," he remarked, releasing a heavy sigh.

"How was your day?" Jesmyn asked, carding her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck.

"Politics as usual," Otto answered, with a slight groan. "King Viserys sends his best wishes" he mentioned.

"How very thoughtful of him, you must tell I said thank you when you see him again,"

"Of course," Otto said, lifting his head to look at her.

He pushed himself up, his stare full of warmth and affection never leaving her. A thin smile formed on her lips awaiting her husband's next move.

"What is it? Why do you stare me in such way?" she asked gently, almost whispering.

Otto's answer came in the form of him gently nuzzling his face against her cheek. Next, were his lips brushing across her face. His warm breath fanning against her skin as he caressed her nose with his own. Letting her eyes close, she let herself savor moment of tenderness.

"How long has it been," he began quietly. "Since we had a moment such as this?" he murmured. "Where it’s just been the two of us?" he wondered.

"Too long,"

Otto kissed her on her left cheek, it was a quick peck barely lasting a second. Another one followed. Then a third. And a fourth. He kissed her closed eyelids, the tip of her nose, the contour of her jaw. Her hand unconsciously reached up and gripped his night shirt. Jesmyn let out a short, soft pleased sigh as his lips ghosted the corner of her mouth. Before finally, his lips softly met hers.

Otto was deliberately slow, kissing her unhurriedly, savoring the taste of her lips. His languid movements drew the air out of her lungs, and when they parted to breathe, she unconsciously quivered for more.

Jesmyn's eyes reopened, "How long have you waited to do that?" she asked breathlessly.

"Too long," he said, echoing her words from earlier, something which caused Jesmyn to grin. He caressed her cheek. "I can’t help but notice you brushed your hair," he noted. "I’m surprised you didn’t tire yourself out, it occurs so easily as of late,"

She shook her head, "I didn’t do it, Reina did," Jesmyn corrected. "Right before supper," she added. "She said my hair resembled a bird's nest, she feared one of those pretty, exotic birds from the Summer Islands would make a home in it," Jesmyn recalled, grinning brightly.

"Crisis averted," he quipped.

Jesmyn went to laugh but her body tensed instead, her frame shivering beneath her blankets. She didn't think it possible, but even wearing a robe and being wrapped in two blankets wasn't nearly enough.

"Are you cold?" Otto questioned, shifting himself to lay on his side.

"Unbelievably so," she answered, chuckling a little.

"Let me tend to the fire," he offered, moving to get up.

Jesmyn's hand shot out, "No, just lie with me for a moment," she said softly. "It won't be long before I'm asleep again. I can feel it creeping on me," she added.

Otto nodded slowly, "Whatever you desire, love," he agreed. "Though, I have to wonder how you are so cold? You are neck deep in covers," he joked, placing his palm against her forehead and his lighthearted demeanor was wiped from his face. "Jesmyn, you’re warm, much too warm" he remarked, his expression growing serious.

"Am I not neck deep in covers, Otto?" she retorted playfully, with a small yawn.

"Yet, you shiver from coldness,"

"The human body can be such a fickle thing,"

Jesmyn's eyelids became heavier and heavier with each second that passed.

"I should wake the maester and—"

"You worry too much," she teased, her eyes now fully shut.

"And you worry too little,"

Without having to reopen her eyes, Jesmyn's hand rested itself against Otto’s cheek.

"I am well. Do not worry over me, my love," she reassured. “I’ll be better in the morning, I promise," she went on. "Just think, in a day or so, I shall be back in your loving embrace in our bed," she finished, smiling blissfully at the thought.

~~~x~~~

Third POV

The moment Jesmyn had fallen into a peaceful sleep, Otto immediately disregarded her behest of not calling the maester. It was one of her flaws, Jesmyn detested being fussed over, but in this instance Otto would see to her being watched every moment of the day. He knew what this was. With the very core of his very being, he knew and it terrified him. In front of his eyes, his precious wife seemed to be shrinking into herself.

In the dim light of candles and the fireplace offered them, Otto’s face was heavy with weariness, his eyes red with lack of sleep.

"It's childbed fever, my lord," the maester informed quietly.

"I know," Otto uttered, his voice just barely above a whisper. His grip tightened around the bedpost as if it alone kept him upright. "Leave us," he ordered.

"Lord Hightower—"

"Leave, us,"

The maester bowed to him and left the room. Otto swallowed deeply, feeling his agony beginning to bubble to the surface as he walked slowly to Jesmyn’s side. Dropping down on the bed, he took her cool hand in his. A small whimper escaped her and the sound almost nearly undid him. Otto lifted her hand up and brought it to his lips. Tears leaked from his eyes, but he could not stop them. He pressed his mouth firmly against her hand and remained in the same position for a few moments.

"Don't go. Please…don't go…" Otto whispered. "Oh Gods, it is not her time yet," he begged. "I beseech you to leave her here. Don't take her away from me. My son and daughter need their mother, and I need my wife,"

Otto kissed her hand again before place his hand on her forehead. A grimace formed on his face because of it. Jesmyn’s forehead had only grown hotter, her dark hair frizzled and damp from the fever sweat. Dropping his gaze to her chest, he counted each breath she took. Her breathing was far more labored than he have ever wished to hear it.

For the next two hours he kept a constant vigil at her side, not allowing anyone to remove him.

~~~x~~~

Darkness shrouded Jesmyn’s chambers, the windows kept firmly shut and blocking the few rays of sun which managed to filter through. Jesmyn laid motionless on her bed, from a distance, any sign of life within her was absent; not even the expected rise and fall of her chest. However, only by reaching out and holding a finger below her nose could one feel evidence of her continuing existence, in the soft, hitched puffs of her breath. Three days had came and went, but Jesmyn remained in her feverish state. Her once glowing face was now a lackluster shade, a cold sweat coating her forehead.

"Lady Hightower burns with a fever which refuses to break. It saps what little strength has. If this continues…"

The maester's words echoed in Otto's head as he lovingly dabbed a cold cloth against her face. Jesmyn's hair clung to her skin, it's brilliant sheen gone. In this last hour before the dusk, Otto continued to watch over her, wishing there was some way to ease her pain.

"Any signs she’s improving?" Alicent asked, entering into the room.

"It does not appear so," came his silent reply.

“She’s strong, Father. Jesmyn will persevere,” Alicent assured, resting her hand on her father’s shoulder.

Otto placed the cloth onto the bedside table and took Jesmyn’s cool hand in his. He kissed the knuckles and held the limp appendage close to his mouth.

“Perhaps, we should look in on my brother and sister,” Alicent suggested, her tone soft. “The gods are known to bless us when we least expect it,” she reminded, looking at her ailing friend.

“You’re right, dear daughter,” he agreed, a heavy sigh leaving him. Otto pressed his lips against Jesmyn’s knuckles once more. “My beautiful wife, soon we will show our son and daughter the magnificence of Oldtown,” he promised, his voice not above a murmur.

Standing up from the mattress, he reluctantly let Jesmyn’s hand slip from his and moved away from her bed. With every step Otto took, his mind began to be plagued with dark thoughts. What if this was the last time he saw her, alive. Stopping at the door, Otto looked over at Jesmyn’s form.

"Please Gods, in your mercy, let my wife live," he whispered.

~~~x~~~

The next day, it was Rhaenyra who sat with Jesmyn in her darkened bedchamber. One hand gripped the book in her lap she was reading aloud to Jesmyn, while the other gripped her friend’s cool hand.

"Congratulations on the birth of your children," Rhaenyra said, with a small smile.

"Thank you, Otto and I being blessed with twins, can you hardly believe it Rhaenyra?"

No matter how many years have passed, Rhaenyra still found it hard to swallow the idea of Jesmyn being married to him, Lord Hightower. Even more so, now that she had birthed two babies from him, further solidifying her ties as a member of House Hightower. At the moment though, Rhaenyra could only think about was how trivial her feud was with Jesmyn as she laid near lifeless in bed.

"Please wake up Jesmyn," Rhaenyra begged. "I wish to see my dear friend again. To have you behind me as we go dragon riding, watch you do that silly jig whenever you find the perfect spot for your next painting," she remarked, her fingers tightening around Jesmyn's. "I just got you back, I can’t lose you this quickly again. Not like this, not in the same manner as my mother,"

A heavy silence engulfed the room and Rhaenyra slowly released her hand around Jesmyn's, sniffling as she did.

"I-I should take my leave," she said, trying to get her breath under control. "We'll pick back up where we left, it's one of your favorite stories," she informed, swallowing thickly.

She closed the book with a quiet snap and rose from the chair, turning her back to the bed. That's when she heard it. A small whimper from behind her. Instantly, Rhaenyra spun around her eyes wide, and full of tears.

"Jesmyn?"

Her eyes cracked open slightly and Rhaenyra immediately took her hand.

"Rhae..Rhaenyra?" Jesmyn's voice was husky with illness, but it was there.

A smile beamed from her face, "Yes, yes it's me!" she said, through tears. "Someone, get the maester!" Rhaenyra demanded, a feeling of cautious relief spreading through her.

~~~x~~~

"The fever has broken,"

Otto's features lit up as a smile of sheer relief broke out on his face. He clasped a firm hand on the older man's and smiled for the first time in many days. His wife was finally on the mend. He walked further into the room where the midwife was helping Jemsyn sip tea.

"Jesmyn!" he rushed to her side, thankful to see his wife awake.

Pressing a tender kiss to her forehead, he immediately noticed she was cooler to the touch, still warmer than he preferred, but undeniably cooler than before. There was a time, when Otto would have simply pulled her into his arms and embraced her. But now, he feared such an act would only cause her more pain, so he contented himself with holding her hand. A tired smile appeared on her face, it was a pale reflection of usual her bright, infectious smile, but nonetheless Otto was overjoyed to see it.

"Otto," Jesmyn said softly, and he smiled at her before nuzzling her face.

"Sweet wife, you gave us quite a scare," Otto informed, his tone almost sounding scolding, but the undertone was sweet and gentle. "How are you, my love?"

"Exhausted," Jesmyn answered, chuckling a little. "But, alive,"

"Yes, you most certainly are, Gods be praised," he whispered.

Chapter Thirteen: Homecoming

[memethebum]

Here’s Chapter 4 of the Lover’s Almanac

———————————————————————

“Thank the fuckin’ lord, we made it!” Soul exclaimed as the pair stepped off the train and became immersed in the nighttime babble of Chicago.

“You’re saying that as if you weren’t asleep for half the ride here,” Maka giggled while running a hand through his raging case of bedhead.

“Selwyn!” they then heard a voice croak out before a stout older woman came running towards Soul and immediately circled her arms around him.

The young woman watched as her husband slightly floundered while his grandma pressed her face into his shoulder and began to sniffle, only to circle his hands around her and bury his face in her curly gray hair a moment afterwards.

“Ah, Soul! And you must be Maka!” another voice added before Maka watched a man who appeared to be a near copy of Soul come jogging over towards them.

“Ahh, you wooed an absolute beauty little Sel,” Mrs. Evans exclaimed as she regarded Maka with a warm smile.

“I suppose I have to go through the trouble of introducing myself, since it appears my baby brother has caught a small case of the sniffles. Wesley Evans, Mrs. Maka Evans,” Wes added while dramatically bowing before Maka and gently taking one of her hands into his palm.

“Sh-shut up Wes,” Soul then added before both brothers let out a set of giggles and pulled each other into a tight embrace.

“Hmph, I see both of my grandsons failed to introduce me properly as well. I am Henrietta Evans, Sel-Soul’s grandmother. Thank you for looking after my boy for so long,” Mrs. Evans added while clasping her hands ontop of Maka’s, eliciting the young woman to release an amused sigh.

“It’s really no problem Mrs. Evans-“

“No please, call me grandmother,” the older woman hummed with a small wave of her hand, probing Maka’s smile to widen even further.

“It’s really no problem, grandmother. I-I’ve loved your grandson long before the thought of marriage even crossed my mind, and I honestly believe he looks after me much more than I look after him,” Maka replied before giving Mrs. Evans a small smile and then watching Soul gape in her direction.

“Tch, I’m not all that great,” her husband grumbled as she rolled her eyes at his feeble attempt to preserve his aloof persona.

“I don’t think you’re fooling anyone Soul,” Wes hummed, probing the other man to give him a pointed look.

“Well, enough of that! Shall we start heading to the hotel? Reginald, please fetch the bags,” Wes exclaimed before a lanky butler came sprinting towards Maka and took the suitcases she was carrying with a small nod.

The young woman nodded back as she realized how ridiculous she must look in her disheveled state due to a journey across a handful of states when compared to the prim and proper members of the Evans family whom had just arrived from London.

It’s even more ridiculous considering I’m not even Soul’s actual wife-

“You alright?” Maka heard Soul question, causing her to slightly jump at the sudden inquiry.

“Ye-yes, I’m alright,” Maka replied before feeling her husband lace their fingers together.

“Wes is a bit much but I-“

“No no Soul, I swear I’m alright! It’s just…interesting to see how differently you were raised,” she replied, probing Soul to let out a small sigh.

“Right, that part can be a bit much too, but I swear no one here thinks of ya’ any less. I’d say that was the main reason why they didn’t tell my father they were comin’ all the way to Chicago to meet us, other than me uh not wanting to come face to face with him ever again. Are…you sure there isn’t somethin’ else you’d wanna talk about-“ her husband added while tightening his hold on her hand, eliciting the young woman to feel a smoldering warmth light up within her chest from the small gesture.

“I told you, I’m fine silly. Now let’s just enjoy our time here,” she tittered while watching Soul stare at her for a few more moments before regarding her with a small smile as well.

———————————————————————

“And that’s why I always make sure to take my tea with precisely three cubes of sugar,” Mister Excalibur exclaimed before taking a long sip from his cup, probing Soul to let out a terse chuckle.

He could see Maka standing directly behind him while pretending to iron their clothes beside their hotel bed.

The young woman then used his brief gaze to signal for him to finally steer the conversation towards the business proposal.

“Yes, well Mister Excalibur as…riveting as your stories about tea are-“

“He isn’t finished yet,” Hiro, Mister Excalibur’s secretary, spoke over Soul while tapping a pen against the notebook he’d been holding up.

“Fool!” Mister Excalibur then exclaimed before pointing his cane in Hiro’s direction, forcing the secretary to flinch at the sudden action.

“Your job is to take notes about the proposal, not to speak for me,” the businessman added while smoothing out his mustache with his free hand.

He really does look like a fuckin’ duck in real life Soul couldn’t help but think as his mind began to conjure up the countless notes about The Great and Powerful Excalibur Maka had drilled into his psyche the past few months.

He could feel himself begin to blush at the fresh memories of how she’d make him jam, give him massages, and pepper his face in kisses as small tokens of gratitude for complying to all this in the first place before Mister Excalibur put down his teacup.

“I’d like to savor my tea while discussing the terms, so let’s get to it shall we?” the businessman added, causing Soul to enthusiastically nod at his request.

“I believe it’d be best to go over the basics first. Why is it that you want to open a department store in Death Valley out of all places?” Mister Excalibur questioned, probing Soul to release an amused hum due to how easily he could answer such a question.

“Well sir, I believe it comes down to one word: change. There’s a lot going on outside of Death Valley, and I believe that the townspeople have a right to experience it for themselves without having to take an arduous journey into the city. That’s why I decided to bring the innovations of the past few decades to our humble town,” Soul monologued before peering to the side and watching Maka give him an enthusiastic grin at how well he’d summed up what she’d taught him.

“Ah, I see. But do you have what it takes to stay vigilant regardless of what comes before you?” Mr. Excalibur then added while Hiro loudly scribbled into his notebook beside him.

“Yes, I believe I-“

“It should not be a belief. Weakness is the bane of businessmen. It has no right being in that field,” Excalibur exclaimed over Soul, although the younger man became too fixated on the way Maka’s expression mellowed into a scowl to even gauge what he should respond with next.

“I wish I could answer the question for you my boy, but it has to come from within. If you can’t even find it in yourself to always stay level-headed then how-“

“HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO GET ANYWHERE IN LIFE WITH SUCH AN UNREALISTIC NOTION!” Maka exclaimed over Mister Excalibur, probing everyone to turn their heads in her direction.

“Do you believe human beings to be capable of diminishing emotion? I mean, look at yourself, only content with the discussion if you’re able to tell your little tales. Do you think Edison doesn’t have doubts in his mind? What about Da Vinci, do you think a time period like his allowed him the luxury of always being strong. Fuck no! Someone helped me realize-“ the young woman continued before slightly faltering and leveling her expression at Soul, who only gaped at her while wondering what the hell he was supposed to do now.

“Someone helped me realize that the bravest thing to do sometimes is accept your fears rather than subdue them, so I believe it’d be best to rethink your ideals Sir,” Maka then finished, causing a heavy silence to fill the room for a few moments while Soul made direct eye contact with his wife and noticed how a fervent blush had begun to stretch across her face.

“Impudent woman! This proposal doesn’t even concern you and here you are spouting nonsense-“

“FOOL!” Mister Excalibur shouted over Hiro’s reprimands, probing the other man to go completely silent once again.

“First my incompetent assistant, it’s rather bold of you to call a woman impudent when we’re all aware of my past endeavors with Arachne Gorgon. Secondly, I couldn’t have answered the question better young lady. What was your name again?” the businessman explained before regarding Maka with a firm nod.

“Mrs. Maka Albarn-Evans Sir. Were there any other questions you’d like for me to answer?” Maka replied, probing Soul to sit back in his seat with a content sigh.

———————————————————————

“To Maka!” Wes announced as everyone seated around the dining table raised their wine glasses with a small cheer.

“Oh no, I didn’t really do much! If anything, I’d say luck was on my side,” Maka replied before feeling Soul rest his palm ontop her hand.

“Are you kiddin’? You were on fire Maka! That duck-faced businessman couldn’t think of a single trick question to stump ya’!” her husband exclaimed, causing the young woman to regard Soul with a small smile before her mind began to reel at how distracting he was in a pinstripe suit and wine colored shirt that seemed to illuminate the warmth within his eyes.

“Soul is always telling Wes just how brilliant you are Maka, so no need to act so modest for us,” Eliza, Wes’s fiancé, replied while giving the other woman a knowing wink, probing Mrs. Evans let out an amused snort and nod in agreement as well.

“Thank you, all of you! It feels nice to get to know Soul’s family beside from me…”

Even though I’m not truly part of this family, much less a true wife to Soul Maka thought as she ran her hands against the black dress Eliza and Mrs. Evans had gifted her earlier that week.

She could hear the family break into separate conversations before feeling Soul nudge his knee against her own, probing the young woman to look up and meet his worried gaze.

“Well, I believe Eliza and I are in need of an evening stroll. Rightttt dear?” Wes hummed while sending a coy smile to his wife.

“Right! Will you be joining us as well grandmother?” Eliza then questioned before turning her head in Mrs. Evans direction.

“Why yes, I need to keep myself active in this old age. And besides, it’s good for newlyweds to get some quality time together,” Mrs. Evans exclaimed as she jumped out of her seat and walked over to plant a kiss onto Soul’s forehead, which garnered an embarrassed grumble out of the man.

“Good night and congrats again,” the older woman then hummed while she rested her hands ontop Maka’s shoulders, gave Soul a large grin, and then shut the door on her way out.

“S-sorry, they’re just-“

“It’s ok Soul, they’re all very welcoming like you’d said they’d be,” Maka giggled before watching her husband rub one of his hands against the back of his neck.

“You, uh look really nice…in that dress. I think it’d also be kinda nice if you wore it for Halloween…if you want of course,” Soul then mumbled, eliciting the young woman to stare at the red and black checkered floor as a fierce blush began to cover her cheeks.

“Hm, I guess I’ll wear it if you’ve taken such a liking to it. But only if you promise to wear that suit for the party too,” Maka added before regarding him with a devious smile, only to become distracted by the slightest hint of red at the tips of his ears.

“If that’ll please my wife,” Soul hummed while giving her a shark toothed grin, probing her eyebrows to quirk up at his advance.

He-he didn’t mean it in a romantic way-

“Crap, speakin’ of Halloween, we haven’t even started practicing our dance yet. Guess I’ll just have to pretend to sprain my knee or somethin’,” her husband then grumbled, probing Maka to rise from her seat.

“Oh noo, I want to see my papa’s face when we’re waltzing with the other couples,” the young woman giggled while pulling Soul up as well.

“Huh-“

“Let’s start practicing right now,” Maka exclaimed over Soul before pulling him towards the phonograph that was seated on a large oak table at one of the corners of the room.

“You’re not gonna let me say no are ya’?” her husband questioned while walking forward and slowly turning the phonograph’s hand crank in order for it to sputter into life.

“Yes I am! I told you in the beginning that your happiness-“

“Kiddin’, kiddin’,. Y’know I love pissing off your old man too,” Soul then added before stretching out a hand in her direction, which she eagerly took.

“You’re going to have to take the lead,” Maka mumbled while feeling Soul’s hand rest on her hip, only to become distracted a moment later due to him giggling against her collarbone and then letting out a hum in understanding.

A slow tune soon began to trickle out from the phonograph, probing the two to start idly shuffling their feet around, with Soul taking the initiative as she’d ordered.

He twirled them around the room for a little while, allowing Maka to ease into his arms and lead them into another circle.

“Owww,” Soul hissed as the bottom of Maka’s heel stabbed against one of his shoes, forcing her to splutter out a cacophony of sorrys.

“Hm, ya’ know what’s making this hard for you,” her husband added before they began to shuffle their feet in time to the music once more.

“What?” she questioned, only to be met with a small chuckle from Soul.

“You’re too stiff. Try worryin’ less about getting the steps right and more about having fun,” he retorted, causing Maka to shake her head in thought.

“Well…if that’s all it takes,” the young woman added before sliding her free hand onto the center of Soul’s back and giggling at the way his eyebrows shot up for a split second before relaxing once more.

She then urged them to start moving across the floor again at a more slow and even pace.

I suppose it is fun getting to see his handsome face up close Maka thought to herself before leaning back and allowing her husband to keep her from falling onto the floor.

The young woman got up in a shaky flourish and allowed Soul to lead them into faster circles across the floor.

Her body felt as if it were lit on fire, although she couldn’t tell if it was because of the physical excretion or how she and Soul had inched closer to one another in the middle of the dance.

She then decided to try a more advanced step, probing her into turning around while keeping her fingers knotted with Soul’s own slender extremities.

Maka backed into his figure while raising her hands until they were leveled with her shoulders.

The music had become nonexistent due to how focused the young woman was at her and her husband’s shallow breathing.

Maka could feel Soul slightly shudder against her before slowly tilting his head to the side in order for them to be face to face with one another.

There was another bout of silence between the pair, only this time the young woman could feel her husband’s lidded eyes watch her own as she raised her heels and expelled the distance between them.

Maka then closed her eyes for a split second and was immediately lulled by the taste of wine against her lips, causing the young woman to unlatch one of her hands from Soul’s grasp and use it to grip his chin in order to deepen the kiss.

[princeblack]

on sunday he leaves the castle at dawn, carrying some clothes and water in his bag as he crosses the courtyard. he made sure to pack a sweater and a jacket as well as a set of his slytherin robes, wanting to find bee and at least keep her warm and covered enough to make it to a building. he had been watching her the past two months, noticing she was always missing at breakfast on days after the full moon. what’s more than that, she’d shared with him that the new professor remus lupin is her biological father, who also disappeared on days of the moon. it doesn’t take long to notice the pattern, particularly because regulus is a little obsessed with her.

she may not know it but bee is the love of his life, someone he’s been pining for since he met her at the start of first year when they were just fifteen. even just meeting her, he’d never felt those feelings before, like he was looking at a shining star just listening to her speak about what she loved. she inspired him, not just because of her enthusiasm and interest in creatures but also her beauty. it seemed unrealistic that someone could be so gorgeous, with the prettiest face and smile he’d ever seen. he was told from a young age that he would be sorted into slytherin and sit with the pureblood families, witches and wizards who had been prominent for centuries. he never anticipated befriending a hufflepuff, especially not when his cousin draco had spoken so ill of them, repeating what lucius had told him about the house. he even joked about just leaving hogwarts if he was sorted into hufflepuff, which regulus ignored. his own father orion had said at least hufflepuffs were hard-workers, citing gryffindor as the worst house because of the house’s history of siding against ‘their culture’ and the way they valued the old ways.

regulus knows how wrong that is now, after he watched people attacked and almost killed last year when the chamber of secrets was opened. it was all in the name of blood supremacy, even draco saying that he hoped hermione granger was the ‘mudblood’ to die. tension was high and it was the first time regulus really saw the full extent of what pureblood supremacy could cause, many of the people around him repeating that muggleborns deserved to be killed. regulus realizes he’s a fool now for ever thinking that there was a way to remove muggleborns from their society without killing them. but lord voldemort made it seem like it would be possible at first, seeming as if he had answers about keeping their kind safe and powerful enough to defend themselves so the witch hunts didn’t drive them to near extinction again.

but everything changed when bee was paralyzed, being attacked by the basilisk as it targeted hermione, who was the muggleborn it wanted. realizing bee could’ve died, it angered him that his family seemed to make excuses for the chamber. it almost ruined his relationship with draco until he became quiet on the matter after bee’s attack, seeming to actually agree that all of it had gone too far. he never really believed draco wanted hermione dead to begin with, knowing his cousin well enough to deduce that draco wouldn’t ever actually harm someone or truly wish that on them. instead he was all talk, trying to please lucius to an extent that even regulus didn’t reach with orion.

he starts to hate lucius and even his parents to an extent, finding that his entire world view is being destroyed as bee’s petrified body sits in the infirmary. but then came the summer, when he finally witnessed voldemort kill innocent muggles, claiming it was time for everyone to become comfortable with what they have to do to fully seize power and help him get a new body. they then had to wach him re-animate the corpses for the purpose of adding to his inferi army. 

even with months passed, regulus still has nightmares about the deaths he’d seen. voldemort seems to sense his confusion and anger, asking if he could use kreacher to secure a horcrux defense. knowing he was unable to say no and that it was a test of loyalty, regulus agreed reluctantly.

what regulus doesn’t anticipate is kreacher being left to die, barely making it back to him in one piece. it makes him angry more than anything, that he was betrayed in more ways than one, made out to be a complete fool. he was lied to and pressured from all sides, and all it had gotten him was more trauma and the near loss of the girl he loves as well as kreacher, someone he loves like family.

so he works on the decoy locket, wanting to return to the cave and retrieve the real one so he can destroy it and consequentially kill voldemort before he’s even able to get his new body. he hides his mark, trying to get through the school year, but something that made it undoubtedly worse was his brother’s recent escape from azkaban. neither of his parents would ever talk very much about their first son (whose image was burned off of the family tree), but from what his mother said regulus had always thought sirius was the same as andromeda, disavowing the family beliefs for blood purity. it doesn’t make sense, then, that he was secretly a supporter of lord voldemort, killing thirteen muggles in broad daylight. despite this, voldemort has never spoken of it and regulus was taught not to ask questions, so he didn’t.

all he knows is there are rumors that his brother is insane and could be doing anything now that he’s on the loose. it’s been difficult, particularly because he was already struggling with hating himself for what happened to kreacher and how his family had led him down this path (presumably the same one sirius wound up on, even when he tried to resist). the only person who spoke against the rumors was bee, even writing him a sweet letter with gifts attached. if he wasn’t already in love with her (he was), he would’ve fallen for her right then, reading her words over and over each night for comfort. he even wrote his own love letter back, leaving it unsigned. he hasn’t gathered the courage to send it, knowing how big his words are and how wrong it is to pursue her to begin with when he can’t be honest about who he is. what would she say, if she saw his mark? what would happen to her, if his plan with voldemort went wrong? and even more than all of that, what if she didn’t feel the same way?

none of those fears matter when it comes to their friendship, though, and all he wants to do when he learns of her lycanthropy is to help her. he goes to talk to her father, making him aware that he’ll be searching for her this morning and not to look for her himself. he even confessed how he feels about her so that remus knew he was serious, convincing him surprisingly easily that he could handle this. he’s not afraid of bee’s lycanthropy and he would gladly take it on himself if it meant showing her that someone cares for her and has her back always. he would do anything for the girl who showed him a glimpse of her bright world, making things a little less grim and serious in his. it was only because of her that he felt safe to pursue his own passion more, reading about creatures and particularly dragons when he wasn’t supposed to because of his mother. he’s not sure how to thank her for making him want to fight and actually survive the war that’s coming, and even doing this doesn’t seem to be enough.

but he traipses through the courtyard, finally reaching the entrance to the forbidden forest. he pulls his scarf more tightly around him, adjusting it so it isn’t caught beneath his dark brown jacket, one of his favorite ones that’s a tweed material. it’s silly that he cares about his appearance when he’s looking for his friend who’s probably disheveled after being a werewolf right now, but he already knows she’s going to be beautiful and take his breath away completely.

he finds her in a patch of flowers in a clearing, laying there with no clothes on, dirt smeared across her body. he flushes, feeling warmth spread through him at the sight of her naked curves, beautiful skin and hips and breasts. he tries to avert his eyes as he approaches but it’s difficult not to look at all of her when he has to look at her face too. it feels especially strange because she’s still passed out, her eyes shut and her pretty face almost peaceful looking. she has no idea that he's looking at her right now, or that he had planned to come out here at all.

he takes off his bag, placing it in the grass. starting to tug the clothing out, he grabs his robe first, stepping forward to lay it across her body and cover her with it. then he gently touches her shoulder, his voice quiet as he tries to wake her. “bee… wake up. i told professor lupin i was going to help you today.”  / @devcted

[thepenguinandthefiend]

S/I List

Here is a list of my S/Is. This should be very comprehensive, so I don't think I'll be adding more to the list, but you never know.

(This post is a work in progress. I'm only adding basic info now. Details and backgrounds will be added later)

Tierney Quinn

gender: fluid universes: pretty much any that don't have another s/i listed (also known as Tierney Constantine in the DC universe and Arrowverse)

Tierney's lore varies depending on the universe that they are in. I won't put everything here, but feel free to ask about their backstory in a specific universe.

Lex Phaelyn

gender: none universes: Hunger Games, Z-Nation (this picture does not show Lex's tattoos. They have tattoo sleeves of vines that also go across their chest and upper back.)

Lex Phaelyn is a victor from district 7, and is in a long term romantic relationship with Johanna Mason. The two are currently married, but in secret. Only a select few people know about their relationship because they don't want the Capitol to use it against them. Lex's trauma from being in the games led to them feeling less-than-human. Instead, they consider themself to be a swamp monster, as their HG arena was generally a swampy/marshy area. They have a big issue with geese, which were a muttation during their games. They have a kid with Johanna, but I'm still working out the details of how that fits into the lore

Salem Saxon

gender: fluid universe: Doctor Who/Torchwood

Salem Saxon is the biological child of the Master and Lucy Saxon, and therefore half Time Lord. They were born after the Master supposedly "died," and Lucy, not wanting any reminders of him, gave up the baby for adoption. Salem was raised by a human couple for most of their childhood, but Missy found out about them when they were a teen, and took them away with her. Through their parent, they met The Doctor and Bill Potts, the latter of whom they began dating.

Hadley Parson

gender: transmasc/genderqueer universe: Check, Please

Hadley is the younger sibling of Kent Parson, who is the only family member they remain close with after most of their family refused to respect their gender identity. Hadley went to Samwell along with the main characters of the series, and struggled to earn a place on the SMH team, due to the fact that they were AFAB. Jack Zimmerman championed for letting them try out for the team when the coaches were hesitant. During their time at Samwell, they developed a qpr with Larissa "Lardo" Duan. They started at Samwell the same year as Eric "Bitty" Bittle.

Ciar Callaghan

gender: male universe: Supernatural

Ciar Callaghan is descended from Celtic gods. His father is the son of the death goddess Morrigan, and his mother is the daughter of the sea god Lir. While they were raised in the mortal realm, he was still brought up with full awareness of the vast array of creatures that were in the world. As an adult, Ciar decided to travel the world to discover the different types of demons and beasts that were out there. During their time in the United States, they met the Winchester brothers. While the brothers initially rubbed Ciar the wrong way, he eventually developed a fondness for Dean, and the two began dating.

Cai

gender: agender universes: Lucifer, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Cai's father was a demon and their mother was human. Their mother died when they were young, so they were raised by their father in hell. During their time in hell, they became close with the demon Mazikeen. The two spent centuries in a will-they-won't-they situationship. It wasn't until they were both on Earth for a couple of years among the humans that they realized how important they were to each other. The two are now engaged. (if you are interested in Cai's BtVS lore, please ask. I would love to gush)

[pictures found here] Siobhan Maddox gender: demigirl universe: WWE/AEW Will Francis gender: male universes: WWE/AEW

Niko Perry gender: trans masc universe: DC comics (my secondary DC s/i) (for pic and info, click link)

[scotianostra]

January 8th 1697 Edinburgh student Thomas Aikenhead was executed in Edinburgh.

This is a cracking, if sad tale, and shows you how religious beliefs can be a blight on our history.

So who was oor Thomas, a villain?, a murderer?, a smuggler?, or some enemy of the state? No Thomas’s crime was blasphemy who took the lord’s name in vain…….this would be comic if it wasn’t for the tragic fact that he was executed, unlike the man in Life of Brian, who uttered the words Jehova, Thomas complained that he wished he was warming himself in hell rather than that chilly night walking past the recently built Tron Kirk on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile. Well that’s the simple story that the tour guides that take you round the Old Town will tell you, there is a bit more to it so I will bore you with a bit more of the detail. Thomas Aikenhead came from a well-to-do family in Edinburgh, his father being listed as a surgeon but more probably an apothecary, a dispenser of herbs and potions. Both his parents were dead by the time he became a student at Edinburgh University at the age of 16 or 17.

His mother had been a daughter of the manse, and you would think that would have made Aikenhead wary of challenging the established religion of the time, namely the all-powerful Church of Scotland, especially while still a student and under the constant gaze of professors, lecturers and, as it turned out, his fellow students.

These were the dying days of a curious period in Scottish history. Aikenhead would have been four when the ���Wizard of the West Bow’ Major Thomas Weir was executed in 1670. Weir was by day an extreme Calvinist but by night an incestuous Satanist and it takes no great leap of reason to see that an impressionable young boy might well have been affected by the trial and execution of a local celebrity that lived not far from him.

The 1680s was also the ‘killing time’ for the Covenanters when many died because of they worshipped their same god in differing ways!

Thomas was a keen student and an avid reader, he may or may not have known and Edinburgh bookseller, John Frazer, who had been prosecuted after admitting either reading, or being in possession of Charles Blount’s Oracles of Reason a book I know nothing about but gather it relates to Deism, which questioned the existence or more importanyly, non-existence of God or Satan, Frazer had repented ad as it was a first offence was sackclothed and jailed in the old Tolbooth for a number of months.

Anyway, Thomas had a friend, well he thought he had a friend, Murdo Craig, but Murdo, on the sly had been keeping notes on Aitkenhead, and his dalliances with blasphemous ideals, we know that because they formed a large part of the indictment against Aikenhead.

“Nevertheless it is of verity, that you Thomas Aikenhead, shakeing off all fear of God and regaird to his majesties lawes, have now for more than a twelvemoneth by past, and upon severall of the dayes within the said space, and ane or other of the same, made it as it were your endeavour and work in severall compainies to vent your wicked blasphemies against God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, and against the holy Scriptures, and all revealled religione, in soe far as upon ane or other of the dayes forsaid, you said and affirmed, that divinity or the doctrine of theologie was a rapsidie of faigned and ill-invented nonsense, patched up partly of the morall doctrine of philosophers, and pairtly of poeticall fictions and extravagant chimeras, or words to this effect or purpose, with severall other such reproachfull expressions.”

That was just for starters. Sir James Stewart of Goodtrees, the Lord Advocate of the day, had taken a personal interest in the case and he decided to throw the whole lot of Craig’s testimony at Aikenhead who was arrested in November, 1696, and charged under the Blasphemy Act of 1661 which carried the death penalty. He also charged Aikenhead under a more recent act, which made it a criminal offence to ‘deny, impugn or quarrel’ about the existence of God.The prosecution papers go on to record

“You have lykwayes in discourse preferred Mahomet to the blessed Jesus, and you have said that you hoped to see Christianity greatly weakened, and that you are confident that in a short tyme it will be utterly extirpate.”

For Mahomet, read Muhammad, could young Thomas be an Islam convert in 17th century Edinburgh, I very much doubt it, they just needed to make an example of the young student, and he knew by now that he was in very great trouble and protested in effect that he was guilty only of the sin of being youthful and had been led astray by the books he had read. He claimed to have repented of his anti-Christian beliefs and was once again a good Presbyterian. In this way he seems to have thrown himself upon the mercy of the court, but there was no mercy.  On Christmas Eve, 1696, a jury found him guilty. Sir James Stewart asked for the death penalty and it was granted and “pronounced for doom,” as Scottish judges were still saying well into the 20th century in capital punishment cases. Aikenhead pleaded for his life to the Privy Council emphasising his youth, his dire circumstances, and the fact that he was reconciled to the Protestant religion. There was some support for the death sentence to be commuted from at least two councillors and two Church of Scotland ministers, but the General Assembly of the Kirk intervened, demanding that Aikenhead suffer 

“vigorous execution to curb the abounding of impiety and profanity in this land”.

In his last letter to friends, written in the Tolbooth prison in Edinburgh as he awaited execution, Aikenhead at last gave a plausible explanation for his conduct – that he had been a disappointed seeker after truth. He wrote: 

“It is a principle innate and co-natural to every man to have an insatiable inclination to the truth and to seek for it as for hid treasure. So I proceeded until the more I thought thereon, the further I was from finding the verity I desired.” In truth, in a repressed society the student had just gone too far in rejecting the doctrines of Christianity calling it “feigned and ill-invented nonsense”

Aikenhead went to his death on January 8, 1697, hanged on the scaffold at Shrubhill between Edinburgh and Leith. It is said that before he died he proclaimed that moral laws were the work of governments and men. In his hand as the noose was plced around his neck was the Holy Bible. The execution angered many people for many years afterwards. The great English historian Thomas Babington Macaulay wrote an account of the hanging and called the execution “a crime such has never since polluted the island.”He continued: “The preachers who were the boy’s murderers crowded round him at the gallows, and, while he was struggling in the last agony, insulted Heaven with prayers more blasphemous than any thing that he had ever uttered.”

There was other evidence of church authorities being present as Aikenhead died. He was the last man in Britain to be hanged for blasphemy.

According to Arthur Herman in his book “How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of How Western Europe’s Poorest Nation Created Our World and Everything in It”, the execution of Aikenhead was “the last hurrah of Scotland’s Calvinist ayatollahs” before the dawning of the age of reason in the Enlightenment.

Now we can all rejoice in The Enlightenment but a full 30 years later in the small town of Dornoch in Sutherland, Janet Horne was put on trial for the “crime” of having a daughter whose feet and hands were misshapen and who had herself given birth to a son with disabilities. She was the last woman in Britain to be burned at the stake for being a witch, her death bringing to an end the “burning time” when perhaps 4000 Scottish women were executed for the crime of witchcraft.

I thought I would add a wee bit more about Shrubhill in Leith, as most of us usually only regard Edinburgh’s Old Town, The Tolbooth, and Grassmarket as sites where executions took place. I can’t find out why Aikenhead was taken to, at what at the time, was a different town for his executions I did however find records  of several taking place at the site, now student accommodation, but the site of Edinburghs tram workshops and powerstation, but beforehand not many know that it was the site of he gibbet known as the Gallow Lee, literally the “field with the gallows”,

Bodies were buried at the base of the gallows or their ashes scattered if burnt. The most famous of those that met their end here was perhaps Major Weir, the Wizard of the West Bow.

1570- Two criminals strangled and burned to death.

1570 (4 October)- Rev. John Kelloe minister of Spott, East Lothian (near Dunbar) strangled and burnt for the murder of his wife

1664- Nine witches strangled and burnt

1670- Major Thomas Weir, the self-confessed warlock, strangled and burnt for witchcraft (almost the only self-confessed witch executed).

1678- Five witches strangled and burnt

1680- Part of the body of Covenanter David Hackston was hung in chains after his execution at the mercat cross in Edinburgh for the murder of Archbishop Sharp in 1679.

1681 (10 October)- Covenanters Garnock, Foreman, Russel, Ferrie and Stewart hanged and beheaded. Their headless bodies were buried at the site and their heads placed on the Cowgate Port at the foot of the Pleasance. Friends reburied the bodies in the graveyard of the West Kirk (St. Cuthberts). The heads were retrieved, placed in a box and then buried in garden ground at Lauriston. They lay there until 7 October 1726 when the then owner, Mr Shaw, had them exhumed and reburied near the Martyrs’ Monument in Greyfriars Kirkyard.

1697 (8 January)- Thomas Aikenhead, a 19-year-old theology student at Edinburgh University became the last person to be executed under Scotland’s blasphemy laws (and the last in Britain to be executed for that crime).

1752 (10 January)- Norman Ross, a footman, hanged for the murder of Lady Baillie, sister of Home, Laird of Wedderburn. The body was left to hang in a gibbet cage “for many a year” and became a local ghoulish tourist attraction.

Post mid 18th Century the Nor’ Loch was drained and the city expanded to the north by the building of the New Town with stone quarried from nearby Craigleith quarry. In such building sand was needed to add to the lime mortar and Gallow Lee proved to be just what was needed. The owner of Gallow Lee charged the builders to cart away the sand, containing the ashes and other remains of thousands of victims.

As with all good stories there has been a drama set to the events,  I Am Thomas: A Brutal Comedy with Songs was performed at the  Royal Lyceum Theatre in 2016, before going on a short tour, it received mixed to positive reviews from critics. Read one of the reviews here https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/feb/17/i-am-thomas-aikenhead-play-told-by-an-idiot-simon-armitage-blasphemy

[awellboiledicicle]

I like to think Bloom keeps meeting Margit just as she happens to be half dead. Well, aside their normal chats.

Not bc I think she makes a habit of being injured, but bc I feel like his sweeps of sites of Grace coincide with her having just finished running around. And if some other tarnished make it out of his notice because hes focused on her dramatics, that's fine.

Margit does not point out he's aware shes doing this last part. Not that it matters-- if they were of sufficient skill to worry about, his scouts would have told him. The only real threat lately had been Bloom herself, which is why he was checking Graces and not scouting parties.

Not that Bloom doesnt advocate he leave innocent tarnished be, but she does have to concede thats... a big ask. Especially when not everyone is willing to BE left alone. Plenty of tarnished were basically bandits with more brains in their heads than grace. Some were worse. It was a debate often. As was whether she was reporting everything she saw to Ofnir.

Honestly Margit keeping an eye on her in case she was doing everything to spy on him is another reason they tended to meet when she was beat up. He figured she would be easier to tease information out of that way-- which was correct. Not that she had much for him in the way of actionable Intel. Mostly she talked about the other tarnished in this Round Table that absolutely did not want the throne. At worst they were young when they died and just sort of lost, meaning he just had to confirm reports of some of them to know she wasnt lying about some of them. She absolutely informs him on who she knows is working directly for Ofnir, after she gets half the haligtree medallion.

Because Bloom is a very kind person but that kindness is borne from a lifetime of being a very proficient mercenary. Her family had a code, a very strict set of guidelines for accepting work etc. And hers was even more rigid. Retrieving a thing in a way that was deffo robbery? Not her bag, but understandable. Killing and torturing a whole town, almost all of which couldnt walk or even try defending themselves? Banditry. Thuggery. And for what? Bloom knew he got nothing from Latenna. She knew he had killed her companion wolf and left her to die. She knew because Latennas ashes patiently waited in her bag.

She grimly lays out what she knows about Ofnir to Margit for the above, but also because of the added disgust that the man had "commanded" the hold for who knew how long and had... no unifying plan he was sharing. No grand scheme for how to rule once he became Lord-- just hoarding knowledge and lording it over everyone else present. If you're on the losing side of a conflict and you cannot retreat or advance alone, you regroup and plan. You share intelligence. The Tarnished of the Roundtable couldnt stand against a shardbearer alone, let alone all of them enough to find a lord amongst themselves. As leader, Ofnir had responsibility to marshal their talents and use them for the success of the whole. He'd make a shit Lord, but it'd be a PLAN. But he didn't have plans for that. Just murders and helping himself to unknown ends.

Basically Bloom shittalks Gideon a lot and ends up making info gathering harder because she'd only mention info in the abstract for the others.

[starsaligncd]

DIRECTORY

*these are mostly vibes, and this will probably be updated as i go, and i’m also too lazy for pretty graphics so just take it as it is pls

eléa laverren | autumn court lady

eléa is one of the youngest of the laverren family, and where many others in her position would love to have work to do and something to focus on, she doesn’t care about anything like that. eléa excels at living her life without truly doing any hard work. she is easily bored, and when she doesn’t use the boredom to practice her magic, she can be found running around to find others to annoy. she is very much an extroverted soul and loves an interesting conversation. she knows everyone at the autumn court by name, and usually has a few facts up her sleeve to make them feel as if she truly knows them. as much as she loves people, she also loves to just sit in front of a fire and let her thoughts wander or take a walk around the forests.

fae / not promised / madelyn cline

filiz sadik | night court spy

when filiz was young, no one took her seriously. and to this day, that has still remained with some. others looked at the pretty fae thinking there was not much more to her than pretty eyes, porcelain skin, and silky hair. no one expect as much wit and intelligence to be sitting behind those exact same pretty eyes. filiz was easily annoyed when she was brushed off by those older or seemingly wiser than her, but with time, she learned how to appreciate the perks behind it. filiz learned that since no one took her seriously and expected her to be just a pretty shell, no one shied away to talk about more serious topics in front of her. she learned to blend into the shadows, or to make people believe she did not understand a thing they talked about by sporting a pretty smile. behind that facade, filiz memorized secrets of everyone she passed. with time, she also added the skill of seduction to her palette, luring information from others with her lips and tongue. filiz prides herself on having become one of the most successful spies for the night court, collecting secrets like trophies, and keeping them all close to her in case she can use them one day.

fae / not promised / ayca aysin turan

maël desjardins | spring court high lord

one could argue that maël was not exactly made to be a high lord, even if he was born into the line. he is not exactly thrilled to have as much responsibility thrust onto his shoulders, and is constantly trying to dodge it by delegating important tasks to the people around him - basically, his court is run by anyone but him. maël became high lord at quite a young age after the sudden death of his father, he had not enough knowledge to really be good at his job, and that showed. while maël is incredibly charming and good at making people feel cherished and loved, everything important is not his strong suit. right after his father’s death, he was so lost that his uncle stepped in and helped him with almost everything. he was not a kind man though, and often made it clear with actions and words that he did not see maël to be fit to be a high lord. while maël licked his wounds in his sister’s arms, his uncle plotted his death behind his back. though one day, his uncle disappeared without a trace. maël did not think much of it, but was glad to get rid of the man. maël has become a bit better at being high lord over the years, but still prefers to leave the important tasks to his hand (also has no idea of all the bad things going on behind the scenes as his hand keeps them from him). sidenote: he loves to shapeshift into a big eagle to fly around and escape his responsibilities. also the only other thing he got going for him is that he is great at curse breaking and knows how to throw a good ball!

fae / not promised (but might be screwing his hand behind the scenes) / jannik schümann

rémi rousseau | mortal lands war general

rémi was born as just a simply boy with a single mother after his father died in battle. though he never came to know the man, he was hellbent of following in his father’s footstep, no matter what it might cost. at five years old, he would train with the older kids on the street with a wooden sword in hand, at age eleven he was already carrying a real sword. he would not stop, no matter how often he could barely walk because of injuries or muscle aches. eventually, he succeeded to make it, with hard work he climbed the ladder to become war general. since, he’s fought many battles, and hardly lived his life for himself. he knows how to let off some steam and frustrations, but he holds his position to a very high standard and would never compromise it for anything. loyal to the end.

human / not promised / ben barnes

rhys theroux | winter court spymaster

ever since he was a young boy, rhys wanted to be one of the most important and influential people at the winter court. he watched those surrounding the high lord and lady in awe, and dreamt of one day walking next to them and whispering secrets into their ears. instead, he trained to become one of their army, and for a long time, he was successful at what he did. many watched him and thought he would become war general one day, and when he had almost made it, a battle injury stopped him from pursuing a path he never fully enjoyed anyway. while the injury healed, it opened his eyes to what he really wanted. he didn’t want mindless fights on a battlefield, to command armies to war. he wanted to be the master in the shadow, to weave a web behind the scenes. as someone who already held a high reputation, it turned out to be easier than he thought to slide into the role of the spymaster. what rhys did not expect, however, was to fall for his high lady. his integrity as spymaster might be questionable anyway, but he did not expect to end up wanting his own high lady. in fact, he can often be found grumpy and brooding because of the situation. at times, he flirts to make her jealous, but he never seriously goes a route beyond that, as his heart is already taken. 

fae / not officially promised but a complete goner for his high lady / casey deidrick

şeyda suvari | winter court lady

growing up, all şeyda knew was living poor. she knew dreamy stories, had heard whispers about the fact that it used to be different for their family - that her mother was nobility, and that something had happened that made the family lose all its titles and lands. but to şeyda these whispers often sounded like the story of someone else. she and her sister never had anything good growing up, except each other. eventually, her sister then managed to get them out from where they started - as selin became the high lady of winter court, at first şeyda was incredibly grateful to be able to follow her sister to court, and that selin made sure she was well respected. but soon enough şeyda started to wish she could fend for herself. she wanted to be independent, to not have to rely on her sister’s power. she now saw how courts worked, and she knew she had to make sure no matter what happened, she would be well off herself. unfortunately, when her sister made sure she would find a betrothed, said man didn’t seem to find much interest in şeyda. for the better part of 15 years she has been trying to face the man she is supposed to marry, but he has dodged all of her attempts to meet him. with time, şeyda has grown quite frustrated, and most people at the winter court have learned not to annoy her until absolutely necessary. the only exception to the rule is, of course, her sister.

fae / has a betrothed but is starting to think he doesn’t actually exist / hande ercel

talayeh rashidi | summer court healer

talayeh doesn’t remember a life in which she was not alone. the fae lost her family when she was just a child, and for a long time, she was just a shadow in the lives of fae around her - forgotten in a corner, missed at dinner, left to fend for herself. as a gentle soul, talayeh never found anyone to be guilty of doing these things on purpose. she saw how other families could be loving or the opposite, how some fae children had siblings to play or fight with, but to her none of that ever seemed real. it was hard for her to fathom what it must be like to not be alone in life, and alone with your thoughts. she is a quiet woman, one who doesn’t mind being silent for hours on end. when she speaks, her voice is usually quiet, as she learned as a child not to disturb anyone by speaking too loudly. her impressive healing skills were discovered by accident, when she came to the aid of a man in need. she healed his severe wounds quickly, and soon enough, for the first time in her life, people were talking about her. talayeh was eventually promoted to become healer at court, an honour for her. while she doesn’t particularly see the sense in fights, she is happy help anyone in need without judging them for their actions.

fae / not promised / golshifteh farahani