#vii. / ✦ ❪ starter. ❫ ; they never want me to meet anyone.

[chocoblep]

#4: The To-Do List

Prompt: Reticent

It had been a while since Rhyle had visited Gridania, and as he stepped in through the gates, a familiar feeling of unease swept over him. It wasn’t as if he feared anyone here–not anymore, after having lived in the Shroud for some time–but rather that the things he did know about the place irked him more than they probably should. The prejudice here showed in the way its citizens regarded those of a certain persuasion, and though he was neither a forest-dwelling Mystel or the type of Elf known as a Duskwight, he was an outsider all the same, and that came with a fair few odd looks as he sidled down the path toward the Lancer’s guild.

He was used to being thought of as odd by now. Ever since he’d learned that he was from a different world altogether, he’d understood why he stuck out like a sore thumb, why he’d not been able to connect with the land like he’d been able to back home. He understood that he couldn’t form the closets of friendships, because he knew that eventually he would leave them behind when he figured out how to go back to his world.

Home. That place that was beginning to feel more and more foreign, even when he looked back upon his days as a protector of the forest. Though his worry for his homeland had never truly gone away, it had dissipated somewhat when he’d learned that a hero who had traveled there had dispersed the everlasting light and freed the whole of Norvrandt from its clutches. He had begun to forget the smaller details of the place and its people, though, and begun to forget what it felt like to belong to a place. It prickled his skin to think that perhaps this place was the place where he was supposed to be. But if that was so, why could he not connect to the land? Why was he so woefully out of place? 

He’d wanted to meet this Warrior of Light that people had spoken about, but they were nowhere to be found. He’d tried to get into contact with the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, only to learn that they had disbanded, and that anyone he’d have wanted to speak with was a continent and an ocean away. Given that most of them were native to this area, he suspected that all he had to do was wait for them to return. He could be patient when he wished, of course–any hunter worth their salt must be so–but waiting was a game that he did not like to play in situations like this.

Still, there were things that he needed to do before he left this world entirely, so waiting didn’t feel too bad. For starters, he needed to make sure that Little Flame was cared for. He had to ensure that the man who’d found him when he’d first arrived was compensated for his kindness. He had to defeat all of the burning foods in Radz-at-Han, like he had vowed to do, and return his den to its natural state.

When he walked into the Lancer’s Guild proper and saw a Raen man speaking with the Guildmaster, he stopped short, eyeing him up and down. He looked as out of place as Rhyle did, and the vii’s dark ears flicked, one after the other, as he considered the man. Ywain, the Hume Guildmaster, caught sight of Rhyle and smiled, beckoning him over. “Ah, Rhyle! I’ve that parcel you requested in my office. Let me go and get that for you.” The man turned and trotted off toward the back of the guildhouse, leaving Rhyle and the Raen alone.

“I do not see many Vieran men outside of the Wood,” the Raen said, and Rhyle looked him over once more.

“I do not see many of your kind here in Gridania,” Rhyle replied, careful to keep his expression deadpan.

The man grinned. “Oh, I am not here often, but I was looking for someone to spar while I was in the area.”

“Ah. And have you found a worthy partner?”

“I believe so,” the Raen said, giving Rhyle a critical eye that even he could not misunderstand as anything but appraising and inviting.

There was silence for a moment, and then Rhyle simply said, “You wish to spar with me.”

“If you would be amenable. I am told your kind are fierce warriors.” Raking his hands through his blonde hair, the Raen softened his smile into something a bit more hopeful. 

He wore his desires on his face so clearly that it was refreshing to see; Rhyle was used to stoic warriors and Asana’s infuriating, confusing smiles. He considered for a moment before giving a light shrug and settling his pack against the wall.

“I see no reason why not.”

And so the two found space to square off, which became much larger once the recruits realized what was happening. The Raen came at him faster than expected, but Rhyle fended him off easily, and they began to go back and forth in earnest, Rhyle’s bladed staff meeting the other’s naginata with such speed that the weapons themselves blurred with each movement, and jarred painfully up the arms with each clash. Finally, Rhyle managed to disarm the Raen and toppled him onto his back, crouching over him with the tip of his staff pointed at his throat. The pair stared at each other for a good ten seconds before Rhyle spoke.

“Do you happen to like strong women? I know one who could claim victory over me in a fight.”

Asana was picky, but maybe he could fulfill that first task sooner rather than later.

[faeblcssed-archive]

 ❛    .      .      .      did      you      hear      the      news      ?      ❜

———     draping      herself      down      across      the      settee      with      grace      ,     aurora      toys      with      her      curls      .      running      a      single      digit      across      her      neck      ,      she      sighs      .      ❛      france      has      certainly      gone      downhill      since      my      time      .      i      heard      they     chopped      their      queen’s      head      off      .       ❜

              /                         @draculyr​​​    ♡’d      for      a     starter .

[medusinestories]

Onwards to the episode in which we get to see Flint and Silver each having a very bad day (as well as two literal dicks that nobody had asked to see).

Black Sails VII (s1 ep07)

- We open on Pastor Lambrick's sweaty face as he intensely rehearses the Easter sermon and he’s obviously eaten up by what he did with Miranda. His sermon, unsurprisingly, focuses on sin, keeping sin hidden, and the hell that awaits the sinner. Which leads us nicely onto Flint, who’s distracted (by his own sin? by thoughts of Miranda? both?) during a meeting with Eleanor. Eleanor is pissed that Miranda let Richard Guthrie send a message to the Andromache and then waltz into town to close up his business; Flint tries to take the heat off Miranda, once again protecting her (at this point, he may not know the contents of the letter).

- During this meeting, Flint is startled when Silver first speaks up to say that the mob in the street was bad - clearly Silver is a sort of intruder in this meeting. But Eleanor, after Silver reminds her by unsubtly clearing his throat, tells Flint that he’s not to harm Silver because he was instrumental in setting up the Consortium. Silver looks so pleased with himself in these scenes, and Flint quite defeated when he tells Silver to follow him back to their camp. I love it.

- To parallel Flint/Miranda’s Sulky Sex scene from ep4, we have Anne/Rackham’s frustrating/disconnected sex scene. It shows us a few things about them mainly that Anne wants to keep a lot of control over what happens, hence Rackham being tied up (though of course this might also be his kink), her wearing a shirt that covers up most of her body, and the reverse cowgirl position that means that she’s both in control of what happens and completely avoids eye contact. The position reminds us of the Flint/Miranda scene, where Miranda was also on top, but their scene involved more eye contact (yes glaring counts, he’s still intensely focused on Miranda), gentle touching (on Miranda’s side) and her being naked and open to him. Another parallel is that both Flint and Rackham aren’t in the right frame of mind for sex, Flint being angry and Rackham lost in a sea of worries (and probably also somewhat angry/disappointed at Anne for forcing him into the plot to kill their crewmates). The difference between Flint and Rackham is that while Flint doesn’t seem to have any trouble performing, Rackham is miles away and doesn’t even notice that he’s lost his erection - again. Anne is frustrated by this, and apparently knows him well enough that she offers to put something up his arse, but he’s clearly not in the mood, and she leaves in a huff, abandoning him all tied up as a sort of revenge for his performance problems. Whatever the problem is between them isn’t put into words (because Anne can’t yet, for starters), unlike the one between Flint and Miranda. The intimacy between Rackham and Anne, so often described as close partners, seems much more distant to me than the one shown between Flint and Miranda. I’m not sure whether it’s because of anyone’s sexual orientation, or just the fact that they’re fucking but they’ve never discussed the big important things, such as Anne’s identity/feelings/etc.

- In this episode, Dufresne gains a lot of power: with a freshly (and badly) shaved head and a new tattoo, he’s been promoted to Quartermaster on the Walrus in Billy’s place. And very quickly he has a problem to deal with: Randall revealing that Silver stole the page. Gates had actually already told this to Dufresne, as is revealed at the end of the episode, which might explain why Dufresne is relatively calm during the whole conversation, while DeGroot wants Silver and Flint hanged and Howell is surprisingly ruthless: he brings up the idea that it may be better to kill off Randall in order to get to the treasure, if they can’t make sure he’ll keep quiet about Silver being the thief. Dufresne is actually quite kind towards Silver in the scene where he puts Silver’s memory to the test - a test that could result in his death if he fails it and that Silver constantly grumbles against (I love his grumbling!). Basically, at this point Dufresne remains quite a sympathetic character, which will change a lot as the show goes on, especially after Jannes Eiselen had to leave the show (such a sad story, RIP Jannes).

- In the meantime, the Flint and Gates relationship is crumbling. It's sad to see, especially since they're shown sharing chuckles as they talk about Dufresne's appointment in the beginning of the episode. But then Gates brings up the subject of Miranda and demands explanations about the letter Billy found. We're not shown exactly what Flint answers, but it's clear that he's actually trying his best to give him an explanation without incriminating Miranda too badly. The sad thing is that Flint is actually telling the truth: he actually wasn't involved in any betrayal of his crew and and can only guess at Miranda's motivations. But the fact that he's lied time and again in previous situations, including on the Maria Aleyne where he claimed Lord Alfred drew a weapon on him (and Gates secretly verified that this was a lie), and used men as pawns to advance his and Miranda's plans, is now catching up to him. Flint seems truly hurt when Gates accuses him of using the men for his own purposes, and turns spiteful, telling Gates that he should have been "a better father" to Billy and helped him "understand the world he was living in" (suggesting that such a forthright character as Billy can't really survive in a world of pirates who are all ready to stab each other in the back). After that slap in the face, Gates says he's exhausted from Flint and threatens to take it to the crew. Somehow, this pushes Flint to bare all: he tells Gates about his plan to keep a part of the treasure and use it to build up Nassau, depicting himself as a sort of saviour, doing it for the men's good: they'd rather be rich men in a safe place than dead thieves hanging from a noose. Gates sees this as delusions of grandeur, and tells him that while he'll see the Urca plot through, after that they're done. I actually think he sees Flint’s point, since he doesn’t just throw him to the crew, but won’t admit that out loud. The whole of this scene hurts bad, because you can tell that Flint is desperate and sad to be losing his closest ally and friend, and that Gates is hurting from the loss of Billy and exhausted from the toxic relationship he has with Flint, where he's played enabler to his manipulations for years.

- While Flint and Gates’ alliance is breaking, Silver has to forge one with Randall or die. Randall finds out in the beginning of the episode that he’s been voted out of the crew. This is apparently due to DeGroot’s fears that Randall could be a fire hazard, which the crew took disproportionately to heart. Randall is furious with Silver, who smugly tells him that in these situations, a setback often comes with a new or unexpected opportunity. He’s right, but at this point he doesn’t know that he is the opportunity Randall’s going to latch on. Randall reveals that Silver is a thief, and Silver denies it, saying that Randall is both a halfwit and was in a haze of opium when he heard what he thought he heard; he even tries to convince Randall that he was mistaken (this, my friends, is gaslighting). However, by revealing that Silver was the thief, Randall sets a chain of events into motion which could either end with his death (if Howell has his way, since Randall is an inconvenient witness) or Silver’s (if DeGroot tips the balance, not trusting Silver to remember the coordinates and not wanting to sacrifice Randall for nothing). Silver figures out that these are the outcomes, and tries to talk sense into Randall by making a deal with him: he’ll care for Randall and make sure he can stay on the ship. But it’s only when Silver finally admits that he is the thief and that Randall was right, that Randall accepts the deal. Later, Silver realises that Randall might have orchestrated the whole thing: he’s now got Silver to serve him, doesn’t have to take any risks on the ship, and gets to remain with the crew. Silver wonders if Randall is a genius rather than a halfwit (a word thrown about a lot to describe him). And it seems quite obvious, considering what happened, that Randall still has strong survival skills (an amputee with impaired cognitive skills doesn’t stand a chance of survival outside a crew and he must be aware of it), that he still has a good memory and an ability to pick out useful information and that he’s aware enough of what’s going on to be upset by the crew’s rejection and Silver’s attempt to gaslight him. I think it’s important to recognise that Randall is more than a comic relief or a grotesque character: he’s a disabled man who's lost parts of his cognitive ability and is struggling to survive.

- This episode focuses on Vane facing his past. He seeks out the island where he grew up and its master, Albinus. I’d forgotten or never really registered that Albinus was a pirate and that the men who work for him were mostly his crew - and likely slaves (or children, hence Vane?) that he managed to capture/press into service. He’s retired from pirating and set up a system where his men cut down trees for timber all day, without wages. It’s not clear exactly how he holds so much power over these men, although it seems that everyone is terrified of him. He’s extremely strong physically, seems shrewd, speaks rather well, and his tattoos suggest that maybe he’s involved in some kind of ritual (truly religious or just for show?) which would make him all the more scary to superstitious people. Vane is clearly still frightened: he barely makes eye contact and practically stutters when he first tries to make the deal with Albinus, which is that he’ll take some of Albinus’ men as crew and send Albinus part of their earnings as tribute. It says a lot about Albinus that Vane, after years of having run away, is still so scares that he’s willing to pay him a tribute. But he changes his mind as he stares at a boy bearing the same brand as he does: he tries to persuade the men that Nassau is a pace of pleasures rather than hard labour, and confronts Albinus. The fight is brutal and ends with Vane buried naked, just after Albinus tells him that he’s proud of him. But of course Vane wouldn’t be Vane if he didn’t rise from the dead at the last minute and kill Albinus, goaded on by his inner Eleanor voice.

- In the meantime, Mr Scott returns to Eleanor, apologising for what he did, telling her he betrayed her out of love. However he also reminds her of his slave status: technically, he belongs to her. The argument upsets her, and he quite cleverly uses this moment to ask her to free the slaves who were on the Andromache. And it works: by the end of the episode, she’s made arrangements for the men to work on ships and has bought the women’s freedom and found them jobs in her tavern. But Mr Scott has still decided to leave Eleanor to join Hornigold’s crew, to refrain from meddling with Eleanor’s affairs, since he disagrees with her so strongly re: the Urca. Hornigold approached him earlier in the episode, and the introduction to that scene is quite interesting: Hornigold says to Mr Scott “I’ll need to know your secret” and Mr Scott looks startled and frightened. It seems that he’s startled because he’d been giving food to the slaves, but in light of S3, it could be a much greater secret that’s being referred to. Mr Scott is relieved when he realises that Hornigold is simply talking about tolerating Eleanor, who he clearly can’t stand.

- Flint’s bad day continues, of course, with the big confrontation he has with Miranda. He’s furious about the letter (of which he now knows the contents thanks to Gates), telling her that it could have got him killed, or destroyed the plans they’d made and asking her whether she was trying to embarrass him. This sounds so weirdly petty, and yet it also sounds exactly like the kind of argument that would come up in a bickering couple. Miranda answers that she was trying to help him out of that life, because she wants to move on. This is where Miranda utters the famous “there is no life here, there is no joy here, there is no love here”. I noticed that, covered by Flint yelling at her, and distorted because her voice has gone very shrill, Miranda says another line, which sounds like “you used to love, then”. If that really is what she says, it’s extra-extra-extra heartbreaking to hear (if someone wants to check it for me, it’s around 35:40). It’s obvious that Flint and Miranda’s views on life are very different, and I can’t help but think back to the fact that, as a carpenter’s son from the country, Flint has had to struggle all his life to become who he is. So when he says that you can’t get a life without having a war, and Miranda tells him he’s wrong, she’s speaking entirely from the point of view of her privilege. She’s never needed to fight as hard as he has to be happy, because she got extremely lucky in marrying Thomas. And when she says that Thomas would agree with her, I’m certain she’s right. But life has never been like that for Flint, and there’s no way he’ll ever entirely agree with their point of view. Rewatching this scene is tough, btw, because they both have great points, they’re both hurting so much, and there’s so much to take in between the body language, the facial expressions, the tones of voice and the actual words that it’s a whole whirlwind. And it feels very, very real.

- It’s absolutely hilarious to see Rackham get robbed by the whores taking advantage of his lack of knowledge (and research). He should absolutely have done a better job and has no clue how to run a brothel. He’s lucky Max takes things in hand after having heard from Idelle that the girls were taking advantage.

- Then we have the beautiful Drunk Flint scene. Eleanor notices him feeling very sorry for himself after Gates has pretty much broken up with him and he’s still reeling from fighting with by Miranda. I think Flint feels very misunderstood here. He thought that he was doing something good, to save Nassau and avenge Thomas, and doesn’t understand why they can’t see it, why they only see the terrible methods he uses to reach his goals. So he’s full of doubt, clearly wondering if he’s the villain of the story, and puts the question to Eleanor: is their plan worth it? Eleanor is the only person who still believes in him, which leads us to the only scene that I would ever call straight-baiting. Flint hovers near Eleanor, breathing heavily, and a variety of emotions play over her face during this moment of tension, as she seems to think this is leading to a kiss. It does, he gives her a chaste little forehead kiss and leaves. All the elements are in place to make your average viewer start shipping these two. I actually find it hilarious that the ship barely exists in the fandom (though I wasn’t there in the beginning of the fandom and I guess the viewership changed a lot between S1 and S4).

- The scene with Flint and Gates glaring at each other from their respective ships and Parson’s Farewell playing in the background... epic! We know this is the beginning of a big struggle between them, especially since we find out that Gates has pretty much decided that he’ll hand Flint over to the crew once they get the money. But nnnnggh that scene! The ships leaving on their hunt! Awesome and heartbreaking!

[mithranqueersmusings]

The Night Before VII

Chapter: 7/15

Rating: T

Summary: Ringo hangs around after the club closes and meets a stranger.

Tags: Smut, Slow Burn

Pairing: George Harrison/Ringo Starr (Background McLennon)

AO3 link here / Fic masterlist here

Ringo couldn't deny that he felt rather disappointed when himself and George had to leave the comfort of his home to trek through the cold to the party. They already seemed to be having such a good time on their own, singing along to music and asking more intrusive questions. He wasn't entirely sure when they'd finished as many bottles as they had, but there was hardly any alcohol left so naturally they had to move on to greener pastures. It was ridiculous to think that they might have struggled getting drunk enough, George's face was flushed and Ringo couldn't stop laughing. He fumbled with his keys as they braced the cold, part of him wanted to get an Uber but he figured it would be a waste of money considering how close it was, plus it would greatly increase the risk of one of them throwing up.

"You look nice, by the way." George mumbled, leaning against the wall while Ringo locked up "I forgot to say."

"Thanks." Ringo slid his keys into his pocket, whether he'd still have them by the end of the night was anybody's guess "So do you, but you knew that."

On the walk they spoke about nothing in particular, George explained just how few people he knew at this party so he'd be going in just as nervous as Ringo, although Ringo found that hard to believe. He hadn't been to a house party since he was young, so it was intimidating to say the least.

Turning the corner onto the final street, Ringo could already hear the booming music and the chattering people; the ball of anxiety he'd been fending off came back in full force, maybe this hadn't been such a good idea.

George seemed to notice Ringo's sudden change in temperament, it didn't take a genius to figure out from his short replies and the intense look of dread in his eyes. Passing by a house, George pulled Ringo by his wrist into the darkness of the alley between the two buildings and locked their lips in a kiss. Ringo melted into it willingly, George cupping his cold face with his warm hands. In an instant all his fears were gone, blown away into the night. George pressed his tongue in for only a moment, the alcohol on his breath was strong, then pulled away with a concerned look.

"Stop freaking yourself out." George said somewhat firmly "It's just a party."

Ringo let out a heavy sight "You're right, sorry. I dunno what's come over me."

"I'd make a sex joke but I don't think now is the time." George smirked.

They continued down the street for a few more minutes until they were confronted with the bustling house: the front garden hosted a few individuals with drinks in hand, the front door was left ajar so the two of them stepped inside easily but there was little room to move. The stairs were crammed with people both sitting and standing, shouting over the music in attempt to make conversation. George led them to the kitchen, following the music in an attempt to find the heart of the party, which wasn't any less crowded. He gave Ringo a look which didn't say much at all, a mixture of noncommittal confusion.

Just as Ringo feared, the music wasn't exactly to his taste, but he was drunk enough to focus on the heavy bassline and make an effort at dancing. George led them through the crowd to a relatively empty space, grabbing two bottles of unopened beer on his way without a second glance to check who they belonged to. Ringo accepted it gladly, more so than anything because it gave him something to do with his hands.

On the positive end of things, the tight space meant the two of them had to stand fairly close to one another; they'd brush together as they danced, making Ringo think fondly of their time at the club. Occasionally George would look around the crowd as though he was searching for someone, but never seemed to find whoever he was looking for. Ringo could hardly see above the heads, not that he had anyone else he wanted to look at besides George. Even in this undesirable situation George was still able to move in a compelling way, his hair tossing around as he danced.

The music continued to boom on for a few songs, the both of them finishing their beers along the way. Suddenly George leaned in to Ringo's ear.

"I'm gonna try and find a bathroom, wait here." George shouted, pulling away with a small smile and vanishing into the crowd.

Exactly what Ringo had been afraid of, but he wouldn't allow himself to worry, it wouldn't be long before George was back, surely. He made his best attempt to enjoy the music, although it was difficult with the people bumping into him from every angle. Every so often a group of people would need to get from one side of the room to the next, which meant even more unwanted physical contact. Ringo was beginning to remember what he'd hated so much about house parties.

As if things couldn't get much worse, a girl broke away from her group of friends to start dancing with Ringo. George couldn't get back fast enough. She smiled at Ringo eagerly and moved in far too close, but he knew better than to be unnecessarily rude to a stranger. For all he knew, this could be her house.

"Hey." She yelled in Ringo's ear "I haven't seen you before."

Ringo tried to keep his face from contorting in discomfort "I'm a friend of George's."

"Who?" She increased her volume further, her voice was shrill.

"George." Ringo repeated as though it would make any difference, perhaps shouting his name would summon him for a rescue.

"Do you wanna find a room?" She asked with no further explanation, remaining close to Ringo's face waiting for an answer.

"Uh, no thanks." Ringo tried to remain polite, surely she'd get the picture.

"That's alright, we can just stay here." Apparently not.

She moved away from Ringo's face at least, but nowhere near far enough. Of all the bad things that could've happened tonight, Ringo hadn't factored in this potentiality. Somehow the music seemed louder now and far less enjoyable. She'd get bored eventually, or so Ringo thought, it wasn't even a few minutes later before she was trying to pull Ringo in for a kiss. He dodged her rather dramatically, knocking back into some people behind him which caused a domino effect and a small commotion; Ringo used the opportunity as best he could, freeing himself from the girl and hurrying off in search of George. Where the fuck was he?

He felt utterly helpless pushing through the sea of people in search of George, popping his head into every room he came across. It didn't help that Ringo didn't know anyone here, nor the fact that few people would've known George to point Ringo in the right direction. Heading up the stairs and beginning to feel rather overwhelmed, Ringo spotted George tucked away in a corner talking to some guy. Ringo hurried over, catching George's eye who smiled at him warmly.

"Ringo!" George announced his presence "Where did you go?"

"I could ask you same thing." Ringo was calming down marginally, the claustrophobic atmosphere wasn't helping.

"You alright?" George asked, his face suddenly morphing with concern, ignoring the man beside him completely.

"Need some air I think." Ringo responded, the severity of the statement only dawning on him further.

George nodded "Sure, sure. Let's find a room."

The words practically haunted Ringo at this point, but he followed George all the same as he explored through the house in search of an empty space. They had to go up another flight of cramped stairs before they found what they were looking for, it provided enough distance from the music that Ringo could finally hear his own thoughts again.

George locked the door behind them and settled on the bed as though it were his own. Ringo tried not to think too hard about the fact it was a stranger's room, ignoring any personal touches dotted around the space. He sat on the bed next to George, anxiety still racing through his body.

Ringo wasn't sure what to say, before he could even think of a conversation starter George was already leaning in for a kiss. Instinctively, Ringo pulled away, and George didn't press any further.

"What's up?" George asked, talking louder than necessary.

"Some girl tried to get off with me." Ringo blurted out with little grace, feeling like a child complaining to a teacher.

George paused and drew his brows together in thought "Seriously? Why're you so shaken up, I thought you liked girls." He nudged Ringo lightly but seemed to regret it instantly.

Ringo let out a weak laugh "Just threw me, I think. Forgot how hectic these things were."

"Well we don't have to do anything, we can just talk." George explained with a sweet smile.

He was far from relaxed, but George was helping him get there. Ringo let out a deep breath and tried to calm himself further. It wasn't often that drinking made him so anxious, but it had been known to happen. Looking at George, the intensity of his eyes and the concern on his face forced Ringo to speak without much thought.

"I know I'm pretty drunk right now, and I'll probably regret saying this in the morning, but... I like you George, and I'm trying so hard not to mess anything up but I feel like I am anyway." Ringo rambled, not having the self control to stop himself.

George looked at him for a while, his sharp face unreadable. Shit. He'd really fucked it now... Ringo began debating an exit strategy, could he survive a jump from a three storey window? Probably not.

After what felt like eternity, George pulled Ringo in close and kissed his lips tenderly. It wasn't as heated as any of their previous kisses, it was almost sweet. For a moment Ringo worried George was too drunk to understand what he'd even said, but he pulled away with Ringo's face still pressed in his hands.

"You are drunk, so I'm not gonna hold it against you. But you've gotta chill the fuck out Ringo, okay?" George spoke firmly but not harshly.

Ringo nodded, savouring the feeling of George's skin against his own "Okay."

George smiled at him, rubbed his thumb over Ringo's cheek for a brief second before pulling his hands away completely.

"We can ditch the party if you want. It's pretty shit if I'm being honest." George offered.

Ringo shook his head "No, don't be silly. That'd be such a waste of alcohol. We came here for a good time, so let's have one."

"You sure?" George asked unconvinced.

"I'm sure." Ringo affirmed "I'll be fine, just don't run off again. Alright?"

"Alright." George laughed softly, already standing up from the bed and heading over to the door.

Ringo followed behind him closely as they once again worked through the plethora of people, spilling a couple of drinks in their wake. The kitchen was just as crowded as before, but Ringo felt considerably safer with George at his side. They picked up where they left off, dancing close with one another to the repetitive beat of the music.

Just when Ringo found himself returning to normal, he spotted a familiar face in the crowd. It was that girl. He almost shuddered as she smiled at him, waving drunkenly as she whispered to her friends. George followed Ringo's gaze then moved in closer to his ear.

"That her?" George asked, his voice a little deeper.

"Yeah." Ringo replied, unable to take his eyes off her.

"Well, we better make it clear that you're unavailable tonight."

[bloodfcst-a]

given the revival of the vii fandom with all of the hullabaloo surrounding remake, i can think of no better time to do this meme. i also suggest you check out my updated nav page if you haven’t already! i worked really hard on it okay sobs.

things a new rp partner should know about me !

write 3-5 things a new rp partner (or those who want to be) should know about you and tag 3-5 people! it should be related to rp and not to other interests. 

tagged by: no one, but it’s a shame bc... i got thoughts. you were warned.

tagging: @angereve​ @enshijou​ @breselin​ @serophs​ @strfe​ @fractempyreal​ @extremepath​ @localmagicalboi​ @shimmerseas​ @duplikiss​ @verumking​ @asterites​ + if it strikes your fancy.

i. i am not your mother’s/father’s yu.ffie blog. while i do have a verse reserved for compilation content, that’s not the main premise of this blog. if you came here for oversexualized underage ninjas.... i’m going to have to direct you elsewhere. out here we’re primarily an adult modern interpretation... who does not daylight as a ninja constantly. she can, however, be a y.akuza or a sheltered member of high society who enjoys kicking ass for justice so if you’re interested in that, y’know. c’mon down.

ii. the typical ‘ yu.ffie is a kleptomaniac ’ / ‘ stop stealing my stuff ’ trope is like. one that grates my very existence. i have talked about this many times, but for those of you who are new: yufi has only stolen out of necessity to her cause. the only time i’ll refer to petty theft on this blog is if she like steals a fry or something. if we’re joking around, okay, but... please don’t consider that to be the sole core of her characterization. i’m begging. i’m on my knees. i’m warning you, i’ll cry and then i’ll probably ignore whatever post you’ve mentioned it in if you’re serious. just. don’t be that person if you’re following me.

if we’re going into it, the only times she’s stolen anything were: > in crisis core, as the ‘ treasure princess. ’  but this is arguable, as the treasure is truly up for grabs to start with & zack repeatedly goes after these locations she’s sent to him ( which, by the way, were sent to her from rufus to attempt to retaliate against + destroy shinra hq ). zack already knew what was up when: 1) she showed up in his spam folder; 2) she literally said she’s on the hunt for treasure; and 3) he knew at least after the second time that he was gon’ get goinked ( please see definition #2 ) so... can’t help him there. > in vanilla vii, when the party is foolish enough to meet her and not recruit her off the bat ( it be ya own self ). to be fair, 99% of her interactions with easterners / non-wutai prior to that moment had been people who either wanted to kill her or exploit her, so... it’s only self-preservation to use them before they use her or worse, leave her for dead. a sad reality for a 16 year old. > in vanilla vii, only after the party arrives to wutai & she thinks she can successfully finish her mission of “ getting all the strongest materia. ” after she’s captured, she does apologize, and then afterward makes cloud sign it in writing. so. y’know, she did learn from her mistake & said “ ugh, guess i gotta put that diplomacy training to use. ”

y’all could argue that she’s a thief class and that’s what they do, but note that it’s NOT one of her core skills-- it’s a MATERIA. which means everyone out there with a steal materia could be out here being a kleptomaniac. cloud? barret? tifa? red xiii? none of your favs are safe. her skills in the game, however, are shit called “ blood festival ” ( oh? see the username’s relevance all of a sudden? aha! ) and “ doom of the living. ”  she’s out here summoning ghosts and reigning otherworldly power on ur ass but... fandom wasn’t ready for that conversation !!  some folks were too BASIC and couldn’t handle her true strength... so i will gladly champion that for you.

iii. i like to emphasize that yufi is an emotionally strong yet traumatized figure, which stems from her origins and that i just put that in the forefront. we have a character who is haunted by her mother who died after childbirth, seemingly rejected from her father yet held to the highest of his standards, has attachment issues because she’s the “ black sheep ” and doesn’t just accept defeat or dejection even if it comes from her core community, survived multiple wars, has led in post-war rescue efforts on multiple occasions, was wrongfully imprisoned, was on the forefront of pandemic outbreaks as a first-responder, joins and rises to the top of an organization created to restore world order, is one of the two top operatives in said organization ( and the one out on the field longer--sorry vin.cent, but u only got involved at lu.cretia and when the actual gunshots disturbed your brooding and wine session filled isolation sessions. but like, mood tho ), pretends to be cheery despite clearly remembering all the hauntings and death and other bullshit she’s been facing since she was a toddler.... oh, and she disarmed bombs when her country was wrongfully targeted + used as political bait for terrorists...when she was a child. that’s canon, if we’re talking about  “ accuracy. ” even in vanilla vii, she had no outlets, no one to turn to, ‘cause everyone was cloud vc: “ not interested. ”  

so if you’re on this blog, it’s not like you won’t see happy  yufi... but realize that i recognize that she is multifaceted and has a lot of baggage. emotional issues which unfortunately i bring to every verse gfdohfofh but u know, it’s core to her character + y’all gon have to deal, or... idk, go find another yufi. i’m not forcing you to be here.

iv. in my opinion, the best plotting comes with ooc conversations/interactions. i’m not saying if we plot that we’re required to be friends, ‘cause i don’t wanna force anyone into friendship, but i truly believe that if you want super deep plots with frequent interactions, we should... probably talk more than once. pretty simple, imo !  sometimes people claim i play favorites, but i really don’t... if you never talk to me and you don’t respond to my attempts to interact, then how am i supposed to know you’re interested? 

as a general rule, i’ll put in as much effort as i receive. if i see you’re interested in me, if we’re really vibing when it comes to plotting, if you’re sending asks & liking posts, we’ve got some threads going, rad !  if i like starter calls and send you asks and message you and you never respond to me... ?  i’ll take that as a sign you don’t wanna talk + i should move on to someone else. if i’m wrong, well... do something to change my mind.

v. i know i went hard as fuck on this meme, but that’s bc I’M REALLY PASSIONATE ABOUT ABOUT THIS MUSE.  in reality i’m actually quite soft + a weenie babie. if you ask.......... most people, i think they’d say i try really hard to be approachable and adaptable. i think everyone who talks to me on discord laughs at me because i’m scared of the stupidest things + i love to make jokes and just be funny and relatable. so please be nice and love me and my sassy fighty extremely tough deprived child. we both need hugs. 

kthx i’m finally done.

[sassyandclassy94]

“Secrets, Lies, and Blessings” (A SwanFire FanFic) Chapter 7

  Chapter VII

~Eighteen months ago~

It had been roughly six months since Emma and Baelfire had met at Ava’s birthday celebration and ever since then they had been sneaking out to see each other as much was possible. They would meet in the forest at night and would talk and walk together.

They found one another to be good company; they could easily talk to each other and be themselves. When it was the two of them they were just “Emma” and “Baelfire” rather than “The Crown Princess” and “The Dark One’s Son” and they found it incredibly refreshing and were growing more and more attached to one another.

      On one particular night, Emma headed out as soon as she had finished her supper. She had convinced her parents that she was exhausted after a long day and wanted to go to bed early. They readily believed her and excused her, much to Emma’s relief. With that, she had rushed to her bedchamber and quickly changed into her commoner’s clothes. She briefly told her lady-in-waiting where she was going, gave her an estimate as to when she’d be back, and again made her swear never to tell anyone about this. Eleanor hesitantly looked the other way and Emma was gone.

      When she reached their usual meeting point she stopped and listened for a moment. It looked like he wasn’t there. “Bae?” she quietly called. She turned around when she heard a sound behind her.

      “I’m right here,” he said, a little out of breath. “I’m sorry I’m a little late. I kinda got held up for a minute.”

      “You’re fine,” Emma said with a smile. “You didn’t have to run. I could’ve waited five minutes.”

      Baelfire held out his arm to her and she eagerly looped her arm around his elbow. They began to walk. “I’m pretty sure it's considered improper to keep a young lady waiting.”

      Emma looked up at him and smiled. “Well, this young lady would’ve understood.” she replied as she gave his arm a light, affectionate squeeze.

      They walked further into the forest before they came to a fallen tree next to a pond. They sat down on it and were just silent for a few moments before Emma started to speak. She uttered a small sigh. “You have it lucky, do you know that?” she said, breaking the silence.

      Baelfire looked at her, puzzled. “How do you mean?”

      “Well, for starters, you’re not a royal. You can do whatever you feel like. You don’t have to study foreign languages or know the entire history of all the realms and the entire surrounding kingdoms. You don’t have to memorize the order of the Royal Guard, let alone remember ALL their names. And you never have to be under constant supervision.” she let out a sigh. “What I hate most of all are the social outings and duties and attending the stupid councils with my parents. I have to be constantly on for everybody. I’m always expected to act a certain way at all times. I can’t be myself in any way at all and I hate it.” she inhaled deeply and looked down at the ground before looking back at Baelfire. “I’m going to tell you something that I’ve NEVER told anyone else - ever. Not even my lady-in-waiting, Eleanor…” she swallowed before continuing. “I’m the crown princess, the heir to the throne. What if I became queen tomorrow? I’m afraid that I don’t have what it takes to be queen and that I’ll end up greatly disappointing my parents…I didn’t ask to be born into this...” she looked at Baelfire. He was looking at her thoughtfully, taking in what she had just told him. Emma didn’t really know where all that had come from. She just found him so easy to talk to. Then she wondered if she should’ve in fact kept quiet.

      “Well, for one thing,” Baelfire started. “You becoming queen is a LONG way off, so get that out of your head - even if - heaven forbid - something did happen tomorrow, you wouldn’t be queen until you’re 21 anyway, correct?  And unless you became a terrible ruthless tyrant that executes without question, there’s no way you could possibly disappoint the king and queen.” Emma giggled at the point he had made. “I know you think otherwise, but they love you,” he went on. “And you have the same gumption and leadership skills as the king himself and that -”

      “That may be so but I don’t have my mother’s kind spirit and soft spokenness.” she interrupted.

      Baelfire turned so that he was directly facing her. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders. “That is nonsense.” he firmly replied. “You were kind to me, weren’t you?”

      Emma was taken back a little by his touch. It felt rather … pleasant, actually. She quickly snapped herself back to reality. “Everyone’s kind to you,” she answered.

      “No. No, they’re not.” he said as he removed his hands from her shoulders.

      “What? But you’re the kindest person I know!! How could anyone not be kind to you?” She asked incredulously.

      Baelfire inhaled slowly and shook his head. “Not everyone is even half as kind as you, Emma. People may not know my face, but once I introduce myself, they immediately know who I am and try to get away as fast as they can. They want nothing to do with me if they can help it.” He was quiet for a moment before continuing. “It’s been like that for a long time. I’d try to join in with the other children and they’d run away. Now I try to start a conversation, or even try to help anyone, they push me away. I mean, I really can’t blame them. My papa has a reputation, he’s done terrible things to people, thinking that he’s protecting me. I understand that they’re only scared, but it just gets …”

      “Lonely …” Emma finished for him and he nodded. She suddenly felt a twinge of guilt for complaining about her life to him. Yes, she had her problems too of course, but at least she had a family that loved her and a lady-in-waiting whom she considered more of a close friend than a glorified servant. He didn’t have any of that.

      “Yeah, that too, but also frustrating.” he looked at Emma. “No one ever wants to take the time to get to know me. They think that just because I’m the Dark One’s son I’m automatically just as bad and as dangerous as he is. You’re actually the first person since then who didn’t run after I told you my name.”

      “Well, why would I have run? It's never right to judge a person by the actions of their parent.” Emma said angrily. “Anyone who would actually take ten seconds to talk to you would see right away what a kind and noble person you are and that you are NOTHING like him.” Anger flashed her eyes. “Don’t pay those idiots any mind. They’re ignorant is what they are and are too blind and stupid to notice that something great is right in front of them.” She squared her shoulders and noticed Baelfire was staring at her. He was greatly touched by her words and how she had delivered them. He was also surprised. No one had ever stood up for him like she had just done.

      Emma went on. “They don’t know what they’re missing,” she said shyly as she cautiously placed her hand on his leg.  

      “What?” he was slightly surprised by her sudden touch.

      “Talking with you. Just knowing you” she answered, still looking at him. “These people have no idea what they’re missing out on. I know I’ve only known you for six short months, but …” she trailed off. Baelfire continued to look at Emma, asking with his eyes for her to go on. “See, as the princess, I’ve met a lot of people, many of whom I wish I could UNmeet…” she giggled and then went on. “But you? You’re like no one else I’ve ever met. You’re sweet, you’re kind, caring, considerate, and from what I’ve gathered in this short time, you’re also selfless.” she said as she looked into his teardrop-shaped hazel eyes. She continued to look him in his eyes and noticed that Baelfire too was also looking in her eyes. She suddenly developed jitters in her stomach.  She nervously cleared her throat and looked away. “Anyway … I think what I’m trying to say is that …” she trailed off. How do you tell someone that you’re falling in love with them? And even if she did, what if he didn’t feel the same way? What if he only saw her as a friend and nothing more? Should she just tell him? Or wait? She inhaled deeply as she looked down at her lap. As she did so her hair behind her ear came untucked, causing it to fall in front of her face. She instinctively tucked it back behind her ear again.

      “Trying to say what?” Baelfire cocked his head as he encouraged her to go on. He kept looking at Emma. She looked absolutely stunning under the light of their lanterns.  He continued to look at her as he waited for her go on and finish her thought.

      “Well … I guess what I’m trying to say is that I …” she paused nervously before continuing. “I’m a pretty good judge of character. Always have been and I’ve kinda prided myself upon that … and … well … you … you seem very noble. More noble than any so-called prince I’ve ever met.” she looked back at Baelfire. She badly wanted to tell him how she felt. Bae was like no one she’d ever met before, she was sure of that. She felt a connection to him, she had felt that ever since their first meeting during Ava’s birthday celebration. He made her laugh, he understood her, he always listened to her, he treated her like a normal girl, and he was respectful. Very respectful. When she was around him, she didn’t feel like the Crown Princess of the Enchanted Forest. Instead, she felt like so much more. She felt like a complete person, her own person. Being around him made her feel happy. Genuinely happy instead of irritable and moody. Instead of feeling trapped, she felt free. With him she felt like she could take on the world if she needed to.

      Baelfire actually felt the same way. He felt different around Emma too. It was almost as if... his life finally made sense. Like he now had a purpose. Not that he didn’t feel his life had a purpose before, he always knew everything happens for a reason, but being with Emma made him actually believe in his heart what he already knew in his head. Being with her made him forget about how crappy his home life was. Around her he didn’t feel depressed anymore. He wondered if she was feeling the same way he was. He watched her as she studied the water in the pond in front of them. She looked so pretty. He suddenly developed an urge to kiss her, but something was holding him back. Was it because of who she was? Or was it because he was afraid she might not return the feelings. He didn’t want to ruin what they already had. Besides, what if she’s actually engaged to marry someone already? He thought to himself. Emma had never mentioned anything about a betrothal, but she WAS sixteen and of marriageable age, and being a Royal, it was all still a possibility. Many princesses were married off to other princes as to create or to keep an alliance between kingdoms. He didn’t really know too much about royals, but he at least knew that much. He wondered if he should just come out and ask her, but he didn’t want to offend her in any way. Just then Emma broke the silence:

      “On a happier, lighter note… have I ever told you about the time my mother tried to play matchmaker?” she asked with a giggle.

      Baelfire snapped back to reality. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

      Emma good-naturedly rolled her eyes and shook her head before repeating her question. “I said… have I ever told you about the time my mother tried her hand at playing matchmaker?’ she asked again.

      “No.” he answered. He couldn’t help but wonder where Emma was going with this.

      “Oh you have to hear this!” she exclaimed with an eye-roll and a giggle. “So, for my sixteenth birthday, my parents thought it a great idea to host a ball - which I never really want but I understand why they do it - anyway, they invited pretty much every neighboring and surrounding kingdom,” she rolled her eyes to emphasize the word ‘every’. She went on, “Well… there was this so-called prince - I don’t even remember what his name was - something posh sounding like William - anyway his name isn’t important. For some reason my mother thought it would be a good idea to introduce him to me. Somehow she thought he was ‘nice’, I don’t know why. I think she thought us to be a potential couple, but anyway,  I took one look at him, and I knew he was NOT the man for me! No no! Ugh!” she shivered as she said ‘Ugh’. “I shot him down in SUCH a hurry, let me tell you! My mother couldn’t believe it! She said I was rude. The boy didn’t care about me at all, he was only looking to be the son-in-law to the Charmings and to hopefully create a lasting alliance with his kingdom. NO. WAY! I saw right through him in half a heartbeat and so did my father! Luckily he explained it to her and she immediately understood, but then she gave me this long lecture on how I, being sixteen, should really start thinking about marriage,” she rolled her eyes. “She thinks I don’t care about such things, but I do. Just … not like she does - or, did, I guess.”

      “So … you’re not then?”

      Emma looked puzzledly at Bae. “Not what?” Was he just not listening? She quickly thought and mentally rolled her eyes. Men!

      Baelfire swallowed nervously before answering. “Not … engaged to be married?”

      “Goodness, NO!” she exclaimed wide-eyed. She started to laugh. “Whatever gave you the idea of THAT?”

      “I don’t know … I just thought that, your mother playing matchmaker, being sixteen and a Royal, that you -”

      “Oh, NO!! No. no, no! Nothing like that! I was just sharing that with you because, looking back, I thought it was funny! See, my mother is a hopeless romantic, always trying to help someone find their true love and not caring if she makes a fool out of herself and -” she turned her head to look back at Baelfire and noticed that he was staring at her. Her eyes scanned from side to side. “Is - is everything alright?” she asked. This was a little awkward. Why was he staring at her all of a sudden. How long had he been staring at her? “Bae…? Are you okay?” she asked slowly as she stared back at him. She looked at his eyes and saw how the light from their lanterns reflected like little candles burning in his pupils. He has the roundest eyes, she thought happily. She had never seen such perfectly round eyes like his before.

      “Yeah, I’m fine,” he answered. “You just look so …” he trailed off nervously.

      Emma’s heart began to beat a little faster. “So, what?” she prodded.

      “Uh,” he looked from side to side and cleared his throat nervously before answering. “So … pretty,” he quickly spit out. “You just look really pretty tonight.”

      Emma blushed and awkwardly looked down at her lap. “Stop that,” she said, embarrassed. Her heart continued to beat at a quickened pace. She tried to settle it down without Baelfire noticing.

      “Why?” he asked as he cautiously and gently placed his hand on hers.

      Emma’s heart jumped into her throat at his gentle touch. “Why? Because … because it’s …” she uttered an embarrassed giggle. “You do realize you’re talking to Princess Emma, right? And not Ava? Ava’s the pretty one, and I’m just -”

      “Stop,” he interrupted her. “Just - stop. I’m - I’m telling the truth. You - you look - I mean, you ARE really pretty and …” he took a deep breath.  The heck with it already! He was just going to come out and tell her how he felt. “Emma?”

      “Yes…?”

      “I’m gonna tell you something, and, well, if you don’t feel the same way then, just… just forget I said anything, okay?”

      “Okay…” she answered slowly. She studied Bae’s face. She noticed that he was starting to sweat and that he was acting extremely nervous. What’s going on with him? She asked herself.

      “I… well… you see… we’ve … been friends for what? Six months now? Well,” he swallowed and paused nervously. Just get it together, Baelfire. Be brave and tell her. He told himself. Why was it so hard to tell her how he felt? He trusted her so what was the big deal? He inhaled before going on. “Well … you … you’re really kind. And smart, and funny. You treat me as if I’m, well, anyone but the Dark One’s son. You don’t have to, but you do, and …” he trailed off and took his eyes off Emma, instead he looked at the ground.

      Emma cocked her head and inched closer to Bae. She raised her arm and placed her hand on the back of shoulder. He looked back at Emma and saw that she was smiling at him. Something about her smile gave him the courage to go on, or was it her friendly gentle gesture? He wasn’t sure but he went on: “I - what I’m trying to say is… I’m … I’m growing quite fond of you, Emma.” He quickly finished the last part of his sentence. He meant what he told her, he only hoped he sounded genuine. He was just so nervous.

      Hearing his last few words made Emma’s heart beat so fast she thought she might faint. So he DOES feel the same as me! She thought happily. She looked at him in his eyes. Oh those round, gorgeous, expressive eyes. Oh how she loved them.

      The way she was just staring at him made Bae nervous. Maybe she didn’t return his feelings? Great! He probably just ruined their friendship. He sighed. “You don’t feel the same way, do you? I’m so sorry! Just forget that I even -“

      “No!” Emma finally found her own courage. “No. What you said… I feel the same way. You are a special, and kind young man who does not deserve the hurt you’ve been through. You’re like no one I’ve ever met before and quite frankly, well… I’m growing incredibly fond of you too.” She continued to look at his eyes. Her eyes made their way down to his lips. She suddenly noticed how perfect his lips were. Not too thin and not too full. The way his bottom lip stuck out slightly more than his top lip. Why was she just noticing them now? They were the most perfect lips she had ever seen. They seemed rather … kissable and she suddenly badly wanted to kiss his kissable lips. She wished he’d kiss her so she could kiss him back. Suddenly she noticed Baelfire slowly leaning his head in toward her. Her heart caught in her throat. He’s gonna do it! She thought excitedly. This is it! Then she closed her eyes and felt his lips against hers. So sweet, so soft, and SO gentle, as if she might break if he kissed her too hard. The experience was absolute magic! She didn’t want this moment to end. She kissed him back and they pulled away. She opened her eyes again and drew in a deep breath as to keep from passing out. A lock of her hair came untucked from behind her ear again and Bae affectionately tucked it back for her. Emma shyly lowered her head and looked up at Baelfire. He was still looking at her, with admiration lighting up his hazel eyes. Emma continued to look at him too. It was weird. She suddenly felt her heart was going to burst. Not from fear, or a heart attack, but from something else. She’d never felt that sensation before and didn’t really know what it meant. Could it be love? Could a girl of only sixteen years feel love like this? Is this how her mother felt when she fell in love with her father? She just didn’t know. She smiled at Bae once more and opened her mouth to speak: “I … I love you.” She didn’t know where those words came from but she was pretty sure she meant them. Actually, it was almost as if her heart had spoken those words instead of her mouth.

      Bae stared at her wide-eyed. Did Emma really just tell him that she loved him? She did! And she MEANT it! Why was he hesitating? He loved her back. Just say it back! He saw Emma biting her bottom lip and pleading with her eyes for him to answer her. “I … love you too.” He finally answered. He breathed out. That wasn’t so bad. He didn’t know why he even hesitated. He felt kinda like a jerk for making her wait so long for his reply.

      With his reply Emma’s face lit up with the biggest smile ever. She suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing if affectionately. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, returning her hug.

      Emma didn’t want this moment to end but she knew it would have to. She hesitantly pulled away. “I really should head back home now though,” she said sadly.

      “Yeah, me too,” Baelfire replied. “I’ll walk you home.” He stood up from the log and held out his hand to Emma, helping her up like the gentleman he was.

      “Thank you.” She smiled up at him and eagerly took his hand and stood up. She looped her arm through his elbow and they walked back to the edge of the forest outside the Charming castle.

      When they got close enough to the castle, they said their goodbyes and parted ways. As always, Baelfire watched to make sure that Emma made it safely through the castle gate before he headed back home. As Emma made her way back to her room she recalled what had happened that night. She couldn’t believe it! She just had her first kiss and she had shared it with Baelfire! It was SUCH a magical experience! She also kept wondering what that feeling in her heart was. Could it be what she thought it was? Could it be her heart telling her that he was the the one? She hoped it was. She wouldn’t mind giving her heart to Bae and spending the rest of her life with him. Why was she thinking like this? She never thought such sappy thoughts before. A year ago, she would’ve been content never to have a man in her life. But now? She kept thinking these thoughts as she walked quietly to her room. She opened the door to her bedchamber and to her surprise, there was Eleanor, sitting on her bed waiting for her.

      “What are you doing in my bedchamber? And sitting on my bed?” She asked her lady-in-waiting.

      “Just waiting for you to get home and making sure that you got home safely.” She said as she rose from the bed.

      “Actually, I’m glad you’re in my room. Guess what happened tonight??” She excitedly asked as she began to undress and get ready for bed.

      “Uhh… I don’t know! Tell me.”

      “Bae kissed me!!!” She exclaimed excitedly.

      “He WHAT???” Eleanor asked. Her brown eyes wide with disbelief as she helped Emma out of her clothes.

      “And I kissed him back!” Emma’s voice was muffled as she slipped her nightgown on over her smock. “Oh, Eleanor, it was the most beautiful and magical moment of my life!” She added dreamily as she let herself dramatically fall backward on her bed. She sighed happily.

      Eleanor wasn’t really sharing in Emma’s excitement. “Magical, huh?” She asked. “You do know what they say about magic, don’t you?” She put her hands on her hips.

      Emma sat up and looked at her. “That it’s magical?”

      “No!! That it always comes with a price.”

      “Pfft!” Emma laughed at her comment. “Yeah! Real, ACTUAL magic. Not a KISS! Kisses aren’t actual magic. There’s no price to pay, you silly foolish girl!”

      Eleanor rolled her eyes. “Just be careful, Emma,” she cautioned.

      “Be careful?” Emma repeated puzzledly. “Of a KISS???”

      “Yes. It may seem like no big deal now, but an innocent kiss can lead to not so innocent other things.”

      Emma still looked puzzled. She wasn’t getting it. “Like…?” She prodded.

      “Well…” Eleanor was starting to blush. “You know … stuff.” She used her eyebrows to emphasize the word ‘stuff’.

      Emma finally understood what she was getting at and looked horrified at the realization. “Oh my goodness, EW!!!” She exclaimed. “No!! Oh, NO!! It was just a kiss! Neither one of us is ready for THAT yet!”

      “You think that now, Emma, and I’m glad you do, but what happens if or when you two fall deeper in love? What then? You always need to remember and keep in mind that you two are NOT married. Therefore you have NO business getting intimate with each other. In fact, being that you two kissed, you should really tell your parents. Or at least the queen. You two can properly court and you won’t be tempted to do anything immoral.”

      Emma still looked horrified. “No.” She said defiantly. “I am NOT telling my parents about Bae. They’ll just tell me I can’t see him anymore and I don’t want that.”

      Eleanor looked at her annoyedly. Emma just didn’t understand. She sighed. So naive. She thought to herself. I hope Bae is who and what you think he is.

      Emma looked down at her lap and then back at her lady-in-waiting. “I - I promise we won’t do anything like that, okay?” She sounded hurt and Eleanor suddenly felt bad. Emma had just had a wonderful night and she pretty much ruined the whole experience for her. Emma sighed before going on. “You know? I think … I think that I love Baelfire.” She said slowly. “He makes me happy and he’s really kind. I - told him that I love him tonight.”

      “You did?”

      “Yeah,” she nodded her head. “And he said he loved me too. It took him a minute but I think he was just scared. He’s really shy, you know.”

      “Yeah, isolation will do that to you.” Eleanor pointed out. “You think he meant it?” She wondered if she maybe shouldn’t have asked that.

      “Oh yes.” Emma answered quickly. “I could tell he meant it. I can tell when people lie or tell the truth, remember? Plus, he … ya know, I could tell he was really nervous when he told me how he felt - right before we kissed, that is - and he still told me. He was really brave. I found it really, really admirable. And he kissed me SO gently, Eleanor! He kissed me as if he was afraid I was going to break. I mean, this was my first kiss so for all I know, all men could kiss like that, but I don’t know! He - he seemed to kiss me like Daddy kisses Mother. Sweet and gentle.” She sighed. “I know I’ve always said that my parents are gross but … but I lied all those years. I’ve always wanted a man who would treat me like Daddy treats Mother. And … and I think Bae would treat me like that.”

      Eleanor was quiet as she took in what the crown princess was telling her. Emma seemed excited about all this but she wasn’t so sure. She wanted to be, for Emma’s sake, but she just wasn’t sure about the whole “liking Baelfire” thing. Emma was sure and convinced that he was a good person who was as light as his father is dark, but was she right? Yes, Emma was always a good judge of character, but for the princess’ sake, she hoped that it was true and that her heart wasn’t blinding her judgement. She guessed that time would tell.

      “Well,” Emma’s voice brought Eleanor back to reality. “I’m suddenly exhausted. I’d love to sit here and talk to you about my magical experience all night but I need some sleep!” She yawned as she finished her sentence and Eleanor stood up from the bed.

      “You need anything before you go to sleep, Crown Princess?” She asked before heading out the door.

      Emma shook her head as she snuggled in under her blankets. “No. I’m good for the night, but thank you anyway.”

      “Okay then,” Eleanor replied. “I’ll see you in the morning when it’s time to help you dress.” She added as she stepped outside of Emma’s bedchamber and quietly closed the door behind her.

      Emma watched her exit her room before stretching to blow out her lantern. She nestled back into her bed under her covers and closed her eyes. As she tried to fall asleep she again recalled the events of tonight. She thought of Baelfire and what he might be thinking at this moment. Was he thinking the same thing she was? That he had possibly found his match? His possible soulmate? She smiled as she thought of Bae. There was just something about him that made her happy. As she laid in bed falling asleep, she couldn’t help but wonder what the future would hold for the two of them.

Next chapter

Thank you so much for reading!!! And can I just say that I LOVE BAE & EMMA SO STINKIN’ MUCH??? Agh! #CoupleGoals 

[t-wanderer]

Rant About White Wolf

Okay I promised this ages ago, and I was setting up shelves last night and now I’m in the mood, so here it is, why I stopped giving White Wolf my money. For starters I want to say that I take RPGs very seriously, which is not to say I’m pretentious or exclusionist or fun-hating. I mean I spend a lot of money supporting my favorite games. Here’s my game shelf from a few years ago...

Here’s the collection now....

So, let me paint a picture here. I started playing Dungeons and Dragons in the 80s, but something happened in the 90s that changed how I run and play games. All of a sudden nobody wanted to play anything but Vampire. A pick up game at the comic shop, friends, cousins, it was impossible to run anything else. My choices were to run V:TM or not play. So I ran vampire, then mage, and honestly I’m glad I did. Vampire introduced me to the narrativist style of roleplaying. I met my wife LARPing. Mage remains one of my favorite games of all time. So I bought the books, then 2nd edition hit and I bought them again. Then 2nd ed revised. Sound familiar? Shadowrun, changed hands over and over again, new edition, re-buy all the books. 3rd edition, 3.5, 4th, now 5th, this is something that would happen consistantly for the next two decades. Companies trying to sell the same game, again. Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing. A new edition can fix problems, expand the world, or even be a completely different game. Breath of the Wild was not Nintendo trying to resell Skyward Sword. But Skyrim on the Switch is the same Skyrim I already bought twice, you know? Okay, so early Noughties, my whole social circle are White Wolf fans, and the Wold of Darkness ends. The event meets mixed responses, at least in my groups, but whatever, it’s fun and we get to talk about all the big secrets revealed. Nobody actually runs a Gehenna game, or whatever, and as far as our games went, the world just continued. It’s weird that each book gives a couple versions of the cannon, but whatever, the whole thing is optional, right? So Mark Rein-Hagan leaves and there are all sorts of nasty rumors floating around, and Vampire the Requiem comes out and there’s push back because it's different, but I think, different is good, there’s value in different. So I buy them, and well, the quality has been dropping with white wolf’s game books for a while. By that I mean, the amount of actual game content has been dropping. White wolf books are already 30-40% short fiction and artwork at this point, so combing through them for things I can use in a game is getting harder. World of Darkness: Mafia was almost entirely real world history and almost no game content at all, which is like, there are other books on the mafia i can read if I’m doing research, right? But anyway, Requiem comes out and it’s a little weird, but not terrible. But they’re being cagey, teasing out details of their new world. It makes it a little hard to run a game, because we know almost nothing about the antagonists at this point. It’d be like if every book mentioned the Sabbat, but never explained who they were. Finally, the last straw. After teasing and build up and hints scattered through their books, they release the VII book. I’m like, okay, finally give me the rest of the setting so I can try to run this. The very first page of the book is this:

And that’s it. I go ballistic. I’ll be honest, I felt disgusted and offended and I’ll explain why. I was like, How dare you tell me that I’m the storyteller and I get to decide what the mystery is. I *KNOW* I’m the storyteller and I can decide whatever I want is true. What I don’t have to do is pay you, $30-$60 a book, to tell me to “make it up.” I can “make it up” for free. It was cowardly, like they were afraid to risk coming out and you know, writing the antagonist for the fantasy setting they were selling us, like maybe we wouldn’t like it as much. But the way it was presented? One of the things the fandom loved was piercing together clues and hints, catching the references hidden or scattered across the games. (great example, read the entry for Rasputin in Clanbook: Malkavian, Setite, Bruja, Tribebook: Shadowlord, Traditionbook: Cult of Ecstasy, and finally in Guildbook: Puppeteer. Can you name any other RPG company to take such a little detail and spin it into myth like that? ) People also liked using the games together, the systems were compatable, and a big diverse world of darkness felt cooler. But the min/max warnings started showing up, first as sidebars, then caveats in the introductions, and finally a page-long rant in Blood Treachery vilifying anyone who wanted to run a revenant mage. (a far cry from “it’s your game,” eh? Not that I’d allow one, but still.) And this New World of Darkness was deliberately segregated, different game lines might as well have existed in different worlds. So there was another way to see this, that White Wolf was saying, Fuck you for enjoying our game wrong. We’ll force you to play it right. You like cross overs? We’ll make them impossible. You like secrets? Fine, we won’t even tell you who the main antagonist is for the story we’re selling. I was furious. And I never bought another book from them. I still run their games, I’m running an oWOD dark ages game right now, and Mage remains on my top three games of all time. (Psychosis and Amber, if you’re curious about the other two.) But when you’re selling a game book, you’re selling content. I’m paying for the ideas you have that I wouldn’t have thought of, for the characters only you can write, the mechanics only you can invent. The idea that this is a “toolbox” is insulting. Look at GURPS, that’s a toolbox. If I buy the GURPS cyberware book it doesn’t tell me “I get to decide how cyberware works,” it gives me comprehensive, exhaustive rules for every conceivable kind of cyberware, AND it doesn’t try to sell itself to me as the “official cyber campaign setting.” Why is VII a toolbox, and not, say, the Toreador? Oh wait, I can just make stuff up for them too, right? Why am I paying them anything at all? I can just invent my own setting and never buy a game book again, right? Okay, this rant is getting long. The point I’m making is somehow, I feel White Wolf lost track of what made them good, of what made us love their work so much. Maybe it was the loss of the old blood, maybe once the decay set in, no one could stop it. (There used to be a periodic “mass-exodus” of disgruntled white wolf interns who would leave angry, start their own company and then immediately go under and vanish. I have a small collection of games like this, Immortal: The Invisible War and Everlasting to name a few. Fun ideas, terribly written and produced, almost unplayable in execution.) Anyway, that’s how I feel. It’s an opinion, based off of my personal experiences, so your milage may vary. @secretsofthemasquerade​ (As promised)

[safyresky]

Fusion AU Part III: The Bernelle Bit

Part I: The History | Part II: When Elle Met Berline | Part III: The Bernelle Bit | Part IV: The Triumphant Return of Jackie Frost | Part V: Bad Luck | Part VI: Dream Team | Part VII: The Greatest Thing That’s Yet To Have Happened

e n j o y   t h e   s u f f e r i n g

(bc bernelle isn’t bernelle without avoidance tactics and running from communicating lmao @lovelypidge I joke i love these shitty elf children and their avoidance tactics)

(Also yes I have 3 more parts planned, GASP. I’m gonna fucking milk fusion AU. I’m having a bit of an issue with order with the last 3 parts but y’know, details, I just want you to know they exist ;D))

Berline and Elle appeared in the middle of town square, just outside of the Workshop. The elves milling about outside hopped back, staring up at the fusion in awe.

“I thought that the elves would be use to a fusion,” Elle murmured.

“Nope,” Berline replied. “Not a lot of them have met me, for starters. Plus, to them fusion is an emergency thing. Seeing me here is probably concerning them. I, uh, probably should’ve taken us right to Santa’s office but to be honest I’m not sure I would fit in there. I’m a bit taller than I remember being.”

“I’ll handle this,” Elle said, Berline placing her down. “Hey guys,” Elle began, addressing the shocked elves. “This is just Berline. They’re here to give something back to Santa that the two of us went to go grab. Everything is okay though! there's no need to worry, okay?” Elle finished, doing her best to project the safe feeling Berline gave her onto the elves closest to her. The elves eased up considerably, looking relieved.

“Berline.”

“Curtis! Always a pleasure,” Berline said dryly.

“What are you doing here?”

“Santa sent us on an errand.”

“Are you going to be here for long?”

“Depends. I have to talk to Santa, and I have yet to meet this one properly as myself. Which means--”

“You have to give him the fusion talk.”

“Yep.”

“Want me to go grab him?”

“That would be nice, yes.”

“Double nice for me, because the sooner I grab him, the sooner I don’t have to deal with you,” he mumbled.

“You flatter me, Curtis.”

“What’s his deal?” Elle asked, as Curtis went to find Santa. 

Berline grinned. “I like to bug him. Admittedly a bit more than I should.” Berline squatted, whispering now. “He thinks I’m a bit too much,” they said, laughing.

“You? Hardly,” Elle laughed as well. “I feel like there are plenty of other fusions who are too much.”

“Well, Jackie definitely, though I don’t quite enjoy talking about them. Diteline may be a bit too much at times.” Berline looked thoughtful. “She gets very excited very easily depending on the circumstances...”

“Elle! You’re back! And with--I’m sorry, who is this?”

Santa had shown up, Curtis by his side. They stopped in front of the doors to the Workshop, the balcony putting them at eye level with Berline, who stood up from their squat, clearing their throat.

“I’m Berline. We’ve sort of met, just never quite as myself.”

"Huh?”

“You know that fusion thing Bernard mentioned before we left?” Elle said, joining him on the balcony.

“Yes?”

“You’re looking at them, Santa.”

“So you are the...fusion?” he asked Berline.

“Sure am. Fusion is literally when two fae...fuse, to make one fae.”

“Berline...so you’re Bernard and--?"

“Jacqueline,” Elle supplied.

“Thanks,” Santa replied.

“Yes and no. I’m the physical manifestation of the two combined, but I’m my own person. You following?”

“Mostly. I think.”

“Well, let’s take it step by step,” Berline said, leaning on the railing.

“Alright. So fusion literally means fusion. It’s when two...fae?”

“Yup. Only fae creatures can do it. Specifically Pixies, Elves, Sprites, and Faeries. It’s a very advance magical technique.”

“Used for?”

“Depends on who you ask,” Elle interrupted, noticing Berline looking a tad conflicted. “Faeries are all haughty about it and will only fuse with other faeries, won’t even think about fusing with their cousins. Pixies were neutral but we really don’t know much more from there because they’re gone. Elves see it as a special technique best used in emergencies, and Sprites see it as this real wonderful...thing,” Elle finished, at a loss for words to describe how Jacqueline had described fusion to her. It was just special, she had decided.

“That’s detailed,” Santa said. “I guess you guys ran into the trolls after all then?”

Berline nodded. “Seven of them. They tried to eat Elle, not before she did a number on them herself, of course. I kicked their as--tooshies.” Berline’s blue eye twitched at the censoring.

“We were successful though!” Elle continued. “Check out what Berline has.”

Grinning, Berline reached into the satchel and pulled out the snow globe. “Voila. Perfectly intact and thankfully free of troll stench. Now stop taking it out of the hall. You’ll get your replica to keep to your aesthetic, don’t worry.”

Santa took the globe, grinning. “What a relief! Thanks, Berline. And you too, Elle. I’m glad you didn’t get eaten by trolls.”

“That makes two of us,” Elle added.

“Three, actually,” Berline said. “Technically four but, details. And! I have something else of yours, Santa, that I think you’ll like,” they continued, a very large grin on their face as they reached into the satchel again.

“My toe socks! I thought I’d never see these again!”

“How did you even know they were Santa’s?” Curtis asked, nose wrinkled as Santa grabbed the socks from Berline.

“They’re red and green toe socks with little Santas all over them, how could they not be his? I also found Jacqueline’s sword,” Berline added, pulling a silver double-edged sword out of the satchel. The hilt was inlaid with a few dull sapphires. “The sheath is in here too, somewhere.” They grinned as they pulled it out, placing the sword gently inside its scabbard. “Pretty productive night, I think.”

“Wow,” Santa said, not sure what else to say.

“Same,” Elle agreed.

“Now then! I would love to stay and chat but, ah, I have a replica snow globe to make and a sword to restore. Too bad I can’t be in two places at once,” they winked, hopping onto the balcony. “That was a joke, by the way Curtis. I can actually be in two places at once, that was the joke part.”

Curtis groaned as Berline disappeared in a bright light, Bernard and Jacqueline standing where the fusion just was, both in a bit of a bow, Jacqueline holding the sword.

“I get it now,” Santa said, understanding dawning. 

“Well, that was fun,” Jacqueline straightened up, glancing at her knuckles. “Bruises anyway. I hate bruised knuckles. How are yours?”

Bernard glanced at his knuckles. “A little bruised too. Could be worse though. We could all be fae stew right now.”

“And I’ve got my sword back!” Jacqueline said, grinning. “I better get moving, this is going to be a job let me tell you. I’ll be seeing you guys later. I think the two of you,” she continued, gesturing to Bernard and Elle, “have some chatting to do,” she finished with a wink. Before either of the two elves could say anything, Jacqueline disappeared in her usual shower of sparks and snowflakes.

“So, I get the fusion thing,” Santa began. “And I’m glad you got the snow globe back. What I’m not quite sure about is who exactly is Jacqueline?”

Jacqueline had had a good laugh when Elle told her later about Santa forgetting her for the third time. She was also relieved when Elle told her that they had said she was a friend of theirs, and Santa hadn’t pressed. 

Elle sipped a hot chocolate on her break, deep in thought about what Berline had said about her and B fusing. They had seemed so sure but since Berline had left, Elle had perhaps unintentionally been avoiding Bernard.

She was a little embarrassed of her jealousy before hand. It had been a day or two and really, she knew she should’ve gone to chat with B but for some odd reason, couldn’t make herself do it.

When you two do fuse–and I know you will–your fusion will be very different from me, Berline had said. And a lot more special. 

So that was great to know and all. Elle would have loved to prod Berline for more details. Facing them would be okay. Of course, Berline wasn’t there so it’s not like she could ask them. (In fact, Elle had no idea where Jacqueline was today, and her wintry friend was shit at communication sometimes--this being one of those times--so Berline was out of the question for now, and that was assuming B would have agreed to fuse with Jacquie because did Elle’s reasoning for needing Berline really count as an emergency?) Which meant she would have to talk to B. And facing B? Elle was still a little embarrassed to do that for...a bunch of reasons. Mainly the jealousy thing, and also specifically what Berline had said!

There was nothing left to do but to muster up the courage, get past the self-embarrassment, and talk to B as soon as she could. So, Elle made a split second decision. 

“Well, here goes,” she said out loud, topping off her drink and heading out to find him. She didn’t have to look too far because the moment she stepped out of the lounge, she smacked right into Bernard.

“Elle!”

“B! Hi,” Elle said, blushing. “I was just, uh, going to go look for you.”

“That’s crazy because I was doing the exact same thing. I think we need to talk. That is, can we talk? Are you okay to talk? Do you want to talk? Right now?”

“Yeah, sure. That’s what I was going to find you for, actually.”

It was silent for a bit, the two elves standing in the doorway, blushing and staring at eachother. Bernard cleared his throat. “Anyone in there right now?”

“No, it was just me.” With a nod, B gently put his hand on Elle’s back, leading her into the small lounge and closing the door behind them. 

“I wanted to--”

“So about--”

They both stopped, staring at each other. 

“Oh man, we’re a bit of a mess, aren’t we?” Bernard asked.

“When aren’t we?” Elle sighed.

“Most of the time, I like to think. You go first, Els.”

“I wanted to talk to you about what Berline said,” Elle said really fast, so that it sounded more like iwantedtotalktoyouaboutwhatberlinesaid. 

“Right. Me too,” B replied, with a little laugh. “Listen, I’m sorry they were so blunt with you. That’s just how Berline is. Fusions are like that sometimes. Not necessarily open or blunt, of course, but with certain traits more...prominent than others. Jacqueline is a very open sprite, and I may keep my feelings close but I do say them if necessary. So Jacqueline’s open-ness makes me feel a bit more open when we fuse and, well, Berline becomes a very...blunt person. I’m rambling. I said open way too much. Blunt, too.”

“No! It’s okay! I like it! I like when you ramble,” she said with a goofy smile. “And I absolutely love Berline, did I tell you that?”

“Technically yes,” B said, winking.

“Well I’m telling you now, I love Berline. I’m sorry I was jealous about them and you and Jacqueline. I...I don’t know if our fusion would have handled that as well as Berline did.”

“Berline’s been around. They know a thing or two. Listen Elle, I know...I know that Berline said a lot of stuff to you about, you know, us. And they were being truthful! I promise.” He closed his eyes briefly, breathing in. “I would like to fuse with you sometime soon but I don’t want you to feel pressured because of Jacqueline or Berline or even me.”

“B, I don’t feel any pressure. I’m the one who’s been pressuring you to fuse with me! And I’m sorry about that. I think seeing Berline in action kinda put a lot of things into perspective,” Elle said, placing her mug down. “They are their whole own person. Where did you and Jacquie even go?”

“We were there,” B replied, shrugging. “We didn’t go anywhere per se. We both physically became Berline. That’s how that works. It’s, ah, hard to explain,” he said, scratching the back of his head.

“Better to show me?” Elle asked, eyebrow raised, impish grin on her face.

Bernard laughed, grabbing both her hands in his. “Yes. Better to show you. Whenever you are ready.”

“Okay. Thanks, B,” Elle said, hugging him.

“You’re welcome,” B said, hugging her back tightly.

And then suddenly, they were both gone; neither had noticed it happen until they opened their eyes and saw nobody in front of them.

“I--oh,” Bernelle realized (their name the first thought on their mind), looking down at their hands. “Well that was unexpected. I feel like a too soon joke would work real well here.”

They blinked and took a step forward. And then another step. And then they lost their balance and stepped back, landing right on one of the couches.

“This is different. This is hard,” they thought out loud, frowning. “It’s okay. Just take it one step at a time.”

A deep breath. A determined look. They got up again, taking a few steps; Bernelle was finally getting the hang of their new form and realized something very, very important.

They loved themselves.

They loved everything about themselves; Jacqueline would probably say they were super chill, and that’s certainly how they felt. They felt happy. And lovely. And cozy, funnily enough. They were good, and it made sense to Bernelle; after all, they had worked hard for themselves. Everything was more or less fine. 

Except for the slowly growing unease in their gut. They were unsettled; something was...unsettling them.

“Are you okay?” B’s voice spoke, Bernelle looking concerned.

“I...I don’t know,” Elle’s voice replied, Bernelle looking frightened now. “This is...oh boy. I don’t think I can--”

They didn’t even have time to figure out what exactly it was before they disappeared, a very confused Bernard and slightly shocked Elle sitting where they had just been.

“Um. Wow,” Elle said. “That was, uh, something.”

“You okay Elle?” B asked, her shocked expression worrying him.

“I--uh, yes, I’m alright. I--you know what, that is definitely a thing we should reserve for emergencies, you were totally right B. Would you look at that time?” she said suddenly, looking at her bare wrist. “I gotta go...do, things. I’ll, uh, catch you around. Later!” And with that, Elle left, as fast as the two of them had fused.

That unsettling feeling came back; Bernard was sure something was wrong, and he was very afraid it may have been him.

Bernard stared at the large french doors before taking a deep breath and knocking repeatedly very loud. The door flung open, a disgruntled half-frozen Jacqueline serving him with an icy look.

“I know the house is big but you only need to knock once, B-Man.”

“Is fusing with me weird?” Bernard blurted out in one breath, startling the sprite.

“I--what?”

“Is fusing with me weird. Is it unsettling? Has Berline been weird this whole time and I never even noticed it because I was the cause for the weirdness?”

“Have you been drinking?”

“No! I...” Bernard sighed, frustrated. “Can we talk?”

“I think we need to talk. You need to chill out. Berline is a badass, and it’s never been weird being Berline with you and I’d like to know where this line of thought came from. Wanna come in or would you prefer to walk?” 

“I dunno, I’m a little scatterbrained.”

“I noticed.” She pushed the door open, moving to the side and gesturing him in. “Let’s pack some cocoa and go for a stroll then, B-Man, and you can tell me all about what’s got you in such a huff.”

“You were right,” Bernard said, walking in and following the sprite to the kitchen. “That’s what’s got me in such a huff.”

“Right about what?”

“How deep of a connection and special of a thing fusion is.”

“I’d be grinning more, but I sense that this isn’t really a good thing right now.”

“Yes and no,” Bernard said, leaning against one of the walls of the yellow kitchen as Jacqueline dug around the cupboards for a thermos and two mugs. The hot chocolate was fresh, and not instant (he could tell by the smell)--the best kind of hot chocolate. “I guess I’ve always seen it as a deep bond, but never really realized it until now.”

“You fused with Elle,” Jacqueline said, realization dawning. “Holy snowballs, everything makes sense now! For the most part, that is. I thought fusing would be helpful for the two of you, and y’know, good.” Running a hand through her hair (freezing it properly in the process), she headed towards the backyard doors. “Instead, you’re having a meltdown on my front porch.”

“We’re in your kitchen, actually.”

“And now we’re in my backyard. Let’s walk, B, and you tell me about what happened.”

So they walked through the backyard, toward the Northern River, and Bernard told her what had happened. He told her how they had talked, then found themselves fused. He told her how great it felt to be Bernelle; how confident and happy they were.

“Bernelle sounds like the chillest dude ever,” Jacqueline remarked, stopping as they approached the river bank.

“That’s what they thought, too. But then something weird happened.” He took a seat beside Jacqueline, taking the mug of hot chocolate she offered him with a mumbled thanks. “There was this feeling of unease. I didn’t know why, so I asked Elle if she was okay and then...”

“And then I guess you defused, because of that unsettling feeling. What happened after that? Did Elle explain?”

“No, she didn’t.”

“Did you ask?”

“Of course! I asked if she was okay and she said that fusion was something and definitely something for emergencies then she looked at her wrong wrist, said she was late for a “thing” and left very fast.”

“That’s so Elle” Jacqueline mussed. “Did you go after her?”

“No. I got the sense she needed space and then wondered what it was that made her do that and thought what if it was me?” He got up and started pacing, Jacqueline watching him go back and forth.

“That’s so Bernard.”

“All she said was that she didn't think she could,” Bernard said, ignoring Jacqueline’s comment (for the most part).

“Could what?”

“She didn’t say! And I didn’t ask,” Bernard said, face palming. “I tried, but she left and...”

“And your crippling self-doubt kicked in and now here you are.”

“Yes and no. It kicked in slowly over a day or two.”

“Uh oh.”

“I spent the first day trying to figure what it was that unsettled her because everything felt fine to me, it felt great! I didn’t understand what it was and that’s when I realized, holy tinsel, it’s me, I’m the problem.”

“Awwh, Bernard...”

“I couldn’t figure it out! And She’s been scarce since--”

“--as Elle do--”

“--so my mind has been running, Jacqueline. She was so enthusiastic about fusing and now she’s suddenly approaching it with typical Elf thought. Did I do something wrong? Was it bad for her? What if she saw something in me that she didn’t like, or that scared her?”

“Holy fuck Bernard,” Jacqueline swore, her face shocked.

“You swore! This is real bad.”

“I’m surprised the source let me get away with that. Listen, you need to take a breather, okay? Just breath in...and hold it...and out...okay, good. Calm that big brain of yours down, my elf,” she finished, getting up and patting his head, stopping him in his tracks.

“Don’t do that.”

“That’s better, that’s the B-Man I know!”

“That’s why I came over,” he said, a tad calmer, face to face with the sprite. “I thought, well, who could possibly answer these questions for me since Elle is being Elle? And my first thought was you could, because you’re the only other person I have ever fused with.”

“Then trust me when I say this, B. There is nothing wrong with you. Fusing with you is not weird, and there’s nothing bad or “dark” in you, you blizzard brain. I’ve known you all my life,” she said, squishing his face. “There is nothing wrong with you. Got that?”

Bernard nodded. “Can you let go of my face now?”

“Yeah, sure.” she let go, returning to her seat and topping off the mugs, passing the now seated Bernard a fresh cup. “In regards to Berline, by the way, if anything would make them feel unsettled I would assume it would be me and my very deep dark fears.”

Bernard snorted. “Jacqueline, I’ve watched you grow up. Your fears are justified and perfectly understandable, all things considered. Why would they make me unsettled?”

“Exactly,” Jacqueline said. “So why would you make Elle unsettled? After all the work the two of you did just to be together, and the way you guys are together, why would she be afraid of you?”

“I...okay, I see your point.”

Jacqueline smiled. “Good.”

“I guess I’d have to talk to her to really figure it out. But talking to you has been very reassuring. Thank you, Jacqueline.”

“It’s the least I could do, considering how many times I’ve had to go talk to you throughout my entire life.”

Bernard smiled. “Yeah, I guess so. The problem now is talking to Elle. I don’t want to hound her to try to talk when she doesn’t feel like talking, you know? I want to talk to her when she’s ready to talk about what exactly it was that upset her.”

Jacqueline nodded. “Noble of you, B-Man. Do you want me to talk to her?”

“Would you? It would be a lot easier if I had a sense of what she was thinking. She’s been keeping her thoughts close and I don’t want to disrespect her by intruding.”

“Absolutely, considering she just reached out to me and asked to talk. I better get going,” Jacqueline said, capping the thermos and getting up, stretching. “You all good now, or do you want to talk more? I haven’t made a solid plan with the kid yet.”

Bernard got up, thoughtful. “No, I think I’m okay now.”

“Good. If you aren’t though, you know where to find me, for the most part. Oh and B-Man, one more thing.”

“Yeah?”

“If your new take on fusion makes Berline weird, I will end you.”

Bernard laughed. “I don’t doubt that for a second. Don’t worry though, I promise I won’t make anything weird, Berline wise.”

“Good. Now let’s get back so you can get going and we can see what Elle’s thoughts are on this whole thing.”

“Sounds good,” B said, getting up and following Jacqueline back up into the forest, towards the backyard of Frost Manor.

Are you busy? Elle had blurted out suddenly, towards the consciousness that was her snowy friend. The immediate reply was shocking.

I’m finishing up with something that came up. Why do you ask?

We need to talk.

There was a brief silence before she got a reply. Am I in trouble?

Elle didn’t really know how to answer it. Maybe, she shot back, scowling at her work. Can you come down to see me?

...depends. It’s a little too close to late November for my liking.

Elle was briefly confused before she realized what Jacquie meant. He’s not around, I promise. 

I’ll be there just before dinner then. Tell me if anything changes?

Whether that meant if something came up for Elle, or if another particularly snowy (though Elle would call him more icy, really) persona made an appearance, Elle wasn’t sure. Either way though, she would warn her friend.

Yeah, sure snow buddy.

Cool, I’ll see you in a bit.

Jacqueline went silent, leaving Elle to her own distressed thoughts for the rest of the day. She was relieved when 5 o’clock rolled around and Jacqueline appeared in her flat, right on the softest of her couches.

“Hey Elle, how’s it going,” Jacqueline asked, drawing out the "o". 

“Horrible,” Elle blurted, plopping down beside her friend on the couch. 

“I had a feeling that would be the answer.” Jacqueline scooted closer, legs folded, and grabbed the nearest throw, bundling. “Well I’m cozy, let’s hear what’s got your mind in such a mess.” She grabbed another throw and tossed it on Elle.

“Bernard and I fused and it was...” she searched for the word.

“Different?”

“No.”

“Not what you expected?”

“Closer.”

“Overwhelming?” Jacqueline asked.

“I think a good word would be...enlightening?”

“Well that’s good!”

“But also terrifying.”

“That’s less good. Was it bad then?”

“No! It was great. Holy heck the confidence? And the love? It was all...great,” she said, smiling softly. “The thing is, it was a lot more than I expected it to be and. I didn’t realize when you said that the fusion knows everything each counterpart knows, all of the thoughts and feelings of each other, everything, that it was literally everything!” 

“Was that verbatim?”

“I have a really good memory, Jacqueline.”

“Dang.”

“That’s what made it so terrifying. At first, it was so cool, but then I realized that I knew everything he was thinking and feeling, which meant that he knew everything I was thinking and feeling!”

“I would’ve assumed with your telepathy and all that it wouldn’t have been that big of a deal. You’ve thrown me here, kid.”

“With telepathy, I can hear other people’s thoughts if they want me to. With fusion, I can hear the thoughts and feelings whether the other person I’m fusing with wants me to, or not. And on top of that, they can hear my thoughts too! And feelings! Whether I want them to...or not.”

“Ah,” Jacqueline said, understanding dawning. “I get it now. It’s out of you depth, the extent at which the connection with fusion goes.”

“What?”

“Sorry, bad word choice. Um...the fusion connection is deeper than your mental connections even are, is what I was trying to say.”

“Yes! It is! It’s like... I can’t control what’s coming out and that’s super worrying, Jacquie. What if...what if there’s something I’ve been holding back, and it slips out, and it’s a bad thing? I dunno Jacquie...you’re the fusion expert, what should I do? How do you deal with that part of fusion?”

“I’ll add that to the list under Queen of Subtlety and Shitty Winter Child and what did you call me the other day? a Frosty Bagel?”

Elle laughed. “Yup.”

Jacqueline rolled her eyes, smiling nonetheless. “What have you done about it so far? Let’s start there.”

“Well...not much, I guess. B asked me what was wrong but I honestly had no answer. I was just...terrified. Trying to make sense of what had just happened. So I...I left as quick as I possibly could and spent the past two days avoiding B and also overthinking like you wouldn’t believe.”

“Oh, I believe it.”

“I’m not in control when we fuse and I don’t like it! I don’t like not being in control of my own mind.”

“I know, kiddo. I know,” Jacquie said softly, squeezing her shoulder. Elle shot her a grateful smile. “The thing is, with fusion...it’s not like it’s a giant jaeger where you control one side and B controls the other side.”

“Is that not exactly what it is?”

“Not quite. It’s more like the drift than the actual jaeger itself. That is, if the drift became a person.”

Elle paused. “I think I see what you’re saying.”

“When you are part of a fusion, you don’t have control. Nor does your fusion partner. Your fusion has control. You become one person. You catch my drift?”

“Did you actually just pun?”

“Shit, I didn’t even notice. I’m turning into Blaise, good grief.” 

Elle laughed, leaning her head on Jacqueline’s shoulder. She sighed. “What do you think I should do, then?”

“I think you should just trust B-Man. Trust yourself, and most importantly, trust your fusion."

“Their name is Bernelle.”

“That sounds cozy, I love it.”

“Me too,” Elle replied, smiling.

“You need to just let Bernelle be.”

“You’ll need to elaborate, pal.”

Jacqueline looked thoughtful for a moment. “Trust Bernelle. Let Bernelle be Bernelle! They’re not Bernard, and they’re not Elle. They’re an experience that the both of you create. Make sure it’s a good one, Elle.” 

Jacqueline thought her chat with both Elle and Bernard had been very helpful, and that they would talk it out and realize that they both were fearing the same things. She knew that the moment they did that, it would clear up a lot for the both of them and Bernelle could once again appear.

Jacqueline, however, had forgotten that this was Elle and Bernard she was talking about.

That’s why, one or two days later, she found herself quite literally ghosting the two of them in the Workshop. She was carefully guarding her thoughts from Elle as she watched from a distance, invisible some of the time or coating a window in a lovely layer of frost the rest of the time. Elle had stopped avoiding Bernard, which was good. And it looked like he had stopped overthinking and was simply waiting.

That was the problem, Jacqueline found. They were both waiting. And Jacqueline could guess exactly why, seeing as how she liked to think these two elven dorks were her best friends and that by this logic, she knew them both fairly well. 

Bernard was waiting for Elle to be ready to talk; he didn’t want to push her. Elle was waiting for him to start, as she was feeling a little out of her depth and didn't want to push him.

Of course Jacqueline had thought of appearing and shoving them together and shouting “TALK” really loudly, but that would cause a scene that both elves would not appreciate. Elves, Jacqueline thought, sighing quietly. So what could she do? She wasn’t an expert in the fusion department, especially a case as special as Bernard and Elle’s. She wasn’t a love expert!

But she knew somebody who was. 

With a grin, Jacqueline poofed out of the Workshop silently and reappeared outside the Dome, where she took off up into the clouds.

It was chilly up in the Pantheon, as the Roman gods and goddesses referred to their cloudy home (despite contrary belief, they did not reside on Olympus as the Greek deities did and, well, they never got along well enough to occupy the same space, especially with how much their cultures differed). Jacqueline didn’t mind it; she never did, the few times she actually trekked up to the Pantheon.

Finding Cupid’s villa was always a bit of a hassle, especially when she wanted to avoid the other deities that may be roaming around the suspended streets (which was usually the case). Dealing with Cupid would be enough.

She ducked down beneath the clouds, finding the one shaped like a heart to confirm that she had gotten to the right villa. The moment she saw it, she zoomed through the clouds and stood on the front step, knocking as loud and hard as she could.

“Any louder,” a familiar grumpy voice said, Jacqueline nearly groaning as Cupid appeared in the doorway, a little surprised. “Jacqueline?”

“Hi Cupid,” she said, briefly waving before realizing that was silly and putting her hands behind her back. “Is, uh, Dite home? I need to talk to her about a thing.”

Cupid looked relived. “Yeah, of course, C’mon in, Miss Frost.”

“Thanks,” Jacqueline said, following him in. Immediately a group of cherubs swarmed him, all talking at once. “Where can I find her? You seem busy here, I don’t want to distract you or anything.”

“Second room to the left,” Cupid said, zooming off into the atrium, bickering with the cherubs.

“Thanks!” she shouted back, making her way to the room. “Knock-knock,” she said quietly.

“Jacqueline!” Dite said, sitting up quickly. 

“Were you on the floor?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“My wings were being stubborn,” she said, her feathers rumpled. “The chaise was not comfortable for us today.” She ruffled her wings and sat on the edge, making sure that they weren’t touching the back of the lounge at all. “You look distraught. What’s wrong? Is it a love problem?” she asked, grinning, her wings fluttering excitedly.

“It is! But not with me,” Jacqueline said, sitting beside her friend. “It’s with Bernard and Elle.”

“What? I thought that was going well!”

“It is! Well. For the most part. Long story or short story?”

“Hmm...” the blonde looked thoughtful for a moment. “Let’s hear a summary, then give me all the deets,” she said, scooting closer and grabbing Jacqueline’s hands.

“Elle and B fused after a lot of talking about it and some solid advice from Berline and it did not go as well as it could of.”

“Okay, wow, that’s definitely a problem. Though I don't quite understand why you're here. I can’t fuse myself; I’m not fae, I’m a celestial.”

“Right, but you and I have fused a few times.”

“I don’t think that qualifies me as an expert.”

“Maybe not, but you are a love expert. Here’s the jist of it,” Jacqueline said, launching into her tale. Dite listened intently as Jacqueline told her about Elle and Berline’s conversation, what Jacqueline had learnt from both elves had transpired when they formed Bernelle. She paid doubly close attention to the advice Jacqueline had given them, already beginning to see the problem the two were having.

“That was stellar advice,” Dite interrupted. 

“I know! That’s when I realized it was fast getting into love territory, to be honest. It seems straightforward to me--they just need to talk. But they just...aren’t! They’re not avoiding each other anymore which is great, but they also aren’t talking about the Bernelle thing, you know? I don’t want to force them to talk so I’m at a loss and that’s why I came here.”

“I don’t think we need to force them,” Dite said, deciding immediately that she was going to fix this right now. “I think they just need some outside perspective...maybe a nudge in the right direction. If someone else starts the discussion, then neither has to worry about making the first move. Hmm...” Dite rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “You’ve convinced me Jacqueline, I’m going to go talk to them.”

“I've done what now? You’re going to talk to them?”

Dite stood up, her wings already unfurled in anticipation. “Of course. This is driving you nutty, Jacqueline, and they can’t say no when a love goddess goes to them and suggests that they talk.”

“You’ll help them? You'd really do that for me?” Jacqueline asked, standing up.

“Yes! Of course!”

“Oh, thank you so much Dite, they’ve been driving me up the wall,” Jacqueline threw her arms around the goddess, a very big grin on her face.

Dite laughed, “You’re very welcome,” she said, hugging back tightly. There was a very bright lilac light suddenly and both girls disappeared, leaving one rather large winged fusion in their place.

“Alright, looks like we’re doing this together,” she said, grinning. With an experimental flap of her wings, she flew off, her sights set on the North Pole.

The Workshop doors burst open, a large gust of wind ruffling the robes of the very large figure in the doorway. A few elves went flying.

“Oh dear, I’m so sorry,” she said, catching the elves before they hit the ground. “I forget how fast I fly.”

“For the love of tinsel,” Curtis said, righting himself up. “Another one?”

“There’s another fusion floating around? Oh, is it Bernelle? I need to talk to them! It's important!”

“No! You’re the only fusion floating around. I've just seen way too many of you this month alone. It’s a good thing the ceiling is so high,” Curtis mumbled as an afterthought. "I don't think fusions would fit in the Elfirmiry."

“High ceilings really are lovely! It gives the impression of crazy amounts of space, makes it breathable, and makes it less claustrophobic."

“Okay...who exactly are you?”

The fusion stood up to her full height, her curly ponytail bobbing a bit. “My name is Diteline and it is very important that I talk to your two head elves right now immediately,” she said.

“Are they in trouble?” asked another elf.

“They will be if I don’t talk to them.”

“What about?”

“It’s a matter of love! And my sanity.”

“What’s the panic--oh my.”

“Elle! That’s one of you! Hi!”

“You’re huge!”

“Thank you!” she grinned. “You are so tiny and fragile compared to me. Holy snowballs I did not realize how HUGE I am! I could crush you,” she said, as if the realization that she could in fact destroy Elle very easily was an unexpected plot twist in your favourite book that shook you to your core, making you stop for ten minutes to stare blankly and think ‘what on earth just happened’.

“Are you okay?”

“I worry about small groups of people a lot. Humans, elves, tiny woodland creatures...” she ticked each off on her fingers as she listed them.

“O...kay,” Elle paused. “I’m sorry, who are you?”

“Diteline! And I need to talk to--”

“We know!” Curtis shouted. “You need to talk to Elle and Bernard right now immediately.”

“Yes! Thank you! What a nice boy,” she said, patting his head.

“Boy? I have glasses older than you!”

“No you don’t,” Diteline said, glaring at him. “I’m old as heck.” she cleared her throat and knelt down, sitting on her knees and staring at Elle closely. “Do you and Bernard have some time on your hands? The sooner I grab you two, the sooner we can get outside and the elves can stop panicking.”

“I’ll take care of that now,” Elle said, beginning to project calm feelings as best as she could--Diteline had thrown her off completely. 

“Back to work, elves,” Bernard said, entering the room and quickly noticing Diteline in the middle of the doorway. “There’s no emergency, Diteline just likes to...”

“Help young lovers in need,” she supplied. The elves around them giggled, rushing back to work after noticing Bernard’s glare. He marched over to the girls, craning his neck and glaring at Diteline. 

“What are you doing here?” he whisper yelled. “You know how the elves get around fusions.”

“Okay well this is a bit of an emergency,” Diteline said. "And judging by the giggling children, one that we definitely need to resolve right now!"

“This is Jacqueline and Dite’s fusion, Diteline,” Bernard began, answering Elle’s silent question. “I’m assuming she’s here because Jacqueline went to talk to Dite and Dite, of course, decided to pay us a visit,” he said, rubbing his temples. "And I guess sometime between there and here, they fused. And you know full well they are elves, Diteline. Not children."

“Well yes, once Jacqueline told Dite about the two of you still avoiding each other after that beautiful advice she gave, I couldn’t not come see you guys.” her face fell and she looked genuinely hurt. “You two are so sweet together and it kills me to know that you aren’t talking about something as big as fusion!”

“I was waiting on Bernard!” Elle said. “I didn’t want to just bring it up out of the blue since, y’know, that’s all I’ve been doing for a good portion of the year.”

“I was...I was waiting on you,” Bernard said, his annoyance with the fusion in front of them gone. “I didn’t want to talk if you weren’t ready.”

“This is going better than I expected,” Diteline said.

“What were you expecting?” Bernard asked dryly.

“A lot of silence. I thought I would have to hurtle through the Workshop, find the two of you, grab you both in my fists and take you somewhere nice for a teary confession that results in hugs and maybe kisses and a closer bond and my heart not breaking at the thought of the two of you not talking because of something as lovely as this!” She said, gesturing to herself. “I mean fusion, by the way. I’m lovely but I am referring to fusion.”

“I think I understand what Berline said about Diteline being too much at times,” Elle said.

“I’m a helpless romantic, what can I say,” Diteline replied. “I suppose the two of you are ready to talk to each other then?”

“Are you?” Bernard asked.

“I was about to ask you,” Elle replied.

“That’s a yes!” Diteline said, grabbing the two elves in her hands and bringing them up to her face. “Let’s go somewhere a little less busy?”

“Yeah, I think you’ve done enough damage here,” Bernard said.

“I’m just trying to help!”

“We know this,” Elle said, gently patting her wrist. “And we appreciate it. Maybe knock next time? Or give me a heads up?”

“I was in a rush,” Diteline said, blushing. “The thought did not occur to me, and yes, I know how ironic that is,” she smiled. “Now do you two want to stay in the Pole? Or is it okay if we go somewhere with more room? I don’t want to squish anyone accidentally that would be awful! Like crushing a snail,” she said, paling considerably and looking close to tears. “You are all so tiny.”

“Yes, it’s fine if we go somewhere else. Please don’t cry, you won’t squish any snails here, I promise. Or Elves,” Bernard said. 

"Okay, alright." She took a breather, composing herself once more. "Let's go make love happen! I know the perfect place to talk! To avoid squishing these children--Elves, sorry, but they look like kids! Especially to me! I'm huge!--we'll just pop on over there quickly. Hang on tight, I don't normally teleport, let alone with multiple people, so this may be a bit bumpy!"

And before either elf could protest, Diteline disappeared in a burst of lilac sparks.

Much to the relief of all three of them, they arrived at Diteline’s perfect place all in one piece. She knelt down once more, placing the elves down gently and folding her hands in her lap, smoothing over her lilac dress. Or robes; it was a weird cross between Dite’s stola and Jacqueline's dress and Diteline wasn’t sure what exactly to call it.

"This is a beautiful place," Elle said, looking around. The grass was dark and soft, fireflies floating up and down gently. Crickets sung in the dusk, a light breeze gently moving the branches of the flowered trees around them. "Where are we?"

"We're at the Springs, of course! The temperature around the entirety of the Springs keeps everything around us lush and soft and lovely. It's a very nice area. Dare I say it, even a little bit romantic. I picnic here all the time during the day!"

"Do you now?" Elle asked, a knowing smile on her face.

The fusion blushed. "You stop that, Ellington. Now then, take a seat, make yourselves comfortable. Let's talk."

"I--"

"Listen--"

Diteline giggled, the two elves once again cutting themselves off. Bernard smiled sheepishly; Elle sighed. "This again."

"We're a mess," Bernard said, smiling.

"But when aren't we?" Elle replied, smiling as well. "I know, most of the time we aren't."

"I like to think so. And you should too. I'm...sorry about what happened. I should've talked to you after I talked to Jacqueline but I didn't want to push you."

"I didn't want to push you, either," Elle said. "Otherwise I would have gone to talk to you after I talked to Jacqueline. I can't believe we both did that."

"I can't either," Diteline said, in a very Jacquie way. She was staring intently at her hands, threading some nearby flowers together. "Oh please, don't mind me; I'm trying to distract myself so I don't mess up your talk."

"That's very considerate," Bernard said.

"I try," she replied.

"Right," he said, sarcastically, thinking back to her sudden appearance at the workshop. Elle laughed. "Listen Elle, I'm sorry that that happened the way it did. And I'm sorry that it freaked you out."

"Don't apologize, B. I'm the one who's sorry. I was pushing it and when it happened, I freaked out. I just...I didn't expect the bond to be as deep as it was. I could see all of your thoughts and feelings and everything, and you mine...whether I wanted to or not. It was strange to not be in control of my own thoughts. Terrifying, even. that's why I left as suddenly as I did. It scared me and all I could think was what if you saw something bad in me? What if I was trying to hide something, and it slipped out? I panicked."

Bernard laughed. "Elle. I could never see anything bad in you. I love you! I chased you across a whole other timeline! We've been through a lot and if that didn't stop me, then something bad about you wouldn't deter me from being with you."

"Really?"

"We've been through this much and made it this far together so yeah, really. I can't believe we were thinking the same thing. I thought that maybe you had seen something bad in me!"

"Something bad? In you? Oh, please. You're probably one of the nicest people I know, B. I could never see something bad in you! I love you!"

There was a brief silence before the giggles started. Soon, both Elle and B were laughing very hard.

"I honestly cannot believe how perfect for each other the two of you are," Diteline said, smiling as the laughter subsided.

"That makes two of us," Bernard said.

"Three, even," Elle added.

"I would never disrespect your thoughts or feelings, Elle. I want you to know that, and remember that. Fusion or no."

Elle smiled. Reaching over, she hugged B. “Thank you,” she said. 

He pulled her close, squeezing her tightly. “You’re welcome, Elle.”

What happened next happened very fast. There was a bright light as the two elves disappeared. Diteline screamed and jumped up, wings fluttering excitedly. Finally the light died down and Bernelle sat on the ground, blinking slowly.

“You guys DID IT!” Diteline shouted, now hovering. She plopped the flower crown she had made on their head. It was a funny sight, considering Bernard’s beret was taking up residence on their head.

“We did? We did. I’m back!” Bernelle grinned. 

“And how are you feeling?”

“Not uneasy!”

“I’m so excited I’m gonna fall apart, I’m so happy you’re here!” Diteline squealed, hugging the fusion tightly.

“Thanks Diteline but could you put me down, I can’t breath.”

“Oh, I am so sorry! Look at that, even fused you are still so small. I’ll have to watch my strength around you! Oh, isn’t this delightful? I really am gonna fall apart!”

Bernelle lay back in the grass, eyes closed and content. “I’m here.” they said.

“Now you just gotta get use to being here,” Diteline said quietly, faintly glowing.

“You weren’t joking about falling apart!”

“I’m barely keeping it together, I’m just so happy for you two! You should take a vacation, by the way. Stay here at the Springs! Explore! Get use to existing! It would do wonders for your stress you know.”

Bernelle looked thoughtful. “Hmm. Part of me likes that idea, another part of me is low key concerned about that idea. Every time I leave the Workshop, something nutty always happens.”

“Think about it,” Diteline said. “I think it’ll be perfect. Just like you two,” she finished, booping their nose and winking before disappearing in a bright light. In her place now hovered Dite, a grin so wide on her face that Bernelle was seriously concerned about it splitting open. She held Jacqueline bridal style in her arms and was, in fact, screaming, Bernelle realized.

“You two did it! Look at you I am so excited Jacqueline, look!” Dite said throwing her up in the air and catching her.

“I’m looking! I see! Nice to meet you, Bernelle,” Jacqueline winked, now being hugged very tight by a still squealing Dite.

“Thanks for your help, Jacquie,” Bernelle said, smiling. “I’m not sure I’d be here if you hadn’t listened to both parts of me.

“It’s what I do! Best friend privileges and all,” she winked, still being hugged tightly by a very excited Dite.

“Is she gonna be okay?”

“Just give her a moment.”

Finally Dite calmed down, still smiling very big. “You two really are one of our best matches,” Dite said. “I’m glad you worked it out. I need to celebrate. We need to celebrate Jacqueline, do you wanna get ice cream?”

“When do I not?”

“What about you, Bernelle?”

“I think I’m gonna stick around here and do some thinking. About that whole vacation thing. I mean, it could be a real great thing for me, you’re both right.”

“Suit yourself,” Jacqueline shrugged. “I’ll eat enough ice cream for the two of us.”

Bernelle laughed, waving at the sprite and the goddess as they flew away, Dite dragging Jacqueline by the arm.

They listened to the crickets and lay in silence for a while, the far off rushing of water from the springs reaching their ears as they thought about what Diteline had said.

“A vacation...hmmm...”

It only took a little convincing on Elle’s part once the two got back to the Workshop a few hours later, the realization of how long they had been gone causing them to defuse and rush back. Santa gave them the all clear and, leaving Curtis in charge (after much deliberation, all things considered), the two set off for Crystal Springs, where Bernelle got to get their own celebratory ice cream.

It was a nice vacation, seeing the sights and just being together. Diteline was right; it really did do wonders for their stress levels. Everything was going fine until Christmas Eve, when Bernelle felt a shiver run down their back and a shift as if something...odd had just transpired.

That’s when Judy had appeared with the news and Bernelle nearly fell apart out of surprise.

Someone had used the Escape Clause; and it wasn’t Santa.

(BERNELLE LIVES! That’s the alternate title for Fusion AU part 3! Thanks again to the Ana bean for reading over the bernelle bits to make sure it all works well!!! I’m happy I got to unleash Dite on everyone, AND Jacqueline acting her age, AND DITELINE!!! Isn’t she lovely? Anyway please let me know what you thought I live for feedback! 

Up next: The Triumphant Return of Jackie Frost, Fusion AU Pt. IV >:D)

[kpopfanfictrash]

The 7th Prince (VII)

Author: kpopfanfictrash

Pairing: You / GOT7

Rating: PG

Word Count: 7,035

Summary: Summary: A land under a curse. Seven mysterious princes. A decision that will make or break the Kingdom. (idea from this post here, by@cyjsgirl)

The two of you stare at the horizon, watching the sun inch higher. Illuminating drifts of smoke set against the blue sky. “This is madness,” you whisper, breeze shifting your hair. “Yugyeom. We have to do something.”

“But what?” he asks, gaze questioning.

Turning away from a burning Septum, you look up at your castle. “I’m going to speak at the next council meeting,” you determine. Ignoring your brother’s small intake of breath and hitching up your skirts. Sweeping back inside and trying to ignore the tremble in your legs.

Standing before your mirror, you recite to yourself over and over. “Mother, father. Today I want to call an emergency meeting of the Council.” Wincing, you shake your head. “Mother, father,” you try. “At the next council meeting, I’d like to speak to the matters at hand.” Still wrong. “Mother, father –“

“What are you doing?”

Whirling, you exhale when you find yourself face to face with Yugyeom. “Oh. It’s just you,” you sigh, turning back towards the mirror.

Your brother laughs as he enters, shutting the door behind him. “Just me?” he repeats, walking over. “What were you doing?”

“Practicing.” Sighing, you turn away from the mirror. “It’s nothing.”

Yugyeom sits on the end of your bed, looking back at you. “Spill,” he demands. “You told me that you were planning on speaking to the council. Were you just practicing what you’re going to say?”

“Yes,” you admit, smoothing the front of your dress. “The only problem is, everything I try to say keeps coming out wrong.”

Uncrossing his legs, Yugyeom leans on his hands. “Well, what do you want to say?”

Pausing, you stare at yourself in the mirror. For starters, you want to say the marriage law is stupid. No – that’s not what you want to say. There are a lot of things wrong with this world, and you being forced to marry is only one of them. More problematic are the traditions being upheld just because they’re there, not because they’re right.

There are deeper problems at play, like the Council’s terror of magic. Treating magic itself as the enemy and not the witch. Or Morsus fighting the same battle over and over, never trying anything new. The path you’re currently on isn’t working and you’re not sure why you’re the only one who seems to see that.

Sweeping your skirts forward, you turn to face your brother. “I have a lot to say,” you frown. “I don’t even know where to start.”

Yugyeom stares into the distance and, after a while you think maybe he’s forgotten but then he sighs. “You need an in,” he says, glancing up. “Someone in the Council who will support your speech. They’re not going to listen otherwise.”

“Why,” you ask, expression darkening. “Because I’m a girl? That’s not fair – our mother is a valued member of the council, she –“

Yugyeom cuts you off, chuckling lightly. “Not because you’re a girl,” he amends, “but because you’re you. You’re new and young. This in addition to the small matter of you being the one with the most to gain by the marriage law being abolished.” When you move to protest, a tiny smile plays at the corner of his lips. “Don’t deny it – it’s the truth.”

Sighing deeply, you move towards the door. “I know that you’re right. There’s no reason they’ll listen. But who would possibly support me?” you ask. When you glance at Yugyeom, he also seems to be at a loss.

“I don’t know,” he admits, standing. “But I’ll help you find someone.”

Smiling, you link arms with him. “You’re too good to me,” you tell him, walking out the door. “Honestly. I hope you know that.”

“Oh, I know it.” Yugyeom bobs his head. “I keep a log of my good deeds. Every night I write down all the favors you owe and one day, I’ll come to collect.”

Laughing, you hip-check him. Yugyeom almost stumbles, grinning as you reach the main hall. It’s not as hectic as it was the other day. No one runs, though the air is still fraught with tension. The attack on Septum still hangs like a cloud, casting its dark pallor over your breakfast table.

Your mother and father are in quiet conversation when you enter, heads bent at the far end of the table. The Queen points to an open book, mumbling something as your father shakes his head. Pointedly, you clear your throat. “Good morning,” you say, and they both raise their heads. You and Yugyeom sit, pulling your plates closer as you move.

Your mother and father exchange a quick glance before she slowly shakes her head. Noticing this, your eyes narrow. “What?” you ask, pouring yourself a cup of coffee. “What was that look about?”

“Nothing!” Your mother’s voice is bright – too bright – and you’re instantly suspicious.

Switching your gaze to your father, he winces. “Dad?” you smile, ignoring the look your mother gives. “What am I not being told?”

His eyes dart sideways, wiping his hands on his napkin as your mother frowns. It’s funny – everyone always assumes because of their public demeanors that your father is the stronger of their two personalities. He’s the better public speaker, that’s for certain. It’s why he so often communicates with the public, discusses with the people.

It’s not so in every Kingdom – in some, like Tribus, the Queen is the figurehead. She’s the one the people know, the one they relate to. It’s why you think Jinyoung is so sensitive. His outlook, his wants and desires are all very intuitive of others. He’s empathetic, a trait you deem mostly influenced from his mother.

In your Kingdom, your mother operates behind the scenes. It’s she who makes the policy, she who turns the gears of Senary. Your father is the communicator of said decisions. It’s how things have always been – your father looks towards your mother now, hesitating.

Finally he turns to you. “There’s going to be a tournament,” he confesses.

“A what?” Taken aback, you glance between the two of them. “A tournament?”

Your mother exhales, setting down her tea. “Tomorrow we’re holding a tournament in your honor.”

“In my… honor?” you repeat, testing out the words. Not liking them. You shake your head. “What exactly does that mean?”

Your father shifts, uncomfortable with the conversation. “It’s just for fun,” he says. “Tomorrow will be a national holiday with the seven kingdoms competing in various events throughout the day. Anyone can participate, anyone can compete – the only thing to do with you is the fencing tournament.”

“The fencing tournament – for my honor?” you say, teeth gritted.

Even Yugyeom looks slightly appalled. “You’re just going to hand her over to whomever fences best?”

“No, no,” your mother jumps in, shaking her head. “It’s all for show, nothing to do with which Prince you actually choose.” At your expression she sighs, setting down her fork. “The Kingdom is burdened, Y/N. What with the recent attacks and chaos – the people could use a day off.”

So that’s what this is all about. Setting your own spoon down, you wipe the corner of your mouth with your napkin. You’re to play puppet master. Pretending everything is fine, providing a distraction from the current situation. Though it makes your stomach sink, you slowly nod. You know that this idea is coming from a good place – now that your mother has explained her reasoning, it does makes sense.

A holiday isn’t a bad idea. It will distract the people from the war, raise morale and give you time to rebuild. The only danger is if the witch finds out and tries to raid the Kingdoms during the ceremony. When you say this, your father shakes his head.

“It seems we may be safe for a bit,” he explains, glancing at the Queen. “Septum was able to land a crushing blow to the witch’s baseline camps during the other night’s raid. The witch’s army will be rebuilding for a while.”

“Crushing blow?” Yugyeom sounds curious. “I didn’t hear of that.”

“The information hasn’t been spread,” your mother explains. “Septum only shared this very recently. It appears they have a secret weapon, one they’re loath to share.” The Queen sighs, considering the idea of secrets within the city-states to be distasteful at best. “All I can say is that –“

Very politely, your father coughs.

“Ah.” She looks sideways. “Anyways, the tournament will be tomorrow and all Princes will be in attendance. There’ll be food, music, dancing and the main event, of course: a fencing tournament held amongst the seven city-states, in Y/N’s honor.”

“Seven?” Yugyeom looks up. “But Septum has no heir.”

“True, true,” your mother nods. “Septum has appointed a champion to compete instead.”

“Really?” You’re surprised by this. Usually when such things occur, Septum chooses to sit them out. “Who are they?”

“I haven’t the slightest idea.” Your mother frowns as she pours another cup of tea. “I think someone from the army. Whatever the reason, I could hardly decline. Septum has been hit worst of all this spring – they need something to cheer about.”

This very sobering statement wipes the smile from your face. “And what is my role?” you ask.

“You will preside over the tournament,” she informs. “Watch, make commentary and crown the champion. That’s all.”

“That’s all?” You exchange a look with Yugyeom. That actually sounds reasonable. It might even be nice, you think, to have a day just for fun. “That all sounds … fine.”

Your mother looks up, surprised. “I’m glad you agree.” Setting down her cup, she smiles at Yugyeom. “I hope you haven’t been skipping your daily lessons, Gyeommie. We’ll need you to shine in Senary’s honor.”

Yugyeom just laughs. “Not to worry,” he grins. “I’ve been practicing – the others won’t know what hit them.”

“Good,” your father chuckles, clearing his throat. “The Council will meet the day after that, Y/N.  This will be your first attendance, so this will be a good chance for you to get your face out there. Make yourself seen.”

Without quite meaning to, you and Yugyeom look at one another. Tomorrow you can scope out the other members of the Council, determine who you need to get on your side. You can see then who’s amendable, who’s not, who you might win over.

This might just be the opening you hoped for.

The next morning dawns bright and early as you wake well before the sun rises. Cecil helps you get ready for the day’s events, ignoring your yawns while guiding you into today’s dress. The color is ivory, scattered with emerald and silver embroidery. It’s stunning, like most of your dresses but you still feel like you’re somehow playing a part.

As Cecil laces and fits you, powders and teases – it’s hard to retain your grip on things. You find yourself slipping into the part of the Princess you’re supposed to play. It’s a part you do well, to be certain. Something you were born into, so engrained that by now it’s a part of you.

It’s exhausting sometimes to be like this. To be patient, kind, concealing your emotions and never speaking out of turn. Never overstepping for fear you’ll offend the wrong person. Being charming, amiable, friendly. Calm, quiet, composed. All this while somehow maintaining a steely demeanor and wit.

Exhaling softly, you smile. “Thank you,” you tell Cecil, rather wistfully looking towards the door. You know that this morning Yugyeom won’t be able to walk you to the stadium. He’ll be too busy preparing for the tournament, something which you’re very glad he’s allowed to compete in. It makes the whole thing seem less like a matchmaking scheme and more like entertainment – which it is.

Walking towards the door, you take a deep breath. Even though today is painful, you know that the people will love it. Everyone loves a good love story and yours is particularly fascinating. A Princess choosing between five Princes – it’s something whispered about on the streets. You hear the questions they ask the King, know the conversations in the taverns and know that outside of the war, your engagement is a key focus.

Something as public as a tournament will be fascinating. Something to discuss for weeks, mulling over who smiled, who laughed, which Prince caught your attention. It aches that you have to be the one to provide this distraction but at the end of the day, you don’t mind. If you can ease the pain for a while, it’ll be worth it.

It only serves to further deepen your wants, though. You want to solve the people’s underlying problems, help heal where they’re truly hurt. Not just distract from that pain.

The castle around you bustles, filled with people running to and fro. Holding flower arrangements, linens, expensive silver. Washing and scrubbing while people start to arrive. The doors of Senary are flung wide open, a warm breeze drifting from the lawn and you gaze out at the landscape.

A carnival is set between here and the village, winding through gardens and disappearing into the streets. You’re sure it continues on like this for miles – merchants and travelers setting up their wares to entice travelers. This event is a coup for them – citizens of all seven kingdoms, convened in one small space.

As you watch, you see that many are dressed in the colors of their own lands – something which makes you smile. It’s subtle, but you can spot the blue and chestnut of Quattor. Peach and green for Tribus. A flash of orange, green and blue as suddenly an arm links with yours, dragging you out of the doorway.

You gasp when you end up behind a potted plant, pointedly out of view of the castle busybodies. A laugh sounds in your ear, out of breath as Jackson attempts to regain himself. “Sorry,” he grins, flashing white teeth in your direction. “You look scared. Did I scare you?”

Shaking your head no, you attempt to recover some dignity. Smoothing your hair back while Jackson adjusts the thin, gold circlet atop his head. “No,” you say, blinking back at him. “I wasn’t scared. Just surprised.”

“Right.” Jackson smiles, looking you up and down. “You look beautiful today. Well, you look beautiful every day but today especially.”

Blushing at his bluntness, you weave your fingers together over your bodice. “Thank you,” you nod. “You look nice as well, Wang Jia Er.”

Chuckling, Jackson taps a finger to his temple. “Jackson,” he reminds, his eyes bright. “Call me Jackson.”

“Right.” You’re unable to control your smile. “Jackson. Just checking.”

“Checking what?” he asks.

“Checking that you still want to be close to me,” you admit. “I did run away the other night.”

Jackson waves a hand in the air. “Ah, yes. Did you ever find your cantaloupe?” At the look on your face, Jackson bursts out laughing. “It’s okay,” he assures, smile disappearing. “I know that night must have been fairly overwhelming.”

“Yes, it was.” Behind Jackson, you see Cecil enter the room. Scanning quickly from side to side, presumably looking for you. “I think my absence has been noticed,” you tell him, struggling to keep your voice low.

“Most likely,” Jackson agrees, though he doesn’t move. “We’re standing behind a plant, though. We’re invisible.”

A laugh escapes. You don’t know why, but you find that you don’t want to leave him. You’re having too much fun talking to Jackson. He’s too sweet, too kind – too perfect to walk away from. He also can’t seem to stop looking at you, a fact which in itself is startling. Men this perfect shouldn’t be allowed to stare at women like that.

“So,” you say, glancing at the ground. “Jackson.”

Jackson smiles. “Yes, Princess?”

The word brings color to your cheeks. “Do you truly want to marry me, Prince of Duo?” Barely daring to hope, you look up. There have already been several unsatisfactory answers to this question.

Jackson considers for a long moment. “I didn’t want to marry you.”

At his answer you pause, faltering. “You didn’t?”

“No.” Jackson shakes his head, gaze serious. “When I was little my mother said that one day I’d marry the Princess of my dreams. It all seemed very romantic, until I learned that the Princess of my dreams was a limited list.”

“Just me,” you supply.

“Just you,” Jackson agrees. He seems slightly embarrassed, rubbing the back of his neck as he speaks. “I resented you at first. The entire time I lived overseas I wanted nothing to do with you, nothing to do with this at all.”

Pulse pounding, you stare back at him. Jackson has always seemed so kind, so earnest that it never occurred to you he might not want this. “Do you still…” Swallowing quickly, you look away. “Do you still not want anything to do with me?”

Jackson waits until you turn back to him. “Do you know why I was the last Prince to dance with you?”

Silently, you shake your head no.

“I was watching,” he confesses. “Watching you dance with all the other Princes. Watching you laugh, watching you smile. Watching you look scared, nervous and more than a little angry.” He laughs at the memory. “It reminded me of well, me. That’s when I decided to meet you.”

You stare back, heart strangely fast. “And now that you’ve met me?”

Jackson’s smile widens. “Well. I’m here, aren’t I?”

“There you are!” Cecil’s face appears around the plant, frowning deeply. “Y/N, I’ve been looking every – Prince Wang Jia Er!” Quickly, your handmaiden drops into a curtsey.

Nodding at her, Jackson smiles. “No need for formalities, lady. I was the one who stole the Princess away.”

As Cecil straightens, she glances at the two of you. You blush at the look in her eyes, uncertain what she’s assuming.

“Will you accompany the lady to the tournament, Prince?” Cecil asks, gaze sliding to the man beside you.

Jackson shakes his head. “Unfortunately, I must go to the training pits. I doubt the Princess would enjoy being accompanied there.”

At his words, you remember that Jackson will be competing today. He’ll be fencing for your honor and surprisingly, the thought isn’t entirely unappealing.

Cecil sniffs. “I should think not,” she says. “Hardly a fitting place for the Princess.”

Laughing loudly, Jackson turns on his heel and steps from the plant. You and Cecil emerge shortly after, her looping her arm through yours – as though to ensure you won’t run off again.

Jackson stops a few paces away to glance over his shoulder. “You’ll be watching, right?”

Nodding, you fight back a smile. “I’m doing more than that. I’m the one crowning the champion.”

“Ah.” Jackson’s eyes light up and he takes a step closer. “In that case, I’ll be sure to win.”

He’s right before you, presence overwhelming in the best of ways. It makes you weak, unable to think of anything but how close he is. His scent drifts closer, smelling of citrus and something spicier. Before you can respond he winks, turning away. His whistle drifts back as he strides across the hall.

Beside you, Cecil’s mouth is open. She quickly shuts it, shaking her head. “Some people have all the luck.”

Before you can stop yourself, you laugh. Swatting her elbow as you walk through the hallway, outdoors and onto the path towards the stadium. You wind past merchants and wares, drifting between stalls and merchants. You stop at several booths, only able to briefly look before Cecil drags you on.

You arrive at the gates two hours to noon, exactly when you said you would. Your mother is already there, smiling genially at all who enter. When you arrive, she gathers her skirts. “Thank you, Cecil.” She smiles at your handmaiden. “I can take it from here.”

“Understood, Majesty.” Cecil raises an eyebrow, as though to warn against any troublemaking. Then she disappears, heading down the path towards the castle. It’s warm out today, air smelling of sunshine and flowers as you walks towards the entrance. Already you wish you’d brought a hat or umbrella.

Noticing your squint upwards, your mother waves her hand. “Not to worry.” She moves into the stadium, four guards immediately falling into place beside you. “We have a booth set up inside.”

You see what she means as soon as you enter. Opposite, dead center of the arena hangs a box. Hung with billowing banners of both Morsus and Senary, it’s completely covered from the sun. There are six similar boxes placed throughout the stadium, one for each of Morsus’ city-states. Senary’s is center though, as the tournament today is being held in your honor. You and the Queen are seated front row. You relax in your seat, glancing down the rows before you.

The seats are filling, despite the main event not being held until late afternoon. Smaller skirmishes will take place throughout the day. Jousting first, followed by the main event. You enjoy fencing more than jousting, perhaps because the latter is more elegant. Less dangerous, too. There’s always the risk in jousting that someone will be truly, seriously injured.

Beside you, your mother sinks downwards. Adjusting her crown and surveying the arena. “Thank you for doing this,” she says, her voice low. When you look at her, she quirks a brow. “I know how hard all this is, Y/N.  I’m not blind. You’re doing a good thing, though – look at how happy the people are.”

At her gesture, you see that she’s right. The people are all waving, trying to catch your attention. You wave back at them, shyly before your grin widens. These are your people and honestly, all you want is for them to know happiness. The thought makes you wince since lately, it hasn’t seemed that way.

It’s hard sometimes to separate yourself from your country. Hard to put aside your wants and needs for what’s best but in this case, you happen to think the needs of your country demand change. True, the change might benefit you – but there’s a larger purpose to what you desire.

Beside you, the Queen adjusts herself on her seat. You struggle to emulate a similar grace, but it’s impossible. Your mother has been doing this for so much longer than you have. People filter in and out of your box as the day passes – advisors, councilors, nobility. You greet the Kings and Queens of the other city-states, rising from your chair whenever the occasion demands.

Food is served, along with wine. Your mother allows you one glass, which makes you raise your eyebrows. Rarely, if ever, does she condone drinking in public. Today seems to be a holiday, indeed. Three hours past noon, the arena is nearly full. The last levels of the stadium becoming crowded, people by now turning to face the ring.

The last of the jousters clears, the sport’s long, thin rail long since gone. The air is abuzz with excitement when a hush settles over the arena, a brightly dressed announcer walking towards the center.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” he calls, voice echoing across vaulted seats. Immediately the air is filled with the hushing and whispering of people being pulled downward. Turning their attention towards the main event. “Welcome, and thank you all for coming!”

The air fills with cheers. Immediately across is the entrance, its gates open for competitors to walk in. To your right sit the people of Quinque, Bambam’s parents already seated in their booth along with their court. After Quinque sits Quattor – and so on and so forth, with Septum ending directly to your left.

Struggling not to be too obvious, you glance sideways. Septum’s booth is blocked from view though, by your father entering to the tent and you settle back in your seat. Smiling gently and nodding to show there’s no hard feelings. He exhales, seemingly relieved as you giggle.

“Today we have a special treat for everyone!” The announcer waves an arm, so enthusiastic you’re afraid it might just fall off. From the corner of your eye, you see your father also shaking with laughter. “A representative from each city-state, competing for the ultimate honor! What do you say we skip all the formalities and just get started?”

The audience cheers, causing you to laugh. You smile, leaning forward as the announcer continues. The seven representatives have been pre-ranked according to ability, with the top-ranked fencer sitting out until the second round. Your eyebrows rise when Wang Jia Er’s name is announced. Perhaps he might just be able to keep his promise after all.

The first two fencers enter, waving before they turn to face one another. They’re both dressed in all-white fencing gear, outfits bright against the dark sand. The only thing distinguishing them are the colors sewn to their backs – you recognize the red and gold of Unum, the navy and chocolate of Quattor. Jaebum and Youngjae both adopt their fencing stances, thin rapiers held loosely in hand.

Jaebum lunges first, Youngjae parrying to knock him aside. The match goes by quickly, with Jaebum being the superior fencer. You watch wide-eyed as he easily sidesteps Youngjae’s offense, seeming to be enjoying this. Jaebum lets Youngjae get in a few more attacks before feinting, thrusting forward. There’s a sharp rap on Youngjae’s side as the referee calls out, “POINT!”

The bouts will go until five points, and it’s not too long before Jaebum is announced as the winner. He removes his helmet, waving as he smiles at the crowd. The final score is two to five and Youngjae removes his helmet as well, waving at the people of Quattor. They cheer just as loudly, proud of their Prince in the ring.

You recall hearing Youngjae is not athletically inclined. His talents are said to lie elsewhere, which seems to be the case. Jaebum catches your eye, waving as he turns towards the gates. You smile back at him.

The next two in the arena are Jinyoung and Yugyeom. You laugh, leaning over the ledge and ignoring your mother’s hiss of protest. “Yugyeom-ah!” you yell, much to Jinyoung’s displeasure.

Even with his mask firmly in place, you know he’s peeved. His head whips at your voice, spotting you in your box and shaking his head. Raising two fingers, he slowly points them at his eyes and then at you. Indicating he’s watching before turning to face Yugyeom.

You laugh, sitting back in your seat. You notice that Jinyoung looks… nice, in his uniform. More than a few girls are whispering, though this quickly stops when you turn to stare back at them. You’ve always been very protective of Jinyoung. It’s strange to find him suddenly a catch when the entire time you were growing up, you were his only friend. Jinyoung was stuffy and serious, never the object of anyone’s crushes. This appears to no longer be the case.

As Jinyoung and Yugyeom settle into position, the crowd leans towards the edge of their seats. From the start, the match is much more even than the other. Both Jinyoung and Yugyeom score points early on, circling one another after to check for weaknesses. The problem, you realize, is that they both know each other too well. Yugyeom and Jinyoung grew up fencing together and each is ready to block before the other moves.

It’s just as you think this that Yugyeom lunges, Jinyoung parries and thrust his sabre forward. He twists, feinting once before continuing the offense. Another few quick steps and – “POINT!” calls the referee. “JINYOUNG IS THE WINNER, FIVE POINTS TO FOUR!”

At the cheer of the crowd, both Jinyoung and Yugyeom come to a halt. You see they’re both breathing heavy by the rise and fall of their chests beneath their jackets. Jinyoung straightens first, clapping Yugyeom quickly on the shoulder as Yugyeom pulls off his helmet. He runs a hand through his hair, nodding and the same group of girls break into giggles.

When you turn around they blush, and you face forward with a smile. Who knew Yugyeom was getting popular with the ladies? Jinyoung takes off his helmet too, scanning the crowd and acknowledging the applause with a tilt of his head. Someone screams his name and he looks up, startled. He starts to laugh, covering his mouth with one hand.

When he meets your eyes he bows. You blow him a large, exaggerated kiss, watching as both he and Yugyeom turn from the stadium. Beside you, your mother sits watching. “What?” you ask, leaning back as you settle into your seat.

Merely smiling, she faces forward once more. “Jinyoung has become a very nice young man.”

Wincing, you nod. “I know that.”

“Not a bad husband, either.”

“I know that, too.”

The conversation thankfully comes to an end as the last two opponents enter the arena. Bambam, you recognize since his back contains the distinctive purple and silver of Quinque. Beside him stands his opponent, the mysterious champion of Septum. He’s slight, though build doesn’t always indicate skill in these kinds of things. He looks at the citizens of Septum and you find yourself doing the same.

The King and Queen sit up in their seats. It’s strange to see them out and about like this – they rarely leave their castle, too busy with the front lines of the fight. The King’s face is weathered, as though he’s looking through the scene rather than at it. His Queen sits beside him, though she doesn’t seem very connected to what’s going on. Rather, she keeps glancing down into the pit. Behind her, into to the crowd. Almost as though she’s looking for something, though you can’t imagine what.

Your gaze returns to the arena as you hear the call of the referee. “EN GARDE!”

The two of them adopt their fencing stance. It occurs to you then that the announcer did not give a name for Septum’s champion. Prince Bambam of Quinque and Champion of Septum. You lean forward, watching the bout with renewed interest.

From the very start it’s clear that this champion is a talented fencer. Similar to Youngjae, Bambam’s talents are just not enough to beat him. Bambam falters more than once, giving his opponent three points in rapid succession. Bambam manages to go on the offensive, doing a quick disengage and lunging forward.

“Point, QUINQUE!”

It’s over soon after that. The other fencer moves seamlessly, his muscles connected to the air around him and he finds two more points with little problem. When the bout is over, cheers erupt from your left, Septum’s enthusiasm piercing the air. You can’t help but applaud as well, despite Bambam being Yugyeom’s best friend.

Looking at the King and Queen of Septum, seeing the looks of joy on their people’s faces – you decide that today is worth it. Slowly standing, you curtsey deeply in the direction of Septum’s champion. He hesitates slightly, looking up in your direction as you wait for him to remove his helmet.

He doesn’t.

There’s an awkward pause and then, as though sensing the tension – Bambam decides not to remove his, either. He bows in the direction of Quinque and then Senary, waving happily at the crowd. Touching the champion of Septum’s arm as they leave, leaning in to say something. The champion nods as the two of them exit the area, waving grandly at the stands.

“Well, that was interesting.” Your father glances in the direction of Septum but both their King and the Queen also look confused.

The King shrugs, facing his Queen, who continues to look around the stadium aimlessly. You watch this with growing interest, curious as to what’s happening when suddenly the cheers start up again.

Jaebum enters for round two, having won the first bout with Youngjae. He’ll be facing Jackson, with Jinyoung facing off against the mysterious champion of Septum. Jaebum and Jackson walk into the arena together, helmets off as they wave cheerily at the crowd.

Well, Jackson waves cheerily. Jaebum smiles at least. He waves in the direction Unum, whose citizens are all on their feet for him. You stare in astonishment before remembering Jaebum is a war hero. Making brief eye contact with his father, Jaebum inclines his head. The King responds likewise.

Meanwhile Jackson hams it up in front of Duo. You laugh just watching him. Tossing his hair, Jackson strikes a pose. Miming a few dance moves before darting forward to actually kiss a baby in the front row.

Beside you, the Queen also laughs. “That Jackson is quite a character.”

“Yes,” you say, still smiling. “He is.”

In your peripheral, you notice your mother smile. Ignoring her, you focus instead on the announcer. When he yells, “EN GARDE!” both Jackson and Jaebum place their helmets on their heads. Walking over to the starting marks and adopting their stances.

“READY?”

Jaebum and Jackson both nod.

“FENCE!”

Jackson lunges first, attacking so quickly that Jaebum doesn’t have time to properly block. You’re reminded then that Jaebum is used to wielding a much heavier weapon, not a rapier. He makes a frustrated motion, clearly peeved when the referee yells, “POINT!”

The section of Duo cheers. When the two start once more, you’re breathless watching. Jackson’s moves are so quick, so perfect, you realize it’s not for nothing he skipped the first round. His second point is scored just as quickly and you realize that Jaebum is probably going to lose. Unless he’s been faking his skill set so far, which you highly doubt.

The next point is quick, as is the fourth and fifth – at this point, the crowd of Duo is on their feet cheering. Jackson removes his helmet to grin wildly, shaking slightly-sweaty hair from his eyes. Jaebum takes off his helmet as well, grasping Jackson’s hand and nodding.

The two of them turn to face Senary, bowing low. As Jackson rises, he looks straight at you. Dropping a quick wink before turning to leave. You blush, reminded of his earlier words. I’ll be sure to win.

The thought keeps your grin in place.

Next are Jinyoung and Septum’s mysterious champion. Jinyoung enters with his helmet removed, but the other’s is firmly on. It appears as though the two are talking, Jinyoung laughs as the mysterious stranger gestures sideways.

When the referee calls them to position, Jinyoung quickly secures his helmet. The other fencer does the same, dropping into stance before him. When they start, you realize their talent is fairly even. Despite this, the Septum fencer starts to pull ahead. The points are soon three to two, with Septum’s champion barely winded. He circle parries Jinyoung’s thrust, lunging on the offense.

“FOUR TO TWO!”

Jinyoung rubs his neck, circling backwards and you can tell he’s getting frustrated. You watch his chest rise and fall, knowing he’s trying to block out self-criticism. The other fencer watches, observing with a small tilt of his head and you wonder if he’s trying to use this to his advantage.

When the bout resumes, Septum’s fencer starts with fancier moves. You’re amazed by how quickly he sized Jinyoung up. Jinyoung definitely fences by the book. Executing well but not great at improvisation, at least when it comes to fencing. His opponent is fluid, darting forward and back. Feinting and attacking until Jinyoung fumbles once. That’s when Septum’s fencer flicks – a technique where the blade behaves almost like a whip, bending to reach the opponent’s body. Jinyoung grunts, stepping backwards but the referee has already yelled, “POINT! FIVE TO TWO!”

Septum has won, their crowd cheering louder than ever. Jinyoung nods removing his helmet. He’s smiling though, which is somewhat surprising. However much Jinyoung likes to win, he also likes when people can outthink him. It forces him to grow, he often tells you.

He’s talking to the Septum fencer now, probably asking about the move he just did. Beside you, the Queen stands. Jinyoung and the other fencer freeze at her motion, turning towards your mother to bow.

Beside you, she motions you stand as well. Obeying, you wipe your sweaty palms on your skirts. “You should announce the final match,” your mother whispers from the corner of her mouth.

You nod, facing the crowd. “The final match,” you say, waiting until all eyes are on you before continuing. “Wang Jia Er of Duo and the Champion of Septum!”

To roaring applause, you sit back down. Crossing your ankles and catching Jinyoung’s eye. He shrugs, not upset about losing as he walks away. The other fencer leaves as well but not without a last look in your direction. The hair on the back of your neck prickles and you stare after him, perturbed when you realize he has yet again failed to remove his helmet.

“Most peculiar,” your mother says. Then shrugs. “Ah, well. Perhaps he’s just embarrassed of his appearance.”

Smoothing the lines of your dress, you frown. After a brief respite, Jackson Wang and the mysterious Septum fencer both reenter the stadium. You find yourself sitting taller, leaning forward. Openly curious as to what will happen.

These two are the best of the bunch. That much is obvious by how easily they beat their previous opponents. What will happen against each other, you don’t know. You wonder if the mysterious fencer will take off his helmet if he wins. Perhaps that’s his real game here. To drum up interest and then reveal himself, surprising people when he’s a prominent noble or some such nonsense.

The two fencers adopt a starting stance.

“FENCE!”

The moves are quicker than you thought possible. Septum is good – very good – but he’s also no match for Jackson. Jackson is in a league of his own and now, faced with an opponent worth his salt, you begin to see how talented he really is.  

If the Septum champion is fluid, Jackson is water. Lunging, parrying, feinting easily to rap Septum’s champion in succession. He does fancier and fancier moves, showing off for the benefit of the crowd.

It’s beautiful to watch and you find yourself unable to look away. Septum’s fencer scores once, making it three to one, in Jackson’s favor. They continue on, each moving in and about the other and before you know it –

“FIVE TO THREE. PRINCE WANG JIA ER OF DUO IS THE CHAMPION!”

A roar leaves Duo’s section and you find yourself smiling, clapping to their enthusiasm. It’s clear they truly love their Prince. The crowd is full of signs, banners, sayings which warm your heart.

What’s surprising to you is that Septum applauds just as loud. They appear excited by how far their champion went. Excited by the fact that he nearly won. Many stand, applauding their mysterious stranger when he bows, low, in Septum’s direction.

All too soon, they walk forward. A large, golden ribbon is pressed into your hands and Jackson Wang climbs the stairs to your box, stopping before you. He faces the crowd quickly, waving once before turning back to you.

When your eyes meet, his are dark and playful. The gesture is meant simply for you. “What did I say,” he murmurs, bending his head for you to drape the ribbon around his neck. “I told you I’d win.”

“That you did,” you whisper, pleased. After arranging the silk flat, you turn towards the crowd. “Wang Jia Er, Prince of Duo!”

Jackson stands, leaning sideways to whisper, “Back of the tent.”

And then he’s gone, disappearing down the steps of your booth. Walking through the stadium and exiting the gates. The fencer from Septum is long gone – you assume that he’s gone back to his section, but you can’t be sure. Your own gaze searches as you sit, heartbeat pounding.

Back of the tent.

Slowly, you glance behind you. Jackson couldn’t possibly – he couldn’t want you to meet him, right? The blood in your veins thrums at the thought and you find yourself leaving just minutes later. Both your parents nod, too engrossed in the acrobats performing to question deeply.

Just as you’re about to exit, a hand closes around your wrist. You’re pulled sideways for the second time today, finding yourself face to face with Jackson Wang. The silvery material of the tent drifts around him, outlining him in a halo of silver and gold. Gold like his circlet. Gold like the ribbon around his neck.

His hand is warm and you find yourself staring at it in yours. Surprised by the way your heart beats at his touch, loud in the otherwise silence. Rather than pull away, Jackson slowly takes your other hand in his. Staring as he takes a step closer.

“So.” His tone is serious. “I’ve been thinking.”

“Really?” you say, lifting your gaze to his. “About what?”

“This ribbon.” The wind blows the tent and Jackson takes a step closer. “A ribbon seems a small prize for what I just went through,” he muses, mouth lifting in a smile.

The resulting effect is dizzying. “Oh? And are you only satisfied with material goods, Jackson Wang?”

He chuckles, the noise low. “Never. Except,” he says, pretending to think. “You don’t happen to have any cantaloupe, do you?”

Suppressing a laugh, you shake your head. “No.” You’re unsure why you’re whispering. “Not this time.”

He’s so close to you that you feel his body heat. Feel his hands tighten, sliding to interlock your fingers with his. There’s a slight sweat to his skin – it’s unfair this only makes him look better. Unfair he’s daring to look at you in that way. As though you’re all he sees, all he wants to see.

“Good.” His gaze lightens, the shadows dancing over his face. “Because what I really want from you is a kiss.”

“A kiss?”

Jackson nods, somehow moving even closer. “Yes.”

“A kiss, from me?”

He nods. “Yes.”

Bending slowly, Jackson watches your expression. When you don’t pull away, his lips touch yours. Hands sliding into your hair as you arch upwards, mouth opening hesitantly. His lips are warm, eager and your feel your heart pound in your veins. His body presses closer and the feel is new, exciting and –

A crash.

You pull away, jerking from Jackson’s arms. Whirling to face the entrance, which you thought you were hidden from. The wind has blown things aside though, and you find two dark eyes staring straight at you. Dark eyes in a familiar face. The face sends a lurch through your body – and then he’s gone.

“Mark,” you gasp, hitching up your skirts to run after him.

[Master List]

Also thank you so, so much to the wonderful @this-part-of-town who sent in this BEAUTIFUL map of Morsus! I hope that everyone loves it as much as I do.

Author’s Note: WOW! So much happening in this chapter haha. Sorry that the word count got a little out of hand but hope you enjoyed! Thank you very much for reading ~

[faeblcssed-archive]

❛       .      .      .          oh       ,       i’m       so       very     sorry       !       they       mean       no       harm       ,       really       !      ❜

———      while     she     was     ever     so     fond     of     the     wallerbogs     and     their     games     ,     it     would     be     false     to     say     their     habits     of     throwing     mud     at     unsuspecting     folk     was     often     well     received     by     outsiders     .     it     always     brought     out     laughter     in     their     queen     ,     but     many     found     it     to     be     ungallant     .     still     ,     what     room     was     there     in     the     moors     for     anything     less     than     joy     ?     sunlight     peaked     through     the     trees     above     them     ,     the     signs     of     dawn     clear     .     it     was     true     ,     to     say     the     least     ,     that     the     queen     of     the     moors     trusted     far     too     easily     .     how     many     times     had     her     godmother     told     her     so     ?     once     ,     twice     ?     too     many     times     to     count     ,     yet     she     continued     on     with     warmth     in     doe     eyes     and     smile     on     rose     red     lips     .     a     smile     offered     to     both     the     largest     of     men     and     the     smallest     of     pixies     .      the     smile     now     held     an     apology     for     the     mud     thrown     upon     the     other’s     gown     .     ❛      it’s     ,     well     it’s     their     way     of     saying     hello       !        ❜

      /                        @feygana​    gets      a     starter .

[cassatine]

On a scale of 0 to 10, how worrying do you find the revelations about Lucasfilm having no idea where the Sequel Trilogy is going?

Not that much. I’m having major flashbacks to the R1 reshoot drama. Sometimes i put my tinfoil hat on and I start to think they intentionally fan the flames to amp up The Drama. Anyway! I’m not worried because Lucasfilm & co doesn’t know where they’re going, I’m worried that they did. Until Carrie Fisher’s death. Scratch that, i’m not worried, I’m bitter. 

But first, what I think is that this idea that Lucasfilm doesn’t know where the story or anything is going has more to do with fandom being bitter about the reevaluation of expectations which has become necessary after the new revelations; i’m probably missing some things but:

there’s Kathleen Kennedy and Rian Johnson being evasive about the title [here]

I don’t see how that translate to no-one knowing what the title actually means. I do see two people being close-lipped about that meaning because it would give out huge spoilers. Unlike, say, Lucas giving out the meaning of The Phantom Menace’s title when that movie came out.

there’s the “no one knows about Snoke” thing, a wild extrapolation of this:

Q: Do we learn anything about Snoke’s identity? Does he get a fight scene?  

A: I asked Rian Johnson about Snoke—Who/what is he?—and Rian was fairly up front in saying that Snoke is not a character he particularly gets into in TLJ. Hmmm.

From David Kemp’s Reddit Q&A

I’ve commented on that earlier, and again, that’s not particularly surprising nor does it means no one knows who Snoke is. He’s like the final boss, and he’s got three underlings that need be beaten before getting to him. I expect we’ll see him send his underlings on their merry way, and that he’ll fulfill the same narrative function in TLJ he did in TFA, or the Emperor did in ANH and ESB.

there’s the Finn-not-using-a-lightsaber thing

That one… okay at first it kind of rubbed me the wrong way; it’s not the lightsaber that makes a character interesting, you know? But then again, I don’t think the bait-and-switch TFA marketing of picturing him with it everywhere was a good idea at all; it set up expectations, didn’t change much in the long run, and in a franchise in which central protagonists tend to have lightsabers, it doesn’t seem to spell anything good for Finn’s continued co-protagonist role in the story. Add to that the fact that he starts the movie incapacitated, that it’s unclear whether he’ll be reunited with Rey at all during TLJ, and that we know very little of his future storyline…

But I’m relatively hopeful, there; it’s not like we know much of anyone’s storyline for starters, and tbh I always saw Finn becoming more a leader-of-men kind of characters than a Jedi. I never was a fan of the “he resisted indoctrination because he had the Force” explanation as well, and it’s not like there’s tons of lightsabers lying around. It seems like TLJ is going to spread its (expanded) cast across the galaxy, and I don’t doubt Finn will have his own storyline, or that it won’t be a key part of the movie. But I do wonder if TLJ will have less clearly defined main protagonists.

there’s the lack of Han/Leia type romance

Cue despair on one side and gloating on the other. Tbh the most virulent reaction to these quotes I’ve seen comes from the Reylo part of the fandom. I did not dare go to the tag, tho, so that might just be why; still, the fact that #romancegate came on the heels of #boobsgate made the cold shower colder so. There’s a to be made about semantics - it’s not like Reylo was ever slated to become a Han/Leia type of thing, it doesn’t mean there won’t be a romance at all, and it doesn’t mean there won’t be subtext.

And tbh that’s like the least of my worries. I ship it but it’s one of these cases where you like the thing, the fandom less so. In any case, I don’t particularly want a canon romantic relationship, and I never thought TFA telegraphed it either (especially not in light of Abrams’ mystery-boxes-and-red-herrings brand of storytelling). An important relationship, subtext, sure. A future canon romance? No. Not impossible, just unlikely. 

What made it all blow over was this:

What the story group does not do, Hart said, is impose plot-point mandates on the filmmakers. Johnson told me he was surprised at how much leeway he was given to cook up the action of Episode VIII from scratch. “The pre-set was Episode VII, and that was kind of it,” he said. If anything, Johnson wanted more give-and-take with the Lucasfilm team, so he moved up to San Francisco for about six weeks during his writing process, taking an office two doors down from Hart’s and meeting with the full group twice a week. (x)

and also this:

Biggest surprise to me is how much creative leeway Lucasfilm is giving Rian Johnson and Colin Trevorrow to write their films and make up plot and characters from scratch. I had presumed (wrongly) that JJ Abrams and Larry Kasdan might have sketched out an arc for the entirety of the current trilogy. But as Rian Johnson told me, it really was a creative handoff—“Over to you, Rian.” And Rian is handing off to Colin Trevorrow in the same way. He said he’s made a mess that Colin will somehow have to clean up.

David Kemp on reddit Q&A

Which is not new in any way? Look at literally every interview of Kathleen Kennedy or a Story Group member, or X creator about X novel/comic/whatever in the franchise’s new canon, and you’ll find something similar. The Story Group has been relatively open regarding how they function and what they do, and interconnected storytelling or not, the new EU was designed not to constrain the movies. Creative freedom in writing the script and no mandated plot list point doesn’t translate to no input on the scripts once written, no discussion on themes or whatever, and clearly not closing Lucasfilm’s door on Johnson when he asked. (And as far as I know, he’s still credited a co-writer on Episode IX as well? The mystery thickens!)

But mostly, like it or not, it’s not new, and what it means in regards to speculation is usually conveniently forgotten, until something seems to go where we don’t want the story to go. And then it’s brought back, because it totally proves the story going there is a terrible choice made by people who can’t tell a story. Not so long ago, there was great happiness over the fact that Johnson had so much leeway because he was clearly a better storyteller than JJ “Mystery Box” Abrams, and still not much longer ago, there was great happiness about Abrams taking over the story from Lucas because clearly, better storyteller. What can I say, fandom’s fickle. 

In any case, I don’t particularly care for the tendency to suddenly find everything terrible and creators dumb idiots who can’t tell a story as soon as there’s a hint things might not go the way we’d want it to. And on some level, I find it darkly hilarious; it’s petty, but I do. 

Because Lucasfilm & co knew where they were going. And the fact that they’re not going there anymore is unbearably sad:

Vanity Fair: And as for Episode IX, how mapped out is it?

Kathleen Kennedy: Well, as you can imagine, we were really stunned by the death of Carrie. So we had mapped something out a year ago that [Episode IX writer-director] Colin Trevorrow was working on. In fact, he delivered a script to us in early December. So her death was a real shock, and changed things quite dramatically. (x)

In the Reddit Q&A, Kemp specified he made the interviews between February and April, after Carrie’s death, and repeated that it’d changed the plan as it had existed:

When I was doing these interviews, it was still Feb, March, April, and bear in mind that Carrie Fisher died only on Dec 27—still not that long ago. So it was a little heavy, dealing with people who are grieving but have to get back to work. The original plan was, as Kathleen Kennedy put it, for Episode IX to be “Carrie’s film,” in the sense that VII was Harrison Ford’s film and VIII is Mark Hamill’s film. As I was speaking with Kennedy, she said that Colin Trevorrow and the Lucasfilm Story Group were working on reconceiving the Episode IX script. I don’t think that they would consider recasting the role, and Kennedy seemed emphatic in asserting that they wouldn’t use the tech they used in Rogue One to reanimate Peter Cushing’s Grand Moff Tarkin. I suspect, though I don’t know for sure, that Leia will not appear in Episode IX, and her absence/death will be alluded to in some elegant way. 

So imo the real mess would be that Leia was set up in TLJ to have an expanded role in Episode IX. Which is clearly not going to be the case.

[lit-hp]

#HP/LV fic rec hub ~Special Edition~ Dynamics

#HP/LV fic rec hub ~Special Edition~ This is a special edition that no one asked for, but brought to you anyway. These aren't Harrymort, but they do have a good dynamic between the two so I thought that they should be in the hub. Or they could just be really slow burns in which they develop a good platonic relationship before a romantic one. I suppose that there isn't much in terms of smut, but they all have an interesting mentor/enemy/ally dynamic going on. Some stories are those that I've recommended before, but for the sake of compiling all the mentor fics together, I hope that none of you mind. As per usual, please read what the author has tagged before reading. And also please check out their other works! These stories are not listed in any particular order, just by whatever I find first! Again, if you have any recommendations, please PM me or just add them on cuz I'd love to read them too! This will be updated when I pass them by; I just wanted to post the starter points. —————////////————— 1. Keep Your Enemies Closer by Riddletobien Summary: "Voldemort discovers the existence of his human horcrux and soon after, wizarding Britain yields to his reign. With his friends' lives on the line, the last thing Harry needs is the mocking voice of Tom Riddle whispering inside his head. And why do the Dark Lord's Marks make him feel restless? AU LV/HP mentoring, no slash. Or: how Harry learned to see things from the grey side." https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6512582/1/Keep-Your-Enemies-Closer —————////////————— 2. Draught of the Living Death by HippoParty Summary: "Harry walked into the forest and Voldemort reclaimed his seventh Horcrux. Now, five hundred years have passed and after centuries of slumber, Harry is about to wake up. One shot." Complete. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11906882/1/Draught-of-Living-Death —————////////————— 3. Tender Tale of Darkness by Mara94 "Summary: Little Harry adores his new friend Tom, even if he is inside of a locket." A personal favorite of mine. http://archiveofourown.org/works/7623328/chapters/17354179 —————////////————— 4. Victory Day by WhiteWave14 Summary: "Harry grew up in a Rebel camp with Sirius after Voldemort's triumph over Wizarding Britain. Burdened by the Prophecy, he begins to doubt the Rebels' morals and slowly gets caught in his fascination for a certain Dark Lord. AU. Slow-paced slash, HPLV." It hasn't led to Slash as of yet, so I thought this could be good on here. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8913361/1/Victory-Day —————////////————— 5. Feathers and Fireballs by Na'hiel Summary: "While fleeing Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries, Harry is drenched by not one, but two different potions, which he forgets about when Sirius is killed. The potions do not forget about him, however, and in the middle of the summer, Harry is transformed into something else. The transformation has disastrous consequences. Slash. See warnings inside the story." https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12050840/1/Feathers-and-Fireballs —————////////————— 6. The Broken Boy by behindthealias "Summary: Young Harry Potter is endowed with the power to recall the dead and manipulate the strange currents of magic. The spirits take a liking to him and he embarks on a quest to protect himself and to find the love that he had been deprived of for too long.” More of a Hurt/Comfort story as Harry is too young for romance right now. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9656336/1/The-Broken-Boy —————////////————— 7. Solace in Shadows by The Fictionist Summary: "When Harry is kidnapped by a seemingly sixteen year old Tom Riddle at the end of his second year, he's convinced that he would do absolutely anything to escape – but "anything" can be a dangerous conviction to have, and even heroes can grow tired of fighting without hope. Sometimes, survival means making a home in the dark… Warning: Deals with Stockholm Syndrome and dark themes." https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7932144/1/Solace-in-Shadows —————////////————— 8. Embracing His True Self by DebTheSlytherinSnapeFan Summary: "Tom Riddle/Harry Potter Slash. What if Harry didn't want to fight Voldemort? What if he was fed up with the light side judging him constantly and wants to be his true self? The Slytherin side that he had squashed in a bid to fit in and be accepted? Realizing he never would...what of the prophecy? Could they overcome it? Will Voldemort even give him a chance?" https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10604318/1/Embracing-His-True-Self —————////////————— 9. Fate's Favorite by The Fictionist Summary: "You always get the stories where Harry goes back into Tom Riddle's time, then either stays or gets sent back. End of, unless he tries to make Voldemort good. But what if things went differently? What if, just once, someone followed a time traveller back?" Completed and has a prequel. Also has a fan-inspired sequel and other fanworks. This is admittedly one of my favorite Gen!Tomarry stories. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5725656/1/Fate-s-Favourite —————////////————— 10. Snake Whisper by Violet-san Summary: "Sometimes even the tiniest bit of snow can set off an avalanche. Sometimes even small, seemingly unimportant events can change the course of history forever. And sometimes, meeting a snake can lead to falling in love with your worst enemy. Fate has always had it in for Harry Potter, hasn't it? (Grey!Harry, slow moving(!) TMRxHP Slash)." https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8794482/1/Snake-Whisper —————////////————— 11. Prince of the Dark Kingdom by Mizuni-sama Summary: "Ten years ago, Voldemort created his kingdom. Now a confused young wizard stumbles into it, and carves out a destiny. AU. Nondark Harry. MentorVoldemort. VII Ch.8 In which someone is dead, wounded, or kidnapped in every scene." The Ultimate Mentor Fic, at 147 Chapters and 1,253,480 words. It's insanely long, but a very satisfying read. It may not technically be finished, but the world is just amazing! https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3766574/1/Prince-of-the-Dark-Kingdom —————////////————— 12. Oswald the Ottoman by lunakatrina Summary: "Voldemort never saw this coming! Harry aquires an ottoman…AU, ignores DH and most of HBP for it’s own sanity.” Not slash, but explores the relationship between HP and LV, if anything else. If you need something to cheer you up, read this. Crack!fic. Completed. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4045112/1/Oswald-the-Ottoman —————////////————— 13. Ice Crux by Hermione Prime Summary: "A new regime. A darker era. A stronger generation. The Boy-Who-Lived did not exist. Voldemort attained the final victory, and thus, gained limitless power. As a feared authoritarian figure, he rules both the wizarding world and Hogwarts in the shadows, killing without restriction. Anyone declared to be treacherous is condemned to death. When a talented Harry Potter, brimming with impressive potential, arrives at Hogwarts, he attracts the unwanted attention of the Dark Lord. Following a magnificent duel, Harry is blackmailed into becoming Lord Voldemort’s apprentice. Forced to confront his fate, Harry attempts to tread the dangerous waters of a Pureblood hierarchy. A tale weaved around jealousy, fate, victory, hatred, love, angst, and above all, ambition.” "This will not be romance, and will definitely not be SLASH. It’s a mentorship between Lord Voldemort and Harry Potter.” Completed. Also has a sequel, which is also completed. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8664961/1/Ice-Crux —————////////————— 14. How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Lord V by cheryl bites Summary: "Nuclear war breaks out and Voldemort casts a spell to stop time. He and Harry alone are left to defuse the missiles and prevent the war. Voldemort’s radiophobic. Oh joy. LVHP. Spoilers for HBP, none for DH." Very amusing. Cue clueless Harry working alongside a genius Voldemort as they run against the clock to destroy all the nuclear war heads. Somewhat follows canon—at least the first chapter does. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3542099/1/How-I-Learned-To-Stop-Worrying-And-Love-Lord-V —————////////————— 15. Taken by Surprise by BabblingSquirrel Summary: "Innocent and harmless as he appears, Harry Potter is anything but - and after years of sitting tight, on the move. Can the Dark Lord cope with the bombshell? Will the wizarding world ever be the same if he can? Independent!Harry, Powerful!Harry, eventual SLASH." https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9747129/1/Taken-by-Surprise —————////////—————

[theinquisitivej]

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Character Predictions

Let’s take a brief detour from films and narrative analysis and talk about games, or rather a specific game. Or, I suppose, let’s do both at the same time, because the game I’m more excited about than any other this year is the latest in my favourite party game meets intense fighter series, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

         I apologise to those of you who have stumbled across this and have no idea what I’m talking about, because I’m pretty sure the next few thousand words or so will be impenetrable gibberish. But, if you’re riding the hype train along with me and share my passionate excitement for this series, or you’re still curious and want to know more, then read on.

         Super Smash Bros. is an ongoing series from Nintendo in which you get to play as some of their most popular characters from their numerous iconic franchises as you duke it out with a group of other players in intense, frantic battles. For a series with a relatively simple premise, it’s gained a deep level of appreciation from fans of all backgrounds, as it draws players from a number of different fanbases of the different games it represents, branching out to even include characters from third party companies like Sonic, Pac-Man, Mega Man, and so on. Whether you’re a player who enjoys bringing the game out at casual get-togethers with friends and family, or you’re a competitive player who obsesses over knowing the game inside and out, there’s something universally exciting about seeing a game that celebrates so many franchises and their characters, settings, and music.

         And now there’s a new game coming out, which means people are losing their minds over speculation concerning which new characters we might get to play as, and I am certainly no different. We’ve had a number of new characters already announced including Ridley and King K.Rool, fan favourite villains who players have been clamouring for since the days of Super Smash Bros. Melee in 2001. Their inclusion makes it feel like all bets are off; in the past, expectations and hopes were tempered by thoughts like ‘ah, that character would never make it in’, but now, if sodding Cloud from Final Fantasy VII can make it, then anyone can.

         So, because everyone’s been making their prediction/wish lists and I’ve spent far more time obsessing over this game than I care to admit, I figured I’d have a little fun and throw together a list of my own character predictions. If you’ve been checking out other people’s theories and videos on the subject, then I’m sure many of these picks will sound familiar, and, on the one hand, I do worry that this post will look like a shallow attempt to regurgitate the same information that other people have gone over for the sake of jumping onto the bandwagon. But truthfully, I just wanted to make this list for the fun of getting it out there and seeing how many I end up getting right once we know the game’s final roster of characters. The way I see it, I’d be writing this list for myself anyway, so I might as well share it with anyone who’s interested.

         This list is meant to represent likely candidates rather than necessarily my all-time dream picks. This is who I expect will make it in, not who I hope beyond hope to see in this game (otherwise the list would just say ‘Banjo-Kazooie’ ten times). Even so, there are one or two characters on the list which I will admit have less of a chance, and most likely got as far as they did in my considerations due to preferential bias. Nevertheless, there are enough points in their favour that I stand by dedicating a spot to them. And at the end of the day, this is my own damn list on the dumb fighting game about cartoon characters, so try not to worry about it.

*So how many more new characters do you think there’ll be?*

         This is the question a lot of people who’ve been closely following news on the game have been wondering. Masahiro Sakurai, the series director whose dry offbeat sense of humour and difficult to predict eccentricity has made him just as beloved to Smash fans as some of the Nintendo mascots featured in his games, has gone on record to say that, since Ultimate’s remit was to bring every single character in the series’ history back for this ‘ultimate’ instalment, we shouldn’t expect too many newcomers. Considering the insane amount of content already revealed for this game, many have said that’s a fair deal, with a common sentiment being that the game could ship with just what we’ve heard about it thus far, and we’d still be over the moon with what it’s given us.

         However, Sakurai is a notorious workaholic whose obsessive dedication to his work has led him to exceed our expectations time and time again in Smash’s 20-year history. Since making that statement, Sakurai has shown off 5 new characters, and hinted that there is more to follow. What helps is that Sakurai and his team have found a creative solution which enables them to include an impressive number of new characters without cutting too much into development time in the form of ‘Echo Fighters’. Echo Fighters, or ‘Echoes’, is a term coined by Sakurai to describe characters who are technically new to the series, but whose set of moves are closely based on a pre-existing fighter. This means we get the option of playing a slight variation on a classic fighter who, through a different surface appearance and a few of their own unique animations, feels like their own distinct character.

         So, what this boils down to is that, while Sakurai may mean it when he says we’re getting fewer brand new movesets than we have in past instalments, we are nevertheless getting a good number of new representatives from different series through this time and money-saving measure. While I’m sure there are some critics of this approach out there, the overwhelming consensus on this is that it’s a win-win situation which takes some of the weight off the developers while simultaneously providing the players with more characters who may not have necessarily made it in otherwise.

         To answer this section’s original question, I’m inclined to think that, on top of the 4 ‘newcomers’ (characters with brand new movesets) we’ve seen so far, we’ll get 2 or 4 more, as trends suggest it will be an even number. As for echoes, who we’ve been receiving at a surprising rate, I think we’ll see 4 or 6 more on top of the 4 we’ve already seen. This leadup to the list has taken long enough, and this thing is going to be monstrously big already, so let’s not waste any more time on the boring stuff and get straight to the list. I’m setting it in stone:

These are my final predictions for the rest of the characters we’re going to see in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Newcomers

#1: Decidueye

Artwork by R-nowong. 

Pokémon is Nintendo’s biggest franchise after Mario, so it gets reps. The latest generation of Pokémon, Sun & Moon, did well with people and sold decently, and Decidueye, the final evolved form of the grass starter Rowlet, is arguably the most popular of the three Sun & Moon starters, much like Greninja was in the previous generation, who secured a spot in Super Smash Bros. 4. Decidueye also has the added bonus of embodying an elemental type that hasn’t been represented by a solo Pokémon fighter in Smash before – grass. On top of that, he’s got some ghost-type moves and a signature arrow attack in his toolkit which he can use, and with the added appeal of being a mysterious hooded owl warrior who can fly about, his potential moveset writes itself. He was even in Pokémon’s standalone fighting game Pokken, so yeah; he’s probably the safest bet on this entire list. On the other hand, that flame cat wrestling heel starter Incineroar from the same generation has also slowly risen in popularity, so I could see him also being a possibility. But my money’s on the spooky Robin Hood-in-feathers, Decidueye.

#2: Geno

Artwork by jordanewing.

You’re either completely oblivious to whoever the hell this character is or you’re rolling your eyes and saying you’re sick to death of hearing about Geno – there is no middle ground.

         A wooden toy puppet given life by a … star spirit, I think? I’m not sure, I’m only halfway through my playthrough of the game right now. Anyway, Geno is a one-time character from a SNES Mario RPG game called, er, Super Mario RPG. The game was a collaboration between Nintendo and Square, and represents the spiritual beginnings of other Mario RPG series such as Paper Mario and the Mario & Luigi games on handheld systems. Of the characters unique to Super Mario RPG, Geno stands out; he’s mystical and dedicated to his mission to reform the Star Road in order to make it so that people’s wishes can once again come true, meaning the point where he joins the party also introduces the player to the game’s central quest. With his innocent wooden doll appearance and contrastingly enigmatic cape, profile, and gun-arm weapon, he seems like the kind of character who’d result from a fairy-tale colliding with a Final Fantasy plot, making him a suitable representative for a game made through the collaborative efforts of Nintendo and Square.

         Speaking bluntly, Geno has little-to-no relevance in this day and age, having only appeared once as one of several main playable characters in a game that released over 20 years ago. Even so, he’s a character with such appeal that he’s not only been a fan favourite request for Smash since the days of Melee, but he’s also someone Sakurai himself has wanted to include for a long time now. When people talk about Geno’s game, it’s always with a loving, nostalgic fondness, and, having made my way through a decent portion of the game, I can see why. Also, appearing only once in a classic game that came out decades ago has never stopped the Ice Climbers from being a series staple for Smash, so I don’t think Geno’s solitary appearance necessarily hinders his chances. Since Sakurai seems to be using Ultimate to grant some longstanding fan requests and finally include things he’s been meaning to do for years, I’d say the odds have never been in Geno’s favour more than they are right now.

 #3: Bandana Waddle Dee

Artwork by rongs1234. 

Weird name, I know. Still, Waddle Dee is the most enduring and recognisable enemy type in the Kirby series, and there’s been one Waddle Dee in particular who’s tagged along in Kirby’s adventures for several decades now, and he’s known as ‘Bandana Waddle Dee’. Donning a bandanna and wielding a spear as his weapon, he’s pretty much a perfect melting pot between Kirby’s adorable friendliness, Meta-Knight’s cool proficiency with an actual weapon, and King Dedede, being his underling / dogsbody who’s probably more competent and reliable than he is.

         There’s not a lot of complicated reasoning as to why Bandana Waddle Dee is both likely and deserving to make it in. The Kirby franchise is a big part of Nintendo, and of the more prominent in-house series in Smash, it stands out as one that could do with a little more representation. Being stuck at 3 characters seems like a loose end in Smash, as you only need one more inclusion to have enough characters for a traditional 4-player battle. Bandana Waddle Dee makes the most sense for this series as he’s just a delightful recurring character with the potential for a unique moveset, and after Kirby, Dedede, and Meta-Knight, he’s the next most recognisable character in the series. It’s high time Kirby got another character, and Waddle Dee fits the ticket perfectly.

 #4: Paper Mario

If Link gets three versions of himself in this game, then Mario can have a third one too, and darnit, Paper Mario has paid his dues! As far from grace as he’s fallen, he is still an ongoing property, and his first two … eh what the hell, let’s thrown in Super Paper Mario in there too and say his first three games are still wonderful and a part of Nintendo’s history that’s fondly remembered by many and stands out as something that is yet to be acknowledged by Nintendo’s flagship crossover series beyond a simple stage.

         Admittedly, if one Mario RPG character were to get in, then I’d oddly expect the one-time Geno to get in over this character, even if he does have a series of games to his name. But I think Paper Mario as a series has enough unique qualities to its aesthetic and characteristic mechanics to distinguish itself from the rest of the Mario franchise, including the other Mario RPG games. As such, I think bringing both of them in would represent different properties well enough. If I’m being honest with myself, of the four proposed newcomers, Paper Mario’s the least likely to make it. Geno’s got the edge on him, especially if space is a premium for new characters. But then again, they have brought back the Paper Mario stage for Ultimate, so here’s hoping that Mr. Game & Watch has a new two-dimensional best friend joining him in the next Smash.

Echoes

#5: Isabelle

With Animal Crossing being unquestionably one of Nintendo’s biggest franchises today, eclipsing veteran series like Starfox, Metroid, and F-Zero, it’s frankly staggering that Ultimate, with a roster that currently sits at 70+ characters, only has one representative from this flagship franchise. I mean, I get it; Animal Crossing is a relaxing, peaceful game about life in a quiet village where the biggest conflicts are ensuring you make your appointment to see your dog neighbour tomorrow afternoon like you promised and paying off your debt to the local ruthless raccoon landowner. It’s difficult to envision any of the characters from this series engaging in battle with Solid Snake or an anime protagonist with a six-foot broadsword. But Smash is a ridiculous series that embraces cartoonish logic, so the incongruency of these series is a big part of the fun. And the fact that Villager is in shows that there’s precedent for a fun as hell character with a slice-of-life moveset that kicks ass.

         Isabelle would be a terrific choice for a second Animal Crossing representative, and if character spaces are tight enough that she can’t make it into the fully-fledged newcomer list, then she could still easily incorporate Villager’s moves. There are a ton of mainstay Animal Crossing characters who would also be very fun to play as like K.K. Slider, Tortimer, and Tom Nook, but since New Leaf came out in 2013, Isabelle has been a prominent face for the series. She’s been heavily featured in Animal Crossing’s various off-shoots since then, as well as in promotional material and crossovers like the excellent Mario Kart 8 dlc. Plus, with Smash’s roster being so heavily taken up with male characters, we could really do with more female characters being featured. Isabelle is not only one of my most hopeful newcomers, she’s also one of the most likely to make it.

And to that one person who I know is reading: Jeremiah is lovely, but I’m sad to say I just don’t see him making it in … just yet.

 #6: Black Shadow

Wolf’s back, DK and Diddy have K.Rool, Samus has two villains from her series to contend with now; bad guys are currently all the rage in Smash, and while I’ll admit to being completely inexperienced with F-Zero, Black Shadow seems like a suitable pick for a much-needed rival to Smash’s resident Captain Falcon. As a dead series that still receives a ton of love from fans yet only has one representative in Smash at the moment, F-Zero could do with a little push into the spotlight. Black Shadow’s design isn’t much to write home about by itself, but when paired against Captain Falcon, I think there’s some potential. His ‘Night on Bald Mountain’ look and pompous smirk could be a fun personality to play with, and I’m positive that Ultimate’s stellar team of animators could make him stand out. With Ganondorf becoming more and more his own thing, Black Shadow could honestly just take Ganondorf’s moveset from Melee with one or two changes, and he’d be a terrific Echo Fighter of Falcon that’s good to go.

 #7: A Metal Gear Solid representative, most likely Raiden

I adore the Metal Gear series. Its outlandishly over-the-top military action and exaggerated characters, its cool-as-hell protagonists, and its legendary music make it a special series in games. Here’s the thing though: I’ve never played them. Well, I’ve played and completed the first Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2. Anything from Metal Gear Solid onwards, however, I’ve yet to play through. I was first introduced to the series when Snake was announced for Brawl, and since then, I’ve listened to many pieces of music from the series, enjoyed hearing passionate fans talk about the games, and learned and heard things about the series which make me positive that I’m going to love these games when I finally take the time to sit down and play them, ludicrous plot and all.

         So, since Konami, the company who owns the rights to the series, have not only okayed Snake coming back to this upcoming game, but also allowed Sakurai to have both a newcomer and an echo from their Castlevania series, I reckon Snake’s chances of gaining an echo as a partner have gone up. The most likely candidate is Raiden, the protagonist from Metal Gear Solid 2 who has an important role in the franchise, but as I’ve yet to play a good portion of this series, I honestly can’t say for sure who would be the best echo. Maybe someone he contends with, to fit the theme of villains and rivals I mentioned earlier, like Liquid? Snake’s former mentor turned villain Big Boss would be cool too, especially if it’s him when he’s an old soldier, as we could do with some badass old characters in the game. My favourite pick, however, is Meryl. Her design is cool as hell, she seems to be a significant character in the series, and as I mentioned earlier, we need to even out the gender imbalance in this roster. At the end of the day, however, I would be happy to see any of these guys make it in.

 #8 Tails…or Shadow, if we must

I know that the most likely second Sonic representative via echo fighter at the moment is Shadow. His assist trophy is nowhere to be seen, he fits Sonic’s model and moveset, and he’d fit the bill of the current trend of rivals / villains making the cut. But… really? Do we really want to go with the edgy teen version of Sonic that once starred in a dreadful game that took itself too seriously and filled a cartoon universe about fast-moving animals with realistic guns? …alright, to be fair, when that came out I unironically loved it, played the hell out of it, and I still have a soft spot for it, so I wouldn’t even be unhappy to see Shadow make it in as a true guilty pleasure of a character.

         But come on, as much as I’m not the biggest fan of Sonic games from any era, I think that the character deserves to have his version of Luigi in, and that’s Tails. He’s been there since practically the beginning, has a design that’s always been appealing and avoided becoming dated (or as good as this franchise can manage), and despite nominally playing different to Sonic with his flying propeller tails, he moves very similarly to Sonic. Just make him a little slower on the ground, have him control better in the air, and shift some of his aerial attacks around, and you’d have a decent echo. Say what you will about the Sonic series, but it is iconic to the videogame medium, and Tails is a big part of the picture whenever you consider Sonic as a franchise.

But whatever, put grungy Sonic with guns in instead if you want, that should be good for a laugh.

 #9: Ken/Akuma

This one is difficult to call. Ryu’s my favourite fighting game character of all time, and his inclusion in the previous Smash Bros. as DLC was a significant moment that I adored seeing come to pass. In his own series, he’s had no shortage of characters based off of him with similar movesets, so looking through the range of options for echo fighters from his series has yielded two likely options. Ken, as a pallet swap version of Ryu with more fire effects added to his moves with slightly different properties, is pretty much the perfect template for an Echo Fighter. He’s got a sweet musical theme that I believe was already in the previous Smash, and he’d be a ton of fun to play as.

         Still, there’s one other person who has a chance of snagging the Rye Echo Fighter slot away from him: Akuma. A fan favourite and Ryu’s dark opposite with an ultimate move that translates to “Wrath of the Raging Demon”, there’s no denying that Akuma would be an impressive villain to include to Ultimate’s expanding catalogue of dark rivals. I’d be ecstatic with any new representation from Street Fighter, so calling this one is tough. I’ll go with Ken, as he just embodies the concept of an echo fighter perfectly. But, if I’m wrong and we get Akuma, that would be cool too. Or Sakura, she’d be awesome as well. Just as long as it’s anyone other than Dan Hibiki.

 #10: Impa

Legend of Zelda is one of my all-time favourite game series, providing me with numerous all-time classics that have been some of the most formative games of my life. But despite its flagship status as a Nintendo franchise, and despite having 6 characters in Smash already, it’s in an awkward position when it comes to who else you could put into the game. The series has no shortage of striking, memorable, and well-loved characters, but the format of the series means that each game is more or less a fresh start, introducing us to a new version of Hyrule with a fresh batch of inhabitants and different iterations of a handful of enduring characters, namely Link, Zelda, and Ganon/Ganondorf. What this means is that, while you can have different versions of Link and Zelda from different games in Smash, there’s not a lot of options for character picks who have a lasting presence in the series beyond the one game they’re featured in. Of course, this sort of reasoning doesn’t necessarily have to mean anything, and Sakurai could have just said screw it and thrown in a fan favourite like Skull Kid, but it’s difficult to say if there’s much of a chance of that happening.

         What I can say is that there is one recurring character in Legend of Zelda who has yet to be included in Smash: Impa. She’s appeared in many different forms throughout the series, and while I would love to see her old nurse / attendant to Princess Zelda appearance be the inspiration for a creative moveset, I think it’s more likely we’ll see one of her more warrior like iterations using most of Sheik’s moves with the occasional change here or there. She could resemble her Skyward Sword appearance, or her impressive design from Hyrule Warriors, but either way, I think she would make a great addition to the series. She’s more representation for not only Legend of Zelda, but for formidable older women as well, who I think could do with a lot more prominence in all areas of fiction, let alone Smash.

         And that was my lengthy list! We’ll be back to film reviews soon, but if you’ve made it this far, thank you for indulging me and letting me try this out. If you’ve been absorbing as much fan speculation content on this upcoming game as I have, I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of what I’ve talked about today discussed in other places, but I nevertheless felt a need to write all of this down and put it out there. So, for those of you who have no idea what I’ve spent thousands of words going on about but have nevertheless read to the end, thank you so much! It’s always a lot of fun to try something new and different. In fact, if I was to narrow down what I love about Super Smash Bros. represents as a series, it would be how much it celebrates and delights in the endless possibilities of creativity. There’s so much to enjoy out there, and it’s all so different; it can be overwhelming at times, especially when you feel the impossible need to try and keep up with media, but it can also be immensely uplifting and inspiring to see just how many different experiences there are out there. I’ll keep trying to seek out those new experiences in all aspects of my life, because there’s so much art and content out there to inspire you, whatever your field of interest might be.

Of course, once December 7th rolls around, it’s quite likely I’ll turn around on that and play nothing but Smash. Ah well, we can but try.

[unforgivablekrp-blog]

           THE SHRIEKING HARPY HAS THE SCOOP ON                                the infamous nam jaehwan !

— DID YOU KNOW?

Here’s what our columnist found out about this 25 year old...

blood status: pureblood lineage: n/a occupation: keeper for the dashing dokkaebi  residence: mudang-ri wand: holly & phoenix tail feather (not too long or short & flexible) faction: order of the phoenix alignment: blood traitor organization: keeper for the dashing dokkaebi silhak speciality: active magic sejong major: did not attend

— EXCLUSIVE INFORMATION!

Inside resources have said Jaehwan...

smells just brewed coffee, shampoo, and the sea before sunset upon taking amortentia sees a huge spider when facing a boggart conjures a lioness when performing expecto patronus.

— HISTORY EXPOSED!

i.  born in the first day of 1992, nam jaehwan didn’t cry one bit (or at least this is what his nanny always tells). he was born with his eyes wide open, looking around as if completely amazed by the world around him, as if he was expecting to come. and it is known, his nanny says, that a child that comes with their eyes open to the world is expecting to be born, excited, ready to start.

ii. right behind him, not even a minute after, she came, attached to his ankle, holding for dear life. that was how nam jaehwan and nam jiyeon were born: holding to each other. close. together. his nanny always tells this tale with a smile and then hugs them, gives them kisses on the top of their forehead as she says: “and that’s how you always have to be.”

iii. what a beautiful lie that was. but that comes later.

iv. to say that the nam twins are close is an understatement. as they grow wherever jaehwan is, jiyeon is not far behind. they play around together, they study together. two pure blood kids growing up is pretty much the same everywhere: privileged, wealthy, spoiled. jaehwan knows very little of the world besides the very little moments his mother takes them to town, away from the mansion.

v. when the first day of school comes jaehwan is not scared. he’s happy, excited. when jiyeon’s bottom lip shivers a bit, but just a bit, he holds her hand, smiles at her. and that’s how they enter through the doors that day: holding hands.

vi. his mother, their mother. a tall, lanky woman with long black hair and pointy face. she is beautiful, stunning, walks around the parties they attend with beautiful, colorful long dresses. jaehwan feels admiration towards her, love. but also this sick feeling to his stomach as they walk and he hears the whispers, the rumors. they call her a black widow, and once he heard they make bets of when his father will die.

vii. he dies one year later, when jaehwan is 13. he wonders if anyone won the bet.

viii. when jiyeon tells him she can hear thoughts, he believes her. when she tells him what she’s heard, he doesn’t. so he shows him because that’s what jiyeon does: takes him out of the dark, out of insanity. his mother has scars and tears, and it’s the tears that scare him. when he goes back to his room that night he breaks his father’s portrait, burns it. he’d never doubt his mother ever again.

ix. school comes and goes alarmingly fast, a stream of golden days that he can’t run back to. he remembers the first day: they are young, too young for this, and he and jiyeon enter the school while holding hands. he also remembers sunny days in the quidditch field, the people screaming and he’d always spot her in the crowd: his beautiful, magical, talented sister. his soulmate in everything, the one person he’d fight for, kill for.

x. another beautiful, beautiful lie.

xi. because once it happens, once he has to really fight for jiyeon he has to fight against himself. because as they grow he can’t help but feel as if their tight grasp to each other is breaking. when he buries another father (a father that has taught him about love, about character, about loyalship, about equality - about everything his mother is not) and watches his sister not shed one single tear, their mother holding her and jaehwan is on the sidelines it’s the first time he feels that he is a stranger.

xii. because every time his mother rants about the muggleborns jaehwan can’t help but feel upset at first, and then disgusted. he can’t help but feel embarrassment of his name, of what his blood stands for. he can’t help but leave dinner earlier because if he stays he will speak what’s in his mind and that is not something he wants to share.

xiii. not with his mother at least. by the look jiyeon throws at him he knows that she knows. she knows that he thinks his mother’s ideology is decadent, prejudiced, close minded. she knows that when he leaves the house he meets all kinds of people, that he doesn’t give a shit to what color their blood is. and he knows that something is about to be broken, about to be destroyed. and he is the one who has to do it.

xiv. he starts it slowly because he knows in any other way he can’t do it. when they finish school, jaehwan warns the two of them that he isn’t going to sejung. the dashing dokkaebi’s have called him for trials a month ago and he got accepted. his mother doesn’t say a thing. she just stands up, leaves. he can’t look at jiyeon’s face.

xx. when not even his own thoughts are safe there’s only one thing he can do: learn how to hide them.

xxi. and things start to get more serious. one day a friend invites him to a meeting, doesn’t tell him where it is and what it is about, only that he will like it. and when he arrives, listens, there’s a fire that boils inside him, one only tamed by guilt. because there is no other word for what he is doing: betrayal. he’s betraying his mother, betraying his sister, betraying his blood. and yet as he leaves the excitement shuts guilt up, makes it weaker. because for the first time jaehwan felt like he could be part of something: something he believes in, something he can pour his heart into. something real. xxii. most importantly: something he has to hide. he is more useful to the order while still being part of the world he hates. occlumency didn’t come easy, but after a while jaehwan masters it, keeps his thought safe, hidden, allowing to show only enough to not grow suspicion. but hiding from jiyeon’s reading eyes is not is, never is.

xxiii. a few months after he joins the dokkaebi’s starter team he leaves the house. the goodbyes are cold, nothing like he thought it’d be. he walks outside to apparate and when he looks back none of them are watching him leave. his heart aches as thoughts run through his mind and he tries to block them, scared of jiyeon hearing them. because even now, even when he is leaving he still doesn’t want jiyeon to heart, doesn’t want her to know that he feels relieved.

xxiv. when they see each other again, it’s christmas and jaehwan only attends out of goodwill. jiyeon is all pretty and dressed up, and she smiles at him. jaehwan’s heart aches.

“”wanting to leave already, brother? that’s positively unworthy of you.”

he frowns, annoyed.  “stop reading my mind, ji.”

the smile she offers him is beautiful, open. and a lie. a beautiful one. “i don’t need to read your mind to know you don’t want to be here,“ she is not smiling anymore, "and don’t call me that.”

[faeblcssed-archive]

———     ❛      no      ,      i’m      not     going     to     his     funeral     ,     everyone     knows     you     sting     someone     ,     you     die     .     you     don’t     waste     it     on     a     squirrel     .     he     was     such     a     hothead     .      !       ❜

        /                        @volturiking​    ♡’d      for      a     starter .

[faeblcssed-archive]

———     ❛      oh     ,     just     try     it     !     it     would     seem     it     is     all     the     rage     across     the     ocean     .     i     think     they     call     it     poutine     !       ❜

       /                        @deythprince​​    is     getting      a     starter .