#yes break is the dragon witch no i feel no shame

[afreakingdork]

Deep Dive: Rise of the TMNT Donatello's Bad Boy Persona, His Cute, But Mean Type, and Why He is None of These Things

I made this presentation to delve into my take on Rise Donnie!

It was a power point, but I'm going to break it down here. I do want to preserve the first slide though because...

Did you know Black dahlia's aren't actually black? They're very dark red and in flower language they represent dishonesty!

Apropos, let's get into it...

Donnie is a Bad Liar

We see this throughout the show

“No? No… Of course I did… n't.”

"Uh, nothing. Just having a typical normal mystic free day."

"We are just typical, normal humans who got lost in the middle of our normal, everyday human lives. Nailed it."

"Oh man. Uh. This hurts me. Uh. I'm very sad?"

He has all the characteristics of a terrible liar. He sweats, his pitch warbles, his eyes dart, ect, everything you would expect.

Sarcasm! The Perfect Cover?

When Donnie does go for the use of sarcasm, he almost always points it out.

"I feel better already," he said without a hint of sarcasm."

"Oh, sure. Let me just load my tap-into-every-security-camera-in-New-York app. I'm sorry if that sounded like sarcasm, it wasn't. I am in."

Point Out the Obvious Much

However, when he doesn't point out the sarcasm, he also can't help but make mention of the oxymoron. We see this a lot, especially in Donnie vs. Witch Town.

"Oh yes very cool says Donnie as he quietly lets something go."

"Ooh, fireworks. Science never would have thought of something it was originally inventor of."

So basically, if Donnie tries to lie; he gives himself away. If Donnie tries to fudge the truth; he's compelled to make note of it.

I bring this all up to specifically tackle this sentence:

“So unfair. Although it is a boost for my emotionally unavailable bad boy image. “Y’ello.””

Why do I do so? Let me remind you of my first slide...

But how can that be? We just established that he's a bad liar. In the 'bad boy' line, he's not falling for any of his tells. He's body language gives no indication of lying. He doesn't make any note of sarcasm. No one after this line makes a face or corrects Donnie and he doesn't point out any discrepancies.

How could this be a lie?

Because Donnie himself doesn't know it's a lie.

Let Me Take You Back

Things I Did Unironically as a Teenager

Added Japanese honorifics to the end of my friends nicknames (-san, -chan, -kun)

Had my friends help me wrap myself up in caution tape for my birthday, but told people they made me

Wore a dog collar with a dog tag that had my name in Romanji on it

Had screen names like RubyBlueSango62 and blahweeblah626

But That’s Just Personal Experience!

Things Donnie has Unironically as a Teenager

"Ah, yes, so in this case a game of bask-eh-ball."

"Prepare to eateth thy words."

"Oh, hey guys. What’s the haps? Huh? Oh, oh this? I didn’t realize I had it on. This is my sweet new purple satin jacket- Got it from being a bit of a tech wiz. Purple Dragons. Members only. No big deal. Mm-hm. Well, you better grab some toast, fellas, 'cause you are all jelly!"

“It's Bootyyyshakker9000. Capital B and three Ys in booty.”

I believe it's a universal experience for teenagers to push boundaries. For so long, most parents decide everything for you. With hormones and growth, you want to experiment, but since autonomy is new, you try to break from the mold and do it uniquely. Anything that is outside your norm, especially things that swing wildly from what you once new seems especially exciting. From embellishing speech, to wearing specific clothing items, and even your first screen name, you don't know boundaries! It may be 'cringe' in the future, but when you first do it, it seems like the coolest thing ever! It's something that wholly represents you. This online space you. This you that is ungoverned! I'm an only child so I can't imagine, but I bet you especially want to do this when you have siblings. Where the shame in that?

I mean... Kat Haynes agrees with me on this...

Low Empathy

Now to get a little more serious. Alexithymia is a term that describes those who have difficulty feeling emotions. While not always associated with autism, it is more common in individuals with it. About 1 in 5 people who have autism also have alexithymia.

As already stated, it is clear the Donnie suffers from alexithymia. Most Donatello-centric conflicts in Rise have nothing to do with Donnie being emotionless and instead often deal with him lashing out due to his confusion or insecurities. We see this a lot especially in Witch Town where he is grappling with himself the entire episode. He's insecure about how he doesn't understand mysticism and he doesn't know how to process it or his place on the team. He's not emotionless, he's insecure when he doesn't understand something.

"Yes, feelings. Hot, cold, sleepy, hungry…"

"I don't normally feel things, but that one got through!"

Emotions on his Metaphorical Sleeve

Nothing about alexithymia says that you don't feel emotions. Instead, it's characterized by not understanding them. Donnie feels his emotions big and large just like Mikey does and especially if something is important to him, you'll see those reactions dialed up to eleven.

All Talk

While many think of the classic "semi-lethal" line and the "Speak for yourself" when Mikey says they aren't savages in regard to Donnie, he's not really the bad boy he plays himself up to be. When the theatrics are set aside, most of Donnie’s snap judgements are the altruistic kind or he thoughtfully plans out ways to not only take care of his family, but actively ensure their safety (to varying degrees of success, but that's not what we're saying here):

created devices which both counteracted his brother's flaws because they were getting them hurt

Used himself as a shield for Mikey on multiple occasions 

Risks his own safety and bodily harm especially in Turtle-dega Nights: The Ballad of Rat Man and Breaking Purple

Builds Escape pods for everyone 

Enters a sensory nightmare for the sake of the world

Often asks, especially Raph, if he's okay and looks out for the oldest brother

Yet the Presentation Continues?

Why yes, because there is another line of Donnie's that I want to tackle that I believe falls exactly in line with the 'bad boy image' one...

"Oh, you’re so cute, but so mean. Why do I always go for your type?"

You know what I'm about to posit again...

Insecure

As touched on previously, Donnie is insecure. He's insecure about his emotions. He's insecure about his place on the team. He's insecure about anything he doesn't understand and his insecurities are exceedingly personal in nature because he ties them intrinsically to his personality.

"The real thing is much more personal and thoughtful, and I really hope you like it, ‘cause if you don’t I will just be crushed!"

"This’ll teach you to compliment my work and give me my first positive reinforcement from a parent aged adult, ever!"

Speaking of parent aged adults... i wonder where this could stem from...

Role Model

Who do all the turtles model themselves after, but their own father? Whether they knew it or not, Lou Jitsu was someone they all strived to be like. They commited to learning all the lines from his movies. They fought like him outside of the training course Splinter sets them on. Heck, Donnie takes his hero worship so far that his character defining brows are exactly Lou Jitsu's! Babies start learning how to establish social and emotional relationships around 18 months. We have Splinter, a despondent, but loving care giver who unfortunately did not give Donnie the validation he craved. This manifests in his insecurities where he bends over backwards to get the attention he craves. He wants to be seen, again compounded by having three rowdy mutant-powered brothers, and so he ends up tying his worth into his ability.

Now, while for a majority of the series, the turtles don't know about Splinter's past or that he dated Big Mama, but it wasn't as if Splinter hid that part of himself away so obviously. In fact, because he himself is still mourning his lost humanity, he ends up feeding his son's a hardy diet of his life's existence. The boys are secondarily raised by Lou Jitsu movies in place where Splinter is not always present. Obviously, Lou Jitsu seemingly disappears, but Splinter's feelings on the matter don't. He openly still cares about Big Mama in the present and this I don't think it's a stretch to say that he would let these feelings leak in a similar way to how he presents Lou Jitsu in the boys lives. Big Mama is a attractive, albeit manipulative woman. This is awfully close to a little line someone says, especially when we consider that he models himself after this man.

Also, if we're taking models into account. Something we know for a fact shapes teenagers. Something we know for a fact that Donnie does. Something that is equally canonized in the show, then we have to talk about.

Donnie’s True Canonical Idol

That's right. You know her. You love her. You believe that Donnie is a thigh man because of this Lass' existence. Donnie says flat out that Atomic Lass is his childhood idol. He goes to great lengths to dance with her, smashing Leo out of the way. He then even goes so far as to ask if her and Atomic Lad have split up because his intention to date her is so clear. Now she was obviously a mutant in a costume, but that didn't matter because he loves Atomic Lass that much and Atomic Lass?

She's a heroine.

Only cute and mean in the context of the episode, this is not the Lass he fell in love with. The Lass he loves is a comic book hero that travels the universe doing good.

Also....

Ron Corcillo Agrees With Me

A staff writer on Rise, I apologize I can't show the origin tweet because it was deleted, but it was a dual question that asked both about the Turtles meeting Spider-man and about Donnie's preference. Now you could say he's forgotten a line that may not be as important to him, but doesn't that in and of itself say something? It says that it could have been a one-off joke or that it wasn't something that was necessarily intrinsic to the character.

To Recap:

Donnie doesn’t always know himself

Donnie is a cringey teen

Donnie is insecure

Donnie has difficulty understanding emotions and himself

Donnie isn’t actually an 'emotionally unavailable bad boy'

Donnie doesn’t actually like the ‘mean’ type

Sources:

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episodes:

Mystic Mayhem

Donnie's Gifts

Pizza Pit

Hot Soup: The Game

Shadow of Evil

Donnie vs. Witch Town

The Mutant Menace

Breaking Purple

Turtle-dega Nights: The Ballad of Rat Man

End Game

Repo Mantis

Mascot Melee

Donnie's Gifts

Bug Busters

War and Pizza

Goyles, Goyles, Goyles

Lair Games

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie

lactoseintolerentswag's post on Rise Characterizations Pt. 3!!!

skulltrot's Donnie (Rise of the TMNT) | Autism Representation in Media video

Ron Corcillo's tweet from Cartoon Brew's Feb 10, 2024 AMA

Alexithymia | Autistica

earthytzipi's post not understanding why people characterize Donnie has hiding his emotions

hyperfixatinator's post about ROTTMNT Theory: Donatello's Hidden Role

[fatum679]

Hello, sorry to brother you again, please lmk if u have enough of my rants 🤣. I wanna ask , don't you think it's somewhat crazy that due to this ridiculous a*ysmond vs. helaemond ship war, the character of Helaena Targaryen seems to have more haters among the TG than TB part of the fandom? I legit know several TB supporters/ content creators who claim Helaena deserves better and it will be cool if it turns out she has kids with someone who likes and respects her(=Aemond). Also, even TBs point out if the showrunners want to give Aemond a romantic subplot, helaemond will be a better option, since unlike a*ysmond , this relationship is a consensual one + Aemond's protectiveness and attachment to his sister appear pretty obvious... It's such a pity some Green fans diminish Hel's clairvoyance and claim it's useless and she's far less powerful seer and less interesting character than A*ys. They want A*ys' magic to be explored further, and not Hel's. Which I totally don't understand, since in GOT, we have already seen greenseers, woods witches and even Red Priests, but we still don't know much about dragon dreamers. Imo focusing on Targaryen magic in a Targaryen -centric show would be a far better idea. Also, HOTD's portrayal of Helaena could potentially be a really refeshing and original take on a magical woman. I mean unlike stereotypical sorceresses, usually dark-haired, clad in flowy, dusky gowns and dwelling in fantastic, Gothic manors, Hel looks like a sweet Princess ,but she's still blood of the dragon and a seer. I mean she doesn't need Gothic aesthetics and stuff to be "magical", since she herself is magic!

Hello! I'm glad to see your questions and glad that you are interested in my opinion 😊

The asoiaf fandom has always been toxic, no matter if you discuss books or series, there have always been wars in the fandom. Treat it like a game and don't spend a lot of energy on it.

Yes, there is a war of ships going on now. It's true, alysmond stans is the anti-Helaena and the anti-Helaemond. I don't understand why TG thinks Alys is part of the green party. Alys is not green. She has her own personal interests and goals.

Dance of the dragons is a Targaryen story, Alys is not a Targaryen, she is just a tertiary character (like Mysaria), she will not have more time.

I really want to see more of Helaena as a character, more of her magical abilities, more of her personality, more of her connection to the people of King's Landing, her family, her children, and her dragon. Rhaenyra did more action (in the book she sat on Dragonstone for the entire war), so I'm sure Helaena will have a lot of screen time.

Helaena doesn't have to be a stereotypical and banal goth girl. Comparing her to Alys is a waste of time. Helaena is beautiful, she looks like an elf and a fallen angel to girls from sagas.

Helaegon stans opposes Aemond, and they don't like all the allusions to Helaemond. I'm not anti-Aegon, but I'm anti-helaegon because there was no love between Aegon and Helaena in the show or even in the book. It was a forced marriage. Aegon had a mistress and other children. helaegon is lmao. helaegon is an abusive relationship. Abusive to Helaena. This is the reality and the truth.

“Princess Helaena was breaking her fast with her children when the Kingsguard came to her…but when asked the whereabouts of Prince Aegon, her brother and husband, she said only, “He [Aegon] is not in my bed, you may be sure. Feel free to search beneath the blankets””

“Though the good septon admits Prince Aegon was with a paramour when he was found, he insists the girl was the daughter of a wealthy trader, and well cared for besides”

“We have nothing in common”, “You [Aemond] marry her [Helaena], then”

“She's an idiot”

“I regret the disappointment you [Baela] are soon to suffer. But if you ever wish to kniw what it is to be well satisfied, all you have to do is ask”

“It isn’t so bad. Mostly he just ignores you…except sometimes when he’s drunk”.

“Think of the shame on your wife, on me” [Aegon r*p*d the Dyana who helped Helaena with her babys]

“I will find a ship and sail away, never to be found” [Aegon wanted to run away, abandon Helaena and her children]

I think Aegon always wanted to be on Rhaenyra's side. Perhaps he thought that Viserys would start to notice him and love him if he was closer to his older sister than to his other siblings. Even as a child, he was more interested in spending time with his nephews, and he did not take Alicent's words seriously until Aemond's eye was gouged out (Aemond could have died after such a wound)

“If Rhaenyra come into power you very life could be forfeit. Aemond is as well. She could move to cut off any challenge to her succession”

“Then I won’t challenge”

Aegon has a bad relationship with his mother and siblings ("She's an idiot" "He's a twat"). I think Aegon was more interested in love from Viserys and Rhaenyra than from his real family.

“My sister is the heir, not me,” he says in Eustace’s account. “What sort of brother steals his sister’s birthright?”

“He [Viserys]didn't like me”

Perhaps Aegon liked the idea of marrying Rhaenyra?

Sorry, I got a little off topic.

I agree with you, it would be great if Helaena's children were with the man she loves (Aemond). It is very sad and terrible that Helaena had to endure drunken se**ally har***ment from Aegon 🫣 😱 Poor girl 🥺 😭 I hate Aegon for this! Alicent, why did you let this happen? Helaena could have Aemond! Helaena was scared when Otto and Alicent asked her where Aegon was. She lowered her head - this is a gesture of protection. I don’t understand people who “like” Helaena and support the helaegon ship. They support abusive relationships and domestic vio**nce. It is a fact. This is anti-Helaena relationships.

#We need more Helaena in season 2!

[phoenixcatch7]

Guess who just finished Oracle of seasons :D!!!

Very fun game actually, I didn't except it to be so enjoyable, shame on me lol. The pixels and frustrating bits absolutely did not stop me from having a blast!

But dear goodness the backtracking. Oh my gosh, THE BACKTRACKING.

I didn't get the fast travel option until pretty far in, a lot of enemies were just a pain, and the difficulty spikes came mostly from absolutely incongruent solutions to puzzles and I got lost SO many times.

That being said, it was unexpectedly pleasant to be at such risk, to have to keep engaging my brain in little ways. Modern games (yeah, like botk) have very different ideas of power scaling and difficulty. It comes from a much more honed sense of the audience and the much more open worlds used as standard now, but there was something to be said about such a linear world and story. There were different optional things along the way, yes, but really... It never stopped being a challenge. I was constantly trying to outrun garden variety enemies, wrack my brain to remember locations and how to get there, pacing back and forth staring across a pit of lava that remained stubbornly impassable.

The amount of backtracking gave me an organic feel for the world, dumb decisions had dumb consequences. I never got bored fighting enemies or exploring dungeons. I loved trying out new things that weren't immediately obvious and seeing what would happen. It felt more up to me to figure out the solution than to find out what the game was telling me the solution was, you know?

The plot was pretty much as basic as you can get, save local princess from dark castle with evil boss, but it was hardly a downside when the characters were so wacky and varied.

I loved the boss designs! They ranged from fireball geodude with a face right out of mob psycho 100, to an acidic piranha plant tree in quicksand, to a super speed glowing tiger, to a two headed skeleton dragon that shot lasers. They were all sort of lumpy in the medieval painting way, gave them a retro sort of charm and a sense of danger that the sleeker modern bosses just don't have. Make bosses lumpy again 2k24 XD.

Link was a dear and pulled off some pretty slick moves in cutscenes! The twinrova reveal (spoilers for a game that came out in 2001?) was excellent, genuinely spooked me. Also the feeling of 'hnnnnn these are hyrules problems, my circus my monkeys' was great lol. Like ugh not these bozos again. I was having a break! Saving some other unrelated kingdom! But noooo it's our problems escaping containment after all. UGH. Lmao.

The linked game ability is pretty cool. I wasn't so sure I'd play OoA after, but I just might. Wonder what'll change? The idea of Link chasing the twin witches across kingdom borders is awesome, very proactive of him! Very high stakes undercover mission style!

The ending cutscenes were very adorable as well, very Legend of Zelda (even though she doesn't even appear in this game XD).

[patton-croc-agenda]

A Dragon’s Treasure (WIP/Unfinshed)

A/N: Hey gang! So I made a poll about this and those who answered seemed to be interested in seeing this wip! I can’t guarantee I’ll finish it, but I got so much done I wanted to share at least what I had finished for now! Maybe I’ll pick it back up, but from the fact I don’t really have the motivation right now, to the fact I’m struggling to nail down an ending, to the fact some scenes I have planned kinda give me fae-t vibes idk how likely it is. I hope you enjoy what I have done?? It hasn’t been betaed or anything so sorry for any weirdness oops

Summary: Patton knew stealing from a dragon was a bad idea, but when he destroys said dragon’s crown jewel by mistake, he finds that he’ll have to pay the price.

Pairings (all heavily implied, but not stated): Logicality, past pining royality, prinxiety

Words: 10,424

Warnings: Illness, thievery, threats to one’s life, yelling

Patton’s hands ached from where they dug into the cliffside. The sharp stones dug into his palms, but that was better than reaching up and having his fingers touch nothing but smooth, unclimbable stone.

His arms quivered with effort as he reached his hand up for what felt like the millionth time, only now he felt the edge of a cliff. His pulse pounded in his throat as he shakily pulled himself onto the ledge, gasping for breath as he laid on his back and stared at the sky. It had been sunrise when he had first begun climbing, and now streaks of sunset were bleeding across his vision. He waited until his breathing finally evened out before he got onto jelly legs to face the yawning cave in front of him.

Wind whipped around him, pulling at his curls and clothes as he threw one last look over his shoulder. He could see the tiny dot of his village below, a patchwork of green fields and brown houses. If he looked a little further, he could see the King’s castle. He wondered if his old friend Prince Roman was doing well. Wondered if he’d ever see him again. Patton shook the thoughts from his head and inhaled deeply through his nose as he headed inside.

The darkness slowly encased him as he moved forward, footsteps echoing around him as he walked. He paused, pulling his boots off and setting them to the side. The stone under his bare feet felt unnaturally smooth- as if someone (or something) had gone through great pains to remove any sharp stones or bumps along the path. The thought made Patton’s throat dry, but he shoved it away in favor of a more positive outlook. Now he could be quiet, and not worry about his footsteps giving him away!

As he continued, the entrance disappeared completely- the light of the fading sun swallowed up by the darkness of the cave. Patton tried to ignore the feeling of being trapped as his breath echoed back at him. Instead, he thought about why he was doing this. Who he was doing this for. He almost laughed to himself, already hearing Virgil’s lecture in his mind. ‘Patton, you idiot! You can’t steal from a dragon, it’s a death sentence.’

It would be worth it, though. Patton would be able to use whatever he...borrowed...to help pay for Virgil’s medicine. The expensive kind; the kind only sold at the kingdom’s capital. Patton needed to get it, because Virgil’s condition was getting worse. It was a magical illness, and when Virgil had moved in with him all those years ago, he had warned Patton that this day would come. That he’d slowly wither away in his own body, with the only cure too expensive to ever truly be in reach. Patton had considered begging Roman for money, but he doubted the crown prince would recall a simple commoner such as himself.

After what felt like hours of walking, Patton saw a light at the end of the tunnel; quite literally. Golden light reflected off the stone walls and floor. Patton nearly broke into a giddy run, but restrained himself. He didn't want to get caught now, not when he was so close

Patton slunk into the light, peering ahead cautiously. He could finally see what was causing the glow, and it nearly caused his jaw to drop. Hundreds upon thousands of golden coins, jewels, and pearls. Patton entered the room on the same cautious feet as he had the entire way down the tunnel. He scanned the entire expansive area, but there was no dragon in sight. He couldn't believe his luck! He'd made it inside while the dragon was away. Patton hopped over a puddle that was forming by the entrance due to a steady drip drip dipping of a stalactite.

Actually breaking into a run, Patton laughed and grabbed fistfuls of coins, throwing them into the air. They showered down like drops of sunlight, though they did smack his head rather painfully on the way down. He grinned sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head, soothing the bump that was bound to grow there.

Patton clambered up on of the hills of gold, slipping and sliding as he did. He paused a moment as he noticed something strange. A book poked out from the pile of treasure, and when Patton pulled it free he was able to read looping golden words that marked the cover.

A Guide to Human Anatomy. Not what Patton imagined a dragon to choose as reading material, but who was he to judge? He gently set the book back down in the pile and continued to climb up and over. As he made it to the other side, he lost his footing and half slipped, half rolled, down the slope.

He let out an “Oof!” as he landed at the bottom on his back. He could see a few more stalactites, but what was more curious was a large, gaping hole in the ceiling. In through it shone bright sunlight, which must’ve been the source of the coins’ glow. Patton frowned thoughtfully to himself, trying to figure out if he’d been here long enough for the start of evening to already reach midday.

After a good moment of pondering, Patton decided that no- it didn’t make any sense, and he got to his feet, looking around. He seemed to have landed in a small indent in the treasure, as if the dragon had carefully scooped out the spot. Something shiny caught Patton’s eye, and he stared wide-eyed at the giant diamond that was on the other end of the indent. Patton looked around quickly, as if expecting the dragon to appear at any moment, and hurried over to scoop up the precious gem.

While walking, Patton accidentally kicked something. Another book, by the looks of it. Patton picked it up and looked at the cover, which read Logan and the Lonely Dragon. Patton hummed, his interest piqued, and placed the book under one arm until the diamond was safely procured and snugly placed into his bag.

Holding the book once more, Patton opened to the first page. The paper was decorated with beautiful, delicate watercolors. A dragon sat on a cliff overlooking a human village with smoke billowing from its nose. Patton read the text as he stumbled back up the hill of gold and jewels.

“Once there lived a dragon- who despite having all the riches he could ever want protected in his cave, still felt loneliness fluttering in his heart. He would watch the humans who lived below him with envy in his heart, and longing pressing onto his winged shoulders.”

Patton stopped at the top of the pile, sitting down and holding the book in his lap as he turned the page. The dragon had fury painted into his gaze, and Patton ran his finger across the careful details.

“I can not be lonely,” the dragon would say, “for I am a dragon, and am my own companion. I need only my horde to keep my heart content.” Despite his own self-assurances, the dragon did admit that perhaps a companion would be ideal. Perhaps another dragon to mate with, or a chick that he could care for?

Patton was about to turn the page once more when he heard the loud, whooshing sound of air. He froze, eyes darting to the hole in the ceiling as he watched a shadow pass over. Patton scrambled to his feet, sliding down the pile of treasure. He couldn’t believe he’d gotten distracted! He stumbled over his feet, the book tumbling from his hands and landing in the center of a puddle formed on the floor. Patton covered his mouth, pulse racing.

As the shadow passed over once more, Patton made a mad dash for the exit. However, as he felt the air around him whip with the movement of wingbeats, Patton realized he wouldn’t make it, so he did the next best thing. He flung himself behind a pile of gold and curled in on himself, trying to be as small as humanly possible.

There was the clinking of coins as the dragon landed heavily in the center of the room. Patton hardly let out a breath, not wanting to be heard. The dragon was rumbling to itself, but that rumble soon became a roar. Patton swallowed nervously and peaked out.

Brown eyes made contact with gold, and Patton knew he was (for lack of a better word) fucked.

A talon cast a shadow over the quivering young man as the dragon’s claws pinched the back of his tunic and yanked him up into the air. Patton squeaked, covering his face with his arms.

“PLEASE DON’T EAT ME,” Patton wailed desperately. The dragon growled low in its throat.

“Do not be ridiculous, humans taste appalling,” the dragon said. Patton peaked out hopefully from behind one arm, but upon seeing the angry fire in the dragon’s eyes, the hope dropped out of Patton like a stone.

“While I do not intend to eat you,” the dragon released Pattom causing him to tumble through the air and land painfully in a small pile of jewels, “you have stolen something that belongs to me.”

Patton laughed sheepishly and bit his lip to hide how it was shaking with fear as he slowly pulled the diamond from his bag. The dragon stared at it a moment before giving Patton an incredulous look. To Patton’s surprise, he batted the gemstone from his grasp and Patton watched it shatter across the cave floor.

“I couldn’t give a damn about that thing,” the dragon snarled, leaning in close. Patton wanted to back up, but couldn’t really gain a hold on the pile he was dropped into. “Now, where is my centerpiece- my book?” Patton felt his heart plument internally as he externally laughed the question off.

“There, uh, there are lot- lots of books here,” Patton babbled, but the dragon wasn’t buying it.

“Where. Is. It?” the dragon huffed, and a cloud of smoke overtook Patton’s senses momentarily. He coughed, blinking rapidly to stop the stinging in his eyes.

“I am- I am so, so, sorry it was an accident! I didn’t mean to drop it I was, I was just reading it and you surprised me so Idroppeditintoapuddle, and oh I’m so, so sorry. I wouldn’t have touched it if I knew it was your centerpiece,” Patton said, and it was true. Patton didn’t want to steal something the dragon would care about missing. He just needed something to help Virgil.

The dragon’s gaze went wide and it turned, seeing the once beautiful book soaking in a puddle. It tenderly lifted the damp thing up, flipping through its pages. A dark look crossed its face, and Patton tried to escape once more.

“I can no longer read the words, nor see the images. This book...it is completely ruined,” the dragon’s voice was even, but had a deadly edge and Patton swallowed nervously.

“I...I really am sorry.”

“Oh? Why should I believe that?” the dragon asked. “You broke into my home, stole my most valued treasure, ruined it, and were about to make off with another piece of my collection. Do all humans act so horridly, then tack on an ‘I’m sorry’ and expect things to work out?” Patton shrunk in on himself, feeling as if his mother were lecturing him.

“I didn't mean to ruin your book,” Patton said sadly, “I just needed something I could sell to afford medicine for my friend. He is...He’s really sick, sir- er...oh great dragon. It’s a magical illness, and all the medicine is too expensive for us to affor-”

“Enough grovelling,” the dragon growled, and Patton flinched. “I care not of you humans, nor your painfully short lifespans. You ruined the treasure that meant most to me, and for that you must pay. Any last words before I snuff out your miserable existence?” Patton gulped and peeked past the dragon’s now passive face at the sky. He wasn’t quite sure why- or how, but the words that came out were calm, curious.

“Why is it light outside when I came in at sunset?” The passive expression the dragon’s face flickered to one of curiosity as well as he faced the entrance in the cave ceiling.

“Really? Your final words in this world are you expressing curiosity about the cave you will die in?” The dragon was scanning Patton over with yellow eyes, practically slicing him open with his gaze. Patton swallowed past the lump in his throat.

“Um...yes?”

“Fascinating,” the dragon leaned in closer, and Patton tried to lean back and away from those golden eyes. Suddenly, the dragon’s tail wrapped around Patton’s middle and squeezed.

‘Welp, this is it. You had a good run Patton,’ Patton closed his eyes as his body lifted from the pile of jewels and the grip around him tightened even more. He felt his body turn in the air, which caused his spectacles to fall from where they were perched on his nose and for his eyes to pop back open. He was hanging upside down suspended in the air, the only thing stopping him from plummeting to his death was the dragon’s tail. The creature climbed over his piles of gold to the center, curling his tail with Patton still in it and lowering it close to the indent in the pile of jewels Patton had stolen the book and diamond from. The dragon released Patton, and he hit the gold and jewels. It hurt, but he was alive. More than he’d expected, honestly.

“Dragons are not inherently immortal creatures,” the dragon spoke, tail curling around Patton again, but not squeezing or lifting- more of a guard. To stop Patton from running, but not hurting him yet. Patton decided to play along. Though, this game might cost him his life.

“You aren’t?” Despite the urgency, the question was genuine. From what Patton had heard, all dragons were immortal unless slayed.

“No. We do possess a sort of magic that can stop time, though constantly generating it is tiring, Because of that, dragons typically cast their time magic across their nest and hoard, making them stuck in time. Anyone or anything will stop aging for as long as they remain within the confines of a dragon’s nest.” Patton stared at the dragon in awe, who looked wildly pleased with himself.

“So it was noon when you...set your nest?” Patton asked. The dragon nodded sagely.

“Indeed, though that was thousands of years ago…” The dragon trailed off, and silence filled the cave again. Patton knew he was going to run out of time at this rate, and the dragon would kill him. However, the dragon seemed to be interested in Patton’s curiosity (a trait many found annoying in him, oddly enough), so perhaps-

“So,” Patton said slowly, sliding slowly up into a crouch, “you like to collect books? I thought dragons only liked shiny things.” The dragon snorted, turning his snout up towards the ceiling.

“Many do, however there are also many dragons who collect things that pique their interest in other ways.” Patton slowly stood up straight. The dragon didn’t spare him a glance, and Patton slowly moved across the small circle of the dragon’s tail, trying not to shuffle the gold beneath his feet. “I, personally, have always found interest in books. While I usually do not care for humans, there are occasionally some that catch my interest. Whether it be them, or something they have created. Granted, the ones that often find their way into my nest are not interesting, nor accomplished in a way I find impressive.” The dragon huffed, a puff of smoke coiling from his nose.

Patton paused his escape attempt to turn and face the dragon. He was staring up at the sunlight with a thoughtful, almost human expression. Patton had always been good at reading expressions, but he wondered if the loneliness he read there was simply a miscommunication between species, or perhaps the slight blur the lack of spectacles caused. The dragon turned to look at him then, flicking golden eyes up and down Patton. His throat went dry as he realized he had one foot placed just outside the coil surrounding him- having found the tip thin enough to get a foot over.

“You, however,” the tail twined around one of his legs, and he was upside down in the air again. “You had a chance to run, just then, yet you did not take it. I threatened your life, and you asked me about mine. You are a strange, strange human being.”

“What can you say,” Patton laughed nervously, “guess curiosity really kills the Pat.” The dragon stared at him blankly.

“I am afraid I do not...understand your tone.” Patton grinned despite himself.

“I’m going out with a self-referential pun! My name is Patton, and my curiosity seems to be what’s gonna kill me,” his voice wavered a bit at the end, and the dragon stared at him.

“Well, as atrocious as that attempt at wordplay was, I think your curiosity has, in fact, saved you, Patton.” Patton felt his heartbeat nearly stop in his chest, rendering the entire conversation pointless.

“What?” A low, rumbling chuckle coursed through the dragon’s body, echoing across the walls of the cave. He lowered Patton to the ground and released him once more, not bothering to wrap his tail around Patton to guard him from leaving this time.

“I need a new centerpiece- a crown jewel if you will, for my horde. The dragon looked at Patton from the corner of his eyes. “It has been many, many years since I have interacted with man, and as much as I hate to admit it, you humans adapt and grow quite quickly. I’ll need a guide, and while my intentions were to kill you, I think you are my best option available. Do this for me, and I will not only consider the debt for your mistakes paid...but I will help you pay for the medication your friend requires.”

Patton’s heartbeat was in his throat as he stared up at the dragon. He suddenly launched forward, wrapping his arms around the creature’s foreleg. “Really? Oh! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He didn’t notice the dragon tense, but he did feel the claws pinch the back of his tunic again, tugging him back. “Uh, but how will I show you around...exactly? I can’t exactly bring a dragon around when I go home. The dragon smirked.

Suddenly, his body shifted and changed: wings and horns retreated, scales welded together and turned from deep blue to tan, chestnut hair grew rapidly from his skull, sharp talons turned to delicate fingers. Patton gaped as what had once been a towering dragon was now a fairly average- if rather tall and handsome- man.

“I assume this form will suffice, yes?” Patton’s tried to shut his jaw, but it just fell open again. He hoped his face wasn’t as red as it appeared as the dragon flexed his new fingers before running them through his hair, smoothing it into place. “I attempted to make this human form appealing, though most of your species is quite hideous, so I am not sure how much I succeeded in that aspect,” the dragon shrugged.

“Yeah, that looks good- your disguise, that is!” Patton squeaked, faced flushed. He turned away from the dragon and began to climb up the blurry hills of gold. “Can we find my spectacles before we go, though? I kinda need them to see good.”

“Well,” the dragon replied, climbing after Patton with far more grace. “You need them to see well. But yes, I can help you find them.” Patton nodded, ignoring the ruthless grammar correction in favor of heading over to the spot the dragon had originally picked him up. He began pushing around jewels and coins, searching for his precious spectacles.

“Are these yours?” Patton looked up from his searching as the dragon dangled a pair of spectacles from one finger. Patton put them on and frowned.

“No, these are the type made for when you need to see things close up. Mine help me see far away.” He handed them back to the dragon, who squinted at them before sliding them onto his own nose.

“Oh, these are helpful,” the dragon stated as Patton finally found his (luckily undamaged) spectacles. His slide them on his own nose, and the distant blurriness came slightly more into focus. He giggled at the dragon as he blinked and adjusted his own spectacles with a slightly awed expression.

“Who woulda thunk it? A dragon who needs spectacles!” Patton laughed.

“Who would have thought,” the dragon huffed, pointing his nose up in the air dramatically. Patton snickered to himself a bit at the overreaction to his bad grammar, but bounced on his toes all the same.

“Well, let’s go then!” Patton was about to race out, but the dragon snagged the back of his tunic again, causing the poor man to tumble back into the dragon’s arms.

“Two more topics to discuss before we head out,” he rumbled, either not seeing Patton turning red, or not caring. “The first, we should probably collect some of my treasure to use as currency. Larger jewels and gold would be ideal, I assume.”

“Are you sure?” Patton hesitated. “I don’t wanna take your stuff, uh, minus- minus the one I was going to steal.” The dragon sighed and nodded. That was all it took for Patton to eagerly collect jewels and gold into his satchel until it was a nearly unbearably heavy weight at his side. The dragon was staring at him with now hazel eyes, but if you took a moment to really look, you would be able to see the bright golden fire of his true eyes. Perhaps his disguise was not as flawless as it seemed from the outside. Perhaps, despite trying to hold it together with all his might, cracks and fissures were flitting across that carefully crafted human skin.

“What was the other thing?” Patton shook himself from staring into those eyes. Wow, could he ever stop being distracted at the most inconvenient times? Probably not. The dragon rubbed the back of his head, flicking his eyes away. Almost as if he were nervous.

“I will need a...human alias,” the dragon admitted. “However, despite extensive reading, I am not sure what, or how, humans typically chose names…” Patton let out an excited gasp, clapping his hands in front of himself. The dragon winced, looking as if he already regretted all of the choices leading up to this moment. Patton ignored that look so hard (he got it enough from Virgil).

“You want me to help you choose a name?” Patton asked, eyes sparkling. The dragon closed his eyes and took a deep inhale through his nose.

“Yes…”

“Oh! This will be so fun,” Patton squealed. “I’ve always wanted a kid someday, so I’ve got tons of names!”

“Goodie,” the dragon deadpanned as Patton mentally pulled out a list.

“Nate?”

“No.”

“Steve?”

“Terrible.”

“Emile?”

“A good name, though I feel it does not...fit me.”

“Hm, fair,” Patton bit his lip thoughtfully, “Thomas?”

“No.”

“Okay, I have a friend named Thomas anyway, so that might be weird. Sparrow?”

“That is a bird.”

“Ugh fineeeee. Jack?” The dragon shuddered.

“No, no...that name sets me on edge for some reason.”

“Huh, me too. Weird,” Patton tapped his chin. He was running out of ideas, his mental list of names growing shorter and shorter. An idea suddenly popped into his head, and he prayed the dragon was going to keep his word and not kill Patton quite yet.

“...what about Logan?” The dragon looked at him with wide eyes and took a step back. “In honor of your treasure that uh, that’s gone.” Patton winced. The dragon looked a Patton with those too-yellow-hazel eyes, and Patton felt like he may very well be crushed under their scrutiny.

“Did you finish the book?” The dragon’s voice had an edge to it, not exactly dangerous, but not soothing either. Patton swallowed nervously.

“...no?” Patton could honestly tell that time did not truly move in that cave, for at that moment the dragon went incredibly still, and Patton swore he felt his heartbeat halt, felt his breathing catch. Everything was still.

Finally, the dragon moved forward, towards Patton, and the world was in motion again. Patton stumbled back- half expecting to be attacked, but instead the dragon strode past him into the entrance of the cave.

“Logan will be adequate,” he said.

Patton watched as he slunk down, getting swallowed up in the darkness of the cave’s exit.

“Logan it is then,” Patton said brightly as he headed after him. His bright voice echoed across the walls before hitting their mark. And Logan smiled.

-

“The sun appears to have risen roughly an hour ago, so it is best we hurry down as fast as possible. I want to try and find my new crown jewel as fast as possible,” Logan informed Patton as he left the cave and squinted at the bright, early morning light. He looked at Logan, then looked down at the soft blanket of his village. He wondered if anyone was awake other then the farmers going out to harvest their crops. He wondered if Virgil was up yet. Wondered if he saw the note left of their kitchen table. He secretly hoped he’d get back in time to remove it and tear it into tiny pieces to throw in the fire as kindling, so Virgil would never know of his stunt.

“It took me an entire day to get up here. I don’t know if we can climb down any faster, either,” Patton admitted, looking down at the cliff. He’d climbed enough in his life to know that going down was always worse then going up.

“Climbing?” Logan snorted. Patton turned to him, confusion clear in his expression.

“Yeah? How else do you expect us to get down, silly?” Patton laughed, getting down onto his stomach and shimmying backwards, finding those tiny foot and handholds so he could begin his journey. The sound Logan made radiated concern.

“You are going to get yourself killed that way.”

“That’s what I told myself when I went to try and take treasure from a dragon!” Patton said brightly. He began to oh-so slowly inch his way down the cliff-face. However, his bag now heavy with treasure, he miscalculated how  much he needed to lean to the left and missed a handhold, tumbling left with a shriek. He held on with the very tips of his fingers, staring up at Logan with utter terror.

The dragon peered down at him, his expression exasperated. “I told you.”

“You sure did, now, you wanna give me a hand?” Patton’s laugh was shrill with fear. Logan smirked and raised an eyebrow. Patton’s fingers began to slip, and he shot his panicked gaze from his hand to Logan.

“Logan, I’m slipping! I’m,” the tips of his fingers lost their hold, and Patton fell backwards through the air. The wind whipped around him, and he watched as the top of the cliff grew rapidly smaller and smaller. For the second time that day, Patton was ready to embrace death. He turned his gaze to watch the clouds as he continued to drop like a stone. The sky was a soft blue, his favorite color, and covered in tiny dots of puffy white clouds. Not the worst thing to die looking at.

There were hands gripping his shoulders, and his body jerked into an upright position as his he stopped falling. There as a loud whooshing sound next to his ears, and when Patton tilted his head back, he could see Logan looking at him with a neutral expression. His eyes were bright yellow once more, and, if the fact they were still airborne was any indication, his wings were back out. Patton let out a hysterical laugh, and the grip on his arms tightened.

“Careful, Patton. Humans are fragile creatures. A fall from that height would have shattered every bone in your pathetic body. Honestly, how did you even make it up to my cave without dying?” Logan’s voice had an almost concerned edge to it, despite his impassive exterior. Patton tried to shrug helplessly, but the grip on his arms was too tight. Logan sighed.

“Let us just land then, shall we?” Patton beamed at the dragon.

“Sounds good!” Patton looked down at his feet as trees passed under them, watching as the shadow of their combined forms (it looked like a weird blob with wings, honestly) got bigger the closer they got to the tree line. Patton laughed again, though this time out of giddiness more then hysteria.

“What?” Patton swore he could hear a smile in Logan’s voice. Patton shook his head.

“I’ve always wondered what it was like to fly,” Patton admitted. Logan didn’t reply, just approached the ground near the trees and lightly placing him down. Patton managed to put his feet under himself, but the second Logan released him, he collapsed onto his butt. Logan landed gracefully and folded his wings. Patton watched, mesmerized, as they seemed to melt into his tunic.

“Right, your village is that way, correct? I believe that would be the ideal place to start. We will retrieve your friend, then go purchase the medicine he requires before searching for a new crown jewel for my horde,” Logan said smoothly. Patton nodded slowly.

“Okay, but what are we gonna tell Virgil- my friend. Like, about you?” Logan snorted.

“Simply inform him you met me in the market and I offered to help you pay for his medication after hearing your pleas.”

“But,” Patton bit his lip nervously, “but that’s lying.” Logan scoffed and glanced at Patton before striding in the direction of the village.

“You are sneaking a dragon into your village in disguise, Patton. Yes, you will be required to lie.” Patton winced and followed close at Logan’s heels.

“But...lying is wrong! Especially lying to your friends,” Patton protested. Logan didn’t turn around or reply, simply kept moving. “Logan!”

“What do you want to tell him then? The truth? That the dragon you tried to steal from if accompanying you into a village- that is terrified of dragons, might I add- because you angered it and need to help find it a new centerpiece for its horde?” Patton took a step back as Logan ranted. The dragon-man sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Tell him what you like, Patton...but if push comes to shove and I am unable to find a crown jewel soon, then I will punish you for destroying my original one. And well- I can’t exactly let your friend tell anyone what I am in that scenario,” he fingers twitched, and Patton swallowed dryly at the implication.

“O-okay,” Patton stammered. Logan nodded once, sharply, then turned on his heel to continue their walk. Patton stumbled after, wondering what on earth he was going to tell Virgil.

~~~

Patton led Logan up to his and Virgil’s tiny cottage at the very end of the village. Behind it were sprawling fields of green, occasionally dotted with colorful splotches of wildflowers. Patton looked at Logan hopefully, “Would you consider a nice flower as your jewel?”

“Absolutely not,” he deadpanned. Patton huffed and crossed his arms. The door swung open suddenly with a loud BANG! Patton may have jumped into Logan’s arms, who looked at him unimpressed.

“PATTON WHAT THE FUCK?!” The shout was followed by a rapid series of coughs, and Patton looked at Virgil as he hunched over, wheezing.

“Oh, Patton, you were correct in telling me he was, ahem, ‘really sick’,” Logan said, setting Patton back on his feet. Virgil looked away from Patton, shoving to stand in front of his friend as if to guard him as he glared at Logan.

“And who the fuck are you?!” He attempted a snarl, but it was rather weak. Logan offered his hand smoothly.

“Logan Drake. I found Patton on his way and, after hearing about your condition, I agreed to supply funds so you may purchase proper medication. You’re welcome.” Virgil stared at Logan’s hand in shock a moment before slowly shaking his hand. Logan met Patton’s gaze, daring him to challenge the lie. Patton bit his tongue and looked at his feet.

“So he...didn’t end up stealing from a dragon?” Virgil asked cautiously. Logan looked away from Patton, nodding.

“Yes. Obviously to attempt such a task would be suicidal, so I persuaded him to seek out other means in order to gain money,” Virgil nodded slowly.

“Fine. You can come in,” he held open the door, and Logan slipped inside easily. Patton moved to follow, but Virgil gripped the back of his tunic.

“Oh no, I still have some very strong words for you, bud. Patton smiled sheepishly as Virgil closed the door and folded his arms, a glare that could kill more men painted onto his features. A breeze ruffled their hair, spreading gossip throughout the trees and lush meadow grass.

Virgil lunged forward suddenly, pulling Patton into a tight hug. Patton startled, wrapping his arms to rest loosely around Virgil in return.

“You idiot. Gods, do you know how scared I was when I saw your note? I thought I’d never see you again. You’re so stupid, I love you.” Patton laughed softly and cupped Virgil’s face, pressing a kiss to his forehead and wiping away a tear that trickled down with his thumb.

“I’m okay, Virge. Lo talked me out of going. I’m safe- and hopefully soon, you will be too. Okay?” Virgil nodded sniffing loudly and rubbing his nose on his sleeve.

“Okay. But if you pull this kinda shit again I might have to lock you in your room forever,” Patton laughed at Virgil’s attempt at a threat.

“Are you two done?” The pair whipped around in surprise to see Logan leaning against the doorframe. Virgil scowled, and Patton’s laugh turned nervous.

“For a guy generous to pay for expensive medicine for a stranger, you sure are rude,” Virgil snapped, but he did head inside. Patton followed, seeing Logan roll his eyes at the young man’s attitude. He made sure to elbow Logan in the ribs, which made a very dragon-like growl escape him. Virgil startled and turned back to look at them, and the pair jumped apart hurriedly.

Their cottage was small and cozy, decorated with a multitude of flowers and stones that Patton found pretty and would collect on his way home from the market. Sun shone through the window in their tiny kitchen as Virgil pulled out a chair for Logan. The dragon sat down carefully, folding his hands in his lap, and Virgil sat across from him. Patton hurried to set water on the stove to make tea. Virgil coughed, and spoke carefully.

“So...you’re going to pay for life-saving, expensive medicine,” Virgil said slowly, Logan nodded along, “for a stranger...because you, what, want to bribe me for Patton’s hand in marriage? Because buddy do I have news for you.” Patton was glad he had yet to put the kettle on the stove, because he dropped it and water splashed all over. Logan simply raised an eyebrow.

“Trust me, if I were interested in such a thing, I would not be seeking permission from you,” Patton crouched down and picked up the kettle, refilling it and setting it on the stove. “I am simply decided I need to try and be a more generous person. I am a wealthy merchant, and needn’t all the money I own.” Virgil eyed Logan suspiciously, and Patton held his breath.

Seconds ticked by, but Virgil finally let out a loud sigh. “Fine. When should we leave?” The kettle began to hiss and Patton took it off, grinning wildly and interrupting before Logan could speak.

“Right after we have tea,” He set down the cups and poured with a wild flourish. Logan actually leaned away, as if he were afraid Patton would splash him with scalding tea. Which, to be fair, nearly did happen. The three enjoyed their tea in tense silence- no one quite trusting anyone. Except Patton, who trusted Virgil knew he was lying, but that didn’t exactly help things.

When tea was done, Virgil pulled on his cloak- his sickness often gave him a chill, and along with that he liked to stay hidden from view, and the trio set out. The village itself was not particularly busy, just a few people here and there chatting or doing chores if they were not the type to work on the farm. They headed past the center of town, and began to follow the dusty path that would lead to the capital- where the most gracious and benevolent Queen Dani lived with her son Roman. The marketplace there had the finest goods in the kingdom, and Patton had seen multiple vendors there who sold medicines that claimed to heal magic-borne illness. Patton told Logan all of this as they walked, the sun climbing ever higher.

“You know,” Virgil quipped, “you’d think a merchant would already know about how the marketplace system works.” He sounded suspicious, and Patton and Logan shared a look.

“I’m a foreign merchant,” Logan said smoothly, slapping a hand over Patton’s mouth as he was about to give a rather poor excuse. Patton huffed and licked Logan’s hand, making him squawk indignantly. He wiped his hand on his trousers, glaring as Virgil and Patton snickered.

“I despise you both in equal measures,” he said- yet the malice in his voice was nearly nonexistent.

“Aw, you love us,” Patton teased. Logan scoffed at that.

“I’ve only just met you. Besides d- I can not feel ‘love’,” he hunched in on himself. Virgil snorted, earning him another glare.

“If you can feel contempt, you can feel love, buddy,” Virgil informed him. Logan snorted.

“Debatable.”

“Then let’s debate,” Virgil shot back.

And thus began the three hour debate between the two. Patton lost interest about halfway through, and began to look around as they continued their journey. They passed through a thin forest, in which Patton noticed Logan took a few steps closer to him for whatever reason, and then walked through a lush field. Only disturbed by the path worn out by travelers who walked before them for years. Virgil’s arguments got quieter and his coughing got louder, which was when Patton decided to call for a pitstop.

The trio sat down by a crystal stream, where Virgil drank as much as he could, as if he hadn’t seen water in decades. Logan watched with an expression Patton could only describe as concerned.

“Is he alright?” Logan rumbled in a whisper. Patton sighed and shook his head.

“He can’t do a lot of physical labor without straining himself. He says when he was little, before the illness set in, he loved to run and play with the other children. Now though…” Patton trailed off, and he and Logan watched Virgil take deep, gasping breaths before he sat up.

“So, who wants lunch?” Patton asked brightly, much different from the somber tone from a few moments prior. Logan looked surprised at how quick the change was, but his own expression smoothed out quickly.

“Very well.”

~~~

At last, the dirt path under their feet made way to cobblestone. Virgil and Logan had finally truced on their debate, having half forgotten what they were even debating, and instead were discussing their interest in stars and constellations. Patton didn’t really understand the fascination, but he was glad they were getting along. They began to pass more and more people, until they were practically swallowed up by a crowd. The marketplace. Patton grinned and took Virgil’s hand in his own, grabbing Logan’s with the other. Logan jolted in surprise.

“What are you doing?” He asked. Patton smiled at him, and the dragon’s brow became even more furrowed.

“It’s crowded. Don’t wanna lose either of you two,” Patton said. The confusion mostly dropped from Logan’s face, though a tiny bit remained. Patton considered asking, but decided not to. Instead, he temporarily released Logan’s hand and stood on his toes so he could try and smooth the wrinkles out with his thumb.

“Smile, it’s easier,” Patton said, taking his hand again and pulling the pair along before either could argue again- either with Patton or one another.

The crowd swallowed them, and Virgil instinctively ducked closer to Patton, hiding under his arm. Logan’s grip on Patton’s hand grew a bit tighter than was comfortable, but other then that he showed no open signs of discomfort. They wandered around for a bit, getting lost in the scents and the sounds and the bustling energy of the market, before Patton finally spotted something that got his hope up.

“Over here!” He said, bustling his boys over to the merchant. He smiled coyly at the trio, indicating his wares with the sweep of an arm. Crystals and shimmering vials and bottles hung from the top of his cart, and they chimed together whenever he moved. The sweet scent of lavender wafted from the cart. A good sign if Patton ever saw one. Logan and Virgil hung back suspiciously, as Patton bounded forward.

“Hello there!” Patton chirped as he ran his hands across the smooth, wooden edge of the cart. The salesman leaned forward on his elbows and arched his brow.

“Greetings, traveler,” he smoothly replied, “what ails you this day?” Patton’s face lit up even more, and he pulled Virgil forward. He tugged his hood further down his face.

“My friend has been struggling with a magical illness since he was five,” Patton explained. “It started out not too bad, but now he has trouble with moving too much without getting worn, and he has a constant cough and chill.” The man leaned closer to inspect Virgil, who shrank behind Patton.

“I have just the thing,” the man said, voice smooth as honey. He reached down into the depths of his cart and pulled forth a shimmering crystal bottle. The liquid inside swirled deep violet.

“One sip of this, and your illness will fall away within a week’s time,” the man assured. “Though the cost is hefty. Can you pay the fee?” He indicated the price inked onto a parchment hanging from his cart. Patton bit his lip and nodded, opening his bag and pulling out the gold and jewels. He placed them in front of the merchant, who eyed them greedily.

Suddenly, Patton felt Logan loom up behind him, he turned as the dragon lightly pushed Patton behind him. He snatched the vial from the merchant, who squawked in offense as Logan adjusted his spectacles and squinted at the vial. He uncorked it and smelled it, recoiling in disgust and throwing it. The liquid shimmered, in the light before it splattered against the merchant’s clothes like drops of rain.

“Logan!” Patton gasped in horror. Logan turned to Patton and snorted.

“It was fake.”

“Wh-what?” The merchant stammered, “I’ll have you know-”

“I’ll have you know,” Logan leaned forward “that I know a thing or two about magic. That was just water and dye mixed with a bit of lavender. You’re more likely to poison this poor man then heal him.”

Patton and Virgil turned their gazes on the merchant, who was quick to defend himself. “This is simply untrue!” He hissed, “My father was a mage, and he taught me everything he knows about magical medicine.”

“Magic in your blood or not, that doesn’t change the fact you attempted to sell us a scam,” Logan growled. Patton put a hand on his arm, trying to calm him down. His eyes were going yellow.

“What’s going on here?” A loud, booming voice asked. The group all turned to see a guard walking towards them. The merchant lit up gleefully for a moment, before his expression melted into one of faux fear.

“Good sir!” He cried, “This man is destroying my wares and scaring off my customers!” Logan looked annoyed as he turned towards the guard.

“I did no such thing. Granted, I did throw his own product in his face, but that is because he was trying to sell me a faulty remedy for my very ill companion.” The guard turned to Patton, and something about those warm brown eyes was...familiar; like the soft, cool fertilized soil he’d dig his fingers into as a child on hot days while he helped his family farm.

“Logan was just trying to help,” Patton said. The guard nodded and turned to Logan.

“What makes you say it was fake?” He asked. Logan scoffed and folded his hands to rest behind his back.

“I have magical origins myself. Along with that, I have spent many years reading about the subject, and know for a fact that all that was in that so called ‘potion’ was lavender, water, and dye- which, might I add, could potentially harm my companion.” The guard nodded thoughtfully and turned to the merchant.

“Sad, your innocence can not be proven nor denied unless you find a previous customer to backup your claims. I suggest you let them take their business, and their money, elsewhere.” The merchant’s face twisted into a scowl.

“But he destroyed-”

“He destroyed one of your wares. If I find you truly are selling products that are harmful, I think you’ll have bigger things to worry about,” the guard’s voice was low and threatening. The merchant’s face paled, and he scowled, glaring at Logan with a heat that could make the gods jealous.

“You’ve seen the last of me, Logan,” the merchant spat, taking the handles of his cart and wheeling it away to relocate. There was silence among them momentarily, before Patton turned to the guard.

“Tha-thank you for your help,” Patton said, finding himself getting lost in those eyes again as they met his own in sheer delight. The guard winked.

“No problem, Patton my perfect padre,” the guard winked. Patton blinked, and Logan stepped in front of Patton again, holding an arm out suspiciously.

“I do not believe we introduced ourselves. You would only have been able to pick up my name from what you overheard,” he accused. Patton saw mischief light up in those soft eyes and it suddenly hit him like a crashing wave. It hit him, why those eyes reminded him of childhood and warmth and protection and love.

“PRINCE ROMAN!?” Patton shrieked. Roman stiffened, ducking behind a wall as people looked over at him. Patton slapped a hand over his mouth, cheeks burning. “I mean, ah, sorry.” People quickly lost interest and went back about their business, and Roman returned from where he had hidden. He opened his arms, and Patton slipped from behind where Logan was still trying to shield him and lunged into Roman’s grasp. The prince picked him up and spun him, and they laughed together as Virgil padded up to stand next to Logan.

“I can’t believe you remember who I am,” Patton said as Roman placed him back down on his feet. Roman held a hand to his chest, offended, while one arm was still looped around Patton’s waist.

“How could you think so low of me? Not remembering my dearest childhood friend? In fact, it was you who did not recognize me- and I’m famous!” Patton giggled, and Virgil let out a very obviously fake cough- which shortly morphed into a real cough. Patton pulled away and gently rubbed soothing circles across his shoulders. Roman huffed in protest.

“Yes, well, now that all our happy introductions have been made- we still have a dying Virgil on our hands,” Logan said. He sounded almost bitter, and was glaring at Roman like he had personally offended him.

Roman turned to Virgil, who stiffened under the attention. He shrank away as Roman leaned forward, narrowing his eyes at Virgil. He ended up ducking behind Logan. “You said it was a magical illness?”

“Yeah,” Virgil’s voice sounded annoyed, but Patton could detect the tiniest hint of a waver; he was unsure of Roman.

“Well, I think I know someone who can help, then. Follow me!” Roman took off, and Patton and Logan shared a look before they followed. Virgil trailed behind with a hesitant grumbling.

The prince led the trio into the forest, veering off the path into the trees. Logan and Virgil grew a bit more hesitant, while Patton continued to follow valiantly. They ducked under branches and dodges around thorny plants until they came across a small clearing. Virgil sucked in wheezing breaths, and Logan awkwardly rubbed his back in a manner Patton had previously.

“Is that a cottage?” Patton asked. The other two looked up.

Indeed, in the center of the clearing was a delicate looking cottage surrounded by a vibrant garden. Roman smirked and swept an arm grandly.

“Welcome! To the home of-”

“Hi, Roman,” Roman shrieked and jumped into Logan’s arms as a teenager appeared out of seemingly nowhere. He had bright golden eyes and a smug smirk. Roman grunted as Logan dropped him.

“Oh, it’s you. Is Remy around?” Roman asked. The teenager shrugged indifferently.

“I dunno.”

“How do you not know?! He’s your mentor you stupid lizard!” Logan perked up at that, and looked from the teenager to Patton and back again.

“Yeah, but he’s also Remy. I’m gonna jet, though. I think he might be passed out on the floor, but no promises,” with that, the teenager waved and seemingly vanished into thin air once again. Roman grumbled in annoyance.

“Uh, who was that?” Virgil asked. Roman wrinkled his nose.

“Remy’s apprentice.”

“Aaaaand who’s Remy?” Virgil asked. Roman rolled his eyes.

“He’s the royal mage. You’ve never heard of him?” Patton lightly patted Roman’s arm.

“Not everyone has heard of your staff, Roman. Virgil and I live two towns away.” Roman flushed in embarrassment.

“Oh…” Virgil snorted and Roman rounded on him.

“What are you laughing at Lord Snorington?” Roman asked.

“You,” Virgil shot back. The two started to bicker fiercely while Logan took Patton by the hand and dragged him towards the cottage door. He shoved Patton in front of him and nodded towards the door.

“Knock,” he told Patton. Patton looked at him, confused, but shrugged and knocked. The door creaked open a crack, and the pair looked at each other before stepping inside. Dust danced in the light that streamed through dirty windows. The floor was a mess of dirty dishes, crumpled leaves, and a man who was laying facedown on the wood.

“Is he dead?” Patton squeaked. Logan walked over and nudged the man in the side. He groaned and rolled over.

“No,” Logan said. He proceeded to step on the man’s leg hard- and far too close to a certain area for Patton to be comfortable. The man shouted and jolted up. He had dark goggles covering his eyes, and what looked like grease stains all over. It was actually kind of disgusting.

“Are you Remy?” Logan asked. The man wheezed and sat up, rolling his shoulders.

“Bitch I might be, who’s askin?” He asked. Patton and Logan shared a look, and Patton gracefully took over.

“Friends of Prince Roman, sir,” Patton said politely.

“Sir? Mmmm no- no ma’am, not in my good magic cottage. Rem will do fine gurl,” Remy stood and kissed the back of Patton’s hand. Patton blushed and pulled his hand away, while Logan tensed. “How can I help y’all? And where is the royal brat anyway?”

“Don’t call him a brat!” Patton said.

“He is a bit of a brat, Patton,” Logan admitted, though he shut his mouth when Patton shot him a deathly glare- apparently forgetting he could literally kill Patton in one fell swoop if he wanted to; it was the power of the dad glare.

“Either way, he’s outside with our friend Virgil, the reason we came,” Patton explained, “You see, Virgil is sick- magically sick, and we need a magical cure. We were going to purchase one from the merchants in town-”

“But those honeys are faker than Roman’s confidence I gotchu babe,” Remy nodded sagely. He brushed off his shirt and readjusted his cloak before marching over to his desk. Patton watched in awe as Remy skillfully crushed leaves and poured liquids until he was holding a tiny vial full of green liquid. He held it up to the light, gave it a couple shakes, and then grinned and tossed the vial to Patton. The man stumbled, but did catch it.

“One sip of that a day until it’s gone and your man should be cleared up in no time,” Remy assured. Patton took the vial in his hands, cradling it like he might a bird. Logan snatched it up, much less kindly, and uncorked it to sniff at the liquid. His eyes narrowed, but instead of throwing it in Remy’s face like he had the merchant originally, he recorked the vial and set it back into Patton’s hands.

“It seems legit enough,” he said, almost bitterly. He took Patton’s bag and dumped the gold onto the desk. “Would this suffice as payment?” He asked, arching his eyebrow. Remy snorted.

“That should work, yeah,” he peered thoughtfully at a diamond. “Why not go give him that now, cutie?” Remy waved Patton towards the door. Patton nodded, and Logan moved to follow, but Remy stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

“Wait a sec, babe, I wanna talk to you real quick. Patty can handle himself, right?” Remy slipped an arm over Logan’s shoulders, making him tense. Patton looked at the pair of them worriedly before he nodded and slipped out the door. It shut with a firm click behind the man, and Logan immediately pushed Remy off with a glare.

“What is it you require of me?” Logan asked, his voice almost cold. Remy sighed, and motioned for Logan to follow him as he slipped into another room. Logan hesitated before he followed the mage into what appeared to be a living area. There was a cauldron hanging over the fire.

“Potions?” Logan asked, nodding to it. Remy snorted.

“Soup,” he picked up a poker to revive the dying embers before giving the soup a stir with his ladle. He took a long, obnoxious slurp and smirked at Logan, holding the ladle out to him as an offering. Logan politely declined.

“I know you’re a dragon,” Remy finally said, dipping the ladle back into the soup and stirring it slowly. Logan tensed again, feeling his fingers twitch and change until they were pointed claws.

“Relax, dragon boy,” Remy said, not looking up from his stirring, “my apprentice is part dragon.” Logan stared at his talons as he willed them to melt back into soft, human skin.

“Roman did call him a lizard,” Logan noted softly. “What is the story behind that? If you do not mind my asking?” Remy smiled almost fondly.

“Actually, that’s why I wanted to talk to you,” Remy set the ladle on the side of the cauldron and turned to walk over to a plush armchair. Logan sat across from him in an equally nice chair. “I’m gonna tell you a story, Sweetheart, so shut your pretty yapper and listen, m’kay?” Logan huffed, but didn’t protest.

“Gold from dragon hordes tend to have higher magical energy then regular gold. Probably due to the magical protection that freezes their nests in time or somethin,” Remy said, fiddling with his goggles. “So often times us magic folk will pay high prices for gold specifically from dragon nests. Usually we send knights or warriors to try and get it for us, since we’d rather not get fried to a crisp, y’know?”

“One day, though, a young witch decided to sneak into a dragon cave to gather her own materials for a rather complex spell. The dragon caught her, obviously, but he found her so beautiful that he decided to keep her as a piece of his horde.” Remy’s voice grew quiet, so all Logan could hear was the crackling of fire in the fireplace.

“Surprisingly enough, she loved the dragon just as much as he loved her. He took a human form, much like how you have now, temporarily so they could- ahem,” Remy made a particular hand gesture, and Logan nodded in understanding.

“Long story short, she got pregnant. However, her family wasn’t exactly happy with her being essentially kidnapped by a dragon- no ma’am. They came with a slew of castle guards and attacked the dragon. He was unable to fight back upon realizing they were the family of his love...so he was slain.” Remy pulled his goggles off to clean them with the bottom of his tunic.

“The witch realized that if her family found out the child’s origins, they’d be at risk of the same fate as their father. So she got in contact with an old friend- the royal mage,” Remy slipped his goggles back on, “and he agreed to take on the half dragon, half witch child as his apprentice. Didn’t expect him to be such a lil shit, but I guess he takes after me, huh?” Remy grinned, though there was a sadness in it. Logan was silent for a moment, resting his chin on folded hands.

“I recognize I asked, but you mentioned this is why you asked me to stay behind. Is there a particular reason you felt the need to tell me this story?” Logan inquired. Remy sighed loudly and flung himself into a much more dramatic position in his chair.

“Yooooou needa take a page from the book of dragoning. Y’know?”

“...No. I don’t follow,” Logan admitted, narrowing his eyes. Remy flailed his arms.

“You can’t get attached to a human is what I’m sayin!” Logan tensed at that, staring Remy down.

“I won’t. I don’t understand what gives you the idea that I would,” he said, voice almost dangerous. Remy didn’t take the warning- instead rolling his eyes and standing up.

“You got awful defensive over Patton when I flirted with him. Y’know, considering you aren’t at all attached to him,” Logan growled.

“I need him to help my find a new centerpiece for my horde, seeing as he destroyed my last one. Of course I’ll be defensive over your possible distractions!” He fired back, standing as well. He loomed over the other man, though he simply scoffed.

“Well sorry for tryin to look out for ya, babe. Don’t come crying to me when you’re tail over talons for him,” he folded his arms as Logan’s hands curled into fists.

“I won’t. Because I won’t fall in love with him! Or any human, for that matter!” He snarled. There was a tense silence, only broken by the door being thrown open.

“REMY HOLY FUCK!” His apprentice leaned in, “Those guys outside are freaking out because they think you stole their friend. I thought I told you to stop doing that.” Remy snorted and ruffled his hair affectionately.

“What can I say, babe, I just have that effect on people,” he winked and turned back to Logan,  “Well, you heard him,” Remy said, making a shooing motion. His apprentice grinned with sharp teeth.

“See ya soon, Logan.” Logan nodded and headed for the door, stepping outside. He paused and turned back.

“Wait...What do you mean soon?” The house was gone. Logan blinked and rubbed at his eyes, but the clearing stayed empty. Well, empty aside from Patton sprinting towards him. Logan froze as Patton threw his arms around his shoulders.

“There you are! I knew Remy wanted to talk to you, but I got worried after a while.” Patton fretted. Logan pushed Patton away.

“Yes, well- I am here now. Did Virgil take the potion?” Logan asked. Patton nodded.

“I made sure of it,” Roman agreed loudly. Virgil elbowed him in the ribs, and Roman squawked in surprise. Logan nodded.

“Right. Then I suppose we should take Virgil home, then,” Logan said, looking towards Patton.

“Yeah, sounds good to me!” Patton chimed in. He turned to Roman and gave a small bow. “It was...it was really great to see you again. Even if it was only for a while.” His gaze flicked back to Logan, who had gone to stand next to Virgil. “You guys ready?”

“W-wait!” Roman called, just as the three began to leave. They paused and turned to face the prince once more. He kicked at the grass almost sheepishly. “I don’t know if you know, but relations with the kingdom south of us are tense...so to help with relations my mother is hosting a ball. Citizens from both kingdoms are welcome to attend so...would you like to come?” Roman was looking directly at Patton, but he added “All of you- of course.”

“I would love to Roman! But…” Patton began. However, he didn’t get to finish, as Logan quickly cut in.

“But nothing. I think I can speak for all of us when I say we most certainly wish to join you, Roman.” Patton and Virgil both looked at Logan with surprise. Virgil tugged on the front of his hood and bit his lip.

“I dunno, Lo,” he commented softly. “Big crowds? Fancy clothes? Not really my scene.” Logan shook his head and placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder.

“Trust me, Virgil, I think it will be fun,” he said smoothly. Patton noticed his eyes flash gold briefly, and the tension in Virgil’s shoulders seemed to melt away.

“Okay…” Virgil sighed hesitantly. Logan nodded.

“Excellent. Patton?” He turned to face the man.

“...Sure,” Patton said. Roman smiled warmly.

“Well then, come along! The ball isn’t until tomorrow, but you can all stay the night- there’s plenty of room!” Roman chattered excitedly as the other three followed. “Oh I’m so glad you agreed, my mother will be thrilled to see you, Patton. She was always quite fond of you,” Roman laughed. “So always urged me to snatch you up before you were taken by someone else.” Logan’s stride faltered for but a moment before it returned to normal. Patton wondered what that was about…

[achaoticeternal]

the 1 // d. malfoy

DRACO MALFOY X MUGGLEBORN!READER folklore/evermore series masterlist

Summary: he couldn’t see past one thing, and because of that, he left. but it could have been fun, if he could have been the one. Word Count: 2.9k Warning: Blood Prejudice. Angst. Lost love. A/N: it is implied that the reader is not in slytherin but a house is not specifically mentioned.

It’s funny how the simplest things one sees in their everyday life can bring back a spiral of memories - good or bad. Green apples, paper airplanes, and the combination of silver and green were now forever tainted in your mind. It was silly that something as human and simple as blood and family had to be the downfall of what was thought to be a love that would last a lifetime. And however hard you would try to cast away and thoughts or feelings or symbols of him, memories always had a way of persistently reminding you of what was no longer yours and possibly was never yours...

Hogwarts, 4th Year

September welcomed you with the last tastes of summer warmth before winter came stalking back, only to bring the tundra with it. It was the year of the Tri-Wizard Tournament and a year of making new, international acquaintances with the women of Beauxbatons and the men of Durmstrang.

Your summer had been less eventful than that of your peers whom a great majority had attended the Quidditch World Cup and some even experienced the Death Eaters return. Rumors had been around about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named returning and which wizarding families would side with him. Of course, house and blood prejudice played a part in it all, but you managed to look past all of the controversies in the wizarding world. Over the summer, you had grown into yourself and blossomed into a beautiful witch who was very bright for her age. Others around the school had noticed as well, including the men from Durmstrang that created competition for the boys of Hogwarts.

However, with it now October, none of them caught your attention yet as you walked back to your seat in the arena with Hermione after leaving the Champions Tent to check in with Harry, whose name had unfortunately spouted for the Goblet of Fire. Today was the first challenge of three, and you had done your best to be supportive of your friend.

“Hermione, please calm down. Harry will figure it out, he always does,” You glided down the steps in front of her, looking for your fellow Gryffindors.

“But a dragon! This challenge is unbelievably foul! And that Daily Prophet woman has made this all so much-” As Hermione rambled on, she paid little attention to her feet and accidentally stepped on the back of your heel.

The misstep along with the shock had caused you to lose your balance and begin to take a tumble down the steps. As you felt gravity pull you down and prepared yourself for the inevitable pain with it, a pair of arms and a masculine frame had caught you before the disaster could occur.

“Careful, (y/l/n), we can’t have you harming that beautiful face. It would be quite a shame if you took a nasty tumble down the stairs,” he spoke, his tone a fine line between flirtatious and condescending.

“Oh, I-” The boy helped you balance yourself on the steps again, and you finally lifted your head to meet the eyes of your savior, “Draco.”

“Are you alright, (y/l/n)? Not to frightened by the dragons, are you?” His grey eyes peered back up into yours as you were slightly taller than him due to the steps of the stairs.

“No, no, of course not,” You shook your head softly and smiled to the boy, “Thank you, Draco.”

As if on cue, Hermione had invaded the private moment between you and the Malfoy boy, “Excuse us, Malfoy, but we would like to go sit with our friends before Harry enters the arena.”

His gaze broke off to glare at Hermione, “Oh yeah, you catch quite a view of him cowering away from the beast. I bet he’ll forfeit the challenge five minutes in.”

Draco’s entire demeanor had changed from a strange kindness to a smug arrogance as he sneered at the Granger girl. You didn’t want anything more to come from the encounter, so you caught Draco's attention again by lightly fixing his hat that had become lopsided, “Thank you again, Draco, but we should really be getting to our seats.”

His eyes flickered back to you and his features softened again, “Well if you feel like joining me in cheering for Krum, there will remain a seat open for you.”

With that, he allows the pair of you the breeze past him as he returns to his seat. A warmth stayed persistent on your cheeks as you made your way next to Ron, who looked quite disgruntled.

“(y/n), what was that back there?” Hermione questioned as the pair of you took your seats,

“What happened? Harry say something?”

Before you could speak, Hermione replied, “I accidentally tripped (y/n), but Draco caught her before she could tumble down the steps. Which I guess is somewhat lucky, but he flirted with her.”

“Malfoy?!? But he-,” Ron looked at you, both quizzical and worried, “Did he do anything? He jinx you?”

“Um... no,” You looked between the two of them, lost in their confusion.

“But Malfoy can’t stand muggle-borns, even if they are kind or pretty as you, (y/n),” Ron wrinkled his nose at the thought.

“That’s just it,” Both yours and Ron’s attention snapped to Hermione, “I don’t think Malfoy knows that you’re muggle-born which probably is in your favor, you saw how he looked and spoke to me.”

A canon erupted, signaling that Harry would enter the arena in only a moment. The shock of it all had left you confused, “it was probably just a one-time encounter. Let’s just watch Harry, and let that just blow over.”

With that, the three of you cheered for the Gryffindor boy and mostly forgot about your encounter with Draco. Sure, the memory of it would continue to puzzle you and keep you up at night to only be lost in thought. Yet, December rolled around quicker than anyone expected and with it, exciting news.

Along with the Tri-Wizard Tournament, the tradition of the Yule Ball would fall on the eve of the winter solstice. Many girls around the school were already gossiping about dates, dress, and dancing even though many of their male colleagues seemed to be quite opposed to the event. That was until the school announced that the Weird Sisters would be playing a set at the ball.

Of course, the main chatter was who the champions were taking to the Yule Ball because every girl wanted Cedric or Viktor to ask them and every boy was lining up to ask Fleur. Yet poor Harry couldn’t seem to catch a break-even in finding a date for the night. But Hermione would be quite the talk of the town once everyone realized that she was Viktor’s date for the ball, and he had taken a further interest in her. The pair of you chatted as you walked towards your classes together - she was going to the astronomy tower and you were going to divinations.

“I still can’t believe you snagged Viktor Krum! I mean I’m not exactly surprised with both your beauty and brains-”

“Oh stop that,” Hermione blushed and tried to quiet you down, “Who are you going with? I know that you’ve been asked at least five times today!”

As she showered you in compliments, you saw the flash of platinum blonde hair breeze past the pair of you with a few followers trickling behind. It was undoubtedly Malfoy and his crew who were also headed to Professor Trelawney’s class. 

“I haven’t said yes to anyone yet,” you admitted timidly.

“What?!? You have to be kidding me, (y/n). I know at least half the Durmstrang boys would love to be your escort for the night-”

“I-I know that, Hermione,” you flushed as the pair of you paused on the stairs, “I’m just... waiting for the right person.”

“Alright, just make sure you say yes to him. Or else I fear Harry or Ron will ask you,” You bid each other goodbye and separated to your designated classes.

As you made your way up the north tower to try and make it to class a few minutes early. Even though other students may have found her strange and overbearing, you knew that she was deep down a kind lady who wished the best for everyone she crossed paths with. Yet before you could make it up much further, you felt a light tug on the hood of your robes.

“Oh!” you jumped slightly at the shock.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you, (y/n),” Michael Corner smiled as he glanced up at you, “do you have just a quick second?”

“I do, but let’s step into the window sill so that we’re out of the way,” you suggested. He stepped over onto it first, before offering his hand out to you, “Thank you.”

Few students passed by the two of you and up into the north tower, there was still 5 minutes till classes started but you still hoped to be early enough to snag a seat in the front.

“Well, how can I help you, Michael? Did you get my notes from Cho? I asked her to pass them onto you, but I can make you an extra copy-”

“No, no, she passed them along to me. Thank you for that. Potions is sadly not my area of expertise,” He smiled as a little blush dusted his cheeks, “I actually was wondering if you had a date to the Yule Ball? And if not-”

“(y/l/n)!” you heard Draco call and quickly hurry up the steps towards you, “Thank Salazar I found you before classes started.”

Draco paused next to you, giving you the kindest eyes before his gaze turned towards Michael. His expression changed into that of one mixed with jealousy and disagreement, “Corner, shouldn’t you be out in the greenhouses. Why don’t you leave (y/n) alone before someone gets the impression that a Ravenclaw is going to skip class.”

Michael glanced at you then over to Draco before disappearing down the stairs. Before he completely vanished from your sight, he looked back up at you with a very apparent look of disappointment in his eyes. Draco now took the spot where Michael was previously and held your right hand in his.

“(y/l/n), I don’t know if you realize but you are quite a wanted woman recently,” Draco smirked, his grey eyes flickering across your face as if gathering information.

“I guess so... I mean with the ball and everything, I have gotten plenty of proposals.”

“So I’ve heard, but you’ve yet to say yes to any of them, or so I’ve heard.”

“Correct again. I haven’t given my word to attend with anyone, but I did promise a dance or two to a few gentlemen,” you tried to analyze the situation as best as you could, but Draco remained unreadable to you. He also knew how to put up a good front.

“Well, (y/n), I am hoping that you’ll give me the pleasure of being my date to the Yule Ball, and hopefully, you will allow me to take you to Hogsmeade in the next few weeks,” his face had softened as he waited for a reply, his smugness and confident stance faltering under your gaze.

“Draco, are you asking me out? As your girlfriend and to the Yule Ball?”

“I figured- you know... two birds with one stone.”

“I would love to be your companion to the Yule Ball,” You beamed at him, “and your girlfriend.”

That day had long passed now. So had the Yule Ball and your entire fourth year. Now you were at the end of your fifth year and Draco no longer treated you like a prized possession, let alone sparing you a glance. 

At some point in your relationship, the sweetness of being in love ended as he began expecting behaviors and ideas from you that you never expressed before. He still held Slytherin above every other house and expected you to treat those not in Slytherin's house the same way he did. He wanted your attention and affection at every second, instead of allowing you to be with friends and he rarely ever returned affections either. But the worst behavior that Draco partook of that crossed every line for you was the blood prejudice. 

He held being part of the Sacred Twenty Eight to a higher degree than necessary in all aspects. There was a difference in being proud of your bloodline and then being prideful of your bloodline. And the Malfoy family very much fell into the pride of being Pureblooded Wizards. 

That was when a puzzle really clicked into place for you. Yes, Draco had loved you for you, but he also needed his parents to love you. He tried to pressure you into a perfect little box that he could wrap up and present to mummy and daddy. You understood why he felt the needed to continue being the perfect Malfoy, but you couldn’t understand why he thought it was okay to pull you into it. His parents would never accept you for one reason. 

“I don’t understand this, (y/l/n). we took a break just like you asked and it has done nothing. I know you still love me, so let's stop this ridiculous behavior. My parents want to meet you again. Mother loved you and I’m sure this time father will...”

“No, Draco. I don’t want to go back to the Manor,” You shook your head and took deep breaths.

“Well, that’s odd, but we can go to your estate-”

“No, can’t you listen-”

“The Three Broomsticks then, but please, I need you-”

“No, Draco, you aren’t listening to me,” tears threatened to spill as you felt your heart begin to shatter. You had never lied to Draco, but the truth about your family had never come to the surface.

As far as it concerned the Wizarding World, the (y/l/n) Family was also a part of the Sacred Twenty Eight Pureblood families. You understood the confusion and had to explain it to many of your friends and professors. But now Draco had to know the truth, even if it meant he wouldn’t be yours anymore.

“I’m not whoever you’ve painted me out to be,” your bottom lips quivered as you took a deep breath, “I’m not exactly who you think I am.”

Draco’s whole body dropped, “what do you mean?”

“Yes, I am part of the (y/l/n) bloodline, but I’m also a muggle-born.”

“No, that doesn’t make sense.”

“My grandparents had five children. My two uncles, my father, and my two aunts. All of them great wizards, except for my father who had no magical abilities - the only one in our family. He married my mother, who is a muggle. However, I am a witch.” you confessed it all, praying that he would understand. Maybe he would love you enough to glance over this fatal flaw.

“A squib? Your father is a squib and you never bothered to mention it!”

“It wasn’t that important I thought, because I’m still a member of a Pureblood family! I thought that you would see over it because it’s such a small hiccup.”

“I- no, I can’t just look over it. You know I can’t and you know I won’t,” Draco glared, looking at you with the same disdain that his father had when speaking of muggles.

“Draco, please. We can lie and just paint over this. I’ll even get my family to lie, but I don’t want to lose you. I’ve never felt like this with anyone, ever in my life,” A few stray tears managed to escape your defense as you begged him.

“(y/n), we both know who my parents, who my family, who we are associated with. I can’t risk it and neither can you.”

“I love you, Draco. And everyone knows it.”

“I love you too. And hopefully, you will get it through your head while I can’t love you anymore.”

During your sixth and seventh years, you never spoke to Draco, let alone offered a glance in his general direction. He shattered your heart after you had thought you had found your person, your soulmate if you will. The only thing the shocked you was that he never mentioned or let lose the dirtiest secret of your family. It wouldn’t have changed much but still have hurt you enough in many social circles.

Even after the Battle of Hogwarts had passed, you still hadn’t made up with Draco and even Harry Potter, his schoolyard nemesis, ended up coming to terms. All your friends were engaged, married, or dating. You had also tried, but nothing ever came of anything you attempted to pursue. The spark you once had with who you thought was the love of your life never reappeared with anyone else.

However, you heard from the newlywed Potter’s that Draco had married - an arranged marriage - but married nonetheless. To Astoria Greengrass who was two years your younger back in school. Both purebloods, caring for their family lineage. The news had come to you at the end of another failed relationship and felt like a ton of bricks on your chest.

No, the Malfoy prejudice was in no way your fault. You had done everything you could to salvage the relationships and love him unconditionally. But sometimes you wonder...

if one thing had been different, would everything be different?

[sputnikissweet]

Thoughts on “Fate: The Winx Club Saga”

My last Winx related post got good feedback :)!! and i swear i’ll post more on other stuff but there are just some things i wanna get off my chest. this is also lengthy.. oops

also gifs aren’t mine!!!

let’s start off with characters

MUSA

Netflix, do y’all just hate Musa... Her powers are so downplayed. it’s utterly disappointing.

I understand that Musa is the emotional girl out of all of them but they took that and ran with it. I’m just not a big fan of the whole mind fairy thing because every fairy can connect to things that’s based on what kind of fairy they are.

she can do SO MUCH MORE. She can literally control sound waves.. She is Vanya Hargreeves in fairy form yet all she does now is feel others emotions.. cool.

Fairies (regardless of specialties) can also read aura’s and some can connect with their given specialities (Flora w plants) so a mind fairy serves no helpful purpose compared to the others?

STELLA

The reason Stella was popular was because despite being a spoiled princess, she was still the nicest and most welcoming person ever. She never used it against people. ( I mean the Solarians were literally so confused when they were reporting how Stella was evil during Valtor’s reign)

It felt more like Diaspro with Stella trendencies.

Stella was literally the one who convinced Bloom to go to Alfea and was so patient with her. She even had Bloom fake being her friend in the original just so she could attend alfea but this stella willingly put her life in danger.. FOR A BOY???

Yes Stella was a bit boy crazy but she wasn’t really serious with any of them except for Brandon so she would not have tried to kill Bloom for Sky. Who wrote that and for what??

That is not Queen Luna, that’s countess Cassandra 2 seasons early.

Why did they have to give her mom issues like Bloom? Her mom was her emotional support from the little bits we saw her? Her parents not giving her attention on top of upcoming issues with her dad would’ve been interesting enough.

Also the whole ring thing was a major thing and they just touched on it then never again, just don’t mention it then..?

A bit morbid but i think the whole blinding her best friend plot has potential.. hear me out... for her enchantix, especially when she can use the dust. But netflix if you include enchantix, please do not butcher it.. please.

She had such a sunny disposition and it was only ever her teasing that upset the girls at times but she was mostly at the core of each other their problems. She may look exactly how i pictured stella but she is the farthest thing from.

also stella getting her strength from anger? who is this?

AISHA

Please tell me how Aisha would be the teacher’s pet-

She’s the one who literally ran away from a marriage and was breaking all these princess streotypes- She’s very strong willed and would not have kissed ass to authority figures (except for mermaid guards of course)

AISHA WOULD NOT HAVE SNITCHED AND THAT GOES FOR ALL OF THEM I DO NOT CARE

her outfits weren’t bad though, i think she was the best dressed next to Beatrix.

TERRA

Why were they so rude to her-

I still wish she was a WOC because then her brother and dad would’ve been too so just a chance for more representation then netflix just turned a blind eye to

Where did her storyline go- We saw her being insecure in the first two(?) episodes and Musa saying Stella is everything she wants to be and then Riven and Dane just make fun of her for the rest of the episodes then Stella tries to compliment her? I feel like there was so much material to work with and make into a powerful arc or moment but they just swept it under the rug and pulled off something quick.

I like her character though, she’s a huge softie and a lot like her cousin, let’s not hate on her oo much cause Flora would not have condone it

BLOOM

Why is this Bloom so angsty

Actually OG Bloom was too but i feel like they tried making her so seem “mysterious” and if you’re mysterious, apparently you can’t be nicer?

I wish we saw her more vulnerable cause i liked that Bloom was such a badass but always cried HAHAH you know what i mean?

WHY WAS SHE DRESSED IN HER REGULAR CLOTHES WHEN HER WINGS APPEARED PLEASE AT LEAST GIVE HER SMT A BIT MORE FITTING FOR THE LITERAL “ANCIENT” TRANSFORMATION-

Disrespect Vanessa- No.

Okay i think there’s potential in the changeling thing but i think Mike originally finding her in a burning house and saving her is so heartwarming :((

this is related to bloom so i’ll keep it here... WHERE IS DAPHNE!!!

not gonna lie tho, the actress is exactly how i imagined bloom irl

bloomerang... i’ll leave this here.

OTHER CHARACTERS // MISC.

Rosalind and Dowling were two evil and eviler versions of Faragonda. Not even they were just split Albus Dumbledores and one is enough for all universes.

Beatrix is woke ig..? I like her style tho and the actress is pretty good. Also like how by the finale it’s kind of known that she’s a witch and not a fairy so ancestral witches storyline? I’m also not mad they made her one character, it fit better for the story they were going for.

BRING BACK CLOUD TOWER!! NOT ALL WITCHES ARE BITCHES (mainly mirta)

I know Riven is an ass but it was d r a g g e d. Like let’s lead this guy on! Oh and do drugs on campus! I’m 16 btw but let’s get drunk every other scene! Not to shame though.

I just don’t like Sam, he was boring to me and contributed nothing. sorry

Dane had potential to be a great self discovery story but no let’s make him fat shame Terra because that’ll be cute! no.

It’s just weird to think that Sky’s father abandoned him to raise a completely different child.. I don’t- yeah..

Kiko is- oh wait he wasn’t there.

Why are they on instagram? If anything, they would’ve probably had something wayyy more advanced.

Adding more fire fairies just lessened the stakes of Bloom’s whole reasoning for trying to master the powers of the dragon flame because she was the only one left so she had no choice but Fate makes it easier to argue that she was just being selfish when in WC, it had to be done.

I do like male fairies and female specialist, power! but i wish they kept the schools separate.

I know everyone says this but.. their outfits could’ve given us another Euphoria like moment and they wasted that opportunity. I mean seriously, you put Bloom in Brandy Melville?

SHIPS

I wish SkyxBloom was more slow burn and had more build up. It was reasonable but idk the pace still seemed a bit fast.

There should be no world where SkyxBloomxStella would exist. Not in this or any other worlds.

MusaxSam was just boring.

TerraxDane just no.

wheres nabu for aisha? actually, respectfully do not let the same people cast Nabu and Helia because i just don’t trust y’all-

RivenxBeatrix, eh follows the og plot but i wasn’t really a fan of it back then too.

RivenxDane, seems queerbaity? maybe it was intentionally set up that way for development but it rubs me off wrong.

[ilikefandom]

Protection: Severus Snape x reader

Genre: Dark Fluff

Synopsis: Severus takes his fiancee, (Y/n), to a death eater meeting

Pairing: Severus Snape x Fem reader

Warrnings: Violence, Threat of Violence, Snakes, Abuse of Power

Sitting in her seat at the banquet (Y/n) shifted her body uncomfortably. Being engaged to Severus Snape was wonderful, however, his friends were less savory. As she listened to Lucius Malfoy drone on and on over his new bill idea for the ministry, something caught her attention. The younger Malfoy was rubbing his left arm almost unconsciously, almost as if his dark mark was new. Bellatrix was picking her nails with a silver knife, stealing glances at the door, and observing (Y/n) like she was a challenger in the colosseum.

“Severus,” (Y/n) whispered to her fiance, “could we leave soon? It feels awkward that the owner of the home, a.) talks of nothing but himself, b.) judges the ring you bought me because it’s ‘not high class enough, and c.) does not sit at the head of the table which remains empty.” She took a deep breath and continued. “Is somebody else coming?”

“Yes,” Severus hissed into her ear, “And when he arrives, apply the occlumency I have been teaching you. He is a skilled legilimens, even more so than I, he will try to gain entry to your mind.”

“Who is he? The minister?” (Y/n) asked with some fear in her eyes, if it was who she thought he was, well, there would be a reason to hide her memories with Severus. 

“Yes and no,” Severus explained, badly. 

The doors at the end of the hall opened and the sound of scales on stone rang throughout the room. 

(Y/n) grabbed his hand under the table, panic in her eyes, “I hate snakes.” She said quietly, shivering.

Narcissa, the nicer of the two hosts caught her eye from across the table and smiled reassuringly. (Y/n) took a deep breath and calmed her mind, so that the panic wouldn’t break her focus. The snake slithered into the candlestick near another man’s head.

As soon as the man, pale as snow, face of a snake, stepped into the room the room fell silent. He slunk, like his serpent into the chair at the head of the table.

“Severus,” Lord Voldemort said, as he looked up at the man in question. “You bring news I trust, and a lovely young lady I see. Come here girl.”

(Y/n) swallowed the air in her mouth and got out of her seat. She made her way to the front of the table and stood next to the dark wizard. 

The tendrils of intrusion tapped at her mental wall and found the door in the side. Memories came through her mind. Sitting at her desk dealing with Draco Malfoy who had used the Muggleborn slur, saying that he is entitled to his beliefs, but the use of the word ‘Mudblood’ is against school rules. Severus, holding her hand for the first time, on their first date, when he proposed, and having a meltdown when his third year class could not seem to grasp the use of moonstone in potion making. All of the memories, mundane and boring as they were, a shield for what she knew of Severus’ Order activities. 

“That is a lovely ring.” The dark wizard commented before gesturing at her to leave.

(Y/n) took a deep breath and sat down again. Severus tapped her on the knee letting her know that she did well. 

“You bring news, I trust, Severus.” Voldemort asked as he stared down the man in all black.

“It will happen next Saturday, at nightfall.” Sevurus stated as he stared back into the slitted pupils of Lord Voldemort’s eyes. 

Another death eater interrupted Severus as he said “I have heard differently my Lord. Dawlish the Auror has let slip that the Potter boy will not be moved until the 30th of this month, the day before he turns 17.”

Severus looked directly at the man and responded, “This is a false trail, the Auror Office no longer plays any part in the protection of Harry Potter. Those closest to him believe we have infiltrated the ministry.”

(Y/n) sat quiet, she was unaware of when the young man was to be moved, she wasn’t working as a spy, but rather another pair of eyes to observe the scenery. 

Another death eater piped in, “Well, they’ve got that right then.” 

The entire table of dark witches and wizards began to laugh, (Y/n) chuckled along, just to be polite, she wanted no part in the murder of a 16 year old boy. 

“What say you Pius?” Asked the dark lord, staring down the table at the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The room fell silent as he spoke, almost as if his voice extinguished the rest.

“One hears many things my Lord. Whether the truth is among them is not clear.” The man spoke, his charisma and effortlessness oozing within every word.

Voldemort laughed, looking Thicknesse in the eyes, “Spoken like a true politician. You will, I think, prove most useful Pius.” He smiled at the younger man, his teeth glinting in the firelight. The ministry member smiled back, just the slight raising of his lips. 

The Dark Lord then turned back to Severus, “Where will he be taken? The boy?” He asked with conviction, giving (Y/n) a slight glance as she held her gaze on the fire. Desperate to look anywhere but those snake eyes. 

“To a safehouse,” Severus responded, sliding his hand to hers, stroking it in a comforting gesture. The feeling of his, rough, calloused hands on her smaller ones felt like home. “Most likely the home of someone in the Order. I’m told it has been given every manner of protection possible. Once there, it will be impractical to attack it.”

The sound of a throat clearing echoed throughout the hall. “My Lord.” Bellatrix said, her voice grating across the stone like nails on a chalkboard, “I would like to volunteer myself for this task, I want to kill the boy.” The desperation in her voice was plainly obvious, she not only wanted to fulfill his expectations, she wanted him, romantically. (Y/n) almost gagged on the air. 

A strangled cry tore through the room and (Y/n) jumped slightly. Severus’ hand tightened on hers, keeping her in her seat.

“Wormtail!” Voldemort shouted at Pettigrew. “Have I not spoken to you about keeping our guest quiet!” His anger was apparent and (Y/n) was happy that she was not in the line of fire. Severus still held on to her hand as if to pull her behind him at any moment. 

“Yes my Lord, right away, my Lord.” The mousy man in the corner coward as he flicked his wand at the body floating at least five feet off the ground. 

(Y/n) recognised the woman from somewhere, but she had no clue of where.

“As inspiring as I find your bloodlust Bellatrix, I must be the one to kill Harry Potter.” He spoke to her as if she were a child, and, after he did, Bella hung her head in either shame or disappointment. “But,” Voldemort continued, “I face an unfortunate complication, that my wand and Potter’s share the same core. They are, in some ways, twins. We can wound, but not fatally harm one another. If I am to kill him I must do it with another’s wand. Come, surely one of you would like the honour, hmmm. What about you, Lucius?”

Lucius Malfoy who had paled at the mention of his name looked up at his dark master, who now stood behind him. “My, Lord,” he choked, unable to come up with words for the situation he found himself in. (Y/n) almost felt bad for him, but as she looked at the weasel struggling, she had to admit it felt good to watch him squirm. 

“My Lord,” Voldemort mocked, his sense of superiority clouding every syllable. “I require your wand,” he said as he stretched out a poorly manicured hand to accept Lucius’ wand. 

Narcissa looked straight ahead, but, as she sat across from (Yn), the latter could sense the panic flowing out of her eyes.

Lucius’ hands shook as he removed his wand from its cover and handed it to Lord Voldemort, not daring to look the other man in the eyes.

“Do I detect elm?” Voldemort asked, ushering glee into his voice as he manipulated his puppet. 

“Yes, My Lord.” Lucius responded, his voice barely above a whisper.

Voldemort snapped off the handle of the wand, causing its owner to flinch.

“And the core?” Voldemort examined the wand a bit further to exploit Lucius’ discomfort. 

“Dragon, dragon heartstring, my Lord.” Lucius murdered as he looked away from his broken wand, eyes fixing to the table.

“Dragon heartstring.” The Dark Lord repeated, rubbing salt into Lucius’ wounds, tossing the handle onto the table, causing Lucius to flinch once again at his master’s actions.

Voldemort moved away from Lucius, flicking the broken wand at the woman’s body, causing it to drift over the table. 

“To those of you who do not know, we are joined here tonight by Miss. Charity Burbage.” The evil man said, his voice soft, but commanding.

Charity, (Y/n) knew that name, she was the woman that Severus had introduced to her at Slughorn’s last party of the year. She had not liked Charity’s pushy point of view on muggles. Not that she disagree with half bloods, but her approach on teaching was a bit, well, opinionated.

“Who, until recently, taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her speciality was Muggle Studies.” The crowd of death eaters laughed at the woman who was trying to escape her magical bonds. “It is Miss. Burbage’s belief that Muggles are not so different from us. She would, given her way, have us mate with them.”

The assembly of death eaters jeered at Charity making faces of disgust and yelling insults at her. Bellatrix laughed as the body passed by her, making her point of view on muggles quite clear. 

“To her,” Voldemort continued, “the mixture of magical and muggle blood is not an abomination, but simply, to be encouraged.”

“Severus,” Charity whimpered. “Severus, please.” The woman begged, with her eyes, for Severus to set her free. He did not move. “We’re friends,”

Severus stared at the woman with a blank face, his face twisted into a mask of indifference.

Voldemort casted the killing curse upon Charity, causing her corpse to hit the table. 

(Y/n) jumped at the clunk, as well as several other death eaters. The hissing of the snake almost drove her into a panic attack. 

“Nagini,” Voldemort spoke to the snake that had slithered up to the table. “Dinner.”

Severus, knowing what was going to happen next, lunged to press (Y/n)’s face into his chest, a move that was laughed at by several of his colleagues. 

Nagini lunged at Charity’s body and began to devour it. Severus kept his large hand pressed to the back of your skull. And it was at that moment that he knew. He would watch any number of his colleagues die to protect (Y/n). Even if he had to do it himself.

Hi readers! This is based off of the Meeting at Malfoy Manor scene from the Deathly Hallows pt.1 movie. I do not own Harry Potter. Please send in requests and asks! - Author

[jaskiersbeloved]

the (not so) calm before the storm

summary: He was the Prince! But was he really?

authors note: This is my first fic for the Sanders Sides fandom so I am acyually pretty nervous about how this one went. But I hope you liked it!

Come and yell at me, if you want!

spoilers from “putting others first”!

Read on AO3

The wind was blowing hard outside the window. The rain was pouring even harder, almost muffling the sound of the soft piano melody that was filling the room.

In the middle of it there was a bed. A bed, that could easily fit in two grown men. It was a bed, that would certainly be worthy of a ...

"Prince" scoffed Roman.

He was sitting just at the very edge of it. In his hands was the red sash that he would so proudly wore everyday. But not today. Not after everything that has happened.

Patton... Could be wrong. De... JANUS was a person who was worthy of trust, of all things sacred! The literal embodiment of lies!

Careful Roman. If it weren't for the moustache I wouldn't know who the evil twin is.

Roman squeezed his eyes tighter, feeling the tears that began to once again fall down from his face.

Let's move on to something we're both familiar with, Roman. Mistakes.

He has made a mistake. A huge mistake that had cost Thomas his happiness...

... and mental health points.

Roman groaned, falling back on the bed. Since he has sunk out, the snake's voice couldn't leave his head.

He hated Dec... Janus. Hated him so much. For manipulating him from the get go, for bringing up his confidence just to crush it down, but most of all...

For sounding so RIGHT.

Roman wiped his face angrily with his sleeve and looked at his sash.

To most people it was just a simple accessory. A decoration, a pop of colour that would stand out from his white robes. Not so quite for Roman. He always thought of it as a clear sign of his prince-like status. And what are the main principles of being a prince?

To be just. Kind. Approachable. Morally good. Selfless. Brave. Strong. Noble. Loved by everyone.

Am I worthy to still be the Prince that Thomas wants me to be? Roman wondered, nervously ruffing his hair.

He tried to be just during the trail. He tried so much. But it looked like it wasn't enough. He hated to admit that, but Janus was right. The decision he made that day served literally no-one. Especially not Thomas.

Kind? No, definitely no. He laughed at Janus' name. Roman mentally cringed at the memory of it. That wasn't kind, but cruel. And it was the same mistake that he did with... Right, next.

Approachable. Yes, that he still was. If Thomas or the others needed him he would still appear, no matter how he would feel.

He couldn't help but scoff. The ugly feeling inside of him, that appeared during the video grew stronger, making him feel cold.

Wasn't the whole point of the video to also take care of one's mental health before helping others? And what was his advice worth anyway? It's not like anyone would listen to him...

Morally good. No. They did talk about it a LOT today. If he'd spared it one more thought he would explode.

Selfless. He tried to be. He tried to be so hard that he actually hurt everyone.

Roman jumped at the realization.

He has hurt Thomas. The very person he has sworn to protect. He did that. His actions did that.

The feeling grew stronger.

The creative side clutched the sash tighter, looking at it, as it would hold the explanations, reassurances he needed. He started to breathe quicker, as he continued down the list.

Brave and strong. Yeah, in the Imagination he was. But that's all it was. Imagination. It was relatively easy to fight with the dragon witch, because he knew he was ought to win. There was simply no other option. But in the real life? During the confrontation with any other of the sides? He would lash out out of fear of being mistaken. That isn't real strength. The imaginary battles served absolutely no one if they didn't pay off in real life. They were purposeless.

The tears fell again, staining the sash. The only sound that was coming to Roman has been his own frantic breathing. He couldn't stop thinking.

Noble.

I was actually impressed with you. You made such a NOBLE sacrifice.

Frustrated he covered his ears.

"Get out of my head!" he yelled, choking on his tears.

Loved by everyone.

We love you.

No.

No they don't.

And that's when the tame broke. Roman curled inside himself, crying. He dropped the sash and clutched his hair in a death grip.

What is right? What is good? What is kind? What is just?

He's the prince, for god's sake! He should know!

But he didn't. He didn't. And that terrified him.

Suddenly he felt like he couldn't breathe. Absolutely no air was entering his lungs. He started to choke.

Instinctively he brought a hand over his chest, as he fought, he fought for one gulp of air to enter, so he could stop choking, but he couldn't, he couldn't, he...

Suddenly a hand landed on his shoulder. Startled he tore his eyes from his knees and looked up... Right into Virgil's worried glance.

"Ro," he said gently "calm down. Everything's okay."

It's not! Can't he see?!

Seeing as he started to choke again, Virgil swiftly tore Roman's hand from his clammy chest to his warm one.

"Roman" he said, without breaking the eye contact. "Breathe. Just like I do now. In." Under his fingers, Roman could feel how Virgil's chest rose and heard how the anxious side slowly drew his breath through his nose. He tried to mimic that, but the movement caused him only to cough.

Vigil sent him a weak smile.

"Try again" he prompted, with a still gentle voice.

Seeing his earnest glance Roman tried again. This time no coughing. The precious, precious air, finally filled his lungs. He closed his eyes.

"Out" he heard Virgil saying. He did just that.

They sat there, just breathing, until Roman felt calmer. But then the shame came. Suddenly he felt very stupid. Some prince he was, to break down just like that!

He tried to scoot himself back, but Virgil's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Ro?"

That damn tone again.

Virgil was never THAT gentle. What has Roman even done to deserve that?! He has hurt Virgil in the past, so what on Cinderella's glass slipper has he done to deserve that?!

"W- what..." he managed to croak and then coughed. His throat was dry. Probably because of all of that needless panicking. "What are you doing here?" he finally said, avoiding Virgil's eyes.

He heard a sigh.

"Well... I kinda heard what has happened and sensed that you're anxious so..."

Roman shook his head in a silent disbelief. So Virgil knew what happened. Why was he with him? Shouldn't he... Take care of Patton? He was much more important than him.

"I don't need pity" he muttered. The hand on his shoulder gripped him a bit tighter.

"I don't pity you, Princey" He couldn't help but flinch at the familiar nickname. Princey. Yeah. Sure.

If Virgil noticed the flinch he didn't mention it. He seemingly decided to just continue.

"I actually wanted to tell you something."

Roman completely froze. He felt his anxiety spike. He clutched helplessly at the cover of the bed, waiting.

"There is but one essential justice which cements society, and one law which enables justice. This law is the right reason, which is the true rule of all commandments and prohibitions. Whoever neglects this law, whether written or unwritten, is necessarily unjust and wicked."

Roman blinked and dared to look at Virgil. He anxiously run his hand through his hair.

"I don't understand" he whispered, looking at the other side with glassy eyes. Virgil looked like he wanted to chuckle, but thought the better of it.

"What I mean is, Sir Singalot" he began, scooting closer to Roman. The creative side felt himself relax, a little bit. "Is that you had a right reason when you chose to decide to go to the wedding. You heard us all, and..." he chewed on his lip. "...and even though we all... Pressured you, you did what you thought was best for Thomas. You did that, because you felt it was okay. You didn't do that just to spite someone. You couldn't have predicted what would happen. No-one could. Beating yourself over that won't do you any good, trust me."

Roman sighed. Deeply.

"You see, I kinda know that" he said, again avoiding looking at Virgil. "But also... It's not why I am so upset."

"Is it because of Deceit?" he heard Virgil say. He scoffed, staring at the wall in front of him.

"Of course it is" he muttered angrily.

Because Roman would make ya sick.

His brother's voice rang in his head. Roman pressed his lips, trying to stop his tears from falling.

Silence fell over the two of them.

I wouldn't know who the evil twin is.

If Patton can be wrong... Then whose to say that Roman actually is the good twin? He had listed all of the principles of the prince and... And he couldn't fit in almost any of them! Whose to say that Remus of all people didn't have all of those in him? Maybe he should take the wheel? Maybe Roman should simply...

"Virgil?" he whispered.

"Hm?"

"How did you duck out?"

Virgil immediately sat up.

"What?" he asked. Roman winced, hearing how terrified his voice sounded. Great. He's on a good way to hurt yet another person.

"How did you duck out?" he repeated, quietly this time.

He felt as Virgil hands turned his head, so that he could face him. And he immediately wished he didn't.

Virgil looked... Worried. Terrified out of his mind. And above all of that he looked...

Great Roman. You did it. You managed to hurt the last person in this fucking household!

"Roman" Virgil said, his voice actually wavering, full of emotions. What emotions, Roman couldn't say.

"You... You don't actually..." Roman hung his head, feeling the tears welling in his eyes yet again.

"Roman" Virgil repeated with a panicky note in his voice. "Promise me, promise you don't..."

"I DON'T KNOW!" he snapped, breaking from Virgil's hold. Angry tears started to fall down from his face. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! Patton can be wrong Virgil! And it was HIM that said I'm the good one! But if he's wrong then whose to say I am not bad?! If Deciet's a good guy now, then everything's... Everyone can be bad! I can be bad!" he yelled.

Virgil just started blankly at him, clearly at loss as to what to do. Roman laughed hysterically. At that moment, what he said hit him with a full force of it.

I can be the bad one.

He slumped down on the bed.

"I can be the bad one" he repeated with an empty voice. And then he covered his eyes and started to openly weep.

Just a moment later he felt a pair of arms pulling him in. His head fell on a chest and be couldn't do anything other than just clutch to the fabric of the black hoodie and cry his eyes out. He felt as Virgil started to gently rock them, trying to calm him down.

He didn't know how long they stayed like that. It honestly didn't matter to him. But at the end of it he just felt... Numb. Numb and so, so tired, mostly because of the crying. Virgil was still holding him, gently stroking his back, which made Roman kind of sleepy. He closed his eyes. Just for a second, he thought to himself. They've just established that it's actually good to be selfish anyway and...

He drifted off.

Virgil sighed, as he felt Roman relaxing.

Logan actually filled him in earlier, and what the logical side didn't tell him, a very worried Patton did. And Virgil. Was. Furious.

Not only Janus was accepted. But he also made Roman and Patton feel like absolute shit. So he went to Roman's room. Patton told him, that he actually wanted to do it, but Virgil just gritted through his teeth, that maybe it's best he'd do it.

As it turned out, it was the right thing to do. Virgil honestly didn't want to think how the conversation would have gone if Patton were the one who would tried to comfort Roman. Fuck, he himself wasn't sure if he actually did a better job, but at least Roman was resting.

He carefully untangled himself from the Prince and as quietly as he could tucked him in.

Leaving the bed he noticed a red cloth lying on the floor. He took it and covered his mouth to muffle to gasp that escaped him when he noticed it was actually Roman's sash. How bad did Roman feel to just abandon one of his favourite accessories like that?

Virgil didn't know. But that was a conversation for another day. Roman needed to rest.

So he folded the sash and laid it on the nightstand, feeling absolutely tired. They had to fix that. Fast.

As he was about to leave when a realization struck him. He turned around and looked at Roman's sleeping form.

How did you duck out?

Promise me...

Roman didn't promise.

[korra-the-red-lion]

Supergirl 6x11: Mxy in the Middle.

Hey everyone! Sorry this is a week late. I had a family emergency last week then I had to work two days and two nights, so I just wasn’t really in a great headspace to watch SG. I watched it today though, and I will watch tonight’s episode tomorrow morning! So, what did I think of this episode? Let’s find out and as always, SPOILERS AHEAD.

Mxy explaining Nyxly’s backstory to the tune of I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor was not something I was expecting, but it was fun in a cringe way! Everyone was hating it except for Alex was hilarious.

I do like Nyxly’s vibe. I think she’s an interesting villain. She’s been scorn by so many people in her life, and just when she thought her and Kara were connecting on a deep level, Kara ‘betrays’ her. Now granted, Nyxly brought Kara’s ‘betrayal’ on herself, but it does make sense. She’s not the best villain from the show, but I’m enjoying her quite a bit. And it looks like Peta is having a good time playing her as well!

Nia feeling immense guilt letting her free but not telling anyone why until further into the episode is such a Supergirl mood, haha.

The Brainia content this episode was really good, though. I love that they always support one another, it’s really refreshing to see.

Lena Luthor. Ma’am. That outfit is fantastic. And Andrea letting her borrow a jet and calling to check in on her is a nice reminder of their friendship.

I also am enjoying Lena’s storyline. I know some people felt like the Witch Lena stuff came from out of nowhere, and that’s very valid, but I personally feel like they sort of began teasing it back in s4. Now, s5 was such a dumpster fire in comparison that I think we as a fandom have forgotten a lot of content introduced back then, I know I have. I mean hell, look at how quickly they brought back the adoption storyline.

I am missing Kelly this episode, but I also think it was the right move to have the focus be a little narrower this episode. Plus I know she’s gonna be bombass in episode 12, so I’m not too upset.

Alex and J’onn just deadpanned staring at Mxy as he tries to explain everything was hilarious. I love when these two do stuff like that.

Okay, for some reason I saw a LOT of people complaining about the giant cat. I think that yes, the CGI wasn’t fantastic, but it was fun! Kara using her eye lasers to distract it was really clever and funny. I’m trying to decide if Brainy using a container like that is another Ghostbusters reference or a Danny Phantom reference haha.

All three people in Newfoundland being mean to Lena. Poor girl can’t even catch a break in effing Canada. Shame on my fictional people with mild Irish accents. But seriously though, laughing over the Irish accents of the Newfoundlanders.

The bartender lady roasting Lena for running around with aliens but not believing in magic was great! She also had a great line about the Luthors: “Your family may be used to leaving a trail of bodies behind, but you could have had the decency to leave these ones buried” or something like that. I just thought it was very cool.

Okay, admittedly that wig is pretty bad haha.

Elizabeth and the other witches using magic on some abusive bastard and somehow we’re supposed to believe the women thought they were evil? Yeah right. They went to the bar and celebrated in style after that.

I’m ready for Witch Lena to come back to National City and Kara being wide-eyed about it. 

Nia telling Brainy and Kara, the two people most important in her life, was a good moment. She felt really guilty about it, but both of them understood why she did it. It was a really good moment.

This was probably the only thing in the episode I didn’t like, truthfully. They had this whole plan about Nia using some technology to disguise herself as Mxy to get a cuff on Nyxly to block her powers. Okay, then it goes wrong right away because of her magic. Why did J’onn just shapeshift? Wouldn’t that have been safer? Plus he’s got more speed than Nia if something did go wrong. That was the only thing that had me rolling my eyes because it was a simple thing that the writers made harder on purpose.

The dragon looked a lot better than the cat, though it didn’t do much.

Mxy sacrificed himself because he didn’t want Kara to use the PZ device. I do like that Kara understands that while Nxyly is doing something wrong, she’s doing it from a place of pain. Yes, Kara says she’s no longer holding back after this but she does have a soft spot for Nxyly.

Overall, this episode wasn’t the best one. It wasn’t the worst episode of the season. I believe that still belongs to the trial episode. However, I don’t think it was bad as I thought it was going to be based on fan reaction. I do hope for more Kara in upcoming episodes because she does feel a bit like a passive player in her own show at the moment. But tonight’s episode should be good!

[livlepretre]

I started watching TVD while season 5 was airing, and I loved it. I was so excited when I caught up, but quickly started losing interest. As a person who despises pregnancy plot lines that should be impossible and make no logical sense in canon, The Originals was always a lost cause for me. I also hated the oocness of the characters. I begrudgingly made my way through season 6 of TVD and honestly couldn’t make it through the first few episodes of season 7. At that point in time, I didn’t like the conflicts, how the show kept breaking its on mythology rules, and how most characters were acting out of character. I think it’s a total shame because I absolutely adore this universe and the characters attached to it. Canon divergent fics like yours allow me to enjoy what could have been. So, did you watch TVD all the way through? Did you watch The Originals? If not, what was the straw that broke the camel’s back and what plot lines and character arcs would you have liked to see on the show/shows? How would you have preferred the show to end? Finally, what kind of thoughts do you have when you hear crazy stuff that happened (ex. Caroline having Ric’s kids and him being in unrequited love with her or Legacies having their characters fight gargoyles, dragons, etc.. throughout Mystic Falls while Damon and Elena’s kids are still in town raising their own kids) Cuz sometimes I read things and I’m like WTF? Who thought this made sense?

Okay, wow, I love that you asked me these questions, because as it turns out I have been bugging my RL friends with my tormented TVD takes for years now. I’m going to put everything under a cut though because this answer promises to be very long. 

Edit: This got sort of stupid long. Read at your own risk haha. 

So, I think to answer this, I have to address the things I love so much about TVD and why I’m still thinking about it/writing fic for it years and years after it lost me. I’m going to take this chronologically because there’s a lot to unpack. 

What I loved

My introduction to TVD was over the summer before season 2 aired; I remember seeing the promotional materials on the CW before I left for college the fall before, and writing it off (which: fair of me, those season 1 promotions were abysmal). But luckily my sister, God bless her, understood me better than I understood myself and made me sit down and marathon the first season with her. I made fun of it pretty hard until the episode where Vicki got turned, and then an episode later got staked, which shut me up and got me paying attention. At some point over the course of the season that show went from haha laugh at it to holding my throat and there are sooo many good reasons for this. I remained hyperfixated throughout seasons 2-4, which I would religiously watch just as soon as I could pirate them. 

The thing about TVD was that it was, for several years, a master class in narrative structure. What I mean by this is that it did two things very very very well: 

1) one thing always led organically to the next -- the thing that actual kicks off the plot in TVD is Damon coming to town to open the tomb. From that point on, he opens the tomb, which leads to the tomb vamps escaping, which leads to Katherine taking notice, so she comes to Mystic Falls, which leads to others discovering Elena, which leads to Elijah, which leads to Klaus, and the other Originals. Very neatly done, and a wonderful, fast way of constantly shifting the action in believable and organic ways 

2) they had this thing where they would announce something cataclysmic, like opening the tomb or sacrificing the main character, or even dropping the veil in season 4/again (?) in season 5, and in most shows, the whole point would be to avert those things-- but TVD has this way of announcing the doom and then forcing us through it. 

There were other things-- stakes were high (ha! pun!) -- Vicki could get staked midway through season 1, Jenna could get killed in the sacrifice, and they could sweep the rug out from under you by having the whole premise of what you THOUGHT you understood about the show turn out to be untrue-- the first big instant of this was the certainty that Katherine was actually in the tomb and if the tomb was opened that Damon would save her-- finding out she was never in there at all was mind-boggling. Another really excellent moment I recall was 2x09-- so, the thing is, one of the biggest mysteries in the show up until that point was “Why does Elena look exactly like Katherine?” We knew/suspected she was a descendent, and the term doppelganger was bandied about, but it felt really shocking to have it LITERALLY be used in the mythology (to see your doppelganger is a sign of certain death, which it IS how CREEPY!) and then in 2x09, everything gets turned on its head AGAIN when we discover “it’s not that Elena looks like Katherine, it’s that Elena and Katherine look like someone else”-- the idea that KATHERINE is a doppelganger was earth shattering. This show. 

Also the way that the show played with audience expectations? Like, in 1x04, the audience expectation would be for Elena to be angry at Stefan and not trust him after Damon (or was it Caroline? It’s been years since I’ve watched) says some stuff intended to set her against Stefan. But instead she figures it out fast and comes back to slap Damon and apologize to Stefan. It was an early sign that the show would jump over the expected hurdles. One of the brilliant things it does too is play with the horror genre. The characters (in the early seasons) were some of the smartest on tv because they were genre savvy, and they thought like a real person would and not like a character so often-- I remember being amazed by how often they jumped over the obvious pitfalls and came to sound conclusions. 2x12 The Descent sticks out to me-- Elena versus the mad dying vampire. Also the entire daggering sequence in 2x16 is God tier, as well as Elena’s bargain with Elijah in 2x11. Hmm and also the way the show would even play with expectations based on the fact that it’s a show? The fact that Katherine and Mason were working together is still one of the greatest plot twists of all time in my opinion, not because of how left field it is or wild or anything, but because it should have been totally obvious but our expectations of season premiers made it totally camouflaged! Like, yes, Mason and Katherine DO show up at the exact same time... in 2x01, which is a season premier, so we as an audience know and expect that new characters will be introduced in that episode. The fact that the show knew that and played us for fools will always go down as a favorite moment for me. 

Well. Needless to say there are countless other amazing things. The darkness of the show and its commitment to exploring vampirism as a curse, and oddly a very human one, was mesmerizing. Damon breaking Jeremy’s neck. “I miss being human. I miss it more than anything in the world.” Elena slow moral decay. The shock and horror when Caroline is turned. The relationships between the brothers. The way that the gang can’t ever sit easy with each other-- that Bonnie sees how Damon and Stefan are a poison, how everyone lies to Tyler and it hurts him so he hurts them-- Katherine’s doomed history? Tragic. Beautiful. Amazing. 

I remember the fandom was a very different space in those early seasons too. The show was just so dreamy and frightening and dark. It was like a very bad dream you couldn’t wake up from and maybe also didn’t want to. The fics were kind of gloomy and frightening and people were much more willing to explore the monstrous side of the show. 

So. The issues that I had. 

The very first thing I remember feeling a twinge of unease about was when they put Katherine in the tomb in 2x07 only to take her out again in 2x09. I remember her getting sealed up in that tomb in 2x07 was HORRIFYING but also??? Brilliant? Justice? Amazing? It was taking out a villain when and how they said they were going to do it and I loved it. I didn’t quite like how she kept being an active role in the story, no matter how much I adore Katherine as a character, because it destroyed the impact of her in that tomb at all. If it were me, I would have put her in that tomb and saved her as a character, only to take her out like seasons down the road when the audience may have mostly forgotten about her and she could have been a secret ace. 

There were other ultimately minor things in season 2-- the sun and moon curse being a fake, for example-- which at the time ruffled me a bit but I was willing to just brush it off because, well, season 2 of The Vampire Diaries is unspeakably good. 

I went into season 3 with the same level of hyperfixation as I had in season 2 (read: immense). And those first 6 episodes were pretty damn near perfect, with 3x05 being like the horrible culmination of everything I, already a klaulena shipper, could ever want. 

My first sign that things were going in a weird direction was 3x07, Ghost World. I remember that episode feeling... weaker. Like, what was the point of Lexi having Elena torture Stefan? That didn’t seem to do anything at all. The Other Side stuff is something I pretty much disliked at the time but at this point I’m so used to it that I accept it as a kind of limbo space mostly for vampires (and also witches? but hopefully more pleasant and less of a wasteland of eternal wandering for witches than it is for vampires). 

3x08 Ordinary People was an abomination and I still hate it and everything built on it. So, at the end of season 2, Elijah says his family comes from Eastern Europe. A nice, normal answer that makes sense. It also dovetailed really well with Slavic vampire folklore, so there was a great tie in that felt right with the meta-awareness of the show (it was for a while very much so a vampire show about vampire shows, and the diaries were part of that meta level writing). The idea that they were VIKINGS in VIRGINIA in this random WEREWOLF SETTLEMENT gives me such a migraine that I don’t think I can go into it here. I hate it with an unflinching fury. I think I used the “Mikaelson” name once or twice in FE and I hate myself for that more than anything else I’ve ever done in my writing. It makes no sense and betrays the writers as not even having a very vague idea of history and it is like fingers on a chalkboard for me. My fingers, feeling all of that horrible chalky friction. ELIJAH THERE WERE NO WILD HORSES IN AMERICA A THOUSAND YEARS AGO. WHY ARE YOUR NAMES HALF VIKING AND HALF HEBREW EXCEPT FOR THE RANDOM GERMAN NAMES. WHY WHY WHY. 

Deep breath. 

The other thing I really hated in that episode was Rebekah’s “it’s a protection spell of course.” 

Honestly I think that was the actual sword plunging into TVD’s heart and the show just slowly bled out from there and I was so shocked and betrayed by that that it just took me years of trying to stop the hemorrhaging before I finally accepted that it was a mortal wound. 

You have to understand that I continued to watch seasons 3 and 4 the way an abandoned dog will wait for its owner to return. I just couldn’t help myself. It had been my favorite favorite show (and sort of still is?)

Well. Why did I hate this protection spell thing so much. TVD had made it very clear in the early seasons of the show that becoming a vampire was BAD. It was a fate worse than death. The whole angst of season 1 relies on us feeling the TRAGEDY when Giuseppe murders his sons and they become vampires. Because vampires in TVD aren’t inhuman, per se; they’re still the same person, they still have their souls, their consciences, their moralities... they’re just also saddled with this insatiable burning thirst for human blood that drives them to commit the very worst deeds, that drives them down these dark paths of horror and soul-scouring guilt as they repeatedly succumb, over and over and over and over again, to their worst impulses, until they finally stop caring and become monsters in truth. Until they forget about the simple warmth of a human connection, of good things like love and friendship and family. TVD made it clear that to be a vampire was to be in hell. It’s why Damon promises Stefan an eternity of misery. It’s why the group responds with HORROR when Caroline is turned in 2x02. It’s why Damon’s confession in 2x12 rips at our hearts, and why the stakes are so high when we wonder whether Elena will be a vampire at the end of season 2. The show is very clear that it’s not actually becoming a vampire that makes us monsters, but the actions we take once we become vampires that make us monsters... but that those actions are also nearly inevitable and precipitous once the transition occurs. It’s really tragic. 

I remember the summer before season 3 aired the fan spaces were all abuzz with speculation about “what could Klaus have done that was so bad that not only was the vampire curse inflicted on him, but also on his entire family?” (that was the prevailing theory for how he could be the “first” Original vampire-- he was the one who had actually done whatever the thing was that had precipitated what was OBVIOUSLY a vengeance curse.)

Ordinary People was like LOL! NOPE! Joke’s on you for thinking we were going to actually discuss self-destructive behavior and the human psyche through the metaphorical lens of vampirism ;) 

There were definitely other things in season 3 that bugged-- the serial killer thing was hard to follow (and I tend to criticize anything that’s hard to follow for any viewer watching week to week, while also paying close attention... because that means it’s probably not well enough explained), the white oak stake bridge was LOL fine, it did lead to some epic stakings by our boy Matt tag-teaming with Elena and Stefan, and I did enjoy the idea that the whole bloodline dies... anyway, I digress. 

The flashbacks started being a problem in season 3. In season 1 & season 2, the flashbacks basically all told a continuous B storyline. In season 1, of course, we have 1864, in that gorgeous blue cast. We get a little additional information of that in season 2, and it’s amazing. But then in season 2, the B story is 1492, in that golden cast, also amazing. 

After that the flashbacks that start in season 3 are pretty random. We don’t have stories being told in the past throughout the season, but instead, random one-offs in random colors telling random stories. Not bad, per se, but definitely less affecting and much less cohesive and meaningful. 

Here’s the big big big issue with season 3: Klaus. 

The whole point of the season was to kill Klaus. It was explicitly stated. 

Every other season, once the motivation was stated, the show went through with it: open the tomb, stake the tomb vamps, take down Katherine, find a way to save Elena during the sacrifice, etc. 

Now, as everyone knows, I love and adore Klaus. But I also sort of hate him because I think the writers loved him too much and they wrecked the show a bit with him. They wanted to create drama with a “kill Klaus!” arc but there was never that much tension in it because I was certain from 3x12 onward that they never would. (well, I was stunned when he got staked at the end of season 3 and I just sort of whispered, “good” to my empty dorm room at the time-- but that was short-lived). It really really really took the wind out of the show’s sails when they didn’t stake him by season’s end, so the MOST major thing I would have done would have been to kill him off somehow at the end of season 3. 

If they didn’t kill him off, they should have devised a way to make peace/have Team Mystic Falls need him and him need them much earlier and much more concretely than they ever did. With the way things played out in actuality, our protagonists failed to do the one thing protagonists MUST do: take defining action. All of their actions in season 3 are completely for nothing, and that makes the whole thing fall apart. 

This also brings me around to something that will surprise absolutely no one: I have a lot of problems with the way that klaus x caroline was handled. I think it COULD have been done convincingly, but the writers were lazy/were very clearly just trying to get Klaus a ship because the actor is hot, and so they gave us the horse drawing, and the prom dress, and the ball gown, and frankly, a list of villain decay moments that I just... don’t know what to do with. And the ship pretty much ruined Caroline’s character because the whole point of her was that she was so much deeper and kinder than anyone gave her credit for, even than she gave herself credit for, but the ship was like LOL! NOPE! (I have a lot more on this written elsewhere in my blog) Also my boy Tyler got cut out of a HUGE amount of this show to make room for this ship, which was lousy. 

My last thought about season 3 is that this is when the characters-- especially Damon-- started to really decay. Rewatching early seasons of the show is WILD because Damon is WEIRD. He is so other and off-putting-- beautiful, but very very strange-- it’s in the way smolderholder held himself, the way he spoke, all the little things that sent little alarm bells ringing. He was delightfully inhuman. 

I vividly remember the stupid chipmunk argument in... 3x16? somewhere around there-- with Stefan in some back alley in Mystic Falls and I was just??? That was the moment I realized that all of those things about Damon’s acting that had appealed to me had vanished. I think the writers were trying to make him more likable/humanize him so he could be the main love interest, but it was very frustrating to me. 

Moving on to season 4. I was actually into the sire bond because it was difficult and problematic and felt to me like a chance to explore more complex issues through the “vampire” metaphor the way the show had done in earlier seasons. (I know this storyline is pretty much hated, but my stance is: if you don’t want dark, problematic, uncomfortable, and toxic storylines, don’t watch vampire genre tv shows. That simple!) 

I don’t mind the idea of the “cure” and I don’t even mind the Hunter thing/that Jeremy could be a Hunter (although I found the coincidence dumb). 

ACTUALLY what I would have liked VERY MUCH would be for Elena to go through most of her season 4 storyline-- becoming a vampire, having Jeremy die and her turning off her emotions, then going on her evil vampire rampage and actually killing and hurting innocents, only THEN for her to have the cure forced on her after like a year of being a vampire. The defining arc of Elena’s character in the early seasons is her moral decay-- Katherine is the warning of what Elena will inevitably become if she continues down the path she’s on-- so it would be fascinating to see her go DOWN that path, very far, and then to have her become human again-- and have her actually have to deal with the horrors she committed. (I have a bit of a theory that vampires have one foot over the veil into the realm of death, and maybe this, if anything, makes it easier for them to forget their humanity/become truly monstrous, but that becoming human again would slam all of that into the front and center again)-- it would be a way for Elena to actually have to confront her story arc-- what path is she going to go down? Is she going to continue her slide into callousness and monstrosity? Or can she turn it around? Must she give up the Salvatores to do that? 

I don’t really mind the season 4 Silas content. Will say that once again the inclusion of any of the Originals in season 4 is pretty useless which is frustrating to me, and their place in the TVD narrative in general is an annoying dead-end. 

However, I do think that Silas introduces a big shift in TVD: their need for a yearly big bad. As I mentioned above, TVD was always “one thing leading to another” -- starting with Silas, they started introducing yearly Big Bads (Silas, the Travelers, Kai) that were arbitrary and frustrating and were the thing that most broke me out of my suspension of in-universe belief. The idea that the show would need a big bad was a fundamental misunderstanding of the narrative structure of the first 3 seasons by the writers in those later seasons. 

You asked what the straw that broke the camel’s back was and I can tell you, it was this: 

I laughed myself sick and that was the last time that TVD was appointment television for me. I call this the Party City Greek costume. 

I did eventually marathon season 5 well after it was over, and even though a lot all of the ways the show retconned itself drove me insane, it was overall fun just to watch for the drama and the pace. 

My biggest problems with season 5... 

This was around the time that Bonnie was dead then alive then dead then alive... I can’t actually keep track any more at this point what’s up with our girl 

Stelena pretty much disappeared. 

I actually think one of the bigger problems in the show was that the show was stronger when it was mostly about Damon, Stefan, and Elena, and at some point they gave more equal screen time to other characters which ended up meaning that I spent a lot of screen time with characters I just didn’t care about (ENZO) 

UGH THE DOPPELGANGER STUFF

So, if you’ve read my fics, you know I spend a huge amount of time parsing the mechanics of the doppelganger, how the magic around it might work, what the implications are, etc. 

I CAN’T STAND what happened to the doppelganger stuff in season 5! UGH. HOW DOES TOM WHAT’S HIS FACE EXIST? DID STEFAN HAVE A BABY WHEN HE WAS 15?!? Seriously!!! HOW!!!! Because it’s real clear in canon that only DIRECT line descendants create doppelgangers! 

ALSO. The Amara thing. Just stop it. 

This actually leads to a pretty major issue: TVD had a bad habit of establishing really exquisite doomed histories and then wrecking them with too much information later. 

The story of Tatia Petrova is a masterpiece in doomed, tragic, romantic mythology. Teenage girl falls in love with two brothers and so their parents decide to use her as the blood sacrifice for their creepy curse “protection spell” and so they murder her-- you get the image of how terrified she must have been, dragged out of her home in the middle of the night, trapped, maybe dying slowly, how she dies for loving too much, for being just a little too wild, a little too trusting-- and how that curse echoes down the ages. The idea that that act of savagery somehow created the doppelganger line. The Amara thing (as well as the Originals revelation that Elijah killed Tatia) gut the impact of that TVD myth-- which was a strong one in the imaginations of the viewers. 

And the idea that vampire doppelganger blood is useful for anything??? I can’t. The WHOLE POINT of season 2 is that Katherine turns herself into a vampire to avoid the sacrifice! We are explicitly told-- you can’t be two things at once, if you become a vampire, you negate your identity as a witch or a doppelganger or whatever-- literally the WHOLE PLOT of season 2 centers on how useless Elena’s blood would be if she were turned! And now Stefan is in on this? NOPE. I’m out. 

Anyway, another myth that got wrecked in season 5 was the Katerina Petrova myth. Part of her tragedy is that she never even gets to hold her baby. Is the idea that her baby grows up and has a normal life and Katerina never even gets to find out anything about her. That she completely loses this one thing that might have humanized her. And then of course the great tragedy in England that ultimately destroys her. I really hated meeting Katherine’s daughter, because it reversed the pathos of Katherine’s past and rendered it emotionally inert. And also Nadia sucked. 

The Travelers were fun enough but also they made no sense (DOPPELGANGER VAMPIRE BLOOD) but most especially I hated the idea that Katherine was a Traveler just WHY 

I got... partway through season 6, although, I couldn’t tell you where exactly I stopped watching for no particular reason. 

I remember really enjoying Tyler x Liv and the way that they made Tyler human again, and brought Alaric back, etc at the end of season 5-- it felt like such a fresh reboot to everything and it’s one of the things that TVD does really well. 

That Thanksgiving episode sticks out to me as a train wreck though because I realized that the central conflict had absolutely nothing to do with any of the characters I actually cared about, and was instead about the twins... whom I liked, but not really any more than I liked the Martins in season 2, you know? 

Also vampire blood being unable to cure cancer sounds arbitrary to me. 

As for how I would have preferred the show to end? 

Hmm. Well. I think it should have ended sooner-- this “the show is really about these two brothers” is just incorrect. The show was about the two brothers and Elena. It was about that triangulated relationship. I think that even if Elena ended up with one or the other at any given point in the show, the other third point in that triangle should have stuck around-- I’ve always disliked Stefan slinking off in season 5 because it tears apart the foundation of the show. 

I have no idea how it should have ended. I guess? the ending? was okay? I’ve never actually seen it. 

On to the Originals... so, the magical pregnancy didn’t really bug me because there are plenty of fandoms where vampires can procreate/I guess if Klaus is part werewolf, he has a foot closer back to the mortal coil, and vampire bodies in TVD have heartbeats, are warm, digest food, etc, so it was like, fine, sure. 

I would say I watched... some of season 1? and I watched most of season 2? I watched whatever I needed to watch for fic research basically, and have a very confused sense of what happened on that show. I’m always skeptical of anything set in New Orleans though because no one ever seems to leave the French Quarter which is so preposterous because the Quarter is probably smaller than Mystic Falls. But anyway. The tribrid thing has never made sense, but I just sort of rolled with what I’ve heard about the Originals? I really love Marcel and think he was actually the protagonist of the show, whereas Klaus was definitely the antagonist. (I just can’t bring myself to side with Klaus on pretty much anything...) 

Okay I think this ties up all of your questions/most of my thoughts except for maybe... what I find absurd. 

To answer that: every time I learn something new I am stunned and my jaw drops in a literal guffaw. For example, today reading your ask was the first time that I found out that Ric was unrequited in love with Caroline (although, former student carrying her former teacher’s children also makes me uncomfortable). As far as I know from seasons 7-8, Damon sleeps with someone named Crystal, Caroline somehow magically carries Alaric’s children with their dead witch mom (and apparently Alaric is in love with Caroline while that happens?), Matt might be a cop, Damon and Stefan fight the literal devil and Katherine is their queen, Bonnie and Enzo??, Caroline and Stefan get married, what’s a Jeremy Gilbert, maybe Damon sets Elena’s fake coffin on fire?, Damon kills Tyler (WHICH IS UNACCEPTABLE), there are witches who are vampires called Heretics, and also there are Sirens and maybe Mama Salvatore is one. The end. Every time I learn something new it’s the most amazing thing I have ever heard and I can’t imagine how it could be so, but I accept it. 

Am I missing anything? 

Legacies is so beyond my comprehension that I just have to roll with everything I hear. God Bless Matt Davis for leading that cast. 

[thetimelesscycle]

Tales of Arcadia Wizards Fanfiction: Hope Dies Last - Chapter 5

Merlin's word is law, but neither of them have ever cared much for obeying authority.

A/N: This was one of those fun chapters that fights you at every stage, whether that be in the planning, the writing, or the editing. I am semi-satisfied with the outcome for now, so we are still posting on schedule. Enjoy. :-)

Chapter 5

Truths the Shadows Hide

It was a truth she barely admitted to herself and would certainly never have uttered aloud, but when Merlin had first dragged a wide-eyed street urchin across Camelot’s threshold and proclaimed the boy his new apprentice, Morgana had found herself unexpectedly jealous of her successor. The unwelcome feeling had nothing to do with Hisirdoux himself; The boy was charming, in a bumbling, everything-is-probably-on-fire-but-don’t-look-until-I’ve-put-it-out sort of way. She would have needed to be the heartless witch her brother made her out to be not to find his vibrant energy at least a little endearing; The determined enthusiasm of a stubborn child who had refused to stay down no matter how many times the world knocked his feet out from beneath him.

She knew how difficult it was for magical creatures outside the castle walls to survive. She could easily imagine what little Douxie and his familiar must have been through before Merlin had one of his rare moments of self-serving charity, and it was to her shame that she had not done more to make him feel welcome within his new home.

If she had not been stewing in her own feelings of bitter resentment, she could have encouraged that rebellious streak she knew was hiding beneath the hero worship Douxie held for his mentor. She could have been a buffer between her old teacher’s ridiculous standards and the impressionable child he had taken under his wing. Instead, she had chosen to stand back, to distance herself from her mentor’s young ward, despite the fact it had always been Merlin she was angry at.

Merlin, and her brother

Her powers had never been treated as something to be celebrated. Arthur had been afraid of her from the moment that first, fierce argument between them brought the room alive to echo her fury. Sometimes, she thought Merlin had felt the same. He called her his finest student — behind her back where she wasn’t meant to hear — yet for the duration of her apprenticeship she had always been given the impression he did not trust her. He had treated her like a fire he was trying to contain, not a flame that needed to be nurtured, and the ire she had felt over being leashed and bound by her brother’s prejudices had only grown worse when Merlin replaced her with a student he had freely chosen. A student he was all too happy to teach new spells to. Hisirdoux was not permitted to use many of the incantations he was learning, but that had not stopped the envy that had overshadowed their interactions, a weakness she had allowed to go on for far too long.

It had been petty, unworthy of the person she was trying to be, and she regretted it now. Worse still, she feared there would be no opportunity to right that wrong; That Douxie would die still believing he would never measure up in Merlin’s eyes, his only friend in the world an eccentric little dragon. She couldn’t even find the right words to comfort his distraught familiar, devastated by the truth Merlin had forced her to confirm, and the feeling of helplessness growing in her chest was slowly turning into the irresistible impulse to do something, anything but sit still and await the inevitable.

They had both returned to the bedchamber in the wake of Merlin’s departure, Archie curled against the boy’s side, his head resting on his wizard’s ribs so he could both watch and feel each quiet breath. Morgana had taken one of Douxie’s cold hands in her own, a physical connection that allowed her to make sure Merlin’s stopgap solution was holding together, and perhaps offer some comfort in those moments when the reality of his condition seemed to break the peaceful respite of his slumber.

It didn’t feel like enough. All that training, all those spells, and she was still as useless as she had been years ago in the woods. Merlin would never admit as much, but she could tell he was no less frustrated. Clutching at straws and trying to will a solution into being, whilst ignoring that which she had offered like the old fool he was.

With a sigh, she reached out to gently run a hand through Douxie’s tangled locks, murmuring reproachfully to herself as she did so. “You deserve better. From both of us.”

“Do you really think it would help?” They were the first words Archie had spoken since Merlin left them both alone in the tower, and it took her a moment to follow the pattern of his thoughts.

“Yes,” she answered honestly. “The Shadow Realm is dangerous, and for every truth it might show you there are just as many falsehoods. But it is also a mirror, a reflection of our world, and what is destroyed here may still survive within its borders, particularly when dark magic is the cause.”

Archie lifted himself off his familiar’s chest, leaving just his paws resting there, to look her directly in the eye. “Is Merlin right? If you tried, could you bring back something that isn’t Douxie?”

“It is possible.” She wasn’t Merlin; She would not hide the dangers. “There are powers there that would be all too eager to escape into the mortal world. But there are ways to avoid them. The risk would be slim.”

“And if we do nothing?”

“No living creature can survive without a soul, Archie.” She made the words gentle, as if that could soften the blow. “Dark magic might keep him alive, if you could find someone willing to perform the ritual, but he would be bound to whoever’s power sustained him; A slave to their will.”

Archie fell silent, his eyes drifting back to his familiar’s pale face as he contemplated her words. “It seems we don’t really have a choice then, do we?”

“You want to try?” She was both surprised and impressed. “Even after Merlin expressly forbade it?”

“I am Douxie’s familiar, not Merlin. I looked after him for years before we came here, and that’s not going to change because some old wizard thinks he knows better.”

“Quite right.” Still, she hesitated, because Archie had been right in his earlier admonishment. “What about Douxie? You wanted the choice to be his, did you not?”

Archie was quiet for a somber moment. “Is he going to wake up again?”

“There is every chance that he will.” There was also an equal chance that he wouldn’t. She didn’t think Archie needed to hear that right now. “Merlin’s spell is holding. So long as it continues to do so he shouldn’t get any worse.”

“But he won’t get any better, either.”

“No.”

He nodded thoughtfully, his eyes never leaving his wizard’s face. “We’ve been together for a long time now, Douxie and I. I trust him with my life, and I know he feels the same way.” He drew in a long, deep breath, turning to her with a gaze that seemed to look right through her. “If we do this, then I am extending that faith to you as well, Lady Morgana. I am entrusting you, as a dragon, with what is most precious to me. Do you understand what that means?”

“I do.” Merlin be damned. She hadn’t been able to save Guinevere. She couldn’t do anything for the countless other lives Arthur had already destroyed. But she could make a difference here. She could help someone. “I swear to you, Archie, that I would sooner hand myself over to Arthur’s brutes than bring Douxie to any harm.”

“Alright, then.” He seemed taken aback by the vehemence of her words. “When you put it that way, there’s really no reason to delay this, is there?”

She glanced at the door, trying to guess how much time they had before Merlin returned. It didn’t really matter; He would be too late to stop them as soon as they were on the other side of the portal. With that in mind, she drew her staff out of her cloak, extending it to its full length and letting darkness overtake the white wood.

“Stay close to me,” she directed, gathering the shadows in the room to form their gateway to the other side. “I don’t know what we’ll find in there.”

There was a flash of golden light, then Archie landed on her shoulder in his feline form, claws latching onto her cloak as his tail wrapped around her neck. She exchanged a glance with him as the portal took shape; A final question. When all he did was nod, she turned and plunged them both into the unknown.

It always took a moment to adjust after the disorientation of moving from a world that made sense into the bizarre otherness of the Shadow Realm. It was a reflection of the mortal plane, that much was true, but a jumbled, shattered reflection that made little sense to those not skilled in navigating it. She had had no teacher during her first forays into its mysteries — Merlin had always been adamant in his refusal to even so much as discuss dark magic — but she had learnt from what mistakes she made during those early ventures. She knew this place as well as it was possible to know a mystery, and she recognised almost at once that something was amiss.

Amidst the tumbling rocks and endless darkness were sharp streaks of colour; Red, blue, and purple cut jagged, intertwining lines across the shadows, like someone had taken a knife to a hanging sheet in a fit of fury. They sparked with unstable energy, tears in the veil between worlds that widened and narrowed in fluctuating waves.

“Well,” Archie spoke in her ear. “This is all deeply unnerving.”

“This isn’t right,” she agreed, using one of the drifting boulders to propel them closer to the strange fissures. She could see figures moving on the other side, like peering through a fogged window. Voices and sounds reached her, their subtleties muffled by the invisible barrier. “Something terrible happened here.”

“Do you think it was the Arcane Order?” Crouched low on her neck, Archie peered distrustfully at the strange manifestation of magic. “Is it because of what they did to Douxie?”

“I don’t know.” She had never seen anything like it before. For the first time in years, she found herself uneasy within the boundaries of her favoured domain. “Let’s just find Douxie. We can worry about all of this once he is safe.”

Archie murmured his agreement, and she closed her eyes in concentration, honing in on Hisirdoux’s unique magical signature. To her bewilderment, she found her attention drawn in a dozen different directions, none of them providing a strong enough resonance to give her a definitive path by which to travel. She felt as though she was shouting into the void, echoes warping the answer, so it seemed as though she were searching for many instead of one.

Drawing her attention back inward, she waited for that dizzying duality to fade, narrowing her search as she pictured the room she had left from; The bed and the boy within it. Without looking, she felt the world shift around her, and when she opened her eyes she was standing within those four walls again, albeit a version that was bare of colour and furnishings both. The only object in the chamber was a black staff, held aloft by a jagged piece of ice that carved its way upwards like a weathered mountain peak, tapering to razor-thin fingers that curled around the weapon’s handle. The staff’s focussing stone — a cyan jewel that had no doubt once been its crowning glory — was shattered down the middle, molten veins marking a spiralling pattern where it had fractured. The broken shards had not fallen, drifting around the largest fragment still inset in the staff, tethered to their origin by thin, intertwining threads of green and purple.

Crouched on her shoulder, Archie voiced his unease, “What is that?”

“It looks like a wizard’s staff....” she answered the familiar hesitantly, carefully crossing the space between them and the strange pedestal. Nothing happened as she drew near, or as she reached out to gently prod one of the shards with the tip of her finger.  It moved as if they were under water, drifting away from her slowly until it reached the end of its tether and was tugged in another direction.

Emboldened, she took one of the pieces in her hand and pressed it back into its rightful place. The world shuddered the moment the sliver clicked into position, the darkness rising, growing, and descending upon them like a wave. She raised her staff too late; It crashed over them, forces that she could not see tugging them in a multitude of directions at once.

She was whipped about like a dry leaf in a fearsome gale, her eyes alighting on a glimpse of their quarry for only a second before they were scattered once more. Snatches of conversation assailed her, no more than three or five words at a time, happiness mingled with anger and twisted with grief. Gritting her teeth, she locked her fingers about the staff in her hands, stoking her outrage, her fury at the ones responsible for this. The emotion grew from glowing embers into a blazing inferno; With the force of that anger, she imposed her will on the shadows around them, commanding the world to a halt with a mental shout.

It obeyed with a suddenness that had her staggering in place, Archie digging his claws in as he threw his weight against her own to stop her pitching down the dark abyss that opened up before her feet. She reeled backwards, sitting abruptly and taking a moment to regain her breath before glancing about their new surroundings.

They had emerged in a crumbling replica of the castle courtyard, the cobblestones beneath her feet cracked with age and neglect. Weeds nudged their way upwards through every crook and cranny they could find, stretching like ropes across the black void that had torn the ground asunder, forming a tangled web of floating islands. The towers that usually stood, proud and shining overhead, were broken and drifting in the emptiness of the Shadow Realm, the same ruptures she had seen upon their entry having wreaked their havoc here as well. There were whispers on the air, a slow chant that could only be magic, and a shiver ran down her spine.

The sensation of eyes upon her back prompted her to glance over her shoulder, finding nothing but the churning tempest from which they had emerged.

“What now?” Archie asked, readjusting his glasses as he peered at their surroundings with open distrust. Morgana rose, trying to appear more confident then she felt as she lifted her eyes to Merlin’s tower. It was still intact, unlike the rest of the keep, and there was a light shining forth from its windows.

Crouching, she shoved off the cracked cobblestones beneath her feet, bounding her way up and over the shattered battlements to land on the narrow walkway that led to the Master Wizard’s study. There was another of the rifts in the air beside her, slowly devouring crumbling stone, what was solid and immovable in the material world turning to dust as it was swept away. She turned her back on the disconcerting sight, treading carefully towards the workshop door. It resisted her first attempt to enter, refusing to budge as she threw her weight against it. She was forced to take a step back, raising her hand and letting her magic slam it open.

The room inside had been overtaken. Not by magic or the strange fissures outside, but a bright and verdant network of vines that bound the entire room together. They were everywhere; Climbing the walls, crisscrossing the floor, creeping across the ceiling. Even those she had snapped off to get inside were already reforming, stretching across the entrance to bar the way out.

Or the way in.

The central table was missing, she noted, as she stepped further inside, as were all the other doors and windows. A layer of frost dusted every surface, yet the stonework beneath the greenery was blackened. It looked as though a terrible fire had swept through the room, ashes still drifting lazily within the contained space. They settled on the floor, atop the the vines snaking their way across the stones, and the boy lying curled on his side in the centre of it all.

“Douxie?” Archie leapt from her shoulder, shifting into his winged form to glide to his familiar’s side. He tested the creepers wrapped about his wizard with his paw; They neither tightened nor loosened their grip, and Archie turned back to the boy they held. “Douxie, can you hear me?”

The young wizard didn’t stir. As she drew nearer, Morgana realised he was clutching something in his hands. A white box, gilded in gold, that she had seen countless times in Merlin’s hands, though she had never been permitted to know its mysteries herself.

“The time map...”

Carefully, she lowered herself beside the boy and his familiar. Something crunched beneath her boots as she did so; Shards of a dark green gemstone she did not recognise. The pieces neither exploded nor started to glow upon being crushed underfoot, so she dismissed them, reaching out to ease the enchanted box from Douxie’s limp fingers. It lit up as soon as she opened it, the soft glow bright amidst the room’s heavy darkness, flickering images dancing by too quickly for her to understand what she was seeing.

It froze locked on a likeness of her own face, twisted in rage. She glanced at Archie, the familiar looking as deeply unsettled as she felt. Before either of them could give voice to their thoughts, the image cupped in her hands expanded, and the room around them disappeared in the blink of an eye.

There was no furious maelstrom this time, nor even the darkness that one could reasonably expect within a place named for the shadows. Instead, she found herself floating within a pale dome of light, surrounded by a myriad of moving images. They drifted around her in a slow rotation, pausing just long enough to offer her a tantalising glimpse of their contents before moving on.

Most made little sense to her: A blurred, barely there impression of calloused but gentle hands, the touch familiar even if the heavy weight that settled about a too small wrist was not; A terrible noise, blind panic, flames, and a moonless night that turned every strange shape into a monster; A world that was too big for the child scampering through it, trying to avoid being trampled whilst diving for dropped crusts amidst the dirt; Pain, blood, and a deep, wrenching sense of loneliness; A dark corner, lit by the dimmest of glows, and a strange rumbling noise that sparked enough curiosity to crawl out of hiding.

It was not until the pictures became clearer, not until she started to see surroundings that she recognised and a little black cat darting hither and thither, that she realised what she was looking at. These, the more recent memories, were much less distorted, and yet at the same time there was a strange overlap of events, as though two different versions were unfolding at the same time. She watched, drawn in by the surreal experience of seeing herself through another’s eyes; Her many quarrels with her brother and her teacher alike revealed in vivid detail before her. There was some measure of guilt in the realisation of just how often Douxie had played a silent witness to such conflicts, standing forgotten in the background as his elders argued back and forth.

That thought was recognised and forgotten in almost the same heartbeat, because the images had not stopped. The present day had come and gone and she was looking now at things that had not happened. That could not have happened. Wariness growing in the back of her mind, she floated forward slowly, reaching out to touch one of the false recollections. The colours warped, forming a vice that locked around her wrist, and she and Archie were both wrenched right through the mirage.

She staggered, the ground beneath her feet uneven and covered with long grass that snared about her ankles. There was a thick, unnatural mist obscuring her vision — or was it smoke? — vague sounds of battle, voices she recognised and some she did not. She thought she saw Arthur, the light of Excalibur burning bright, and... and...

She froze, horror closing around her throat like a vice as she beheld herself, staff raised in fury as she cast magic at her own brother. She saw Douxie, running, hand outstretched to intervene though he must have known he was too far away. The spell in her palm and Excalibur’s edge collided in a surge of golden light that grew and grew until all of the world was washed away in a burst of energy that consumed them all.

[sign-from-god-complex]

cloud nine

Summary: It was the closeness Virgil liked about it—a kind of passive affection that soothed over the cracks in your soul if just for a moment, long enough for you to relax and breathe. Maybe it didn’t solve everything, maybe it didn’t solve anything, but Virgil thought it was a good place to start.

Or, in the words of my qpp, “Virgil deals with everything by taking a nap. His boyfriends use this to calm him down. He’s gay.”

Pairing: LAMP

Warnings: Description of a panic attack, anxious thoughts (and in that, a very brief mention of drugging and kidnapping) and food mention.

A/N: Logan is the little spoon and yes, I will die on that hill. Also the irony of the premise of this fic being naps and cuddling—two things I do not enjoy—is not lost on me.

AO3 Link

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

"Nap with me?"

Virgil watched Patton's head snap up from where he'd been glaring down at the kitchen counter, the remnants of his baking now mostly cleared away and cupcakes cooling by the oven. Virgil wasn't even sure he'd realised he’d been doing it—some sort of absent-minded projection of his emotions onto the cold marble, as if it were to blame for all that he was feeling—but the glare was gone now. 

"What was that, honey?" Patton asked, his grin big and completely fake. Virgil could see the lines of exhaustion in every inch of his body—the physical manifestation of weeks of overworking and denial.

Virgil wandered further into the kitchen from the doorway he'd been standing in, tucking himself into Patton's chest. It barely took a moment for Patton to wrap his arms around his boyfriend, soft and close and safe, and Virgil could feel the warm glow in his chest increase. He hoped Patton's was doing the same—anything to replace the sadness he knew resided there.

Virgil pressed a kiss to whatever part of his boyfriend he could reach, already feeling almost drunk off of the contact. "Nap with me."

It was Virgil's way of saying, "I want to be near you," and they both knew that, except this time maybe it was for Patton more than himself. Virgil despised seeing any of his partners upset—there was almost nothing worse—and he couldn't do much to try and cheer them up, but he could do this.

There was a moment where Virgil worried Patton was going to protest, claim that he was fine or that he wasn’t very tired—both things Virgil knew to be a lie. Patton just sighed though, heavy and low, and Virgil knew from that that the fake grin was gone—probably had been since the moment he curled up in his arms.

"Yeah, alright, sweetie. I can do that."

Virgil pulled back enough to grab Patton's wrists, barely leaving a moment without some sort of contact, and dragged him over to the couch. Patton followed him patiently with his mask half-cracked, bits of weariness and fatigue shining in through his soft expression.

Throwing himself down, Virgil pulled Patton on top of him and after a moment of trying to get situated he was able to exhale. He could feel Patton's warmth all around him, the soft, chaste kisses he placed against his skin and the exhale of his breath as he relaxed for the first time that afternoon.

"I love you," Patton mumbled, nuzzling the back of Virgil's neck. The gesture was gentle and kind of silly and Virgil smiled softly, melting even further into Patton's embrace.

"I love you too."

Patton hummed in contentment, lazy and full of adoration, and it was barely any time at all before the two of them had fallen asleep.

—————————————-

"Nap with me?"

It was the first thing Virgil had said upon Logan answering the door and although he wished that maybe he had built up to it, he couldn't feel particularly remorseful. It was what he had come here to ask.

Logan blinked at him for a moment, seeming mildly caught out, before finally pulling open the door further and granting Virgil entry to the room.

Logan's bedroom was a mess. There were markers scattered all over the desk as well as shoved into the rubbish bin, scrunched up bits of paper littered all around the floor and a giant poster board shoved onto the bed, half filled up with numbers and graphs Virgil didn't understand the significance of. He could physically feel the stress in the room, filling up the air and pressing down on the two of them as they stood there.

Virgil watched his boyfriend sigh, running his hand through his hair before speaking. "Virgil, I'm very sorry, but I cannot. I simply have too much work to do. Why not go t-"

"No one's seen you in days, L." 

Virgil's interruption was met by a look of shock and guilt—something that only flitted across Logan's face for a moment before he composed himself. Virgil could see the tension in his shoulders though, the restlessness of his hands wanting for something, anything, to do. So, he wasn't fooled.

"Please, nap with me?" Virgil let his voice break slightly, let some of the worry shine through in his words and watched Logan's expression soften.

He stepped forward, wrapping his arms around Logan's waist but keeping his face in sight—noting his dry, bitten lips, the bags under deep, brown eyes and the way that they shone with unshed tears. He didn't say anything. Instead, he cupped his boyfriend's cheek in his hand, pressing their foreheads together.

"I- yes. Okay," Logan whispered, words exhaled into the small space between them and Virgil closed that gap, if only for a moment.

The kiss was soft—so delicate and light that you could almost question whether it had happened at all—but the love it exuded was more than enough compensation. There were definitely tears now, Logan's shoulders drooping and his cheeks wet and Virgil moved to wipe them away, touch as light and delicate as the kiss itself.

"My room?"

Logan nodded, expression almost dazed—drifting somewhere in a space beyond deadlines and scripts, filled instead with the softness of Virgil's touch and the warmth of his body.

Virgil's almost certain Logan didn't register the movement to his room until they'd already arrived, Logan curled up against his chest and Virgil's hand running through his hair as he let his boyfriend cry. He muttered quiet reassurances, love confessions spoken in words you might not expect and barely registered the slow, steady breathing of his boyfriend as he too fell asleep.

——————————-

"Nap with me?"

"Virgil, what in the world are you doing?!" Roman yelled, shoving him out of the way just in time for the arrow that was speeding past to spear into the tree behind them. Virgil took a moment to enjoy the warmth of Roman's hands against him but a moment was all he was afforded as Roman pulled back to resume the battle.

Virgil ran up towards him, ignoring the way the clashing of swords edged into his brain and made him wince. Everything was so loud—the yelling and fighting permeating every inch of the forest clearing—and Virgil's head was throbbing, but he had a mission here and he couldn't let his panic get in the way.

"Roman, stop the scene!"

Roman threw Virgil a glance over his shoulder, sparing only a moment to try and figure out his motives before bringing his attention frontwards again. "What are you talking about?! It doesn't work like that!"

"Yes, it does, I know it does!" His words were tight now, tense and desperate.

He shut his eyes in an attempt to gain some sort of balance in his surroundings but it only seemed to make everything louder—the distant sounds now touching up against his skin, prickling and hot and impossible to ignore. He fell to the ground but it barely even registered, sounds piercing his gut and every inch of his body tense and shaky.

"ROMAN, STOP!"

His voice echoed throughout the clearing and in an instant, everyone was gone.

Virgil wasn't even sure if it was him or Roman who had done it but it didn't feel like it mattered now as Roman knelt beside him, hands tightly holding his own and whispering apologies into the now quiet clearing. Virgil wanted to reassure him that he didn't need to apologise, he just needed to listen, but all he could get out were gasps as he tried to bring himself back to a state of calm.

After a moment Virgil could feel tapping against his skin—one, two, three, four, pause; one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, pause; one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, pause—and he held his breath, trying to follow along despite his body screaming for more air. He could hear Roman letting out bits of praise amidst Virgil's heaving breaths, reassuring him how well he was doing and how perfect he was and how much he loved him and Virgil gripped his hands tighter, trying not to cry.

By the time Virgil could breathe again his entire body was sore, his muscles weak and his head still pulsating with every movement. He released the grip he had on Roman's hands, letting them fall away and wincing slightly as he drew back entirely, sapping away the warmth Virgil had been soaking up.

"I'm sorry, darling, I should have listened to you." His head was hung, shame and self-directed anger radiating from his posture. Virgil maybe would have smacked him if he'd had any energy left in his body. 

"It's not your fault, princey."

Roman's head snapped up as he began to protest, "But, I-"

"It's not." Virgil sighed, pushing Roman back until he was laying on the grass beneath them. "I'm the one who decided to come into your realm in the first place; I knew this might happen."

He curled up beside him, head resting on Roman's chest as it rose and fell with his breaths, slowly matching the rhythm with his own as a hand found its way into his hair. It wasn't the most comfortable place to take a nap but Virgil could already feel himself getting drowsy, the panic attack having drained away all of his regular nervous energy and leaving him with nothing but drooping eyelids and heavy limbs.

"You don't have to come out here and fight a dragon witch or whatever to be important, you know?" Virgil murmured, words slurred and filled with much more meaning than expected, "You're important to us. You help us every day just by being around, you don't need to do anything more than that."

Virgil could feel the way Roman froze underneath him, taking a slow, deliberate breath and letting it out almost silently. "I'll try to remember that."

There was clear affection in his words, gratitude and a sense of peace he hadn't had moments before. Virgil let himself smile. 

"Good," he hummed, snuggling in even closer to his boyfriend before shutting his eyes and letting sleep overtake him.

————————————-

"Look, all I'm saying is that this is a terrible idea."

Virgil spun around on his heel, pacing back the other way towards the kitchen, before spinning around again. 

He could hear Logan sigh and Virgil ignored the uncomfortable feeling that shot through his chest at the prospect of having annoyed his boyfriends. He knew they'd get sick of his constant worrying someday, but that didn't mean he was at all prepared for it to happen.

"It's far too late to back out now, Virgil," Logan commented, flipping through Thomas' vacation itinerary for the third time that evening, "and I can promise you, everything is going to be perfectly fine."

"You can't promise me that, though. You don't know what could happen; you can't see the future! What if Thomas gets drugged? Or kidnapped?!" Virgil's eyes were wide as he spun to face his boyfriends. "Does anyone remember what to do if you get locked in the boot of a car?!"

Patton laughed nervously as Virgil went back to his pacing, fidgeting with the edges of his cat hoodie and offering his boyfriend a smile—wobbly, unsure, he wants to break up, they all hate you. "Now, kiddo, I'm sure none of those things will happen, it's just a trip!"

"But you can't be sure!" Virgil yelled, throwing his hands up to tug at his hair.

He wished his thoughts would shut up for once in his life but, of course, he could never be granted such mercy. He was Anxiety—a plague, a terror, a dark side—and that was all he was ever going to be. He was never going to get any better and they were going to realise and hate him just as much as they had before and he was going to be all alone the way he deserved to be. They were too good for him, he should just break up with them right now so they didn't have to-

"Come nap with us."

Virgil froze mid-step, eyes filling with tears almost involuntarily as he glanced over at Roman. He was curled up on the couch next to the others, his expression kind and soft and Virgil wanted to cry but he felt like he wasn't allowed to.

"What?"

Roman rose up from the couch, making his way around the coffee table to stand in front of him. "Come nap with us, sweetheart. We want you here, exactly as you are."

Suddenly, Virgil didn't seem to have much of a choice on whether he was going to cry or not.

He felt his legs give out beneath him as he fell to the ground, Roman barely managing to surge forward and catch him before he crumpled into a sobbing heap on the floor. He gripped tightly at his boyfriend, tugging him in as close as he could possibly get, face pressed into Roman's shoulder and wetting his shirt with his tears.

There was heat against his back and sides—Logan and Patton having stumbled their way off the couch to comfort him—a hand in his hair, one rubbing against his back, kisses against his skin. It was overwhelming but it was so perfect. Every action was filled with so much warmth and affection and Virgil never wanted it to end, wanted to stay pressed between his boyfriends' bodies and drowning in their love for as long as he continued to live.

It simultaneously felt like eons and only a few seconds before they all drew back, prompting an embarrassing whine to leave Virgil's mouth without his permission. Patton shushed him, giving quick kisses to the now near-dried tear tracks on his face.

"It's alright, we're just going to move, love," Virgil heard Logan whisper from behind him, pressing a soft kiss to the back of his neck that made Virgil shiver.

Patton grasped his hands, pulling him up and over to a mountain of pillows and blankets Virgil was almost certain hadn't been there before, as the other two trailed after them. Virgil smiled as Patton pulled the two of them down into the pile, wrapping him up tightly in his arms and giving a sort of satisfied hum.

"No fair! I wanted to cuddle the emo nightmare!"

Virgil glanced up to see Roman standing above the two of them, hands on his hips and pouting. Logan was standing beside him, wearing an expression not too dissimilar from his, "I-can't-believe-I'm-in-love-with-this-idiot" look, if only a bit softer.

Patton's arms tightened around Virgil as he pressed a kiss to his cheek, making Virgil blush. "Nope! You had your turn, Ro, he's mine now."

"I believe I haven't had a proper chance to cuddle with Virgil either, Patton," Logan interjected, a ghost of a smile on his face, "What determined that you should be the one to go first?"

Virgil laughed—the happiness bubbling up inside him begging to be heard and interrupting whatever Patton had been about to reply. "How about you both just come down here and I'll cuddle all of you, sound good?"

There were certainly no complaints from his boyfriends, Roman throwing himself down onto the pillows on Virgil's other side, bouncing slightly as he landed and wrapping his arms as much around him as he could with Patton still holding on.

Logan, rather than simply flinging himself onto the others the way Roman had, crawled his way over. He wormed himself into Patton and Virgil's embrace until he had successfully managed to get Virgil to pull him against his chest, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. Patton looked mildly put out by this intrusion, but was quickly pacified by Logan's lips against his, firm but loving as he pulled Patton closer towards the two of them.

"Go to sleep now, my dear," Roman whispered, tangling his fingers into Virgil's hair. He could feel the arm Roman lay on top of him moving slightly, his fingertips swirling patterns into the skin on Logan's hip.

The warmth was intense—Virgil could feel contact from his boyfriends on almost every part of his body—but rather than feeling crushing, it felt caring. Each brush of hands against his skin and every word exhaled into the air around them adding to the sensation of love that Virgil just couldn't shake. 

One by one the movements slowed to a stop, breathing steadying out as each of them lost their grip on consciousness. Virgil was the last to go, relaxing with a sigh as he let his eyes flutter closed. After all, he was safe here, safer than he had ever felt before.

Snuggled between each of his boyfriends, Virgil had never slept so well.

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

tag list: @mutechild @super-magical-wizard @shadowsfromthesun @teadays @sandersships @mctaetae613 @autism-goblin @deadlyhuggles6 @romanthestarstruckqueer @whispers-stuff-in-your-ear @rainboots-are-for-snobs @sanders-and-sides @spirits-in-my-thoughts @hhhhhhhhhhfjaskfsagfhasfgdsakfsa @autistic-virgil @happysingingturtles @figurative-falsehood @jadedfantasies231 @idosanderssidespromptssometimes @poisonedapples (plus, @dr-gloom you wanted to be tagged!)

[fanpom-imagines]

Request by Anonymous: Can you do Jon snow x reader where she is his wife and she found out he cheated on her with Daenerys after they come back to Winterfell and Jon begin cold but regret it can the reader be queen of powerful kingdom that nice loyal kind. to people treat bastard as their equal and have the most powerful army in the seven kingdom and can you make also reader a warrior queen who is decent from the old gods half human half god and Aegon never conquered it because how powerful her ancestors were and (1) And can you make also make were the reader who is Jon wife a queen of powerful kingdom were they treat people equal even Bastard and reader find out Jon cheated on her with Daenerys and the reader is descend of the old gods half human half god and have armor and fight like wonder women and is respected and fear and can control the four Elements and have magic like scarlet witch from avengers her family is called the children of gods since they are half human half god (2)

Imagine finding out about Jon’s affair with Daenerys whilst also being a powerful Queen yourself.

Masterlist

Fandom: Game of Thrones

Words: 2358

Warnings: use of vulgar language and damn was this a long request, but I kind of changed some stuff in the fanfic, but it’s mostly accurate to what you had requested

Gifs aren’t mine.

(Female Reader)

I stared straight ahead and glared at the queen who gave a smile towards Sansa who approached her and Jon. My guts turned at Sansa’s next words, “Winterfell is yours, Your Grace.”

After the two women exchanged words and strained smiles Daenerys made her way to me, “You must be Jon Snow’s wife? One of those who is a descendant of gods, if I’m not mistaken?” She asked me with a bright smile having no idea of my knowledge of the affair between her and my husband.

Forcing down any comments that could have her whole army against me as well as her dragons I just smiled politely before answering in a kind tone, “You are not mistaken, I am of god blood.”

“Is it true of what they say of your people? That the ones with the god blood flowing through their veins have powers. I had heard stories as a child, but I deemed them as rumors,” She told me as she looked at me curiously.

In that moment I wanted to show her how exactly my powers worked. I could have choked the life out of her or snapped her neck without even batting and eyelash, yet she was needed for the battle to come. So really I had no other choice, but to nod my head and say, “Yes, it is in fact true.”

Without another word we both bid the other farewell as Jon pulled her aside by the waist to introduce her to other members of the Stark family as well as other important people of the North. My fists clenched as I saw Jon’s arm around the woman’s waist. I scoffed inwardly at the sight before looking around and seeing the suspicious and hostile gazes of the Northerners towards Daenerys. I guess I am not the only one who doesn’t trust the self proclaimed Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.

~~~

“What the hell is your problem Jon Snow?!” I screamed out at my husband who looked shamefully down at the ground refusing to make eye contact with me.

“First I hear you bend the knee to some Targaryen Queen and now I hear who have committed adultery with her?!” I scoffed at him.

“I thought you were a man of honor Jon, a true Northerner. Yet, I find out your just like all the other King’s of Westeros,” I shake my head at him and sit down onto one of the chairs next to a small table placed next to the window which showed the breathtaking view of the cold Northern world.

“(Y/N), I’m sorry I never meant-” Jon started out, but I cut him off already knowing none of his poor excuses and explanations could ever put him in the right light.

“Never meant to what? Hurt me? Or for me to find out?” I snapped at him venomously.

“(Y/N) calm down,” Jon started as he made his way closer to me.

“Calm down? Calm down?! You want me to fucking calm down?! I have a right to be furious with you Snow! You threw away your crown for an alliance you had to gain through whoring yourself to a Queen whose desire is a kingdom and a throne she has never even seen before!” I screamed out at him getting up from my seat and closer to him.

“(Y/N) I…” I waited for him to say something, anything, but he and I both knew there was nothing that could make this right.

“I hate you, Jon Snow,” I whispered out as tears welled up in my eyes and cascaded down my face. I turned away from him and pulled out a large trunk from under the bed before opening it and placing my things inside.

“(Y/N), what are you doing?” Jon asked panicked as he got closer to me I quickly turned to him before he could touch me.

“Don’t fucking touch me Snow,” Jon cringed at the name I used. I knew full well that here in Westeros people did not believe bastards to be of any worth and gave them names to alienate them even further, unlike where I am from. In my kingdom people do not care about one’s lineage, color, or gender, rather we measure value by a person’s actions. I had deemed Jon an amazing man and truthful king, yet it seems I was deceived. In my kingdom, man or woman, a person would be punished for adultery, but here in Westeros only the women are. If a woman is caught with another man in her bed she is sent to be killed, but a man can fuck as many women as he wants and he’s worshipped and applauded. This is why I hate this kingdom. Though my lands are connected to Westeros we have never identified with them and have pushed back all forces and attempts at their invasion.

I came into these lands with these people’s foreign customs and ways for a man I fell in love with and who I thought he had loved me back, but it seems he does not love me any longer or perhaps he never loved me at all. I push past Jon as I call upon two of my guards to come and help me move my belongings out of the room.

“(Y/N) please don’t,” Jon pleaded as he ran after me and pulled me back by the hand to face him. He pressed a kiss to my lips, but I pushed him away as soon as our lips touched. The utter hurt that washed over his face sent a pang of guilt into my chest, but it faded as quickly as it came.

“I will stay to fight the Whitewalkers which means I will have to stay in the same castle as you, but I will not share a bed with you ever again. Our alliance will be cut off after the battle as my kingdom does not want to meddle in the affairs of the seven kingdoms. I do not want to play this stupid game of thrones these people have been playing for the past decade. I will call for a council to arrange and witness our divorce. I will not live and bare the children of a man who can’t put his people and wife before his own cock,” and with that I turned away from him and walked away and thought pain and regret creeped from my heart and seemed to want to crawl out my throat into a desperate cry I swallowed it down and made my way to my new chambers far away from his.

~~~

The next day I got ready and brushed out my hair and had it done up in my people’s traditional style rather than the bland Northern style I’ve had it since becoming Jon’s wife. I thanked the maid who helped me style it before getting into my clothes and asking the maid for some help with them at some difficult parts of my attire. I made my way downstairs once again towards the large room where Jon, Sansa, and the Targaryen queen sat at the large wooden table at the end of the room. I felt anger bubble in my chest as I saw Daenerys sit in my place at the table.

As I stood in front of the council Ser Daavos stood up and walked forward to address me, “Your Grace, I know you have made up your mind with severing your marriage vows to Jon, but I should advise against it. The people of the Seven Kingdoms will not take lightly to it as it is not seen as right as the two of you had taken your vows in front of the Old and New gods. This will also sever ties and alliances between the Seven Kingdoms and the Kingdom of Ainu severely.”

“Ser Daavos you are not my advisor, though you are a wise man and do what is best for your people and kingdom I do not give a single shit about your peoples thoughts or needs. I never swore to serve them only that I would stay true and faithful to my husband who also swore the same vow. Yet, he disobeyed and broke his vow and chose to sleep with a Targaryen queen. Ironically the Nights Watch would’ve hung him for breaking a vow, but I guess vows mean nothing when your a king, or well used to be one.” I said venomously all the while glaring at Jon and keeping eye contact with him as he gave me pained eyes.

“I’m sorry, but your husband and I never had such an affair with one another,” Daenerys said as she looked at me with an offended look.

“No I’m sorry that you actually think lying about something will make it nonexistent and make it disappear,” I gave her a strained smile.

“How dare you!” Daenerys yelled out as she stood up abruptly making the chair behind her make a screetching sound as it was pushed back.

“No how dare you sleep with another woman’s wife, but I guess I should thank you because if he shared a bed with you then he definitely would’ve shared a bed with someone else sooner or later. Now I’m not here to argue so sit down, I’m here to cut ties with the Stark family,” I told her as I gave her a sharp glare and cut her off before she could spit out any other remark or insulting or offended comment my way, but it seemed like she did not want to back down.

“You have no idea who you are messing with-” Once again I cut her off.

“Yes I think I do. You’re queen of many different places and have many different titles yet I do not care because you still slept with my husband and I’m not trying to fight to get him back I will not stay with a man who can not stay true to his word. I do in fact would like to finally get this divorce in order and be done for the day before I feel like silencing you. It would be a shame if you died before the battle even begun,” I told her threateningly and my last statement even came with a “sweet” smile.

“I have the blood of Old Valyria, there is dragons blood running through my veins I would advise you not to anger me,” Daenerys warned as she glared at me and puffed out her chest in pride as she straightened herself to give off a more intimidating aura. If I had been anyone else I would’ve been scared, but alas I am Queen (Y/N) of the House of Gods, Queen of the people of Arda en Ainu, (Y/N) the Honorable, Godborn, Aino Nethar, Slayer of Darkness, Light Bringer, Warrior of the People, and the Warrior of Light.

“And there is gods blood running through mine. I will not stand by as you question my actions because you deem yourself above me. We are all people and we are all will end up six feet under sooner or later. You believe yourself to be some almighty goddess yet all your power lies behind your dragons. Take away your dragons and the reason people fear you will vanish. You may have many titles Daenerys, but I have just as many. You desire a throne you’ve never seen. You desire to rule a kingdom that you barely known only because you believe it is your birthright when it is not. Robert baratheon took the throne after killing your father, King Aerys II just as your father had conquered these lands and took it from the people before him and just as the First Men had taken the lands from the children of the forest who had been there before them. You are not the heir to the throne because that is how wars work. You shouldn’t be prancing around saying it is your right because it is not. You should be telling these people that you will take it back and renew your Houses name rather than screaming it’s mine like some annoying child.” Everyone in the room froze and stared at me. I held my head high and kept eye contact with Daenerys as I could see the veins forming on her forehead.

“I am Queen Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, The rightful Queen of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, Queen of Dragonstone, Queen of Meereen, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, the Unburnt, Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons, Regent of the Realm.” Daenerys said in full confidence.

“And I am Queen (Y/N) of the House of Gods, Protector of the people of the Kingdom of Ainu, (Y/N) the Honorable, Turniqui of Arda en Ainu, Slayer of Darkness and Bearer of Light, Warrior of the People and Messenger of the Gods, Mahtar of the World of Gods, Savior to All and Foe of Many, the Godborn, Aino Nethar, The Last Light, Gift of the Ainu, and the Warrior of Light, and I will not be threatened by your pitiful attempts to do just that. My army and I will stay at Winterfell till the Whitewalkers come and the battle is done. After that Arda en Ainu will no longer have ties with the Seven Kingdoms and my people will go back to their families without your interference. We will not fight in your war to get some throne that has brought nothing, but pain and misery to the people of this realm,” My eyes started to glow red as I lifted up some of the soldiers around me who started to be surrounded by a red glowing ligt that increased my hands and I started to choke them.

“Enough!” I heard Jon yell and I immediately dropped them. “(Y/N) do not hurt these men.”

“Then let’s get this divorce over with before I do hurt these men.”

[edream93]

A Queen’s Loyalty

Super sorry to @demons-like-music-too​ for this late @descendantssecretsanta​ gift. None of these characters wanted to give me an easy time while writing this. Hopefully you’ll still be able to enjoy this Uma/Audrey oneshot with a hint of Humaudrey.

It had been fun. His flirtations had been crass but his attention, anything that wasn’t a look of pity like from her grandmother or a look of fear like when her eyes connected with Chad’s, was better than nothing. 

They had danced, spinning around and around for so long that Audrey could pretend that he was some prince from a faraway kingdom. Harry Hook definitely had the jawline of a prince. She even told him that which caused him to look at her with an unreadable look on his face before he erupted with loud boisterous laughter. 

“Ye want me to be your pretty little boy toy hanging off yer arm, lass?” he asked with a wicked grin as he dipped her. “Want me to be your little Isle pet?”

Rolling her eyes, Audrey shook her head. “I’m not really interested in just a pretty face.” Her eye caught Ben and Mal in each other's arms, surrounded by their friends as they stared adoringly at each other. 

The pain had dulled but the wound was still tender. Audrey doubted that it would ever go away, but it would be tolerable. It would have to be. 

“Then what is a princess like ye wanting?” the pirate asked bringing her attention back to him.

“Loyalty,” Audrey said firmly without hesitation. “I don’t remember much about...before, with the scepter. But I remember watching you and Ursula’s daughter. It was so easy to see that you would follow her anywhere.”

He cocked his head to the side, his face unreadable as he searched for something. He looked somewhere over her shoulder, staring off at something. Before Audrey could ask what he was looking at he cut her off, intense gaze on her. 

“Loyalty,” he murmured “has to be hard won.” Suddenly, he spun her around out of sight from the rest of the party, pressing her back against a wall. The smell of cologne, leather, and gunpowder set off warnings of danger in Audrey’s mind as he leaned closer. “A good pirate often doesn’t have much to their name but the loyalty they’ve gained. What does a bonnie pink princess like ye know about hardship?” he asked.

His gaze fell to her lips and Audrey couldn’t decide if she wanted him to kiss her or not but the air around them felt charged with intensity, and Audrey wanted one moment of not being a princess. Of not having every decision she made being judged by whether it was proper or not...

“Harry. Chill.”

Audrey jumped, pushing away from the boy whose lips were mere breaths from hers. Guilt and the image of being on the Tourney field embarrassed and heartbroken flashed through her as her eyes turned onto the frightening scowl of the sea witch Ursula’s daughter.

Uma stood, arms crossed and eyes narrowed as she took both of them in. Audrey swore the air around the teal haired girl was thick with charged energy though her face showed no tell of what she was actually feeling.

Audrey sputtered, attempting to speak, to apologize. Despite not wanting to necessarily ruin Mal’s life at the moment, she definitely did not want to follow in the path of the future Queen first year in Auradon. 

Before she could get out an apology though, Harry was already pulling away from her.

“Darlin’” he purred in greeting, all swagger and sharp angle as the intensity that surrounded them melted away, Audrey not even an afterthought. 

Audrey felt her cheeks warm as the son of Hook easily placed himself next to the sea witch’s side, kneeling as he kissed her hand with such reverence and care that Audrey had to look away from the intimate action. Total devotion, Audrey thought with not a little jealousy.

She allowed herself to feel embarrassed, cheeks warming in shame. She was a princess. Though her memories of the last few days were murky beneath a fog of purple haze, she remembered watching these two through the scepter. A princess didn’t allow herself to act with so little class, especially in front of a sea witch who could potentially have a short fuse and turn her into pond scum.

However, before the delayed panic and pleas could rise within the Audrey, Uma spoke.

“It’s getting late, Harry,” she said as if she had not just walked in on a scandalous scene, expression bored. “Just because the barrier is down doesn’t mean you’re off from doing your sweeps. Mal,” she said not necessarily with contempt but not overly filled with fondness, “forgot that there are actually people who actually deserve to be on the Isle, namely our parents.” 

Harry snorted, slinging his arm over her shoulder. “Always cleaning up the wee dragon’s mess, aren’t we?” Uma frowned but otherwise didn’t look too bothered by their closeness, even hooking her pinky with the hook dangling from his hand around her shoulder.

They were already turning around to leave, when Audrey remembered that breathing was something that human beings needed to do. She almost sighed in relief, wanting nothing more than to go to her room and wash off the last week or two. However, Uma stopped and Audrey held back a gasp as the sea witch stared over her shoulder at her with an intense and unreadable look.

“Stealing from a queen is not a smart move to gain her loyalty.”

Cold fear ran through Audrey at those words. 

Of course Mal would legally be queen of the Isle and of Auradon but Audrey had heard enough whispers, seen the way that those from the Isle seemed to defer to Uma once the barrier had been brought down and the bridge built. 

This was it. Audrey had angered a sea witch, proclaimed Queen of the Isle by flirting with her beau and now Audrey would be cursed, turned into sea foam, and-

Harry was suddenly at Audrey’s side again, slipping on the ring that Audrey’s mother had given her for her sixteenth birthday back onto her finger. An elegant thing where the band was made out of rose gold twisting vines and small delicate roses. It was Audrey’s favorite ring.  

When had he taken that off of her? She hadn’t even realized it was gone until he was replacing it. 

“Sorry lass. Bad habits,” Harry grinned widely with a discomforting giggle before pulling his calloused hand away. He winked at her, mouthing the word “loyalty” before quickly catching up to Uma who had already started walking away again. Audrey watched them until the crowd of still celebrating people quickly swallowed them up, neither pirate in site. 

Letting out a very unladylike sound, Audrey slumped against the wall, heart pounding against her chest and not quite sure what just happened.

---

“Audrey! Will you please stop fidgeting? It’s a beautiful necklace, which is saying something since it came from pirates.” 

Audrey glared over the rim of her tea cup at Evie. They were sitting in Evie’s workshop in her castle. Audrey was supposed to be having a dress consultation done for an upcoming royal event she had to attend. However, the dress consultation had quickly turned into a consultation about a particular pirate captain, who was now also the liaison for the Isle and co-leader for the Isle Rehabilitation Initiative. Said pirate captain had also sent Audrey a deceptively beautiful necklace with a teal rose shaped pendant made out of sea glass that Audrey was adamant the sea witch had cursed.

“Is that supposed to be reassuring? Not only was I probably given a cursed necklace but it was probably a stolen cursed necklace. What else am I to think when it comes from the same person who threatened me for stealing her boyfriend.”

“That she wanted to thank you for advocating to keep Sammy Smee together with his younger twin brothers?” Evie sighed, setting aside the jacket that she was creating for the Queen of Hearts’ youngest son, Ace. The young boy would be coming to live at the quickly filling castle towards the end of the week. “The Isle born pirates always had a strong sense of loyalty to each other, more so than anyone else on the Isle. Since Harry is her first mate and the Hooks and Smees have a long history together, she probably felt indebted to you,” Evie reached for her own cup of tea, frowning at how lukewarm it was. “Isle kids hate owing a debt, especially to outsiders. Never know when someone will use it against you or what for.”

“I was just fulfilling the requirements of my community service,” Audrey softly said. 

As part of her punishment for breaking into the Auradon Museum of History, stealing the crown and Maleficent’s scepter as well as her stint as “the Queen of Mean”, Audrey had been assigned to community service work. The majority of her work was helping Evie prepare for and help with the adjustment of Isle children who would be better off living under Evie’s protective care than staying on the Isle. 

Queen Leah had initially not been happy but Audrey took the punishment with aplomb and grace of a princess who wanted to repent. Who wanted to do better and grow from her narrow minded shell. Besides, despite their initial first meeting what felt like years ago, Audrey found herself appreciative and in awe of Evie’s ability to balance a fashion line, mentoring Dizzy with the development of her accessory line, housing more than a dozen Isle children, and assisting with the rehab of one marginally disgraced princess. 

It didn’t take long for Audrey to admit that Evie was a princess in every way but the title. They weren’t necessarily friends, but it was easy to talk to Evie and not just feel heard but also understood. After all, they had both grown up with the legacy of their mothers’ hanging over their heads.

Setting down her tea, Evie gave her a beautiful smile, moving over to sit next to Audrey. She briefly took the other girls hands in her own for a brief squeeze. “Not that many people would pull connections to get the son of a villain’s sidekick a stable job so that he can support his two younger brothers,” she said before letting go of Audrey’s hands. “Listen Audrey, things on the Isle…” looking down as she searched for her words. “They aren’t, they aren’t always as straightforward as they are on this side of the bridge.” Evie looked up, a strange look in her eyes as she stared at something across the room. “We didn’t have the concept of love, not really or not as publicly shown like it is over here. We had loyalty though.”

Audrey followed her gaze and saw a small table with two picture frames. One was a recent picture of her and Doug, taken shortly after the barrier was brought down. The other frame held a picture of Mal, Evie, Jay, Carlos, and Ben right after Ben’s coronation as king. When Audrey turned back to Evie, there was a soft smile on the other girl’s face.

“If you’re really worried about Uma being after you or not, just talk to her,” Evie advised. “She’s a sea witch but also a pirate. A pirate of her word,” she added when Audrey opened her mouth to protest. “Besides, she’s been working with Ben on the adjustment efforts for the Isle. Uma is passionate, not stupid. Things are too delicate to be threatening a princess who easily fell for Harry’s old flirt and snatch trick. It was essentially business as usual for Harry and I’m sure that Uma knows that you weren’t interested in stealing her first mate.”

Audrey rolled her eyes but nodded before switching the subject to the work she was doing raising money for Evie to find an even bigger castle and staff for Isle halfway home. Days later, if Evie saw Audrey where the sea glass necklace, she didn’t say anything, just smiled knowingly.

----

Weeks passed. And then a month.

Audrey’s community service ended two weeks ago but she continued to work with Evie, creating fundraisers and promoting the need for Isle informed trauma care at Auradon Prep for both Isle and Auradon born. Some days she would be at Evie’s castle, helping to wrangle some of the more energetic children to eat their vegetables before they could stuff their faces with cake. And some days she sat patiently, helping the smallest children to those who were very nearly close to her in age sound out their words as they read, the summer before the school year being used as a literacy crash course. 

Chad and her grandmother didn’t understand why she would want to continue with her community service work when she had met the requirements but Audrey merely politely kissed her grandmother on the cheek and temporarily blocked Chad’s number before diving deeper into the Isle Rehabilitation work. 

Surprisingly, Audrey found her groove when it came to keeping some of the rowdier Isle children in place. Apparently her short stint as the Queen of Mean was known about even on the Isle and had given her a pretty hefty amount of “street cred” making it very easy for the younger children to quickly get in line with just one look. Even the older ones felt more comfortable going to Audrey if they needed anything rather than their assigned Auradon peer mentors. It was nice to be looked at with awe and not fear and distrust. It was surprising that the people she had once thought were Auradon’s enemies were the most forgiving.

“Moldy bread for your thoughts?”

Audrey startled, brought back to the bench she was sitting on from her thoughts. She had been watching Carlos and Jay teach some of the younger Isle kids how to play Tourney. It was a nice day and Evie had forced her to take a break. Audrey looked next to her, eyes widening when she saw who had interrupted her thoughts.

 “Uma!” She squeaked, causing an amused tilt of the sea witch’s lips.

“So you do know my name,” she said while leaning back on the bench with a combination of casual ease and an air of deadly grace. 

“Of course I know your name,” Audrey nervously brushed invisible wrinkles from her skirt, folding her hands delicately in her lap when there proved to be no wrinkles to be smoothed out. 

“Wasn’t sure,” Uma yawned, chuckling when the Smee twins tagged teamed Jay and knocked the older boy on his back. “Atta boys!” she cheered, a wide genuine grin spread across her face. 

Audrey found herself staring. Uma looked nice with smile, she thought distractedly. Definitely better than the scowl that Audrey had last seen her with when she caught her with Harry.

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” the sew witch grinned, her brown gaze on Audrey.

The world screeched to a halt and the only thing Audrey could do was hide her face in her hands. “I said that out loud, didn't I?” 

Uma merely smirked. 

A few minutes passed as Audrey wondered if the ground beneath her would just swallow her up and end her embarrassment. Jay and Carlos continued with their Tourney lessons, Jay explaining the importance of trust and teamwork. 

“So,” Uma broke the silence between them. “A little blue bird has been sayin’ you’re avoiding me and after I got you that pretty necklace. Looks good on you by the way,” she said reaching out and gently stroking the pendent. Audrey felt warmth rush to her face as the tip of Uma’s fingers brushed against the sensitive skin of her collar bone. “Gil picked it out. He has a good eye for things like that,” Uma moved her hand away to toss her long waves of teal hair over her shoulder.

In the sunlight, Audrey was mesmerized by the strands of gold hair that was brought out in the light, difficult to notice unless you were up close. 

“I’m not jealous or out to get you because you were with Harry,” Uma suddenly said.

Eyes widening, Audrey managed to get out, “You weren’t? But aren’t you two, a thing?”

“The labels in Auradon don’t always perfectly match with the ones from the Isle,” Uma shrugged tilting her head back to bathe in the warm light of the sun. “It’s like explaining to Gil the difference between a grape and a berry when he’s never had the reference for any type of fruit to begin with.”

Audrey found herself frowning, once again reminded how sheltered her life had always been. “Evie mentioned something similar.”

Uma nodded. “But passion, drive, initiative? Loyalty?” she smirked as Audrey’s eyes widened. “That’s something that translates well anywhere,” she bumped her shoulder with Audrey’s. “That’s why I want you to help me with some of the Isle Rehabilitation initiatives I’m working on. Hence the necklace to butter you up.”

Carlos let out a loud cheer, running around with one of the Smee twins laughing on his shoulder, narrowly dodging Jay’s grab with his own twin on his shoulder. 

“Why me?”

“You impressed me. Didn’t know a pretty in pink princess could care about what happened to Isle kids.”

“It’s not that big of a deal. Evie does the same thing. I don’t see why you don’t just go to her.”

Uma rolled her eyes. “Seven seas, give me strength,” she muttered before turning to fully face Audrey on the bench. Audrey only had a second to process Uma leaning in towards her before their lips met. The sounds of the beautiful day and the Tourney lesson faded away as Uma’s lips pressed firmly against hers. Audrey was frozen, brain failing to process how to respond until Uma slipped a warm but calloused hand against the back of Audrey’s neck. Her other hand combed along the scalp of the princess’s head, bringing out an unexpected moan that parted Audrey’s lips further, giving the sea witch further access.

Audrey melted against Uma, feeling like she was drowning in the best way, surround in the sea witch’s attention. The voices in her head that constantly went back and forth about proper princess protocol were silent, everything else put on pause to just lose herself in this unexpected but not at all unwelcome embrace. She was just Audrey.

Uma smirked at the whine of protest that Audrey didn’t even have the energy to pretend to be embarrassed about letting out as she pulled away. “That’s why,” the sea witch explained.

Audrey glanced over at the area where Carlos and Jay had been giving Tourney lessons only to see that they had left, only Harry Hook grinning at them as he leaned against a nearby tree. When their eyes met, he winked at her, mouthing “loyalty”. 

Uma got to her feet, looking cool and collected, the only evidence of what just happened being her tousled hair that Audrey just realized she had been running her hands through. 

“No more avoiding me,” Uma ordered more than said. “Doesn’t do well for the others to think we’re not on the same page.” 

Audrey licked her lips, tasting faintly sea salt. “And,” she began before clearing her throat. “And what page exactly are we on?” 

Uma grinned, already sauntering away towards Harry, a little bit more of a sway in her hips as both Harry and Audrey watched. “That two queens are better than one, of course,” she called over her shoulder.

[darkpoisonouslove]

Winx Club Season 1 Thoughts (4kids)

I decided to start rewatching Winx Club since there were strong nostalgia feels and I am getting more and more sucked into this fandom, so might as well just rewatch everything and pay close attention to it, right? So here are my thoughts (this gets very long so they are under a cut):

1x01:

- Okay, so we got classical “ordinary person learns that they’re not so ordinary” here. It’s a little weird how Bloom’s powers just activated out of nowhere but it could be because she came in contact with a magical threat that provoked her powers to awaken so no complaints here. It was actually very brave of her to try to help Stella, seeing how she didn’t know she had powers.

- Kiko is our little bunny buffoon - no complaints here either.

- Stella being so confident in Bloom’s powers and so encouraging was really cute. The friendship between them probably was a little rushed since they knew practically nothing about each other but whatever.

- Bloom’s parents were pretty chill with finding out their daughter was a fairy. Edit: Okay, that was covered in one of the later episodes. I do like that Bloom told Mike and Vanessa exactly what was going on and didn’t try to hide the truth from them (*cough* like she’ll be doing in a certain live-action series *cough*). And they were actually very supportive about it and didn’t try to stop her! Awww! All the family feels!

- I hated Brandon and Sky’s ruse back then and I hate it now. At least they’re good at it and know how to actually keep it up.

1x02:

- Unlike Bloom and Stella who couldn’t even last an entire episode. It was cute how much Stella wanted to help Bloom, though.

- Beware Stella, the Destroyer of Labs. I wonder if she ever managed to create that new shade of pink.

- Griselda is so savage. And Faragonda is there like flowers and sunshine. XD

- I have to say that the line about not getting caught by the witches of Cloud Tower may seem funny at first but it actually bothers me. It bothers me because the teachers know that the witches would torture and abuse any fairies they come across but nobody is taking steps to prevent that. Why is that allowed? It is terrible, although, I have to admit, realistic since the education system is shit and nobody does anything actually helpful to prevent bullying. Still, it is a problem and I really don’t like the way it is portrayed on the show. It’s like “Yeah, they might scar you for life but it will be your own damn fault even though we are the adults and we clearly can’t be bothered to do shit!” And don’t tell me there isn’t anything to be done. If there were negative repercussions towards Cloud Tower as a school when their students misbehaved, I doubt Griffin would allow as much of that as she does now.

- OMG, Flora’s idea to save the forests is so awesome. I would so love me some talking plants. You don’t have to talk to yourself when you have a plant to have a conversation with!

- Spying on some witches sounds like a good idea, Bloom. Except don’t get caught maybe. (Okay, I am not being fair here. She didn’t know that what Darcy did was possible.)

- But damn, Darcy’s powers are so cool! I actually liked the “fight” with the Trix. And we saw all their transformations for the first time. It was cool.

- Well, at least they didn’t throw her out of Alfea. That would’ve been a shame. And they’re quickly becoming friends. Apparently, the girls decided they were okay with not being told the truth. I would’ve loved to see that conversation but still.

1x03:

- Stella is being supportive... until she is not anymore. Stella has these sudden mood shifts but she is being a ray of sunshine most of the time.

- Faragonda is married? But why do they call her “Miss” then? It makes no sense. Btw why does Griselda look like she’s having the worst time of her life while Faragonda is announcing the ball? I mean, I know she’s not big on fun but that looks a little bit over the top.

- Griffin kinda pulled an ala Maleficent routine.

- How is it that Bloom always gets into trouble? And because she couldn’t find a pair of scissors.

- Damn, Darcy with that magic again! I love her! Also, Icy can dematerialize walls? That is so cool! (pun unintended)

- Bloom’s powers conveniently showed up. I was gonna complain that it was unrealistic for freshman fairies to be defeating senior witches but then I realized that they didn’t actually defeat them. In 1x02 Stella teleported them out of harm’s way and in 1x03 the Trix disappeared in order to go after Stella’s ring so it’s actually fine.

- I feel sorry for that duckling. Icy is being so cruel to it in next eps. And they just put it there as plot device. It was used more than once to give away the Trix’s presence to Winx.

1x04:

- Gotta love how Bloom is the only one besides Flora who can hear the voice of nature. At least they allowed Flora to hear it as well because if it had been only Bloom who was able to hear it, I would’ve thrown a fit.

- Tecna has done her homework. I love how she figured out the ship was taken out by an attack from the outside. I’m actually starting to like her.

- Classical Riven, all grumpy and ungrateful. Though, he and Brandon actually did manage to call a truce so... I guess that worked out well. I love that the Specialists were shown working together as a team as well as bickering. It helps build some relationship between them and that is sorely needed.

- Damn, the Trix just vanished an entire troll. I love how powerful they are!

- Okay, but... that abbreviation Stella suggested to be their group name that consisted from the first letters of their names? Was that subtle shade being thrown at W.I.T.C.H? Bc you know, “we’re too good to use their initials as a name, we can actually come up with a title”.

1x05:

- Spell for making good decisions? Really? Um... okay. Whatever. (that is so lame) But hey, at least we got those kitchen scenes that were absolutely hilarious! XD

- Okay, how did no one realize that that wasn’t actually Stella? Proves my point that they don’t actually know each other that well and that  the whole friendship was rushed.

- So I have more to bitch about Bloom and her “leadership” here but I will actually save it.

- At least they managed to save Stella. (Question, though. Why was she in her everyday clothes if they caught her at the date? She went out with the dress. Did the animators forget about that?) The hug with Bloom was cute. And Stella was being all brave, telling them to keep the ring instead of begging them to save her. I think she will make a better queen than everyone realizes.

1x06:

- Starlight is the purest source of magic? Oh, hey, I didn’t know that! But if that is true why is Stella not more powerful than Bloom? I am a little confused as to what happened since it was pretty much explained as in the Big Bang created the Great Dragon that later created the magical universe. But where do the stars and magic fit in that? Also, I had not noticed up until this point that Faragonda says “she” when she talks about the Great Dragon. That’s cool. Also also, here’s a plot hole for ya - Faragonda said that the Great Dragon is just a myth and so is the Dragon Fire and that was when she was alone in her office. But season 3 later gives us the Company of Light storyline which contradicts that since Faragonda knew Marion who had the Dragon Fire personally. It is so much fun when you don’t have your backstory covered before you dive in. Leaves so many opportunities for plot holes for you to fall into and the writers are diving headfirst into this one.

- Breaking in Cloud Tower. When they were explicitly warned to stay away from the witches. Sounds like a good idea, right? At least they have a map and aren’t totally unprepared.

- Tecna totally rocked in this episode. She memorized the whole map and seemed to be strategic about everything and had a plan (which was about the best idea any one of them has had ever since the beginning of the show). And she did protect them all! I am really starting to like her a lot. I wasn’t even annoyed by her constant nagging to leave because that was a good idea. (Btw totally a side question but how did Tecna know which room was the Trix’ from the map? Did she also hack the computer system of Cloud Tower (that I doubt exists, considering Griselda was checking which fairies were arriving manually and their names were just taped on the doors in their dorms instead of something more computerized so it’s probably the same with Cloud Tower?)

- And Griffin had to go and try to kill them. Great idea! And when Faragonda goes to search for them after she realizes that they’re missing, what was Griffin going to tell her (I’m presuming that Faragonda would find a way to locate them or at least figure out where they’d last been)? “Nope, never seen them. Not even once. Well, except for that time I killed them but that’s totally irrelevant here.” Amazing logic! I know they broke into her school, but damn, she could’ve dialed it back a little.

- I had completely forgotten about Daphne. It took me a while to figure out what the hell was going on when she started talking to Bloom.

- And Bloom’s sudden and inexplicable desire to know about the Dragon Fire is executed in a way I am not really a fan of. I mean, you know what the fuck is up when you’ve already watched the show but on your first go that would probably just seem very random (even if she was insisting it was so that they could figure out what the witches wanted).

- It was so unfair for Winx to get punished without even being heard out. I’m mad on their behalf because yes, it does matter why they did what they did. Is no one going to tell Faragonda and Griselda about the theft of the ring? (Or the way it happened for that matter? Stella could have died.) That is a royal symbol and it got stolen. Why is no one talking about this? (on the show I mean.)

1x07:

- That punishment was harsh. But they proved they can handle themselves even without their powers. Who needs magic when you have cleaning supplies, am I right? XD

- OMG, Tecna, you don’t need computer or guidance to figure out a mop and a bucket of water. And Flora just standing there and watching Tecna completely misunderstanding the cleaning supplies and their usage and laughing about it? She’s not as innocent as she seems.

- How do the Trix know about the Dragon Fire if Faragonda herself thought it was only a myth? And where the hell did those crystals come from? I mean, I’m not complaining. Have you seen them? They totally rock. But I’m just curious.

- Winx really did a number on the Trix this time. And Faragonda and Griselda came back in the right moment. Though, I can’t get over the fact that she has zero idea what the fuck is going on between her students and the witches (not that anyone tells her shit but still). Now they went overboard? What about three episodes ago when they tried to kill Stella? And they’re making sure they’re not breaking the rules but who the fuck makes sure these girls are safe? Because they’ve been in more trouble from the beginning of the school year than a person gets into for their entire high school run.

- Did Faragonda take away the Trix’s powers too? Well, she should’ve left them powerless. It would’ve saved everyone a lot of headaches.

1x08:

- Fuck, this talk about Stella and Musa’s family situations is making me want to cry. I can’t see through the tears in my eyes. Help!

- I always loved this episode (1x08). But damn, why is Riven hitting on Bloom? Pls, stop! But at least she really ripped into him and then poured water on him which, frankly, he deserved. I mean, I like him as a character but he was way out of line talking to them like that.

- I love that Stella was being supportive with Brandon when Riven was trying to embarrass him. She didn’t care if he’d failed, only that he was okay. That was really cute!

- So the whole plan hangs on whether Knut can sell the Timmy vibe? Which he is not really doing all that well. Great job! This only worked because Bloom is not paying attention. Which I will cut her some slack for because of the whole thing with Daphne and then Riven.

- I feel like the writers do know how to build suspense, though, and I really appreciate that.

- I like Riven x Musa but I also like Riven x Darcy. When you forget that she was actually using him... and she put a spell on him. Ugh... Why is this so problematic? And also never addressed? Not to mention that Darcy totally did not look up any spells prior to that so she must have known it beforehand, and considering Icy and Stormy’s words, I think it is safe to assume she’s done this before... which is not okay.

- But on the plus side, she knows how to ride a hoverbike! I like that!

- Well, it did end in tears so job well done I guess. I am still having problems with Griffin’s behavior here. “Break some hearts, break some bones”? Umm, what? Can you not? (Also, sidenote, but Griffin’s remark about the celebration struck me as annoying tbh. I know she’s a witch but she has a family too. Can we, please, drop this idea that witches can’t love, thanks?)

1x09:

- Wow, this is the most interesting episode so far.

- Stella really got spelled there. And in the end with the oppositus spell. That part was really random, though. Was it simply because they needed Musa to run off to town?

- Aw, Faragonda hugging Bloom so readily was really cute! What the heck did she mean about the dark forces, though? Was that... Was that somehow caused by the Ancestral Witches? Because I am pretty sure the Trix had nothing to do with it. What the hell is going on?

- I wanna know about the First Witches! Tell me moooore!!! At least we know about Daphne now.

- Okay, this time the Trix and the other witches were gonna kick Winx and the Specialists’ asses. That was some awesome battle, though. I liked it so much. Real action. Plus, they got to show off their powers!

- Darcy’s powers are so awesome!!! (I’m sorry but I love her and I have to gush.)

- Now the Trix know about the Dragon Fire. (I love those damn crystals; they look so good!). It’s starting to get real. But let’s backtrack for a second here. They wrecked the place where there were fighting, not to mention the blinding light from Bloom’s powers and yet, somehow nobody knows what happened there? What? Why tf don’t Griffin and Faragonda know about that? I am pretty sure they wrecked multiple cars there so why is nobody filing complaints and tracking the fight back to them?

1x10:

- “Puppy dog to Stiletto.” I AM DYING!!! And the way they are showing how the communication between them runs through Darcy’s psychic channel is so cool! I love it!

- It’s the Magical Reality Chamber... Ugh. I am not really thrilled about that.

- And Palladium is busy Palladiuming here. I can’t help this thought but why is his design so different in season 1 from his design later on? What happened to him? (Obvious glow up but I mean why?)

- Tecna’s sass is killing me. I am so loving it!

- Oh, thank goodness Kiko is okay!

- What the hell happened to the Dragon Fire? Did it just decide to pack its bags and leave? How did it get away from the Whisperian Crystals? Also, if Faragonda and Palladium were watching how Bloom was doing, why didn’t they say anything about the Trix? Did they not see them? If they did, why didn’t they do shit about it? I am pretty sure what they did is very against the rules. So what the hell is up with that?

1x11:

- Okay, I totes agree with Bloom. Yeah, Flora messed up with all the plants but they legit let her go live in a swamp. Wtf, guys?!?!?! You’re her friends. You shouldn’t let that happen!

- Awww, they went with her! Okay, we’re good! (And even Stella went even though her shoes got ruined!) Also, Flora’s inventions are really cool. Baby can save the entire universe on her own and protect nature with her inventions.

- The nymphs are so cute!!! Not to mention well adapted! They can fly, breathe air and live underwater. Damn!

- Stella is finally hearing the voice of nature. Or whatever it is that is sending her that vibe that something is off.

- Why wasn’t Tecna affected by the mist (or whatever it was)? She was breathing the same air as them and all the rest were getting sleepy even before she put down her mask (whatever). So why was she not affected at all? (I’m not trying to poke holes into the plot, the plot is poking my eyes out with its holes.)

- An evil willow. Well, you don’t see that every day.

- Tecna’s apology was very Tecna and very cute.

1x12:

- Awwww, they agreed to help Stella with the beauty pageant because she was so passionate about it. That’s some real friendship!!! Also, I love how concerned they were with making sure she was going to pass the test. Sometimes the only thing that can make you study is indeed someone else forcing you to. So props to them for taking the time to make sure she was handling her classes.

- Lol, the Trix are at it again. But what did they do with Lucy? She looks like a completely different person. Also, they used a lot of magic there (and their reactions to how well it was working were just hilarious). And here I go again with my ranting. Why didn’t the contest have someone to make sure the participants weren’t using magic since that was against the rules? The Trix used so much magic and no one would be the wiser if not for Bloom’s spell. Other contestants could have used magic as well and no one would have been able to tell. It’s just not believable.

- Stella won the pageant and passed her test. Now that’s impressive!

1x13:

- That episode with Bloom and her parents made me cry, wtf! That was really emotional. I don’t get one thing, though. If she knew she was adopted, why didn’t she try to look for her birth parents even before that? Wasn’t she curious why they’d given her up? And why did she not think of them when she learned she had magic? I think it is logical after learning that you have magic and knowing that you are adopted to go “Hey, perhaps I inherited this from my birth parents”.

- At least Winx were very supportive about it. (I am a bit unsure why Bloom didn’t make the connection about Daphne when Mike told her he’d heard a voice when he’d found her. I mean, she also heard a voice (guiding her out of a fire no less) so why didn’t she wonder at least if perhaps that hadn’t been Daphne that talked to Mike?)

1x14:

- I just noticed this but remember how Bloom is complaining that she always has to go first at tests because they do alphabetical order? Isn’t Amaryl in the same class? She was with them during Wizgiz’s quiz (wait, that’s next episode) and when Palladium had them listening to the voice of nature. But then with the magical reality chamber and this exercise with Faragonda Bloom’s going first even though Amaryl should go before her.

- Omg, Sky is fangirling so hard! And he’s on for breaking into Cloud Tower. I have a feeling that is the worst idea but I know they’re gonna do it anyway so...

- So Griffin’s entire family consists of witches? Cool. And of course, her fave spell is a revenge one. Why am I not surprised? XD

- I feel so bad for Mirta. Everyone laughed at her. But she should’ve known that was coming and she should’ve chosen a different spell to describe. Actually, scratch that. She was brave enough to be herself and did not conform to what was expected of her so props to her for that! Though, the witches’ reaction suggests that having friends is something to laugh at which just... isn’t true??? Like, everyone needs a friend once in a while. I can’t stand it when kids shows make the villains these heartless, soulless people who feel no emotion whatsoever. Would it kill you to make a villain that actually acts like a person?

- Wtf, Lucy? That was nasty as hell. And does she really think that the Trix are going to hang out with her?

- The Trix’s plan is truly horrible. But I have to admit it’s a good plan. Seriously though, the poor duckling! Honestly, how is it still alive? They made an entire troll disappear but they can’t get rid of one little duckling? Does that mean that they didn't actually want to kill it (bc lbr they could've easily killed it if they wanted to)?

- At least Sky would’ve tried to comfort Bloom if she hadn’t pushed him away. (Question, though. Why didn’t Griffin learn they were in the library? Last time Winx were there she immediately knew. (It is probably a good thing, though, because she probably would’ve tried to kill Bloom... Again.))

- Awww, Bloom and Mirta friendship adorableness ensues!!!

- I loved the way Winx all used their powers to find Bloom! And Musa getting that sound wave reading that she then transferred to Tecna? Awesome! I wish we could get more extraordinary usage of magic like that! (in the later seasons I mean)

- Kiko and the duckling fighting is some peak comedy right there.

- Oh no, poor Mirta (again; dammit this episode!). But at least she’s among friends now.

1x15:

- That’s some drama with the test (understandable). And that’s some more drama with the answers.

- Bloom was a little pushy in that scene with Faragonda who was clearly exhausted from the spell but I’ll cut her some slack because of the circumstances.

- Was that a pixie that was flying outside of Alfea?

- Flora is getting angry over here. Honestly, she’s really surprising me. I remember her as this goody-two-shoes but the only reason she hasn’t really snapped so far is because something always happens before she can. If you really look at her expressions, you can see that she gets mad as often as the other characters. I actually kind of like that because it shows she’s simply doing her best to be nice all the time and she also has limits but she’s actually working on keeping herself in check. It makes her more interesting.

- Why is everyone so bad at sneaking around?

- That lesson about inner transformation was interesting. Definitely something to think about. (I’ll tell you what’s for sure, though. Amaryl probably wasn’t transformed at all by the temptation. She is just a bitch like that. (It’s all she’s shown so far.))

- Stella legit picked up her teacher and then dropped him LMFAO!

1x16:

- I really love how the Trix are casting so many spells and developing their skills. In this season they actually worked for what they were after and did not receive everything on a silver platter. It makes me actually like them even though they are as evil as ever.

- Poor Stella! That monster caused her to dream about her biggest demons. And poor baby is afraid nobody likes her. Awww! :/ I am legit crying over here again, dammit!

- Damn, the monster is growing as it feeds on their nightmares! And Musa and Tecna’s nightmares were horrible. Poor babies! They did have a good plan for catching it, though... kinda. (It was a good thing they managed to contact Mirta and she told them what it was at least.)

- Well, it was about damn time Faragonda showed up! That monster has been roaming her school for two nights now. And it’s not so sneaky and quiet either. Not to mention the enormous amount of dark energy it must have brought in the school. How did none of the teachers notice it sooner? Like, seriously, it was there for two nights, the girls were screaming, loudly, they fought it in their room, they fought it in the corridor, they fought it in the yard, it knocked down Musa and Tecna, the Trix showed up and froze Stella and Flora, the gargoyle caught Bloom and Faragonda showed up ONLY THEN? Are you kidding me? Took you for-fucking-ever! And on top of it Winx started apologizing they hadn’t been able to handle it on their own instead of being angry that the school is not doing enough to protect them. None of the shit that has happened to them since the beginning of the season should have been allowed, and yet, somehow it keeps happening.

- So Griffin didn’t care that they wrecked havoc but that they got caught while doing it? Nice. I love it how she just decided to magic a gigantic projection of her head and use it to kick the Trix out instead of going out in the rain. Power move!

- And now the Trix are hella mad. This is getting intense.

1x17:

- Well, Sky isn’t handling this well. And Diaspro is coming which means trouble. It’s not going well! (I can’t stress this enough. God, I really hate this episode.)

- Wait, so Timmy knows about the switch up between Brandon and Sky? I mean, if he knows why Diaspro’s visit is a problem, then he must know about that as well, right? Which means that Riven is the only one in the group that doesn’t know. Well, that doesn’t look too good. I mean, it was good for them they hadn’t told him but it might explain why he never felt like a part of the group. They were keeping things from him.

- That chat between Griffin and Faragonda escalated quickly. And damn, they turned a man into a goat? I mean, I expect that from Griffin, but Faragonda? I did not see this coming. Also, the dialogue was horrible. It’s pure exposition. Both of them know what happened. Why are they going over it? And it was just information without any added commentary from either of them which made it pointless and sort of an info dump. I’m cringing just listening to it.

- Okay, but Griffin’s seat was 26 G and Faragonda’s was 26 F. I mean, come on! It actually made sense for them to be seated together (and with Saladin too) tho since they’re the headmistresses of the schools.

- So Erendor went to Red Fountain too? I mean, of course he did. But please, who is buying the crap that Samara is a philanthropist? She is obviously a big snob and you can tell that just by looking at her.

- Politics is being brought to you by Musa.

- Too bad for Bloom that both Icy and Diaspro are horrible and she thought Diaspro was Icy. Smart call with the press idea, though. Also, Diaspro’s magic is actually really cool! It is unique and I really like it!

- And Riven and Sky don’t have it together either. Everyone is acting like they’re five years old in this episode. Also, I love how Saladin just blamed the whole thing on Bloom when Sky and Riven also had a big role in ruining the entire celebration. But of course, Bloom is the only one guilty here and Winx are getting punished again. At least, this time they told their teachers it wasn’t completely their fault. But what good did it do anyway?

1x18:

- Omg, Bloom, no! You can’t leave and just... leave your friends. Ugggggh, this is too sad!!! (And kind of annoying me because they told her they wanted her there and they were all together in this. Though, on the other hand I understand because guilt is something that you have to deal with yourself and only you can get over it no matter how many reassurances you get from outside.) But awwww, they all looked so cute when they were just chilling together while everyone was doing their own thing. True friendship!

- I am so with Stella on this one. Bloom’s their friend and they have to go get her back no matter what.

- Btw Griselda’s glasses can’t be functional at all. I mean look at them. The two lenses are so far apart, wtf?

- Go to hell, Icy! Earth is cool!

- Mitzy is so annoying. I would’ve used my powers on her a long time ago if I were Bloom. So props to her for (mostly) keeping her cool.

- Oooh, Bloom finally learned who she is (and ooh, we’re getting backstory!). And... she lost her powers. The way they just ripped the Dragon Fire out of her was terrible. It makes me hurt!

1x19:

- Stella is such a good friend! I love her!!!

- Oof, that battle between the Trix and Griffin. Griffin was so done with them when she was dusting herself off. And awww, she cares about her witches! That was so cute!!! Ediltrude and Zarathustra flying out of the window wasn’t cute, though.

- Stella is not being helpful with her “it might be the end of the world”. And Griselda’s mood seemed to flip pretty quickly from angry to concerned. Also, Faragonda with her “I believe we learn things when we’re ready to” may not have made the best decision. If Bloom had known, it could have been different. Not to mention that in the previous episode she told Winx she’d take care of Bloom when she refused to let them go after her but I didn’t see anyone taking care of anything. If Stella hadn’t gone to take her back, she may not have found her way back. What are you, guys, doing?

- Why does Cloud Tower have functioning dungeons, again? Also, who decided it was a good idea to keep the book for summoning the Army of Decay in Cloud Tower? I know you need the Dragon Fire to summon it and they thought that was gone, but still.

- I am so over the name of the spells. English words with Latin suffixes? I mean, really? Couldn’t actually come up with something better? (I wasn’t going to rant about that but they keep doing it.)

- I can’t decide if the Army of Decay is a good name or not. I think I like it, though. Either way, it seems to be a big deal since all the teachers looked scared as hell.

- Ah, the scene with Riven was painful. I really liked it, though. They got to show off their new powers and be nasty.

- Definitely a cool name. And an even cooler concept!

- The Trix were such great villains in season 1, though. They truly were menacing and were actually pretty powerful. And look at how creepy they are! I love!

- Does somebody want to tell me why Faragonda (and Griselda) weren’t helping the fairies fight the monsters like Palladium and Wizgiz were? Yeah, they need to keep communicating with Red Fountain but, like, isn’t there a more efficient way to do that that won’t keep the headmistress who is the most powerful person in the school from fighting?

- I like that Sky decided to stay and fight even if it meant dying.

1x20:

- Oh, look, the magical reality chamber can apparently be used as a teleportation device. Hmm, interesting.

- Darcy talking to the Army of Decay as if they’re little puppies was the funniest thing ever!

- Poor Knut (and the duckling). But at least he’s helping as much as he can! And he cares about his mom! Awwwww!

- Omg, I have for some reason been left with the impression that Saladin was a calm person but in the few moments he’s had so far he’s been raging far more than he’s been calm. And he did have a point about not trusting Knut but, jeez, can you calm down? Also, “everyone who survives passes the semester”. Oh yeah? How very generous of you. However, the semester is the least of your problems rn.

- If the Trix know that Winx are on Sparks, why don’t they attack Alfea?

- We finally saw a little of what Saladin can do. I think it’s weird that he’s a magic user when his school doesn’t teach magic. Can he fight without his magic? I mean, he probably can, but let us see it goddammit! I still liked the magic use, though!

- Ooooh, Icy unleashed some power there. Also, was she able to control the dragons because of the Dragon Fire? How are non-magical dragons related to the Great Dragon?

- Yeah, Stella is transformed and watching Bloom fall down a chasm and she’s asking “What do we do?” Fly down to fucking get her maybe? I don’t know.

1x21:

- How does Bloom remember the palace on Sparks if she was a baby back then? And it’s too quick for it to become “her palace”.

- Stella and Tecna took a Mathematics and Magic class together? Aww, that’s so cute! (Even if Stella slept through most of it.)

- Oh, look, Daphne showed up! When is she gonna tell Bloom that she’s her sister?

- I loved all the magical stuff here! The way they combined their powers and the attacks they used were super cool and felt really unique! Where did that go in the later seasons?

- Awww, Stella and Brandon are “friends”!!! Cool!

- Brandon is doing his best as Sky’s wingman! And he succeeded! Now if they can only fix the magical mess as easily as the romantic one!

1x22:

- Omg, Stella being so ready to help Knut is one of my favorite things! I can’t help but feel like this side of her was lost a little bit in favor of the more bitchy one in later seasons and I’m so sad.

- The entire Universe is in danger but girls will be girls and get all excited at the news of their new guests in the face of the boys.

- Going in without a plan is not the best idea. And that was such a positive reaction we got from Tecna.

- Stella is ready to go out with Brendon! That’s really cute!

- The Trix wrote “rule everyone” in their admission letters and Griffin still accepted them? What the actual hell was she thinking?!?!?!

- So Icy also comes from a lineage of witches?

- It was really cute that Griffin actually cared about Riven. So she’s only being a bitch to fairies then?

- Since when can the Army of Decay turn you into rot by touching you? I mean, they said that and a minute later Codatorta punched one of the monsters but he was fine. Contradictory much?

- So Riven just turned into the Red Fountain living instruction manual the way he was reciting all those things? Also, jumping out of windows is probably not the best action to undertake. Not that he had any other options left.

- Is Faragonda leading the battle? I thought Saladin would command the Specialists but it seems that she’s the one who’s giving all the orders. That is so cool!

- So much for sneaking in Cloud Tower.

- Awww, Riven saved the day and apologized for screwing up earlier! Plus, he showed how competent he is. All of that was so awesome and probably my fave part of the episode.

1x23:

- Tecna and Timmy, though! XD If they weren’t being attacked, that calculations talk would’ve practically been a date!

- Griffin just blasted the Trix like that! Damn! And she was legit glowing with magic! That was so awesome!!! She was so mad, I can’t. And that spell she put on them to trap them seemed to be very sophisticated, having in mind how many motions it needed to get activated.

- Did Griffin just compliment the fairies? Oh, I see, when they sneak in Cloud Tower under her supervision, she tries to kill them, but when they sneak in Cloud Tower while it’s under the Trix’s control, it’s brave. Nice logic we got here.

- Griffin, Faragonda and Saladin stand for the three points of magic? What does that mean? I mean, in terms of magic. What can the three of them do when they combine their powers?

- Btw why the hell would they need to enter the portal in alphabetical order? That was just so random, not to mention inconvenient.

1x24:

- What is it with witches and turning people into goats? Speaking of Ediltrude, where the hell are she and Zarathustra? They weren’t shown to be with Griffin and her students.

- Wait, I’m confused. Are they suggesting that the Trix are direct descendants of the Ancestresses and that’s why their parents never showed up? Because they don’t have parents? What the hell is going on?

- I like the idea that the monsters keep reforming because it really makes sense considering what they’re made of. And it is so epic! I am so here for this battle!

- I kinda feel Bloom’s worries about her magic being the only special thing about her, though we all have to give her credit for the fact that she keeps beating monsters with a stick. XD What was it? Her Earth powers? Do we all have those? I haven’t tried it yet.

- Wow, Faragonda and Griffin’s combined magic was so powerful! I love it!

- Awww, that Brandon and Stella moment that turned into the Specialists and Winx moment was so cute!!! But poor baby Stella. She just wants love and her parents’ divorce is really hurting her. (Also, that remark about her being the one to protect Brandon was cool! You go, girl!)

- The monsters attacked again. And just when they were ready to take the fight to the Trix, gdi! I have to say that I am actually wondering what Griffin meant by taking out the roots. I suppose she didn’t mean kill the Trix which is interesting to me. Considering Griffin’s general behavior and background, I’d say it is safe to assume that murder is not past her. But she never tried to really hurt the Trix even when she knew how serious of a threat they posed to the entire universe.

- Musa’s attack was so awesome! They got really powerful during that year they spent in Alfea. (Perhaps it would’ve been good to actually see them learn the new magic they seemed to have mastered but anyway, it is still cool.)

- That combined magic of all the fairies and witches was so epic! And I love the way it was done. With Faragonda and Griffin acting like a bridge between the light magic of the fairies and the dark magic of the witches. It was really cool!

- Magix sort of looks like Pompeii. Is that how people look when they’re turned to rot?

1x25:

- That was some very unladylike way of sitting that the Trix pulled there.

- Omg, Riven’s confession of his feelings towards Musa was so awkward, I can’t!

- Well, it was obvious that Bloom’s powers were still in her. First, that always happens on TV shows. And second, after the Trix stole the Dragon Fire from her she was still in her fairy form so... yeah. And I really hate the whole thing because I get what they were trying to do but it is so frustrating to know that they had to go through all this shit (they almost died! Multiple times!) only for it to turn out that her powers were inside her all along. It’s just... disappointing!

- Why don’t Stormy and Darcy know about the Invisible Road? And why the hell is there even such a thing? So that enemies can sneak up on you and attack you? The possible uses of that road do not balance out the danger it puts them in so why does it even exist?

- Lol, Codatorta beating Saladin in that game was a cool moment. I honestly expected him to lose because he looked distracted but it turned out it was the other way around.

- Faragonda and Griffin really know each other well. Though, I don’t think that Griffin was very happy about that. What I’m more interested in, though, is how they heard the Army of Decay. It still seemed pretty far away so I think it was their magic that enabled them to hear it. That’s totally awesome and I approve!

1x26:

- So Faragonda IS leading the battle! That’s so awesome on so many accounts. But the most notable is that that means she must have experience with battle strategy in order to pull this off (Well, of course she does, considering the whole action with the Company of Light that must have gone down)! I’m gonna scream here!!!

- Winx joining Bloom to help her against the Trix and the boys teaming up while discussing their love life was honestly the best. Riven and Sky are working together, I cannot believe it! It’s so cool!

- Okay, but even without the Dragon Fire Darcy and Stormy should still be stronger than Winx since they’re seniors. And yet, they seem to be losing. And kind of easily at that. And I’m not really sure what happened. Did Winx’s convergence turn Stormy’s attack on them?

- Is it only me or does it look like Bloom’s teleporting? (Also, props to the animators for only making Bloom’s powers look like a dragon to show who really controls the power, but they do lose points for making Icy and Stormy’s powers take the shape of a dragon as well in earlier moments.)

- Why did Stormy and Darcy’s monsters disappear when they were defeated if all the Dragon Fire was in Icy? That makes no sense.

- I love it how Bloom just carried Icy back like it was no biggie.

- Oh, no! Griffin is blaming herself for what happened (well, she was a little guilty but still). Opening a Bed & Breakfast? Wait, what? Did I hear right? That was so weird.

- Knut is so adorable! And Stella is so supportive of him! I love!

- Well, Lucy is just being a bitch.

- “We don’t do prom. We crash prom. So enjoy it. This will be the one year we won’t try to ruin it.” XD That was such an awesome line!!!

- So Griffin is the one who sent the Trix to wherever she sent them. Why are they still her responsibility if she expelled them? Shouldn’t she consult Faragonda and Saladin as to what to do with them? Or like... the Council? (Also, Griffin’s face when Saladin mentioned them was priceless. She is so done with them and I fully understand.)

- Why did the duckling go with Icy? It came to Alfea with Knut because it was scared of her. What happened?

- Even Griselda is having fun. That’s nice!

This was kind of... epic! Plot is perhaps not the strongest point of the Winx Club writers but they definitely know how to build tension. The season is a little weird in terms of time constraints in-verse but it was very enjoyable to watch! The powers and moves that they had were really awesome and actually rather original which I am very pleasantly surprised by. The season had some very strong moments and I really liked what they did, especially with the final episodes. I actually really loved it and I don’t think it is just the nostalgia talking here.

[nelllraiser]

your ass is grass | deirdre & nell

TIMING: after deirdre’s fateful call with regan’s dad. (yes, this is old) PARTIES: @deathduty and @nelllraiser. SUMMARY: regan is grass. nell still hates mimes. deirdre isn’t a rotten egg. penises. 

HellaHairFlip Today at 12:40 AM: do u have anything to add walmart dentist Today at 12:41 AM: add that i love u :/

A lot of things were going wrong for Deirdre, she was happy at least at sneaking into a nearby recreation center was not one. “Move your feet, Penelope. We’ve got something very important to steal.” The door clinked open and the banshee pushed it open, waiting for the human to follow her in. She adjusted the mask on her face, an unnecessary precaution, probably, but she might have taken any excuse to wear a mime mask. They were truly terrifying. “We can’t commit theft if that’s how slow you’re going to move. Don’t witches have more self-respect than this?” The cold night air drifted in behind her, a perfect day for a little criminal activity. Penelope wasn’t her first choice in companions, but she’d need the witch for the spell once they were done here. So it was convenient, more than anything. 

Of all the things to steal, Nell was rather...surprised that it was only fake grass that was needed as an ingredient for breaking a fae promise. “I’m moving fine!” she hissed back, feeling rather dramatic in her all black outfit along with the ski mask over her eyes. “And did you have to wear a mime mask of all things? Cursed creatures. Snobby know-it-alls. They probably think you’re emulating them.” Nevertheless, she thought it’d be rather fun to commit a little bit of theft, even if it was only grass. Besides, if she got brought home by cops— it wouldn’t be the first time. “So why do we need grass anyway?” she asked as they closed in on their target.

“Why aren’t you wearing the mime mask I bought you?” Deirdre hissed, though her anger deflated a moment later. If someone saw them, it’d be the mime and the bargain bin bank robber, and she’d kill to see that headline somewhere. “We can’t be a team like this.” She knew Penelope couldn’t see the smirk on her face, but she hoped the child could feel it. “This was the only mask left in the store,” she groaned, leading the witch through the halls until they reached one of the fields. Glorious, beautiful turf shone back at her through the small window in the double doors. Deirdre pushed on the handle and unsurprisingly found it clunk back at her with the telltale signs of being, equally unsurprisingly, locked. “I told you on the way here: we need the grass for the spell. It takes two parts, fae components and then something representative of the spell. My darling Regan is the grass, or the not-grass, but her father thinks of her like grass.” She looked up at the mechanism that held the door in place and turned back to the witch, gesturing up at it. “Can you do anything about that? I don’t suppose you know any convenient door opening spells, do you?”

 “Because mimes are the literal scourge of the Earth!” Nell’s voice was full with the passion of a thousand suns on that matter. “I’d rather die than impersonate a mime.” Damn. She would have liked to be a team, though. Nell hadn’t thought of that. “Maybe if you’d gotten anything else but the mimes- we could have been the super cool theft tag team. I feel like we could have even just made homemade masks. A fun bonding activity, don’t you think?” She was only half-joking. It’d probably be amusing to see what sort of mask Deirdre might fashion. “Yeah, yeah, but why is Regan grass? None of your analogies make sense.” Nevertheless, she gave a bit of a smug smile as Deirdre requested her services. With a simple few words, and the passing of her hand over the mechanism, the door was ready to go. “Now who’s lacking self-respect?” The retort didn’t make any sense, sure. But it made her feel a little better.

“You really...hate mimes.” Deirdre blinked, simply listening to the child. She hadn’t expected it to be such a hot-button issue, but she also hadn’t expected to be stealing grass in the middle of the night with someone who was, effectively, a child. “I don’t do crafts, I make people do crafts for me and then I throw them out,” she scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest as though it were the most obvious of fact---that she would never degrade herself doing anything lowly. “Regan isn’t the grass, her dad wants her to be grass: easily maintained, something to look at. He only cares enough to keep his lawn looking the way he wants it, no matter what that means. Regan isn’t grass, she’s better than---oh, forget it. Why am I even explaining this to you?” But her explanation served as filler between Penelope’s spell and the door clicking open. “There’s something I’ve always wanted to say, Penelope,” Deirdre smiled, pushing open the door and pausing at the threshold between the field and the hall. Then she turned, her smile twisting with mischief, “last one in is a rotten egg.” And being right at the door, Deirdre took the first step on to the fake grass and was, unceremoniously, not the rotten egg. “You humans have some delightful phrases, although I hope this doesn’t mean I just turned you into an egg.” She paused, “the last one in is not a rotten egg.” She turned back, pulling a knife from her back and gesturing around. “Do you want to do anything else or shall I get started on the grass.”

“They’re my biggest and most mortal enemy on this Earth,” Nell finished succinctly before thinking to continue on with. “Though often I doubt if they’re actually mortal. Especially that weird one that walks on all fours.” Nevertheless, her disdain for the mimes dissipated as she traded it for amusement. “Crafts can be fun.” Nell wasn’t entirely sure if she’d entirely caught the whole ‘grass’ analogy, but she was fairly certain she at least understood it well enough to be able to replicate the spell Deirdre was teaching her...if she ever needed to. Surely being able to do away with fae promises was something that would come in handy one day. “No fair! I wasn’t warned! You’re supposed to count down from three or something.” She was, quite understandably, quite miffed at having found herself the rotten egg, though she was quickly placated by Deirdre’s rectification of the situation. “Oh- that’s much better. Thank you. I could feel my yolk forming as we spoke.” Nell scanned the surrounding area, as if someone was waiting to jump out and yell, ‘Gotcha!’. Though could they actually be arrested for taking fake grass? “No, no, please proceed with your grazing. I’ll be here.” She squinted at the knife. “You know you could probably just pull the fake grass up...right?”

“Oh! You’ve seen that thing too?” Deirdre knew they were getting off-topic, but what was a chat about mimes while they stole fake grass? “I was with someone who cut its head off and the cursed thing just grew right back! Such a shame, really. I would have loved to pick through the bones that thing must leave…” she paused, gazing off, lost in the fantast in her head. “If any,” Deirdre murmured finally, shaking her head and moving along. “I think you’d look like Humpty Dumpty if you were an egg. You know, with the eyes and the mouth and the small little legs dangling over your brick wall.” Deirdre bent down, stabbing her knife into the grass and digging out a clean square for them to take. “This is more fun,” she glanced up, working through her patch of grass, “you’re not terrible for a human, Penelope. Certainly more fun than some---”

“Hey!” A voice boomed through the walls, and the jangling of keys followed. “Is anybody in there?” The double doors on the other side clanked open, and an old man dressed in security blues hobbled in. “You whippersnappers better not be painting any more penises here!”

In a moment, Nell put two and two together, her brow furrowing together a bit. “Wait, are you talking about Shiloh? She was telling me she cut it’s head off!” She’d been a bit jealous that she hadn’t been there to witness that, or have the honor of cutting it off— even if it wasn’t it’s real head. “But true...it’d probably be some pretty weird bones.” Her nose wrinkled, immediately rejecting Deirdre’s egg classification of her. “Ew, no. I couldn’t be. I don’t fall off of walls. I’m gonna be like a...dragon egg. You can be a chicken egg,” she joked with a little shrug. But she nodded sagely at the other woman’s claim, knowing firsthand that it truly was more fun to cut things with a knife. “Aww, Deirdre. Careful now. I’ll start thinking you like me or-” But her head snapped towards the voice that had yelled out, and she took in the sight of the night guard. “Do you have enough grass yet??” she asked in a hurried tone, not really wanting to be taken home in the back of a cop car or something. “Damn- we should have drawn some penises, though,” she finished under her breath.

“You know Shiloh too?” Deirdre, astonished again, blinked. It really was a small town. “Is Humpty Dumpty not a beloved story, Penelope?” She teased, making quick work of the turf below and slinging it over her shoulder once a sizable enough square has been cut. “I do like you, human. I say this now because you’ve suggested phallic defacement and of that, I am always a fan.”  The guard finally snapped his flashlight to life and cast its orange-tinted light over to the two trespassers.

“Oi! You two there better not be drawin’ any penises or else I’m--” he paused, squitining. Then he took a cautious step forward. “Are you….are you two stealin’ grass?”

Deirdre snapped up, down with her thievery but not so done with her mischief. She turned to Penelope and gave a wide smirk, then turned back. “It was her!” And with no remorse, she pointed at the younger girl and dashed from the field with her fake-grass. She spared one singular glance backwards, seeing the security guard waving his light around and giving a very slow chase. He was too shocked to speak into his transerver to report the crime, but not shocked enough to trip over as he attempted to give chase. He hollered behind them, “a mime and a ski-enthusiast are stealing grass! A mime and a ski-enthusiast! My wife said it could never happen! I knew I was right to worry!”

‘Bitch!” Nell called after Deirdre, though it was colored with some amusement. “You’ll never catch us alive!” She yelled dramatically before hauling ass after Deirdre, rather quick on her feet. But then the other woman’s words about phallic drawings as well as the security guard’s were running through her head. And truly...she couldn’t resist. In a moment she was waving a hand over the grass, and a giant, stark white penis was glowing up from the greenery. Who cared if she used a little magic while her identity was hidden? As the man’s voice continued to yell after them, her joyful laugh flitted through the air, all too pleased with her art as her and Deirdre made their grand escape.