#yes this is monster girl stag

[seikcadaikea]

For a bit of context, I thought that turning the Wild Hunt into a monster girl for Red's birthday was a good gift lmao

[unsoundedcomic]

Whumptober 2024 - 10&11 - "Blow to the Head" & "Double Vision"

Durlyne let the Tanners have the slums and, in exchange, the Tanners did not often venture into the city's ghers nor its moneyed streets. This rule wasn't written down anywhere nor ever even said aloud; it seemed instead branded on local hearts. Durlynians learned it in the way that children learned knives were sharp and stoves were hot.

The Tanners had been Lemuel's boogeyman the first ten years of his life. Afterwards, he met the world's scarier monsters, but tales of the Tannery rogues had primed him for them: throatcutters, twin takers, back flayers. Hides from the Tannery were the finest in the land, for they did not skin the swine nor stag; Tanners skinned the man.

If you stayed out of the slums though, a lad was safe. A careful lad was safe.

So why, today, was the Sheriff of White Hill constabulary laying murdered in his fine home? His whole family, in fact, was murdered. A wife, two little boys, an infant girl, and even the family kedises slashed to death in their drawing room. Lemuel didn't understand it, but it was hard to question: one of the assassins had been caught trying to put the manor to the torch afterwards. A Midmolil boy for sure. An oily little throat-cutter called Corley Full Tang. By dawn, the inquisitors would twist him into shapes that did not yet have names.

But right now, his two accomplices were flying through the labyrinthine slums beyond Blue Boy Bridge. And Lemuel Adelier wanted them badly. He was only a week returned home from the army, freshly recruited to the Lions of Mercy. He was a Lion! They could never send him away again.

As long as he was a GOOD Lion.

"Take some care there!" Duane called after his brother, egging his mount on until it ran apace with Lemuel's panting bull , "You don't chase the viper into its den; you don't put yourself alone in the dark with it!"

Lemuel barked a laugh. "Home to the wife then if you're afraid, old man! Did you not see the blood in the Sheriff's home? From corner to corner it pooled! Over tin soldiers and a Tainish primer it pooled!"

Lemuel didn't have to turn to see the words had struck. There was a six month old baby girl in his brother's home now. Never again would he be fighting fully armoured. "Of course I saw it," Duane snarled, "And my prudence is not fear, ye strutting cock! Do as I say and wait for reinforcements. Do not ride off unbuttoned in your shortclothes and embarrass me, the one that brought you here. This isn't Chinoll!"

"Embarrass you!" Lemuel echoed, "Embarrass you!"

"Do you not covet the snakes? Know your place or the closest you will ever be allowed to a vliegeng are their dung heaps!"

"I don't need your permission! I'll find them!"

The Adeliers had been born and raised in the Godkiller's city, and though Lemuel had always respected his grandfather's advice to never venture beyond Blue Boys Bridge, he knew the Tannery's mark as well as any other local with a sense of self-preservation. As his hound snuffed after the villain's scent now, he noticed that mark mysteriously absent from the walls. Should the killers not be running back to their den, or at least towards the assurance of their own territory?

Lemuel was about to make this observation aloud when a door blew open, and eyes flashed in the night. "There!"

A throwing knife shot wasp-like from Lemuel's hand. The figure in the doorway yelped (Lemuel distantly hoped he had not just murdered a washwoman) and bolted from the building towards a break in the opposite wall. Clattering to the pavement, the knife didn't stick, but Lemuel's dog was already pounding past it, leaping, landing hard on the rogue's back. Lemuel dismounted like a diving raptor, sailing over the hound's head and to his prey's side.

"Some viper!" Lemuel grabbed his collar, hauled him to his feet. "More a worm slinking on his belly through the dirt! You slaughtered that entire family, and not a drop of blood on you! Look at the professional, Duane! Look at the coward!"

The elder Adelier pulled his hound up sharp, oozing disgust. "Excrement in a suit," he hissed, "Child-killing trash that would make a liar of Sonum Ssael when He taught every man has in him the way to His side. WHY! Who hired that hit, demon?"

Lemuel punched fingers into the knife slash in the assassin's coat, then ribs. The move would have felt more satisfying with a clawed gauntlet, perhaps, but it still produced a warbling, ricocheting scream. Blood oozed, and stuck the contents of the rogue's opened pocket to the LIon's punishing hand.

"Stop it!" Duane demanded. Lemuel did it again. Oh, Duane professed to loathe this sport, but he'd deliver this bastard to the inquisitors without a qualm in his heart. Ha!

"Sing for us!" Lemuel snarled, "Sing! Or I let you live to see the pit! And by God, if you do, you'll wish I'd taken your liver-"

The world offset suddenly, violent as a rutting vliegeng. Lemuel's vision exploded silver, and it was his turn to be on the ground. It was happy to catch him, but then he couldn't lift his newly wet head nor remember what he'd done with his legs. Fearfully Duane snapped his name but it was only his shadow that approached. Then in a mighty leap it cleared him, and Lemuel saw his brother bolt to the far end of the alley, palms flashing green spellfire. There was an exchange of pymary there, too fast for Lemuel's concussed brain to follow. Duane would win of course. It was hardly worth watching. Perhaps he'd give that show a miss entirely…

When next he opened his eyes, Lemuel was in his bed at the Temple barracks. Pink sunlight filtered through the high slits in the walls. He felt warm and sleepy and doped with something that he thought he'd like a second helping of.

"Oh, no, no," admonished Leysa, pushing him back down. Drugged or sober, Lemuel was powerless to resist. He lay obediently paralysed by the same tone of voice his new sister-in-law used when telling Duane he WOULD be playing cards and smoking with her father and his friends tonight.

"Where… is…?"

She smiled, grim, and fixed the cold rag back on his forehead. "Duane is choosing the 'most cross and callous tyrant in the Temple' for the task of interrogating the man he caught last night. Those terrible criminals nearly had the undoing of you, sweet boy, and you know your brother is one to take that personally."

Lemuel shut his eyes, giddiness and nausea battling for control of his stomach. "He… will wring his hands over insulting a hackney… until one he holds dear is threatened. Then, he would challenge God."

"I confess it to be a quality I adore," laughed Leysa. Lemuel thought she had the most musical laugh. He felt singularly accomplished when he could produce it. "Please do not mistake his nature for hypocrisy. Recognise that it is love."

"I fear… I embarrassed him last night."

"You are his brother. It is why brothers are. I did not see embarrassment when he laid you here in your cot however, nor after he had sent for his own sleeping wife to tend you. I only saw-"

"Love. It's how he gets away with everything."

Leysa laughed her songbird laugh, carefully petting his head. She liked him, and Lemuel still couldn't figure out why. He rubbed his eyes, cross, then felt a stinging spot suddenly at his side. His blood-sticky fingers found bandages there, and produced great agony when he pressed them into his abdomen. Leysa captured his hand, shushing him.

"Now, I told you they nearly had the undoing of you. After his friend struck you with that spell, the man you were on top of put a knife into your side. He's still out there, somewhere, but no concern of yours. You need to rest. I will have the cleric bring more medicine."

Hard breaths through his nose. Lemuel bade the pain subside as his mind raced. None of this made sense… but he would NOT be Duane's embarrassment. "Please," he agreed with Leysa, "More."

===

Double Vision

A few hours later, his hound was happy to see him, though Lemuel wondered why the kennel lads were keeping the animals two apiece in their stalls today. As he neared, careful not to seem in a hurry to the attendants, the pair of dogs resolved into one.

Oh.

He wanted to shake his head to clear it, but was certain that would result in a swoon. God's Beard, could he ride at all with his eyes half-crossed by the Temple's finest unguents?

They'd killed the pain at least. Lemuel was able to swing onto his saddle with the barest grunt, and only the slightest tickle of oozing blood from his stitched side.

"We don't have a lot of time before Leysa returns," he murmured. The dog whumped and beat its tail twice. Leysa'd gone home to feed the new baby, but she'd threatened him with strangulation if he moved from the cot. That's why Duane had sent for her. It had nothing to do with her laugh nor her kind eyes nor any particular skill she had at pressing cold rags to hot foreheads. Duane simply thought he'd mind her more than anyone else. Well! The great Duane Adelier was not so wise, was he!

He'd said papa would be coming to visit soon too, after the shop closed. That would not control him either! No, no. That only motivated him to put himself elsewhere. He did not need to see the old man's pity; that look in his eyes with which he had always regarded his youngest son. That look. That inscrutable LOOK.

I'm sorry you're not your brother.

To hell with it. Lemuel had investigative work to do, and some degree of personal honour to restore.

He made it over the Bridge in an hour, sticking to the low streets and away from the busy market corridor. Passing over the river, it was grey and berg-bloated, bottles and trash choking the banks. In the wan afternoon light, Lemuel looked down at his gory right hand. He squinted, willing his vision to align and read to him the torn scrap of paper stuck to his palm.

"Gherson Oa"

It had been in his would-be murderer's pocket. Was it a street? None that he knew. Perhaps a business name somewhere in the slums?

Once he'd reached the mouth of the alley, Lemuel left his hound and proceeded on foot. The wine-coloured stain half-way down the filthy corridor left him even sicker in his middle. He saw Duane's prints in it, a wild frenzy of boot soles and bloody knees. Slashes where his coatskirts had dragged through the seeping red.

"Love," Lemuel whispered. Of course Duane loved him. And he loved Duane. But there was not one Goddamned thing in the world that love could mend. Ssael spoke of honour, of duty, of responsibility towards family, faith, and country. If the Godkiller had thought more of love, He'd have said so. Let love be for mothers, fathers, and children. Let it be for people who knew how to laugh.

Quietly, carefully, Lemuel eased open the door from the night before, the one from which his attacker had bolted. It was unmarked. The lock was broken. Freshly broken. The knights and constables must have already been through here?

Aye, the small room inside was a mess. Turned over tables, papers scattered, a wooden trunk opened with pymary and all its contents emptied into a heap. Lem crossed the room and descended a hobbled set of wooden stairs leading out the back. They led to a basement converted into an equally disastrous kitchen. Its upholstered chairs had been slashed open. Sawdust hung in the air. Lemuel had to squeeze his nostrils shut for if he sneezed he was sure he would split open.

That's when he saw it. Sitting on the dark counter admidst overturned mustard jars, half a loaf of stale bread, and a few broken jars of pickle, he spied a canister with its label torn.

"tmeal," it read.

Sweating through his uniform, Lemuel affixed to it his own bloody scrap of paper.

"Gherson Oatmeal."

He breathed a chuckle, expression a rictus of triumph, and unscrewed the top.

There was only a dead mouse inside.

"Bleeeeeeding heeeeell," he moaned. Duane would laugh at the soldier brat thinking he'd figured out something clever. The Temple's finest men had swept through here. If there was anything to be found, they would have found it!

But there WAS something to find! Something about the entire assassination was wrong. The Tanners would not have ventured to the Sheriff's very home to kill him. They would not have killed the entire family, enraging the rest of the city. They would not have been caught in the act! And a Tannery assassin would not have stabbed a knife into an unconscious Lion and failed to have it kill him!

Amateurs! These were amateurs!

But wait, wait, wait.

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

Duane had spoken in the past of pymarics with material triggers. Doorways that only opened if certain keys or materials swept into their questing field.

"Is there a dead mouse door?" he asked the room.

Well, not in the north wall. He held the oatmeal canister in front of him like the world's least successful alms cup, rattling the limp rodent inside, running it past a framed calendar, a faded old poster for the General Foundry's playhouse (destroyed in a fire years ago), a shelf of tin tea canisters and detergent boxes. Nothing. Nor did the east wall budge, nor were there any likely apertures to the west, which was covered over with dusty shelves, a grimy wash basin full of dishes, and a stove missing its grills.

"An embarrassment!" he despaired, holding his head. He felt weak and sick. Blood dribbled down his hip and made a wet, cold streak in his trouser leg. They would never give him a vliegeng. Newly arrived and already put in his cot by some son of a bitch wright; by some cowardly murderer with an oatmeal label in his bloody coat. Probably the lunatic only kept it to roll a weed fag! Piqued, furious at himself, Lemuel threw the canister and its forlorn dead occupant to the floor-

Which dissolved beneath his feet. Into perfect powdery blackness, Lemuel fell.

Concluded here.

[reginarubie]

Just read your new work and as much as I adore anything you write I must confess seeing the past jonsa tag hurt me. I just adore them and have been patiently awaiting for the day the jonsa inspires you again! I hope this doesn’t offend you, it was meant to be a compliment. I’m just awful at wording, like I meant your my go to jonsa author of choice so seeing that tag just left me with feels that your moving on but I know experimenting and dabbling in other ships are great for authors!! I don’t know I’m just in my feels I guess?? So many talented Jonsa authors have become in-active or deleting their works, discontinuing, etc and while I know it just part of life and I’m glad some still continue to write or are SELF PUBLISHING!!! (Although sadly they won’t share their official works-I hunt it down one day) I just feel an odd pang in my chest when another one goes down like dang I just wanna hold you all and never let go. God this sounds like I have abandonment issues, I’m just going stop now before I embarrass myself even more

Aw...hello!,

I am your to-go Jonsa author? That like made my day, so thank you! Also don't worry, you are neither pathetic, not have your embarassed yourself. You have just shared in our common love for Jonsa, which I still believe will be the open endgame of the books, tbh, and I could not appreciate you more for it.

Of course I love experimenting and for a long while I have been uninspired in Jonsa, mostly because I have been hyperfixated on Aemondsa (which I think Jon and Aemond share so much traits it's ridiculous), but I have not forgotten all my wips for Jonsa, to which I mean to return in the Summer (I am a perfectionist, procrastinator so unless I am on the wave of hyperfixation I am never quite satisfied enough with my work to share it, but the updates shall come soon).

You know what else shall come soon, because my muse actually is never satisfied with just one story and just one ship at time?

A new Jonsa story I have been keeping under wraps, a season 7/8 rewrite with specks of book canon as well.

Look, I'll even leave the edit I've done for it, and the summary. I plan to get it out by the end of June with the first chapter, so prepare your popcorns, seatbelts and fav comf food because I'll be back on my Jonsa shit again. And it's gonna be epic!

A song for wolves,

The South has a new queen, a dragon queen who wears her name like a true Targaryen. Mother of the Dragons. Mother of monsters. Dark mother, brought ruin, death and fire to the Realm, and put to torch her enemies. With Fire and Blood she has torn at the lioness of the Rock and the whole world shall bend the knee to this foreign conqueror, or endure become ashes. And yet, to the North a new enemy rises. House Stark. The ancient kings on winter, the last defence against death and ice; battered, exiled and tortured they rose again in the name of the King in the North. A bastard deserter and his sisters; a Lannister's wife and a girl. “They are Starks, and the northerners never forget,” When winter comes... You'll hear no lions roar... No stags grazing the fields... No roses growing in the meadows... No snakes in the sand... The krakens will freeze where they swim... The flayed men will rot and wither... No trouts swimming in the river and no falcons flying in the air... Not even the dragons breath will warm you in your halls. Only the wolfs howl in the night... Winter is coming.

As always, hope you stay tuned, and yes the edit's got better since I started to make them, but alas no, those clips, music and quotes do not belong to me, we all knew how things would go if they did.

As always sending all my love ~G.

[marvelmaniac715]

Here’s what I remember about Modern Doctor Who episodes which I have never rewatched (it’s been quite a while since I watched all the episodes back to back at the end of last year and throughout this year) but there’s a character limit so I’m cut off:

The Unquiet Dead - Ghosts and Charles Dickens and Rose’s first trip to the past with Nine

Aliens of London/World War Three - Farting Slitheen family aliens, politics and Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North then Prime Minister (yes, I know who she is)

Dalek - I screamed when I saw a Dalek levitate up the stairs, Rose imprints on a museum Dalek, the Doctor tells a Dalek to die and we meet Adam

School Reunion - K9, Sarah Jane, brain boosting chips and kids who do coding

The Girl in the Fireplace - Reinette, “I’m the Doctor and I just snogged Madame de Pompadour”, banana daiquiri, ‘I Could Have Danced All Night’, fake drunk Doctor insulting Mickey with the adjective “thick” , a horse that the Doctor can’t keep and a spaceship (I’ve seen so many TikTok edits so I know more about this one despite only watching it once)

Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel - Rich Jackie in alternate world, living Pete, alternate Mickey, Rose the Yorkshire Terrier, Doctor and Rose as waiters, and the Cybermen

The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit - Satan himself, a possessed guy with pen on his face and introduction to the Ood

Love and Monsters - Absorvaloff, “wrong bucket”, LINDA, ‘Mr Blue Sky’, Jackie flirting with the protagonist and Elton John

Army of Ghosts/Doomsday - Cybermen, our first glimpse of modern day Torchwood, “I did my duty” and the devastating loss of Rose

Smith and Jones - Introduction to the BAMF Martha Jones, a platoon of Judoon on the moon and an old lady with a straw

Gridlock - Bad traffic, mood patches, Face of Boe says “You Are Not Alone” and a woman has a basket of cats with a cat man

Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks - Andrew Garfield, pig man, human Dalek, Empire State Building, Tallulah and the Great Depression (I distinctly remember sarcastically asking “is the Doctor going to stop the Great Depression?”)

42 - “Burn with me”, the sun and a quiz, aside from that I really don’t remember (hated this episode)

Blink - The Weeping Angels who give me the creeps, peeling off wallpaper to reveal a message from the Doctor, the Doctor’s dvd messages and Sally Sparrow (I physically cannot rewatch this because I instinctively stop blinking whenever I see the Angels and I don’t want my eyes to dry out so I’ll give this one a skip even though it is great)

The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End - Missing planets, Shadow Proclamation, insane vortex Dalek, Davros himself, a major epic team up with everyone from all over the Whoniverse and the devastating loss of Donna Noble’s memories

Planet of the Dead - “Hello, I’m the Doctor, happy Easter”, a bus, “He will knock four times” and Lady Christina (I think that’s her name anyway) being a thief and turned down flat when she tries to be a companion

The Beast Below - Happy and sad robot things and a very young looking Queen in space

Victory of the Daleks - Human Dalek guy, “Would you care for some tea?” and Winston Churchill being involved in a fight against Daleks

The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone - Return of River Song my QUEEN, Weeping Angels again, “That which holds the image of an angel becomes an angel” and the church army

The Vampires of Venice - Fish vampires, Venice, “then we will take your world” and the Doctor jumping out of a stag-do cake

Amy’s Choice - Dream pollen, Peruvian folk band with ponchos, pregnancy and sinister old people

The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood - Silurians, Amy being dressed for a much warmer country and a young boy who I affectionately dubbed ‘Exposition Child’ and promptly forgot the actual name of

The Lodger - Fake upstairs apartment, my city being the setting (not filmed there btw) and James Corden being… himself

The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang - Big villain team up, River becomes the sun, a fez is yeeted into the distance never to be seen again, plastic Roman Rory, Cleopatra River and the Doctor gives an epic speech

The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon - Child River, the Doctor dies and it’s very creepy

Night Terrors - Creepy dolls singing nursery rhymes, an old lady eaten by a bin, a man swallowed by his floor and an alien child overreacting to an extreme level

The Girl Who Waited - Old Amy and the Doctor lying to Rory to kill a version of Amy (not a cool thing to do)

Closing Time - Cybermen, Stormageddon, the Doctor working in a shop and James Corden 2: The Cordening

The Wedding of River Song - The Doctor doesn’t time so time goes weird, the Doctor gets hitched and I really can’t remember much else

The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe - Narnia ripoff with trees and Matt Smith falls out of a hammock then attempts to play it off like it was part of the scene in the script

Asylum of the Daleks - Dalek eye stalk on humans, Amy hallucinates whilst becoming a Dalek, a pointless divorce and Clara Oswin the soufflé making Dalek

Dinosaurs on a Spaceship - Dinosaurs and Rory’s amazing dad who has a trowel (also the Doctor has a Christmas list)

A Town Called Mercy - A horse called Susan who wants their owner to respect their life choices, the Doctor in a brand new hat and general Western vibes

The Angels Take Manhattan - Weeping Angel Statue of Liberty, more River and we lose Amy and Rory forever but there’s a nice mystery book with a foreword from Amy so it’s all okay

Cold War - Submarine and an Ice Warrior

Hide - 1970s ghost plot (didn’t like it)

Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS - FINALLY we see much more of the TARDIS!

Nightmare in Silver - Cybermen, ungrateful kids and Warwick Davis

Into the Dalek - Rusty says “You are a good Dalek”, Clara meets Danny Pink and cares so the Doctor doesn’t have to

Listen - Orson Pink, Dan the Soldier Man, the Doctor whips out his dad skills and fear is a superpower

Time Heist - Big bank heist and people with flat heads

Kill the Moon - Courtney from Coal Hill (glad she didn’t come back) and an uncomfortable allegory involving the moon being an egg

Mummy on the Orient Express - A train with a killing Mummy and Clara in a great outfit and bob haircut

Flatline - Rigsy, graffiti, tiny TARDIS with the Doctor trapped inside and scary vibes

In the Forest of the Night - Danny leads a school trip, there’s trees, one of the kids is played by the girl that used to voice Peppa Pig and I think at one point it tells kids not to take their medication? I got a bit confused with this one

Last Christmas - Santa and murdering dream worms

Under the Lake/Before the Flood - Bootstrap paradox monologue straight to camera (“Google it”), and the Doctor’s apology cards

Sleep No More - ‘Mr Sandman’ and eye crust

Oxygen - Capitalist space suits, a blue guy and the Doctor goes blind

The Pyramid at the End of the World/The Lie of the Land - The scary Monks rewrite history, Bill’s mum inadvertently changes things, Missy is iconic as always and Bill makes a bad deal

Empress of Mars - Ice Warriors and “God save the Queen” written on Mars

The Eaters of Light - Crows can talk, and Missy CRIES

The Woman Who Fell To Earth - We meet Thirteen and there’s a guy with teeth in his face

The Ghost Monument - Race and sunglasses

Arachnids in the UK - Spiders and Trump

The Tsuranga Conundrum - Pregnant man

Demons of the Punjab - Yaz’s grandmother and racism to aliens

It Takes You Away - Norway, Wooly Rebellion and talking frog

The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos - Teeth Guy

Resolution - Human woman possessed by a Dalek

Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror - Boredom

Fugitive of the Judoon - Fugitive Doctor and Judoon

Praxeus - Boring mould

Can You Hear Me? - Nightmares

Ascension of the Cybermen - Irish boy is the Doctor

Revolution of the Daleks - Captain Jack!

The Flux - Boring aside from Dan

The three specials - Timeloop, Sea Devils and regeneration

[tomtenadia]

Detours to you - Chapter 1

It's the weekend and after the brief prologue here I am with chapter 1. I have 12 down so far and feel more confident about this one. After two failed attempts, it seems that picking the remains of both it helped. It's not going to be a super long fic. I aim at 20ish chapters. There will be some angst but nothing too extreme. I have kept Puck, my angst monster at bay. Maya will be the official provider of fluff and cuteness,

Happy reading

Aelin was enjoying her day off with her daughter.. Maya had started school back in August and when she was at work it was her parents picking her up and keeping her until she could retrieve her. On that Saturday though, Lysandra and Elide, her business partners at the bookshop had pushed her to go and spend a day with her daughter.

It had been five years since they opened the shop. It had been hard work and long days and a lot of bureaucratic hoops to jump in. But they had made it. 

But as her dream of owning a bookstore became reality, the other half of her life fell apart. 

Rowan. She hadn’t thought about him in a while and wondered if he was fine. 

Rowan. The man she had gone as far as to admit he was the love of her life. Her soulmate. They had been happy, but life had other plans. All their dreams and hopes got swept away in a sea of pain and hurt.

She had let him go. Even knowing she was pregnant with his daughter she let him go and be with his family. His father’s death had destroyed him and the man at her side had transformed in an emotionless shell. So she had begged him to go. Neither of them wanted to do long distance so when he came back for his last visit, a mere month after, she called it quits. It had been the hardest thing she ever did in her life but it was for the best, and now she also had a new life to think about. 

Her daughter.

Their daughter.

“Mama, the piano is so pretty.”

Maya’s voice brought her back to reality “Yes, so much.”

“Can we have one?”

“Not yet, baby.”

“Okay.”

She stared at the piano and her fingers ached. When was the last time she played? Her parents still had her piano in their house.

It had been a spring evening of five years ago. She and Rowan had gone to her parents and he had badgered until she caved and played. He loved to listen her play and every time they were at her parents he would beg her.

That night. That was the last time she played. Because no long after life went to shit.

“Wanna go to Emrys for hot chocolate?”

The girl’s pine green eyes lit up in joy “yes, a big one.”

Emrys was their favourite cafe ran by Emrys and his husband Malakai. The man doted on her and Maya and they were regulars.

Aelin loved the atmosphere of the place. It always felt cozy. Also, Emrys made the most luxurious hot chocolate in old Orynth. It was a cavities paradise but she did not care

They walked the familiar path until they reached the shop with its colourful awnings and walked in.

“Hi Emys!” Squealed Maya who was still trying to learn to pronounce the man’s name.

“Hello munchkin, did you have fun with your mum?” The man came out from behind the counter, kneeled in front of her and mussed her hair.

“We went to the science museum. They have morning for kids and Maya loves them.”

“I know all about the stars and I can see the Lord of the North.”

“Aren’t you a bright little thing?” Maya giggled and they took a seat at their favourite table and Emrys, not long after brought them their drinks. They had both hot chocolates, but Maya was not heavy on the sugar. Her daughter was five and she had to look after her. Aelin was a lost cause in terms of sugary stuff, but her daughter was far too young.

“Do you want to go to the ice rink after?”

“Yes, mama.”

Aelin loved spending her days off enjoying with Maya. Her girl was growing fast and every moment was precious.

“Mama, can I play hockey?”

Hockey in Terrasen was a religion and the national sport. The local team, the Stags had been the reigning champions for the last three season and they were leading the current one too. Her father had introduced her to the game since an early age. They went to games together and it slowly became their ritual. Aelin became a fan and she used to go to all home games. Now she had started taking Maya too when the girl became interested after she watched it on tv. Aelin admitted that watching burly men whacking each other on ice had its charm. 

“Do you want to play hockey?”

“Yes mama, I love it.”

“Ok,”she added. She’d have to look for some junior teams around the city. Sport would be good for Maya. “I will look if I can find a team for young kids.”

“I want to play with the Stags.”

Aelin laughed and mussed her hair with tenderness “One day when you go pro in the THL, my love.”

Maya gave her a huge grin and took a bite of her cinnamon roll.

*

Rowan drove home in a haze. He honestly could not remember the drive home. His body just acted on pure muscle memory.

His mind kept going towards the little girl he saw at Aelin’s hand.

He stepped into the house and dumped the bag onto the floor and felt sick. Slowly he walked to the kitchen for some water. He stared at his kitchen slowly, but his mind was stuck on an image.

Was that really his daughter? Had Aelin kept such a huge secret from him for all these years? The air got sucked from his lungs and the sickness came back. 

Rowan slumped on the sofa and closed his eyes pinching the bridge of his nose.

He then grabbed his phone and called Lorcan.

“Hi man.”

“Lor…”

“Damn you sound like shit. First day jitters?”

He was meant to start tomorrow as Chief. 

“Can I come to your place?”

Silence “Sure.” Another pause “Ro, are you okay?”

“Please?”

“Sure, I am still at my old place.”

Rowan thanked him and went to the door, wore back his shoes and jumped in the car.

He arrived at Lorcan’s flat a good half an hour later. He had to cross the whole city and the traffic was getting worse as they got closer to rush hour.

At the flat he climbed the block and reached Lorcan’s floor.

Lorcan let him in with a worried expression “Come it will be just us. Elide is still at work.”

He and Elide had married a few months before he left for Wendlyn. He was happy for him. Lorcan had a shitty childhood that messed him up. But Elide had managed to get past that grumpy disposition of his and won his heart. He had been very thankful to the petite woman. 

“Take a seat. Want a beer?”

Rowan shook his head. He only wanted answers. 

Lorcan sat on the sofa but Rowan stood and paced.

“Hey, you look like a wreck.”

“I was in town, today.” His breath came out ragged “I saw Aelin.”

“Shit.”

Rowan was silent and kept pacing, his heart racing as he prepared to ask the question that terrified him. “Lor, she was with a kid. A little girl.”

He turned and stared at his friend and his breath caught. Lorcan gave him an expression he knew well. He knew something and Lorcan was the worst at keeping secrets. 

“Is she my daughter?” The question left his lips and the terror spread through him.

Lorcan stood “Rowan…” he paused and then all the worry drained from his face and an angrier expression took over “Yes. She is. Her name is Maya and she is five, she is your daughter.”

Rowan stood frozen in place. His body shook with anger. His pacing resumed and his hands were in his hair in a nervous gesture.

“How?” His voice a deep growl “Lorcan, why I was never told. I am the father.”

Lorcan sighed. Elide was probably going to kill him. When Aelin had announced the pregnancy to her group of friends Lorcan had threatened to call Rowan. He and Aelin had a huge fight and from that day she quickly became his least favourite person. He tolerated her only because his wife was a good friend but he would keep his distance. He would have to grovel to his wife but his friend was distressed and he was done lying.

“I wanted to tell you but she made us all promise.”

Rowan’s face went dark with anger and the lines of his face got harsh.

“So, everyone knows.”

Lorcan nodded.

Rowan slumped on the sofa burying his face in his hands “I have a daughter.”

Lorcan was silent and let his friend mull over the situation.

“What do I do?” He burst out standing up again and resuming his pacing “I got rights I assume? I am her biological father.”

“I can check with Vaughan, he is the lawyer, I am just a firefighter.”

Rowan then stopped “When was she born?”

“January 10th.”

Rowan did a bit of math and turned out that while he was travelling back and forth from Wendlyn, Aelin was likely already pregnant and probably knew. Again that sense of suffocation and panic.

“You need to talk to Aelin.” Lorcan looked and he saw fear in his face. They were both firefighters, had a lot of hairy calls and many brushes with death, but that was the first time he saw deep fear in his friend’s features.

“I know.” He admitted quietly.

In that instant the front door opened and Elide’s cheery voice reached them. 

Rowan grabbed his coat “I have to go.”

Elide entered the living room and stopped at seeing a face she hadn’t seen in five years “Rowan?”

“I am out.” He ignored the woman and turned to his friend “Thank you, Lor.”

He quickly left the room and Elide turned to her husband “Is Rowan back?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t seem surprised.” Elide stopped in front of her towering husband and glared at him “How long have you known?”

“A month,” he admitted quietly “He got a job as chief and he told me before the big announcement was made.”

Elide groaned “So is he back, back?”

“Yes, the transfer is permanent.”

Elide started pacing “Lor, you haven’t told him… about you know what.”

And when her husband stood silent Elide feared the worst “Lorcan?”

“Of course I told him,” he burst in anger. He and Elide had totally opposite opinions on the matter and both Elide and Lysandra had taken Aelin’s side. “Damn Elide, he is the father and he needs to know.” A deep growl “And he saw Aelin with Maya. He asked me and I told him. I am done keeping secrets.”

“He saw her?” Horror etched on his wife’s face “Lor, you should not have told him. You know how Aelin feels about it.”

“Sure. Keep siding with a woman who denied the father the right to know his daughter. Rowan has the right to meet Maya.”

“That was not your call to make.” She shouted back in anger “Lorcan I am so mad at you.”

“Elide, I love you but you are so wrong on this.”

“Have you thought about the repercussion?”

“Elide, he saw her and Maya is basically a clone of Rowan’s.” And the he walked out of the room, leaving his wife alone.

Elide walked angrily to the kitchen and started preparing dinner.

Lorcan stepped at her side, incapable at being mad at his wife for too long “El, I had to. You have not seen the state he was in when he came to me. Think about it, would you ever do that to me?”

Elide placed the pan down and looked up at her husband “No, Lor.”

“Exactly, so why do you defend her so much?”

“She is my best friend.”

“I know baby, and Rowan is mine and I cannot see him in that state.”

His strong arm wound around her waist and pull her closer “They will need us.”

“I know,” a soft whisper against her husband’s chest “I know.”

*

Rowan drove home and parked the car in the driveway but instead of going back inside he went to the back of the house and lay down in the garden.

The stars were out on that clear night, the Lord of the North bright up. He stared at the constellations. His father had taught him their names when he was a kid.

He wondered if his daughter, Maya, the name was the cutest thing ever, he wondered if she would enjoy staring at the stars. He would love to teach her.

He closed his eyes and prepared himself for the battle ahead of him.

He had a daughter and he was going to fight for her.

taglist

@rowaelinismyotp @swankii-art-teacher @whimsicallyreading @elentiyawhitethorn @aelin-bitch-queen @bruiseonthefaceofhumanity  @mis-lil-red @thegreyj @sailorsassley @leiawritesstories @clairec79 @morganofthewildfire @sv0430 @heartless--aromantic @autumnbabylon @rowanaelinn @backtobl4ck @susumaus98  @gracie-rosee @mybloodrunsblue @tanvee1231 @avenrebekah @whoever-you-choose-to-love  @theywillnotsingforme @universallytreepost @black-daisy-water @goddess-aelin @whispers-in-the-darkest-heart @lovely-dove-zee @athena127

[doors-daggers-and-personas]

Attached is a mysterious video.

A woman with light brown hair, stands before the same thing as from the last video.

"M-Mia? Is that really you? What are you doing here?"

The child grins, eyes swirling with blue and yellow. An unnatural grin. Her mouth is pulled too wide, her teeth are too sharp.

"Yes. It's me."

Something glints in her hand, and in a flash, a pair of blades are near the woman's throat. A knife, and a katana, blocking the knife.

"Nicole. What are you doing here? Did you follow me??" Kay says, the one holding the katana.

"Tch. Of course it's you." The child-like monster says.

"Kay? Wwhat's going on??" Nicole asks, clearly confused.

In response, the Shadow? starts cackling once again. Before speaking.

"Oh, don't you remember that day? The day you lost her? A little girl, lost and alone. In the Garden. That's why she found herself here. Where all her dreams could come true!"

"Wwhat? Nonono, I only took my eyes off her for a minute, wwhat do you mean??"

"Oh but what a minute that was, for a child full of curiosity!"

"Nicole. I don't understand what this thing is. But from what I can tell. It killed Mia."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous! If the host dies, the Shadow vanishes too! That's why I ate her. I couldn't permit her to die. So the only option. Was to become one, and take control." The Shadow? responds with its unsettling grin.

Nicole stumbles backwards, falling to the ground, sobbing.

A voice rings out, as her sobs turned to pained cries, wracked sobs when they could fit between the screams and gasps.

"You mourn for what you have lost."

She tries to stand, but her legs give out under her weight.

"One you loved; one you cared for."

Kay watches on in shock, before the Shadow? clashes with them again, as several more shadows are conjured.

"Was it your fault? Does it even matter at this point?"

The ground begins to rumble.

"You cannot turn back time. So you must either move forward, or go nowhere at all."

Nicole tries again to get up, but her limbs give out.

"I offer a Contract. Sealed in blood, I offer you a means to move forward."

A stone bowl rises from the ground before her. Within it is a ceremonial dagger. Nicole picks up the blade with a shaky hand.

"I am thou, thou art I; Seal our contract, and reclaim your life."

Nicole raises her other arm over the bowl, and makes a slit in her arm. Blood drips from her wound, as the bowl fills.

She gets to her feet, as the blood swirls, and lifts into the air. It forms a spinning, swirling sphere.

"Come. Kyparissos!"

The blood scatters, and collects into the form of a Shuangdao, at her waist. In the air where the blood had just been, is now a man bound in Cypress branches, which cloak his body, concealing all except his head. The Cypress branches also hold a Stag Skull, above his own head.

The main Shadow? quickly leaves, as the rest surround the pair.

The video glitches, and cuts out.

[joeyscherryjubilee]

Like Calls to Like (Aemond x OC) Prologue

Author's Note: Hey y'all, I've posted a couple snippets and I'm so happy with the response. This is gonna be a solid series, featuring Aemond x OC, but also a dabble of Cregan Stark x OC for the Stark fans.

Warnings: None x

Word Count: 807 (Short and sweet before the monster chapters)

Summary: Aemond and Laenyra are children that only feel safe with each other. (This is going to be the only kid!Aemond chapter, there's gonna be a time jump into the first chapters)

The door creaked within the darkness and immediately Aemond was awake, fear singing through his heart. He cursed himself for such a cowardly feeling, he was the blood of the dragon, and dragons have nothing to fear. 

“Hello? Who’s there?” His voice was quiet as he spoke into the darkness. He hoped it was a servant come to refresh the fire, not his brother who would come with cruel words. “I demand that you reveal yourself.” 

Aemond’s words were strong in theory but the voice of scared boy spoke them. 

“Aemond?” A voice carried in the night and he felt the tension leave his body. 

“Laenyra.” He said relievedly, no longer fearing the unknown, not if she was with him. “Are you okay?” 

The girl came into view. A girl with the hair of a commoner but the name of a dragonrider. 

His mother, Alicent, always frowned upon how close they were and how different they looked. Though his father, Viserys, couldn’t be happier with their bond, it was one of the few times he paid Aemond attention, when he and Laenyra were together.

“Are you alright?” The young prince asked and swept off the bedclothes to approach his best and sometimes only friend. 

Laenyra nodded though he could see the nervousness about her, they couldn’t hide anything from each other, not really. Though too young to understand it, it just seemed normal for them to always know how the other was thinking. The bond between them easily overcame the prejudices of their parents and the differences between them virtually non-existent compared to the love they held. 

“Yes.” She breathed slowly, attempting to calm the exhilaration pumping through her, but Aemond saw the wildness in her eyes. 

“You had another one of your dreams, didn’t you? The dragondreams.” 

His sister, Helaena, had dreams and visions. But Laenyra’s were different. 

Dreams that would strike her at any moment, full body domination that would see her sent miles and miles away from herself. They had been terrifying to witness when they first occurred, Aemond had wanted to run and scream for a Maester, but Helaena had been there too. She had been so calm, like she knew it was going to happen and had simply knelt beside Laenyra and waited for her to return to herself. 

“Yes. I was hunting this time.” She only told him about the dreams. The flying ones were the best, she said, true freedom as her body soared over treetops and mountains. The hunting ones were not so kind. Laenyra explained that while she was in the dream it was fine, she was a dragon and a dragon had to hunt to eat. But when she awoke, with the taste of blood in her mouth and the adrenaline of a fresh kill, it was hard to calm down. 

“What did you catch?” Aemond asked and offered her his hand. She took it with a smile and instantly the prince was protected from the chill in the air. 

“A stag.” Laenyra whispered and followed him to the bed. Lying down beside each other the two children found themselves in one of their rare moments of true comfort and safety. “I chased it through the Crownlands, I think.” 

“How do you know?” Aemond would never judge her, not her Aemond. Whenever she awoke from her dragondreams he would always receive her with kindness and curiosity as to the what she dreamt of. 

“There were soldier pines on sloping hills. Maidenpool is said to be home to such things.” Laenyra yawned widely, the adrenaline of the dream leaving her to feel the lateness of the hour. 

“Why do you have such dreams?” He asked, wishing he would know what it was like to fly. Neither of them had a dragon, their eggs unhatched in the crib, but at least Laenyra knew what it was like to soar through the open air, even if it was a dream. “Do you think I will ever have them?”

She smiled at him with kindness. 

“You’ll fly one day, Aemond. We both will.” 

“Do you think so?” He asked with wonder, speaking his truest hope to life. 

“I know we will.” 

“How?” Aemond queried her with a fierceness in his voice for he had suffered too much taunting on the subject to regard it with humour 

“I don’t know how, I just know that green and black will fly as one or fall together.” 

He allowed her cryptic statement to go unquestioned, she often said such things when she first awoke from her dragondreams and he tried not too linger too much on them.

But as sleep claimed him he saw it, an enormous beast of a conquerer and a winged shadow beside it. Their riders one of silver hair and one of brown hair, theirs hands outstretched towards each other. 

__________________________

Next chapter will be posted soon xx

[letsasoiaftogether]

Joffrey x Twin!Sister!reader

Imagine....being Joffrey’s twin and having some measure of control over him

Word Count: 2,167

Warning: None, I think

A/n: I dunno where this idea came from. It was just on my mind so I wrote it. Sorry if it feels...jumbled or just completely....silly. I hope you all enjoy!

(Gif isn’t mine)

“Ser Illyn, bring me his head!” 

Even hours later you could remember that scene perfectly. Your mother trying to order Joffrey to not do it, the Stark girl crying about how Joffrey had promised, and you…you stood there in shock. 

You had always known your older, twin brother was a monster. Anyone who knew him knew that there was something mentally wrong with him. Perhaps it was just the lack of true love that you and your siblings got from your mother and father, but…you had heard it whispered that Joffrey was just a bad egg and that nothing could have changed that. 

But you knew differently.

Joffrey had the ability to be charming, but when he was nice, no one ever paid him true attention.

Yes, he was doted on because he was the heir to the throne. And he was always treated as the most important person in the room. That would cause anyone to get a big head.

But you had seen the way your legal father had hit him at least once which was awful, you knew, in Joffrey’s mind because he idolized Robert Baratheon, or the way that instead of explaining to Joff why something was wrong, his behavior was excused.

And he is now the product of that.

You were born the second of four children to Cersei Lannister and Robert Baratheon. At least, legally that’s who you were. But you had known for years that the Stag King wasn’t your father. You didn’t look anything like him and neither did your siblings. You weren’t super into family lines and the traits that were passed on, but you were quite certain at least one of you would have gotten dark hair. 

Of course…your thoughts on your real parents also stemmed from the one time you saw your mother and uncle together. They didn’t know you were there. You had gone to your mother one night not feeling well and had heard strange noises as you approached the door. There were no guards outside which meant your uncle Jaime was meant to be the Kingsguard on duty. You had always been an inquisitive child so you had opened the door just a crack to check on your mother. 

They had been in bed together. In a way you knew only those who were married were meant to be.

You had known immediately what was happening and had fled back to your room with tears in your eyes - worried for your mother if your father caught them together.

You never breathed a word to anyone, and when your legal father died after a hunting accident…you didn’t need to tell anyone.

Your Uncle, Stannis Baratheon, had begun to tell everyone that you and your three siblings were born of incest and although it wasn’t said directly to your faces, you had heard the whispers over the past month.

“Joffrey is going to get even more mean, isn’t he?” Tommen whispered as you tucked him into bed, lifting his kittens up so they could snuggle with him. 

“Don’t you worry about Joff, I’ll handle him.” you tried to reassure him, leaning over to place a kiss to his forehead “Get some sleep, little prince.”

You tucked Myrcella in as well, trying not to feel sad over the fact your mother should have been the one to do it. Or, at the least, she should have come to say goodnight.

It had been this way for as long as you could remember.

The Queen had always doted on Joffrey while leaving her other children to the septa and handmaidens. It wasn’t that she didn’t care for you, Myrcella, and Tommen - you knew she loved you - but Joffrey was the heir to the throne. There was so much he needed to be taught and so much attention he needed to get before he was crowned king and could no longer show such weakness.

Of course, Mother went a little too far in her spoiling of him…

As you shut the door to Myrcella’s chambers, your gaze flickered up and down the darkened hallway - the torches pushing shadows onto the walls as you headed for your twin’s chambers.

Joffrey had moved into the King’s chambers two days after your father’s death. You heard that he had carelessly thrown your father’s things into the hallway in a way that even your mother was a little uneasy at the thoughtlessness of it (although, you imagined it had more to do with the image your mother felt Joffrey should have been presenting - the mourning son - than the actual disrespect of the dead). 

You hadn’t spoken to your brother since he and your mother had had Lord Stark arrested. You had been far too sickened by his actions to be able to look at him let alone hold a conversation.

But you were done with that childish behavior now.

Lord Stark was dead, Arya Stark was missing, Sansa Stark was being cruelly treated every day, both of your legal father’s brothers had declared themselves King, and Robb Stark had marched south with a Northern army.

You didn’t have the luxury to remain petty and angry. 

You had always been the one to get a hold of Joffrey when you could be bothered to, and now more than ever, you felt that power was crucial to the survival of your younger siblings and to yourself.

Sorry Mother. Sorry Joffrey.

You have made your beds.

Now, you must lie in them.

You found the Hound, Sandor Clegane outside the King’s chambers and after only a moment of hesitation, you grabbed the door handle and pushed, stepping into the room. 

Joffrey was seated on the edge of his bed, fiddling with his crossbow. His green eyes lifted to meet yours as the door shut behind you. 

“Joff,” you curtsied before slowly crossing the room toward him.

“What do you want?” he asked, frowning with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

Giving him an easy smile, you reached out and placed a hand to the crossbow. Gently, you took it from him and set it to the bed. “I was just checking in on you before going to bed. I know you’re the King now, but that doesn’t mean I have to stop caring for my twin. Does it?” you lifted a hand and brushed it through his hair. 

It was well known that many feared Joffrey. He was impulsive in his actions and cruel.

But you had always made sure to be gentle to him, caring. Often you felt like your mother; giving him false love just to try and pacify him. But it wasn’t like your mother, entirely. Your Mother knew only how to use people as pawns. Even you and your siblings, the Queen saw only what she could gain. 

You, however, truly loved your brothers and sister. No matter their faults, they had been your best friends. And…you still remembered the gentle boy Joffrey had been before he began to catch on to how your parents saw him and viewed others.

Joffrey seemed confused, for a moment, before he shook his head, “I…I suppose not.” It was said arrogantly, with an impatient tone like you had kept him waiting.

“Good.” Grabbing his crossbow, you turned and carried it over to the chair under the window. You sat it there, staring at it for a moment longer - hiding your shiver at the thought of how easily Joffrey could kill with it - before turning and moving back over to your brother. “Come on, you need to lay down now. As King, you’ve got to get your sleep whenever you can.” you kept your voice low, almost cooing at him like you would a small child who had just been hurt.

Joffrey didn’t seem to think much of your tone as he stood and began to undress. No doubt, it was so similar to the way your mother coddled him that Joffrey wasn’t even phased.

You turned and waited for him to be under the covers before looking back at him with a smile. “Are you happy with yourself, Joff? About what you accomplished today?” you asked, your soothing tone slipping more into sadness as you fixed the blankets around him.

“What? With killing the traitor? He deserved it.” Joffrey smirked, smugly as he tucked his hands behind his head

“No,” you shook your head and reached out to grab his chin, “Joffrey, you killed the Warden of the North. The Lord of a Great House and the liege lord to one of the biggest pieces of your Seven Kingdoms. Yes, he was attempting treason when you had him arrested.” You couldn’t argue with that. No matter what Lord Stark had been thinking, Joffrey was the legal son to Robert Baratheon which made him the rightful heir to the throne. The Starks, Renly and Stannis, they were all attempting coups. 

Even if my mother’s children are bastards of incest…

“But, Joff, there were other things that could have been done.” you added, pressing a finger to his lips to stop him from talking “Now, we can only end the war that has erupted.”

“Do you pity her? Sansa? Do you pity her for the death of her treasonous father?” Joffrey demanded as he shoved your hand away, wrapping his fingers around your wrist.

You shook your head, “I know what Sansa did. I am sad for her House who lost their father. Just as we lost our father. But for Sansa personally…no.” Only because she had lost her father. But you knew she had gone to your mother and told the Queen that Lord Stark was going to send Sansa and her sister away. You knew it had given your mother the last straw of paranoia she needed that had resulted in Sansa being a prisoner of your family. 

She’s a child, yes. 

But so are we.

The difference is that Sansa has been kept clueless of things - left to dream of songs and fairy tales. 

You were lucky to have not been granted that privilege. King’s Landing would have eaten you up if you had been raised naive - like Tommen.

“I’m going to show her Lord Stark’s head - I’ve had it put on a spike.” Joffrey began to laugh but you were quick to slap your free hand over his mouth, squeezing slightly as you shot him a warning look.

“The girl will already suffer while in the city. Do not be pointlessly cruel to her.”

“She’s - “ 

You cut your brother off by tightening your hand even further, “Do not, Joff. The daughter should not be punished because of the crimes of the father.”

It hadn’t always been this difficult to make him do as you asked. It used to be a few sweet words and Joffrey was wrapped around your finger, but your mother had caught on a few years earlier and the Queen had made sure to distance the two of you.

Essentially, Cersei Lannister hadn’t wanted someone else to have more control over her eldest son than her.

After a moment, you removed your hand from his face and whispered, “Joff, please, for me do not harm her more than is absolutely necessary. You can be a great King, but your people will not respect you if you become as cruel and careless as the Mad King.”

This gave Joffrey pause and after a long minute of just staring at you, he lifted a hand and brushed his knuckles over your cheek. “I am not the Mad King. I won’t lose my reign to those beneath me.”

“To other great houses? At the end of the day, you are only a Baratheon, Joff. The head to a branch of a Great House. Just as Robb Stark is, just as Grandfather is…they are only beneath you because you have the crown. A good king knows when to admit he has equals.” 

It was difficult for you to try and explain it to him. These were concepts you understood, but not in the sense that you knew Joffrey would need to. You were raised to do and understand Lady things - you had only picked up on the male pieces through conversation and observation. You could never understand the sort of expectations that were on Joffrey because of being born a boy.

Joffrey didn’t say anything. He huffed and turned away, like he used to do when you were kids and he pretended you weren’t there.

But you knew him.

You knew he had heard you and was thinking over your words.

“Joff.” you murmured, placing a hand to his side, “You’re better than this. You don’t need to be mother or father. Nor Uncle Jaime or Tyrion, or Grandfather. It’s time you became your own person.”

Just because his reign had begun so…questionable, that didn’t mean the rest of it had to be. Right?

Sure, Joffrey would always be an asshole, but he didn’t have to be an abusive one. 

Right?

Right?

At the least, you hoped it would save Myrcella and Tommen.

[solarsavoy]

No one asked, but I really wanted to answer it!

Ask game.

3 - 3 films you could watch for the rest of your life and not get bored of?

And I actually have 4 so... Here we go!

Treasure Planet. So underrated, which is totally unfair. Beautiful story and one of the few (if not only) Disney movies that don't have a love interest for the MC. It's all about growing up and finding yourself and found family. In fact, just realized, Jim is like Stag in that regard. Both were abandoned at a young age by their fathers and became rebellious to the point of being impossible to deal with until their father figure came into their life. And also, never having a father of my own to look up to, this really resonates with me. Haha, Deshi's dad left him at a young age too. I'm sensing a theme. 😆 Unlike Stag though, Deshi doesn't need a father figure in the sense that he's not looking for one nor does he find one. (Although Lord Carroll does get close...)

Sinbad, another underrated film. By Dreamworks this time. The most alluring part of this film:

That fucking hair!!! Man, I could just watch how her hair flows forever. Like, nobody has ever made hair that moves like this before, or since! It's close to underwater hair, but not quite, so Little Mermaid doesn't count. But seriously, that fucking hair. And Sinbad is pretty funny. 😆 Most quoted scene between Deo and I, a dude gets thrown up by a sea monster, shakes it off, and goes to attack again. "Give that guy a raise." -Sinbad Yes, please. He deserves it. 😀👍

Anastasia. I loved this movie growing up. Rasputin what such a terrifying bad guy, and Anastasia was anything but weak. Despite it not being a Disney flick at the time, it broke the mold on Disney princesses. Tangled and Frozen hadn't come out yet and Anastasia was the only princess to do what she wants, when she wants, how she wants. Instead of the man saving her from some evil villain, he saves her in the very beginning from a threat to the royal family. And then she saves herself from Rasputin at the end. Well, and Dimitri, because, you know, he was hanging off a bridge. So many movies before this were misogynistic and so many after are so feminist that they really diss on males, but in Anastasia, they are equals simply facing the world together, and to me, that's just beautiful. And this:

And last but not least, A Little Princess. This is an older movie about a girl whose father travels the world. These two have a close bond and one day, he has to leave her because he needs to fight in a war, and over night, she becomes orphaned at a boarding school, so she becomes enslaved to the headmistress. Even after such tragedy struck her, she still believed in magic and told stories to the other girls. There was always this sort of mystery to her. Where others saw color, she found friends. Where others saw weakness, she saw opportunity. She's kind throughout the entire thing, and so much bad is thrown at her! Annie, eat your heart out and make way for A Little Princess. She always believes that magic is real, and when she falls, she gets back up again, even though sometimes it takes a little time. She's patient and accepting and just everything little girls everywhere should aspire to be. And in the end, she gets the honor of seeing that if you keep believing, the magic is real.

And those are my favorite films I could watch over and over again. ^^ I'm curious, how many have you seen of these? I feel like they're all a little underrated, outshined by other movies at the time. Poor Sinbad had to fight with Pirates of the Caribbean. A Little Princess got overrun by Pocahontas and Toy Story. Lilo and Stitch came out the same time as Treasure Planet. Anastasia isn't as underrated as the others. 😅 If you haven't seen one of these, highly recommend. I mean, I'd be okay watching them on repeat, so, yeah. Thanks for reading! And I'm still open for some personal asks if anyone's interested. ^^ And I'm totally willing to redo 9, since the last one was so entertaining. Fair warning though, that was probably my best story, lol. Have a good day!

[l-r-christian]

Title: 'The noble stag's daughter; A Halloween romance'

First Meeting - Thunder Monster - First Crush - First Family Ball - First Heartbreak - First Christmas - A Day With Grandfather

Warnings: Fluff just all of the fluff, Cute Mikaelson moments

It was the first of October as Rebekah smiled dressing Y/N who was smiling up at her aunt kicking her feet as she sat on a chair while Rebekah placed a hat on her head then place the girl down watching the eight year old skip out giggling. Rebekah had placed green tights and a pumpkin dress on the girl as her aunt was going to make sure the girl was going to have the best Halloween since they couldn't give her one the las few years.

"Well well look at this Nik. A cute little pumpkin." Kol said picking up the girl who squealed happily as Klaus smiled and Rebekah walked out smirking.

"I have out done myself. Got a costume for each day up until Halloween."

"I see, going to take her trick-or-treating also?" Kol asked placing Y/N down with a smile seeing Klaus crouched down holding his hands out to the girl smiling soft as she grabbed them.

"That we are."

"Is that my baby pumpkin?" Elijah cooed crouched down as Y/N saw her father and pure joy came over her face running up to Elijah. Y/N placed kisses on his face as Elijah grabbed her little hands kissing them then scooped his daughter up into his arms smiling feeling her cuddle up to him and Elijah fixed her little hat.

"Adorable Rebekah. You have out done yourself."

"Thank you Elijah. Be ready because I have more."

Four days into October and Rebekah had dressed Y/N as a little bat and was running down stairs stopping smiling seeing Elijah with Gia. Both were talking about something as the girl just wanted to see her father happy since Elijah had been only focused on his daughter. So when Y/N saw Elijah getting closer to the younger vampire, the girl began to push them together.

"What are you doing small one?" Mikael asked getting down behind Y/N since saving the girl a month ago. Mikael had been wrapped around his grand daughter's finger unable to say no to the girl, doing whatever she asked of the vampire. Much like her uncles and father, Mikael was willing to slaughter anyone to protect the girl.

"Watching daddy with Gia. See daddy likes Gia and she likes him back so I been trying to get them together.....Daddy deserve to be happy."

"I see. And why are you a bat?"

"Aunt Beka picked out my costumes all the way up to til Halloween." Y/N chirped looking up at her grandfather smiling brightly as Mikael nodded taking in the information.

"Why hasn't your father act on his feelings?"

"Busy, also the scary suit people papa."

"I see then I shall help you on this little endeavor." Mikael said smiling as Y/N brighten up as operation make Elijah happy went into affect to which Mikael got to see just how much of a Mikaelson Y/N was. Elijah smiled seeing Mikael with Y/N believing he was drawing with the girl unaware his daughter was working with his father to get him a girlfriend.

"Okay! We find out what Gia likes then hint it at daddy." Y/N said showing Mikael as Rebekah raised an eyebrow seeing Mikael nodding listening intently to the young Mikaelson.

"What are you plotting Y/N?"

"Getting daddy and Gia together. Papa is help." Y/N tells Rebekah who smirked sitting joining in. A week away from Halloween with Y/N dressed as Wednesday Addams of the Mikaelson Halloween ball as a Halloween block party was passing out candy to the children. Elijah stood watching Mikael hold Y/N up away from boys her own age and it was amusing to Elijah when he spotted Gia making his breathing hitch.

"I hope you don't mind but Y/N want to match costumes so we took Gia to get a Morticia Addams dress. By the way Gia is amazing with Y/N." Rebekah says watching Y/N run to Gia who pick the girl up with a smile as Mikael was glaring at the young boys. Rebekah knew the quickest way for a woman to earn Elijah's affections was how they treated Y/N so to see Gia adore Y/N was a winner in Elijah's eyes.

"You planned this?"

"You'll be surprised to know I did not." Rebekah said as Elijah looked at her then walked over to Gia and Y/N. The vampire jumped feeling a hand on her lower back looking to see Elijah smiling softly as he kissed his daughter's head.

"Looks like you are the Morticia to our Wednesday and Gomez." Elijah teased lightly seeing the vampire flushing as Y/N smiled hugging Gia saying how pretty she was. Hours into the night Y/N sat on Mikael's forearm watching Elijah dance with Gia making the young witch excited.

"It is working!"

"What is working?" Klaus asked spotting the brightness in his niece's eyes as Mikael smirked looking at his son.

"Your niece as planned to get Elijah with young Gia."

"Oh?" Klaus said smirking deciding to join in getting Elijah with Gia also. The day of Halloween Y/N was excited dressed as a Viking warrior she rush down stairs getting Mikael's and Hayley's attention hearing her let out a battle cry waving a fake axe pretending to kill Mikael who played along. Hope squealed happy to see her cousin as Mikael played dead and Y/N looked to Hayley who was trying to not to laugh.

"Had me the princess."

"Okay please don't hurt me." Hayley says placing Hope in a wagon the girl brought with her and Hayley smiled watching Y/N take off with Hope and pretend attack Marcel. Klaus walked into the den with a raised eyebrow seeing Mikael getting up and the sounds of Kol dying dramatically.

"Do I want to know?"

"Y/N wanted to be a Viking warrior princess this year." Rebekah says carrying two bowls of candy getting ready for trick-or-treaters seeing Gia crouched down in front of Y/N with a smile.

"I take it Gia and Elijah are taking the girls?"

"Yes since Mikael had scared the neighborhood boys. And hopefully Elijah and Gia get together at the end of the night."

Elijah smiled watching Gia with his daughter and niece as they got back from trick-or-treating and Y/N had asked the vampire to help her get ready for bed. Next thing both vampires knew they were in Elijah's bed panting when a roll of thunder reached their ears. Gia flushed when Elijah placed one of his shirts on her before kissing her lightly when Y/N came running in carrying a teddy bear Gia got her.

"Daddy, thunder monster and Thor are being scary."

"I know babygirl, come here." Elijah said opening his arms to his daughter but saw her climb into Gia's arms and Elijah smiled softly wrapping his arms around both girls. Y/N smiled snuggling between them falling asleep as Elijah rubbing her back.

"You know, Y/N and my family had been plotting to get us together."

"Oh! I.....but...why?" Gia asked feeling shy as Elijah cupped her cheek rubbing it with his thumb eyes twinkling with adoration as seeing Gia holding his daughter with such care made him love her even more.

"Y/N wants me happy. The clever girl found out my feelings for you and had been pushing us together."

"Truly your daughter. Always thinking ten steps ahead to which I am glad for." Gia says softly leaning forward kissing Elijah making him smile against her lips before both fell asleep.

Morning light shined though Elijah's window as the vampire woke surprised to find Gia and Y/N curled into one another while snuggling into his warmth. Elijah smiled softly watching them both for a moment.

"Goodmorning beautiful." Elijah said softly seeing Gia wake up catching her flushing face. Y/N caught both of their attention whe she rolled over snuggling back into Gia and Elijah chuckled softly kissing his daughter's head before gently kissing Gia.

"I'll go make my favorite girls breakfast. And Gia.....do know I care for you deeply."

"I know.....I care for you deeply too." Gia says smiling knowing that she wasn't going anywhere as she adored both daughter and father too much to leave. Gia breathed deeply smiling burying her nose in Y/N's curls happily listening to the girl breath softly cuddling into the vampire.

[beetlegoose01]

Frostbite (Casetello)

AN: do these two have a ship name? Caseytello? eh whatever it’s casey x donnie and they’re gay

special thanks to cal for reading this for me and saying i should post it <3

There were quite a lot of things Casey Jones loved. Hockey, pizza, riding his motorcycle, video games, beating the crap out of his opponents. Normal teenage stuff. Lately he had been doing the latter, ever since he and April officially joined the 'Unofficial Turtles Team' , helping alongside the teen mutants on patrol. Goofing off with Mikey and Raph were the highlights, but he couldn't deny spending extra time with April was also a benefit. Even if they barely got a single word out- too busy fighting off random mutants scattering the city, it was still nice.

But what wasn't nice, downright unpleasant about patrol...was Donatello. There was an unspoken, mutual loathing that the pair shared that even quick glances at each other led to glaring and arguing. Leaving them together in the same room was never a good idea. Casey hasn't understood why the purple genius was so hostile towards him at first. But the reasons became obvious the first time he caught him staring helplessly at April, fumbling his words and blushing profusely. Not that Casey didn't feel similarly, heck, that was the problem. Both were attracted to April. Obviously Casey had the upper hand, being human. A turtle and a human girl in a relationship was built for disaster.

But their hatred didn't stop there. It wasn't just about April.  Eventually, everything about Donatello annoyed him. His whiny voice, his love for using complicated words to sound superior, soon every little thing bugged him.

Things were easier if the two stayed as far apart as possible.

Of course, fate seemed to work in mysterious ways.

It was starting to get late, the moonlight illuminating the sky. The group stopped on a rooftop, perched by the edge. Leo halted them silently, then turned around.

"Why'd you stop, Fearless?" Raph asked.

"I think we should split up. We'll cover more ground. If you see any sign of trouble, use your T-Phones." said Leo.

"No way dudes!" Mikey squeaked. "I saw this scary movie last night where the team split up! And then..." He paused for dramatic effect. "They all got taken out one by one. Starting with the cute funny one!" He trembled, hiding behind Donnie, who rolled his eyes.

Raph smirked, always prepared for a sassy remark. "Which means, you'll be just fine since you're neither of those."

"Hey!"

"And you'll be in pairs." Leo crossed his arms. "I've got it all planned out. Raph and April. Mikey and me."

"Mikey and I." Donnie corrected under his breath. Casey fought the urge to whack the smart aleck turtle with his hockey stick.

Leo ignored him. "Donnie and Casey-"

Casey involuntary let out a loud groan. Just his luck.

Leo narrowed his blue eyes, unamused. "Something wrong, Jones?"

"Er..." His eyes darted to Donatello, who seemed stoic, but equally frustrated with this predicament. On one hand, he wanted to argue and beg to be with literally anyone else. On the other, he didn't want to deal with the leader in blue getting annoyed with him.  "Nah Leo, that's fine by me. Right, D?"

Donnie huffed. "Yeah, that's alright."

"I think this will be good for you both." April grinned.

"Of course, April." Donnie agreed.

"No problem at all." Casey smiled through gritted teeth. When she turned away, they both shared an equally menacing glare.

"I knew I could count on you two." April smiled softly, though even she didn't look entirely convinced.

This was going to be a long night.

~•~

Turns out, Casey had underestimated the scrawny (ugh, svelte) turtle. In what Donnie lacked in muscle, he gained with his speed, mobility and of course, his mind. It was practically impossible to keep up once Donatello had leaped from the first building, tumbling and landing with ease, while Casey was coughing his lungs out as he ran desperately after the brainy terrapin.

"Okay, now you're just showing off." He panted irritably, nearly collapsing once he finally caught up with him.

"Are you coming or not?" Donnie gave his trademark gap tooth grin as he turned, slowing down.

"I am! You're just moving too fast!" Casey complained. "I thought turtles were supposed to be slow! I didn't even have time to get my grappling hook."

Donnie shrugged, ending the conversation with one simple movement.

They walked side by side, neither wanting to say anything. They both knew it would only end in arguing.

"Can I just say-" Casey started.

"No, you can't."

"I didn't say anything!"

"Exactly."

"Listen, Gap Tooth, I don't like this either!" He flicked a stone off the roof with his shoe. "But we have to ..." He swallowed. "work together, right?"

Donnie said nothing. He looked deep in thought.

"Is it because of April? Because it's not my fault she...y'know likes me more."

At the mention of April, Donnie turned away, eyes flashed with hurt, which only filled Casey with that annoying feeling of guilt.

"It isn't about her."

"Alright." Silence. "Sorry, let's just-" He cleared his throat. "Let's just work together, we don't need to be friends. Just get through the mission. After that, we can go back to hating each other."

"That was...surprisingly mature, Jones. Glad we can agree on something." Donnie quipped. "And for once, you're right. This mission is more important than our petty squabbles. No matter how insufferable you may be."

"Now you're just making up words."

Donnie fought the urge to roll his eyes. "So, that's two more hours of this."

Casey scoffed, but couldn't help but chuckle. Quietly of course. Last thing he wanted was for Donnie to think he was actually amusing.

"So...deal?"

"Deal." Donnie said, then added: "Cave Mouth." Which made Casey shove him lightly.

For a brief moment, they seemed to share a mutual understanding. The silence that followed wasn't awkward or forced, it was comfortable. Well, as comfortable as they could possibly be.

Donnie paused, startled by something. Lifting his bō carefully, he tried to follow whatever the sound was.

"What the-" Casey raised an eyebrow.

"Shh!" He hissed. "Do you hear that?"

"No?" Casey scrunched his nose, listening closely. It sounded like a...buzzing noise? Like a fly or mosquito. Irritating, but not dangerous. "Chill Don, it's just a bug or something."

"No, listen!" The turtle looked frantic and alert.

The buzzing became louder. Then, it was followed by the sound of snapping wood. Deliberate and exact. Casey gulped, taking his own weapon.

A massive shadow flew over their heads and landed in front of them. Donnie yelped in surprise, stumbling forward.

"Ah, shell." He swore, lifting his head to face the hideous insectoid mutant with acid green eyes. Scumbug spread his deformed wings, antenayes raised, prepared to strike.

"Well, I was right. That definitely is a bug. Scumbug! Wicked! This'll be fun!" Casey sneered.

"Which makes no sense, considering stag beetles aren't even bugs! They're insects!" Donnie spun his staff like a propeller, hitting the mutant face on.

"Not the time!" Casey tackled Scumbug, who roared, jostling him aside like a ragdoll. He smacked the floor with a sickening thud, directly on his arm. He fought back a scream of agony.  "Do you- gah- seriously have to be such a know it all, all the time?" He looked at his arm, which currently looked seriously messed up.

Donnie looked affronted. "I am not a know it all!"

"Yes you are!" Another whack of his trusty hockey stick, followed by a knock to the ground, face first. He wiped his mouth from the metallic taste of blood.

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you- Donnie, look out!" Casey shrieked, sounding less manly than he intended.

Scumbug, now furious, had efficiently used his enemies' bickering to his advantage. Before he could turn around, a spider web twirled from its appendages binding Donatello to the ground, who kicked and struggled furiously.

The mutant now crouched over the captured turtle, prepared to strike with his signature acid spit.

"Hang on, D! Casey Jones is here to save the day! GOONGALA!" He bellowed, racing towards Scumbug and latching onto him like a demented parasite. It was hardly the most graceful of moves, but it distracted him briefly.

He raised his hockey stick, poking him hard in the eye in an attempt to gouge them. Eyes were sensitive- he remembered Splinter telling him that.

With the extra time, Donnie reached for his bō, ripping the web apart with the extended naginata blade.

Scumbug, now looking more disheveled and horrifically disfigured than normal, retreated blindly into the misty air.

"I didn't need your help." Donnie said bitterly.

"Aw, is that any way to say thank you?" Casey retorted. "I just saved your shell." He poked his plastron roughly. "I think I deserve a little appreciation for my heroism."

"I had it handled."

"Did you? Because you looked just about ready to be eaten by Scumbug."

Donatello scowled, moving closer. "And he got away. So your heroism didn't exactly work, did it?"

"Would you rather have acid stuck to your face?" Casey growled. "You'd look even freakier than you do now. Next time you're a little 'turtle in distress' don't expect me to come save your-"

"I didn't need saving." Their foreheads pressed together, any moment ready to face each other on.

Casey gritted his teeth. "Sure, whatever you say. I didn't help because I actually cared about you or anything."

"Then why did you?" Donnie snapped, pulling away. "You could have left me."

"Because I- you- argh!" Casey felt his temper rising. "Because I'm not a monster, alright? We're a team, and we help each other. That's the deal." He wiped his chapped lips again, the disgusting taste of blood still lingering. He winced, clutching his arm.

"I can patch you up at the lair." Donnie said softly. "It just looks sprained."

"Mm." Casey grumbled, still pissed. Stubbornness was taking over any injury he had. He'd rather have his arm stay at this awkward angle than admit he was hurt in front of his rival. "I'll just wrap it up at home. I'll be fine."

Donnie sighed, raising his palm to his face. "Don't be so stubborn, I can help you."

Casey didn't look convinced.

"To repay the favor?" His warm brown eyes looked surprisingly sincere. "You did help me, after all. I'd probably be toast if you didn't."

Casey snorted. "You got that right."

A beat. Donnie looked unsure, as if he wanted to say something else. But whatever it was, it was holding him back.

"So...we should go back to the lair then?" Casey suggested, easing the awkwardness.

"Huh? Yes, of course. Totally. " Donnie nodded. "Naturally."

"Alright then."

"Jones?"

Casey turned, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"I just wanted to say...thanks."

"Hey, no problem. But don't tell anyone I saved your ass."

"Deal."

~•~

Casey never expected to be sitting in Donnie's lab table, in between Timothy the blob-organ filled mutant and several bunsen burners, but life tended to be weird that way. He also didn’t expect to be pouting on said table like he was at some freaky doctor’s office. The rest of the team returned shortly after them, and seemed surprised that Donnie was actually willing to fix Casey's arm- and not begrudgingly.

Donnie returned with a first aid kit, setting it on the table. He hummed a familiar tune to himself, as if to fill the empty air of any more awkwardness.

"I've seen these before." Casey said, poking the bunsen burner tap, immediately then swatted away by Donatello. "At my school's science lab."

Donnie nodded, rolling up Casey's sleeve to examine his bare arm. Casey flinched, not comfortable with the random act of touching. "Hey don't!"

"Do you want your arm fixed or not?"

"...yeah."

"Then let me work my magic."

Casey frowned, staring at the bottle the turtle was holding. "Your magic looks like antibiotics and advil."

Donnie's lip twitched.

After his arm was treated somewhat, Donnie wrapped him up gently with a clean bandage. The slow movement made his heart race increase every time Donnie's fingertips brushed his arm, but he ignored it.

Don't be weird, Jones.

"That should be good. Don't put any pressure on it." said Donnie, passing him the advil. "And take this, it'll soothe the pain."

Casey pretended to look offended. "Here I thought you were gonna kiss it better."

Donnie rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. "Don't push it, Jones. We aren't there yet."

Casey laughed. "Yet. Thanks for fixin' my arm, D. You...aren't so bad, I guess. But let's go back to hating each other, alright?"

Donnie smirked. "Whatever you say."

[ginger-danica-snapps]

WIP Wednesday. A snip from my back in time, fix it Jonsa story and my Ned marries Cersei instead of Catelyn AU.

"Here,” the child said and while Sansa was kneeling another person slipped from between the trees. This time a woman in a long flowing, tan dress, but her hair looked like the bark of the weirwood. She held something in her hands.

Jon watched as Sansa realized what it was and began to stand and protest, but Jon placed a hand on her shoulder to keep her kneeling.

“þú eru dawninn bringer, protector ór fólk,inn móðir ór allr hverr eru eigi dauðr. Vargr dróttning fran Norðririnn,” the child intoned as the woman came to stand before and raised a crown of weirdwood branches somehow petrified into a glistening, smooth crown with wild branches reaching to the moonlight.

Old tongue again, Jon realized and began to work through the translation, suddenly more grateful to his time among the freefolk.

“You are the dawnbringer, Protector of the People, Mother of All who are not dead. Wolf Queen from the North,” he murmured quietly, but kept his hand on her shoulder when she immediately began to protest.

The crown was nestled onto her head and Jon was moving to the front, pulling Dark Sister from sheath again and laying her tip down onto the ground with his head bowed.

“I swear to be the sword that guards you till there is no breath left in my body. Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no other to wife, hold no lands that are not yours as well, and father no children that do not call you mother. You are the queen I choose. You are my queen, now and always.”

It was a cold morning when Cersei Lannister pulled her cloak around her shoulders and slipped out of her room. Melara and Jeyne already waited for her patiently and she slipped past them without a word of greeting. They followed silently as Cersei expertly navigated her way outside of Casterly Rock without running into nary a servant or soldier who would scamper off to tattle.

They reached the woods without speaking and Cersei turned with a sharp grin. She held her hands out to the two girls and they smiled back and reached out to clasp hands. Turning they ran into the forest, laughing, as Cersei led them to the small creek.

“Where did you say she was?” Cersei asked as they cautiously stepped onto slick rocks, never letting go of each other.

“A good walk down the creek and even longer into the dark of the woods. Cersei, are you sure we should do this?” Melara whispered.

“Of course,” Cersei answered automatically and turned to go deeper into the woods while tugging at their hands.

“Your father, Cersei, we would be in so much trouble,” Jeyne added as she slightly resisted.

Cersei sighed. What use was having companions if they weren’t willing to take chances? As always Cersei struggled with the idea that these were her childhood friends, but that they were first put in place by her Aunt Genna and likely reported much of her adventures. She was still pretty convinced that it was Jeyne who had reported Cersei and Jaime switching places every other day in his training.

She missed the physical exertion of swords play and the way she was able to hit the mark every time she released her bow string.

Still, it was her responsibility to soothe her companions when fearful.

“You will almost always be the highest ranking woman in the room, Cersei. One day, you will marry a Prince of Dorne if all goes as planned and only the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, her daughters, and the wife of the Prince will outrank you. You need to always be the calming presence for your ladies. They must never see your fear, because then they will remain calm and know all is well,” Joanna Lannister brushed Cersei’s hair back from her face in soft, strong strokes.

Her mother was always soft and strong. Cersei wanted to be just like her when she married and took over her own household.

“I heard father say he wished me to marry Prince Rhaegar, Mother,” Cersei answered quietly.

Her mother’s hands froze for a second, but then she began her strokes anew.

“Your father thinks he can sway Aerys, yes, but I fear, little light, that Aerys will only seek to enrage your father. Lions were not meant to marry Dragons, my daughter. Remember that, if you remember nothing else. We may work in service, even be close in friendship as I was once to Queen Rhaella, but we must never join with the dragon,” Joanna whispered, “I would not have my little light burned by a dragon’s fire.”

Cersei spun around again and squeezed her companion’s hands.

“You need not fear my father, Jeyne,” Cersei assured her, though she also felt her very heart tremble at the idea of being caught.

They continued into the forest, following the stream till it ended in a pretty little waterfall, before tipping deeper into the forest than Cersei had ever traveled. They found Maggy the Frog’s house tucked into a dark clearing, behind a small pond. Moss grew over the old stone and the roof was thatched.

Badly, Cersei noted to herself. There were holes and water gathering in a way that her father would never have allowed Lannisport to weather.

Her mother would have cared about the witch in the wood, but her father would likely burn her out if he realized she was here.

“I…,” Jeyne stuttered and Melara and Cersei turned.

Jeyne wrenched her hand from them and looked around with wide, frightened eyes.

Cersei nodded and gave a slight shoulder shrug, “Walk back to the water, Jeyne. Melara, go with her. I will speak to this Maggy the Frog and come meet you.”

Jeyne barely dipped a slight curtsy to her liege’s daughter, before lifting her skirts and running back the way they came. Melara gave Cersei a concerned look and Cersei thought she could see real concern. She motioned her away.

She waited till both girls were gone and turned back and set her shoulders with determination and marched up and knocked on the door. If her companion’s had stayed, Cersei would perhaps have marched in with no regard to the owner just to show her seniority on her father’s land.

“A humble lady will always garner more loyalty among her compatriots than a prideful one,” her mother’s voice whispered in her ear.

“The lion does not lay down and sleep with the sheep,” her father followed.

“Come in, little lion child,” a voice called out and Cersei opened the door and softly stepped in, her boots already ruined from the walk.

“Are you Maggy the Frog?” she asked, forcing strength into her tone.

The woman cocked her head and Cersei was at least glad to find the woman did not resemble anything like a scary monster. In fact, she was quite boring.

“We wanted to see the monster,” Oberyn Martell said and Cersei rolled her eyes.

Everyone wanted to see her little imp of a brother.

“He’s just a baby. An ugly baby, but a baby,” Elia added and Cersei resisted the urge to snap back with a cutting remark.

He might be the curse upon her life, but he was her little brother and no one else was allowed to speak ill of a Lannister.

No one understood that Tyrion was a monster because he killed her mother, not because he was a misshapen little thing.

“Often go into your thoughts, girlie? I’m the one you call Maggy the Frog and I assume you’ve come to hear your future?” the woman said.

Cersei’s eyes widened. That, however, was not boring.

“Yes. I have. My father and aunt say I am to marry Prince Rhaeger, but my mother wished me to marry Prince Oberyn, though my father refused the Princess of Dorne. I want to know if I am to marry the prince and one day be Queen? How many children will I have?” Cersei eagerly stepped forward.

She would love her children and they would love her. They would never fear to whisper their secrets, hopes, and fears.

Maggy the Frog tilted her head and stared at her before reaching down and pulling a small dagger from beside her. Cersei took a step back, fear dogging at her step, before forcing herself to stand tall again.

“This is my father’s land and if you harm a hair on my head then he will gouge your eyes out and you will not see any future again, certainly not your own,” Cersei said coldly and startled when Maggy tilted her head back and laughed uproariously.

“Oh, little lion girlie, you are quite the opposite of what I saw for today as it is. Let us see what else has changed. A little taste of your blood girl to be able to see what is going to happen. To see if gold crowns and cold shrouds no longer lay across the lion spawn,” the woman explained and held the knife hilt out.

Cersei took a deep breath and stepped forward to take it. She laid it down easily onto her thumb and gave a slight whimper when it cut into her skin and blood welled to the top. She went to hold the knife back out, but found herself being yanked forward and her finger in the witches mouth.

Cersei had barely had time to react before she was released and she cupped her hand to her chest.

“Three questions, girlie, but most do not like my answ…” the woman made a sudden sharp noise and gripped at her head, gasping for breath, and Cersei started to move forward to help her.

The woman suddenly sat up and completely still, eyes shut, and back ramrod straight.

“Maggy?” Cersei whispered, fear starting to creep into her.

Maggy’s eyes flew open and Cersei gasped at the milky white expanse that existed where muddy, dark brown eyes had.

“The song of fire and ice comes, and nothing will stop the stag from killing the dragon. The wolf brother of the stag will help without knowing, without seeing. The wolf’s sister will die so their son may live. The gods give another choice not given before, eyes were open, but could not see. Winter comes, winter comes, and the wolves must live. A Queen she shall not make, but a mother of a King she shall be. Remember, learn, live, and roar. The Lioness will triumph if the last dragon son thrives,” Maggy gasped and then she collapsed.

[sirenprincess15]

Please Don't Leave Me Chapter 12

Title: Please Don’t Leave Me

Author: SirenPrincess

Description: What if Aleksander hadn’t answered the door when Ivan interrupted the war room kissing? What if Aleksander and Alina had a bit more time to get to know each other before Baghra told her his true identity? Alina is the only one who can comfort Aleksander through his nightmares. Will she leave once she knows who he is?

This story is based on the show version and features a soft on the inside, hard on the outside Aleksander with an emphasis on emotional hurt/comfort and angst. If you are looking for lots of hurt!Aleksander thoughts, then this story is for you. Mal exists but pretty much solely to cause Aleksander some angst. Don’t worry. It will be a Darklina ending.

Chapter 1 is a missing scene at the end of Ep 4, and Chapter 2 takes place alongside Ep 5 and then diverges from canon there.

Pairings: Aleksander Morozova/Alina Starkov, bits of Ivan/Fedyor

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: Grisha are oppressed in this universe, and I don’t shy away from showing the horrors of that. There may eventually be mentions of canon-typical torture (Fjerdan pyres), death of family members, and cruelty to Grisha children. It’s not the focus, but that backdrop is definitely there and comes up as characters discuss their past.

In this chapter: Aleksander confronts Baghra.

Author note: The angsty needs cuddles Aleksander chapter I promise is still coming soon. I just forgot about this short little chapter in between. I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 12

Aleksander entered his mother’s hut. He tried to hide any emotion and appear composed. Centuries of faking just that made it possible. “Have you seen Alina? I can’t find her.”

“She was here earlier,” Baghra said, her lips curving up in a little smile. “But she took off quite some time ago. Wherever could she have run off to now?”

His eyes narrowed with anger. Lies straight to his face. “Did you really think she’d abandon me just on your word that I’m what? A monster?”

Baghra let out a puff of air, almost laughing. “That girl is as stupid as she is thin. She has got to be the most brainless whore you have ever tried to bring home, Aleksander.”

“Don’t speak of her like that!” he gnarled.

“Well, she was dumb enough to go back to you, wasn’t she? Pity to lose her will so easily.”

“So you what, exactly? Saw that I was getting close to achieving everything we have ever wanted, and …”

“You wanted,” she interrupted. “You’re as foolish as she is. Still trying to save Grisha. They cannot be saved, Aleksander! The otkazat'sya will always hunt them, and they will always die.”

“So you decided to tell Alina I’m evil to sabotage me?”

“You are evil.” The crisp certainty in her voice made his heart ache.

“I have never done anything to harm Alina. I protect all Grisha!”

“Aleksander, I’ve seen the prototype.”

“What?”

“You’re experimenting with transferring power. David was kind enough to show me what he was working on. Now, you’re going to tell me that your looking for the Stag has nothing to do with that? Oh yes, I know about that too. Now, tell me again how you aren’t going to make that girl your slave.”

He wanted to scream at her how it was just an exploration, how he had authorized willing subject investigation into the concept only. He still never intended to use it on Alina unless it was an absolute last resort, but she wouldn’t believe him. She had always seen only the worst in him, faulted him for every single decision.

“Don’t you understand? Alina is everything now! She really could be everything. I know you always hated Luda because you knew I’d get hurt, but Alina is different. Don’t you see? She won’t leave me alone in a hundred years. Her power could work with mine to keep us safe. She could be a true partner. I could be happy.”

“Could she now? Without you forcing her?” She lifted an eyebrow in question and smiled as if in victory.

Something clicked into place from her expression. “That’s why you told her, why you lied. You knew some of the things you said weren’t true. Alina repeated them, but she didn’t misunderstand you. You told her I did it on purpose so she’d fear me and run. Because she has the potential to stay with me and keep me happy and you couldn’t stand the idea of my having someone, truly having someone.”

“Misleading is not the same as lying.” She met his gaze. “I said what I needed to say to get her away from you.”

“So I would be alone and have no one but you.”

“To protect her from you. I know what you are capable of to get your way, Aleksander.”

He shook his head. He couldn’t let that be true. “Stay away from her. I’ll train her myself.”

“You?!” Baghra laughed. “You don’t have the strength to push Grisha as they need to master their powers. It’s why you’ve always sent them to me. You’re too weak. Too soft-hearted. With you teaching her, she’ll be lucky if she can be a nightlight.”

“We don’t need you. If you interfere again, think about what I might do.” He never would. He knew it; she knew it. No matter how she hurt him, he always cared for her. Still, he let the threat hang in the air to make her worry as he pivoted and strode out of the hut.

[yomimio]

The Northern Lion pt1

A child of a loveless marriage. Unwanted. A burden. A monster. A freak. Many words were used to describe her. Always behind her father’s back, of course. Not many were brave or stupid enough to risk the wrath of the Old lion.

It all started with a loveless marriage, but not her father’s, as many tend to assume. No, this problem has its roots in an incident years before, back when the Iron Throne was just changing owners.

The young and hot headed heir to the Storms End seat was surrounded by war. Swinging his battle-axe back and forth he gained more and more enemy’s land. Aided by his most trusted friends, Jon Arryn and The silent wolf, Eddard Stark, he was able to almost feel the hardness of the throne under his not-yet-voluptuous behind. He was so close. But it was not enough, for the old and crazy dragon was not ken on giving away his power.

The opportunity to win the war was presented to him one day in the shape of a letter with a lion on its crimson seal. All the military power of the Westernlands to his disposition, in exchange for his hand in marriage. The old king had refused to marry his son to the young daughter of his Hand of the King and Lord of Casterly Rock. First mistake. No one refuses a Lannister.

Robert Baratheon accepted the loveless marriage just to get the throne. Second mistake. It was truly an unhappy bond that gave him nothing but despair. Which contributed to his already strong resentment against the golden lions and, specially, against the head of their house.

The now king, started to alleviate this spitefulness with little acts against the Lannisters. First it was things like offending his wife, her brothers… but soon he formed a more calculated plan. He wanted their house gone.

Tywin has only three children. One he was married to, so that ensured that her children wouldn’t be able to inherit Casterly Rock. The twin he appointed as one of his kingsguard, so he could not marry nor inherit lands. It was perfect. There was no one that could follow the Lannister line no more, for the third child was the Old lion’s shame. Tywin would never allow the Imp to become Lord and Warden of the West. His little revenge was complete.

But he was a greedy man. It was on her wife’s and queen’s birthday that he decided to make what would become his biggest mistake so far. A western bard sang at the party. It was a love song. A song about the love of a lion. Truly, a beautiful song. Then he remembered. He remembered how much Tywin Lannister loved his wife Joanna, and how her death had affected him (making him hate his youngest son even more).

There it was. The way to ultimately humiliate Tywin. It was not easy, but it was done. Tywin Lannister remarried. Another forced and unhappy marriage. The young bride was selected from a northern house in hopes to tickle even more the lion’s distaste for the North. Brilliant.

And a child was born. The mother was too fragile. The lion was two times widowed.

A girl. The ultimate failure. The stag was ecstatic, Fortune favored him. Now Tywin did not have other option than name the Imp Lord, if he wanted the Lannister name to survive, but he knew the lion would never do that. He had won. Or so he thought. Fourth mistake.

The little girl was a disappointment for her father. He knew what the king was trying to do, and between his rage, he also knew he had nothing to do. Tyrion would be a shame to the Lannister name and the newborn could not inherit the titles. If only she was a boy!

There was nothing to do. The baby was left behind in the North where she was born, in her mother’s family keep. Forgotten.

It was not so bad, at least what (Y/N) Lannister could remember of those years. She ran wild in the forests that surrounded the castle, played with the town’s children, when she learned how to read, she spent hours holed up in the library. She absorbed what she read. At nine years old she already knew many military strategies, knew how to heal, how to make poisons and (by her constant nagging to the master at arms) how to defend herself with a small knife, and was quite proficient with the bow. It was impressive. She was impressive. She was happy. She lived, acted and talked like a true northerner. The North was what she was. It was the only thing she knew. She had been told that she had a father, yes. That he was an important Lord in the South. But these facts went over her head. What did it matter if she had a father or not? She never met him. And she would never. Fifth mistake.

All of (Y/N)’s world came crashing down around her 10th birthday. She had already lost her front teeth and she had now the permanent ones. But the canines. These were the problem. You see, there were ancient legends about the old Houses. It’s said that every hundreds of generations, and if the parents were strong and powerful enough, a child was born that sported some of the traits of the House’s sigil. Old widows even say that some of those children had the power to shapeshift into the House’s animal sigil. But these last ones were folly. What was not folly was the fang that sprouted from where her canine had fall. She did not mind it, why would she? It was a tooth, wasn’t it? What of it was a bit sharper than what the others had? Better to rip the meat off the turkey’s leg bone!

Her household minded though.

By the time the news reached Casterly Rock, she had two fangs, her upper and lower right ones. She had a …. special smile.

She did not understand all the fuss over it. Yes, she was a little different, so what? (Y/N) did not know that her life would radically change because of that. She did not know that, but what she did know was that all those people wearing armor and carrying red flags with golden lions, were a sight to behold when they crossed her keep’s gates.

(A/N): I do not own any characters from Game of Thrones. This is just made for fun. I don’t own any image or gif unless I specifically say so. English is not my first language, so sorry about the mistakes. Some events may differ from canon, but since *those two* can do whatever they want, then so can I. :)

[flying-elliska]

Shadow and Bone Season 1 Review

Ok so I got distracted by a need to watch all of Ben Barnes' filmography (lmao) but here is my review : It was really fun to watch and it was clearly made with love which is already the main thing with YA fantasy, which is often turned into a soulless moneygrab when put on screen. The actors were GREAT. I did think that the Crows suffered from being mashed up with the Shadow and Bone story, but they were still a highlight. I also think it was a bit rushed, esp. when it came to Alina's training. The costumes were beautiful, I want a kefta now. Plus the crossover fanfic interactions btw the SaB characters and the Crows were just pure joy. Also Milo, obviously <3 I'm in hyperfixation mode so here, have an essay :

The "Shadow and Bone" Characters :

- Jessie Mei Li !!!!!! She really made me like Alina so much more than in the books, she absolutely is the 'human embodiment of literal sunshine' and she was a joy to watch. Her character's arc is cliché but her acting is so expressive and endearing, I really felt for her all the way through. (maybe I'm biased bc Jessie talking about her ADHD and seeing her thrive at the same time is like!!! i love them they deserve all the best.) I like that they made Alina more proactive - even though she does make some stupid decisions... but I just don't understand people who put that down as bad writing, like ??? have you ever met a real person who only makes wise, good decisions ?? a character like that would either be at the end of their story or just in the background because that makes them static. The things with the maps in the beginning does a good job of illustrating how she is just this one girl making rash, erratic decisions out of fear and loyalty and doesn't have a sense of the bigger picture, caught in the tide of bigger events. It works for her character. When it comes to the choice of making her half-Shu, I do think it really makes sense re: her character feeling like an outsider but I do understand the criticisms that the microaggressions felt too relentless and one-note. I am really looking forward to them introducing Tamar and Tolya and hopefully connecting to them over her heritage in a more positive way.

- Mal in the books was one of the most annoying YA characters I've ever come across, so I really liked that they made him much more of a loyal, devoted friend. I found his relationship with Alina cute, it really gives us the sense that these are two orphans who found a home in each other, childhood best friends (and potential sweethearts) separated by war, two army grunts and ordinary people caught up in the wheels of power and war that usually crushes people like them, it's a great way to introduce the dynamics of their world and it's a trope that always makes me emo. It felt a bit too one note to me, though, and too heavily on the nose, like Mal's only personality was his attachment to Alina (and his resentment towards the Grisha) and too much of her emotional arc also relied on him. Them hitting us over the head with the meadow scenes felt like pure telling instead of showing and it ended up being super repetitive and kind of annoying. I am willing to like this pairing, but I wanted more scenes of them just having conversations about things and really understanding why they like each other beyond the whole childhood friends bond that we're asked to accept exists at the beginning. So I hope there's more depth there in next seasons.

- Ben Barnes!!!! Just jksdfhgkdjghdf. I'm not a big villain stan usually and I hated the Darkling in the books but DAMN his performance is just amazing. They managed to make him more sympathetic and human while at the same time making clear the stuff he does is deeply horrible. There's the Magneto-aspect of 'well clearly his methods are fucked up but he's addressing a terrible injustice nobody is doing anything about' that makes it very tempting to root for him ; and again, well, like, Ben Barnes is so hot and charismatic it feels uncomfortable (which I guess is part of the point lol). His loss of humanity is, up to a point, understandable, brought about by despair, loneliness, grief and a sense of powerlessness - living so long he starts to see other people as disposable, losing so many people he stops caring, seeing over and over how hate never seems to stop, etc. It's a logical explanation for going insane.

But the hunger for power is also very much present as a motivation and this ambiguity is there constantly. Does he maybe come to genuinely care for Alina or is it totally bullshit ? I think he does, he's just so fucked up that it comes out as possessiveness and a need to control her. He wants Alina to be his equal but he's incapable of treating her that way. It's tragic, in a sense, but the show doesn't excuse his actions either. Like his monstrosity is a product of this world full of injustice, yes, and that warrants some compassion, monsters are always a symptom of their environment in some ways and dehumanizing them completely is an excuse ; but at the same time, he sabotaged his own cause anyway the moment he started to treat other people like things, as he does with Alina, because that just perpetuates the cycle of violence and hate. At some point he started feeling like he was the only solution and he was owed power for his sacrifices, and he's using his cause as an excuse. When Alina came to him, there was a possibility for redemption, taking down the Fold, and it's a test because there is finally someone on his level of power. But instead of seeking to remedy the power imbalance between them, he made it worse, by lying to her, manipulating her, etc, and the antler collar is the ultimate sign of this.

I love those scenes towards the end (the antler-based body horror has big Hannibal vibes, so messed up). I like Alina telling him they could have had this, that she had compassion for him and his cause, that they could have worked together, and he's the one responsible for screwing it up and this time his claim that he's the misunderstood victim ("Make me your villain") appears delusional and self-serving instead of somewhat justified. The almost-lovers to enemies vibes, the sense of lost potential, and the angst of the whole 'oh you could finally have been loved by people, too bad you fucked it up !', very juicy. There is this fundamental idea that power/respect/love is not something you are owed no matter how good your intentions are or because you're strong or you have suffered or you're willing to commit horrible drastic actions, you have to keep proving you deserve it, and trying to claim power without responsibility of care turns you into a monster. The thing with the stag was an excellent metaphor of the fact that there's things you can't take, they have to be given to you, and the wonderful power there is in understanding that is what allows Alina to harness the stag amplifier's power. This is really when she escapes his grim utilitarian outlook and a different way forward and owns her own power fully on her own terms.

Anyway I hope Alina gets to beat the shit out of him at some point that would be very sexy but I'm also looking forward to see how their arcs parallel and diverge from each other as Alina starts to grapple more with the implications of her power and the harsh dilemmas of war and her own dark side. I want to see him become scared of her, and I feel it will be more visible than in the books where he just has this cold aggressive facade all the time. This one feels a lot more openly emotional which is just a lot more interesting.

- As for the other characters ; Zoya mostly made me sad. The actress has the perfect vibes but I'm not sure I love their take on her character so far, it does make sense in terms of the later books - that she has internalized prejudice regarding her mixed-race heritage, that she is jealous of Alina because of how hard she's fought to get where she is and Alina kind of takes it away from her, etc. But I would have liked to see a bit more of her being badass and sharp-tongued in a clever (even if mean) way instead of spending most of her time being rejected by men and being racist towards Alina. I did like the ending though, of her actually seeing the monstrosity of the Darkling in action and the mention of her aunt. And her brief bonding with Inej was great, just because it was badass but also maybe because it could be a part of Zoya learning to accept her Suli heritage in turn, maybe not right away but in time, when thinking of that part of herself, she won't only think of her parents' ruined marriage and all the pain it caused, but also of that badass and brave acrobat girl who went toe to toe with these really scary monsters without even having any powers and !!!!!

- Also Leigh's cameo was so cute and as an aspiring writer this is just such wish fulfillment

- I honestly think that having the Crows there actually made the S&B story better ? Not only in terms of the much needed levity breaks but also in terms of themes. For instance, Matthias and Nina's story gave us a really raw and visceral view of how the Grisha are hunted. And Inej's relationship to Alina really gave us a sense of what Alina actually means to people who believe in the Saints in a way that doesn't feel just like 'ugh those superstitious people' because we know that Inej's faith is part of what makes her who she is and a person with morals, and something that saw her through the worst moments of her life. It feels so special that she got to meet Alina and given a sign that maybe the world is not completely shitty. And Alina's kindness towards Inej really gives you a sense that she might be, or become worthy of that belief in time, or at least that she wants to, that she's figuring out her power to really touch people's lives might be a good thing, and that she's starting to accept this responsibility more fully. And her arming Inej is a nice parallel to that. I'm very emotional about this scene, because one of the first things we see of young Alina is her taking out a knife to defend Mal from the bullies, because she's protective and brave, but she's also aware the world is a shitty place, and so her giving that knife to Inej is a sort of spiritual transmission and recognition of sorts, that she trusts Inej with that fighting power, that she'll use this knife to defend herself and her loved ones and not abuse it. It's so interesting. And a counter point to the Darkling's fucked up relationship to power that Alina might at some point get afraid she'll replicate. That you could see Alina trying to gather followers and using people's admiration for her like he did but instead she sets them free and empowers them. It's great. And I feel that when Inej takes to the seas, she'll think about Alina. (I do hope somebody tells her Alina's not dead at some point though god). Girls giving each other knives is my spirituality, honestly.

- And I also noticed an interesting parallel between Kaz and the Darkling in terms of being two emo dudes who like to wear black, are prone to violence and have a thing for two very powerful women they think are special and want to have at their side, but of course, they go about it in very different ways. The Darkling comes at it from a place of power while Kaz comes from a place of utter powerlessness, first of all, and he understands why it's important to set Inej free. Him spending the entire season trying to earn enough money to pay off Inej's indenture is the opposite to the Darkling putting that collar on Alina and while I do have issues with how the show portrays him, I do love that. Love is about setting the person you love free !!!! And that confrontation scene was so powerful, when Kaz tells the Darkling Alina was tired of being a captive ! Drag him !

- As for Genya, I liked the actress and her chemistry with Alina, but I'm not sure they did a great job of making her arc very clear, for instance what it means for her to get that red kefta, her relationship with the other Grisha, etc. Her and David are already very cute though. Also very much looking forward to see where that goes.

So yeah I think they did a great job with this bit actually, I enjoyed a lot more than I think I would and even though it is a very tropey story, there's plenty of depth there too.

The Crows :

- I'm a bit more nitpicky about this because I care about these characters so much. I think overall the problem is that the SaB story in the books happens on this massive scale with enormous stakes, and that next to that the Crows' issues feel less important ; it's like their impact is distorted by the gravity of the much larger story. Like for instance, Kaz in the books is very much at the center of everything, this larger than life trickster figure who knows and controls almost everything by sheer cleverness, and he has this sense of allure and mystique that can't happen here, and so his aura just shrinks. On top of that they're not on their home turf. Being introduced to these characters before they've reached their full levels of badass is weird - there is a reason why prequels generally happen after the main stuff, because they count on the love you have for these characters at their full potential to make you interested in their story when they were less badass and interesting. So I had several moments where I was like 'oh this feels wrong'. Tbh the idea that they would even volunteer to kidnap Alina in the first place, what with Inej's backstory, feels kind of wrong, esp since they had no idea of what would happen to her if they succeeded.

- But I still enjoyed a lot of it though, especially the fact that they were this force of chaos in the midst of this bigger narrative that's a lot more self-serious. The bits with the train, or the circus acts were very clever. A lot of the best moments in the show happen when they come to disturb the other plot in unexpected ways. I'm still dead over the whole 'Alina jumps into their carriage' scene, that was fucking gold. The team up at the end !!!! Alina and Kaz making a deal ! Inej stabbing the Darkling !!!! Them stealing the Darkling's carriage !!! They don't give a shit that the story is supposed to be super dramatic it's great.

- Jesper is the one character they completely nailed from start to finish and he's probably my favorite part of the whole show. He's very funny without being reduced to the role of comic relief ; he's just so! damn! cool!!!!!!! I honestly feel this is a thing they actually did even better than in the books, or at least Six of Crows where I felt Jasper kind of disappeared behind Kaz and they insist a lot on his flaws and issues. So before we dig more into those problems I love that they gave him time to be this ultra badass who saves the day several times ; while at the same time, hinting at further developments like his powers or his gambling issues. Kit Young is just perfect, confident without being arrogant, a bit cold when it comes to crime while at the same time being so obviously caring with Inej - I loved their friendship, that was so sweet. My main criticism is that they should have made it clearer he was bi because there are already people calling him gay and that's very annoying. I know some people had a problem with his hookup and like...I can see it's a bit of a cliché...the charming badass bisexual adventurer....it's a trope I kind of love though lmao and the scene itself felt kind of cute and fun. He's not the only person who is shown to have an active sexuality and he's also not the only queer person around and we know he's going to have a more substantial romantic arc later so eh. On a larger note I loved the little casual hints of completely normalized queerness - Nadia thirsting over Zoya, Fedyor and Ivan, Poppy, etc. Having grown up with fantasy where queerness was either completely erased or very tormented and problematic, this was refreshing as hell.

- Inej and Kaz...my faves... They have a kind of relationship which feels so rare and unique in terms of what exists on TV and while I don't feel they entirely replicated it, the core is still there - the mutual respect and building of trust, the longing, the repression, the trauma, etc. One thing I really like is their arc around faith - in the books, Kaz is dismissive of Inej's faith in ways that often feel really shitty and I like that he learns to be more respectful of it. It's very much linked to hope/survival ; Inej keeps this token from her parents and she hopes to find them again ; Kaz tells her it's no use and she'll survive better if she gives up. He believes Alina is a fake, while Inej wants to believe that myths can come true and there is hope for good things in the world. Kaz comes to accept that Alina is the real deal and, out of respect for Inej's faith, to stop pursuing her. I loved the bit about Inej struggling to kill as well - it's the dilemma of what her survival and that of the people she really cares about are worth in such a shitty world - her compassion is a good part of her but so is her survival instinct, and that's the part Kaz represents - that even after she's been through hell, broken in unfathomable ways, even if she gave up all hope and faith in the world, even she becomes dangerous and ruthless to survive, she will still deserve dignity, and to be treated better. And meanwhile she is willing to break her principles, which she holds so dearly, to save him, when he's never had anyone who cared for him like that - enough to keep him alive. That bit in the church !!!!! God !!!!!! Bye !!!!!!! And then him basically calling her his own version of a Saint, that he doesn't believe in miracles but he does believe in her !!! It's very emblematic of their whole arc ; he empowers her to survive in a ruthless world and loves her at her most dangerous ; but he loves her laugh too, he finds her a ship and her parents, he honors her capacity for love and hope even when he can't share it. And she sees that he's capable of doing better, that he's worth caring for. This whole thing kills me honestly and I can't wait to see where they take this next. I'm not mad they're a bit more soft and obvious than in the books, Kaz would just have come across as an an asshole otherwise.

- That said, there are bits of how they introduced their backstories I don't like. I get that making it so Inej was still tied to the Menagerie gave them a very powerful reason to want to kidnap Alina beyond greed so that they wouldn't look like very shitty people. But in the books Inej is terrified by the idea of simply seeing Heleen or the Menagerie and the way they have her interact with her feels weirdly casual and dismissive of her trauma. Also, in the books, the fact that Kaz had to convince Per Haskell to buy Inej's contract through a lot of effort, that he wasn't the one holding that above her head either, made the power dynamics more palatable. I especially disliked the scene where Kaz says he won't free other girls because just Inej is special, it makes him look like he has the power but he's just too much of a callous asshole to do it, and that he just freed Inej because he liked her which is absolutely not what their relationship is about at the start, it's a lot more about seeing Inej's dangerous side behind a facade of powerlessness and relating to her, in a sense, and this scene made it all feel cheap.

- Also, what was that about Inej having a brother ? Not a fan of that either. I'm afraid they're going to make her story all about finding what happened to him, and that's 1) too on the nose similar to Kaz's story and 2) it kind of cheapens her own arc, a female character realizing that what was done to her was wrong, reclaiming her own power and dignity and then making sure it doesn't happen to anybody else, harnessing her personal experience to save strangers, that's so powerful - making it about a family member at first, especially if it's about revenge, it's so much more simplistic and unoriginal and the perspective really annoys me.

- Also not a fan of Per Haskell not being there because he's a very important part of Kaz's evolution, so I hope he shows up eventually - and the way they introduced Pekka Rollins was kind of like...weird and out of place. I just found the Crows' introduction scenes stilted and not as cool as they should have been - well, Jesper and Inej were very cool, but we needed to see Kaz in action first, we needed to see why he's such a menace before we see him flounder later, and I just...I don't know exactly but it didn't work for me. Also this is a very petty thing but I wasn't crazy about the Ketterdam sets, I know this is probably a budget thing but in my head it looked like this incredible mix of Amsterdam and Venice - specific locations in the book directly remind me of parts of Amsterdam I know very well - and instead what we got felt like this very generic London-ish fantasy setting....so boring. Also a lot of scenes that felt to exposition-y. I don't mind that Kaz was a bit softer than in the books, like many people have said some things work in books and don't work on a screen, and you need to make the character's inner dynamics more explicit. But I do agree that, at the same time, he should have been more ruthless towards people outside of his group. Loved that scene where he faces the Inferni though, and how well they illustrated his disability and aversion to touch.

- I don't have that much to say about Nina and Matthias ; I'm still not super sold on the whole 'haha misogyny!' thing and I dislike that so much of Matthias' change of heart relies on the fact that he finds Nina hot. But I did think that the actors had enough chemistry to make their scenes together interesting and cute ; I loved the waffle scene. Even though it's disappointing that they didn't find an actress who was more clearly plus size for Nina, I still think Danielle does a good job bringing her bold, unapologetic energy. I'm really looking forward to seeing the Crows as a whole team.

So yeah, even though the season didn't feel like a perfect, coherent whole, it was just a lot of fun and I really hope they get renewed. In particular I feel like tying the first trilogy to the Crows' story could create such interesting parallels in terms of themes, about power, the cost of survival, hope, trauma, etc etc

[sometimesrosy]

Hey, I love your metas! I just got finished sab and I've been reading some metas about it, mainly about how the ending was not great. Specifically for Alina (nothing to do with malina, but how her arc was handled as a whole). And I tend to agree with it but I wanted to hear your thoughts.

Oh thank you.

I read some of those metas, too, and I'm not sure I agree with them.

I mean, I think SAB is a flawed book. It's enjoyable, but Alina is not a very mature character, through no fault of her own. She's not written as a mature character so it's not a failure or a character flaw, but she's written as a very young, naive one, for a young audience. She just doesn't react in very adult ways.

She's NOT a powerhouse. Although she has a powerhouse power. She's a bit shallow, she likes simple things. I mean, sure, who wouldn't want a great room and great food and status and the attention of a glamorous older man, right? That's all pretty normal.

But what she really wants for herself is 1. Mal. and 2. A home. She wants to belong. She suppresses her power for years, even though it makes her sick, because she doesn't want to be separated from Mal.

She loves him, but he doesn't feel that way about her (yet.) He's her best friend and really her only family.

It's not disempowering to want to be with the people you love. Is it? She ends up, after all the drama and war and violence and pain and loss and struggle and sacrifice, with what she wanted all along.

To be with Mal, to have a home. To belong somewhere.

I read somewhere, I really don't know where, that they interpreted the Grisha trilogy to be a woman's empowerment, and I really don't think that's what this series is about. I mean it's an ELEMENT, but it's not the main point.

Because even though she learned to wield her power, and using her power was necessary for her health, being the sun summoner honestly brought her nothing but pain and suffering.

It made her a target for a powerful man who wanted to take her and use her power for himself. If he couldn't convince her to give it to him willingly, he was fine with forcing her to do it unwillingly.

To be honest, I think this is a story of an ordinary, nothing special girl who was born with an extraordinary, dangerous power. Once she was embroiled in the wars and power struggles, she wanted to do what she could to fix things, because she was brave and good, but at any point, she was only looking to make things better, not to gain power, right? Well okay, when she was learning her powers and she figured it out, then she was like "hey this is neat, let me have fun with it," but when it turned out that she'd been lied to, that all kind of went away, and she just wanted to stop the darkIing. Yes? I have not read it a million times, so this is not a deep analysis.

IDK. I just read some interpretations that did not sound like THIS book, but sounded like what they wished this book was instead, and then saying it failed because it didn't tell that story.

Of course everyone gets to interpret it for themselves, but if you're judging a story against what you want, rather than what they were trying to do? IDK. That doesn't work for me.

Now I have never read any author commentary, so if she said it was an empowerment story, I'd have to see what she said precisely. But to me? IT wasn't about Alina gaining power. I mean she DID gain power, but only to give it away because love and belonging was more important to her and she didn't want to be anyones saint, or queen, or soldier.

The love story of Mal and Alina is sweet. It didnt' really go far enough for me. Too much was implied and not enough stated. The protagonist/antagonist relationship was bolder and more dramatic, but I didn't think they went far enough either. The show pushed both relationships and made them both better imo.

I think the author learned how to write better characters as she went on, but Alina and Mal were already in place, and never got much deeper or more nuanced.

But I still disagree with the interpretation where people complain about Alina's end. I think they wanted a stronger, bolder character arc, and this was not that. It was a delicate, sweet character arc. She never wanted to be a sankta. Or a queen. Or the darkling sun summoner. She was pushed into all that and went along with it passively, yearning for Mal the whole time. The only time she was active was when she was running off with Mal, away, or after the stag or whatever.

Y'all could probably argue that I was wrong about stuff because I do not have the books memorized. These are my impressions.

I won't change my impression about The darkling being an abusive monster and the villain though so don't try that one. It was super clear and not subtle, both narratively and with what I know about abusers.

Alina's character arc interpretation is not totally set in my mind.