#She's very much a believer in that you can accept her as a 'fair' ruler or the greatest tyrant you've ever met

[lloydfrontera]

How would you characterize Lloyd/Suho’s relationship with Alicia in Tged? I’ve just started the webcomic and I find their dynamic so fascinating despite that they’re not the main relationship of the series.

it's. it's hard to describe. and tbh i'm not the best person to ask. i am not a lloyd/alicia shipper and i was too fascinated by every single other of lloyd's relationships that i think i missed when their relationship started to shift into a more personal one.

lloyd respects alicia, he knows she's a tolerant, fair and just queen, he feels relatively safe that she won't screw him over for no reason and knows he has her absolute trust. he's kind of afraid of her tho lol like not because he thinks she's evil or anything but simply because, well, she's the queen. you gotta treat royalty carefully. and alicia is the kind of ruler that wants to squeeze the last bit of use of her subjects, not without fair compensation of course but still, she isn't the kind of person who likes to see a competent person just lazying around when she can put them to use to the betterment of her kingdom. so that's. not good for lloyd's plans lol

as for alicia... she mainly thinks he's a very smart, very competent, very stingy and petty person lmao. he's cunning and insolent and lazy and capable and she kinda likes him. he's frustrating but he's trustworthy. he's annoying but he's reliable. he's cheap but he's hardworking. he's exactly the kind of person she wants working for her.

"A competent individual was to be used. Ignoring one's talent was wasteful, and it bordered on being sinful. The more tired capable individuals became, the more prosperous the kingdom and people's lives became." <- alicia's ideology and lloyd's worst fears lol

she knows exactly what he wants and how very non-ambitious he is. that he wants to live an ordinary life and he's just itching to be free of having to work. she is absolutely not up for that lol

so like. they're both extremely smart people. intellectually they're pretty much equals. but when it comes to their power dynamic i always feel a bit iffy tbh 😅 i really didn't like the change they made to the webcomic where alicia outright threatens to invade the frontera fiefdom if lloyd doesn't do the work she has for him. most of their interactions is either her summoning him for a job or lloyd going to her to offer something in exchange for her help or to avoid a disaster. and when it comes to their flirting it mainly boils down to alicia flustering lloyd and lloyd just,,, accepting it ig jakshdska

i don't know! i feel like a missed a huge chunk of the novel! like! honestly! at the end of the novel, lloyd says that when he was struggling with his despair back in korea that two people he thought the most about was javier and the queen. javier because he was like a brother who had always been there with him. and the queen because he'd never told her about his feelings. and like???? what feelings??? when did that happen?????? we have 400+ chapters of lloyd and javier's relationship growing and changing and evolving and then we have,,, i'm not sure how many chapters are about lloyd and alicia interacting actually, sorry, but they're not nearly enough for me to believe he would think about her an equal amount to someone he spent the better part of the last few years of his life with or to, y'know, his found family, the one he also spent years coming to know and love.

my feelings about their relationship are very tainted by my frustration that the author seemingly couldn't bring himself to give lloyd a happy ending that didn't involve him getting married to the only female side character who was 1) not related to him, 2) already in a relationship with someone else and 3) who's character development was directly related to her not having to marry for duty. it just. it had to end with him marrying for it to be a happy ending apparently.

so i'm really not the best person to ask about them i'm so, so sorry alskdhlasd

#hey i got an ask #Anonymous #tged #the greatest estate developer #lloyd frontera #alicia magentano

[jordanianprincesses]

I don't know if I am alone in this, but I find the royal confessions page on Tumblr very racist. Most confessions attack Meghan. They are constantly critiquing the Middle Eastern royal families (yes, they definitely deserve criticism, but the criticism on that page is not constructive; it has many racist undertones). For example, I don't support extravagant spending or inbreeding (obviously), but these people will turn a blind eye when the European royals do it but have 1000 things to say if an ME or east asian monarch steps a toe out of line. I also think they don't have a lot of respect for cultural differences in Asia. I have lived my whole life in Middle Eastern countries with monarchs and even met some of them, and they are all aggressively normal people. Yes, they may have different customs than you, but that does not give you a free pass to criticize those customs in my opinion. I feel like European royal watchers tend to exoticize Eastern monarchies. As a result, they believe that all ME monarchies are shady, even though there have been M.E rulers who are much better and far less scandalous than popular European monarchs

Hellooo , thanks for coming here is my opinion:

I like Royal confessions I almost visit that page every day. Sometimes the confessions submitted there are sooo weird/ stupid or Idk how to say it. But we should bear in mind that the admins have nothing to do with that. They stated that they submit the confessions the way they are and that doesn't mean they share the same opinions with the submitters. They welcome both positive and negative confessions. They said so many times that they're tired of receiving confessions about the British royal families and that they don't accept racist confessions. Maybe the followers of that page dislike Meghan ( so many negative confessions about her ) however to be honest I've never seen any confession about her race or something like that. I used to like Meghan but honestly I no longer like her , same with Harry ( just my opinion) however I must say that she receives so many unfair criticism and I feel sorry for her sometimes ( like when they say she's faking her pregnancy or when they doubt her good intentions while doing humanitarian work and so on... ).

About , the Arab monarchs I am positive that most submitters are Arab people. And as an Arab I must say that most of the criticism is well deserved. Am not talking about the traditions and culture differences but they're corrupt and authoritarian and they don't allow their people to criticize them. I am Arab and I can guarantee that.

* I agree with you : criticism must be always constructive. And people have to be fair specially when criticizing people they dislike.

* I remember I've seen once a racist comment: It said that : Rajwa doesn't look like an Arab because she's white. Lol Arabs have so many skin colors. In my country we have white, olive, moderate brown , brown....And you can find multiple skin colors in just one family ( that's the case in my family)

#answered

[koorinohebi]

Riding on a Gamble ⩥⩥

⩤ A starter for @lovedloyalty ⩥

I’ve had it! Hands to her hips, she looked down as a loud exasperated growl reverberated from her throat.

Of all the Alters that she’s had to deal with-- and there have been quite a bit-- why does this one give her such a hard time ALL the time? Now, it would have been fine if they were in Chaldea, a place where she can tolerate almost anyone’s attitude, but having been forcefully rayshifted to some unknown singularity wasn’t the best time for her servants to give her the attitude. Kiomi has been separated from the rest, with no one but HIM around to help her. She wants to stick together to find others, and he was just being plain difficult. How hard was it to follow a request-- not even a command-- a request, to keep an eye out for any enemies or rouge servants lurking by?

She’d have let his verbal lashings and complaints go had he not compared her to Takechi for the nth time. Marching over to where the Alter was, annoyed master grabbed him by the scarf, yanking him closer in the process. “What the fuck is your problem?” With the numerous times she’s asked Izo Alter this, this may as well have felt like a deja vu.

Clicking her tongue at him, Kiomi pushes the Alter Ego back before pointing at him indignantly.

“Takechi this, Takechi that, you always compare me to Ruler like a possessed man, and I get that you’re a seething ball of rage and revenge, but I am not Takechi! I at least have more balls than him when it comes to sticking with my men!”

“I don’t know much about this Samurai shit, but if I was one, I wouldn’t let my sword rust, let alone leave it in some rut to rot away into obscurity.” She vents, sick and tired of this constant slander. “Listen here, Izo. I’m not asking you to like me. I’m asking you to suck it up for a little while and follow me, at least up until we meet up with the rest.” Slowly, she was beginning to simmer down. What kind of reward could she promise to get him to cooperate? What would work? Shaking her head, she sighed. “Alter Ego or not, you’re still you. So if you want to kill me, then do so. By all means. But not at this time.” Everyone was going to disappear at the very end anyway, right? This seemed like a fair compromise. “I’m not ready to die at the moment. I’m not yet done fighting for you and for all of my servants.”

In the first place, Kiomi was never really concerned about humanity or what’s left of it. What she wants is to preserve the world where her servants exist-- a place where they’re etched in history, a place where even if people may forget-- time and the world will always remember them. Turning back, she would start to walk, hands behind her as she gazed up at the sky.

“One day, Yoshifuru… a day will come when people will celebrate you, or at the very least, care that you existed. People will visit your grave with flowers, and even some sake-- and look past the gruesome facts about who you are. I'm willing to fight and protect a world like that.”

“Whether you care about such things or not, I want you there with me every step of the way. See what one stupid girl is willing to throw away and give up to make such a pipedream possible. If you’re not satisfied after my goal’s been accomplished-- then I leave my execution in your hands. I will not die unless by your blade. I'll even cast a geas on myself if I have to just to see it through.” Once more, Kiomi would face the servant, a glint of seriousness reflected on those silver orbs. The time for requests were over. "I will embrace all of your hate for me, for Takechi, and for the world that betrayed you. I'll accept all of it."

“So come. I am not the strongest master, but I will make you the strongest servant. Take a gamble on me. I'll make you win.” She was stamping her authority on the matter, but not to the point where it would activate a command spell to bind him to her words. More than in her dream, Kiomi believed in Izo and all of his possibilities.

#⩤ Starter ⩥ #lovedloyalty #Alter Ego || Okada Izo #Singularities || Main #To each their own devices || IC : Kiomi #BOLD WORDS KIOMI. BOLD WORDS.

[heavenlyborne]

@lcho-r​ asked: 👁‍🗨💰😳🤩 (OC Questions 2)

// Snipped due to length ~ !

👁‍🗨 - Is your OC a nosey person? Are they inclined to gossip?

Shalria is most definitely VERY nosey. Celestial Dragons usually only care about instant gratification, living their lives of luxury in ignorance whereas she enjoys knowing everything there is to know about what’s going on. Limitless wealth and power are all well and good at the end of the day but even as a child, she was well aware that a little knowledge can go a long way and is always worth knowing. When it comes to gossip however, she’s fiercer than a dragon guarding it’s hoard - only foolish people spill their secrets so easily, especially without demanding some form of payment or another first. She’ll listen to idle gossip and pluck the wheat from the chaff, but genuine information is something her ears are always listening out for.

💰 - What’s your OC’s opinions around money? Are they materialistic or more frugal? Is money a concern for them, or are they comfortable with their current status? If money isn’t a worry for them, do they recognise the privilege of that?

Shalria is not frugal at all, at least not in the eyes of ordinary people. She has no qualms about spending vast amounts of money on whatever she pleases, but she’s more ‘frugal’ than her brother who would drop £500′000′000 berri on buying a mermaid just to watch her get devoured by his pet piranhas. Even if she loathes mermaids, Shalria considers it a waste to spend so much on killing what she considers to be a ‘mere fish’ and prefers meaningful purchases over what she sees as useless ones. She’s comfortable with her status, overly so as much like the rest of her kin, believes being wealthy is her right as a World Noble. She’s as greedy, entitled and avaricious as the rest of her caste, uncaring as to how so many countries struggle to afford the obscene tributes demanded by their rulers but still looks down on frivolous waste all the same.

😳 - How do they handle rejection or humiliation, both internally and externally? (how they really feel vs how they appear to react)

Shalria has never been rejected before... but is ultimately unlikely to care very much about it. Only a ‘total idiot’ would pass up the opportunity to be with somebody as magnificent as she and if they decide against that, that’s their loss not hers. It would be disappointing but no big deal should they choose to reject a gift from the very heavens themselves. Humilation on the other hand is a very different story - Shalria is proud, possessing what she believes to be the most ancient and purest bloodline in the world and striking her family as is bad as if they’d struck her themselves. She may look down upon her brother and father but they are still family and fewer instances will incite this dragon’s wrath like attacking her relatives. She’d be fierce too, promising - and planning - violent retribution against all offenders no matter how long it takes, and not only will the offender be at risk but everybody else they know and love. No price will be too high to pay in order to exact righteous vengeance, and Shalria will make sure it happens just to show the world what happens should you dare defy her will.

🤩 - Is your OC easily impressed, or are they uninterested in the achievements of others?

When you are a Celestial Dragon, you have already received the greatest of achievements. Just being born as one is as impressive as it gets, at least according to the ruling class and Shalria is no different. There are plenty of strong, intelligent and even successful people out there in the world but very few can count themselves to have descended from those ancient great kings and queens who created the world as it currently stands. Even the King of Pirates may be executed someday but nothing can change the fact that blood matters or what you are. Few things will truly impress Shalria but talent, especially self-made talent in a world that wants you to be weak, is slightly impressive and the more you claw it for yourself, the more entertaining she finds it. Gild Tesoro stands as one of the only people who has genuinely impressed her, both with his incredible talent as a singer and holding the greatest wealth outside of the Celestial Dragons themselves.

#Icho-r #memes ;; oc questions 2 #thank you so much for this! #It took a while to write bc this week's being funny again #But umm it was a longer post than expected #And you all know I love making this girl so awful #Shalria is god awful but in some ways she's self-aware #She knows she's very lucky to be born as who she is #Does she appreciate it? #Like hell she does #She's entitled and greedy and cruel #That it's only right she gets everything she wants #She's very much a believer in that you can accept her as a 'fair' ruler or the greatest tyrant you've ever met #She'll reward good and honest servants and slaves #Paying them their due is only natural #But she's proud af and anybody who steps on that is marked as a great enemy #Think of her as like a Blue Dragon from Dungeons and Dragons #She's 'honourable' despite her callous pride and cruelty but believes she is fair for the most part #But very prideful and a bad enemy to have #ღ;; headcanons

[bratz-kitten]

Nikola Stojanovic’s degree theory 

— you can learn more about his theory here and here. he was the maker of this theory, i’m simply passing the knowledge i’ve researched on him in a more simplified way!!! trigger warning for mentions of death and violence for the 11º, the 15º, the 18º and the 22º degrees 

according to nikola’s research, each degree is connected to the sign it rules: 

aries degrees — 1º, 13º, 25º - taking action, fighting spirit, not giving oneself up to fate, struggle, war, can indicate abuse, labor, diligence, leadership, beginnings, etc

taurus degrees — 2º, 14º, 26º - money, food, the earth, stability, luxuries, voice, singing, etc

gemini degrees — 3º, 15º, 27º - communication, gadgets like televisions or phones, self-expression, books, siblings, neighbourhood, etc

cancer degrees — 4º, 16º, 28º - home, nurture, traditions, loyalty, faith, mother, water, etc

leo degrees — 5º, 17º, 29º - attention, life, fame, light, children, creativity, self-expression, monarchs, entertainment, strength, hair, etc

virgo degrees — 6º, 18º - to diminish, to make smaller, improvement, health, work, routine, pets, to be of service, etc

libra degrees — 7º, 19º - fairness, law, business, partnerships, fashion, beauty, charm, luxury items, music, art, etc

scorpio degrees — 8º, 20º - the 8º specifically is connected to death, wealth, to take from others, manifestation, secrets, insurance, sex, jealousy, pregnancy, etc

sagittarius degrees — 9º, 21º - abundance, expansion, wisdom, college, travelling, to explore, etc

capricorn degrees — 10º, 22º - to take control, public attention, coldness, fear, depression, rationality, ambition, father, etc

aquarius degrees — 11º, 23º - divorce, surprises, high places, high tech, new technology, humanitarianism, organizations, friends, networking, etc

pisces degrees — 12º, 24º - sleeping, drugs, alcohol, lethargy, the unconcious + our psyche, emotional dejections, feet, madness, shadows, unclear, endings, etc

0º represents the basic characteristic of the sign - it acts in its purest form. for example, if you have the 0º in aries sun, aries here acts in its most potent, pure way. 

that way, if you, for example, have your ascendant in pisces at the 13º, you’ll express aries characteristics + all that is connected to taking action, to fight. now, knowing this, this theory can manifest itself in different ways. 

i’m going to give an example that he talked about in his website that i found simple to understand yet powerful. when nikola was discussing with another astrologer, he wanted to talk about his degree theory, so he took a look at the birth chart of the wife of the other astrologer, and after a minute of analyzing it, he said as follows: “Your wife called a carpenter to the house and ordered a larger bed to be made. When the carpenter had finished the job, you went to bed and realized that the work was not properly done. One measure was right – the bed was long enough - but the other one wasn't – the bed wasn't wide enough, it was still narrow”. the look the other astrologer gave him told him that his brief analysis was absolutely correct.

his reasoning behind it was that the wife’s 12th house (which rules sleeping, beds, bedrooms) cusp began at the 21º of aries, and the ruler of that house, mars, was at the 6º in virgo. aries simbolizes to create and the 21º, a sagittarius degree, simbolizes to enlarge. so, his wife wanted to create (aries) a larger (sagittarius/jupiter) bed (the 12th house). because mars, the ruler of the 12th house, was placed in virgo (someone who renders services, a worker), she called the carpenter to the house. her mars was, however, in virgo at the 6º which is a virgo degree (virgo simbolizes diminishing, making smaller), which meant the measure of the bed had to be smaller than needed. therefore, the cusp of the 12th house (the bed) at the 21º (sagittarius - larger, longer) signifies that the bed was both long enough (enlarged), and mars in virgo at a virgo degree (6º) meant that it was not wide enough (it was narrow). nikola established connections between degrees, the signs, the planets and the houses where they fell and the aspects that they made in order to make this kind of predictions. 

he also found a few degrees to be connected to significant things. 

THE 2º DEGREE - SUPREME POWER 

nikola, through the research of the birth charts of many people throughout history, observed how those who contained planets, houses and aspects (+lunar nodes, arabic parts, vertex and of course, the four cardinal points: the IC, MC, AC and DC) in the 2º degree were those who made remarkable achievements, who wielded extreme power and were highly respected. he got to this conclusion by analyzing the birth chart of queen victoria - other rulers at the time had more powerful aspects than she did, but allas, they weren’t the ones to almost rule the entire world - it was her, so he began noticing the pattern between power and the 2º. literal jesus himself had his mercury in pisces in the 2º. i myself have four degrees at 2º, so it’s nice to know my dreams of starting a revolution, overthrowing the government and achieving world domination are supported by the astros

THE 5º DEGREE - EROTICISM 

this degree is connected to beauty, desire, sex appeal, receiving sexual attention. many sex icons like marilyn monroe, jean harlow and mata hari had it present in their birth chart. nikola talks about this being the best degree in his eyes. considering that it’s a leo degree, it’s all about living, having fun and enjoying life. 

THE 11º DEGREE - DIVORCE / SUICIDE 

both the 11º and 23º degrees of aquarius indicate divorce, but, according to nikola, the 11º is connected to suicide.

THE 15º DEGREE - CAR ACCIDENTS 

this degree, when connected to scorpio + the 8th house, can indicate car accidents.  

THE 18º DEGREE - PURE EVIL 

simbolizes a bad destiny. to nikola, this is the worst degree you can have. it can indicate rare deseases, tragic accidents. he says there’s no good about this degree but i absolutely disagree. not to be a hopeless optimist or to pretend to possess half the knowledge that he does but i think it’s pretentious to assume that a degree is literally all bad and that there’s nothing we can do about it — that takes away from our free will and our inner strength. Many, many people have this degree present in their charts (i believe nikola had it himself), it’s all about facing hardships but, well, that’s life.

THE 22º DEGREE - TO KILL OR BE KILLED 

nikola has found this degree in the birth charts of murderers + people that were murdered. his significance of “to kill or be killed” is quite literal. now, i want to remind you that this is the worst case scenario and that this degree can manifest itself in many diferent ways - just like the 18º and the 8º. the death can be figurative. for example, donald trump’s chart: he has his sun in 22º, and his mercury in 8º - and I’m afraid he’s quite alive at his old age and kicking it, even if he’s suffered a public destruction. @saintzjenx in her degree theory post talked about how this placement can also indicate abandonment. i agree, i have my sun at 22º in the 10th house (the house of the father) and my father was very emotionally absent + physically as well (his work has him working at other cities during the entire week) 

THE 29º DEGREE - CLAIRVOYANCE/PROGNOSTICISM 

the 29º indicates someone with clairvoyant potential, someone who makes accurate predictions, with great intuition. it’s to note that nikola himself had a 29º in his chart, and that he became known for the predictions he made using the degree theory (for example, he predicted that america would have its first black president ten years before barack obama was elected). but he does like to say that he has absolutely no intuition, though - what prompted him to study the degrees was his virgo rising, acording to him, his need to study and put his brain to work. still, he observed how many clairvoyants had this degree. other astrologers talk about this being a degree that means destruction (and when you analyze trump’s birth chart and how he has his ascendant and his 11th house at the 29º, you can very much argue about the truth behind that theory) but all in all, nikola talks about this degree as benefic. 

in case you’re feeling bad, remember i have the to kill or be killed 22º, plus the 8º of death, plus the 11º of suicide, plus the 23º of divorce, plus two of the 18º of pure evil! let’s suffer together besties. on the upside i have four of the 2º so we riding to eternal glory! 

but now seriously, i know some of this is very hard bc obviously life isn’t all fun and games but. remember that we all have free will, life isn’t determined and having a lot of these in your chart doesn’t mean impending doom!! i have them and i’m very much kicking it and i’m not intending to stop. it’s all about acceptance, learning how to work with even the worst degrees in order to make the best out of them. plus, the degrees can manifest themselves in a lot of different ways and a lot more matters than just them being present - like the signs that they’re in, the aspects with which they make and how harsh they are, the house where they fall etc etc. 

please do take your time to read through his website + to watch the interviews nikola did on youtube!! he was an amazing astrologer whose theory greatly impacted the way astrology is studied today. he’s fun to learn from, too, which is a plus

#astrology #degree theory #capricorn #aries #scorpio #leo #sagittarius #gemini #aquarius #libra #virgo #taurus #cancer #pisces

[whimsicallyreading]

For Rowaelin Month day 17

 “A sick day”

CW- PTSD, mentions of violence

Aelin considered herself a fortunate person.

She has survived genocide, her family's murders, losing loved ones, slavery, torture, and the Great War. Now she is a queen, a mother, a beloved Mate.

Her life had changed since those bleak days where she'd wondered if she would ever escape captivity—the days when Aelin didn't know if she would ever be free or find love again. Every morning she woke up curled into Rowan's side, and while she drank her morning tea, Aelin could count on her young daughter snuggling into her lap.

Yes, she was swamped most days, but that was normal for a queen. But even the moments between boring meetings brimmed with life and laughter. Rowan's hand on her thigh beneath the table. Fenrys' theatrics when conversation spiraled off-topic. And even the hardened lords thought it was hilarious when their three-year-old princess barged into councils and demanded her mother's attention.

Her family gathered for dinners at the end of every day. Aelin's little family, Fenrys, Emrys, and Malakai were the regular attendees. Aedion, Lysandra, Elide, and Lorcan joined when they were present. It was a time reserved for family only, and it was by far Aelin's favorite part of the day.

Aelin had a good life now. Her family was growing, and her country thrived beneath her rule.

So it always took her by surprise when a bad day came.

She had woken up fine. Delly had slammed open the chamber door with a gust of wind and squirmed herself between her and Rowan in the early morning. Usually, Aelin treasured the moments when her daughter joined them, but being pregnant again had taken a toll on her sleep.

Rowan tried to stop their child before she entirely collapsed onto Aelin but was a moment too slow. Delly flopped onto her mother's chest in a disarray of wrinkled nightgown and golden curls. Soft sobs were sputtering out of the tiny figure.

I'm sorry. Rowan whispered into her thoughts. He knew how hard pregnancy was on her and took his mate's comfort very seriously. It troubled him that their toddling daughter woke Aelin so abruptly.

Aelin blinks the sleep from her eyes and sends him a happy smile to assure him everything is fine.

"What's wrong, Dell?" Aelin soothes a hand up her baby's quaking form.

Adelia sniffles harder, unable to talk through the tears. She'd started to have bad dreams in recent weeks, but never had she been so inconsolable.

Aelin shifts as Adelia's arms tighten uncomfortably around her bump. Rowan sees her discomfort and reaches around to pull Dell to him instead, but it is met with resistance.

"No," Adelia finally wails. "Mama. I want Mama."

Rowan frowns. Adelia was a daddy's girl to the bone, and this was the first time she'd ever refused to go to him. Their daughter squeezes harder and burrows her face into Aelin's torso.

"Dell," Rowan leans next to her and whispers, a cool breeze brushing against her flushed cheek. "What's wrong little love?"

Adelia lifts her head, and Aelin's heart contracts painfully. Her cheeks are red and swollen from the intensity of her crying, little sobs still stumbling from her chest as Rowan settles her down enough to speak.

"Mama was gone. She was hurt, and she couldn't see me." Dell sniffles, her green eyes glassy. "Can you see me, Mama?"

Aelin tugs her daughter in closer, unable to stand the sight of her so sad. "Yes, of course, I can. I'm right here."

"You were in a box. She wouldn't let me see you," Adelia whimpers in a small voice. "She told me she was gonna keep you. I don't want you to go, Mama."

Aelin's face blanches. It wasn't possible. Her little baby couldn't possibly have seen what was coming to her mind. She looks at Rowan, and his face is pinched with worry.

"It's not real, Dell." Rowan uses a thumb to wipe the tears off her cheek.

Adelia flinches. "Uncle Ress told me it was. He told me Mama had got stollen and put into a box by the bad lady and that she should have stayed there."

Aelin's heart stops. Nausea crawls up her throat, and Rowan tugs Adelia away just in time for her to crawl out of bed and gag into a potted plant. The sickness grips Aelin, the shudders in her arms only growing worse with her daughter's mumbled cries.

"Daddy, I want Mama to stay here." Rowan hushes her and murmurs quiet reassurances. "Don't let her get stollen."

Ress had said that? In front of her daughter? Aelin tries to close her eyes against the visions creeping into her mind. The places her scars used to be ache, and her hands pulse with the remembered pain of reconstruction.

The baby in her womb squirms under its mother's stress, and Aelin throws up again.

She should have stayed there.

Cairn brings the hammer down onto her frail knees, the ringing of cracking bone splits the air.

She should have stayed there.

Aelin opens her eyes to endless darkness. Sweet smoke wafts through invisible holes and sends her to sleep- leaving her mind vulnerable to Maeve's manipulations.

She should have stayed there.

More and more memories swarm behind her eyelids until a pair of grounding arms wrap around her shoulders.

"Fireheart, you are home. You are safe. Can you breathe with me?" Rowan sighs loudly behind her shoulder, and Aelin tries to force her own breath out.

Breathing in is harder, but Rowan's scent fills her nose and loosens the binds on her lungs. Soon, Aelin is doing the exercises independently, and Rowan nuzzles his face into her neck. His hands snake under her bump and lift some of the pressure, easing more of her tension.

"There you are," Rowan kisses her cheek as Aelin comes back around. "Are you okay?"

Aelin shakes her head and sinks into his arms. "Can you take me back to bed?"

Her legs feel like jelly, and her stomach is weak from turning. Rowan lifts her with ease. His arms are warm, and he murmurs sweet nothings into her ear as he carries his mate back to their bed.

"Adelia?" Aelin looks around for their daughter.

Rowan pulls back the duvet and reveals the sleepy from nestled right into the middle of the pillows. "She fell back asleep quickly."

"I can't believe Ress told her those things," Aelin can feel a tear slipping down her face. Ress had never forgiven her for her days as Celaena. Darrow had grown to accept her, but Ress never warmed up to having Aelin as his queen despite her efforts.

She hadn't realized the extent his hatred went.

Rowan scowls as he lays Aelin down next to their daughter. "Ress is young and foolish. I have forgiven a lot of his hostility and ignored most of his juvenile antics, but Aelin, I can't forgive this."

"He should never have said those things to Dell." Ress's words linger in her head. She tried to do right by her title and live up to her parent's legacy. Aelin took a lot of pride in listening to the demands of her people and tending to their problems personally. But the odds of Ress being the only one to feel this way are slim. Did they wish she'd never returned? Was she arrogant to take the crown just because it was her inheritance? She'd never had the formal training as ruler and relied a lot on Rowan to help manage foreign affairs. Despite the loss of her fire, many still feared her and considered her a murderer. No matter how hard she tried, Aelin's history as Adarlan's Assassin proceeded her.

Tears burn Aelin's eyes, and Rowan's scowl deepens. "He should have never spoken of you like that at all."

Aelin shakes her head, "It's his right to think what he wants. Maybe he has a point."

"No." Rowan growls, and Dell flinches in her sleep. Taking a deep breath, Rowan softens his voice. "He's wrong, Aelin. Ress was wrong to scare Dell, and he has no right to demean everything you've sacrificed. You've suffered for your people."

"I closed the lock because I had to Rowan," Aelin argues. "That doesn't automatically make me a good queen. What if I'm failing?"

Rowan pulls their duvet up to Aelin's chin, and Dell instinctively snuggles to her mother's side. Her daughter was a leach for warmth, and Aelin could feel her remaining flames writhing in her veins agitated.

"You are a wonderful ruler, Fireheart." Rowan bends down and kisses her lips reverently. "I've met my fair share of emperors, kings, and queens. None of them have given up so much to better the lives of their people. They care for you in return."

Rowan steps away from the bed, and Aelin makes a displeased noise. "Where are you going so early in the morning."

"I'm awake now. I feel like a flight through Oakwald. Go to sleep, and when you wake up, I'll bring my females breakfast," Rowan pulls on a plain white tunic. "Sleep, love. You both need your rest."

Rowan can read her too well. Aelin can feel her eyes drooping despite how much she wants to deny it. "Very well, but there better be tea and pastries."

As Aelin drifts back to sleep, she swears that a mischievous smile passes across her mate's face.

~~~

"Aelin," Maeve twirls a lock of blonde hair in her fingers. "Where are the keys?"

Cairn twists the blade in her thigh again, and Aelin screams, "screw yourself."

Aelin writhes beneath the pain and the dark queen's gaze. Her torturer goes to twist the blade again, but Maeve holds up a hand. "Wait. There is a smarter way to go about this."

"I won't tell you anything," Aelin gasps, the blood seeping from her thigh pools onto the table. "There is nothing you can do."

"Not even to spare the princess?" Maeve smiles as the cell door opens. Connall walks into the room, a squirming girl in his arms.

"Let me go," the girl screams, and the air in the room turns frigid. Her blonde hair whips around as she twists and fights. The little girl's head turns, and she freezes when she catches sight of Aelin. "Mama?"

"Adelia?" Aelin asks, confused. "You can't be here. You aren't supposed to be here." With renewed energy, Aelin thrashes against her bonds and bares her teeth at Maeve.

Maeve takes Adelia from Connall and strokes her hair. "Such a pretty one."

"This isn't real," Aelin hisses. "I wasn't pregnant when you took me. Adelia was born in Terresan."

Maeve hums a sympathetic note, "It seems you're confused." Aelin fights as the dark queen sits with a frozen Adelia in her lap. "Begin again, Cairn."

A hot iron is lain against Aelin's neck, and Adelia's screams rattle the stone chamber.

~~~

Aelin wakes with a gasp. Her chest is seizing in uncontrollable fits, and little hands cup the sides of her face.

"Mama?" Adelia's concerned face hovers over Aelin's. "Why are you crying?"

Relief washes over her at the sight of her daughter, safe and sound. She tries to take deeper breaths, but her body fights against her. The baby in her womb squirms uncomfortably. Aelin feels guilt that they are so subject to her moods. She tries to open her mouth to speak, consol her frightened daughter, but Aelin can't get any words out.

"Daddy!" Dell screams, frightened tears gathering in the corner of her eyes.

Rowan bursts through the door, "Dell?"

Adelia sniffles and kisses Aelin's face sadly, "Daddy, what's wrong with Mama?"

Aelin grabs at her chest, trying to ease the tightness there. She was scaring her daughter. What kind of mother would do that? Rowan sits beside her, and a cool wind goes up her nose and fills her lungs.

"Fireheart," Rowan lifts Adelia and sits beside her. "Is this a sick day?"

It was the code they'd come up with for the days when the past came back to haunt them. When the turmoil in their mind forces their bodies to rebel, and they can't seem to put on their usual facades. It used to shame Aelin, the days she couldn't rise from bed and do her duty. But her mate's unwavering love soon cracked that lie and eased her burden. Rowan had convincing arguments. Aelin's people needed their queen at her best, and on sick days, she wasn't able to give that to them. Their court was strong. They wouldn't allow Terresan to fall while she recovered. Aelin deserved time to heal.

Rowan must have been able to tell that she wouldn't be able to settle herself this time as his winds continued their push and pull in her chest. "Yes," she rasps dejectedly.

Dell buries her face into Rowan's shoulder. Her mate rests a hand on the side of her face and soothes her cheek. "To whatever end, Aelin. We will get through this just as we do everything else."

Rowan kisses the side of Dell's face. "Little love, do you think you can go to the kitchens and have someone bring Mama tea?"

That fae instinct to fuss rears its head in their child. Adelia perks up at the opportunity to do something useful. "Yes!"

Rowan sets her on the floor, and she takes off in a blur of untamed hair and swishing skirts. They wince as a gust of wind slams the doors of their chambers against the wall.

"She's a handful," Rowan talks, aware of the soothing effect his voice has on her. "But we always knew our children would be. I can't wait to see what kind of chaos our son brings into our lives."

Aelin wraps her arms around him as the remnants of her dreams finally fade away. "You think it's a boy?"

"I know so," Rowan pinches her side, and Aelin smiles. He'd also been confident that their first child would be a girl. His smugness after Adelia's birth was unbearable.

"Rowan," Aelin whispers. "Can we just lay here today?"

"I could never deny you anything," Rowan leans against their headboard and kicks off his shoes. "You don't need to ask, Aelin. It's okay to take time for yourself."

"What if I'm just proving Ress right?" The insecurity slips from her lips before she can stop them. "What if there is someone more capable?"

"Ress won't be a problem anymore," Rowan rests a hand against her bump, and the baby withing kicks at it, bringing a smile to his face.

Aelin narrows her eyes, "What have you done?"

"Nothing that anyone will blame me for," Rowan assures. "He would be in a lot more trouble if the rest of the court learned what he said in front of Dell. Ress should be grateful I didn't do a lot worse."

Aelin sighs, "I don't understand why I can't just let it all go. Why do I allow myself to be so haunted?"

"It's not that simple," Rowan shakes his head. "I'm hundreds of years old, and no matter how many years pass, there are things from my past that haven't healed. The mind is different from the body, and sometimes it takes longer for it to recover. There is nothing wrong with that. You gave up everything for the people you loved."

"Because I had to," Aelin contradicts.

A hardness comes over Rowan, "because no one else could."

Rowan rolls over her body into a plank and looks deep into her eyes. "No one else that day would have made the same sacrifices out of love. Not even me. I was too selfish to let you go. You gave up everything, and by the strength in your soul, you came home to me. In all my decades, I have never met someone so remarkable, and I never will again. Take as many years as you need to recover, Aelin. This world owes a debt to you, and I will make sure it pays. You deserve every happiness."

His hand threads through one of hers and drags it up to rest on the bump between them.

Happiness.

Dell darts back into their room, a cup of tea sloshing in her hands as she runs. "Daddy, I put extra sugar in it. Uncle Fen is coming with more cups, but I made this one special."

Rowan pulls away from her, and the laughter on his face is contagious.  

Aelin smiles and accepts the tea from Dell's hands. She even manages a few sips without cringing from the sweetness. Fenrys follows behind her shortly and sets a fresh cup covertly on her bedside table.

There may be hard days, Aelin realizes as her family gathers around her, but the love they showed her every day made it all worth it.

#throne of glass #rowaelin #rowaelinmonth #rowan whitethorn #aelin galathynius #fanfic #tog #angst #rowan x aelin #ptsd #sick day #baby fic #canon #sjm #sjmaas

[therealvinelle]

do you have any thoughts on bree tanner?

On Bree Tanner herself, not so much. I did read her book, and from my recollection (I lent it to a friend who never gave it back. And I’m pretty sure she didn’t even read it(!)) Bree is pretty much what she’s presented as. 

She’s not stupid, but she’s not particularly intelligent either, she’s nice, but not a saint. She has been a vampire for only a few months, but she has already lost her empathy for humans. She’s an introvert who cares deeply for her friend Fred and crush Diego. She was never inclined to fight anybody, and spent the newborn battle just sort of mingling in quiet terror.

She’s a sweet person I’m sure would have made a pleasant addition to the Cullen coven, but ultimately she’s not remarkable.

When it comes to Diego, her supposed mate... hm. For those who didn’t read the book, Riley told the newborns they had to stay in the shadows or they’d burn in the sun. Bree gets a huge crush on one of the other newborns, and they find out vampires actually sparkle. This changes everything! Diego goes to tell Riley about the sparkling. Diego goes to live on a farm after that. No, really, that’s pretty much what Riley tells everybody. Diego is fine, he’s on a very special assignment, next question. Bree eventually figures out that Diego is dead, and her grief combined with a lot of other factors lead to her concluding life is miserable. She dies thinking “Oh well, guess I had a good run.”

Not unsurprisingly, I not only don’t believe in mates, but I also don’t think Diego was anything close to it for Bree either. They were close friends, Bree found out he was dead, and had no time to process it. More, vampires feel very strongly, and this was the only truly emotional event to befall Bree. It knocked her out completely. So, that she then decides she doesn’t mind dying because there’s no point living in a world without Diego seems to me to be a reaction born of her being young (both for a vampire and a human), emotionally inexperienced, and having been hit by this news less than an hour earlier. Had she lived, she would have been just fine.

So, those are my thoughts on Bree Tanner as a person.

Bree Tanner's impact is a different matter.

I think her death was one of the catalysts for the plot of Breaking Dawn.

The vampires in Seattle all died, Victoria included. There were no one left who knew Bree, and her life would have been a moment lost in time, like tears in the rain (Sorry, couldn’t resist).

But there were the Cullens. More specifically, Carlisle.

Carlisle had spent his formative years in Volterra, and parted with Aro in friendly terms. He remained fond of Aro, and continued to think highly of him. He and Aro would have spoken of the Volturi, of the Volturi mission, of how such a law is enforced, and it is prudent to also assume that Carlisle would have witnessed at least a few trials. He came away from all that thinking of the Volturi as strict, but fair rulers. 

Jasper, by comparison (I’m bringing him in because I think he’s more representative of how your average vampire who hasn’t been Aro’s boytoy for decades would view the Volturi), shivers in fright at the mere thought of the Volturi. To him they were executioners. But, again, fair. You break the law, and the Volturi descend upon you like God of the Old Testament.

Then cut to Eclipse, Victoria’s got a newborn army wreaking havoc in Seattle, attracting a lot of attention in a developed country in a time of globalized news. They’re on CNN daily. They might as well write “Fuck the Volturi” in the sky.

And the Volturi do nothing.

Now why, Carlisle and his family wonders, would they do such a thing?

Edward has all the answers, of course - that Aro is choosing not to intervene because he doesn’t like how large and powerful Carlisle’s coven has gotten, and Victoria’s newborn army will take care of that for him. Edward also goes on about how Aro desperately wants him and Alice by his side, which does prompt an “... you sure about that?” from Carlisle, but ultimately Aro’s inaction on the subject speaks for itself and Carlisle can’t make any excuses for it.

Regardless of Aro’s motives, that the Volturi would not be coming to enforce their own law became very clear. As a result of their inaction, Carlisle was forced to betray several of his own principles. He had to ask Jasper to teach the family how to kill others, he had to accept the aid of teenagers who could very well get themselves killed, he had to put his beloved family at risk, and he had to kill other vampires.

Aro’s inaction put him through hell and could have gotten his family killed. Would have, if it weren’t for the wolves.

Jane then decides to make her entrance right after the battle ended, while the fire is still going. The timing could not be more clear: the Volturi were waiting it out, letting the Cullens be culled.

We then get to Bree, who was an innocent in all the ways that counted, and not at risk of repeat offenses. Jane executes her anyway. Not just that, she makes sure to torture Bree, twice, entirely gratuitously:

“She’ll tell you anything you want to know,” Edward said through his teeth. “You don’t have to do that.” 

 Jane looked up, sudden humor in her usually dead eyes. “Oh, I know,” she said to Edward, grinning at him before she turned back to the young vampire, Bree. (Eclipse, page 333)

Even if the execution can be justified, the torture cannot. Jane abuses her power because she can, and there’s nothing the Cullens can do about it.

Then you have the fact that Bree had overheard a conversation between Jane and Victoria in which Jane gave Victoria explicit permission to take out the Cullens on the Volturi’s behalf. Bree replays this for Edward to hear before she dies, validating every paranoia he ever had about the Volturi. Just because he didn’t tell Bella, doesn’t mean he didn’t tell his family. He certainly would have told Carlisle and Alice.

Over the course of Eclipse, Carlisle sees the Volturi neglect to enforce their own law because culling his coven is a higher priority to them, torture and execute a mostly innocent vampire, and then he finds out that they made a deal with Victoria.

Not only would he be massively disillusioned by the Volturi, but by Aro himself. The man he met in Volterra was a lover of the arts and the academics and spoke of justice among vampires, and then Carlisle gets to experience first hand just what kind of justice this is. Aro was not the person he thought he was, and their old friendship doesn’t count for much either.

Look then to Breaking Dawn, where Carlisle has a vampiric child, but not an immortal one. Like Bree, he is innocent in all the ways that counted. This did not help Bree, and given the events of Eclipse (and remember only six months have passed), it won’t help him either. The Volturi have made it clear that they want to take out his coven, and whether or not the Cullens are actually innocent won’t matter.

The only way he can hope to slow them down, to force some kind accountability upon the Volturi (an accountability that might have preserved Bree’s life: she died because Jane had none), is to have there be witnesses to their trial.

And we get the clusterfuck called Breaking Dawn (or as I like to call it, Aro and Carlisle Break Up).

Relevant meta.

Edit 16th of April: Aro’s side of things

#you asked for bree and I gave you part one of several rants #how Carlisle and Aro broke up #believe me there will be more #in fact i'll just tag this one #aro/carlisle #because i'm fooling nobody #that's right people ask me anything and i'll go #... anyway here's how i'm bringing my ship into it- #carlisle cullen #bree tanner #jane #edward cullen #diego #aro #volturi #twilight #twilight meta #twilight renaissance #long post #Anonymous #ask #the eclipse debacle

[iheartbookbran]

Ok so actually my biggest problem with the whole “Daenerys will burn KL” theory—not even the Mad Queen Dany theory, which is of course very sexist for obvious reasons, but just like, the idea that Dany will ~accidentally~ ignite the wildfire in the city, burning it all to the ground. That, at first, doesn’t sound that bad, but the longer I think about it the more I hate it because tbh it doesn’t do anything for her character? And also… that fate for her is just down right cruel.

Like, the most frequent argument I see on why this would be at all satisfactory for Dany’s arc is basically that it would be a sort of lesson for her about the dangers of unchecked power and the real threat the Dragons can pose on humans and that she shouldn’t use them to fight against other people. And that’s all well and good, excellent message… except that’s not something Dany’s ever really needed to learn? Not anymore that her fellow rulers, which I will touch on more detail later, but in general Dany has seen what the abuse of power can do. Starting with her conflicting feelings regarding Viserys and how she recognizes that even though he was her brother and she loved him, he also abused his power over her as her older brother, her only family and her king; she feels guilt about the atrocities Drogo committed to the lhazarene and tries to help them; she feels so much guilt about not handling things correctly in Astapor that she decides to throw away all her plans to go to Westeros and instead stays in Meereen.

And about not knowing the true danger that her dragons can pose? I mean, this is the same girl that literally agonizes across several of her ADWD chapters because Drogon killed a child, and then takes the extreme measure of caging Rhaegal and Viserion to prevent that from ever happening again. I think she’s at least a little bit aware that the dragons can be dangerous, thank you very much.

Ok so this got long...

Anyways, the only time Dany legit uses Drogon to harm someone and not just as bluff was at the house of the Undying, where she was being attacked, and in Astapor… and like, lmao, that asshole Kraznys mo Nakloz and the rest of his slaver buddies deserved it. Don’t at me. Also, Dany’s hardly the only one with a big magical and deadly beast at her disposal, why didn’t Robb had to go through some horrifying traumatic incident to learn he shouldn’t use Grey Wind in battle to tear his enemies’ throats. Bran will be learning about the dangers of abusing power, but that’s linked to his magic powers and an actual reprehensible thing he’s doing, not the use of his glorified prehistoric dog to kill, which he’s done, just like Robb. By all means let the narrative hold Dany accountable for her mistakes… but her actual mistakes and not shit she has no control over, because she doesn’t have much control over Drogon or the other dragons even though she’s trying to, and that’s very obvious in her last ADWD chapter where she’s delirious and Drogon could kill her at any moment, and she knows that.

The other big argument people make for Dany burning KL (even if it’s by accident!) is that it will teach her about the price of war, that someone as young as her shouldn’t be leading armies and conquering kingdoms, and that fighting for the Iron Throne is not a worthy cause, and I feel like that misses the actual point of her story by a mile. First of all because a) Dany is hardly the only teenage ruler in the story and b) this is a fantasy medieval story, a lot of the characters shouldn’t be doing the things they do, aaaand yet. Also speaking of other teenage rulers with far more power that they should have—Robb and Jon, being the biggest examples.

Granted, Robb and Jon aren’t exactly successful during their time as rulers, they’re literally betrayed and killed by their own men (even if Jon will technically come back for round 2 of bullshit he’s too tired for). But the moral of their stories is not that they lost because theirs was an unworthy cause and they were stupid kids wholly unprepared for their roles. And I actually partially agree! They are just kids, including Dany, and they shouldn’t be responsible for looking after so many others and going to battle, but their cause is still just and worthy, even with all the mistakes they make along the way. Robb didn’t loose because he was wrong in demanding justice for his family or trying to protect the riverlands from the Lannisters and their minions, he lost because Tywin Lannister was a giant coward who couldn’t take him out in a fair fight.

Likewise, it isn’t wrong of Jon to try to incorporate refugees from beyond the Wall into Westeros. He’s not too stupid and honorable to do politics like his father (how I hate when people insult Jon and Ned like that), and while he did some very obvious mistakes that inevitably ended in a coup and in him dying, this is more connected to his inability to let go of his ties with his family (mainly Arya or who he believes to be her), and in isolating himself from his friends and the people he could actually trust.

I’ve always thought that Dany and Jon share a parallel narrative within the story, so while Jon is struggling with that Dany is faced with similar problems. She cages her dragons, that to her represent the only family she has left, and she tries to compromise with the slavers, marry a man she doesn’t love, pretend she’s ok with reopening the fighting pit. While she tries her best to rule wisely in Meereen, it all comes at the cost of betraying herself and her beliefs, so it’s no surprise when it all crashes around her and she’s betrayed and nearly killed. Ironically, it is Drogon who comes to rescue her.

If they are monsters, so am I.—Daenerys II, ADWD.

This is hands down one of my favorite Dany quotes from the whole series, and I hate that it’s been given such a negative connotation in the fandom, when for me it represents Dany’s humanity and compassion at the fullest.

GRRM has a knack for humanizing the ‘monsters’ of his story, for showing the good in the outcasts and the ugly and the scary. He embraces their ‘otherness’ and makes them the heroes of his stories; Arya, Bran, Brienne, Dany, Tyrion, Jon, Theon and many others are all compared to monsters or beasts at one point or another in the books.

Dany sees herself in her dragons, literal monsters in every sense of the word. Later on she faces Drogon inside the pit, and in that moment you could say that she accepts that ‘monstrous’ part of her, and in doing so she’s saved from her fate of dying at the hands of the men who would crucify innocent children and gleefully profit off of the suffering of their fellow human beings while watching them fight each other to the death for their own amusement. Now tell me who’s the real monster in this situation.

But shortly before that happens, Dany is able to see the humanity in Tyrion, an outcast who has been branded as monstrous and unlovable due to his disability all his life, a man who has come to believe in his abusers’ rhetoric about him so strongly that he’s started to act cruel and detached. She saves his life. She sees value in his life when few others would, because she cares.

I’ve always find it funny that the “dragons plant no trees” is—another—example fans use to argue in favor of Dany’s descent into Darkness™ because the actual scene goes like this:

You are a queen, her bear said. In Westeros.

"It is such a long way," she complained. "I was tired, Jorah. I was weary of war. I wanted to rest, to laugh, to plant trees and see them grow. I am only a young girl."

No. You are the blood of the dragon. The whispering was growing fainter, as if Ser Jorah were falling farther behind. Dragons plant no trees. Remember that. Remember who you are, what you were made to be. Remember your words.—Daenerys X, ADWD.

Now am I the only one who finds it at least a bit relevant that it’s freaking Jorah Mormont aka Jorah the Enslaver whom Dany’s subconscious, at her literal lowest moment, utilizes to represent this particular thought, which btw I’ve always interpreted as Dany’s own self-loathing manifesting in her, and this is something she’s actually always struggled with—the idea that she’s not enough and she’s failing. Because above all things, even Westeros or the Iron Throne, what Dany wants is peace, she wants to plant trees.

When Dany made her descent, Reznak and Skahaz dropped to their knees. "Your Worship shines so brightly, you will blind every man who dares to look upon you," said Reznak. […] This match will save our city, you will see."

"So we pray. I want to plant my olive trees and see them fruit." Does it matter that Hizdahr's kisses do not please me? Peace will please me. Am I a queen or just a woman?—Daenerys VII, ADWD.

But of course the world doesn’t work like that, and so long as there’s Jorahs and Tywins and Eurons out there, men who would take the freedom of humans and submit them to their will, Dany can’t have the luxury of peace, just like Jon can’t have the luxury of belonging and family so long as there’s people still beyond the Wall who need his protection.

And I think that’s fine. It’s fine that Dany failed, it will help her develop as a character and realize that there’s no room to compromise with slavers, the metaphorical monsters of the story who do far more harm than the other more literal ‘monsters’ of the story. So that when she has to face down Euron Greyjoy—who btw, there’s a high chance he will end up stealing one of Dany’s dragons via Victarion using Dragonbinder… y’know, as in enslaving one of her children and using said dragon to inflict god knows what horrors, yet not many people ever consider this for some reason?—she will know. When she has to face down the Others, the magical ice fairies with no regard for human life, she will know.

That’s why I believe that it would make absolutely no sense for Dany to have to go through such a tragic and traumatic experience like burning a whole city even by pure accident, over something that’s either never been a problem with her character or she’s well into her way of learning anyways, so it would just feel repetitive. As I have pointed out, she’s already reached one of the lowest moments of her arc. Not saying there will be no other blows for her, and probably the destruction of KL will be one of them, and knowing Dany she will feel responsibility over it no matter what, but that doesn’t mean she has to be the culprit, intentional or otherwise.

#yes i wrote this whole thing because i actually love the ‘if they are monsters so am i’ quote and i’m trying to push my agenda on others #jk i spend like half a minute in an anti dany blog and i was like. war #but i don’t regret it so #daenerys targaryen #stormborn #pro daenerys #asoiaf #asoiaf meta #a song of ice and fire #valyrianscrolls #meta #my meta

[crispyjenkins]

Omg! Dookus padawan au is fabulous! I love it! Although now im curious about how melida daan would go with a more confident obi and a master whos supportive of him and listens

(i originally planned this to be a dramatic harrowing recounting of obi’s time on Melida/Daan, but it did not turn out like that ಥ_ಥ 

thank you for enabling me with this au, anon, i love it so much and i somehow don’t write little-shit-obi nearly as much as i should. i hope this satisfies! ( ˘ ³˘) bonus nield ‘cause he’s dead in dha kar’ta and i got big sad about it)

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 "Obi-Wan, did you fuck the Mand'alor."

  Obi-Wan grins at Nield from the cell across from him, sitting in half-lotus like any proper Jedi on a routine kidnapping, and Jango sighs in the next cell over.

  "You overestimate how much either of us would like that," Obi-Wan chirps, even though they all know that's not really what Nield is asking. 

  And he makes his feelings about that clear, leveling Obi-Wan with an unimpressed deadpan that Obi-Wan really doesn't think is warranted. "Is this what you thought I meant when I told you to lay low?" he asks gruffly. "Become the youngest Jedi Master in two centuries and shack up with another Anti-Republic System's leader?"

  Jango slants a look at him. "What do you mean 'another'?"

  "Well, technically, Nield, I never shacked up with you either," Obi-Wan reasons. "And you were only governor for about three days."

  "That still counts!"

  "De'jate werda, this is about the Young?"

  "Language, dear," Obi-Wan chides blandly, and Jango throws his stale roll at him through the bars; it misses him by a foot anyways. "But yes, I'm afraid so. I did tell you the Daan regularly kidnap me for ransom from the Jedi, didn't I?"

  Grumbling, Jango flops against the back wall to scowl. "I was under the impression they had stopped after your Cerasi renamed the planet."

  "They did," Nield pipes up, poking at his own inedible roll. "Since I'm here, it probably still does have to do with the leaders of Tahl, but why they nabbed your boyfriend is beyond me."

  Jango rolls his eyes. "Probably because I was with him when they grabbed him."

  "Don't sound so put-upon, we hadn't seen each other in months." Aside from a single holocall before Obi-Wan had gone undercover with a Mid-Rim diplomatic convoy, both he and Jango had been too busy to take the time off for even a quick visit, and they'd had all of twenty minutes together before their kidnappers had broken into Jango's apartment on Coruscant. They had been in the middle of dinner and everything, and Obi-Wan mourns the tiingilar left on their table.

  Though, he supposes, he had made it with Rodian chillies instead of Mandalorian ones just to kark with Jango, so Maker knows if it had even been edible.

  Snorting, Nield runs his hands through his hair and leans as far over as he can to look down the halls of their cellblock, as if he and Jango hadn't already done that. "I imagine you haven't broken out yet because you're the only one of us in cuffs?"

  Obi-Wan helpfully raises his bound hands to show him the new-fangled force-suppressing manacles that have become more popular over the last few years, what with the sudden spike in number of Jedi. "I’ve never seen them before," he offers. "They're not nearly as strong as Ventress' collar, but I'm afraid I'm of no use to you unless we get them off."

  Nield sighs. "I said to lay low, Kenobi. You were the one to bag Ventress?"

  "I didn't exactly have a choice in the matter, my dear: she rather forced my hand."

  "No, no, we're not glossing over this again," Jango growls, getting to his feet to lean on his bars so he can glare at the both of them. "Why'd you tell him to lay low? When did you tell him to lay low?"

  “I’ve been telling him for years!”

  “But especially since the last attempt on Cerasi’s life.”

  “Ner ca’tra,” Jango sighs, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Do you have a bounty on you again?”

  Nield waves emphatically, as if finally proven right. “‘Again’! What does he mean ‘again’, Obi-Wan?”

  Rolling his eyes, Obi-Wan knows it’s not nearly as bad as they’re both making it out to be. “To my knowledge, no, I don’t think I currently have a bounty out on my head, and Neild, it would only be the second time.” He unfolds himself and pushes upright, stretching his legs before sticking his bound hands through the bars. “Now, if you two would stop nagging, I need you to try shorting out the locking mechanism with your water cups.”

  Jango sighs but still moves to grab the single cup of water that had been in the cells when they arrived; Nield stays at his door and scowls. “You’re not sure if it’ll work?”

  Obi-Wan raises a brow. “No, I’m actually quite confident it will: Quinlan and I have escaped the Daan twice like this. I just wasn’t sure if your arms would reach.”

  “Ha ha,” Jango drawls, sticking his own arms out to try and reach across the narrow walkway between their lines of cells. “Was that before or after you liberated the planet.”

  Nield is absolutely no help, groaning and laughing both as he ducks back to get his own water. “I’ve yet to meet this mysterious Quinlan that you assure me is actually real, but it’s been a decade and a half, ‘Nobi.”

  He sniffs in offense, stretching out as far as he can for Jango to tip his cup over his wrists. “He’s doing it on purpose. Quinlan Vos is never more amused than when he is making my life more difficult, so I’m afraid he’s been avoiding you, my dear.”

  “A likely story,” Nield snorts, and his significantly-longer arms easily allow him to pour his water directly into the locking mechanism. It starts sparking immediately, Obi-Wan jerking to the side to protect his face while Nield yelps and pulls back. 

  Feeling the Force rush back into his bones like a splash of tihaar, Obi-Wan easily snaps the cuffs down the centre and kicks open his cell door.

-

  Obi-Wan wasn't even supposed to be here, but when he's on his way back from Ilum to finally build a second lightsaber so he can move up from the jar’kai practice ’sabers Master Windu has him using, the Force sidelines him by forcing the Crucible into an emergency landing for the first time since Huyang's creation. A problem with the hyperdrive or something, nothing crucial to replace, something easily fixed once planetside, but just bad enough that they have to land on the nearest planet to fix it.

  Where Qui-Gon Jinn just so happens to be already on a mission attempting to rescue another Jedi master. Where there are actual children fighting for control of the capital city. 

  It takes Obi-Wan less than an hour to find Jinn and the Young, and perhaps an hour more to decide he would be sending Masters Tahl and Jinn back to the Temple without him. Master Yan would understand, it would hardly be the first time he had taken advantage of his master’s absence to do what the Force was telling him to.

  He is there a month before Master Yan returns with four Jedi Masters and their padawans, and permission from the Senate to aid the Young until a treaty could be reached. Obi-Wan is frankly too intimidated by his master securing the warrant nobody had managed to in seventy-five years to ask just how he’d done it; and Master Yan doesn’t scold him except to tell him in no uncertain terms that he is never to trust Qui-Gon Jinn’s judgement on anything to do with children. 

  Luckily his following lecture about the faults of jar’kai and the importance of proper dueling technique is cut off by an ambush from the Melida, and he never gets back around to it even after the Young retake the planet. Obi-Wan is still unsure whether he prefers the three days of sexual education he gets instead, when Cerasi admits she had caught Nield and Obi-Wan kissing in the hall after her election.

-

  Yan meets them outside, not looking very surprised to see them simply walking from the brig that had been their home for the last eight hours. Their human kidnappers are cuffed and being processed by a pair of Judiciary Branch clerks Yan had evidently brought with him, which would rather explain why there had been no one to hinder their escape.

  Raising a brow, a million questions in the simple gesture, Yan holds out Obi-Wan’s cloak, waiting for him to put it on before giving him his ’sabers as well. “I fear I must apologise, your honor,” he rumbles like the words simultaneously amuse him and burn his mouth. “My former apprentice still has not learned how to keep others safe from his continued imbroglios.”

  Jango snorts, accepting one of Obi-Wan’s ’sabers to hold until he can get his blasters back; Nield’s eyes almost bug out of his head. “Do we know what they were after?”

  Yan’s lips curl almost-mockingly. “A trade agreement, I believe. President Cerasi and the Delegates of Tahl had already turned them away, so they thought to strong-arm the Melidaan system instead.”

  “So you weren’t even a political prisoner,” Obi-Wan teases a Nield already burying his face in his hands, “just a familial hostage, my dear.”

  “Shut him up before I do,” Nield tells Jango.

  Who simply smirks and holds up his hands. “You overestimate how much control I have over anything he does.”

  “Maker, he really does have you wrapped around his finger.”

  “To be fair, I’ve known Jango far more intimately.”

  “I’m leaving,” Nield announces, spinning on heel to stalk towards the rescue cruiser from Tahl despite knowing Obi-Wan simply means he’s never had visions of Nield, even as far back as the Civil War. 

  Jango leans over and surreptitiously whispers, "Was Nield the bad wall-makeout?"

  "Maker, he was horrible, my dear." 

Mando’a: Mand’alor — “Sole ruler”, contended ruler of Mandalore. "De'jate werda" — "By the Great Darkness", slang from Concord Dawn, used as an expletive similar to "Christ!" or "Good lord." tiingilar — Mandalorian casserole specified to be “blisteringly spicy” ner ca'tra — “my night sky”, intimate term of endearment  tihaar — Mandalorian strong clear spirit made from fruit

*also obi is a master earlier ‘cause of his clairvoyance, since i’m subscribing to the “you become a master jedi when you master a part of yourself” version of the master trials in this. anyways.*

#crispy writes #prompt fill #melida/daan au #dooku's padawan au #soft and gay all around #little shit obi is everything and i don't write him enough #prequel trilogy #au #jangobi #jango fett #obi wan kenobi #nield of the young #cerasi of the young #cerasi renamed the planet tahl (ღ˘⌣˘ღ) #and the system to melidaan #cerasi is alive and president and WILL send the entire jedi order to rescue her idiot brothers #yan dooku #i... keep forgetting how to tag my own work

[sepublic]

Isaac’s Coming-of-Age Moment

           I find Isaac’s talk with the Captain in Season 3 weirdly… sweet, in a sense?

           Like… I kind of get this vibe from Isaac during their conversation that he’s basically some hot-headed, emotional youth, who is confused in a lot of ways, basically a teenager, and he just really needs some actual guidance, a positive adult/parental figure in his life that he can actually count on! Which, I don’t want to infantilize Isaac, but then again he does refer to himself and Hector as children who need to grow up in Season 4, so maybe I’m not too far off.

           I dunno, I just get the feel that as someone who’s been alone for a LONG while, without any real positive interactions with people or older figures… Isaac’s just in a kind of generally moody, angsty sort of headspace akin to an angsty teenager, obviously unreasonable in some regards, but not truly, his feelings are valid and you can tell that by the end of the day, he just wants to be left alone and in peace.

           So it feels really sweet to have Isaac actually like- Talk to an older figure who for once is acting as a mentor, passing on some real wisdom and guidance. The Captain can tell that Isaac needs someone to help him through what is a VERY confusing part of his life, a part that will decide a lot for him –again, like a teenager- and he’s very patiently and considerately advising Isaac; But at the same time, he’s not condescendingly lecturing him either. The Captain shows Isaac a lot of respect and consideration, and is both talking to him as an equal, but also as a mentor if that makes sense.

           And to me, that’s just really nice and heartwarming to watch, because with Dracula also in mind, I’m lowkey getting the impression of Isaac as this like; Jaded youth who secretly yearns for approval by someone for once, we can kind of see this from his abuser in the flashback. 

          Isaac hasn’t quite completely gotten over this, but with the Captain, Isaac can finally get that validation and support that he really needs and craves from an older figure, in a way that isn’t toxic and unhealthy. And I love Dracula and I will always applaud his decision to save Isaac’s life at the end of Season 2, how THAT led to Isaac learning to live for himself, I will forever love that moment even more from now on;

           But I think Dracula and I can both agree that he’s not, like. The healthiest role model nor person for Isaac to look up to, nor dedicate himself towards. Really, nobody is the healthiest person for Isaac to dedicate himself towards, he needs to live for himself after all! So it really was for the best that Isaac had himself cut off from that sort of toxic dependency; Dracula is an ENORMOUS step-up from Isaac’s abuser, sure, but he still represented Isaac’s refusal to really value himself, only just in relation to others.

           Anyhow, I really appreciate that talk where Isaac low-key finds a bit of a Father Figure in the Captain. Maybe I’m just protecting a little, but I found it very endearing how the Captain talks directly to Isaac as a person, in many ways he’s kind of firm and fair, but in a way that shows that he actually CARES about Isaac, and not that he’s just trying to get his own way. 

          Like, the Captain is interested in seeing Isaac prosper, but he’s not toxically dedicating himself to Isaac, the way Isaac would’ve done to Dracula’s memory; And that ability to help others and invest in them, while still being yourself, was no doubt enlightening for Isaac.

           Just… that side-eye glance of Isaac’s bear the end, actually stopping to think and consider, when the Captain tells him that hey, you can be a ruler! An almost endearing kind of immature desire to deny this in a rather “It’s not a PHASE” type of way, but it is in fact clearly getting to him, whether he likes to admit or not, and it’s kind of flustering Isaac. When the Captain gives him no shit but still treats him like a person. In general, all of Isaac’s interactions in Season 3 came from older figures who were a lot more experienced than him, which I think just adds to this idea that… 

          He really is kind of young and inexperienced in a lot of ways. And he really needs some second opinions to surround himself with, perspectives that are at times differing; Which I think is a neat contrast with Carmilla, who mostly relies on an echo chamber of her sisters and isn’t very receptive to different opinions.

           But yeah, Isaac is an utter mood, basically a moody, edgy teenager, who just needs some love and cherishing, some real mentorship and guidance, provided with actual respect and consideration, so he can get through what is an incredibly confusing AND formative period of his life. 

          It makes me all the more happy that it turns out for the best for him, and I really want to see a fic where like; Him and Hector encounter Dracula and Lisa, with all four on healthier terms, and Dracula’s sort of joy at seeing his other two sons being happy and living for themselves like he’d hoped- While Hector and Isaac are lowkey like, “See Dad! See how we’ve really become our own person, isn’t that really cool?” In that sort of excited, endearing way where they show a lot of respect and admiration, and place a lot of faith and trust in Vlad’s opinion. 

          Because even if they aren’t dependent on Dracula’s opinion, it’s still nice to see him validated and swell with pride, to actually see his Forge Masters get along as he’d always hoped. Like a sort of Coming of Age moment where they happily reflect on how much they’ve grown, to people who’d really respect and appreciate it, telling them that hey, your love for me, it paid off- It really meant a lot and I’m happy to tell the both of us that it wasn’t for nothing, it really meant SO much to me and helped, thank you!

           It’s just… Really endearing how we can see Isaac comfortably, in a safe space and level of interaction that isn’t plagued by threat nor violence; Afford to get snappy with someone else, like he can actually express his feelings at the Captain, but he doesn’t have to worry about holding himself to a subordinate level like with Dracula. Isaac can just be himself without having to constantly brace himself for the possibility of conflict or bloodshed, he can just comfortably exist in this space with a stranger and actually, fully, talk with someone who he feels actually gets and understands him on some level.

          Isaac is in a good environment where he can just let himself out, and it’s incredibly refreshing to watch- It was no doubt extremely cathartic to Isaac, I imagine. And it really stands to show that just as Lisa advised Dracula, traveling around the world really can be good for your health, for opening your mind and worldview; So it’s sweet to see that Dracula ended up passing on and applying Lisa’s wisdom to his low-key son, and that wisdom DID end up working out for him in the end! Thanks, Lisa.

         Now I can only imagine Isaac talking to Lisa about this and feeling really grateful, because she ended up inspiring HIM as well… And Lisa just looks wryly at Dracula like, Oh so you DID take my advice, and not only that, passed it onto others as well?

         And THAT just makes me imagine an older Isaac who continues the cycle of not abuse, but growth and guidance, who sees himself later on in another angry youth who reminds him a lot of himself, and then guides them to be more constructive- Because believe it or not, this wise King DOES understand what it’s like.

         He chuckles to himself when he realizes how the tables have turned, how HE’s the one giving The Talk to some kid, and he kindly, nostalgically, gratefully reflects on the Captain’s wisdom, and how it lives on through him and now this youth. Isaac and the kid are not so different and this realization of similarity and common ground just helps Isaac with accepting that human part of himself, and reaching out compassionately.

         Isaac is joked with and given much-needed fun and levity, while still taken seriously and respected as an individual; And I’m sure it means a lot to him, not that he fully realizes it yet. The Captain really expresses faith and belief in Isaac to grow up and support others through his own wisdom, the Captain sees himself in Isaac and that’s really fascinating- How this stranger is acting on this empathy to talk to Isaac and relate to him, to humanize him as a person for once. And it’s kind of shocking for Isaac to realize that others can actually relate to and see themselves in him, this alleged ‘monster’ and ‘thing’.

         It’s just neat to see an older figure express belief and expectation in Isaac to be something good because he thinks the best of him, rather than Isaac dedicating his belief to someone else, and it kind of inspires and incentivizes Isaac to do better with his life. That maybe he CAN grow and this isn’t the end for him, and one day teach others- Because maybe he DOES have something valuable to offer! The Captain recognizes Isaac as someone with potential and growth, and the ability to nurture and be positive, and I love that. 

         Especially with how Isaac dedicates himself to Dracula and his ‘wisdom of ages’, only for the Captain to turn around and suggest that Isaac himself has his own knowledge worth passing on, and that’s more than enough reason for Isaac to live for himself, then. It’s very nice to see Isaac lowkey latch onto a positive authority figure and actually be emotionally rewarded for it like he needs and deserves. And it’s even sweeter how Isaac leaves the Captain with an amicable farewell wave, and even AFTER an immediate negative experience, Isaac still decides to do better, showing that his lessons really can apply and retain underneath hardship.

         Isaac is challenged but in a healthy way that he can actually engage with and really apply himself towards, because he is a very clever person, he’s allowed to think and be rewarded for it. And it makes it all the more interesting how Isaac in Season 4 does see himself as a holy figure in a sense, not necessarily out of arrogance I feel, but from a real understanding that he’s worth a lot himself. And now Isaac can embrace happily his own self-value and what he has to offer, and his ability to do good, that maybe he ISN’T a monster but in some ways a hero, imagine that!

           (Actually, maybe Castlevania really IS a Coming-of-Age tale in a sense. Hector and Isaac’s growth are obvious, we know Trevor and Alucard is admittedly kind of emotionally stunted teenagers who learn to open up and trust, and even Sypha has her moments where she sees how the world can really suck –like the end of Season 3- before deciding for herself to have agency and initiative, and not be a bit player in someone else’s story regardless, in addition to openly defying some Speaker traditions like a rebellious teenager, because good for her! A narrative about really learning to take initiative and control of your own story, to live life for yourself, DOES seem very Coming-of-Age now does it?)

#castlevania #castlevania netflix #castlevania isaac #isaac laforeze #meta #character analysis #ramblings

[rosierocks30]

Hidden series Ch.22

Chapter 22: The Legendary of the Infinity Stones

(Gilbert)

Most of the day since Nathaniel had come home was dull. He had to spend time with Nathaniel with the queen. It was absurd how much he had to put effort in getting his old lover’s attention while Queen Historia who doesn’t try and received more attention. Luckily, he has a plan to make this blonde whore fall from Nathaniel’s grace. Few of the templars who were only loyal to Alexander had discovered the culprits of Levi’s escape. Oh this made him grin in joy when it was Historia and also Zeke’s younger brother, Eren Jaeger. He had already informed Alexander about Historia and Eren involved in Levi’s escape. 

Since a month had happened both Alexander and Gilbert were planning and waiting for the right time to execute the plan. At this moment, Gilly is about to meet Zeke Jaeger, the current leader of the Jaegerist. He wondered how Zeke would take in his little brother’s betrayal? Even though Eren was known to be one of the dangerous titan shifters, he was too overhead on his heels for the handmaiden. It’s such a shame he was not into men. Gilly had always wondered how good was he in bed? He heard so much of it from that other whore, Belia. It got him curious but annoyed at the same time. 

Gilbert quietly knocked on the door and heard Zeke’s voice for him to enter. He opened the door to enter the room and saw only Zeke and Yelena. They probably were having a deep conversation. “Good evening, Gilbert! What brings you here? Please have a seat.” Zeke politely greeted the other man. Yelena guides Gilly to a chair then goes to pour whiskey for all three of them. She handed one to Gilbert then to Zeke.

“I hope I’m not interrupting both of you. I do have a message from the Grandmaster that I think you want to know.” Gilbert said that this had Zeke and Yelena interested. 

“Oh really? What message does the Grandmaster have for me?” Zeke took a sip on his glass of whiskey. 

“He believes it’s time to have a new King since Nathaniel hadn’t kept his bargain of the deal to keep his crown by letting one of our most valuable assets escape.” Gilbert said. 

Zeke thought about it for a moment. “You mean about that monster Levi Ackerman escapee? I was disappointed when I heard Captain Levi had escaped.” 

“Yes, we all are. So, the Grandmaster and I have thought of putting the rightful ruler to the throne.” Gilbert kept talking. 

“Is Historia gaining her full power to rule? That’s very bold for the Grandmaster to assume she will comply.” Zeke had his brow raised in curiosity. 

“I did say a king not a queen. We believe you are the perfect choice. Think about it? You being a ruler will help your group strengthen the support of the people of this island. And you at one point used to be part of Marley’s military. With that knowledge, you can command a new military who will do anything to fight against Marley. The people will glorify you as their savior instead of your little brother who's nobody.” Gilly resumed.  

“I would be careful how you talk about my younger brother if I were you. He may be a hothead sometimes but this group would not exist if it weren’t for him!” Zeke glared at Gilbert for the way he disrespected his little brother. 

“My apologies for offending you. It just saddens me how you care and love your brother so much and yet it doesn’t seem like he does based on his actions.”  Gilbert coaxed Zeke as the other titan shifter paused for a second in confusion. 

“What is the meaning of this, Gilbert?” Yelena had intervened when she looked at Zeke’s expression with a doubt. 

“What I’m trying to say is that Eren Jaeger along with Queen Historia had conspired together to make sure Levi Ackerman was able to escape.” He finally pulled the trigger and waited for both of them to react. 

“Wait what? So Eren was the one to let Levi escape?” Yelena said in shock. 

“Yes, and I have evidence. What nobody knew but only very small members of the inner circle of the Grandmaster about there are small spy cameras installed in the palace. Week by week, they had tracked the queen’s and Eren’s movements. They had allied together to free Subject 18. We have videos.” Gilbert had his phone and showed the video evidence of Eren and Historia meeting together then it showed another scene of Historia meeting Levi in secret in the dungeon. Then it showed how Eren had helped Levi escape from the castle.

Zeke felt hurt by his little brother’s betrayal. So much rage surged inside him. Of course, he had to be calm and clear minded for now. 

“I see, this is disappointing.” Zeke said. 

“I know this truth is hurting you but you must know this.” Gilbert said. 

“He is stupid for being reckless especially it can endanger his new little family. Alright like my father, putting his personal agenda first than his family’s safety. I was alright growing fond of my soon to be sister-in-law. I have no choice but to end her life along with my potential nephew or niece that she’s carrying.” Zeke sighed. 

“I’m afraid you are not allowed to harm the handmaiden for now. She has something that the Grandmaster had been searching for years.” Gilbert said. 

“Oh? Like what?” Zeke was curious again. 

“The infinity stones. They are real and she is the wielder of all six. So if you accept our offer, you can help your dreams come true.” Gilly continued. 

“What will you do about Eren and Historia? And how will you dethrone Nathaniel?” Zeke was now intrigued. 

“With Eren being connected to the Path and Ymir, he will be difficult to get rid of. As for Historia and Nathan; I will expose this secret of her being responsible for Levi escaping and probably the king will lose his interest in her and execute her which will make the people rise up and dethrone him then place you as king. What do you say?” Gilbert said.

At first Zeke thought about it. “I see as long as I get to deal with my brother. So tell the grandmaster I accept his proposal as king.” The Beast Titan shifter shook Gilbert’s hand while Gilbert smirked in victory of phase 1. 

“We have a deal then.” Gilbert said victoriously. 

(Historia)

Shit. It’s like the day of the wedding with Nathan again. She was in her room waiting for Nathan. Naked and alone. He had told her to be ready for him at night. 

Don’t let your fear show to anyone Historia..

The queen heard Ymir’s voice again. She had been quiet for a while. “I can’t help it...the thought of him touching me again is just too much for me.” The blonde woman whispered. 

My Krista, I wish I was there to protect you and hold you like when we were in the scouts..

“Same...I do think about what would happen if you were still alive. I read your letter and if you were still alive, I would have married even with the short time you have before the curse takes you away from this fucked up world…” Historia felt a small tear slipped from her ocean blue eye. 

But you shouldn’t feel regret in any decision that you made before. You have now Levi and your son, Atticus. Think of both of them when fear consumes you. You’re not giving yourself some credit of how strong and capable you are in fucked up situations.  

“Atticus? My little boy...I missed him so much. I envied Sasha for raising him, which I should be the one.” Historia had always thought of her baby boy. For being Levi and Historia’s son, he wasn’t a tiny baby. Her hand wiped the tears off. She must endure these acts for their sake. Levi was caught once. She will have to be stronger and not be a burden to cause more misfortune. A queen can make many moves and has a chance to win this twist game in politics. 

Suddenly, the doors opened and Historia glanced to see Nathaniel entering the room. The usurper noticed his wife was ready for him. 

“I see you have been waiting for me, my wife.” Nathaniel smirked. Historia felt the urge to slap his smirking face, but she was composed. 

The beautiful golden haired queen got up from the bed then let the white sheets fall on the floor to reveal her nude body. Nathaniel walked towards her and caressed his fingers on her soft creamy fair skin. 

“Would you believe me if I say I have missed you?” Historia was not expecting his words. She knew he had hated her for many reasons but that feeling is mutual too. This does not make sense. She felt his lips on her neck slowly traveling down to her collarbone. No matter how hard she tries to enjoy it for her mental sake, these lips are not her true husband. Levi had always made her crave more. Her thoughts drifted to remembering their first time together. It was a grieving night for everyone from the betrayal of Reiner, Bertholdt, and Ymir. From feeling lonely and grief, both Historia and Levi had blossomed into a prue love.

“Historia, you are beautiful like your sister, Freida.” He muttered. 

Historia glanced then took a step back from him. “How do you know my sister?” She whispered.

Nathaniel realized Historia was confused but alert. Maybe it’s the alcohol in him but he felt it’s time for her to know that long ago he was in love and engaged with Freida. He sighed and went to sit on the bed and pat the mattress for her to sit beside him.

“Come Historia, I think it’s time I tell you about the time I used to be engaged with the woman who was my first love.” He said. Historia was hesitant at first, but she went to sit next to him so he could tell her about her sister. 

(Natasha)

The sky was beautiful with clear blue and white puffy clouds. A little girl with brown hair was plucking out wildflowers at the meadow. She carefully tried not to get her summer dress dirty. Her mother will scold her as today will be an important day. Natasha, her mother, and her baby brother Damon will go visit the palace to see Grandpa and Grandma. Her mother, Morgan Ackerman nee Stark had decided to fly from Hawaii to Paradise Isle two days before planning to see her in-laws. Long ago Atticus bought a private land away from the capital when Morgan became pregnant with Natasha. 

For two days Morgan wanted to have some time to herself with her children. Life as a widow was too heartbreaking for her. She lost the love of her life just when their marriage was still new. This must be how her mother felt when her father died so many years ago. Natasha looked up to see her mother who’s in the cottage cradling her baby brother. The little girl smiled  and resumed plucking out flowers. Her mommy loves flowers. This will make her smile again. Her mommy had a pretty smile. 

It felt so long that little Natasha was surprised her mommy didn’t call her name to go see grandma and grandpa. Maybe mommy had fallen asleep with Damon again? The little girl skipped back home. When she saw the door was opened, Natasha was feeling weary but didn’t think too much into it. She entered and went upstairs. 

“Mommy! I got flowers for you!” She heard no one.

As she got closer, the little girl heard a grunt and whispers. Huh? Who is with her mommy and brother? She slowly pushed the door to open for her to view a gruesome scene. Her silver grey eyes widened in horror to see two men were looking down at her mother who looked frozen from seeing a small body on the floor. There was blood soaking the wooden floor and from the look of these strange men's faces; they were laughing. 

Did they hurt her little brother? Why? Why would they do that?

Her mother finally noticed her and shouted. “Natasha ran! Run to safety!” 

Natasha gasped when another man grabbed her before she had the chance to run away. 

“Oh no you don’t brat.” The man who grabbed her was struggling from her wiggling and kicking to be free. “Noo! Let go! Mommy!” She was calling for mother to save her.  

“YOU PIECES OF SHIT! YOU MONSTERS!” Her mother was screaming and crying from seeing her baby laying on the floor dead. “WHY?! I have told you I don’t have it!” 

“Don’t lie, woman. Your father was the last one to hold all six stones. Our sources say you found it five years ago with that Ackerman prince you married. So, tell us where those stones are and this time your last remaining child.” The sinister leader said. 

“Fuck you. Fuck all of you, Jaegerists! I have told you. I don’t have them anymore. Please, please spare my daughter.” Her cries were heartbreak and full of agony. The worst pain to see your own child being killed. 

“Tell us where was the last time you left it?” The Jaegerist man said. 

Morgan was sobbing as she realized it’s pointless to beg for mercy since she was telling the truth. The stones literally disappeared as she used them to have her first pregnancy to make it to full term to birth a healthy child. Her daughter was the result of it. The one wielding the power of the six stones. They must not know the truth. These monsters will do anything to get the stones. The leader was losing his patience. 

“Very well. Kill the other brat.” The leader ordered. 

Morgan looked panicked when the other man who held Natasha placed the dragger on her small throat. Slowly, Natasha screamed in fear. 

“Stop! Stop! I will tell you the truth! Please don’t take her away from me too…” The grieving mother begged them. 

“Fine, now tell us.” He gestured to the man to not harm or kill the crying girl. 

“They are inside...me. I absorbed them accidently.” Morgan said. 

“I see and yet you are not unable to use them? What a terrible mother you are being unable to protect her children.?” The man mocked her. Morgan glared up with rage and charged at him with the knife that was used to kill her infant son. 

The man used defense moves to disarm the knife and lock his arms around her neck and pinned her to the floor harshly. “You asked for this, bitch.” 

Everything had gone to hell when Natasha saw the man pinned her mother and now he’s unbuckling his pants while her mother wiggling and screaming so many bad words. Then herding her mother crying and screaming in pain whatever the man was doing to her mother. All she know, that man’s hands with her baby brother’s blood smearing on her mommy. Then the man started to choke her in the process until no cries or screams were heard from her mommy.

Natasha stopped wiggling and whispered. “Mommy…?” She had a devastating expression. 

“Such a shame. She’s dead.” He had finished violating the mother.  The men groaned in disappointment since they wanted to have a turn. 

“Stop being whiny brats. The body is still warm enough to have fun.” The leader said then chuckled. 

Natasha felt her world became dark. Rage, sorrow, and feeling useless consumed her. A faint whisper was heard from her ear. 

Take your ravenge...they have spilled blood now; they must pay for it…

Who was that? Natasha said mentally. She could hear the same voice again. 

Use it..use your gifts form the stones they so eager to have…

Mommy had made me promise not to use it.

I’m sorry sweetheart but you must break your mommy’s promise...look what they have done to her and your baby brother? They must pay. You are an Ackerman and Ackermans must do whatever it takes to protect and survive. The least you can do is honor your mother, child…

You didn’t answer my question. Natasha said in her thoughts. 

My apologies, I’m you...well the titan in you. Awaken first and let me and the power of infinity stones handle the rest…

Natasha snapped back to reality to glare at these awful men. “You will pay for it!” 

Now the men started to laugh at the little girl’s threat. “Oh, she has fire in her. Men just end her so we can leave.” The leader said. 

Suddenly a rush of electricity spread inside her as some unfamiliar power burst out. She now felt stronger and aware how to fight. The little girl let out a roar while using that strength to bring the man down to the ground surprisingly. The rest of the men were shocked to see a small girl was able to throw a full grown man onto the ground. Then she grabbed the knife the man was holding to stab repeatedly on his chest. Blood spilled everywhere while hearing the man screaming from the pain. All he could see was glowing silver eyes until he died. 

Natasha dropped the bloody knife and turned herself to glance at the rest of the men. The men looked so scared and ran to try to leave the cottage. 

“Where do you think you are going huh?” Natasha’s voice was distant but not like a human. With the power, she made the door closed and locked from the room so they wouldn't escape. The men tried to open the door. 

“I just want to play a little game.” With her glowing hands, she made them lift up into the air without touching them and threw them to the wall for them to crash roughly. 

“Please, please! Don’t hurt us. Have mercy..” Her hearing those words from their mouth had enraged her. “Mercy? Where was that mercy when my mother begged you not to harm my baby brother. Where was your mercy when you hurt her and killed her?! You deserve no mercy.” 

Natasha slowly crushed their insides into liquid and watched how they coughed out blood. Now they look like a blob with human skin. She hadn't noticed the wind was causing it while she flew above ground. Little by little, she started to get back in control and saw what she had done. Her reaction was dizziness as darkness took over her and slumped down to the ground. 

Night time had arrived when Natasha woke up. The cottage was dark but only the moonlight shined down the room to see blood all over the walls, floor, and furniture. Slowly, she got up and went to her mother’s body hoping she’s still alive. Her tiny hands shook the corpse but no response. 

“Mommy, please wake up. We’ll be late…” her tears falling seeing no life in her mother’s once brown eyes. She let out an agony scream until the house phone rang. The little girl could hear it from downstairs in the living room. She quickly ran downstairs and picked up the phone. 

“Hello? Who is this?” Her sniffles were loud enough a familiar voice was able to hear. 

“Natasha? Is your mother there? Why are you crying?” Her grandfather Levi called. 

“I-I..grandpa!” She cried. 

“Hey kiddo, calm down. Tell me what's wrong?” Levi was trying to calm his granddaughter. 

“M-mommy...they...kill her...and Damon too….I’m scared. Please come get me..” She was still sobbing. 

It was quiet on the other side of the phone; only heavy breathing was heard. Then a growl of anger and a punch sound was heard. 

“Honey, who was it that killed your mother...and Damon.” Levi’s voice felt like they were about to break. He and Historia had lost their son, Atticus a year ago, now two members of their family were killed. 

“I think...they were called Jaegerists? I don’t know. Please I’m scared..come.” She begged. 

“Natasha, it's going to be ok. I want to stay inside the cottage and don’t open the door to anyone besides me and your uncle. We’re going to get the military police to investigate. Can you do that, soldier?” Levi uses his affectionate tone while giving her an order. Whenever she visited her grandparents, Grandpa Levi played soldiers for fun. He sometimes teaches her some moves to protect herself. 

“Y-yes Captain Grandpa.” She sniffled. 

“Good girl, stay there. We’ll get there in half an hour.” With that, he hung up. 

Natasha goes lay on the couch to wait for her grandfather. She began to chant to herself to calm down. As he had promised, a half hour had passed. A knock was heard but she was quiet. 

“Natasha? It’s Grandpa. Open the door, kiddo.” She sprinted up and ran to unlock the door and open it. In her view, Levi and behind him were several military police men and Uncle Erwin. The little girl jumped at her grandfather to hug him tightly. He instantly held her and carried her. 

“Shhh it’s ok. I’m here.” He whispered to comfort her. Levi entered the cottage with her holding onto him. He was grateful that she survived. 

The police made their way into the cottage and explored all over the cottage. Her Uncle Erwin was beside his father. “Natasha, where are the bodies? Can you show us?” 

She nodded and pointed them upstairs, they went and reached Damon's nursery room to see a bloodbath nightmare. 

“Oh fuck. What a mess…” Levi glanced at each body and spotted his infant grandson’s corpse then his daughter-in-law’s. What is he going to tell his wife about this tragedy? And Pepper...too. 

(Eren)

The green eyed titan shifter was dabbing a cold wet cloth on his lover’s forehead. He stared at the woman he loves while his hand caressing her hair. Eren was in disbelief at what he saw earlier with Natasha. She is full of surprises. The Eldian man got up and started making tea in case his fiancée woke up. 

“Damn it, Natasha...you literally will be the death of me.” He sighed while turning on the stove to have the kettle pot boiling for tea. 

He was stuck in contemplating other matters when a soft groan was heard. This got his attention. He glanced on the couch to see Natasha waking up. Eren went to be by her side. 

“Hey…” It’s the first word she had said to him since the incident. He took her hand to gently kiss. 

“How are you feeling, babe?” He asked with concern. 

“I feel...like being hit against the wall.” She chuckled lightly and carefully tried to sit up. Eren stopped her so he could help her without struggling. 

“Luckily I got a special tea just for that.” He smiled then got up as the kettle began to make a whistle sound. 

Eren goes to turn off the stove. He poured the hot water into two mugs. The tea bags were already in the mugs as he poured the water. Carefully, he holds the handles to carry the mugs to the couch. Natasha watched the way he had prepared the tea. By the time she received her tea mug, she had enough strength to sit better. The heiress took a sip of her tea. 

“It’s not green tea?” She was a bit disappointed. 

“Doctor recommended not to let you consume caffeine while you're pregnant.” Eren informed her. 

“Wait, is this ginger root tea?” She sipped again. The taste was familiar with earthy and spicy all in one. The Burnette loved ginger root tea especially with lemon to add the zesty flavor. 

“Yeah, it’s good for you and safe for the baby.” Eren said while sipping his tea. 

“I hope there will be more because I love ginger.” She gulped down her tea. 

“Natasha, don’t drink too fast.” He warned her. 

“Alright, alright. Any medical advice Dr. Jaeger?” She smirked. 

“Dr. Jaeger is my dad.” He scoffed. 

“Yes, but I can see you being one too. Imagine you wearing a white uniform coat or blue scrubs. I think it looks sexy on you.” Her hands rub on his chest. Usually he would respond to her flirty actions but right now it’s not appropriate. He had seen her use so much power and it almost drained her energy. If he hadn’t been there to try to calm her down, the situation would have gotten worse. 

Eren sighed in disappointment and grabbed her hands gently to remove them from his chest. “Natasha, you have a lot of explaining to do. What was that earlier that you just did? It nearly drained your energy. You were unconscious since the incident. Fuck, I was scared for you. I just need you to be honest to me. What other surprises do you have?” He ranted. 

Natasha was biting her lips nervously. This is where she needs to tell him what he saw was not what she had wanted anyone to know for many reasons. One of them is being used as a weapon by others. The American heiress placed her mug on the table stand. 

“I don’t know where to start...this isn’t easy for me to tell anyone about my powers.” She said. 

“You can start on how you got them.” Eren looked at her. 

“I was born with them, but I don’t remember much of what my mother had told me long ago.” She paused as she was trying to remember the conversation with her mother on keeping her gifts a secret to everyone. 

“Is it genetic?” He was concerned. If it was, there’s a chance their unborn child will inherit. It would put any of his children with Natasha into a dangerous situation. 

“I don’t know. This had never happened to any wielder. It was one of the reasons why I joined a secret organization to help me know more about it and be in control. All I knew was that these stones inside me had killed my late grandfather, Tony Stark.” She began to explain. 

“I see. So, no one knows about the stones besides me?” He asked. 

“My grandmother from my mom’s side, Director Maria Hill who’s in charge of the organization I joined and now you. I don’t tell anyone about it so please can you not tell anyone?” She gave him a pleading look. 

“Hey of course I won’t tell. Your secrets are mine now. I will not let anyone hurt you if they know the truth. I’m here for you, Natasha.” He wrapped his arms around her to reassure her that her secret is safe with him. 

“Thank you..” She was grateful of having her secret being kept for good. 

Eren was about to say something when her stomach made a loud growl. He saw how she blushed embarrassedly. He chuckled at how cute she looked.

“You haven’t eaten at all today. Tell me what you're craving and I’ll make whatever you want.” Eren offered to make something for her. 

“Hmm...I am craving a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup?” Natasha glanced at him.

“You got it, rest here while I make what you request.” Eren smiled then kissed her forehead. He went to the kitchen to start making food. 

Natasha watched Eren cooking from the couch. She had thought if it’s time to tell him the cause of her PTSD. She was lost in her thoughts when Eren was calling her name.

“Natasha, I got your soup and your grilled cheese.” Eren had already placed the tray of soup and grilled cheese on the coffee table. He sat on the couch next to her. His hand grabbed the bowl and spoon to help feed her. She was reluctant at first but let him feed her. 

She moaned from having tomato soup in her stomach. Her eyes glanced at the delicious melting grilled cheese sandwich. Eren noticed where her eyes lingered and chuckled form the way she stared. 

“This is why you can’t skip meals, my love.” He placed the bowl down on the table to grab the sandwich and let her bite down as the cheese stretched. 

Natasha just made a grunt sound from having her mouth full from the grilled cheese. Her finger pointed to the bowel to have something to help her swallow down her food. Eren switched the sandwich to the soup and watched her slurp the soup. 

“Thanks my love. Seriously, you have magic hands whenever you cook. Did you learn from your mom as a boy or was it on your own?” She gleaned into his rich emerald green eyes. 

“I learnt just the basics from her, but mostly from during my time in the military.” Eren was a bit quiet from hearing the mention of his mother. His memories as a boy gave him a nostalgic feeling. His mother did teach him how to make soups, and sandwiches including grilled cheeses. He missed her so much. 

“Hey...I’m sorry about our fight at the clinic. You were right. I wanted to forgive you and move on, but that pain was still there...I wasn’t being honest to you or myself.” Out of the blue, Natasha decided to  apologize for her behavior towards him. 

“Shhh it’s fine. I knew deep down what I did to you will take a long time for you to heal and forgive me completely.” He said.

“Um also...I think I’m ready to talk about my mother’s death..” She struggled to let it out in sentences. 

“Babe, you don’t have to…” Eren gently grabbed her hand to kiss it softly.

“But this is important...it’s mainly the reason why I struggled to control my powers. My past has always haunted me where my pain and emotions get out of control and create chaos. I don’t want to end up hurting an innocent.” She glanced at him and hoped he let her talk about her past.

Eren sighed but nodded. “Alright if you’re really ready, I’ll listen to you.” He gave her a warmth smile. 

Natasha smiled back and began to speak. She started every beginning of the summer, her parents and her had always visited Paradise Isle to spend time with her grandparents. When she was 4, her mother decided to go to the cottage that her father had built for my mother as when she was pregnant with Natasha. What she could remember was being in the meadows to pick at the flowers and smell them. She had collected a few for her mother and went back to the cottage. What she had seen was blood spread on the floor in her baby brother’s room. A small body laying in the pool of blood. Her mother’s face went pale than glared at the men who were responsible. Her mother yelled and screamed at them but all they did was laugh and it got to the point where it led Natasha to seeing red for what they did to baby brother than later witnessing her mother being raped. A child should never have witnessed such a gruesome scene. Then all she remembered was blackout until she woke up to see what she had done to these filthy men. She had heard a ring in the living room and went downstairs to pick it up and it was Levi who was concerned when they would come to visit them. She had explained what had happened and quickly her grandfather hung up to go to the cottage.

“So yeah...he brought the police and they were horrific from the scene. I told them what they have done and I torture them until their bones and organs were melted. They looked like a blobfish out of water, but they probably thought it was my Ackerman gene that killed them. I mean I was awoken on that day too but mostly the power of the stones did the damage.” She had stopped to see the way Eren was trying to compose himself. His knuckles were white from how his fists tightened. 

“Do you know who were those men that did these awful acts on your mother and baby brother? Why did they do it?” Eren’s voice was cracking from feeling angry and disgusted by what these men have done to her and her family.

“What I heard from my mother before she was killed; they were…” She doesn’t know how Eren would act if he knew these men are part of the Jaegerist faction. Her grandmother, Queen Historia had been slowly gaining back her power throughout the years and she had restricted them until the Jaegerists had lost their power seat in Paradise Isle.  

“You can tell me, Natasha.” He slowly calmed down for her sake. 

“I don’t think you would like it if you knew who they were.” She said cautiously. 

“Why? Don’t tell me it’s related to me?” Eren felt his heart beating fast as he became afraid of her answer.

“Y-yes...but I know it’s not you. It’s never you nor your brother since he's been dead for a long time. They belong to the Jaegerist. I don’t know who was the real leader during that time when I was a small child.” She felt Eren got up quickly. All she heard was an angry growl and a punch to the wall. 

Natasha looked up to see he made a hole. She got up from the couch and slowly walked towards him. “Listen Eren, this is not your fault-” 

Eren turned around to face her quickly. “Of course it is! I made the Jaegerists. I caused the revolution for Eldia not to fucking brutally kill an infant and raped then kill a mother. They stole your childhood away and yet I was not able to be there to prevent that. Was I there to protect you?” 

“No, I haven't met you yet. Eren, I told you. This is not your fault. You didn’t kill them. You didn’t send them to kill my family.” She placed her hands on his cheeks. “I know what type of man you are and what you're capable of doing but you are not a monster. They are my love.” 

Eren’s tears fall from the guilt. If he knew his followers would cause this kind of trouble, he would’ve not made Jaegerists. He was surprised that the Path didn’t let him access Natasha's timeline. He will need to have a talk with the Founder Ymir. 

“But my name. My family’s name is tainted by causing pain to the mother-in-law I wouldn’t ever get to meet or your little brother.” What bothers him  the most is when his child is born, how will he look at him or her without guilt.

“You shouldn’t feel guilty. They should feel the guilt for what their action had done to my family. I will not let those fucking Jaegerists take my happiness too by having the love of my life feeling the guilt and burden of their crime!” She could feel her body shaking with hatred from thinking about the Jaegerists. 

“You really do hate them huh?” Eren said. 

“I do. They took almost everything from me. My mother, brother, my birthright. I was supposed to be My grandmother’s heir but few Jaegerists who are still in power were prevented by passing a law to take my title I was born with and the line to succession. I am tired of the way they ruled over the government far too long and my family had to pay the price. I’m glad times are changing in the future era because my generation has been protesting to give my grandmother’s power seat full control. I only go visit Paradise because my father’s family lives there. Kuchel had been studying overseas to become a diplomat to best handle the government to help her family to survive there. The aftermath of the three Jaegerist’s acts of crime, the police had to cover the truth. I was angry and furious. My grandparents had to shut me up for my sake. So I had to play the fucked up heiress who sleeps with strangers and parties and drinks into my misery.” She finally calmed down from her outburst. 

“It was not meant to be like the last government was before the uprising. I did it so the Eldians can open their eyes to know the truth and not live in some delusional lifestyle where we’re the last humans on this planet and these fucking walls are our life support. I can’t believe it fires back at my ideology.” He took a deep breath and joined Natasha to sit beside her. 

“So what do they want from your mother? There must be a reason they went to your cottage on that day?” He resumed.

“They wanted the stones. My mom is the daughter of the late Tony Stark. He was the last person that used it to save the earth’s population from an alien invader, Thanos. She didn’t tell them that I have them in my body, instead she told them she had them inside her...to protect me.” Her lips quivered as tears fell. All Eren could do was hold her and comfort her.  

“I won’t let the Jaegerists get you and our baby. If they or anyone tries to hurt my family; I will personally shed their blood like a river.” His tone was dark. This is one of the promises he will keep. 

He needed her. His Eve. His soulmate. His freedom. 

(Natasha) 

The following morning both of them had woken up early to go back to the palace. At first, Eren was reluctant to let Natasha go back to work from yesterday's incident. She had to persuade him that she was better now. They entered the palace and looked at each other before they departed for their duties. 

“Let me know if you don’t feel well. I’ll pick you up.” Eren said while she nodded. 

“I promise I will. Now go before your annoying brother comes to find you. I’m not in the mood to greet him.” Natasha said. 

“Alright, but I will see you later.” He gave her a kiss on her forehead. 

“Yeah, I’ll see you later.” She smiled back while embracing his kiss on her forehead. 

She had watched him leave, then went to Queen Historia’s chamber to start her work. Later as half of the day reached, Natasha finished her morning chores. It’s lunch hour so she will wait for Eren to come by to get her to go eat. The brunette heiress was about to go inside the Queen’s chamber to grab her stuff. 

“Ms. Potts, is the queen busy with an audience?” Yelena walked towards her. Natasha turned to see the stoic woman. 

“Hey Yelena. Um, I think she is at the moment since she left in the morning to a bunch of meetings with the high ranking ladies, after lunch I will let her know you stopped by to have an audience with her.” Natasha said. 

“I see. Then after lunch it is. Are you on your way to lunch?” Yelena asked her. 

“Yes, but I’m waiting for Eren to come. You know how protective he has become lately.” Natasha chuckled. 

“Yes, Eren will be a great father and husband too. SPeaking of husband, when will you two be wed?” This threw Natasha off guard. 

“I don’t know. We haven’t picked a wedding date yet. Maybe after our baby is born?” From so many events had happened, it didn’t accrue to her or Eren to pick a date to be married. Only thing Eren ever mentioned was he just wanted to get married now and be his wife. She forgot the culture and society in this island was way different than most modern societies. Maybe she will give a date for the wedding before their child is born even though it's ridiculous to wed so rushly because society will label their baby an unwed bastard. Oh well, she’s just doing this for Eren. 

“I’m sure Zeke and I can offer help for the wedding to happen as soon as possible. Queen Historia adores you. I’m sure she’ll happily help too.” The female Jaegerist said. 

“Thank you, I’ll have a talk with Eren about your offer.” Natasha finds it suspicious that Yelena all of the sudden decided to talk to her so casually.

“Oh I forgot to mention, but Eren would be busy during lunch. He sent me a message to let you know he’ll see you later after work.” Yelena said as she noticed the way Natasha became disinterested and was about to leave.  

“Really? He said that, huh?” Natasha sighed and felt a bit sad that her fiance will not be able to have lunch with her today. 

“Of course. If you want, you can have lunch with me. I might have to come back here later anyways.” Yelena offered. 

“I guess having lunch with you is better than eating alone. Shall we head to eat then?” Natasha gave in and walked with Yelena. 

They went to the hall where most of the staff, Jaegerists members, lower ranks Templars have their meals. It’s basically a cafeteria to her but one day it will be one in the future. She preferred to have lunch outside of the palace since drama had always come to find her. As her pregnancy started to show, few people who had annoyed her before avoided her. Especially, her relationship with Eren was public so they don’t want to be on Eren’s bad side. Oh my god, she was so embarrassed the way he announced everyone the day after the ball. She remembered how her face was red and dying the need to hide herself. If she was in control of the situation then she wouldn’t feel embarrassed. 

As for today, many people stared while walking through the aisle of tables to go wait in line for a meal with Yelena. This felt like her high school days where she was always the center of attention. Being the heiress of Stark Industries and the family’s fortunate, the public was always eyeing on her. It gets too much when she needs her privacy. Once they got their meal, both Yelena and Natasha sat on an empty table. 

“Eat Ms. Potts. The child will need his or her strength.” Yelena gave a smile and began to eat her meal.  

“You can just call me, Eve. I felt like those ladies during the Regency Era.” Natasha said while putting her meat. 

“Very well, Eve.” Yelena said politely. 

 The rest of the meal hour, they were silent while eating. They barely had small talks which bugs Natasha. Maybe having lunch on her own would have been better? They finally finished their meals and Yelena spoke again. 

“It’s almost over lunch, would you be alright if we take a detour? I need to drop off a letter to one of the members in their office.” Yelena waved an envelope letter towards her. 

“Yeah, we got time before the Queen expected me to be back to serve her.” She said. Natasha got up to grab her tray. 

“Good.” The other woman got up as well and took her tray. 

Both women place the tray with empty dishes into a bin where kitchen staff pick up to wash them later. They walked out of the hall in silence. The detour walk was a bit long until slowly it got dim further away than the hallways Natasha was familiar with. She started to feel anxiety. 

“Yelena, are you sure this is where the office leads?” She was getting a bit worried. 

“Yes, I have come here a lot. There are some offices further down.” Yelena said casually. 

“I see…” Maybe Natasha was just feeling a bit sick again. The meat was a bit heavy for her. 

“We’re almost there.” The other woman said. 

As they walked further, Natasha was getting frustrated as her feet were killing her. She stopped to take a small break. 

“Sorry I am going to need a minute.” She begin to panting. 

Suddenly, a hand was placed on her mouth to keep her silent. Natasha panicked and wiggled to free herself. Before she can use her Ackerman strength, she feels something poke on her neck and slowly sees the view blurry. She saw Yelena with a smirk along with two more people. Where did they come from? Why are they doing this? Shit, did they find out she was one of the spies for the Assassins and the last remaining Paradise military?

“W-what did you do to me, Yelena?” She was struggling to speak. 

“Don’t worry this injection is not titan serum nor will it affect your child. We just need you for our special project. We know you have the stones in you. If we do not keep you until you give birth to the child, we’ll remove them from your body.” Yelena explained. 

“Y-you bitch! Eren will notice. He will-” Natasha felt a slap on her cheek. She glared at all three with hatred. 

“Be good and stay silent. The serum is working. Soon we’ll have you unconscious. Speaking of Eren, Zeke will handle him. Sleep well. Ms. Potts.” Natasha’s view slowly darkens. 

Slowly her eyes began to open. All she saw was white surrounds but there were blue lines glowing. In front of her, there was a holosign doing a countdown. It felt like she was in a virtual game that’s becoming popular in her time. 

Welcome to Animus Project. Name: Natasha Eve Ackerman-Stark. Code: 2467489

Shit. She’s in the Animus machine. They know her true identity. Oh where are you Eren?

New subject. Subject 19. Resuming Arene Ackerman arc. 

Halonus, Eldia Empire 1556

It’s been forever since being knocked out by the king’s guards. Arne lost count being held in the cell. Is Ingrid alright and safe? He wondered about his wife. Arne heard the footsteps coming closer and the keys chain making noises as it unlocked his cell. The guard looked at him. 

“The king had summoned you.” The guard said as he dragged Arne out of the cell. Arne prays to the gods and goddesses to protect his small growing family. 

“What the hell? Where am I? Who are you?” Natasha suddenly sees white but as her vision became clear, there were many people staring at her. Some familiar ones like Zeke, Yelena, Floch. 

“How intriguing. Girl, we should be asking you that. Who are you?” Alexander Di Lorenzo stands before her to observe like she’s some mythical creature. 

“It’s pointless to answer that question when you have me hooked up into an Animus machine.” She with a bitter tone. 

“True, but we wanted to give you the chance to speak, Eveline or should we call you Natasha? Tell me Miss Ackerman? What year are you both?” Alexander said. 

“2041…” She whispered. 

“Just as I expected. Gentleman and ladies. Who would ever think the handmaiden is from the future and even better a direct descendant of Levi Ackerman and Queen Historia. I presume that’s on your father’s side? The infant prince is your father?” Alexander chuckled from seeing how her expression became pale. 

“Go fuck yourself.” She spit on the Grandmaster's face. The templars quickly aimed their gun at her ready for their leader to give command. 

“Lower your guns.” Alexander ordered his men. 

“You’re a hothead woman. It doesn’t matter now. You are the key to my goals. Knock her out again and gather any info since her grandfather decided to escape.” Alexander said. The scientists nodded. 

“Hold up. Alexander, she is pregnant with my brother’s child. My niece or nephew might not make it.” Zeke was concerned. 

“Don’t worry the baby will survive. It’s mother is an Ackerman. We’ll give you the baby as its legal guardian. If the child inherits the gifts, we’ll raise it as our weapon.” Alex smirked. 

Zeke stayed silent, this is what he feared having an innocent being born in this cruel world and will be used as a weapon. He felt conflicted from knowing how his little brother will not hesitate to use The Rumbling on them instead. 

A/N: Ok, this is where I’ll stop until the next chapter. I’ll see you next time.

#attack on titan #assassin's creed #mcu #crossver #fanfic

[itsapapisongo]

A Prince’s Tale | PRELUDE

Offering context, a warning, and setting the tone, the Narrator wishes you to lower your expectations.

Genre: Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy

Word Count: 916

Warning Content: Language

Taglist: @scriptura-delirus​ | @hyuckworld​

M. List (Part I) | M. List (Part II)

ONCE UPON A time, in a far away land, there was a princess—wait, was it a princess?

It could have been a prince. Or a pauper. Or was it a piper? Honestly, these stories tend to start the same way so it’s hard to keep track of which one is which, hard to remember the aesop—no, that’s for fables. What’s the term I’m looking for? Oh, yes, the moral of the story. Then again, I suppose they’re the same fucking thing.

Oh, Good Lord. Did the Narrator just—dramatic gasp—cuss? That did not just happen. Right in front of the kiddos, too. How could they? Once Upon a Time stories are family friendly. Why would I, the Narrator just make this tale all not-safe-for-work and thus family unfriendly?

Why, you may ask? Well, dearest reader, because I can. Besides, I don’t see another bloody Narrator. So I suggest you pipe down, get comfortable, and just go with it.

STOP ME IF you heard this one before:

Once Upon a Time, there was a beautiful princess. She’d been enchanted with magic of a powerful and fearful sort, which could only be broken by love’s first kiss. Locked away in a castle, guarded by a terribly crotchety, fire-breathing dragon, she was kept sequestered from the outside world.

Many brave knights had attempted to free her from this dreadful prison. None prevailed. Thus the beautiful princess waited in the dragon’s keep—stranded in the highest room of the tallest tower, in an ostentatious suite that no one but her had ever lived in—waited for her true love and love’s first kiss.

If you have, then you know the tale of an ogre, a talking donkey, a princess with a secret, and a short king with an inferiority complex. Our story is not that of an ogre who falls in love—though someone will save a princess, battle a dragon, be over their heads, and undoubtedly find true love—so if that’s what you’re expecting, which I hope you’re not, I exhort you to lower your expectations because no Narrator worth their salt can’t possibly fulfill them.

Well, truth be told, it’s not really a matter of can’t. More of a matter of won’t.

Now, without further ado, let’s get this shit-show on the road.

OUR STORY BEGINS in a familiar, if clichéd fashion. 

It goes like this: Once Upon a Time, in a far away land, there was a prince tasked with rescuing a princess. This fair maiden whom he had never met would become his betrothed. If his brothers didn’t take up the throne, she would thus his queen.

Thing was, this prince aspired to be a hero. He dreamed of being a brave, righteous knight that rode across the land and lent his sword and shield to the less fortunate and those aggravated by two-bit thugs, treacherous trolls, deadly dragons, and whoever had the audacity to burn the peoples’ crops, barns, houses, or, if they were petty enough, smack their children around.

From an early age, the prince was made aware that danger and evil roamed the Nation, concealing themselves on every corner and shadow throughout the land. He made it his responsibility to know how to defend himself so that he could defend others. And so it was done because he trained until he was sore and easily wielding a sword was second nature.

You see, the throne scared the prince but going on potentially dangerous adventures didn’t. He was very much aware of the irony and would jest to anyone that would listen that a troll or a dragon were nothing to fear compared to any royal advisor or pompous noblemen. He’d prefer to be out there—riding horses, sleeping in inns or camping on the edge of a forest, being among the common folk—rather than in the palace, among anxious aids and smug sycophants.

His mother, the beloved if unorthodox queen, had been an outdoors kind of lady in her youth. She understood her son’s yearning for a life that rejected the constraints of royalty and instead provided opportunities to thrust oneself into the unknown.

And so when the young prince was told that he was to embark on a high-adventure and rescue a beautiful princess, she gave the prince her blessing and made arrangements—dusted off maps and instructive survivalist tomes, readied horses, sharpened blades, packed clothes and food and healing balms and tonics—for her son to be ready.

It wasn’t surprising to everyone in the palace when the prince prepared himself for a thrilling, if arduous journey to the heart of the Nation.

The prince’s father, the king, wasn’t as accepting as he believed his son’s place was in the palace, learning of proper etiquette, diplomacy, foreign policies, taxes, and how to be profane and sarcastic in a gentlemanly manner. The king relented, however, when he realized he couldn’t keep his youngest son from paving his own path. And though he was the ruler of Han Do Province, he wasn’t a bumbling fool: arguing with his wife was an ever-losing battle and he’d learned bluffing or rebuffing was an utterly useless endeavor.

And so the prince left Han Do Province, accompanied by his trust steed, his best friend, and a bard. He rode at dawn, full of purpose, itching to save the day and pave his own path.

However, he wasn’t expecting two things: not knowing where the princess’ tower was and the exasperated, but handsome knight tailing them.

#the boys #tbz #the boyz fic #the boyz imagines #the boyz scenarios #tbz fic #tbz imagines #tbz scenarios #kevin moon #prince kevin #kevin tbz #tbz kevin #kevin fic #kevin imagines #kevin scenarios #ji changmin #changmin tbz #changmin the boyz #changmin fic #changmin imagines #chanming scenarios #eric sohn #eric tbz #eric the boyz #eric fic #eric imagines #eric scenarios #lee juyeon #juyeon tbz #juyeon the boyz

[hafanforever]

Tyrant Terror

So I know it’s no surprise to my closest friends and fellow Disney fans on Tumblr that I have a strong, deep affinity for villains, including those by Disney. And over the last several months, the more I wrote about King Runeard in my Frozen II analyses, the more I realized what made him a tyrant, albeit a secret one, and that led me to think about other villains in the Disney animated canon who were tyrants.

The thing is, while most historical tyrants were people of royalty, you don’t necessarily have to be a monarch in order to be a tyrant. The definition of a tyrant isn’t limited to being a KING or QUEEN who is openly cruel, hostile, harsh, uncaring, oppressive, persecuting, and unjust towards the people they rule. I mean, that is one way to express tyranny, and probably the most famous way it is and has been done. But what it really means for a person to be called a tyrant is being in a position of power, authority, and/or control over other people and MISUSING, to the point of ABUSING, that position, and often for that tyrant's own selfish desires rather than in the best interest of the people being ruled by the tyrant.

So from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Frozen II, there are a handful of tyrannical antagonists who are indeed monarchs, such as the Queen of Hearts, Prince John, and Scar, but also plenty others who are not. There are tyrants who are corrupt government officials, such as Governor Ratcliffe, Frollo, and Bellwether, and even those who wield magic, such as Maleficent, Ursula, and Jafar. And like the villainous monarchs, the non-monarch villains prove themselves as tyrants all because they abuse their positions of power, magic or non-magic power, and authority that they have over other characters. In fact, there are even a couple of heroic characters who start off more as protagonist villains because they display tyrannical behavior before they become better people. On the contrary, the main antagonist enemies of these tyrant heroes serve as darker reflections of what the latter characters could have become had they not learned the error of their ways.

Below is my list of all the villains from Walt Disney Animation Studios that I perceive as tyrants, from monarchs to government officials to sorcerers, and what scenes in their respective movies depict them displaying tyrannical behavior. I even listed villains that would have become tyrants had they succeeded in their longterm goals.

Monarchs

The Evil Queen: Though we never see her actively governing her kingdom on screen, the abuse that the evil queen displays in her authority over Snow White by dressing her stepdaughter in rags and forcing her to work as a maid in an attempt to make her (Snow White) unattractive makes her a tyrant for sure. Furthermore, the way she mocks the skeletal remains of a prisoner in her dungeon suggests the queen is indeed a cruel, tyrannical ruler.

Queen of Hearts: If we want to consider the epitome of a true tyrant that is a monarch from Disney, it can be safely assumed that that role belongs to the Queen of Hearts. While every resident of Wonderland is insane in some way, the Queen is the most dangerous one of all by being the ruler of the land. An egotist extraordinaire, she loves to get her way, insisting that “All ways are MY ways!” and enjoys hearing the words “Yes, Your Majesty”. The Queen outwardly abuses her authority and power over her subjects by becoming furious over even the smallest of matters, during which she loses her literally explosive temper and flies into violent rages. She is also extremely irrational and unjust in making decisions, primarily by utilizing executions as her only and immediate solution to any problem, especially whenever she feels someone has wronged her, while also refusing to let the individuals she wants beheaded explain their sides of the stories. Enraged upon seeing her white roses painted red, when she misses a shot in croquet, and when she becomes the target of a prank caused by the Cheshire Cat, the Queen sentences those she deems responsible to death by beheading. All of this proves just how much she persecutes and oppresses the residents of Wonderland, instilling only fear and intimidation into their hearts. (A pun that is VERY much intended by me, the Queen of Puns! 😆😆😆)

Prince John: While possessing a short temper that isn’t nearly as explosive and violent as that of the Queen of Hearts, Prince John is displayed to be extremely incompetent as the ruler of England during the time that King Richard is off fighting in the Crusades. Stingy and greedy, the prince continually finds ways to rob and swindle his people in pursuit of wealth for himself. John shows absolutely no care that the harsh laws he decrees to gain more money drive the citizens of Nottingham into poverty and starvation, and he even cruelly mocks them on their poor states by saying, “Rob the poor to feed the rich!”. After the villagers start making fun of him with the song “The Phony King of England”, John punishes them by further increasing the tax payments. Soon everyone in Nottingham is stripped of their money and they are put in prison due to their inability to pay their taxes.

Horned King: Even though the Queen of Hearts projects herself as the ideal example of a royal tyrant, she is far less evil and scary than the Horned King. A skeletal creature with green, rotting flesh, the Horned King is completely frightening in appearance and in personality. Malicious, cruel, malevolent, sinister, power-hungry, megalomaniacal, ruthless, and merciless, he is the epitome of a tyrant who is nothing but purely and completely evil. His goal is to find the infamous Black Cauldron and use its powers to unleash an army of immortal warriors called the Cauldron Born in order to become immortal and conquer the world.

Scar: Denied a legitimate chance to succeed Mufasa as the King of the Pride Lands once Simba is born, Scar schemes to have both of them killed to become king. After murdering Mufasa and believing that Simba has been killed as well, Scar ascends to the throne. However, because he allows the hyenas unrestricted hunting rights in the Pride Lands, their overeating leads to a shortage of food, and a drought leads to other animal herds moving away. Ultimately, these events turn the kingdom into a barren wasteland under Scar’s reign, leaving it completely devoid of green vegetation, water, and food sources. Incredibly lazy and incompetent as a ruler, and caring about nothing except the power and authority that being king gives him, Scar refuses to accept that his allowance of the hyenas overeating is what leads to the destruction of the Pride Lands. He instead blames it on Sarabi and the other lionesses since the hyenas complained to him that they refuse to go hunt. When she suggests they leave Pride Rock to survive, Scar obstinately rejects the idea, not at all caring that he has essentially sentenced them to death. He argues that his place as king puts him in the right for whatever he decides to do: “I am the king! I can do whatever I want!”

King Runeard: In his life, Runeard openly presented himself as a peaceful, generous leader to the people of Arendelle AND the Northuldra. But Elsa discovers from his snowy manifestation in Ahtohallan that he did not trust the Northuldra just because they followed magic. Despite his kingdom having seen him as a benevolent ruler, the face the figure of Runeard makes as he sneers "of a king!" implies that only really cared about himself as well the power and authority he had in being a king. Therefore, he secretly misused and abused it whenever the opportunity came along. This is displayed perfectly when Runeard had the dam constructed in the Enchanted Forest, presenting it as a gift to the Northuldra. He claimed that it would strengthen their land, but admitted only to the second-in-command that the dam’s effects would be just the opposite. This was all part of Runeard’s subtle plan to destroy the Northuldra, as he feared they would try to usurp him and take over Arendelle using their magical ties.

Government Officials/Authority Figures

Lady Tremaine: Like the evil queen before her, Lady Tremaine has control and authority over Cinderella once the latter’s father dies, and misuses it by turning Cinderella into her servant. Day after day for ten years, Lady Tremaine orders and bosses Cinderella around, forces her to do every single bit of housework and menial task for her and the former’s daughters, and subjects the poor girl to an endless cycle of abuse and torment. When Cinderella is accused by Anastasia of putting Gus under the latter’s teacup, her stepmother refuses to let her explain the truth and unfairly punishes her with extra chores. Later, Lady Tremaine falsely promises Cinderella she may attend the ball if she finds a suitable dress and finishes her chores, but gives her chore after chore to do to keep her from working on her dress. After Cinderella appears wearing the dress her mouse and bird friends fixed up for her, Lady Tremaine subtly and cruelly manipulates Drizella and Anastasia into destroying it so that she can appear to be fair in her side of the bargain (”If you can find something suitable to wear”) while simultaneously keeping Cinderella from going to the ball in the first place. The following morning, when she realizes Cinderella was the mysterious girl who danced with the prince at the ball, Lady Tremaine follows her stepdaughter up to her room and locks her in to prevent her from trying on the glass slipper when the Duke arrives with it.

Sheriff of Nottingham: Despite not being the main antagonist of Robin Hood, the Sheriff of Nottingham is as much of a tyrant over the town as Prince John is to it and the entirety of England. This is because he is abusive, ruthless, and completely unsympathetic towards the people’s poverty and continually demands that they pay their taxes, regardless of what other problems they may have that hinders them from doing so. It is because of the Sheriff’s harsh decree of taxes, and then by that of Prince John once the latter takes up residence in Nottingham, that the town’s citizens are driven into poverty. The cruel, immoral way the Sheriff collects taxes includes forcing out the coins Otto had hidden in his leg cast, not caring that his act was causing the blacksmith pain from his broken leg, confiscating the one farthing Skippy had been given for his birthday and insincerely wishing him a happy birthday, and taking the single farthing that was in the Friar Tuck’s church's poor box and laughing as he did it.

Ratigan: A notorious crime lord, Ratigan is the leader of a gang of thugs comprised primarily of mice, but also including a bat named Fidget, who is his second-in-command. Although they willingly help their boss with his crimes, they also participate out of fear for their own lives. Ratigan is an abusive tyrant to his minions and threatens to feed them to his cat Felicia if they ever do something that angers him, even if it occurs unintentionally. This is shown after one of his drunken thugs calls him a rat during "The World’s Greatest Criminal Mind”, and Ratigan threatens his other minions with the same fate if they do not keep singing. Ratigan’s latest scheme is to take over London by murdering the Mouse Queen during her Diamond Jubilee celebration and secretly replacing her with a lifelike robot. He and his thugs (who are disguised as royal guards) infiltrate Buckingham Palace and kidnap the Queen, who is taken to be fed to Felicia by Fidget. As the Diamond Jubilee takes place, the Robot Queen names Ratigan as her new "Royal Consort", and Ratigan, dressed in an ornate robe, immediately presents himself in front of the gathered citizens of Mousedom, terrifying them. He then proceeds to read over his long list of tyrannical laws, one of which is a heavy tax policy for people he deems "parasites", including the elderly, infirm, and children.

Governor Ratcliffe: A completely unscrupulous and greedy man, Ratcliffe leads John Smith and other sailors on an expedition to Virginia to find gold, but he secretly plans to keep all discovered riches for himself. Upon their arrival to America, he forces all of the settlers to dig around their encampment, but refuses to do any manual labor himself out of his own sheer laziness. When no gold turns up in the searches, Ratcliffe becomes greedily convinced that it is because the Native Americans are hoarding it. He refuses to believe John's claim that there is no gold around the land, claiming that the Powhatans’ land is his land for the taking and that he makes the laws. After John is captured by the Powhatans, as they believed he murdered Kocoum, Ratcliffe takes it as the opportunity to take the non-existent gold from them, but claiming to his men that it is a rescue mission.

Judge Claude Frollo: Perhaps the darkest and most malevolent of all Disney Villains in animation (aside from the Horned King), Frollo uses his position as the Minister of Justice in the city of Paris to enrich himself and persecute anyone and everyone he considers inferior. He especially holds a deep-seated hatred for the gypsies and plots to eradicate them from the city. Despite his dark deeds, Frollo refuses to find any fault within himself and he truly believes he is a good person who is only trying to rid the world of sin and malice. Any time he commits a crime or is about to do one, he makes excuses to justify them, saying he is doing it in the eyes of God and that his victims are the ones who are really at fault. After chasing and murdering Quasimodo’s mother since he believed that the bundle she was carrying was stolen goods, Frollo attempts to murder Quasimodo since he believes the latter’s deformity makes him an unholy demon. Years later, after trapping Esmeralda in Notre Dame and upon discovering that she has escaped, he launches a ruthless manhunt around the city to find her, burning down the houses of anyone suspected of sheltering gypsies (including an innocent miller and his family, who survive thanks to Phoebus’s intervention) and interrogating gypsies who are captured. During the climax, Frollo makes the excuse that Esmeralda has proven herself to be a witch and will be executed by burned at the stake as her sentence.

Hades: The reluctant ruler of the Underworld and Lord of the Dead, Hades abuses his authoritative role by subjecting his lackeys Pain and Panic to harsh mistreatment whenever they fail a task assigned to them and any other time they do or say something that angers their boss. The two imps only put up with Hades’s abuse not so much out of loyalty to him, but out of deep fear for him. When he discovers that the two did not succeed in killing Hercules as a baby, Hades furiously grabs both Pain and Panic by their necks and chokes them as he demands they explain themselves. Later, after Hercules becomes a famous hero in Thebes, Pain and Panic adorn themselves with some of the hero’s merchandise, much to their boss’s complete ire.

Shan Yu: The ruthless yet respected leader of the Hun army, Shan Yu is an extremely dark, merciless, and dangerous individual determined to take control of China. His thought-to-be impossible feat of getting through the Great Wall to invade China soon makes him notorious and feared throughout the entire country. In his journey to the Imperial City, Shan Yu and his army destroy one village, then slaughter the entire Imperial Army and residents in another village at the Tung Shao Pass in the mountains. He and five of his elite soldiers are the only ones who survive a snow avalanche caused by Mulan. When the group arrives at the Imperial City and take control of the palace, Shan Yu orders the Emperor to bow to him, and decides to kill him when the latter adamantly refuses to do so.

Turbo: Initially believed to be the ruler of the game Sugar Rush, King Candy is secretly Turbo, a racer from the old game TurboTime who was believed to have died after his game was permanently unplugged. Having stolen the throne from Vanellope Von Schweetz, the true ruler, Turbo turns her into a glitch and makes himself the ruler of her kingdom. While he is viewed as eccentric and flamboyant, yet jovial and benevolent, to his subjects, Turbo is extremely obsessive and possessive of his new royal status. He continuously lusts for power and authority and goes to great lengths to secretly abuse his position, not just by allowing the other racers to ruthlessly torment Vanellope, but especially by keeping Vanellope from racing so that she cannot regain the role he had stolen from her.

Bellwether: The epitome of the famous phrase “a wolf in sheep’s clothing”, Dawn Bellwether pretends to be sweet, meek, and friendly to successfully hide her true prejudiced, ruthless, embittered nature. Initially the overworked assistant mayor of Zootopia to its mayor Leodore Lionheart, Bellwether secretly hates him and all predators, viewing them as nothing more than savage, dangerous monsters. In her scheme to overthrow him, take control of the city, and drive all predators out of Zootopia, Bellwether becomes the leader of a secret organization of sheep terrorists who create a serum from night howlers to turn predators feral. This would give the illusion that they were biologically reverting back to their "primitive savage ways" and eventually be regarded as too dangerous for society, allowing only prey animals to take up the entire population. However, in her goal to become the mayor of Zootopia, rather than subjecting Lionheart to becoming savage, Bellwether instead develops her plot to ensure that he is removed from office and his positive reputation amongst the citizens is ruined, allowing her to rise to power in his place.

Magic Users

Maleficent: Known as The Mistress of All Evil, Maleficent is a ruthless tyrant who rules her own subjects at her home, the Forbidden Mountain. Using her dark magic, she continuously abuses her power and authority over her minions, particularly whenever they display incompetence and stupidity. This is shown when Maleficent flies into a rage and attacks them with her magic upon realizing that, over the last 16 years in their search for Aurora, they were only looking for a baby, not realizing in their idiocy that Aurora would be growing up.

Ursula: Known for her dark reputation as a sea witch, Ursula was banished from Atlantica by Triton. She explains in “Poor Unfortunate Souls” that she uses her magic to help merfolk attain their deepest desires and only imprisons them if they can’t keep their side of the bargain. However, after she takes Ariel’s voice away and turns the latter into a human to try and win Eric’s heart, Ursula reveals she has no intention of letting Ariel follow through with kissing Eric to remain human. She proves herself to be a tyrant because all she really does is backstab the merpeople with whom she makes deals in order to ensure that only HER desires are met! When she bargains with Triton so he will surrender himself to her in exchange for Ariel’s freedom, Ursula steals his crown and trident, then grows to giant size, declaring herself the ruler of the entire ocean.

Jafar: Unbeknownst to the Sultan of Agrabah, his Royal Vizier Jafar plots to take control of the kingdom, and he needs the Genie of the lamp from the Cave of Wonders to pull off this feat. Once the lamp is in his possession, Jafar succeeds with his first to become sultan. But after Jasmine and her father refuse to bow to him, he wishes to become the most powerful sorcerer in the world to have an even greater amount of power. During his brief reign, Jafar proves himself to be a tyrant by turning Agrabah into a dystopian wasteland, dressing the Sultan as a living marionette and allowing him to be abused by Iago, and making Jasmine his own slave girl.

Tyrants-Turned-Heroes

The Beast: From the time he is cursed and until he finally starts to soften, the spoiled behavior the prince had before his curse remains. He is aggressive, rude, impatient, and frequently and easily loses his temper when something annoys or irritates him. Primarily due to his short temper, the Beast acts like a tyrant towards his servants because he is mean and cruel to them as he gives them orders, which makes them deeply afraid of him. Only on some occasions do they openly rebel against him or talk back to him, such as Mrs. Potts ordering the Beast to act more like a gentleman around Belle, and both her and Lumiere deciding to feed Belle despite being told that she was not allowed to eat unless she ate with the Beast.

Kuzco: In the beginning, Kuzco is very arrogant, lazy, selfish, and self-absorbed, viewing himself as superior to all simply for being the emperor. He rules his empire completely without the best interest of his people and always seeks to have his way, never showing any concern over the chances things could turn out badly for other people involved. This is shown when he sets his sights on building his summer home of Kuzcotopia on the top of the hill where Pacha, Pacha’s family, and other villagers reside. Since the plan will only benefit himself, Kuzco shows absolutely no care or concern that destroying Pacha’s village to build Kuzcotopia will render the residents homeless.

Would-Be Tyrants

Gaston: From what I described about him in “Bride and Prejudice” with his growing obsession with Belle and his low, inferior views of women, there is no doubt in my mind that, had Gaston succeeded in marrying Belle and starting a family with her, he would have run his household like a tyrant. He would be very controlling to the point of being physically abusive to his wife in order to get her to obey every single one of his commands and orders. Like many of the tyrants I listed above, Gaston would undoubtedly use fear and intimidation to keep his wife in her proper place of being beneath him, and he would instill these same feelings on to his own children.

Yzma: Her ire drawn after Kuzco remorselessly fires her, a furious Yzma decides to kill him so that she can take over the empire. While Kuzco is initially selfish, callous, and uncaring towards his staff and people living in his empire, he learns to change his ways by the end of the film. Had Yzma succeeded in her goal, she would have been far more of a selfish, ruthless tyrant than Kuzco was at first. This is evident during her introduction scene, which is one of many times she governs the empire whenever Kuzco is not present. As a peasant complains to her that he and his family are suffering from limited food sources, Yzma spitefully says his problem is of no concern to her, and that the man should have realized this ahead of time.

Hans: While taking over as temporary ruler of Arendelle in both Elsa and Anna’s absence, Hans wins the hearts of the people by acting as a kind, caring, benevolent ruler during the harsh conditions brought on by Elsa’s magical winter. Though he reveals his true, dark nature to Anna and his plot to take control of Arendelle, the fact that he earned the trust and respect of the Arendellians suggest that Hans could truly have been a very worthy ruler. However, now that we have Frozen II and it revealed that Runeard was actually a malevolent tyrant behind the same kind of benevolent facade that Hans used, there is no doubt in my mind that had he succeeded in stealing Arendelle’s throne, Hans also would have become a ruthless, power-hungry, selfish tyrant in secret.

#Miscellaneous Disney #Disney #Disney Villains #Disney Villain #villains #villain #tyranny #tyrants #tyrant #The Evil Queen #Queen of Hearts #Prince John #Horned King #Scar #King Runeard #Lady Tremaine #Sheriff of Nottingham #Ratigan #Governor Ratcliffe #Judge Claude Frollo #Hades #Shan Yu #Turbo #Bellwether #Maleficent #Ursula #Jafar #my stuff #mine

[mytardisisparked]

Heyyyyy what's the chace you'd be willing to write a DinxOmera fic where Omega adjusts to technically being a ruler of Mandalore after marrying Din? You can do whatever you want I just think I would be cute 👉👈

ANON this is a cute idea!!!! I love it!

This turned out a heck of a lot longer than I planned but I wanted to connect some dots. 

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And Everything Was New

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The forest path drew her gaze far more than it should have. It was like a magnet; she couldn’t walk past the damned thing without looking down it. Omera knew what her subconscious was looking for: that little flash of silver that had been the last she had seen of the Mandalorian.

It was silly, really, because she knew that he wasn’t coming back. He needed to keep his son safe and, she knew, he needed to leave to keep the village safe too. She rationalized his choice in her head every time her eyes wandered towards the road and her heart lept when something shiny caught her eye. And yet...

Her eyes wandered back towards the road as she stooped by the pool, heart heavy. With a sigh, she dragged her unwilling gaze back towards her work.

She immediately looked back up, however, as she realized someone was coming down the road.

After months of trying to train herself to think that Mando would never return, she struggled to believe her eyes as the beskar-clad man stepped out of the shadows, helmet-ed head scanning the clearing. Despite the fact that his face was covered, Omera felt the moment their eyes locked. 

She stood as he walked over to her, occasionally nodding at others who greeted him. Within a few moments, they were standing toe to toe, exactly as they had been when they last spoke.

“Omera.” His voice was rough, but his tone was gentle, even coming through the modulator of his helmet. 

“Mando.” She smiled. “You came back.”

“I did.” Tentatively, he reached out a hand to take hers. “Do you mind if we speak alone?”

She nodded and lead him to her tent, keeping his hand in hers the whole way.

Once they were safely inside, she turned back to him. he adjusted his grip on her hand and, with a pang of amusement and confusion, Omera realized that the Mandalorian seemed.... nervous.

“You-” he cleared his throat, “you offered to let me stay, back when I was here with my son.” His head tilted up and, once again, Omera could feel him looking into her eyes. 

“I did.” She smiled. “The offer still stands.”

His grip on her hand tightened. “Omera, I- my son is gone. He’s training to be a Jedi.”

She realized the question that was hiding behind that sentence. “My offer still stands.” She lifted a hand to his helmet, not to take it off, just to hold him. “You have a place here, with me, if you want it.”

Mando lifted his hand to hers, and she started to pull away in embarrassment, feeling as if she had crossed a line again. To her surprise, however, he placed his hand over hers and pulled his helmet up.

She found herself looking at the kindest face she had ever seen.

She had often found herself picturing what Mando looked like under his helmet, though it felt wrong to do so. She had never quite landed on a specific mental image, but the vague inklings she had had didn’t do justice to reality; his eyes were a warm, deep brown that matched his dark hair and the scruff around his mouth and chin. As hard as his armor was, the man beneath was softer and more welcoming than anyone else she had ever met.

“My name is Din. Din Djarin.” His eyes flashed nervously, unsure of what to do without the cover of his helmet. 

She moved slowly, leaving the helmet in his hand to reach up and gently cup his cheek. He tensed for a moment at the contact, before leaning into her hand. 

“Welcome home, Din.”

------

It took little time at all for Din to adjust to life in the village. He still wore his helmet outside of their home, but he integrated into the daily work routine with no problem at all. Winta, of course, took to him like a bantha to water in the desert, shirking her chores to pester him with questions and tell him outlandish stories. Omera tried to warn Winta not to overwhelm him, but Din just patiently asked Winta to tell him another story, sending Omera small smile to tell her it was alright.

A year after he moved to the village, Din and Omera were married. 

They had tried to have a quiet ceremony, but the entire village decided to throw a massive party for their favorite couple, complete with dancing and food, and several winks and nudges from the village matriarchs regarding the hopes of future “additions to the village.” The only moment of the whole ordeal that wasn’t filled with cheers was the moment Din removed his helmet to kiss his new wife. 

Of course, as soon as their lips touched and the onlookers had recovered from the shock of seeing the face of their hero, they cheered louder than ever, and there wasn’t a moment of silence till dawn the next morning.

As the newlyweds watched the sunrise, hand in hand, Omera felt Din sigh. She looked up to see his brow drawn.

“Din?”

He looked down at her, face relaxing. “Hey.” He reached a hand up to touch her cheek.

She raised a brow. “What’s on your mind?”

His hand fell away and he looked back out at the sun. “I just... I feel like this, this peace, is about to end.”

Omera’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?” She rested a hand on his chest and he laid his over it.

“I think-” he sighed again, “I think something’s coming.”

“Well,” Omera reached up and turned his pensive face towards hers, “I suppose we ought to enjoy the time we have, then.”

He smiled and leaned down, capturing her lips in his own. “I suppose we should.”

------

It was another few months before their peace was finally disturbed.

“Din!” One of the fishermen called into their tent one afternoon as they were repairing their krill baskets. “Someone’s here to see you! Says you have something of hers.”

Din looked at Omera from across their lunch table. “Bo Katan.”

His wife’s eyes flashed to his trunk at the end of their bed. “She wants the sword?”

“Yeah.” He sighed. “She wants me to fight her for it.” Without another word, He stood, wiped his mouth on a napkin, and stepped out to reluctantly meet his fate.

“Din Djarin.” 

Din nodded at the three Mandalorians in front of him. “Bo.”

The redhead looked a bit older than the last time they had met, white streaking through the hair at her temples. Her companions looked much the same, Koska practically chomping at the bit to fight as he would expect. 

“I’ve come for the darksaber,” Bo Katan said, tilting her head. “And I will only take it in battle.”

“I don’t want to fight you. You can just take it.”

Bo’s eyes narrowed, wandering around the clearing. “You’ve settled here?”

“Yes,” he paused awkwardly before adding, “it’s a quiet life.”

The woman’s eyes slid back to his. “You are an insufferably good person.”

Din shifted his weight from foot to foot. “I could stage a fight, if you like.”

Bo Katan sighed. “No, I would need to win with honor. Even if I attacked you now, I would know that you were losing on purpose.” She gritted her teeth. “I can’t take the saber from you.”

“Then why are you here?” A subtle note of irritation hung between them. 

“Because if I can’t beat you, I suppose I’ll just have to back you.”

His mouth fell open slightly. “I’m sorry?”

She raised her brows. “Well, you won the darksaber from Moff Gideon, so you’re the rightful ruler of Mandalore. I will support your claim.”

Omera moved to Din’s side, taking his hand in hers to give it a squeeze. “I don’t want to make a claim,” he said, squeezing her hand back.

Bo Katan lowered her head a bit. “We’ve taken back Mandalore but-” she stopped, exchanging a look with Koska, “our people need a leader, Din. They won’t take me back since I have failed them twice.” She chuckled bitterly. “I suspect that, even if I were to win the darksaber in combat, they wouldn’t accept me.” She looked back into his eyes. “Maybe it’s time to let someone else take the throne anyway; a fresh perspective may be exactly what Mandalore needs and, I won’t lie, you are a fair leader.”

Din was stunned. “I know nothing about ruling.”

“I think you know more than you realize. You have a way of bringing people together and making allies. You lead missions with confidence. The rest is just politics and business, which I can help you sort out.” 

“I-” Din took a step back towards their tent. “I need to think.”

Bo Katan nodded and turned back to her own companions as Din pulled Omera inside.

“Omera-”

She quieted him with a gentle kiss. “I had a feeling this was coming.”

His eyes flashed up to hers. “What do you mean?”

She traced a finger down the curve of his cheek. “The scenario with the saber has been on my mind for a long time. This was an outcome that I could see happening.” She smiled. “Bo Katan is right, you are a natural leader.”

His brow furrowed. “I don’t think that qualifies me to lead an entire planet.”

“Maybe not, but I think you could learn very quickly.”

“Are you actually suggesting I take this position?”

Her face grew more serious. “These are your people, Din, and they need you. I won’t tell you what to do, but just know that Winta and I will stand with you whatever you decide.”

He took her face in his hands. “I can’t uproot your life. I can’t ask you to leave.”

“You are my life. And, besides,” her eyes fell to the broken basket on the table, “maybe a change of pace would be good. Complacency isn’t healthy.”

-----

Life in the palace was... different.

Although Din was completely unaware of the politics of the region and how to create trade routes, Bo Katan kept her word and helped him slowly learn the ropes. It took the people of the system some time to adjust to the idea of a no-name on the throne, but, as Bo and Omera said, his natural leadership and ability to create unlikely allies gained him acceptance. Mandalore seemed to appreciate a ruler who took physical action to solve problems and negotiated quickly between the tense clans.

Omera gained acceptance of her own as well. She took to teaching the children of the palace guards during her school sessions with Winta, which the people respected immensely; in a world where family and adoption were key, Omera fit right in.

Omera did not, however, enjoy the subtleties of palace politics.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t able to handle difficult situations with grace, it was just that the feelings of all eyes watching her during political balls and banquets made her squirm. Every fork movement, every smile, every word, was a point of judgment and she disliked it immensely. Frankly, so did Din, but he had the benefit of his helmet during the majority of public events; Omera could not hide.

Besides the discomfort of politics, however, their family still seemed to thrive. Din remained quietly strong and incredibly devoted to Omera and Winta, their bonds growing stronger as time went on. Being in a new place meant that the three of them relied heavily on each other for strength. Omera enjoyed working with the palace staff and visiting the diverse Sundari markets outside the palace doors. Winta charmed all of the visiting dignitaries and clan leaders with her quick wits and clever turns of phrase. The future of Mandalore was never certain, especially in a society of fierce warriors, but people generally liked the prospect of Winta taking the throne after her father one day. Din liked the idea too, and he was tempted to hand the throne to her now since she seemed to take anything life handed her in stride better than he did. 

He was even more tempted to abdicate after he and Omera found out they were expecting.

“You can’t leave the throne now,” Omera chuckled, running a hand through his hair as he kneeled to speak to her abdomen and tell their baby all his woes, “Winta needs to finish school first and the balance of things is too precarious.”

Din sighed good-naturedly. “I know, but that doesn’t mean a man can’t dream.”

She pulled him back up to her level, cupping his face in her hands. “Of course. A woman can dream too.”

He pulled her into his arms, resting their foreheads together. “We need to tell everyone at some point. Cara will kill me if we make it too much further into this pregnancy without telling her she’s going to be an aunt.”

Omera chuckled. “Maybe we should start with Winta, let her know she’s going to be a big sister.”

Din’s face remained soft, but lost it’s spark of humor. “She already was a big sister, in my eyes.”

“He’ll come back.” She pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Someday, he’ll come back.”

“I just-” Din sighed, looking away. “I miss the little womprat.”

“Me too.” Omera looked thoughtful for a moment. “Maybe we could see if he could visit after the baby is born?”

He looked back into her eyes. “I think he’d like that.”

-----

He was right about Cara: she was FURIOUS they didn’t tell her about the baby sooner.

“I’m coming to Mandalore right now to kick your ass.” She spoke with a bit of humor in her voice, even as the holo image of Cara was clearly moving around her room to pack a bag. 

“You can’t come here now, you’re still Marshall.” Din sighed.

“I have like 7 weeks of vacation time built up. I’m coming.”

Before Din could protest again, Omera leaned in. “We would love to have you, Cara. Maybe you can help Winta with her combat classes since I’m becoming less able to assist.” She gestured down at the small but still visible bump at her waist. 

Cara grinned. “How is Winta? What does she think of all of this?”

“She’s very excited for the baby, but-” Din and Omera shared a look. “I think she’s starting to become overwhelmed by change.”

It was understandable, really; the clans had gotten more tense after Din had passed a law preventing infighting on Sundari. The unfortunate result had been multiple clan leaders attempting to convince Winta to talk to her father about repealing the law. That, combined with the sudden knowledge that their family was growing and Winta’s transition into the next level at Sundari Academy, had made the girl quieter than usual.

“That’s understandable.” Cara smiled simpathetically. “Maybe she just needs a friend.”

As it would turn out, a friend was exactly what Winta needed. A Mandalorian boy by the name of Rashel filled that position quite well. 

Rashel Kryze was the son of some old member of Bo Katan’s clan that had left Mandalore following the seige at the end of the Clone Wars and had returned to send his son to the royal academy. Din and Omera had never met the man, but Rashel was a lovely, spirited boy and they enjoyed having him around. His unwavering positivity and curiosity seemed to lift Winta up and restore her former attitude. Her parents suspected that having someone her own age to talk to about her troubles was also a huge relief. 

Once Cara arrived, Winta and Rashel hung around her every available hour outside of sleeping and schoolwork, leaving Din and Omera the chance to spend time together as they prepared for the arrival of the baby.

The respite for the couple, however, was temporary.

“Well, the people know now.” Omera’s mouth drew into a thin line as the holopaper flickered above the table, the title of the front-page article reading: “NEW RULERS OF MANDALORE PRODUCE SECONDARY HEIR - DJARIN LINE EVEN MORE SECURE”

Din frowned scrolling quickly thrugh the article, which made his stomach churn as his quiet family was portrayed as a dynasty. “How did they find out? Do we have a leak in our staff?”

His wife smiled sadly, “No, look at the picture on page three.”

Din glanced up at her before locating the image.

“Oh.” He said, studying the picture of he and Omera standing on their private balcony, Din kneeling before her and gently pressing his hands to the small bump at her abdomen. “Paparazzi.”

“I should have known better than to stand on the balcony without a robe or looser clothing.” Omera shook her head. “I was hoping we would have more time to keep this to ourselves.”

Din set the holo down and took her hands in his. “No, Omera, this isn’t your fault. people shouldn’t tresspass on our privacy like that.” He squeezed her hands and rested his forehead against hers. “I wish we had more time too, and I’m sorry this is all out in the open for scrutiny now.”

She pulled one of her hands from his and rested it on his cheek. “I know, but I suppose we would have had to tell them at some point any way. Maybe this is better.” She grinned. “We both know how you feel about speeches regarding personal matters.”

Her husband winced as he thought back to the speech he gave introducing his family at the beginning of their rule. “Yeah, I would like to avoid repeating that.”

Omera chuckled and hugged him tightly. “For your sake, dear, so would I.”

-----

Having the news of her pregnancy out to the public was harder than Omera had ever expected. 

Suddenly, the scrutiny she had dreaded only at public affairs of state was leaking deeply into her personal life; every food she ate, every store she visited, every dress she wore was critiqued by news stations all over the planet. She did her best to ignore the chatter, to block out the whispers in the marketplace and the palace staff’s quarters, but still, some phrases broke through her defense and hit where it hurt the most.

“She’s really going to eat that much seafood? In her 5th month?”

“I can’t believe her dress is so loose, isn’t she worried about getting it caught and hurting the baby?”

“I can’t believe her dress is so tight, isn’t she worried about it constricting and hurting the baby?”

“You would think she’d know better since she’s done this once before.”

“I’ve seen her walk into the pharmacy before. Didn’t leave with a single box of prenatal vitamins.”

“Do you think she knows about the benefits of yoga? I would think every mother should know that.”

“Why haven’t they gotten the baby tested for any disorders yet? How can they be sure it’s healthy?”

“Doesn’t she care about the future of Mandalore?

Omera was strong, but that last whisper, heard in her favorite flower shop, a place that had alway felt like a safe haven, broke her resolve.

She whirled around to the woman who had spoken under her breath. “You would do well to watch your volume, ma’am. My hearing is better than you think.” She picked up the bouquet she had ordered for Winta and whirled back to the wide-eyed woman. “And, for your information, I gave up everything to come to this place. I left my quiet, peaceful life behind to sort out your wars and petty infighting.” She leaned closer, voice deadly quiet. “I care.” 

She pushed past the shocked woman and the rest of the people behind her in line at the shop and stormed home, barely noticing the way people moved to give her space on the sidewalk upon seeing her terrifying visage. Omera threw the bouquet down on the table, walked straight to Din’s office, and finally let her tears fall as he crossed the room to pull her into his arms.

“Omera, what’s wrong?” He let her bury her face in his chest and ran a comforting hand over her back.

“I’m tired of listening to them criticize me, Din,” she sobbed. “Everyone is watching my every move and I feel like I’m doing this all wrong!”

Din guided her gently over to a couch and helped her sit. “What do you feel like you are doing wrong?” He spoke quietly, running a thumb under her eyes to wipe away tears. 

“Everything,” she said shakily. “Absolutely everything. I can’t figure out how to play at the palace politics, I can’t raise Winta right, I’m not properly preparing for this baby.” She rested a hand on the sizable bump at her waist as fresh tears filled her eyes. “I can usually adjust to whatever life throws at me, so why is this so hard.”

Her husband gently pulled her face up so they were looking into each other’s eyes. “Because we aren’t just living life in the village anymore and sorting through this on our own, we have a whole system of people watching us. I feel the pressure too, but I’m sure not as much as you are and I am so sorry.” Tears gathered in his eyes. “I’m sorry I took you away from your life and friends back home. You deserve so much better.”

Omera’s heart panged. She reached up to cup his cheek, mirroring his own touch. “I chose this life, my love. You did not rip me away from anything, and it is not your fault that I am feeling the way I am. You have been nothing but gentle and patient through all of this.”

They sat is silence for a moment, just enjoying the comfort of proximity.

“Maybe we should visit home for a while,” Din said softly. “We could have the baby there and then come back when we are ready.”

Omera looked up. “Would the people think we are hiding a secret? Would they hate us for not sharing our joy with them?”

He smiled gently. “Maybe a little bit, but we are the Mand’alors. We rule this planet, why should they get to tell us what we can and can’t do in our private family life?”

She smiled back. “Alright. Let’s go home, then.”

-----

Being back in the village was bliss.

The friends they had from before they moved to Sundari were overjoyed at the prospect of Din and Omera’s coming child and Winta’s friends were incredibly pleased to see her again. Although she still called Rashel nearly every night, Winta fell right back in with her old group of friends as if nothing had ever changed, leaving her partens to smile at the unshakable adapatability of their daughter.

Cara came with them, of course, to help increse the security of the village and protect the royal family from those who would wish to take Mandalore for themselves. There were, indeed, a couple assasins that attempted to get into the village, but not even remotely succeeded.

The highlight of their stay, of course, was the birth of their second daughter, Hirah.

After nearly 25 hours of labor, the girl had entered the world with a single cry that could have been one of victory. Her parents laughed in relief, even as tears flowed down their cheeks. She was small, but not concerningly so, and already had a head of thick, dark hair. 

The minute Omera saw her, she realized that the discomfort of critiscism had been worth it and she would go through the past nine months 20 times over if the result was still the little girl Din now hugged close to his chest. 

Din shifted the baby gently, his movemnts so controlled and slight, as if he were afraid.

“You won’t break her,” his wife chuckled.

He looked up at her and smiled. “This is just... very different from a 50 year-old baby who can walk.” 

They both laughed at that. “I know,” Omera leaned into him and gently placed a hand on Hirah’s head, “but I think you’ll find that she’s tougher than you’d expect.”

“I suppose she should be, considering her mother.” 

Omera looked up to find Din gazing down at her softly. She tilted her head upward, inviting him in for a soft kiss, which he provided obligingly. When they broke apart, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to his daughter’s head and then leaned back into Omera with a contented sigh.

“We should probably introduce her to her sister and other adoring fans soon.” Omera shifted to get up, but Din pulled her back in close.

“Eventually, but I don’t think anyone will begrudge us for keeping her to ourselves for a bit longer.”

She laughed. “Clearly you are underestimating Winta and Cara’s sense of familial entitlement.”

He chuckled but shook his head. “They can wait.” He was quiet for a moment. “Mandalore can wait too, if you want. We can stay here as long as you like. Ruling remotely hasn’t been too much of a hassel these past few months.”

Omera placed a hand on his chest. “No, I think we should head back as soon as I’ve recovered enough to travel. Our people deserve to meet their newest member.”

Din titled his head, brow furrowing a bit. “What about all the scrutiny from the people? Are you sure you want to face all of that so soon? I can make it work to stay here a while longer while we adjust to raising a baby.”

Omera looked back into the face of their daughter and thought of their family. She thought of how Din had gotten the people to accept him in his quiet (and sometimes deadly) strength. She thought of how Winta had managed to charm the nobility with her wit despite her inclination to be a bit unruly. She thought about how she had earned some respect by helping teach the palace staff’s children.

“No,” Omera smiled, “I think it would be good for us to return and be amongst our people.” She looked back up at Din’s curious face. “I am confident in my ability to care for Hirah and Winta and any other children that may come in the way that is best for them. I am confident in your ability to be a good father and a good ruler. I am confident in my ability to rule by your side.” Din smiled softly as she eaned forward to place her forehead against his. “I’m the consort of the Mand’alor, and I have this handled.”

#the mandalorian #mandomera #din djarin #omera #winta #cara dune #yep there is a baby #because that's my brand #this is my first time writing this couple so please be gentle with me if they are ooc

[kryptsune]

World Building Wednesday! (AU edition)~

The Hunt (Fellswap)

*I am going to start off with some basic information just to start!* 

The Surface:  The surface has been overrun by corrupt leaders. It is very much the concept of big brother. They are a council that presides over the affairs of the world. If you are seen as a threat you will be immediately thrown into “prison” without a trial. They hold occasional public trials in the guise of being fair. Just as WTU claims, the very concept of magic is a threat to them so those that have it are quickly disposed of but leaders don’t always do the dirty work themselves. No. In fact, they use another source by means of execution…the monsters. More accurately it is very similar to the idea of throwing your enemies into a kind of gladiatorial arena. It is not technically considered an execution if circumstances lead to death. The humans are not stupid they know what is going on. Some believe in rebellion against the state and some wonder if the monsters could fix their corrupt world. Either way, the corruption continues and they are not above tossing innocents into “the pit” if it suits their agenda.  “The Pit” (aka the Underworld/Underground):  The underworld is broken up into different factions by location. The only location without a faction or any type of ruler is The Ruins, because of its size and its isolation this is where humans try to reach for some form of Salvation. Asgore, the caretaker, has made it into an encampment for those that have fallen (the innocent ones). It is almost like a refugee camp. Unfortunately very few make it to Asgore’s safe haven. He does his best. Poor goat dad. He is not like canon Toriel however as he will use violence if necessary as he knows that humans are simply using them as tools to get rid of who they deem criminal. There are signs of old campfires, broken tents, and habitation. Before The Ruins is, of course, the main factions. “Snowdin” is the beginning and Crimson is one of the most powerful in the Underworld. 

The Layout of the world: New Home= The Capital Snowdin= Magmire Waterfall= Windyspires Hotland= Tundra

The Underworld is backward to its original layout. The humans end up trapped in The Capital instead and they have to make their way to The Ruins to escape. So it would go like this: The Capital -> Tundra ->Windyspires ->Magmire. The closer the faction to the capital the higher the rank in other words because both Grimm and Crimson live in Tundra. Crim is the lord making him one of the most notorious. He is known for being a loyal “dog” to his queen. Whether that be out of loyalty or self preservation is unclear.  Each faction has a lord or lady that rules over it. The ones loyal to Toriel’s (As a side note she is known as the ice queen) regime and their supposed way of life. This also means the closest ones receive the most benefits. Tundra is the one with the most prestige and of course other monsters are trying to strip that title from its current holder, The Crimson Lord. Due to Crimson’s loyalty, he is almost exempt from any wrongdoing in the Queens’ eyes which means he can do pretty much anything he wants. Which is dangerous and I will explain why in a bit. I have a faction ruler list sitting here so I am going to add that to this as well. They are as follows, of course, this does not account for potential power struggles during the story:  The Capital -> QUEEN: Toriel Dreemurr Tundra -> Lord: Crimson         Lady: N/A Windyspires -> Lord? (I mean she wouldn’t want to be called a lady SHE IS TOO TOUGH FOR THAT!): Alphys         Lady: Undyne Magmire-> Lord: Grillby     Lady: Muffet “It’s Hunt or be Hunted”: The motto of this verse. After so many centuries of humans being disposed of by monsters they become aggressive. In addition the anger toward all of humanity begins to fuel violence in the monsters. The hunts deter monster on monster violence. It also adds fuel to Queen Toriel’s fire that one of the humans that fell down the first time killed her son. This of course is a lie as Asriel seeks refuge with his father in The Ruins. He helps as much as he can watch his mother lose her mind from afar. It saddens him but he refuses to be a part of this new world order. That is when they realized that humans weren’t just falling into the Underworld. They were throwing throwing the worst of the worst. Their undesirables, criminals, and anyone that dare went against their own agenda. At first, they just captured them and held them in the Capitals network of catacombs but then some began to escape causing damage across their “New Home”. Toriel wouldn’t allow it. A proposal turns it into a game of cat and mouse. The humans are detained and released and then the monsters hunt them down. It used to be about protection but now it’s become a sick twisted death game. The forests of Tundra are littered with traps and deadly pitfalls along with the rest of the locations.

The Brothers Grimm:

Grimm is the wilder of the two brothers and is very much a predator type. His name is derived from the mythos of the Grimm or Black dog. I wanted to keep that dark omen symbology in both his name and design. He slinks around in the shadows so that the black dog aspect is not far off. He also loves watching from trees.  He enjoys the catching and hunting aspect of his job and even plays around with his “toys” when he finds them. He will specifically call anyone “chew toy” in a mocking kind of way. That does not mean though that he will not spare you if he catches you. He is naturally curious by things. He also has a little skele tail too. Unlike his brother, Grimm doesn’t really have an ego he just finds his job fun. He is like a giant untamed wolf. Grimm has a love of sweets as well.  He admires his brother but he is not bound to his brother. In other words this is not a master, dog dynamic. He is, however, the more accepting of the two. If he is asked to do something he doesn’t approve of then he most likely won’t. Also just because he has the whole puppy thing going on doesn’t mean he isn’t smart and cunning. Again he likes to play around with those he finds sometimes not even dragging them back to his brother for a while. If you are a threat he will kill you but if you’re not you can probably get on his good side. If he thinks you are cute he will probably flirt with you too. He is not beyond that. He plays the part of the dog quite well. Crimson is more sophisticated. He doesn’t go out on “hunts” himself often as he has a faction to rule over but those brought to him will see first hand that he is an insufferable flirt. He is prideful, egotistical, and commanding. He also has a bad habit of keeping mementos from those he deems worthy (what those are… you don’t want to know). He is stern with his brother and seems very outwardly cold to most unless he is playing up his charm. He is not someone you want to make angry as Toriel considers him to also be the Bloody Lord. His weapon of choice is a rapier. His drinks of choice are red wine and champagne specifically the pink kind. Crimson’s incisor teeth also have that vampire point to them. They are longer than the rest of them. There is far more to Crimson than just a ruthless skeleton lord.

The Ultimate Unlikely Hunters: This backstory will involve Grimm and Crimson’s unusual infliction and conditions. They were both experiments under Rivers research team in the beginning. Having been weak monsters as children unable to gain any LV they had to think of a way to survive. They did not seem to possess the ability to wield magic. Tired, injured, and without hope Papyrus carried his baby brother all the way to Windyspires banging weakly on the metal plated doors. The Royal scientist at the time, Dr. River Styx, took the boys in. River cares about the two brothers and he gives them a choice if they want to become stronger as their souls are not capable of it on their own. Grimm takes the offer hoping it will save his baby brother offering to be the first test subject.  At the time Undyne was nothing but a teenage prodigy lab tech watching the events of soul manipulation take place. At first the process works. Pap is able to conjure new bone like attacks with magic and all seems to be well. The results cause River to start the experiment on Sans next. By this time complications have already begun to show signs. Pap seems to be more short tempered and aggressive even with little things. His mood swings cause him to lock himself up being monitored day by day. 

Sans has never seen his gentle brother this aggressive before forcing himself to look away as they have to strap him down for a follow up experiment. He tries to help his brother the best he can and takes on the older brother role due to Pap’s inability to think clearly. Even he is starting to change. The longer this situation continues the more Sans becomes numb to the feeling. That is until one day Pap’s condition takes a turn for the worse causing him to lash out, bones shifting and elongating. He drops to the ground in agony transforming into a skeletal beast like wolf tearing the entire lab apart.  Sans on the other hand continues to take care of his brother but he too is feeling some strange side effects to the soul manipulation. It turns out that each monster’s ancestry buried deep within their soul draws upon a primal power. Not all monsters were about love and compassion in the beginning. Bringing this primal trait to the surface causes adverse physical and biological changes within the two. Sans is more gradual as he starts to be in immense pain. His soul struggles to keep itself together but even he snaps lunging at a lab tech. He zeros in on their soul pulling it from their chest and sinking his teeth into it, draining it of its life force. The pain is suddenly gone. He realizes that he needs souls essence and power to keep that hunger/thirst at bay. It gives him extraordinary abilities. He remembers a long time ago reading about a monster that humans had such a fear of, the vampire.  As he comes into power he realizes that humans concentrated soul traits are even better than monster souls. The blood has a high concentration of soul essence which sustains humans as well as monsters (yes the monsters bleed in this). His brother learns to control this new beast within himself but not before he nearly claws his brothers socket out, hence the signature scar. Crimson has scars on his entire body from trying to reason with his once feral brother. They slowly work their way up to eventually ruling the second most powerful kingdom in the entire Underworld with exception to The Capitol. The constant hunts keep both the brothers conditions satisfied. No one is quite sure how the two skeleton brothers became this way after River’s disappearance, all except Undyne.       

*This is just to get started! If you have any questions about the characters, how the world works, the layout, story, any of that go ahead and drop me an ask I would love to answer them!*

#undertale #WBW #Worldbuilding Wednesday AU edition #underfell #Fellswap #undertale au #underfell au #The Hunt #friskys multiverse #kits multiverse #multiverse #The Crimson Lord #Crimson #my au #Fellswap au #fairytale aesthetic #lore

[vermss]

jamilton AU- wings of privilege (title under construction)

i completely forgot how to say “working on the title” so there’s that

anyways here’s something that I wrote! I’m pretty proud, I wrote around 1200 words in like an hour so hell yes me! credit to @syrannight for giving me the idea!

The royal family didn’t have guards. 

Well, that was a bit of a stretch. They did have guards, but very few. Why bother? They were above every single one of their subjects. Literally. 

The royal family was born with wings. Large, feathered, honest-to-god wings that unfolded behind their backs. They said it was the gods’ gift, that they were chosen to lead by the higher powers. The people believed them, perhaps not loving them but accepting them as their rulers. Well, they used to love them.

The people had seen no reason to end their monarchy; the Jeffersons were fair and kind and led their kingdom through times of great prosperity and freedom. They loved their people, and their people loved them in return. The Jeffersons were good.

Until they weren’t.

The dawn of a new era was evident in the first decree King Peter made, stating that any dissidents of the king would be prosecuted and publicly hanged. Fear spread through the kingdom like a plague, infecting the people and sinking its harsh claws into their chests, reducing their talk to whispers, their vibrant households to mere shells of their former selves. Soldiers took as they pleased, whether lives or property, and crime was abundant. The king, sitting high above on his throne of gold and wings of rich yellow, tinged dark and repulsive by the stain of his greed and tyranny, didn’t raise a hand for the people so long as his taxes were paid.

Thomas was a small child when this happened, when his grandfather died and the strange shadow fell over the people. His mother told him he was being paranoid, that this was how it had always been. Every time the bodies of innocent citizens hung from poles, displayed for all to see like grotesque trophies, he was told they were attempting to hurt the king. Every time, he nodded, little face scrunched in hatred at these people who wanted his father gone, who hated him because of the wings on his back. He loved his father, and his wings, which were bright, vibrant magenta, his favorite color. Still, he didn’t like the bodies, and he was grateful when his mother came back from her trips and there were less of them.

Then, when he was approaching eleven, tragedy struck his sheltered, spoiled life in his home in the sky. His mother fell ill and died, dark fuschia feathers fading to grey as she shuddered one last breath and fell silent.

It was the only time he’d ever seen his father cry.

The next day, his father took him into his study. “Listen here,” he told Thomas. “Don’t believe the lies they’ll tell you, that all men are created equal. You will someday have all the power one could ever wish for. Use it as you please, because it is your right and yours alone.” 

With his mother gone, he grew closer to his brother, Lafayette. They’d tell each other stories of what they’d do when they were king, the endless sweets they’d have and the days they’d spend playing in the garden, no one to force them to take a bath or eat anything other than mac and cheese. 

Peter Jefferson got colder by the day, never saying anything to Thomas or Lafayette and seeing them rarely, shut in his study, poring over something or other. Thomas, now nearing 19, barely felt his absence. He hadn’t been there much in the first place.

But then Lafayette seemed to do the same. He never talked to Thomas anymore, and when he did it was disturbing. He talked of going down to the ground someday, of mingling with the dirty people below their castle in the sky, of equality and of democracy. One day, as they had one of their increasingly rare and awkward conversations, Thomas said, “but why? Our wings make us greater! Can’t you see? The world is at our feet! We can do whatever we please! Why would you give that up?” 

He seemed to activate something in Lafayette, who stood angrily, glaring at him, words bursting out like he’d been longing to say them. “Can’t you see?” he yelled. “Can’t you see how the people suffer? How they’re killed for saying what they wish? Your father has blinded you to anyone but yourself! There is more to this world than your own happiness and comfort! How can you sleep comfortable in these silken sheets when others lie dying in the cold? Your wings are just that- wings! None of this-” he gestured around them at Thomas’s bedroom, adorned with gold and jewels and filled with expensive trinkets whose uses he hardly even remembered- “was earned! All of this was given to you! How do you not see that this is not right? Are you truly that stupide?” Thomas stared at him. He was, by all accounts, an intelligent child. He could argue for hours with his professors with the merit of this or that (not that he ever actually had; they usually acquiesced to him, using the deferential “yes, my prince” or “of course, your royal highness” and continued with the lesson as if nothing had happened) and was knowledgeable in quite a few subjects, but he couldn’t seem to think of a response. His head was spinning. What had he done to be able to enjoy all of this? Was what Lafayette said true? Were the people really suffering while he lay in the lap of luxury? 

The door banged open, and one of the few guards of the palace barged in, stopping short when he saw Thomas. “Erm,” he said. Clearing his throat, he continued, “Prince Lafayette, please come with me.” Thomas saw a hint of fear in his brother’s normally sparkling brown eyes. What are you scared of? he wanted to ask. But then he was shoved out of the room, and the door was slammed shut again, and Thomas was left to himself, surrounded by anything anyone could have ever wanted. In that moment, he hated all of it.

The day after, they put Lafayette on a plane and he never saw him again. The last thing he’d said to Thomas was “are you that stupid?”, and it rang in his ears constantly. He loathed himself. It was his fault. His fault his brother was gone, his fault people were suffering- 

Don’t believe the lies they’ll tell you.

His father opened the door. “Young man, you cannot stay in there moping. The boy has been dealt with accordingly.”

“He’s my brother!” Thomas said, suddenly outraged. “He’s- he’s not some stupid situation to be ‘dealt with accordingly’, he’s my brother and he’s done nothing wrong!” Peter shook his head condescendingly at him.

“He’s obviously been feeding you propaganda, Thomas. He’s been trying to brainwash you.” Thomas stared at him. “I’ll see you at dinner.” With that, his father turned and left. 

His father’s voice and Lafayette’s voice echoed in his head.

Are you that stupid? Don’t believe the lies they’ll tell you. Are you that stupid? Don’t believe the lies. Are you stupid? The world bows at your feet. Stupide. They tell you lies. Stupide! Lies! Are you stupid? LIES!

He covered his ears and curled into himself, but the shouting in his mind continued. Lafayette’s words had opened his eyes, shown him his life in an entirely new light. But he could be lying. What he said, what he accused his father of- it went against everything he’d ever known. Every single thing he’d been told since he was born contradicted what Lafayette said. But maybe Lafayette was right, and they’d just been hiding it from him. Maybe he was that stupid. But maybe he was lying. But maybe he was stupid. Maybe it was lies. Maybe he was stupid. Maybe-

He shook his head. It wouldn’t do to get stuck in a spiral.

He had dinner in his room, sitting alone on his bed.

I ended it there but I plan to have more chapters out soon, this is just ch. 1! pleeeeeeeeeease leave a comment, tell me what you think, i THRIVE off comments and i tend to abandon projects so any comments would be really appreciated as motivation and to feed my ravenous writer ego

i know Alex doesn’t appear in this chapter but he comes soon i promise

please let me know if you notice any errors, i don’t really edit (i should probably fix that) and tumblr messes up the formatting when i copypaste. once again any comments whatsoever are appreciated!

i am an absolute slut for winged!thomas 

#jamilton #fantasy AU #hamilton #to be continued #alexander hamilton x thomas jefferson #what to tag this as.. #hm..