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kckt88 · 3 months

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The Lost Dragon I - Ensnared.

Summary:

The Greens have repudiated the sucession and ursurped the Iron Throne. After encounting her uncle Aemond at Storms End, he kindaps Vaelys and takes her too Kings Landing - to be used as leverage against her mother.

Whilst the Greens delight in their good fortune, they fail to realise the depths of Aemond's growing feelings for Vaelys and how her presence will ultimately change the outcome of the Dance of Dragons.

Warning(s): Kidnapping, Language, Threats, Angst, Uncle/Niece Incest, Witnessed Consummation, Smut – Fingering, P in V.

AEMOND TARGARYEN x O.C -VAELYS TARGARYEN

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT.

Word Count: 4280

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the House of The Dragon or Fire & Blood characters nor do I claim to own them. I do not own any of the images used.

Comments, likes, and reblogs are very much appreciated.

“You’re lucky you didn’t kill her-how could you be so foolish” snapped Alicent.

"You only lost one eye-how could you be so blind?"

“Her dragon attacked Vhagar-“ reasoned Aemond.

“What does it matter? We have Rhaenyra’s eldest bastard in our clutches, she could prove useful,” said Aegon shrugging.

“Once Rhaenyra discovers that we have her daughter, neither she nor Daemon will rest until Vaelys is returned to them-for all we know they could descend from the skies on their dragons at any moment” urged Alicent picking nervously at her nails.

“I doubt it-None of their dragons are a match for Vhagar“ scoffed Aemond.

“Vhagar may indeed be the largest dragon in the world but even she cannot withstand a combined attack from the dragons they have-you would do well to remember that boy” said Otto sternly.

“What do you suggest?” asked Aemond through gritted teeth.

“We have the girl-we should use her to our advantage. Rhaenyra would not dare attack Kings Landing for fear of her daughters safety” explained Otto.

“Where is my niece currently?” asked Aegon.

“She was taken to the Black Cells Your Grace-“ replied Ser Criston.

“I want her brought here at once-” ordered Aegon, the crown of the conqueror slipping down his forehead.

A small group of guards shuffled out of the throne room and returned a little while later with a thoroughly drenched and bleeding Vaelys Targaryen, her wrists bound together in chains.

"Seven above-have mercy on us" muttered Alicent.

“Welcome back to Kings Landing-“ said Aegon smirking.

“I wish I could it’s nice to be back” replied Vaelys wiping her nose on her tattered sleeve.

The sound of the chains clinking echoed around the throne room.

“My deepest sympathies on the loss of your dragon” said Aegon smugly.

“You can shove your sympathy right up your arse” sneered Vaelys.

“I don’t think your language is very ladylike”.

“Like I care what you think-“ quipped Vaelys.

“I would see you bow before your King” demanded Aegon.

"King? I see no King" snarked Vaelys as she lifted her hand to her forehead and began to look around the throne room.

"I said BOW TO YOUR KING" balled Aegon.

“I bow before no King. All I see is a drunken, usurper CUNT” snarled Vaelys spitting on the floor.

“The bastard dares speak to me in such a manner” roared Aegon.

“I will speak however I please, you will not silence me you drunken wastrel-” quipped Vaelys.

“Mayhaps I should teach the bastard some respect-”.

“-I’m more Targaryen than you will ever be” snapped Vaelys.

“The bastard thinks herself more than a King” said Aegon.

“You look down your nose at me yet you’re nothing more than a half breed. Your dragons blood diluted with that of the Hightower, your nothing but a slithering green snake masquerading as a dragon”.

“Says the strong bastard” raged Aegon.

“I’m not some strong bastard who was lucky enough to favour my mother’s colouring, I am the daughter of the rogue prince himself, Daemon Targaryen” confessed Vaelys.

“WHAT?” exclaimed Alicent.

“Oh please-like you didn’t suspect such a thing” snarked Vaelys.

“How?” asked Alicent.

“On my mother’s wedding night to Ser Laenor-she lay with Daemon” replied Vaelys.

“So, you openly admit that your mother betrayed her marriage to Ser Laenor?” asked Otto.

“Can it be considered betrayal if he gave his permission?” retorted Vaelys.

“He-what?”

“Oh, come on-you know that Laenor only sought the attention of his squires, he couldn’t consummate the marriage, especially when he’d just witnessed the brutal and unnecessary murder of his beloved Joffrey at the hands of your own sworn protector-so of course Daemon was only too happy to volunteer his services” said Vaelys glaring at Ser Criston who narrowed his eyes at her.

“-And your mother was only too happy to accept” snapped Alicent.

“Surely your aware of first night rights-“

“-And what excuse can be conjured for existence of your brothers?” asked Alicent.

“-What do you intend to do with the girl Your Grace?” asked Otto, his patience wearing thin.

“We could always offer her to any of the noble lords who bend the knee and pledge their loyalty to me” mused Aegon, ignoring the look of horror plastered across the faces of his mother and grandsire.

Aemond took a deep breath and folded his arms behind his back, his gaze never leaving his brother.

“We could even leave her chained up in the throne room and they could take turns with her. How many cocks do you think she could she take before she breaks?” said Aegon.

“Your Grace-she is still a Princess of the realm” warned Otto.

“Wed her to me” offered Aemond.

“-And why would I allow such a thing to take place?” asked Aegon.

“I brought her here. She belongs to me-” replied Aemond.

“-And that’s enough of a reason?”

“If not, then mayhaps the prevention of her marriage to Cregan Stark is” said Aemond firmly.

“Stark?” asked Otto.

“Borros Baratheon inquired about her hand in marriage-he seemed interested in taking her to wife, boldly declaring that she would give him many sons, but she refused. It seems her bastard brother has flown to Winterfell and delivered terms in exchange for his support” said Aemond.

“We cannot allow such a match-if Stark honours his father’s oath and bends the knee the rest of the North will follow, we must intervene if we are too secure-“ urged Otto.

“-There isn’t a Stark alive that’s ever broken an oath-you’ve already lost the North and my grandmother was an Arryn, the Eyrie won’t turn against their kin-” said Vaelys smirking.

“-But we still have you” declared Aegon boldly.

“Your Grace-“ questioned Otto.

“-As you were saying brother-you believe that she belongs to you?” mused Aegon.

“There is a debt to be paid and I will take her as payment for the eye her bastard brother carved from my skull”.

“Her maiden head in exchange for your eye? Assuming of course that she is still a maid, after all she is the daughter of a whore” quipped Aegon smirking.

"The only whore I see is YOU" yelled Vaelys.

"Hold your tongue-or I will have it removed" snarled Aegon.

Vaelys was about to answer back, but then she caught Aemond's eye, and he discreetly shook his head.

Deciding it was better to keep quiet, Vaelys lowered her gaze to the floor.

“I will have her as my wife and I will take what is mine” said Aemond, his voice firm and unwavering.

“And when her maidens blood stains your cock. What then?” asked Aegon.

“She will still have her uses” replied Aemond firmly.

“Very well brother. You may take her to wife” said Aegon smirking at the look on Vaelys’ face.

“Your Grace, Aemond has already agreed to marry one of Borros Baratheon’s daughters, he pledged his support to you based on that promise” urged Alicent.

“Offer Daeron’s hand instead. I don’t really think it matters which Prince marries his daughter” replied Aegon shrugging.

“But Your Grace-“ said Alicent.

“-My brother’s debt will be paid” said Aegon firmly.

Just as Alicent was about to respond, her father shook his head and she sighed despondently, Aegon had clearly made his mind up and now her favoured son would be stuck with a bastard for a bride instead of someone more worthy of his station.

“If some of the lords who have declared for Rhaenyra see that her daughter is wed to Aemond, we may be able to sway them to our side” said Otto thoughtfully.

“Exactly-now take your bastard Aemond and see that she is made presentable-you will wed on the morrow, mother will make the arrangements” ordered Aegon.

“Your Grace” muttered Alicent through gritted teeth.

“YOU-“ snapped Vaelys taking a step forward only to be stopped by Aemond.

“Ser Arryk-Escort my betrothed to her temporary chambers, ensure that she is bathed, and that cut is taken care of” said Aemond sternly.

“Yes, my Prince” replied Ser Arryk.

“You may also want to have the chains removed as well?” suggested Otto.

“Hmm” rasped Aemond.

“Cunt” snapped Vaelys.

“Careful niece-come tomorrow, my brother will have other uses for that mouth of yours” said Aegon smirking.

“Then he will find himself without his cock” replied Vaelys as Ser Arryk lead her out of the throne room.

After she had been thoroughly bathed, Vaelys was sat on a chair under the watchful eye of Ser Arryk waiting for Maester Orwyle to arrive.

“Do you not wish to enquire about the wellbeing of your brother?” asked Vaelys as she watched the maids busying themselves with tidying up.

“I’m sure my brother is fine” muttered Arryk solemnly, his eyes fixed upon the door.

“You know it amazes me how different twins can be. I mean there’s Erryk who is loyal, and then there’s you-“ said Vaelys.

“-My brother is a traitor” said Arryk.

“Your brother swore towards the rightful Queen-he is a man of honour, unlike some I could mention” said Vaelys, a soft knock at the door diverting her attention away from her guard.

“Prince Aemond” said Arryk bowing slightly.

“You can wait outside-“

Ser Arryk nodded his head slightly and then shuffled out of the room, only to come to a standstill just beyond the threshold of the door.

“He is to be your personal guard-he will remain stationed outside, so before you get any ideas, remember he’s there” said Aemond as he waved his hand, and a nervous looking maid placed a stool in front of Vaelys.

“What are you doing?”

“The cut needs stitching, I’ve stitched plenty of my own wounds before, or would you rather have the Maester do it, after all he did such a wonderful job on my eye” said Aemond.

“I thought it was Maester Selkin who stitched your eye?“ asked Vaelys.

“On Driftmark-but I’ve had other procedures since then” replied Aemond.

“Other procedures?”

“Removal of my eyelids” said Aemond as he threaded the needle and raised his hand to Vaelys who flinched away nervously.

“I-I-“ stuttered Vaelys.

“If I was going to hurt you, then I would have done it before I brought you to Kings Landing”.

“But you did hurt me-you killed my dragon” whispered Vaelys softly as she leaned forward an allowed Aemond to begin stitching the cut above her eye.

“I’m sorry about Archonei-” whispered Aemond.

“-Don’t say her name” snapped Vaelys.

“It was not my intent to kill her”.

“You chased after us on that old bitch dragon of yours, what did you think was going to happen?” quipped Vaelys, grimacing as Aemond pulled the thread through her skin.

“Vhagar was defending me after your dragon attacked her”.

“Archonei was frightened, she was much smaller than Vhagar, how would you feel having that thing chasing after you” said Vaelys.

“If you didn’t insult me in the first place then I wouldn’t have chased after you”.

“I heard you-shouting your commands, but she wouldn’t listen. Does your King know that you can’t control your dragon?” asked Vaelys flinching again as the needle pierced her skin.

“It was a momentary lapse in-“

“-Your mouldy rock is obviously getting senile in her old age” retorted Vaelys.

Aemond paused for a moment, debating with himself on whether or not he would engage Vaelys in the argument she was intent on starting, but after a few moments he decided against it.

“We are to marry on the morrow-I suggest you rest well” muttered Aemond as he tied the thread and snipped it.

“If you think that I’d willingly marry you dragon slayer, then your even stupider than you look”.

“The alternative is much worse-“ muttered Aemond raising from the stool.

Vaelys looked at Aemond and took a deep breath, she knew Aegon’s threat of offering her to any Lords who bent the knee was not an empty one and despite her anger towards Aemond for what he had done, he was clearly the lesser of two evils.

She would rather be his wife, than suffer the alternative. Her fathers words echoed in her mind ‘Seize your opportunity and do what you must in order to survive’.

“Fine. I will marry you” snapped Vaelys.

“Get some rest Princess. Tomorrow you will be my wife” replied Aemond as he turned on his heel and left the room.

Aemond was stood beside the high septon. He was elegantly dressed, his black tunic decorated with silver dragons and his Targaryen cloak tied loosely around his shoulders. His long hair tied back in its usual half up, half down style.

The horns signalled the beginning of the ceremony and begrudgingly Vaelys took Aegon’s arm.

“You look beautiful. Green suits you” said Aegon smugly.

“Eat shit-” muttered Vaelys.

“Thank you for escorting the bride Your Grace. If you would be so kind as to wait for the Princess to remove her maiden cloak” said the Septon.

Vaelys undid the ties of her maiden cloak and handed it to Aegon who nodded respectfully to the Septon and took his seat next to Alicent and Helaena.

“You may now cloak the bride and bring her under your protection” said the Septon loudly.

Aemond removed the cloak bearing the colours of house Targaryen and draped it around Vaelys’ shoulders.

Aemond then took Vaelys’ hand and smiled as the Septon tied their hands together by a ribbon.

“In the sight of the seven, I hereby seal these two souls, binding them as one, for eternity. Now you may look upon one another and say these vows together” exclaimed the Septon.

“Father, Smith, Warrior, Mother, Maiden, Crone, Stranger. I am his and he is mine from this day until the end of my days” said Vaelys, her lip wobbling slightly.

“Father, Smith, Warrior, Mother, Maiden, Crone, Stranger. I am hers and she is mine from this day until the end of my days” declared Aemond loudly.

“The vows have been spoken. You may kiss your bride”.

Aemond hesitated for a moment before he leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to Vaelys’ lips.

“ñuhon” whispered Aemond as he pulled away (Mine).

The celebration after their wedding was in full swing, how Alicent had managed to pull this off in the limited time she had, Vaelys didn’t want to know.

King Aegon was sat at the head of the table, with a smiling Alicent and Otto by his side.

Vaelys sat next to Aemond near the head of the table, plastering on a smile as Lords and ladies loyal to Aegon came up to wish them well. Tyland Lannister, and one that seemed to linger, Jasper Wylde.

"Many good wishes too you Prince Aemond and Princess Vaelys. A match many shall pray for a fruitful outcome. I must admit Princess, the tales of your great beauty have not been exaggerated".

Vaelys shifted uncomfortably in her seat and Aemond scowled.

"Thank you," nodded Vaelys politely.

All through the feast and dancing, Vaelys couldn’t help but think about her mother.

Did her mother know that she was in Kings Landing? Or had the broken pieces of Archonei been discovered and it was assumed that she had died alongside her dragon?

Her mother was still recovering from the pain and loss of her last pregnancy when she had agreed to let Vaelys fly to Storms End, how cruel would it be to let a mother already grieving for the loss of one daughter, believe her other was also dead.

“Valzȳrys” muttered Vaelys (Husband).

“Is everything ok?” asked Aemond.

“Issa muñā, does she know that I’m here?” (My mother).

“I don’t know-I’ll asked my grandsire” replied Aemond as he rose from his seat and made his way towards his grandsire who was in conversation with Larys Strong.

“Does Rhaenyra know that her daughter is here?” asked Aemond.

“The Princess has not yet been informed of-“ said Otto.

“-She’ll know when she receives the sheets stained with her daughter’s maiden’s blood” interrupted Aegon.

“Perhaps a letter would be sufficient-” mused Aemond.

“No-our whore sister will be sent proof that her daughter has been wedded and bedded. Speaking of which I must inform you brother that the consummation will need to be witnessed, given our older sisters past behaviours”.

“Your Grace-“ exclaimed Aemond.

“We cannot have Rhaenyra contesting the marriage-“ urged Larys.

“Lord Strong is right-“ said Otto.

As much as he could try an argue against it, Aemond knew couldn’t. Rhaenyra would indeed challenge the validity of her daughters marriage, and the witnesses were a preventative measure.

“I request the minimum number of witnesses and sheer curtains-“

“Arrangements will be made,” said Otto.

“Your no fun” muttered Aegon tipping a large gulp of wine.

“I do not wish for my wife to be displayed in such a manner” snapped Aemond.

“Careful brother-anyone would think that you care for the bastard” snarked Aegon.

“She is my wife-“ said Aemond.

“-And that little crush of yours has nothing to do with it?”

“I don’t know what your talking about” snarled Aemond.

“I saw that cuntstruck look on your face when our sister brought her brood of bastards to the Red Keep defending Jace’s claim to Driftmark-Couldn’t keep your eye off our niece, although I must say I don’t blame you. She has grown rather beautiful. Perhaps I’ll take a leaf out of our uncles book and insist on first night rights” said Aegon.

“You have no right” replied Aemond, his heart pounding in his chest.

“I am the King-I have every right, but what sort of brother would I be if I deprived you of the chance to deflower a maid-it’s not as if the last woman you bedded was one” laughed Aegon.

“Don’t ever mention that again” ordered Aemond as he turned on his heel and returned to Vaelys who was now huddled with Helaena.

“I couldn’t talk him out of it-” said Aemond.

“At least you tried” muttered Vaelys, her shoulders slumping.

“Come good sister-I shall escort you to your new chambers” whispered Helaena.

“I’ll distract Aegon and the others” muttered Aemond.

“I know it might not make sense, but it was necessary for Aemond to bring you here”.

“I’m sure it was-“ muttered Vaelys as she watched Aemond bump into his brother, causing the cup of wine he was holding to spill all over the floor.

“You will see in time, and don’t worry you will fly again,” said Helaena.

“I will?” asked Vaelys as she followed Helaena out of the throne room.

“A dragon across the sea, a bronze heart waiting to be free,” said Helaena.

“What?” exclaimed Vaelys.

“A dragon across the sea, a bronze heart waiting to be free,” repeated Helaena as she came to a stop in the middle of the corridor.

“These are not my chambers” mused Vaelys.

“No-there Aemonds. You are to share, it’s important” muttered Helaena as she pushed open the door, took Vaelys by the hand and pulled her inside.

“I’m scared” whimpered Vaelys.

“Aemond will take care of you-he’s not the monster you think he is,” said Helaena.

“He brought me here”.

“I was necessary-a dragon across the sea, a bronze heart waiting to be free. The dragons begin to dance, blood will be shed, begins when two are wed,” said Helaena.

“You keep saying that but-“ uttered Vaelys as the door swung open and Aemond walked in, closely followed by Aegon, Otto, Larys Strong, Tyland Lannister and Maester Orwyle.

“It’s time-“ declared Aegon brightly.

“Will you stay?” asked Vaelys.

“Yes” replied Helaena softly as she stood next to Aegon who huffed impatiently at Aemond who was stood silently observing Vaelys.

“Would you help me with the gown, husband?” asked Vaelys as she turned from him and swept her hair away from her back to reveal a great number of fiddly buttons and laces.

“Of course,” replied Aemond as he reached forward and began undoing his wife’s wedding gown.

Soon she was stood in nothing but a thin shift and Aemond felt his heart quicken in his chest at the sight of her nipples through the sheer fabric.

He was no maid, Aegon had seen to that when he’d dragged him to the street of silk on his thirteenth name day. But Vaelys was no paid whore, that would whisper sweet lies into his ear and make him feel dirty.

She was his wife, and he would treat her as such.

Aemond began pulling off his own clothes as Vaelys climbed into the bed. Her cheeks tinged pink as she glanced nervously at the witnesses who were silent.

“Focus on me. Not them” said Aemond as he finished undressing himself and climbed into the bed.

Vaelys nodded nervously as Otto moved forward and closed the sheer curtains, they didn’t provide much privacy, but it was better than nothing.

“I-I’m ready husband” whispered Vaelys as she pulled off her shift and discarded it on the floor.

Vaelys laid down and smiled shyly as Aemond gazed at her naked body.

“Gevie” whispered Aemond as he slowly reached out and ran his fingers over Vaelys’ breasts (Beautiful).

Goosebumps erupted over Vaelys’ skin as Aemonds hand began to move lower.

“I-I need to prepare you” whispered Aemond.

“P-prepare me?” whispered Vaelys.

“I don’t want to hurt you” replied Aemond.

Vaelys gasped when she felt Aemond’s fingers rubbing her folds.

“Aemond” exclaimed Vaelys as her husband slipped a finger inside her.

Aemond buried his face in his wife’s neck as he began peppering kisses along her smooth skin as he added another finger to prepare her as best, he could.

But in the back of his mind, he was still aware of the witnesses standing at the foot of the bed.

“Come on. Get on with it” groused Aegon.

Aemond removed his fingers and then laid between his wife’s open legs, supporting his weight on his left arm as he reached down and took his hard cock in his hand and placed the tip of it against his wife’s slick entrance.

Vaelys shut her eyes tight and took a deep breath as Aemond sheathed himself within her.

“Listen to her whimpering, who would have thought a whore’s daughter would be so cock shy” laughed Aegon.

“Don’t listen to them-I won’t let them see you” muttered Aemond softly.

Vaelys couldn’t stifle the whimper of pain as she felt Aemond’s cock press further into her.

“That’s it Aemond fuck her harder” exclaimed Aegon gleefully.

“Your doing so well-” muttered Aemond trying to control himself.

Vaelys’ cunny choked his cock so tight that he needed a few seconds to adjust, making him terribly aware that he was not going to last for too long.

Aemond’s cock twitched and throbbed with need, and he released a shuddered breath while Vaelys sighed in relief.

“The pain will ease,” rasped Aemond, waiting for his wife to adjust.

After a few moments, Vaelys nodded slowly her hands grasping the white sheets tightly as Aemond pulled back and thrust forward again.

Aemond rested his head in the crook of Vaelys’ neck as he thrusts faster, his quiet moans muffled against her skin.

“Your perfect-“ whispered Aemond.

Feeling a spark of pleasure Vaelys let go of the sheets and slowly placed her hands on Aemond’s back, holding him close as his movements become more erratic.

Aemond pushed into the hilt for one last time and groaned loudly as his cock throbbed and he spilled his seed.

“A-Are you ok?” Aemond as he gently pulled his softened cock from his wife.

Vaelys nodded, her fingers digging into the fabric of the bed.

Aemond pulled the bedcovers over Vaelys and then moved to sit on the edge of the bed, his eye drawn to the red ring of Vaera’s maidens blood that now stained his cock.

“Are you well Princess. Do you need me to examine you?” asked Maester Orwyle.

“No, I’m-“ muttered Vaelys.

“-The marriage has been consummated. Get out” snapped Aemond.

“The sheets brother” said Aegon.

Aemond slowly ran a hand over his face before he jumped off the bed, his eye moving to Vaelys who clutched the bedcovers too her chest and slowly lifted her body from the bed allowing him to pull the sheet from under her.

“There-“ snarled Aemond as he threw the sheet towards Aegon.

“I see she was a maid after all” quipped Aegon as he examined the blood stained sheet.

“This will do nicely, I’ll make sure to send it to our sister on the morrow, confirming that her precious heir has been wedded and bedded” Aegon as he quickly rolled up the bloodstained sheet.

“You’ve got what you wanted now get out” retorted Aemond.

There was a brief shuffling off feet, before the door to their chambers opened and closed, leaving the two of them alone.

“Are you ok?” asked Aemond as he climbed back into the bed.

“I’m fine” whispered Vaelys.

“We should get some sleep-it’s been a long day” said Aemond as he laid down,

“W-Will you hold me. Please?” asked Vaelys her voice small and barely audible, the tears running down her face.

Aemond slowly nodded and reached towards Vaelys pulling her trembling body against his.

It took far longer than Aemond would have liked for his wife’s trembling to cease, but eventually she fell asleep with her face pressed against his chest.

After discarding his eyepatch on the nightstand, Aemond gazed at Vaelys for seemed like hours.

He could still see the faint tracks of dried tears on her face, and with a shaking hand he reached out and gently stroked her cheek.

“I’m sorry” whispered Aemond as he pulled her closer and closed his eye.

192 notes · View notes

steddiealltheway · 2 years

Text

Disclaimer: NOT a stancy post.

After Hawkins is almost destroyed, Steve and Nancy go on a date. Not even intentionally, but Eddie and Robin are insistent on them going out to the point that they both call and cancel their group plans last minute with terrible excuses.

“My car broke down.”

“Robin, you don’t have a car.”

“Well, I’m vomiting but you and Nancy should still go together! Goodbye.”

“What about Ed-”

Steve hears the dial tone and immediately gets another call.

“I can’t make it.”

“Eddie? What-”

“It’s the bees again.”

“Again-?”

And once again Steve hears the dial tone. Nancy is already at Steve’s - where they had all agreed to meet - so Steve quickly fills her in. They both decide to still go to the movies and eat after.

Before the movie starts, they’re both sitting in awkward silence. Steve breaks it asking, “So you think Eddie and Robin did this on purpose?”

“Definitely.”

Steve hesitantly suggests, “Maybe we should make it a date. See what all their fussing is about?”

Nancy just kind of shrugs and smiles tightly.

Meanwhile, Eddie and Robin are definitely hanging out but are sitting in silence lost in thought. Eddie says, “So… we did it.”

Robin just hums in agreement. Eddie nods and fidgets with his rings.

“It’s weird, right?” Robin continues, “We’ve been pushing it for so long and now it’s… happening.”

“Which is… great,” Eddie says unconvincingly.

“So great…” Robin agrees with the same enthusiasm.

They both look at each other and hold eye contact, then they’re both gasping and speaking at the same time.

“Are you…”

“You too?!”

They’re absolutely giddy and high five each other. Then, they’re complaining about how stupid they are to set them Steve and Nancy up and why did they do it???

“Maybe we just want them to be happy, and we know we have no chance,” Robin suggests.

“Maybe we want this date to fail so we can see if we have a chance.”

Robin nods, “That one! That one.”

They both stare at each other and Robin gives Eddie a look.

“No… no,” Eddie says firmly.

“Come on!”

“We are not crashing their date!”

Robin sighs, “Not crashing it! Just… spying on them.”

Eddie pauses for a moment to consider it. Then he’s jumping up and down asking, “Do we get to wear disguises?”

And of course Robin agrees.

Back at the date, Steve and Nancy are watching the movie, but Steve keeps leaning over to talk about how a character reminds him of Eddie. Nancy agrees with him and keeps going on about how she wishes Robin were there because she’d love the movie.

As the movie goes on, Nancy and Steve find themselves arguing about a different character who Steve insists is like Eddie, but Nancy says they’re like Robin.

“But he’s so energetic like him!”

Nancy whisper argues, “But he rambles all the time just like Robin does.”

“Gosh, it’s embarrassing when she does that in front of people she has a crush on.”

Nancy laughs slightly confused. “What do you mean? She rambles all the time. I don’t know how it could get worse.”

Steve shrugs and goes back to arguing that another character is like Eddie, and Nancy shoots back that not every character can be Eddie.

“But Eddie’s like all of them in different ways! He’s kind, brave, energetic, sweet, ho-”

He’s cut off when the lady in front of him shushes him. Nancy holds back a laugh. Steve and Nancy stay quiet for the rest of the movie.

Eddie and Robin agree to go straight to the diner they had suggested going to after the movie. (They took a while to find appropriate disguises)

They walk in and get looks from everyone in the building. Luckily, Steve and Nancy aren’t there yet. They choose a corner booth that overlooks most of the diner.

Robin fiddles with her fake mustache and asks Eddie if it’s really necessary for them to keep their sunglasses on indoors. Eddie says yes and fights to keep his hair to stay up in his bucket hat. Robin has a matching one that looks unfairly good on her.

Robin fiddles with her black trench coat - curtesy of the deepest depths of Eddie’s closet. Eddie tugs at the flannel Robin made him wear with just a plain black shirt and no extra layers. He moves to fidget with his rings until he realizes they’re not there.

They both feel uncomfortable, but they’re buzzing with anticipation. A waitress comes by to take their order, not slightly phased by the weirdness.

When their food arrives along with two large milkshakes - they deserve it if they’re going to sit through this - Steve and Nancy arrive at the diner. They’re already laughing about something.

Eddie and Robin both go for their milkshakes needing the support.

Steve and Nancy sit at a table next to their booth without paying Eddie or Robin any attention.

“I’m just saying,” Steve starts, “Robin would be the first to die on a deserted island.”

Robin fights the urge to throw a fry at Steve.

“And I think it would be Eddie.”

Eddie aggressively shoves a handful of fries in his mouth to keep himself quiet.

“There’s no way Eddie would sacrifice himself for me so quickly. Robin would totally do it for you though,” Steve says causally.

Nancy shakes her head, “Robin would be more resourceful than that. If anything, I would be the one sacrificing myself for her.”

“I would probably do the same for Eddie.”

Eddie and Robin look at each other, not knowing at all how to interpret the conversation.

“I will say, Nance.” Eddie flinches at the nickname. “I was a bit offended when you chose Robin over me.”

Nancy laughs, “You chose Eddie to be the only one on the island with you first!”

“Touché,” Steve says and then the same waitress is taking their orders.

Eddie and Robin turn bright red and start shoving food into their mouths, not knowing what else to do.

“So, I was thinking about Eddie-”

“I was wondering about Robin-”

Steve and Nancy laugh and Steve gestures for Nancy to go first.

“I was wondering about Robin’s obsession to get us together, but I’ve never seen her with anyone. I was just… I don’t know. Wondering if we should try to set her up.”

Steve huffs out, “I was thinking the same thing about Eddie!”

Eddie and Robin exchange worried eye contact. This can’t possibly be happening.

Nancy comments, “I know someone that would be perfect for Robin. And someone who would probably be a great fit for Eddie. I could see what I can do.”

Steve smiles tightly and nods. The waitress arrives with their food. They both thank her and eat in silence.

Robin kicks Eddie’s shoe and cocks her head towards the door. Eddie throws his hands up trying to ask how they could possibly sneak past the pair without them noticing.

“Why does that feel so wrong?” Steve asks, effectively cutting off Robin and Eddie’s silent conversation.

“It does.” Nancy confirms. She fidgets with a french fry and quietly - but not quietly enough that Eddie and Robin can’t hear - says, “Because maybe you like Eddie.”

Steve replies, “And maybe you like Robin.”

Nancy looks slightly teary eyed and nods at Steve. He reaches out and grabs her hand and says, “I think we definitely do.”

Eddie chokes on his milkshake. Full on spluttering and coughing. Robin gasps and tries to put her hands over his mouth, but she ends up knocking her milkshake over in the rush.

Eddie’s coughing dies down and he winces at Robin. They both turn towards Nancy and Steve who are staring back at them with their jaws dropped.

The pairs hold eye contact for a few awkward moments.

“Wanna join the booth?” Eddie asks, breaking the frozen tension.

Steve groans and puts his head in his hands. Nancy grabs a plethora of napkins and wipes up Robin’s mess - luckily, Robin had already drunk most of it in a stress induced haze.

Steve and Nancy actually move their food to the booth.

Eddie sheepishly takes off his sunglasses and his hair tumbles out of the bucket hat when Steve takes it off.

Nancy peels off Robin’s fake mustache gently and says, “Really?” Robin shrugs and takes off her sunglasses but leaves the hat on.

Steve looks back and forth between Eddie and Robin and asks, “So you heard all of that.”

Robin looks down at the table and rambles, “I mean maybe not all of it. Just most. A lot. Maybe almost all of it...”

“We missed that last part though,” Eddie says with a big smile. “I think you’ll have to say it again.”

“Did you actually?” Steve asks sounding panicked and relieved at the same time.

Eddie reaches out for Steve’s hand and laces their fingers together. “No.”

Nancy leans over to Robin and says, “So I heard you ramble around people you like.” Which ends up making Robin ramble at the speed of light, and Nancy kisses her on the cheek which makes her short circuit and not able to speak.

“So why did you guys try to set us up?” Nancy asks.

“Why did you guys try to set us up?” Eddie fires back.

Steve responds, “Because we wanted to see you happy. Was that the reason you two did it?”

Eddie and Robin make sheepish eye contact. “Yeah, for sure,” Eddie says and Robin just nods along.

Later that night, Robin tells Nancy the truth and she just rolls her eyes and kisses her.

When Eddie tells Steve the truth, dramatically claiming that he set him up for failure all along. Steve replies that it wasn’t truly failure if he got him in the end.

#steddie #ronance #steddie fic #ronance fic #steve harrington #eddie munson #robin buckley #nancy wheeler

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wingedblooms · 9 months

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A rose in the thorns

Remember when Madja told us that the Cauldron made its mark deepest in the mind? And then Sarah showed us this:

The gates to her mind … Solid iron, covered in vines of flowers—or it would have been. The blossoms were all sealed, sleeping buds tucked into tangles of leaves and thorns. (acowar)

Her flowers are described as sleeping buds that are tucked into tangles of leaves and thorns. Feyre describes her mental gates this way just before Elain uses powers that might be connected to mystics. And then, as others have pointed out, Sarah shows us this in the next book:

But Mor scented nothing, saw nothing. The tendril of power she speared toward the woods revealed only the usual birds and small beasts. A hart drinking from a hole in an iced-over stream. Nothing, except - There, between a snarl of thorns. A patch of darkness. It did not move, did not seem to do anything but linger. And watch. Familiar and yet foreign. Something in her power whispered not to touch it, not to go near it. Even from this distance. Mor obeyed. But she still watched that darkness in the thorns, as if a shadow had fallen asleep among them. Not like Azriel's shadows, twining and whispering. Something different. Something that stared back, watching her in turn. (Mor's pov, acofas)

A shadowy watcher in the woods, as if it had fallen asleep in the thorns. That imagery is eerily similar to Elain's sleeping buds. As a seer, she can find and watch others from afar.

"This time, you sent the trembling fawn to find me. I did not expect to see those doe-eyes peering at me from across the world." (Suriel, acowar)

Mystics seek a higher consciousness, to become one with the divine. In tog, beings of a higher consciousness are what characters referred to as gods. And what did we learn about them from the memory in the witch mirror?

They had no forms. They were only figments of light and shadow, wind and rain, song and memory. Each individual, and yet a part of one majority, one consciousness. (eos)

If mystics become one with the divine, then this might mean they become part of that greater consciousness, travel like figments of light and shadow. This could explain why Elain is paired with the half-wraith twins and it’s possible her mystical travel might mimic how Feyre moves when she is connected to the Cauldron through a living bond.

I could not remove my hand. Could not pry my fingers away. I was being shredded apart, slowly, thoroughly. I flung my magic out, desperate for any chain to this world to save me, keep me from being devoured by the eternal, awful thing that now tried to drag me into its embrace. Fire and water and light and wind and ice and night. All rallied. All failed me. Some tether slipped, and my mind slid closer to the Cauldron’s outstretched arms. I felt it touch me. And then I was half gone. Half there, standing silently next to the Cauldron, hand glued to the black rim. Half … elsewhere. Flying through the world. Searching. The Cauldron now hunted for that power that had come so close…And now taunted it. [...] Time seemed to slow and warp. The dark power of the king speared toward us. Toward that clearing where I was neither seen nor heard, where I was nothing but a scrap of soul carried on a black wind. (acowar)

Feyre’s connection to her form is shredded and her tether to the world slips as she is embraced by the Cauldron. She travels with it across the battlefield, a scrap of soul on a black wind, and is forced to watch tragic events unfold. Trapped by the Cauldron, Feyre was not able to step out of its black wind shadow to help, but Elain was.

For a moment, I thought the Cauldron had answered my pleas. But as a black blade broke through the king’s throat, spraying blood, I realized someone else had. Elain stepped out of a shadow behind him, and rammed Truth-Teller to the hilt through the back of the king’s neck as she snarled in his ear, “Don’t you touch my sister.” (acowar)

And this is probably why Elain’s rose is half-hidden in shadows next to the Mother. Her Cauldron-blessed powers might allow her to be half-there, half-elsewhere when she becomes part of that greater, divine consciousness.

Her gaze shifted to the carved wooden rose she’d placed upon the mantel, half-hidden in the shadows beside a figurine of a supple-bodied female, her upraised arms clasping a full moon between them. Some sort of primal goddess–perhaps even the Mother herself. (acosf)

It’s possible she used this power to locate the Suriel, which was practice for the main event: answering Feyre’s pleas and taking down Hybern in place of the Cauldron. Her Sight—a truth teller itself—likely activated Truth-Teller, guiding her to exactly the right place at the right time. The question is, since she is not bound like Feyre, did she then winnow (ie, travel like Hope through the Void, light cutting through the darkness) to save her family? And has she continued to help them in this way?

Islands of grass dotted the expanse, some so crowded with brambles that he could find no safe place to land. The tangles of thorns were a mockery of what might have been - as if Oorid had ever produced roses. Not a single flower bloomed. [...] Run, a small voice whispered. Run and run, and do not look back. The voice was female, gentle. Wise and serene. Run. [...] Run. Was that voice merely all that remained of her human instincts, or something more? She gazed at her reflection as if it would tell her. Something rustled in the thorns of the island, and she snapped up her head, heart thundering as she scanned for that familiar male face and wings. But there was no sign of Cassian. And whatever was in that bramble...She should find another island to head for. (acosf)

This small voice warning Nesta to run also reminds me of Elain’s warning cry to Feyre before she is Made by the Cauldron.

My sisters were shrieking over their gags. But Elain’s cry—a warning. A warning to—To my right, now exposed, Tamlin ran for me. To grab me at last. I hurled a knife at him—as hard as I could. (acomaf)

Sarah planted Nesta’s questions in the Oorid scene to make us wonder. Is this voice something more? And is Nesta’s reflection, her own flesh and blood, a fun hint? After all, who is even better than the spymaster at keeping secrets, and who would’ve known where Nesta was headed? Elain might have defied her sister’s order (like we knew she would) to stay away from the Cauldron and help yet again, a rose bloom half-hidden in the shadows among the thorns. And I bet she will learn a ritual to help focus and ground her movements.

#elain archeron #a rose bloom #half-hidden in the shadows #next to the Mother #seer elain #mystic powers #higher consciousness = no form #figments of light and shadow #half-wraith twins

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burst-of-iridescent · 2 years

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the official zutara dissertation (p.4)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

So far, we have discussed why Zuko and Katara would have been a good couple, how the narrative set them up for a romance through symbolism, narrative arcs and theme, and rebutted the most frequent arguments for why they wouldn’t work.

Now we turn to the last aspect of the show that, ironically, proves how great Zutara is as a ship: the canon romances. In this section, we will dissect the reasons that Katara and Aang do not work in canon, and how this helps to enhance the perfection of Zutara.

BOOK 4: THE TRAGEDY OF KATAANG

1. Kataang is fundamentally imbalanced.

There is no give-and-take between Katara and Aang. Katara is always the one giving emotional support while Aang is always the one taking without providing anywhere close to the same effort in return.

Katara pulls Aang out of the Avatar State when he is filled with rage and grief over the loss of his people (Book 1: The Southern Air Temple), and again when he is devastated about losing Appa (Book 2: The Desert). Katara encourages Aang when he thinks he cannot master earthbending (Book 2: Bitter Work), soothes his guilt over running away (Book 1: The Storm), and comforts him when he is worried about Bumi (Book 2: Return to Omashu), when he is hurting over Appa’s loss (Book 2: Journey to Ba Sing Se), and when he feels like he has failed after the fall of Ba Sing Se (Book 3: The Awakening).

These are just the notable scenes I could find, excluding the dozens of small moments Katara looks after Aang. In return, there are, at best, three moments where Aang gives her emotional support: briefly standing in solidarity with her against Pakku, as well as resting a hand on her shoulder after Jet dies, and when she breaks down after her fight with Hama. The third one, however, also has Sokka with an arm around her, so it can’t even be considered a moment where Aang is the only one to comfort her, as compared to every moment listed above where Katara is the only one to comfort Aang.

In fact, Aang is the only love interest Katara has in the show that never expresses sympathy for her loss of her mother. Every other male character Katara is romantically linked to in some way (Haru, Jet, Zuko) – has a moment of bonding with Katara over the deepest trauma of her life. But Aang, her canonical love interest, doesn’t even give Katara so much as an “I’m sorry” when he hears about her loss.

When the opportunity arises for Aang to actually support Katara in the Southern Raiders for once, he is instead preachy and judgemental (“What exactly do you think this will accomplish?” “Katara, you sound like Jet!” “You do have a choice. Forgiveness” “The monks used to say revenge is like a two-headed rat viper”) and makes it all about him (“How do you think I felt about the sandbenders when they took Appa?”)

It is particularly insulting for Aang to compare Katara’s loss to his, not just because comparing grief is, frankly, insensitive, but also because Aang’s temporary loss of his animal companion is in no way comparable to Katara’s permanent loss of her mother. Comparing Katara to Jet, who Aang is fully aware manipulated her and broke her trust, is also an extremely hurtful and frankly inaccurate comparison to make. Instead of offering compassion and understanding to the girl he supposedly loves, Aang only makes things more difficult for her by deepening her hurt and anger.

What makes this worse is the fact that Katara has never once treated Aang this way, offering him unconditional love and acceptance even when he goes into the Avatar State or yells at her (Book 2: The Desert), while Aang presumes to dictate to Katara how to handle her grief and her trauma. Katara gets no help from Aang in this entire episode, at her lowest moment, when she is most in need of it.

This is, in fact a pattern that lies at the core of Kataang. It is primarily slanted in Aang’s favour, allowing him to benefit far more from the relationship than Katara does. The two established canon benefits Aang provides Katara are that he is a means for her to achieve her dreams (since he enables her to travel) and that he gives her hope. That’s great, but it’s in no way exclusive to Katara.

As the Avatar, Aang provides hope to everyone in the world who wants to defeat the Fire Nation. The fact that he helps her to travel and learn waterbending is great, but it is a benefit she receives from his role as the Avatar and his flying bison, not Aang himself as a person. There is nothing that Aang as a character gives Katara that she cannot get from someone else, and in fact she frequently gets more from other characters.

There was clearly an attempt at the start to establish that Aang helps Katara have fun and allows her to regain some of her lost childhood. This could have worked if it had actually been sustained, but it isn’t. Apart from one penguin sledding scene and one dance scene (which we’ll get into in the following section), Aang is just another person for Katara to look after, support and help, to her own detriment.

Kataang does not work because the emotional labour of the relationship falls primarily and heavily on Katara, a character who is already burdened with being the caretaker for everyone else, and who has assumed this role since she was eight years old. The imbalance in this relationship is particularly damning given that it runs contrary to the show’s key theme of balance and harmony, especially when one partner is supposed to be the embodiment of balance and is the literal protagonist.

2. Katara and Aang are unable to see and accept each other for who they truly are.

Aang’s idealization of Katara is fairly explicit, with multiple shots from his perspective where she is literally presented in slow motion and rose-tinted vision. This is a fairly common method of indicating romantic attraction in kids’ shows so I can let that slide, but the real problem is that Aang cannot, or will not, see and accept all of Katara. In fact, he tends to dismiss her anger and her darker side on multiple occasions:

When Katara challenges Pakku to a fight (Book 1: The Waterbending Master), Aang tries to deter Katara by saying “Katara, you don’t have to do this for me!” He instantly assumes that the only reason Katara would indulge in such violent pursuits is for him, rather than her own rightful anger at the sexism she is facing, thus reframing the situation around his needs instead of hers. Furthermore, the fact that his instinctive response is to dissuade instead of supporting Katara, despite knowing that she has already tried the diplomatic route, proves how Aang is more focused on dismissing Katara’s anger than understanding that why it might be justified and even necessary. He only supports her when she makes it clear that she will not be deterred (a rather frequent pattern in their dynamic).

When Katara is irritated at Toph for refusing to be a part of the group, and yells at her (Book 2: The Chase) Aang’s response is to go “No, she didn’t mean that!” (to which Katara actually says “Yes, I did!”). Instead of trying to validate Katara’s feelings to find a solution, Aang’s first response is to downplay or even erase her anger to play peacemaker.

Aang notices that Katara is upset with her father (Book 3: The Awakening), yet never bothers to get to the bottom of it or helps her deal with it after she says she’s fine (even though she is clearly not fine). In contrast, when Katara notices that Aang isn’t acting like his usual self on the way to Ba Sing Se, she makes it a point to get to the root of the matter and tries to solve it.

Aang says “You did the right thing. Forgiveness is the first step you have to take to begin healing” when Katara says that she did not kill Yon Rha (Book 3: The Southern Raiders), to which she frowns and tells him that she didn’t, and will never, forgive him. Aang still cannot see that his own beliefs are not what is best for Katara, that they take different views of anger and justice, and hers are just as valid as his.

Aang is in love with a shallow version of Katara, with the kind, gentle girl who takes care of him. He cannot reconcile his view of her with the Katara that can also be vengeful, furious and merciless. Aang sees Katara’s rage and Katara’s softness as separate, when in reality one cannot exist without the other. Katara’s kindness and compassion is driven by her anger and righteousness, and vice versa. It is what compels her to challenge the sexism of the Northern Water Tribe, to stand up for the imprisoned earthbenders, to help the Fire Nation village. Katara’s anger is an intrinsic part of who she is, and while Aang usually helps her with the actions she takes as a result of that anger (since it does benefit people), he is never shown to understand it as a part of Katara. Instead, he mitigates, downplays, or when all else fails, ignores it entirely.

Let it not be said, however, that Aang shoulders all the blame.

Katara also falls victim to idealization, unable to separate Aang from the Avatar, the person she has pinned all her hopes of ending the war on. Katara’s unwavering faith in Aang blinds her to his faults – running away from his problems instead of confronting them, being too playful and careless when he needs to be serious, being selfish and self-centred at times. Every other major character has taken Aang to task for these flaws, either scolding him for his mistakes or challenging him, except Katara.

When Aang burns Katara with his firebending due to his carelessness (Book 1: The Deserter), Sokka is the one to hold him to task for it. Katara, the one who was actually injured, and would have been permanently scarred, by his actions, brushes away his apology and tells him it’s okay. She does not scold him, or even express displeasure with him, despite the fact that she only got hurt because he blatantly refused to listen to her concerns or her advice.

When Toph criticizes the way Aang is approaching earthbending (Book 2: Bitter Work), Katara is the one who tries to persuade Toph to adopt a softer teaching method. She coddles and comforts Aang when he is upset about his lack of success at earthbending, both refusing to push him and attempting to dissuade Toph from doing so as well.

When Zuko scolds Aang for taking his training too lightly and challenges him (Book 3: Sozin’s Comet Part 1) Katara immediately leaps to Aang’s defense. Despite knowing Aang is nowhere near ready, and that the comet is approaching dangerously soon, Katara still excuses Aang instead of helping him to grow and do better.

Even when Aang is actively in conflict with her decisions, Katara still refrains from attacking his and telling him why he is wrong. She only defends herself, and her own choices. The one and only time Katara ever calls Aang out on his flaws is when he refuses to kill the Fire Lord, a matter of global importance where the lives of thousands hang in the balance. Even then, however, her indomitable faith is unshaken, and she never once doubts he will return, despite his track record of fleeing from difficult tasks (which it looks like he has just done once again).

Katara is never able to meaningfully challenge or confront Aang, usually enabling him when he actually needs to be pushed. This makes it impossible for Katara and Aang to meet each other as equals, which spells disaster not only for their interpersonal relationship but also for their future roles. As the Avatar, Aang needs a partner who can disagree with his decisions when necessary, who is capable of balancing out his worst qualities instead of enabling them, and can tell him when he is doing something wrong. Katara, at least in the show, is rarely (if ever) able to do this, and from whatever the comics and LOK tell us of their relationship... it seems clear that she never learned how to.

The sad thing is that Kataang could have worked. They are both idealists and optimists, sometimes to the point of naivete. They are both the last of their respective bending disciplines. Katara could have helped Aang to grow and heal from his trauma, while Aang could have helped her rediscover some of the childish playfulness she lost with the death of her mother and take the weight off the world off her shoulders.

Instead, the show created an imbalanced relationship that forced a teenage girl to play caregiver with no reciprocation, one where both parties saw the other through rose-tinted glasses instead of understanding and accepting them for who they really were.

Ironically, therefore, Katara’s canonical romance only serves to improve Zutara, as the imbalance and shallowness of Kataang perfectly juxtaposes and highlights the beautiful harmony, intimacy and depth that Zuko and Katara have in comparison.

#zutara #anti kataang #aang critical #the official zutara dissertation

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heraldofcrow · 2 days

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Alright so for the asks!

For Maria, Bloody Crow, and Gherman

2. A canon or headcanon hill I will die on

14. Most heroic moment

16. Deepest darkest secret they won’t even admit to themselves

20. Scars

49. Favorite toy as a child

& 12. a Crack headcanon for hm idk Ludwig? XD

Oooo boy! Okay, let’s gooo!

(A lot of these are in fan-fic/headcanon territory for obvious reasons).

Ask game:

—

2. A canon or headcanon hill I will die on

Maria—After her death, her soul was split into two parts. One part inhabited the Doll in the Dream, representing Maria’s childhood innocence, love, hope, kindness, and purity. The second part took form in the Nightmare and was who we fought. The cold, broken, sinful side of Maria that wanted to bury the evil of her past.

Bloody Crow—He was Maria’s younger brother. Nuff said xD

Gehrman—He once had a biological daughter that he lost and briefly idealized Maria as a surrogate, but fucked up the relationship by not being honest with her about everything the Hunt was, and by projecting his loss onto her—not seeing her fully as someone very different from his daughter until much later. But by the time he woke up, she was gone. He fell into old habits when he created the Doll, but felt so guilty that he abandoned the project all together.

14. Most heroic moment

Maria—She had a few grand moments where she saved the other hunters from calamity in the chalice dungeons, but admittedly, with what I wrote for her, her biggest moment of “heroism” was tainted. It was when she fought Gehrman to defend Kos and her child. A little late for heroics though ;)

Bloody Crow—It was SUPPOSED to be when he was a kid and he rushed to the Fishing Hamlet to warn Maria about what was going to happen. That ended in bloody disaster and Crow realized he may have been born to play a different role :)

Gehrman—Gehrman would say he never had one. He would say he failed everyone from the very beginning. However, I think when he chose to be the first hunter to defend others from the beasts, that was his most heroic and selfless act. Or when he tried to set the Paleblood Hunter free from the Dream. A sort of redemption. He tried.

16. Deepest darkest secret they won’t even admit to themselves

Maria—For Maria, it’s the Fishing Hamlet. She is in massive denial over what happened. She won’t admit that she saw the signs of humanity in the villagers and chose to ignore them until she literally couldn’t anymore. She’s terrified of that darkness within herself and hides it constantly. She’d rather die than admit to it. Her fatal flaw.

Bloody Crow—He has so many, but maybe the worst one is that his love for Annalise is rooted entirely in a desire for a sense of maternal acceptance he was deprived of early on. It’s such a fucked up and twisted idea that he can’t bring himself to even think about it.

Gehrman—He projected his early life losses onto Maria and that’s why he ultimately failed her. He doesn’t want to admit that he placed the “surrogate” burden on her shoulders subconsciously. It seems so shameful and pathetic to him. He didn’t want to admit it until after he created the Doll and realized the pattern ;-;

20. Scars

Maria—She has a couple on her hands from when she gripped the blades of Rakuyo too tightly during fits of anxiety.

Bloody Crow—As you’ve seen in my drawings, his face is brutalized. He has scars on his limbs from childhood, a few around his neck from incisions, and his face is cut across the lips, nose, cheeks, and left eye. He also has burn scars around his jaw and collarbone. These all heal when he becomes a full Vileblood.

Gehrman—Well, his leg is…severed lol. But for lesser scars, he has some old hunting scars that date back even to his youth on his arms and back. Nothing too serious. He was always good at dodging, hehe.

49. Favorite toy as a child

Maria—She had a creepy rag doll with button eyes (totally not inspired by Coraline) that she loved to scare the other little Cainhurst girls with by leaving it in weird places randomly xD

Bloody Crow—He had a little porcelain dove that Maria had bought for him from an Eastern merchant. It was just a little figurine but Crow loved it. He accidentally broke it during one of his more violent schizophrenic episodes and never told Maria out of guilt.

Gehrman—A little stuffed dog named Blitz!

12. Crack Headcanon

Ludwig—Lol, he was actually terrified of horses when he was small and it took him years to get over the fear of riding them. He eventually started to get so tall that he realized his long-haired gangly ass had more in common with them than other humans xD

#thanks girl!!#gehrman the first hunter #bloody crow of cainhurst #ludwig the holy blade #lady maria of the astral clocktower #bloodborne #asks #ask game #mutuals

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winx-trash · 2 years

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Finished rewatching season 4. Figured I'd make this little retrospective because this season is kind of special to me.

It has a special vibe. Not the one I mentioned when I was talking about s1-3. It's something entirely else. And now I can properly articulate what exactly makes season 4 stand out so much even though it's arguably not the best season of Winx.

For one, season 4 brings some of the very noticeable changes to the animation and the artstyle. Somehow it's gotten even brighter and more colorful compared to the previous seasons. And the animation also begins to shift towards the puppet animation (none of these changes so far as my favorite, I really liked the way the first seasons kept the balance between colorful character design and sometimes bleak and dark environment). Aside from that the entire sound design is revamped for this season. Which I assume is due to licensing issues as even the Enchantix song had to be taken from the movie. But I honestly have no idea. In addition to that we also get fuck ton of pop rock songs which are still absolute bangers even now. "Superheroes" (ending credits song) is my all time favorite. I fell in love with it the moment I heard it.

The narrative also takes an interesting turn. Winx, no longer just regular students, have to face the hardships of adulthood. New responsibilities, new place, new people, new powers and new enemies. This is the first and only season of Winx Club that breaks the status quo by forcing them out of Alfea to Earth where the girls have to learn to navigate a completely new environment (except Bloom of course). It's a bumpy ride for everyone including the Specialists. And they fail a lot at first. Their first failure against the Wizards brings down their confidence but it's their belief in themselves what eventually helps them overcome their problems.

Their goals on Earth are to make people believe in magic again and find the last Earth fairy. That fairy is of course a girl named Roxy who quickly became my favorite character. People love to say she's just like Bloom and that's why she's not interesting but while the show does draw a lot of parallels between Bloom and Roxy I think that statement is misunderstanding Roxy's character. Roxy's conflict of being the last fairy of Earth and coming to terms with it is heavily connected to the central theme of the season which is about believing, to no one's surprise. Roxy has to learn to believe in herself if she is to save the Earth fairies from imprisonment. In turn for all the support she received from the Winx she helps them with their task of tapping into the hearts of the people. She explains that you can't force people to believe in something. The nuance of the situation the Winx found themselves in is also what sets this season apart from other seasons and what makes it special.

The Winx spent a great amount of time trying to get people to believe in fairies. Even with Believix' new powers, it proves to be a strenuous task. People of Earth are quite egocentric and at times they can be cruel. But most of them just want to live their lives. And with how busy life can get there really is little to no time or energy to appreciate life and the good things that it brings. Learning to believe in magic is very low on the list of everyone's priorities. And that's why the Winx have only been effective when in time of peril. The burning building, the robbery, the disaster at the train station. You really begin to believe in miracles after surviving a dangerous event. And for some it's what drives them to not take anything for granted. Each of the Winx have their own form of Believix power that help them inspire others. Aisha can give people courage to overcome their fears, Tecna can help people see the reason and reconsider their actions, Musa can help others to listen to their deepest feelings, Stella can calm someone down and make them feel safe, Flora can make you see the beauty all around you and to respect it, while Bloom can help you appreciate life.

I know all of this may sound cheesy but it's all very wholesome to me even as an adult. I still remember how I used to believe in magic and fairies because of cartoons. And how much I wanted to become one myself. Now, rewatching the season in my twenties the theme of believing in magic took a whole new meaning for me. It's not about magical powers and cute outfits anymore. Now, it's about learning to believe, learning to trust people again, to appreciate life for all the good and bad things, to be open to new adventures that await, and finally to believe in myself. It's a healing process that may take years but one day I'll get there. I do want to believe again and bring the magic back in my life.

Thank you, Winx Club, for being an important part of my life.

#psa I know this season has issues that I will talk about in some other post but for now I just wanted to have this #winx #winx club #winx s4 #winx club season 4 #winx bloom #winx flora #winx stella #winx tecna #winx musa #winx aisha #winx layla #winx roxy #Honestly #if the season overall was handled better and the last episodes weren't a confusing mess this season would have been the best

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elfdragon12 · 4 months

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Okay, so I think there may not be a better illustration of why I don't like Megatron's character arc in MTMTE than Dinobot in Beast Wars.

Megatron's just handed things without the audience really getting to see him put the work in. A good example of this is is how he decides being a racist towards organics is bad. In issue 43, he has a quiet realization that humans are "fragile, not weak". He hasn't had any interaction with real humans since returning to Cybertron and the Lost Light crew seems to be pretty dismissive of them (Rung is surprised humans have literature. Our heroes), so your guess is as good as mine as to how he figured this out. He takes a step back in issue 50 when he complains about Rodimus hiding the fact they were helping an organic race when he wanted to focus on mechanical races. However, in the next issue, he takes 50 steps forward and decides to be the stalwart defender of the comatose organics they found. Why? Here's the straight explanation:

I mean, this sounds all thought out and having thousands of screams piped directly into your head would certainly be A Lot™️, but I guess he immediately came to the right conclusion because this incident only happened, like, a few hours beforehand and they've had to deal with a mutiny and a full horde of back-up DJD members. He's not had a whole lot of time to really process it. So I would love to know when he actually took the time to do that. But no, Megatron got his required development and we're moving on.

Also... I guess the right way to hear the screams of people you slaughtered is funneled directly into brain rather then as ambient noise as you kill them.

To contrast, Dinobot's arc in Beast Wars.

Dinobot joined the Maximals in the second episode, however, he wasn't really a Maximal. He still considered himself a proud warrior of Predacon tradition. He manipulated Cheetor and Terrorsaur, constantly butted heads with the other Maximals, and tried to become leader the two or three times it looked like Optimus Primal had died... However, as the episodes progressed, you can see him changing bit by bit. A key episode for this development being "Gorilla Warfare", when Primal gets infected by a virus and goes into berserk mode and Dinobot tries to think like Primal. He failed and better valued Primal's mindset. Although we did have this development, Dinobot still wasn't really a perfect Maximal. He still butted heads and did not believe deep down that he had a place with them, as we see in the season one finale two-parter.

Then the second season re-introduces the Golden Disks and Dinobot was thrown into personal emotional turmoil as he remembered his impending death now he knows they landed on Earth. After this point, Dinobot made a lot of decisions, some good and some bad. He rejoined the Decepticons for a little bit. The writers show they understood the famous Hamlet soliloquy and he gives his own version of it. His relationship with the other Maximals becomes more tenuous and his biggest critic, Rattrap, gives his deepest barb by the fact that he couldn't tell where Dinobot stood anymore. The time comes and Dinobot knew he could change the future... But could no longer do it as now he was a Maximal in every way that mattered. Despite the fact that he knew he wouldn't have back up, he charged in to save the proto-humans and preserve humanity's place in the future. In his dying moments, he asks to be judged truly by his actions, good and bad, and "the rest is silence".

Dinobot's arc,rather than being a mostly straight line like Megatron's, has its ups and downs. Dinobot has struggles and, at times, feels isolated and confused. We see his friendships with Optimus and Rattrap develop, deepen, and be tested. Dinobot's lessons are earned and we see the steps along the way. Honestly, it's one of, if not the, best character arcs in the franchise.

Characters don't need to die in order to have an impactful character or redemption arc, but we do need to actually see them put the work in.

#transformers #critique #It's a little unfair because Dinobot is great

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proudfreakmetarusonniku · 1 year

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Throughout the month of December, I’m going to be making several Exile Arc essays to explore my favourite arc in all of media, ever, and as a celebration of its two year anniversary! This essay is about theorising about Dream's motives for targeting Tommy, the general contradictions in his motives and actions, and an exploration of his loneliness. Obviously, everything here is to do with the RP characters. Discussion of abuse in detail is inevitable, along with suicide, kidnapping, torture, mental health issues, and self harm, so be warned. And without further adieu, onto the essay!

——

There is one question that overshadows everything in relation to Exile, and that is the one Tommy asked himself and never got answered: why? Why Tommy? Why so cruel? How could Dream come by, day by day, see Tommy deteriorate, and only push him further? How could Dream justify torturing a defenceless teenager so much? How on Earth did this help him be less alone?

One might assume it had to do with George’s house, or Spirit, but we actually know for a fact that wasn’t the case. Exile was not an act of passion in the moment, it was calculated and planned, most likely weeks if not months before it was put into action. Dream had been griefing buildings with Puffy well before Tommy actually touched George’s house, and when Tommy did, not only did he exaggerate the fairly minor damage but he pushed heavily for an exile and no other punishment, to the point of taunting Tommy in private to try and make any other punishment fail. And keep in mind, George himself didn’t want Tommy exiled!

This isn’t to say these actions had no effect on Dream, he’s not some emotionless robot- in fact, he’s a very emotionally driven character- but whatever inspired Dream to do Exile is something much father back than those things, and something intense enough that he wouldn’t stop at getting it done no matter what Tommy did.

Others might assume it to be because Tommy was simply that chaotic, but this is also untrue. Every action Dream paints as unique to Tommy- burning down Ponk's tree, stealing, creating nations, disobeying him- are all things other people on the server have done before Tommy, or at least alongside him. Tommy as a character is remarkable by the sheer lack of conflict he himself started, actually! He gets INVOLVED in a lot of it, but he’s rarely the instigator. Even the Disc War started as a conflict between Sapnap and Ponk.

Tommy is very much a follower, not a leader himself. On his own, he’s mostly harmless, and what harm he can do can be pretty easily redirected. In fact, his worst traits were encouraged by others, initially Sapnap, but even eventually Dream himself, who would help Tommy grief people on occasions. So that, clearly, was never Dream's issue, or at least it’s nowhere near as clear cut as that.

The idea that Tommy had any political power is also untrue. Tommy explicitly stepped down from his role as VP during the Sixteenth, explicitly citing the conflicts he'd had with Dream as a reason he didn’t want the role- he didn’t want to cause harm to the country through it. Even if he was forced into the role, he didn’t exactly want to do anything with it, and this was something he'd said directly to Dream.

So… why Tommy? Was it hatred? While that’s an easy answer to arrive at, and is certainly a possibility, I'd argue that, with what we know about Dream, it’s also untrue.

See, Dream is a liar, but his lies come from a remarkably consistent worldview. One where the world is cruel and harsh, where people will abandon you the second you lack power, where it’s kill or be killed and you have to do bad things out of necessity. Even when it comes to people who openly don’t hold this view and push back against it, he tries to turn them over to this view of the world instead of weaving a more believable lie.

This, I’d argue, is because Dream sees those ideas as simply a fact of life. Those are the beliefs he holds the deepest, and ones he's likely held for a long time if they’re so ingrained in him. He views the world around him as one constantly at his back, and himself as merely hypervigilant by necessity, and any sort of disobedience an immediate sign of betrayal.

The reason I believe this to be true is that it explains something that’s otherwise VERY confusing: Dream's motives being to bring back his friendships and not be alone, while he's the one who’s broke those friendships.

He humiliated George and Sapnap publically- through the dethronement and basically saying he didn’t care about the, in the spirit speech, respectively- and the second they started trying to do their own thing in Mexican L'Manberg, he pretty much cut them off completely. He built up a fake “friendship” with a genuinely believing Tubbo, but broke it cruelly and humiliatingly. He abandoned Ranboo to die, and brushed off how upset it made Techno feel. Even in the finale, he completely brushed off Punz trying to point out they were friends, treating him like he wasn’t even there.

And, there’s one utterly VITAL thing people forget: DREAM AND TOMMY USED TO BE FRIENDS. Close ones, at that! Tommy looked up to and admired Dream, while Dream did find Tommy annoying at times but also would cheerfully assist him in whatever antics he had planned at others. Dream even left a letter to Tommy talking about his motivations in Pogtopia, something that even back then was unlike the already guarded Dream. They were friends, and Dream threw it all away for the revival book, and for exile.

This, on its own, seems like a complete and utter contradiction to Dream not wanting to be alone. After all, he's been the one who's utterly tanked every relationship he’s ever had, a lot of the times completely deliberately. But it makes a lot more sense if Dream felt like he was the one betrayed in these actions. Dream can’t handle the idea that he’s the one who royally screwed up his own happiness, so the whole world has to be against him. And if the whole world is against him… he has to fight back, right?

So, from this, what would a friend actually have to be like to not “betray” Dream? Well, they’d have to be obedient. They'd have to not only ignore but embrace any sort of upset Dream causes them. They'd have to never want to do things independent of his wishes, and they'd have to always follow his plans and never question them. They'd have to not care enough about anyone else that they'd abandon Dream for them, and their life would revolve around him.

… say, don’t you think that describes Tommy in Exile Arc PERFECTLY?

In Dream's own heavily twisted, unhealthy view of the world, Exile Arc Tommy would have been the perfect friend, wouldn’t he? And I don’t believe that’s a coincidence. Despite what he says, Tommy WAS his friend, and Dream's always cared deeply about his friends. Exile would be around the time he'd be almost completely alone, the Dream Team falling apart and the server starting to turn against him more and more. During that time, Dream would have longed for any friendship more than anything, being someone deeply afraid of ever being alone, and desperately wanting the simplicity brought by those you care about.

I think the reason Dream never specifically answered Tommy on why he hurt him is because, in a way, he already had. He didn’t want to be alone. And, by that point, he was so desperate he'd willingly abuse and break down Tommy into an obedient little puppet if it meant there was someone who wouldn’t betray and abandon him like he saw the rest of the world as doing.

Dream's desire from control stems from a very, very warped sense of love, one he holds over the entire server to a degree but his former friends most of all. Every action of his is driven by that desire for companionship. An all loving hero is a trope we're familiar with, but Dream is an interesting inversion of that idea- an all loving VILLAIN, motivated by the power of friendship in its most toxic form.

And with the amount of times Dream has argued his heinous actions are helping to multiple people… I wonder if he believes that too, to a degree? There’s an idealism to him when he talks about the future that’s so jarringly different to his usual cynicism, and I think that might be because there’s some genuine truth to him when he says his actions are for the better.

Yet, if this is the case, we can see very clearly that everything he does is so twisted that, even if it somehow works for a greater long term, it harms and traumatises those around him, and forces them into a future they have no knowledge of nor one they consented to. Dream's actions show a clear disregard to the autonomy of even people he cares for, and their mental- as well as physical- health. A disregard that he also shows to himself.

On that note, a lot of what Dream tells Tommy in exile relies heavily on his aforementioned worldview. While, obviously, a lot of that is because he was intentionally forcing Tommy into complete and utter dependence on him so he could be an ally- see my previous Exile essay onto why I think he did that!- I wouldn’t be surprised if, in his own fucked up way, he was also genuinely trying to teach Tommy what he saw as harsh truths.

Your friends will abandon you the second you lack power, and if he has to make up that happening it’s still a way to teach Tommy that before he's hurt. You'll have to survive through harsh environments, through pain and suffering. The only peace you'll have is if you accept that and devote your life to love, and to do that you need power, and you need total dominance.

I don’t believe Dream hates Tommy. If Dream hates someone, he'll usually kill them, and he's fought VERY hard to make sure Tommy has never permanently died. He certainly wouldn’t make them dependant on him and try to turn them into an ally. His feelings are complicated, and Tommy is absolutely who he uses as a scapegoat- but he doesn’t hate him at all.

No, what I believe to be the case is that Tommy is a symbol of the concept of disobedience. There was plenty of chaos before Tommy joined, but there was one key difference- the server members respected Dream's authority. Tommy didn’t. The actual actions Dream brings up are irrelevant- as mentioned, they’ve all been done by other people, but those other people he could CONTROL. Tommy he couldn’t, and therefore Tommy was the perfect person to blame, and that made him important.

So, in a way, I don’t think Dream was lying about calling Tommy the key to the server in the Disc Finale. HOW he explained it was him fucking with Tommy, obviously, but he does literally see Tommy as more an ideal than a person- the ideal of defiance, the ideal of betrayal. Not as evil, necessarily, but as something that needs to be tamed. With force, if necessary. Then, and only then, would he no longer be alone.

… but, by seeing Tommy as powerful, he's the one who GAVE Tommy the power. Tommy's one of the poorest people on the server, and generally not exactly ambitious in anything but pranks. On his own he's harmless, and Exile itself left him even more devastated- I have an essay planned about the extreme mental and physical damage caused to Tommy in Exile, actually- but by elevating him to this sort of oppositional force of nature, it meant he made Tommy himself his weakness. Focusing on Tommy was Dream's greatest mistake.

If he'd never abused Tommy, he'd never have lost. Yet his own loneliness caught up to him, his own paranoia, and he set the seeds for his downfall in sadistic cruelty he'd deluded himself into seeing as the lesser of two evils. Dream and Tommy are both characters motivated by love, but while Tommy's healthier view of attachments is what keeps him alive, Dream's toxic view where he refuses to show weakness is what ultimately lead to his downfall.

Anyway, what are your thoughts? Feel free to share- I love talking about Exile in any context and I’d love to hear other peoples opinions! I hope you enjoyed me talking about my special interest haha.

#Dream smp #dream smp analysis #c!tommy #c!dream #exile arc #primeboys (derogatory)#tw abuse #tw posessive behaviour

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storyofmychoices · 2 years

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To Have or To Lose

[Mal Volari x Daenarya Masterlist] [Mal's Orphanage]

Characters: Mal Volari, Tyril Starfury, Maiele (@lilyoffandoms's OC)

Pairings: Mal Volari x Daenarya (F!OC) ; Tyril Starfury x Maiele (OC)

Book: Blades of Light and Shadow (future)

Word Count: <;1,000

Rating/Warnings: Teen+/Mature to be safe (There is one small part that heavily implies a sexual situation)

Prompt: @choices-september-challenge-blog "Do you ever shut up?" ; @choicesficwriterscreations : Just the Boys

Setting: This takes place shortly after "A Proposal (of sorts)"

Synopsis: After failing to propose to Daenarya, Mal turns to her best friend (Maiele) and Tyril for help. (Unfortunately, for Mal, Daenarya has already told them what happened and asked them not to help Mal).

"No."

"Why not?"

"I promised Daenarya I wouldn't help you."

"She doesn't have to know!"

Maiele's gaze narrowed on the short man. "You hope to begin your engagement by going against your would-be-fiancée’s first wish?"

"No, but—"

"No," Maiele repeated, attempting to close the door in Mal's face. "You have to do this alone."

"I tried! I'm hopeless." Mal pushed past the large elf, slipping under his outstretched arm and making his way to the sitting room where he found Tyril deep in thought. "Tyril, help Maiele see reason. He needs to help me help Daenarya."

Tyril glanced up momentarily. "I believe Maiele's reason is sound. Daenarya was quite clear that she wanted you to solve this problem on your own. Maiele was not to assist you or offer suggestions. The proposal must come from you."

"Ugh," the Rogue groaned in frustration. He flopped onto the sofa. His legs fell open as he slouched in the chair. "I thought we were good there for a minute. I mean I asked if she wanted to get married. She said yes. I said I did too. So I thought, great, we're good. We're getting married. But Daenarya said it didn't count; it has to be better." Mal droned on, letting out all the anxieties about the proposal he had been holding in while trying to figure it out on his own. "At first, I thought, no problem. Fancy dinner. Flowers. Pop the question, but is that enough? Is it too much? Then, I thought about who else knows Daenarya completely, and now, I'm here! I was hoping to get some help from Maiele, but he's refusing. I can't believe Daenarya thought I'd come here and make him help."

“Do you ever stop talking?” Tyril griped.

"I tried it once. It wasn't for me," Mal joked.

"Perhaps, you could make another attempt at it."

Mal leaned further into the chair, his head resting on the back cushion as he stared at the ornate ceiling of their stately manor. "I don't even know how to start. Do I take her out or stay in? Do I go extravagant or unique? How do I know? And then there's where! and when!"

"Have you considered beginning by examining what she likes?" Tyril offered in hopes of bringing the conversation to a more speedy conclusion.

"You mean, besides me?" Mal offered with a playful wink.

"Yes," Tyril stated plainly without looking away from the Elven text he was studying. "Perhaps you should spend less time pondering yourself and more time on what Daenarya enjoys, what brings her pleasure."

Maiele's brow arched at the request. The corner of his lips turned up, knowing Mal would not miss the opportunity Tyril had unwittingly invited.

"Well," a devilish grin spread widely on his face. "Daenarya seems to enjoy this thing I do with my tongue where I—," he paused to consider the scenario a moment. "It'd be tricky because my hands are usually occupied elsewhere, as I'm sure you can imagine, but with a quick sleight of hand, or tongue...yes, I could work a ring into it. Do you think she'd like that?"

The scrolls slipped from Tyril's grasp, clattering to the floor. The deepest purple flushed across his face, his eyes wide and mouth agape.

"Not good?" Mal's face fell.

Maiele bit his lip, attempting to stifle his laughter. Mal was absolutely hopeless, but the look of complete horror on Tyril's face was one he would not forget anytime soon. Daenarya would be sad she missed it, but he'd be sure to recount it with details that he suspected Tyril would not find appropriate, but how else could one describe that particular shade of purple on his face if not as eggplant?

"See! I don't know what I'm doing," Mal confessed. "I never expected to be in this position, to have someone like her—someone to love and who loves me even if I am just me."

Maiele's amusement with the situation faded to pity as Mal's face twisted with worry. "Tyril."

"Why are you looking at me like that?" The purple hue had faded some but not completely.

"I promised Daenarya," Maiele clarified. "You never actually agreed not to help. More sort of nodded absentmindedly. I'll defend it as a loophole."

Tyril folded his arms across his chest, ready to disapprove of the proposal.

"Please—" Mal's jovial tone was gone, replaced with a sincerity neither knew possible from him. "I can't lose her."

"Do you think that a possibility?"

Mal sighed deeply, tangling his fingers through his hair. "No... Yes... I don't know... What I do know is I don't want to find out... I need her. She's the best thing that's happened to me. The only thing I've done right in my life is choosing her. I want to choose her all of my days."

"There. That is where you start," Tyril suggested. "Start with the truth—the sincere truth—not some adolescent foolishness that amuses you."

Mal nodded thoughtfully. "I can do that. Will you help me? I want it to be perfect. For her. She deserves the best...she deserves better than I can offer her."

Tyril rubbed the bridge of his note, contemplating his plea. "I trust I shall come to regret this; nevertheless, I shall offer my assistance, if not only for Daenarya's sake."

"Thank you!" Mal threw his arms around Tyril, a smirk once more pulling on his lips as the elf stiffened in his embrace. "You won't regret a thing!"

"I already do." Tyril shoved the Rogue away. He breathed deeply, reconciling what he had to do. "Come on. Let's get this over with."

Will Tyril help Mal figure out what the perfect proposal is?!!

This isn't as good as I wanted it to be, but I know I won't have more time to work on it before the events it's for end. I hope you enjoyed it and Mal's suffering.

Tags in a reblog, let me know if you'd like to be added or removed.

Thank you so much for reading!

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oonajaeadira · 1 year

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my crush/obsession on pedro is slowly going away but I just wanted to let you know that your stories will never fail to bring such comfort to me. I read them like bedtime stories at this point, and honestly big reason for my crush was cuz of the way you write his characters. Even if I lose my crush completely, I’ll always read em

Aw, I know that moment when the crush is fading. Sometimes it just gets quickly supplanted by a new interest that grips you out of the blue, and sometimes it fades slowly enough to notice and you mourn it as it goes. It always makes me a little sad... love endings are many times beautiful and sad.

You are leaving Pedro in good hands though. I will love him gently for both of us. And there are good people here who will gladly bite his thighs and neck for you if that was your jam. Your next crush will be lucky to be loved by you.

But you. I love you for coming here to tell me this though. It means a more than you know. Pedro or no Pedro, you're telling me that I made you feel a thing, and that feeling was important enough to you to tell me so. That is... wonderful. Thank you.

This is important to me because more and more I doubt my writing--in that I don't think I'm eloquent, I struggle with describing things with any sense of poetry. I often feel my style is lacking. But I'm working on letting that go, embracing my limitations and minimalism and focusing on what I like doing best either in writing or my live storytelling--finding the arc, hitting the beats, and directing the reader's heart where I want it to go.

If you fell in love with the characters or you were comforted by anything I've written, then I'm hitting my goals and the expression of my deepest self is getting through to you. To me, I feel that I am very lucky to be alive and belonging to a group of organisms that can feel love and heartbreak. And we feel it deeply specifically because we can communicate it to each other and know that the same feeling is living inside of others. We get to understand that our feelings are shared and validated...and that's one of the most satisfying things about the very limited life we have.

It's an important part of storytelling. It's very important to me.

So you have done me a lovely thing by coming here to say that I have made you feel what I feel.

I hope you can feel my love and thanks to you. <3

#kind people saying kind things

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perverse-idyll · 2 years

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PI!!!!!! Congrats on your milestone!!!!! So awesome and so well deserved!!

As for emojis how about: 🥺 & 🛒

Thank you so much, Danni! 😘It's a testament to how long I've been in fandom! Never assume the impossible.

Fanfic Writers Emoji Ask

(Buckle up. This goes on for paragraphs - and that's before we even reach the second question!)

🥺 Is there a certain type of moment or common interaction between your characters that never fails to put you in your feels?

Any time Snape cracks in front of Harry or ends up vulnerable against his will (and it's always against his will). I think he's so used to associating his deepest feelings with self-loathing, so accustomed to repressing those feelings just to be able to function and then feeling bitter and angry about all the self-inflicted poison in his veins that his go-to reaction to something as powerful as love is to fight it. If Lily suddenly re-appeared in his life, he might grovel and weep before her on his knees (which is more about guilt and grief than love). But with Harry - oh, it's obviously Harry's fault. Snape would blame Harry for his own weakness and insanity. Because, IMO, Snape feels things intensely and incoherently (when did he ever have a chance to learn what's healthy or unhealthy or how he's meant to deal with it?), so when Harry hits a nerve - when Snape can't control himself around Harry and gets desperate to prevent him from knowing - when Snape himself doesn't want to know but his usual habit of repression isn't working, why is it not fucking working - he'd be absolutely devastated by the internal storm of being possessed by love and denying he wants it, dying to consume, dying to hate Harry or go back to hating him or to apply his years-long practice of hatred as a mask for love. Because that self-destructive struggle comes naturally to him. Love has always been stained by hatred. He's lived with this insoluble, painful clash of antithetical feelings since childhood. But it's at these moments that he slips up and Harry sees the truth.

I also love any instance where Harry is stricken by how much he loves Snape, how painfully he feels for this arsehole, like a knife in the heart, even when Snape is behaving horribly or hurting himself. Harry is so often portrayed as emotionally passive in relationships, or easygoing, or as a boy who just wants a family, that it gives me great pleasure to see him shaken by the strength of his feelings for this inappropriate object of desire. It's implicit in most Snarry fics that Harry's the one worthy of being loved, so I like to see the tables turned and Harry just as lovestruck and suffering from desire.

And just any time they yearn for each other, any time there's an attempt at renunciation that leaves an inconsolable, keening void, any principled distance that comes between them - this lights up my whole nervous system. (Mia_ugly is a marvelous example of writer whose fics are suffused with yearning.)

Eh, I kind of free-associated here, so it got long again. Oops. Moving on.

🛒 What are some common things you incorporate in your fics? Themes, feels, scenes, imagery, etc.

Well, I've joked before that in most of my fics Snape ends up on his knees. How's that for an image? 😉

I'll try to keep myself from writing a whole treatise this time, but I noticed recently that one of the recurring motifs in my stories is death. Not character death, exactly, although sometimes characters die. More as a recurring, dare I say obsessive, concept. This hasn't been intentional, but here's the evidence:

When the Rose and the Fire Are One - Harry's haunted - inhabited, really - by what he calls "ghosts" - the deaths of people Voldemort killed. The guilt over them. The transfer of sins from the Dark Lord to Harry's soul. And Snape's situation is relentlessly pushing him toward believing the only kind of freedom available to him is in death. At one point, he begs Harry to kill him. And of course, in this story, Ron dies.

The White Road - I mean, the afterlife? Lily, from beyond death, watches Snape die. Eventually the question of whether or not Snape deserves to live is in her hands. The mercy of the dead directly affects the fate of the living.

The Lost World - *cough* The ending. Enough said.

In Infinite Remorse of Soul - We end up in the afterlife here, too, where Snape's rebellion against his own sacrifice is a consequence of being taken for granted and lied to - again - and feeling that his own death doesn't even merit a "thank you." Which leads to the death-haunted sequel And Mine the Gall.

No Room for the Weak circles around Snape's death or not-death and his mum's verdict on her son's life.

The Blood of Stars - Snape is sent back to life for a purpose, but allows the world to continue believing he's dead. In the later parts of the fic (unposted as yet), we're - you guessed it! - back in the afterlife, and there is much fussing about how death can resolve things that happened in life.

Impossible Without It - Snape is supposed to be dead. Voldemort is definitely dead. Harry can't remember killing him. If Snape were alive, Harry just might be angry enough to do to him what he presumably did to the Dark Lord. But what is he supposed to with a Snape who doesn't remember killing anyone? Who doesn't even know that magic exists? (This fic is a little less metaphysical about death and more concerned with memory, guilt, and sacrifice.)

Year of the Thestral is mostly about the aftermath of Snape's death and what the revelations mean to Minerva.

The Afterlight has a thematic thread running through it concerning what it takes to live after having died, having returned from death and remembering being dead, a situation both Snape and Harry struggle with. Also, it's an open question whether one or both of them are plagued by a death wish, since they constantly put their lives at risk. Plus there's a serial killer in this one, oh goody.

The Threefold Death - um, I rest my case. Although, fear not, Harry and Snape make it all the way to the end.

I have yet another untitled WIP in which Snape dies his canon death and Harry brings him back.

Phew. Okay, forget my vague protestations, this still went on too long. But holy moly. If I ever manage to type the final period to my current WIPs, I need to seriously consider changing up my sources of inspiration! 😳

#emoji ask game #answers

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squishmallow36 · 2 years

Text

Fathoms Below (Part 3)

Word Count: 5.8k

TW: sea witch, te kā, character death

Taglist (lmk if you want to be added/removed!): @stellar-lune @gaslight-gaetkeep-gayboss @kamikothe1and0lny @nyxpixels @florida-floppy-frog @poppinspop @crystallinewalker @uni-seahorse-572 @solreefs @books-over-boys @rusted-phone-calls @when-wax-wings-melt @cotyledon-tomentosa @good-old-fashioned-lover-boy7 @dexter-dizzknees @abubble125

Notes, translation guide, etc.

Spotify song playlist

Spotify song playlist but Te Reo / Italian

On Ao3 or below the cut!

They sail through the night, and Keefe takes over at the first hint of sunrise so that Fitz can get some sleep.

He’s been through a lot these past few days; he needs to get as much rest in as he possibly can before facing Te Kā.

He wakes back up a few hours later, a little after noon, although Keefe won’t tell him how long he was asleep. O ia apparently has no need for sleep, which is an ability Fitz would love to have.

“Final lesson, kid. When the clouds cluster near the horizon, that means there’s an island up ahead.”

“We’re near Te Fiti?” Fitz yawns.

“Fitzroy of Motunui, you have successfully delivered Keefe across the great sea.” Lona voice drops to an imitation of a crowd cheering, “Haaaa…Fitz! Fitz! Fitz! You’re so amazing!”

Fitz looks at Keefe, smiling. Somehow o ia has become tolerable sometime over the past couple of days.

Not sure how or when that happened.

Fitz’s gaze shifts to behind ia, at the quickly approaching island. “Hang on, I don’t think those are clouds. It looks like smoke.”

Keefe turns around, and after a long moment, o ia says, hesitantly, “It’s Te Kā.”

The waves increase in amplitude as they sail closer, and Te Kā’s burning stare fixates on them as she hears them.

“She sees us.”

“The water is getting too rough,” Keefe says, desperately trying and failing to hide the growing panic in lona voice, “We need to turn back.”

“I can sail through it,” Fitz replies, more determined than ever. He is this close to being able to save his island.

“Fitz, hold on. It’s too dangerous!”

“No, we have to keep going!”

“Turn this canoe around! Now!”

“My village needs me!”

“The waves are too big. We won’t make it!”

“I can do this!”

In Fitz’s distracted, angry state, when Keefe yells, “Look out!” he doesn’t react until the wall of water is already coming down on them.

Fitz is knocked into the water, disoriented, and he opens his eyes, despite the salt burning his eyes, to look for the sun and swim towards it. He breaks the surface, coughing, spitting out as much salty water as he can.

He takes in his canoe, and even at a fast glance it doesn’t look good. There’s a giant rip in the sail, and he hopes that it’s still water-tight.

It could’ve been worse. Could’ve smashed the entire thing to bits.

The ocean waves have naturally pushed Fitz and Keefe--wait, where’s Keefe?

“Keefe! Where are you?!”

“I told you to turn back,” comes a small voice from behind him.

“I--I thought we could make it.”

“No, you didn’t think! That’s the problem!”

“When we go back again, I’ll be more careful.”

“Back? I’m not going back!”

“But we still have to restore the heart! What about my island?”

“My hook is cracked!”

“We can fix it--”

“No, we can’t! It’s a gift from the gods! You can’t just swing around the nearest coconut tree and pick up a replacement! One more hit and it’s over! Without my hook I’m nothing!”

“That’s not true, Keefe! We had this whole discussion earlier.”

“Do you even vaguely remember how pathetic I was against Fintan? I am nothing!”

“You got us all the way down to the deepest, darkest corner of Lalotai on reputation and threats alone.”

“You think that’s the darkest corner? Fintan likes hanging out in the barely-light-gray places because then he’ll always be superior to everyone around him. It’s a whole thing.”

“Fine, I’m a human who knows nothing at all. What’s your point?”

“What’s yours?” Keefe counters.

“You got us to Fintan without your hook, so there’s no reason you can’t pull more of that out of your butt and get us to Te Kā.”

“Except that I can’t blackmail a demon of earth and fire.”

“Maybe you should’ve thought of that before stealing the Heart.”

“Why would I think of that? I didn’t think you humans would want to return the gift I got you!”

“Cursing everyone for eternity? Thanks, I really appreciate it. Try a gift card next time.”

“How was I supposed to know that would happen?”

“Someone with as much of a superiority complex as you do should have been able to see that. You’re a demigod. You should know these things.”

“Well excuse me for not being a genius!”

“And you want to know my favorite part?” Fitz asks, not waiting for an answer. “How soon did you realise that you messed up? You said you had ways of finding things out. And yet somehow you haven’t bothered to figure out how to fix it.”

Keefe rolls lona eyes. “I didn’t have my hook, or a boat to get to Fintan to get it back until two days ago. Now that I have it back, I’m not spending another thousand years trapped on an island.”

“Yeah, you wanna know how you got stuck in that situation? And the reason we’re here today? Because you stole the karekau Heart in the first place!”

“No, we’re here because the Ocean told you you’re special and you believed it. I’m not risking my life so you can prove you’re something you’re not.”

Fitz’s hand flies up to his throat. “The Ocean did choose me!”

“It chose wrong!” Keefe transforms into a giant hawk, and o ia’s gone in just a few wingbeats, back towards the island he so despises.

“Keefe!” Fitz yells, falling to his knees, shooting lightning up his leg. O ia doesn’t turn back.

It’s not long before he can’t even see ia anymore, so Fitz turns to the ocean, shouting, “Why did you bring me here?!”

Fitz throws the Heart as far as he can, and it skips once on the water before falling in.

“Choose someone else!”

The Ocean decides, just for fun, to throw the Heart back to him. Fitz, through blurry, tear-filled vision, sees the flash of green and catches it midair before throwing it in the opposite direction.

The Ocean doesn’t give it back again.

“You’re a long ways past the reef,” says a familiar voice.

Fitz glances up. “Uncle Tiergan?” The ghostly figure of his Uncle is standing beside him, just like he was when Fitz was first setting sail on this whole journey. “I tried…uncle. I….I couldn’t do it…”

Uncle Tiergan brushes an escaped tear off of Fitz’s cheek. “It’s not your fault. I asked too much of you.”

He crouches down to the edge of the canoe, quietly saying, “Thank you for watching over him.”

Fitz thinks Uncle Tiergan is just talking to the Ocean when a boy maybe a little younger than him, with messy hair almost the same shade as Keefe’s, but with a bit of a reddish tinge, even in the moonlight, eyes that are the color of the sky just before sunset, and pale skin with thousands upon thousands of small, dark dots.

A few curse words flow through Fitz’s mind before he collects himself, greeting, “Kia ora. You must’ve been through something, following me around like that.”

The boy shrugs.

Uncle Tiergan turns back to Fitz. “If you are ready to come home, I will be with you.”

Fitz wants to leave, he knows he should, but this journey has been everything he’s ever dreamed of and more, and he came so close to saving his people.

Te Fiti was right there.

“Why do you hesitate?” Uncle Tiergan asks.

“I--don’t know.”

“I know a boy from an island

He stands apart from the crowd

He loves the sea and his people

He makes his whole family proud

Sometimes the world seems against you

The journey may leave a scar

But scars can heal and reveal just

Where you are

The people you love will change you

The things you have learned will guide you

And nothing on Earth can silence

The quiet voice still inside you

And when that voice starts to whisper

‘Fitzroy, you've come so far’

Fitzroy, tēnā

Uia, ko wai koe?”

The boy intertwines xor fingers with his own, causing soft, pleasant tingles to flow up Fitz’s arm.

“Ko wai au?”

“I'm a boy who loves my island

And the boy who loves the sea

E hao nei

I am the tama of the village chief

We are descended from voyagers

Who found their way across the world

E hao nei

I've delivered us to where we are

I have journeyed farther

I am everything I've learned and more

Au, e hao nei

And the call isn't out there at all, it's inside me

It's like the tide

Always falling and rising

I will carry you here in my heart, you'll remind me

That come what may

Tāku ara!

Ko au a Fitzroy!” (Iei ki na iei ki na ko matou tenei)

Fitz stands and dives into the water on the other side of the canoe, swimming for the Heart of Te Fiti, glowing on the ocean floor like a beacon.

When he surfaces once again, breathing heavily and holding the Heart above his head triumphantly, Uncle Tiergan and all of his seafaring ancestors have disappeared, but are still with him in spirit.

Fitz climbs back into the canoe, surprised to find the boy still there.

“So…you’re real.”

Xe pokes his shoulder as if that’s a sufficient explanation.

Fitz smiles. “Fair. You aren’t very talkative, are you?”

Xe shakes xor head, then gestures to xor throat before spreading xor hands apart, palms facing each other and bringing them back together to press xor pinky fingers together.

“No voice, long story?” Fitz guesses as to what the boy is trying to convey.

Xe nods.

“Alright. You know, I feel really bad not knowing your name. Maybe I can guess what it is.”

The boy shrugs like ‘why not?’ so Fitz guesses, “Is it, uh, Ruy?”

Xe shakes xor head disgustedly. Fitz wonders if xe knows someone with that name that xe doesn’t like very much.

“Okay, no. What about Jensi? Tam?”

These attempts come back with no luck, and a voice in the back of Fitz’s head suggests, “Dex?”

He isn’t used to the last sound, and his mouth fumbles around it. He’s never heard that name before, but it feels right, and when xe nods vigorously, Fitz smiles.

“Dex.” He says again with more success. “That’s kind of pretty. Okay, Dex. How long have you been…along for the ride?”

Dex points at him and then turns to a small island on the horizon.

“All the way from Motunui? Wow.”

Dex smiles shyly, revealing deep dimples, and nods, and Fitz doesn’t know how xe managed to keep up with him for that long.

“Well, if you’re still here, I’m guessing that means you want to come with me back to Te Fiti.”

Xe gives me a double thumbs up, and Fitz pats the inner side of the canoe. “You wanna join me up here?”

A massive fish tail flipper appears hanging over the side of the boat, and Fitz has to restrain himself from yelling in surprise as he puts the pieces together and realizes that Dex is half-fish.

Well, that certainly explains a lot.

Normal day out here sailing. Meet a cute guy that turns out to be a merman. Yep. Completely normal.

“Hey, the offer still stands if you get tired of swimming.”

Dex puts xor tail back down and somehow manages to climb into the canoe. How xe does that, Fitz will never know. Xe also reaches back into the water and pulls out a crab, also putting him into the canoe.

Fitz opens the still very ripped sail so that they can get moving, saying, “I’d ask you to tell me about yourself, but…you know…”

Fitz would be willing to bet that xe snorts silently at that.

“And I’d tell you about me, but after a week of following me around, you probably know me better than I do.”

Dex smiles again, causing Fitz’s heart to flutter slightly.

“And, like, I get why you didn’t just want to pop your head out and say hi. In--in a metaphorical sense, of course.”

Dex just smiles wider.

“It’s probably not easy to just tell some random mortal about being half-fish.”

Xe reaches into the water, grabbing a blue angelfish and points to his tail, traveling up and down its length. Xe then gestures to xor own tail, going from left to right.

“Sorry,” Fitz says, blushing as he adjusts their course slightly.

Dex shrugs, throwing the angelfish back into the water.

“Is that a friend of yours?”

Dex nods.

“Not like you’d be friends with every fish in the ocean but--” he sighs. “Sorry, I’m really bad at this.”

Dex shrugs and touches his toes with the tip of xor tail, and Fitz realizes this is new for xem too.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Xe extends xor hand off the side of the canoe, fingertips creating small trails in the water.

“You won’t dehydrate up here, right?”

Dex shrugs.

“Oh, yeah, you probably haven’t gone sailing before…right…I’m gonna shut up now.”

Dex shakes xor head, smiling ever so slightly, and Fitz watches xem as they sail.

There you see xem

Sitting there across the way

Xe don't got a lot to say

But there's something about xem

And you don't know why

But you're dying to try

You wanna kiss the boy

Yes, you want xem

Look at xem, you know you do

Possible xe wants you too

There is one way to ask xem

It don't take a word

Not a single word

Go on and kiss the boy

Sing with me now

Sha-la-la-la-la-la

My oh my

Look like the boy too shy

Ain't gonna kiss the boy

Sha-la-la-la-la-la

Ain't that sad?

Ain't it a shame?

Too bad, he gonna miss the boy

Now's your moment (ya, ya, ya)

Floating on the open sea (ya, ya, ya)

Boy, you better do it soon

No time will be better (ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya)

Xe don't say a word

And xe won't say a word

Until you kiss the boy

Fitz’s gaze flickers up to Dex’s face, where he finds that xe is already watching him. It’s difficult to keep the smile from his face, and he really can’t describe why.

Something is drawing him towards xem, and it’s not like anything he’s ever felt before.

Dex breaks eye contact, a blush creeping up xor cheeks.

Sha-la-la-la-la-la

Don't be scared (sha-la, sha-la-la ya, ya, ya)

You got the mood prepared (woah, woah)

Go on and kiss the boy

Sha-la-la-la-la-la

Don't stop now (sha-la, sha-la-la ya, ya, ya)

Don't try to hide it how

You want to kiss the boy (woah, woah)

Sha-la-la-la-la-la

Float along (sha-la, sha-la-la)

And listen to the song

The song say ‘kiss the boy’ (woah, woah)

Sha-la-la-la-la-la

The music play (ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya)

Do what the music say

You got to kiss the boy

You've got to kiss the boy

Oh, don't you wanna kiss the boy

You've gotta kiss the boy

Go on and kiss the boy

Fitz takes Dex’s free hand into his own, and starts leaning towards xem. He isn’t entirely sure what will happen when he gets there, but remaining this far apart just isn’t an option.

Mere inches away from xem, suddenly, the world gets flipped upside down. And Fitz is hit with cold ocean water as he falls in, losing all sense of direction for the second time today.

A strong pair of arms wraps around his waist, and before he knows it, he’s sputtering salt water, with Dex wrapped around him, silently swearing.

Fitz pushes his soaked hair out of his eyes. “Thanks.”

There’s something familiar that Fitz can’t quite place until it clicks into place.

“Dex, I am aware this is going to sound absolutely mental. But you’ve said you’ve been along for the ride since Motunui, right?”

Xe nods.

“Do you happen to remember when I attempted to sail just before coming out here?”

A dark shadow crosses xor face, and, knowing what happened, he takes that as a yes.

“I’m a little fuzzy on the details, but--argh, how do I put words together?”

Dex grabs his hand in encouragement.

“Did you save me that day?”

The side of xor mouth quirks as xe nods enthusiastically.

Fitz pulls xem into a hongi, whispering, “Thank you. I wouldn’t be here today without you.”

After a moment, Fitz softly presses his lips against Dex’s as the sun rises behind xem.

His free hand slips to xor waist, pulling xem closer, melting into xem.

“Your three days are up, my sweet,” says a mysterious voice from behind Fitz.

He whips around, getting real tired of people talking behind him, and sees a blond half-woman half-octopus as Dex tenses up and starts pushing him towards the canoe that’s completely overturned.

“Dex, what’s going on?” Fitz asks, before realizing that he’s not going to get an answer anytime soon. Xe places a hand on his necklace and points to the horizon with the opposite hand.

“No, Dex, I’m not just gonna leave you here.”

And then someone else pops out of the water. This one looks like he’s probably related to Dex, and about the age of a parent.

Xe places xemself between him and this new person.

“King Kesler!” Octopus lady says. “You’re right on cue. I’d hate for you to miss this.”

“What in Poseidon’s name is going on here? What have you done to my son?” King Kesler demands.

Trust me, I have no clue.

“Nothing! Xe’s done it all to xemself, to help this pathetic human and for what?” Octopus lady replies.

The full force of King Kesler’s fury turns to Fitz.

He holds his hands up innocently, explaining, “I literally just met xem like an hour ago. I have no more idea of what’s going on here than either of you do.”

“Dexter, would you care to explain?”

Octopus lady doesn’t hesitate before answering, “I’m sure xe would, but your little perfect son has sold xor voice to me.”

King Kesler redirects from Fitz to octopus lady. “What else are you not telling me, Marella?”

The crab that Dex put into the canoe climbs on top of its overturned shell, gesturing wildly with his claws.

“What do you mean xe sold xor soul?”

Xe had to have sold xor soul for me. So that I could have a chance against Te Kā. And look where we are.

Fitz glances at Dex, who is refusing to look anyone in the eyes.

“Give xem back to me,” King Kesler growls to Marella.

“Xe signed a binding contract. However, there is something we could try…”

…That is most certainly a trap.

“Go on…” King Kesler prompts.

“Yes, perhaps we could arrange a trade. Xor soul…for yours.”

A chill shudders down Fitz’s spine, even in these waters warmed by the first rays of morning sunlight.

His hand falls to Dex’s and he intertwines their fingers together.

King Kesler doesn’t hesitate before he says, “Take it.” He turns to Fitz as Marella is sucking the soul out of his body, leaving him about a foot tall and wrinkly. “You better be worth it.”

No one else will be sacrificing themselves because of me. Not if I can help it.

Marella reaches for the Trident and crown that have been left in Kesler’s wake, and while she’s distracted, Fitz takes the wave of fury that had been building up inside of him and tries to tackle her.

However, despite her short stature and slight frame, she doesn’t even flinch as she shrugs him off, and he grabs for anything he can reach. One such thing is her necklace, which crumbles under his grip.

She throws him off, and he hits the side of his canoe hard.

Before she can come at him again, Dex is trying to push against what should be the top of the canoe, attempting to flip it over.

“Fitz, help me for Poseidon’s sake!” xe says, and it’s enough of a shock to actually hear xem speak that his brain resets, and they manage to get it back flipped over.

Fitz climbs in, holding a hand out to help Dex get up in here with him.

Dex looks into his eyes, softening as the moments pass. “You’ll go faster if I act like an ocean current. Sail like your life depends on it, Wonderboy. Because it kind of does.”

Faster than Fitz can respond, Dex is already under the boat, pulling it towards Te Fiti’s island. He grabs Dex’s crab friend as he passes, setting him down inside the canoe before he opens the sail and lets the wind help propel them away from the rapidly expanding, evilly laughing Marella.

She starts running after them, which is not very fast or graceful as she’s nearly the height of Te Kā, and she keeps getting taller.

“Now I am the ruler of all the ocean! The waves obey my every whim!”

Dex kicks into an even higher gear, and this is the fastest Fitz has ever traveled, and yet, it doesn’t feel fast enough.

They get to near Te Kā in record time, and a familiar screech fills the air, followed by a silhouette of a giant hawk.

“Keefe! You came back! What about your hook?”

O ia lands and transforms back into a human shape. “How the karekau did you get the sea witch a) gigantic and b) chasing after you?”

“It’s a very long story. Do you think we can get Te Kā to attack her?”

“The Sea Witch can’t go on land and Te Kā can’t go in the water or the lava will harden. What do you think?”

“I think it’s worth a try.” Fitz bends down and knocks on the bottom of it. “Got any opinions down there?”

“Not my job!” Dex yells back.

“Do I want to ask?” Keefe asks.

“Honestly, it probably falls under the category of ‘explain later.’” Fitz replies.

“Alright. I got your back, chosen one. Go save the world.” Keefe transforms back into a giant hawk and starts flying around Te Kā’s head, annoying her so that she’ll see Marella.

It works as it should…surprisingly. And as the Sea Witch gets closer to Fitz’s boat, Te Kā gets angrier and angrier.

Marella eventually gets close enough that Te Kā can reach her, and Fitz jumps out of the canoe to roll into a ball against its far side so that he has some protection from lava monsters and massive octopus ladies.

It doesn’t feel like enough.

The Sea Witch is vaporizing everything she can manage to hit with her stolen trident, and at one point she yells, “Oh, my poor little poopsies!”

Te Kā must take that moment of distraction to gain the upper hand, and Marella screams in agony for about thirty seconds before all falls silent.

Te Kā doesn’t hesitate before starting toward Fitz and his canoe once again, and Fitz hears Keefe’s hawk screech as o ia is struck from the sky.

He risks turning around and looking over the edge, and he yells, “Keefe!” as lona body and shattered hook fall into the ocean.

“Don’t worry about me! Get the Heart to Te Fiti!” o ia yells back.

Dex pokes xor head out just a little bit, asking, “What can I do to help?”

Fitz is already taking in his surroundings as he answers, “Find Te Fiti.”

Xe looks for about half a second. “I don’t see anything other than a raging demon racing toward us!”

In Fitz’s mind, the puzzle pieces are coming together, and if this works, it’ll be wonderful.

And if it doesn’t? Then Dex’s and xor father’s sacrifices will be for nothing.

“I’ve got an idea,” he says serenely. “Let her come to me.”

“Te Kā will kill you!” Dex and Keefe shout in unison.

Fitz holds the Heart of Te Fiti above his head. “Let her come to me.”

Ou mata e matagi

“I have crossed the horizon to find you”

Ou loto mamaina toa

“I know your name”

Manatu atu

“They have stolen the heart from inside you”

Taku pelepele

“But this does not define you”

Manatunatu

“This is not who you are

You know who you are”

Fitz presses his forehead against Te Kā’s, and places the Heart on her chest, and just like he hoped, Te Kā’s fiery exterior hardens and cools into Te Fiti’s green, plantlike state.

Fitz bows before her and sees Keefe do the same after watching him do it.

“Thank you for returning my Heart.” Te Fiti turns to Keefe. “Now, as for you…”

“I’m sorry. What I did was wrong. I have realized that now, and I will do my best to improve from now on.”

Who is this and what did you do with Keefe?

Te Fiti eyes ia skeptically. “Keep an eye on ia.” She whispers to Fitz.

“I’ll see what I can do,” he whispers back, but she doesn’t hear him as she is already laying down for a nap.

When her head hits the pillow--or small plateau in this case--she’s asleep immediately, and she blends perfectly into the lush island.

It’s only a moment before King Kesler rises up out of the water, picking up his crown and trident where Marella left them. “And I also want to thank you.” He points his trident at Keefe, and a spark of fear jumps through Fitz as it lets off a beam of energy.

This energy coalesces into the shape of a fishhook, completely clear of any carvings so that Keefe can create lona own as time goes on.

“I don’t deserve it.”

“It’s rude to refuse a gift,” King Kesler replies, and there’s something in his tone that reminds him of Dex.

Dex. Okay, xe’s still floating in the water behind the canoe. Nothing happened to xem while he was distracted.

Humbly, Keefe lowers lona head, saying, “Thank you. Your kind gesture is deeply appreciated,” before o ia transforms into a giant hawk once more and flies off into the distance.

King Kesler swims up to Fitz, somehow propping himself up even in the calf-deep water.

Fitz doesn’t want to ask. Tūmatarau is a thing, after all. It’s just surprising to see it for himself.

The closer he comes, the more terrified Fitz becomes, because of all that stuff that went on behind the scenes that he didn’t know about but was all due to him.

Then he gets pulled into a hug. He stiffens instinctually before slowly starting to relax as he begins to believe that he has no reason to worry.

Oh, atua, I sound like my father. That’s not okay.

King Kesler pulls away, and walks over to Dex, still hiding. Fitz follows them, barely being able to touch the bottom by the time he gets there.

Dex pokes xor head over the side of the canoe. “So what now?”

“I should be mad. At both of you.”

Fitz’s cheeks warm as he tries to swim over to xem, and Dex’s turn more pink than they already are from sunburn.

“But I can’t figure out how, You dealt with Te Kā and the Sea Witch. And it’s not even noon yet.”

As the excitement fades, exhaustion starts to set in, and Dex takes Fitz’s hand, very obviously thinking about resting xor head on his shoulder.

A fish swims around them in circles, and Fitz could swear it’s the same fish Dex pulled out of the water to demonstrate that xe was not, in fact, half fish.

Dex’s crab friend climbs up onto the side of the boat, seemingly saying something as his claws wave around.

King Kesler sighs, defeated. “Dex, I know you’ve always wanted to live up here.”

Xe nods softly.

Xor father points his trident at xem, and after a pulse of energy, Dex’s tail has transformed into legs that really aren’t used to treading water like this, so Fitz reaches around xor waist to make sure xe stays upright.

“Take care of xem for me, will you?”

“I’m sure xe’ll be able to take care of xemself. As long as xe doesn’t make any more deals with Sea Witches.”

Dex smiles. “That’s debatable.”

“Fine, then. I make no promises.”

King Kesler smiles bittersweetly. “Just remember…when you hear the surf roar at night and feel the tingle of salt in the air…it’s only your father checking in on you.” He gives his son a hug before retreating back into the ocean.

Dex is left watching where he sank down, tears pouring down xor cheeks.

Fitz squeezes Dex closer to him.

Dex brushes away the tears, turning to him. “I don’t know why I’m crying. This is exactly what I’ve always wanted. So why does it feel like I’m making a giant mistake?”

Fitz hugs xem. “There is nowhere you can go that your family won’t be with you. Or your fish friend. Or your crab friend.”

“I’m not putting Soph in a bowl and Wylie…will probably keep reporting everything I do to my dad.”

Fitz smiles, and he can feel Dex’s apprehension melting.

“And if you really want to return to the sea, I’m sure if we splash around enough, your dad will come investigate.”

That gets him half a laugh, and he pulls away, mission accomplished.

He climbs into the canoe, getting so much water in there it’s not even funny, before offering a hand to Dex. Xe takes it, shooting tingles up and down his arm and, ungracefully, gets in there.

Xe sits, smiling and wiggling xor toes as Fitz charts their course back to Motunui.

The next five days, sailing freely on the open sea back to Fitz’s home, are some of the greatest of Dex’s life.

He even teaches xem a little bit about wayfinding, although seeing pictures in the stars is not xor strong suit.

Xe’s better at observing ocean currents, which is kind of ironic, considering that xe’s been trying to escape from there xor entire life.

When Motunui finally appears on the horizon, Fitz is vibrating with equal amounts of nervous energy and excitement.

He pulls into a beach that doesn’t look super familiar to Dex, leaving xem to make sure xe doesn’t float off as he runs onshore, calling, “Mom! Dad! Biana!”

The man Dex previously was pretty sure was Fitz’s father back before this whole journey runs up to him, wrapping him in a hug. “Fitz!”

“You’re back!” His mother runs up and does the same.

“It’s about time,” says the girl Dex saw talking to Fitz earlier before joining the group hug.

“I may have gone a little ways past the reef,” Fitz admits.

His mom tousles his hair, leaving the dark, loose curls much taller than they were. “It suits you.”

Biana pulls away first and starts walking over to Dex, crouching down to be eye level. “Kia ora!”

Dex waves shyly.

Fitz looks at xem. “Oh, come on. We’re not going back to not speaking, are we?”

Xe laughs. “Maybe if you’re lucky.”

Fitz sighs and turns back to his parents. “Yeah…I might’ve also dragged a boyfriend home with me…”

His father flushes red in anger.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know Dex isn’t from Motunui, but xe risked xor life to save your son. So just stop now before you even start.”

Fitz somehow escapes from the hug to help a very wobbly Dex walk onto the sand. Walking for the first time goes better than xe thought it would. Xe didn’t fall over and make a complete fool of xemself.

Biana watches them as Fitz leads xem towards his favorite hiding places on the island…which aren't really all that hidden.

Ae asks, “Are you gonna teach the rest of us to sail or are we gonna spend another thousand years trapped on this stupid island?”

Dex laughs, staring at the ground so xe doesn’t trip over anything. Who knew there would be so many rocks and sticks?

“That assumes Father’s gonna allow it.”

“Leave him here. What’s he gonna do about it?”

“Throw a gigantic tantrum because he’s the chief?” Fitz counters.

“I don’t want to have to play this card, but I’m pretty sure my Dad would win that fight if it came down to it.”

Fitz smiles. “I didn’t think of that.”

“Do I want to ask?” Biana asks.

“Do you remember Uncle Tiergan telling us about King Kesler?”

“Yeah?” Biana pauses, realizing what he means. “Ooh, nice.”

Fitz pulls back a curtain of vines concealing an opening to a cave and leads both Dex and Biana inside to find dozens of canoes hidden inside.

“Our ancestors were voyagers,” he tells Bi.

Biana’s eyes are wide as ae takes in everything ae possibly can. “Really?”

“No, I spent these past weeks making all of these canoes out of nowhere with help from this random guy who’s been living in here for atua knows how long.”

Biana lightly punches his arm. “You’re a dork, you know that.”

Dex is just enjoying watching them, and a thought comes to mind. “No wonder you and Keefe got along so well.”

“You met Keefe? Was o ia cute?”

“Bi, you literally have a girlfriend,” Fitz replies as Dex nods.

“Dex, I hope you know that you’re my new favorite person.” Ae climbs into a canoe, maybe a little smaller than the one they’ve spent so much time on, but not much. It seems to be the same model Fitz crashed.

Fitz says, “It’s more fun in the ocean,” as ae opens the sail.

“Well, then. Why don’t you show me yourself, master wayfinder.”

“You sure you don’t want to crash it yourself?”

Before Biana can answer, Dex interjects, “Hey, I am not pulling yet another person out of the water around this island because they cannot sail for the second time this month. Sorry, but I have standards.”

Fitz smiles and pulls xem into a kiss, hands burying in xor hair as it deepens.

This is where his home is. With Fitz by his side. And his people, sailing on the open sea.

“Aue aue

We set a course to find

A brand new island everywhere we roam

Aue aue

We keep our island in our mind

And when it's time to find home, we know the way

Aue aue

We are explorers reading every sign

We tell the stories of our elders in a never-ending chain

Aue aue

Te fenua, te mālie

Nā heko hakilia

We know the way”

#kotlc #detz #dex dizznee #fitz vacker #kotlc fanfic #fathoms below

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