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stariikis · 4 months

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𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐤 | 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 | 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐬 01

synopsis ; when riki's having a hard time with his school work, you decide to buy him strawberry milk. not knowing that it's the milk flavour (and the colour) he despises most. if you're wondering, yes, this is in the same world as my chaptered fic, 'you in the rain', and is one of the bonus chapters i have planned. you can check out the fic here.

Perhaps your presence, a constant voice peeping up from across the library table, disturbs Riki more than he would dare to admit.

Because the way he briefly glances up at you before groaning and pinching his nose-bridge… it’s probably not a good sign, is it? He frowns in concentration, starting to do his anxious tick you’ve recently noticed is a bad habit of his, clicking and unclicking his 0.5 ballpoint pen. Loudly. And then he twirls the pen over all four of his fingers, confusion evident over all his features.

“I don’t get it,” he huffs, looking mildly annoyed with himself. Opposite of him, you watch as his stare on the Math worksheet threatens to combust it into flames. You should be used to this, after accompanying him here so many times just to watch him get frustrated over the questions he can’t do.

Okay, maybe it’s only been a few days, but it feels like a lifetime of awkwardly sitting around, unable to help him because you can’t be asked to solve for x even if your life depends on it. Perhaps you’re just not cut out to be Nishimura Riki’s study companion. Your eyes trail back up from the worksheet (that looks like utter gibberish to you), and analyse your friend’s face instead.

And then a wave of sadness washes over you. He’s in the advanced Maths class, filling out an advanced Maths worksheet. The fact that he’s able to understand at least half of the foreign language of algebra is already stunning to you. Anything above a C would please you, in fact. But you understand. You understand him with all the hours you spent revising the new vocabulary in English class. You understand with the blood, sweat and tears you poured out over a difficult type of sentence structure you just could not grasp.

It always hurts to be practically terrible at things you’re supposed to be the best at.

“I wish I could help,” you say uneasily, taking another glance at the problem Riki’s stuck at, and wishing you didn’t. It’s a humbling experience, to say the least. “But, um, I can’t even understand what the question is asking for.”

The cogs in Riki’s brain seem to churn for a while, before the fire goes out once more and the light leaves his eyes. “Nope. I really don’t get it.”

You tilt your head at him, trying to exude as much comforting empathy as you can. Apparently the kind look in your eyes must be either terrifying or out-of-character, and Riki just lets his eyes travel around your face in judgement. You’d like to believe it’s the friendly type of judgement and not the, you actually look really stupid kind of judgement.

But it’s Riki, so who knows? He could very well still be lost in his own world of complicated formulas and mental equations, numbers of different universes coming together into his mind like they’re meant to be. That’s at least how it sounds like when Riki talks about Maths.

Wanting to leave him alone to his own thoughts, you pack up your things and head out to the nearby convenience store. Riki doesn’t bat an eyelid, he’s pretty used to you quitting halfway through a study session as well, and he probably needs you out of the way anyway. To solve the biggest mystery of the universe on that piece of paper.

Once you step foot into the store, you make an instant beeline for the chilled drinks section, gracing your eyes with the marvellous selection of flavoured packet drinks and plastic milk bottles. Perhaps Riki would like one of those to drink on while he studies. You always seem to focus better with a sweet drink in one hand and a pen twirling around in the other.

The array of choices stuns you for a moment, though, and with a pang you realise you don’t know Riki’s favourite milk flavour. He’s never mentioned it before. In fact he doesn’t talk much about himself to you. Or, according to Jungwon, to anyone. You’re not sure if he’s closed off on purpose, or he’s just quiet in nature. To you, they’re two very, very different things.

Well, it wouldn’t hurt to buy Riki your favourite flavour, would it? Anyway, it would give you a chance to find out what he really likes, and conversation could possibly start to flow from there. It’s like a mastermind plan, the way you grin mischievously to yourself and snag the cheapest bottle of strawberry milk you see. Because, unfortunately for you, you’re a student. Fashionably broke.

When you get back to the library, Riki stares at you in bewilderment as you walk back to his study corner and proceed to dump a singular plastic bag with two bottles of strawberry milk sitting inside it. Lips pursed together in curiosity (another one of his cute little habits that you can’t help but to notice because they’re literally right in front of your face), Riki leans over and peers into the bag.

He raises his eyebrows, sits back down, and pulls one of his legs over the other.

“How did you know I like pink things?” he whispers, eyes the widest you’ve ever seen them. “And that strawberry milk’s my favourite milk flavour?”

“Really?” You cannot believe, by lucky chance, you’ve actually guessed it right. And you’re matching with him, and you guys can go buy more strawberry milk together in the future… and…

”What’s strawberry milk in Chinese?”

You snap out of your thoughts and watch intently as he unwraps one of the plastic straws and pokes it carefully into his drink.

“草莓牛奶”

“你喜欢，是吗?” (you like it, right?) Riki smiles slightly and takes a sip. For some reason his facial features stiffen for a second and he looks like he’s trying not to make a face.

You chuckle softly at his expression. “是. 哇，你的中文真棒!” (Yes. Wow, your Chinese is so good!)

“因为我在喝…” (because I’m drinking…) He pauses for a while, trying to recall the words. “你最喜欢的草莓牛奶.” (your favourite strawberry milk).

Your cheeks heat up almost immediately and the hot feeling doesn’t fade for a good long while, even as the librarian scolds the both of you for bringing food and drink into the library and as you walk back home alone after Riki claims with an urgent look that he has somewhere to be, dumping his half-full strawberry milk in the trash.

It’s not until a week later you find out from an astonished and very bemused Jungwon that Riki absolutely hates strawberry milk and the colour pink, even though the boy has been gifting you the pinkest of milks every day since that day, claiming he loves it; claiming it’s the most refreshing drink he’s ever tasted.

That afternoon, when you walk back into class after lunch, you see a bottle of banana milk sitting atop your desk, and you can’t help but to laugh to yourself.

if you're not here from 'you in the rain', pleasee go give it a read if you're a taylor fan or when i fly towards you lover! tysm for reading - stariikis ☆

synopsis ; based on the Chinese Drama, 'When I Fly Towards You', in which you, a going-on-high-school English genius named Huang Yuting meets the Mathematics genius of the 10th grade, Nishimura Riki, underneath the rain.

taglist (open)

@laylasmother @seunnimg @natalunae @enwonz @tomomorin

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tmzrkstan · 11 months

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nct 127 as co-workers asking you out.

•----------••----------••----------••----------••-------•

✦ warnings: a little bit of cursing.

✦ genre: nct x gn!reader, co-workers to lovers, fluff.

•----------••----------••----------••----------••-------•

✦ Taeil:

•He was at that company since his graduation and knew how things worked;

•When you entered as an intern his superiors gave him the job of teaching everything around there;

•This man always though that dating should be separeted from working, for professional questions;

•Thats why he stop being nice and friendly with you and start talking the minimum as possible the moment he caught himself smiling like a fool while watching you;

•You tried to ask if you did something wrong but all you got back was "as long as you're doing your job, its fine";

•The day you was too afraid to ask for help from Taeil and end up with another guy sitting next and obviously flirting with you he felt bad;

•That gave him a mental ultimato to something or he could forget about you;

•So the next morning you find a post it at your desk: "I know I have been rude, but can I make it up to you buying a coffee?" and a anxious look on his face.

✦ Johnny:

•You had just transferred from another branch and was kinda lost with everything new;

•Johnny liked to call himself welcome committee leader;

•Then he didn't waste time and welcomed you with a list of the best places in town that you "must" visit;

•The fact that you spend the whole week laughing of his silliest jokes made him realize how pretty you your smile was;

•Got to the point where you two received bad looks from those who tried to concentrate and do some work;

•So you when you almost leaving for the night he asks: "What about giving them a rest and go out for drinking? I can show you one of the places I told you about.".

✦ Taeyong:

•You always felt lucky about the team you worked on, everyone was nice to each other;

•Even when there was a rare discussion it didn't last long, especially because of Taeyong, the kind guy you always looked up to;

•He just felt that him should make everyone comfortable and ended up leaving his wishes behind;

•One big example was that he had been trying for months to ask you out but always end up in a group date;

•Don't get him wrong, he really enjoyed those people, but on the other hand was into you for almost a year;

•Inevitably found himself way too drunk muttering his frustration about not being able to confess his feelings at the bar's table with your colleagues like "🥺";

•The next day he hardly has the courage to talk to you, but after realizing that his feelings were mutual didn't wasted more time;

•A few minutes before you arrived on your date, he sends a text to confirm if was just the two of us.

✦ Yuta:

•Beeing an foreign made him have a leg up on his popularity;

•Yuta was kinda mysterious about his personal life, which generated more whispers around the company;

•But somehow, he noticed you among so many people;

•You would been lying if you said you were never attracted to the mysterious japanese man, you just didn't spend hours talking about him;

•Which eventually caused a questionary from your friends in the cafeteria, like, how could you not be curious about Yuta, why didn't tried to get more information like everybody else;

•That moment was when the aforementioned man appeared out of nowhere confirming: "They gonna get all the information out of the source at our date today.";

•He gave you a winked and handed you a paper with his phone number, leaving behind a table freaking out on you.

✦ Doyoung:

•You were in a way the one working for him;

•Like, when he needed the product you sold he would just call you and meet with you to pick it up;

•You didn't approve of the idea of a date because you might have conflicts of interest, even after he asked you a few times;

•"What you want me to do? Buy it from another person?"

•Until the day he asked to change the delivery location and you found yourself standing in front of a restaurant.

•"I can only pay you after you have lunch with me" he said, and you accused him of taking advantage of you;

•But anyways, you were already there so it would be okay to try, right?

✦ Jaehyun:

•You were sure he hated you;

•Everytime that he needed something from you he would go to your table you would get lost in your thoughts, why didn't he like you? Altough, you were intimidated by him.

•He wouldn't even look you in the face, barely spoke two words and when he saw you in the break room he'd leave.

•Jaehyun was waiting for you to finish analyzing what he brought you when you let out: "Why you hate?" without thinking;

•The conversation went like: "Sorry, what?"/ "What?"/"What did you say?"/ "What did I say what?"/"🤨"/"😐";

•That question hovered over the poor man's head the rest of the day;

•Next morning he approached: "I thought you didn't like me, when you started working here you always ran away from me, so I didn't mean to make you more uncomfortable.";

•You find it cute and admitted to feeling intimate thanks to his beauty and intelligence;

•No a long time after that he asked you out of nowhere.

✦ Jungwoo:

•You I had been teaching him something for days, and he never seemed to understand;

•Even advised him to ask someone else, as you were doubting of your teaching ability;

•But he always made a point of confirming that it should be you;

•One day, you caught him doing it perfectly alone and you went like "😲";

•When he came to you for help again you made him confess that he already knew what to do, and forced him to say the reason for the torture;

•"I was hopping this would made you realize that you like me and ask me out, but you too dumb for that.";

•A few days later, you find yourself having dinner with him, still indignant.

✦ Mark:

•The classic trope of long term friends that are secretly in love with each other;

•Apart from the fact that everyone has already noticed this;

•You always helped each other and spent as much time as possible together in a corner laughing;

•Even though everyone told Mark to come clean, he swore you had a secret life outside of work, maybe even married with kids;

•No one could take the drama anymore, so the team got together and forced you to go out together;

•When you realized there were only the two of you, you thought it was a personal joke, but Mark understood what he had to do;

•It took all night, but he finally confessed and asked you out on a real date.

✦ Haechan:

•You weren't enemies, but you loved to compete with each other;

•Even though it left you with your emotions on edge, your boss didn't care because it meant greater results.

•When you reached the same goal on the same day, you had to break the tie, this time with a prize;

•Unfortunately for your ego, Haechan won and for the prize you had to run out and buy him lunch;

•In the lunch room, you wish him a good meal sarcastically and he forces you to eat with him;

•"You so dumb, if you want a date just say it 🙄";

•"Then we're having dinner tonight 😉".

•----------••----------••----------••----------••-------•

✦ author: first time trying it here! sorry for any mistake, english is not my mother language. Hope you like It!!!

#nct #nct 127 #nct127 x reader!#imagine #reaction #scenarios #gn!reader #mark lee #johnny suh #haechan #taeyong #taeil #yuta #jaehyun #jungwoo #doyoung #kpop #kpop imagines #kpop reactions

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wish-incorrect-quotes · 7 days

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I’ve seen a few people mention how much Simon looks like he could be the son of these two, and while I don’t know if the timelines work enough for it to be possible, it’s a fun concept just to think about. So here’s some ideas I had about how it might play out:

Basically, Lady Tremaine spends awhile hoping that Anastasia’s whole “falling in love with a commoner” thing is just a temporary inconvenience, and eventually she’ll be able to push her daughter into a more respectable marriage with a proper nobleman. But as soon as she finds out the baker proposed and Anastasia accepted, Tremaine pretty much immediately disowns her, and Anastasia loses her access to the family title and money.

By this point, Cinderella and Anastasia have a much better relationship, so Cinderella offers to use her newfound royal status and try to undo Lady Tremaine’s decision, but Anastasia ends up telling her not to bother. The more time she spends with the baker, the more she finds herself enjoying the simple life. Even if she now has to worry about earning a living, it’s amazing how much easier life feels when she doesn’t have to face her mother’s pressure and expectations, or go through royal balls where she's expected to be better than everyone else but always seems to fall short. Just peaceful days, helping her husband bake bread in the little village where people are always kind and friendly. And before they know it, the two of them are welcoming a baby boy into the world, who’s nearly the spitting image of his father, but with his mother’s red hair and his grandmother’s green eyes. Not that Lady Tremaine has any interest in meeting the boy, if Anastasia would even allow it.

As Simon grows up, he eventually gets curious about how his parents met. Anastasia can be a bit overprotective, and she tries to leave out the most unpleasant parts, but she’s happy to tell him all about how she loves her new home and family so much that she’s never regretted leaving behind a life of luxury for them. Simon, however, can’t help but think that the story sounds unfair. It’s not that he really cares about having a title or attending fancy balls, but it doesn’t seem right to him that his mother had to lose everything because of who she loved.

Eventually, this leads to Simon getting his heart set on becoming a knight, because it’s about the only way someone can work their way into a more “noble” rank. And if his mother has a knight for a son, it could get them all a lot closer to the life she had before. He doesn’t mention why he’s so keen on knighthood, since he doesn’t want his parents to feel guilty and tell him not to go through so much trouble for their sakes, so they figure it’s his own dream and do what they can to support him. But the problem is, he’s not any good at it. He has plenty of strength, but he’s very much a gentle soul, and when his heart isn’t in it, he just can’t seem to develop any talent with a sword and shield.

He’s discouraged for awhile, until he starts hearing rumors of a foreign kingdom with a sorcerer king that can instantly give people what they wish for. And since he isn’t getting anywhere on his own, he starts to become more and more convinced that this is his only chance. He knows how much his parents love their bakery, so he tells them he wants to try striking out on his own for awhile now that he’s getting older. Anastasia and the baker are both more than a little worried about the thought of their son going off to find work somewhere far away from them, but Anastasia remembers what it was like having a controlling mother who didn’t care about her own dreams, so she decides they should let him go if this is what he wants.

So Simon sails to Rosas and soon finds work in the castle, hoping that maybe working close to the king will help his wish get granted faster once he’s old enough to give it away. Thought he finds out before long that things might not go quite as smoothly as he expected based on the stories he heard. There’s a lot more people who have been waiting a long time than he expected. But everyone’s always praising the king, so if he's enough of a good and loyal citizen, surely he'll get his wish granted, right? Plus, he’s been making some great friends in the castle, and he enjoys being able to put in a good day’s work with them, so he can’t complain.

Then he reaches his eighteenth birthday, eagerly gives the king his long-awaited wish, and… is he supposed to feel this tired all the time? Everyone always talks about how wonderful it is, how it’s a real weight off. But he doesn’t feel lighter, he feels like his eyes are always heavy, and he's too exhausted to even feel like himself most of the time.

And then that’s how we get to the events of the movie. I guess Magnifico’s lucky that Simon wouldn’t want to worry his parents and would keep sending letters making it sound like everything was fine. Because Anastasia might have softened over the years, but she definitely still has a temper, not to mention a royal stepsister to turn to, and I’m sure she wouldn’t just take it quietly if she learned some distant king had caused her beloved son to lose all his energy and joy for life.

#disney wish #wish 2023 #wish simon

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teenandbeyond · 2 years

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Hi I'm not sure if your requests are still open or not, but if they are I was wondering if I could request Piccolo seeing his s/o who knows how to defend themselves, getting injured during a fight.

Piccolo x Reader

Want more from me? Masterlist 2

☆*: .｡. .｡.:*☆☆*: .｡. .｡.:*☆

Protect (DBS or Dragon Ball Super)

Warning(s): Fluff, Angst

Piccolo's just got you back, he's not gonna let you get hurt again.

✨✨✨✨

"Whoa!"

Piccolo's hand is in front of your face, catching the ball in an instant.

"Goten. Trunks. Be more careful," he glared at the boys.

"Yes, sir! Sorry, [Name]!" they hurried away with the ball.

You raised a brow, "Lo...I could've caught it myself. It's just a plastic ball, it's not a big deal even if it did hit me."

All he did was look you over before sitting back in his chair.

You found this behavior strange, he's been like that for a while.

You tripped the other day, and in an instant, he'd caught you, righting you.

Last week, Goku had wanted to do a friendly spar and the whole time, Piccolo was scolding him not to hurt you.

And during the thing with Beerus, despite it being rational to fight with them, he told you to stay back--to not engage.

You frowned, "Alright. What's going on, you've been acting strange lately."

"No, I haven't."

"Yeah, you have. You've been super overprotective like I'm weak or something. I'm stronger than you--I know you care about me, but I can handle myself, you should know that by now," you crossed your arms.

"It's not about that."

"Then what is it about? You've been acting like this ever since I got back after Buu--" you sighed, "Okay, I see. Look, Piccolo, I'm back, you don't have to watch my every move, I'll be fine--"

His sharp gaze turned to you, "You don't get to tell me that. You don't get to tell me not to be cautious. Considering, the last time you said the words, 'I'll be fine', they were the last words I heard from you before you died."

You placed your hand on his, "I'm sorry..."

"You said you'd be fine, and I believed you would be, because you always were...but then..." his gaze turned to his lap.

"Then I wasn't...So now, you feel like it's your job to make sure I am. Because you feel like you failed to..."

He shook his head, a hand covering his eyes and the tears he didn't want you to see.

"Yes. I can't--I can't lose you like that. Never again. I never want to see you like that again."

You laced your hand in his free one, "I know...but Piccolo. Don't stress yourself over every little thing. You can't protect me from everything life throws at me--like red plastic balls, for example. Things happen."

His grip got a little tighter, "I...know. I know that, I just..."

You smiled, "That doesn't mean you can't protect me at all. We've always protected each other in battle. But don't worry yourself so much, kay' sweetheart? Promise to at least try?"

"Okay..."

You smile, kissing his hand, before tracing a thumb over it, "Good."

He hesitated with the foreign words, the words he wished he could've said to you before you...

"I love you, [Name]."

Your eyes widened at the long-awaited words.

"I love you, too, Piccolo. So much."

He gripped your hand again, glad to know that it was real. You were here.

Alive.

#dbs piccolo #piccolo fluff #piccolo x reader #anime #piccolo #piccolo dbz #piccolo angst #fluff

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tadpolebrains · 1 month

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Heyy it's me again! Can I ask for another headcanon? I love your writing SOOO MUCH

So, in my Astarion romance play through the possible answer "maybe you need a friend rather than a lover" hit me and I was wondering, what about Astarion with a Tav who slowly becomes his best friend, making him realize that friendship exists? I dunno how to explain it better, just Astarion and Tav being BFF!

Thank you in advance, hope you're doing ok and drinking enough water <3

Hello again! :D

TYSM dhdhdh <33. And this did just make me go grab water so yup drinking well. That line you’re talking about- I really wish there was some way to choose it in game and then maybe after defeating Cazador get together once he’s in a more stable mindset. But welp, we take what we can get

Anywho, let’s do this

Tav & Astarion Besties

• Tav starts doing little things on the road for him, and it drives Astarion crazy at first as he tries to repay each and every little deed so he never falls in their debt

• They make sure he has some dead animal to feed on at night if they aren’t comfortable with offering their neck themself. They offer to fix his hair since he can’t see himself in the mirror. They just… want to hang out with him. And that confuses him to no end, because surely they’re expecting something in return

• So he tries flirting. Seducing. But they just chuckle at his advances or jokingly flirt back in a way that makes him question if they’re being serious or not

• Suffice to say, he’s baffled in the beginning

• After a bit of his advances clearly falling short, Astarion is at a loss. Because he doesn’t know what he can offer them if not for his body. Doesn’t understand what they want from him

• Then the Araj encounter happens, and they back him up. Support his autonomy. And… Astarion starts to realize that maybe they don’t want something from him

• Maybe, after all these years, he’s found someone good. And he can’t tell if he hates that or is relieved

• Still, he clarifies with them, and when they say that he truly just needs a friend, and they want to be that friend… he needs time to adjust

• He still reverts to teasing or lightly flirting, but over time chuckles with them at a corny line or bad pun he’s made. He finds it liberating, to joke about something he’d relied on for so long. To be allowed to find it cheesy

• They help him get used it saying ‘no.’ Start by just asking absurd things of him to get him to scoff and incredulously turn them down. The word feels less foreign on his tongue after a while

• Astarion would get in the habit of saying ‘no’ before doing something anyway. He likes how the words sounds. Tav asks him to pick up something they dropped? “No, darling, get it yourself” as he proceeds to grab it for them regardless.

• Friendly insults and banter. Astarion would enjoy having someone to fire back and forth insults with without it meaning anything.

• Gossip. You just know that once they’re close enough, Astarion would enjoy leaning over to whisper little gossipy comments into someone’s ear. “Oh, gods. The man two seats to our right has the hair of a straw broom. We best stay away, lest he shed on us.”

• Inside jokes. Astarion has always relished in causing a bit of havoc and confusion, so making Tav randomly burst out laughing by making a comment in the middle of camp that no one else understands is highly entertaining for him. Especially if they couldn’t possibly explain why it’s so damn funny

• Just… having a person to sit in silence with sometimes. Especially at night, if he’s had a nightmare. He doesn’t want pity. He just needs to lay eyes on another living being for a while. Tav has woken up multiple times to him watching them sleep.

• Eventually, getting used to small points of physical contact. High fives. Fist bumps. Astarion doesn’t understand the point of such gestures, but still has to stifle a smile whenever Tav bugs him into giving them a high five.

• Talking him out of ascension. Tav being living proof that there’s more to people than wanting to use him for his body or affections. Proof that he can have a life surrounded by close friends, and that he can be a good friend

• They’d still visit his grave together. It’s something he needs another person there for, since he doesn’t even know how he’ll react to seeing it after so long.

• Astarion sewing up patches in Tav’s clothing. Or fussing over their hair. Using the excuse of “we’ll be seen in public together, and I cannot be seen with someone who looks like they’ve crawled out of a sewer. Your appearance is part of my public image.”

• Tav running after him when the sun begins to burn him again. Sitting with him until the sun goes down, knowing him well enough not to mutter any reassurances that may be taken as pitying. Sitting there in silent solidarity and offering a hand for him to hold should he want it.

• If they don’t end up near each other, writing letters and visiting often. Always bringing random little trinkets that he’d complain about taking up space or being a pain to carry around, but keeps protectively

• Joining him to search for a cure to his vampirism later down the line.

#astarion #tav #bg3 hcs #baldur’s gate 3 headcanon #baldur’s gate 3 #rambling #this was a bunch of disconnected bullet points #but hey #thats what my brain wanted #astarion needs a bestie

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leggerefiore · 1 year

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Birthday Traditions

cw: PLA Ingo, birthday fluff for reader

pairing: Ingo/Reader

It was stressful for the Warden as he desperately tried to recall how birthdays were celebrated in the world that he failed to remember. Local traditions did not include anything too extreme, rather it seemed more that ageing for everyone fell around the new year. He sighed as he pet the Sneasel that had curled up in his lap.

It felt like only you and he were the outsiders of these lands and perhaps a bit foreign to their traditions. He had managed to adapt more easily due to his memory loss, but you had not. It was clear you wished to celebrate the day in a manner more like you did in the time and place you were from. A frigid wind blew through the mountains as he sat under a tree.

The day was beautiful. He felt the urge to do something. Simply asking you felt wrong and cruel, so instead he took to remaining outside and meditating until something entered his mind. It had been around an hour at this point, and the only changes in him were brought on by the poison of the Sneasel when she tried to knead him.

His current concentration was interrupted by footsteps approaching him carefully. His eyes opened to spy the professor approaching him with a curious look. Ingo suddenly felt stricken. While he had convinced himself that he and you were the only outsiders of this land, he had completely forgotten about Galarian professor himself.

“Ah, sorry! I did not mean to startle you,” he gave a polite smile and spoke in the language the three of you all seemed to understand, “I just wished to observe how the Sneasel interacts with you… I'm quite terrified to get so close with one myself.” Ingo understood. They could be quite dangerous if they were not ones used to human interaction. The kit in his lap was quite used to being handled by humans, so she was not of any threat outside of accidental releases of her venom.

“She's a friendly one,” he told him and held her out for a pet. The professor reached a hesitant hand out to the pokemon, who sniffed his hand and let out a purr. A soft scratch to her ear showed her social nature. Eventually, the kit crawled into Laventon's lap and began her nap again on him. Ingo pondered if he knew any good traditions that would stir his memories. “You wouldn't happen to know any birthday traditions, would you?” he asked him suddenly.

Laventon tilted his head at the question and let out a hum. “Why, yes, naturally,” he gave a grin to the Warden, “Back home we often exchanged cards or served cake. Those traditions aren't common around these parts. Cyllene asked me what I was doing when I was preparing a cake for myself on my own, actually…”

Cake… Sounded familiar. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on the feelings the words brought up. A distant memory of a boy who looked just like him with a heavy covering of black and white icing on his face entered his mind. Was… Was that him? If it was, he felt quite embarrassed by the state of himself. He still tried to focus on that memory. The sight of an undamaged cake with writing on it was in his mine. It had two names on it? He felt more confused but shook his head. He saw his own so that confirmed it.

“How… How do you make a cake?” he asked nervously, “I wish to surprise my partner.” Laventon's smile grew wider as he gave a chuckle.

“Sure thing, lad. I was thinking about doing it myself.”

A sigh came as you entered the village. You had decided to keep yourself busy on the day as expected nothing was going to happen. It was not a commonly accepted celebration here in Hisui, and you were hard-pressed to find anyone to even partially indulge it. Laventon had promised a small celebration, along with the poor kid who had taken you up as mentor after your unfortunate landing. Your boyfriend, Ingo, would always do something extremely sweet and domestic back in Unova. Now, he could barely recall his name, much less birthday celebrations.

Still, those days back home where he would admit with a deep crimson across his cheeks that he spent so long trying to make a perfect cake for you always lingered in your mind. He would surprise you with Emmet, Elesa, and your friends waiting inside. Your favourite meal was served, too. His cooking was always so lovely and reflective of his love. When the party came to end, it would be just you and him cuddled together, enjoying the evening sweetly. His soft whispers of affectionate words and promises of his love made everything feel complete.

Those were just memories now. Memories that could easily be lost if you were not careful. You slid open the door to your home in Jubilife quietly, getting ready to remove your shoes.

Then…

A light flicked on and revealed Ingo sitting at the pot with a delicious stew simmering in it. Beside him was a sweetly decorated cake with black and white icing. You gasped at the scene with an odd warmth in your heart.

“... Ah, I hope that's out of surprise and not horror,” he spoke with the loud tone he usually did, “Happy Birthday! That is what you say, right? Professor Laventon told me it was.” You gave a giggle at his genuine confusion. Nodding, you rushed over to tackle him into a hug. Ingo quickly returned the embrace while you covered him in kisses. Slowly the emotion died down and you rested your head against his chest. His hand slowly drifted through your hair.

“Thank you,” you said while gazing up at him. His eyes may have permanent bags and his hair line seemingly grew worse, but he still was the same man. “... I need to thank the professor, too,” you sighed and buried your face into the rough texture of his tunic. It was silent for a moment.

“I do believe… a certain birthday activity of ours came into my mind,” his tone was weak and nervous, “Ah, can we do that one back at my home? I would prefer the people of Jubilife not hear that…”

You let out a snicker, knowing exactly what he remembered, and pressed another peck to his lips.

“... Sad, we don't have all the items like we did back home,” you lamented, “Well, let's eat. I missed your cooking a bunch.”

He swallowed as he recalled the memory more and more.

Modern birthdays must have different traditions than those of the past.

#ingo x reader #ingo/reader #pokemon ingo x reader

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skyechild · 9 months

Text

Panic Room

𖤐 pairing: Seonghwa x chubby!fem reader 𖤐 genre: angst(?) college au, unrequited feelings. 𖤐 warnings: lots of insecurities 𖤐 wc: 1k 𖤐 summary: Why do you keep ignoring him? He just wants to be friends... 𖤐 notes: lots of insecurity on readers side. idk how to explain it more...this is very indulgent and you dont need to like it, read it or reblog it,.i wrote while listening to Youtiful by Stray Kids (aka i cried tons) and Panic Room by Au/Ra. im not tagging my net for this fic.

Why are you so shy? Why are you avoiding me? No, wait dont go.

Seonghwa watches as you turn around the corner once catching sight of him, A frown spreads on his lips. Its not fair. He thinks. Its not fair that you avoid everyone but mostly him, never letting him or his friends get too close. Never letting him getting a close look at you unless you were in a shared class. Even then, your hood was up and your hair was covering your face. You never drew attention to yourself, no matter the reason.

You only spent lunch with your favorite teachers, spent the free periods you had either in a corner of the field or inside an empty classroom that a teacher would let you use. You never had friends that hung around long. Seonghwa’s only seen you smile once, maybe twice. Hes heard you cry more then your laugh. The times he would pass by the girls bathroom, only to hear your cries ending and the sniffling as you left. Only catching a glimpse of your red eyes and runny nose.

You started actively avoiding him when he started asking around about you. So he stopped, stopped talking to others to try to learn more about you. You had no social media that he could find. How did you not have any social media? Didnt everyone?

It was different the next day. He caught you smiling at your phone, just a small upturn of your lips and he caught a glimpse of a video playing on your phone. His own smile tugged at his lips. How were you so adorable? Did you not believe it? His smile dropped into a frown. That wasnt right. You were beautiful, how did you...how did you not see yourself like he saw you?

He looked back at his notebook. He would make you believe. He noticed you would flinch back from anything touching your stomach and hips. Grind your teeth if you saw a flash of your own skin if it wasnt your hands. He rubbed his forehead how would he even go about it?

He started trying after a few months of planning. By then you had gathered two friends. You three were basically connected at the hip. He learned their names were Gahyeon and Yubin. Gahyeon was a grade beneath you, same grade as the rest of Seonghwas friends. Yubin was in the same year as him, Hongjoong and you. Therefore, when Gahyeon wasnt there, Yubin always was there at your side, never leaving you alone.

Seonghwa had noticed that You were friendly with a girl named Yoohyeon who was a grade above you. But you strayed from her a lot. She was a social butterfly and was close friends with Bora who was loud and loved attention, basked in the warmth and attention of others. She was a few years ahead with Siyeon and Minji, then a foreign exchange student named Handong had joined.

He was happy you werent alone anymore. Hes heard your giggles more since they had arrived. You had started spending more time outside with them, smiling more and having fun. Bora seemed to quiet down when she was around you, but the fond smiles from everyone in the group when you would say something or do something made Seonghwa’s heart warm. ‘Finally....finally shes not alone, she has friends...’

Yet you avoided him and everyone else like the plague. You spent a lot of time in the library and helping Yoohyeon with her English. He wished you wouldnt still run from him whenever he tried to say hello or talk with you. He would get the sad, soft smiles from Yubin whenever you would dodge him. He rubs his face and aggressively messes with his hair.

“Dont corner her you dumbass.” He glared at Wooyoung, hand twitching. “Im gonna beat your ass one day.” Wooyoung grinned, sticking his tongue out. “And im not cornering her.” He huffs, leaning back against the wall as he let his head hit the door of the locker he was against.

He knows you avoid him entirely if Wooyoung was anywhere near him. He doesnt blame you, sometimes he wanted to avoid the loud and energetic boy too. Movement on his left at the door caught his eye. It was you walking with Yunho, more half hidden behind him and nodding to whatever he was saying, a soft smile on your lips.

He knew Yunho would probably be the first one you ended up approaching. Seonghwa watched as you split from each other, you bee lining over to Gahyeon once you caught sight of her. She had an eyebrow raised and Seonghwa frowned. You pressed into her side and he caught how your body was shaking slightly before she hugged you tightly.

Yunho had walked up to him by then and his gaze locked on his form. “What were you talking about?” Seonghwa spoke, eyes straying from Yunhos form to yours, watching as you curled into yourself and leaned more towards Gahyeon who had a teasing smile on her lips, hushed words whispered between you two, a soft pink on your cheeks. Seonghwas fists clench. Why wouldnt you let him talk to you? But you happily talked to Yunho?

“We were talking about our classes, we actually share one, Chem, we were talking about the homework we were given.” Seonghwa frowned. He didnt even know what your major was, or if you were a double major. God he couldnt imagine being a double major. He gives kudos to Yunho, Wooyoung and Hongjoong for being so brave. Wooyoung majoring in dance and culinary, Hongjoong in production and broadcasting and Yunho in dance and vet care.

“We actually share a lot of classes, we share a major.” Seonghwas gaze snaps back to Yunho. “Which one?” Yunho’s brows furrow. “Vet care? Shes doing more zoology.” Seonghwa frowned. He knew nothing about you yet he still wanted to be your friend. He looked down before closing his eyes as he leaned back against his locker, tilting his head back. Yunho smiled slightly. “I dont think she wants to be friends with anyone except her current friends...im sorry Hwa...” He sighed, hitting his head against the locker a few times.

“She did mention that your fanclub has been bullying her because they know youre trying to learn more about her. Hwa i think its time you give up.” He sighed. He didnt want to, but if it would make you happier...he would.

#skyechilds work #park seonghwa imagine #ateez imagine

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alcohol1maid · 10 months

Text

Sooo...yall remember when I said I'll make a sweetened chaos fic which I kinda forgot a out? Wellll.....

A friendly encounter

The green haired girl giggled to herself as she played the girls hair.

The much younger girl who was minding her own business, had yet another encounter with the familiar green haired girl while waiting for a train...

The girl sighed, trying to ignore her, but secretly, she did like her company, just a little bit though. Better than being alone, which she's slowly becoming foreign to.

"Your hairs so pretty, miss umi!"

"Oh...t-thanks"

being called 'miss umi' did fill her up with a little bit of excitement, but she hid it easily.

"I wonder though...how are you allowed to have this kind of hair in school, don't they not allow it?"

"I...its just, it just has..smaller policy's...I think"

"Oh woow!! That must be amazing! There must be so many things you can get away with!"

"Y-yeah" kema umi blushed a little, deep inside, she kinda hoped that the 'trickster girl' would stay for a little longer, even if she was front face in denial about it.

Trickster giggled after this, she loved playing with people's feelings, kema was no different.

This made her smile, she didn't see kema any different then the other people she teased through out her years, all though she did find more enjoyment in doing this since...in a while. Stuff happened.

"But i must say miss kema, about that...friend of yours, what's his name? North...sky?"

Kema umi paused, she almost forgot that trickster knew about him, especially since its been a while since their first encounter.

"O-oh y-yeah...what about him?" She turned towards trickster, which had a grin on face, which kema felt off-put by.

"You see...that nerd friend? What do you...see in him, like are you to like, a thing or something?"

Kema almost gasped, she's never been told a question like this before.

"H-hes just...a sweet guy, that's all..."

kema umi got embarrassed by this question, did she think they were dating? She hid her face with her hair after that, she was hot as a pepper.

"Hmm...m'kay"

Trickster knew that wasn't just it, but she didn't want to keep going on with the question, since she knew if she did kema would leave early.

She simply just left it at that, however, she wanted to know about the boy.

"Ya know, miss kema?"

Kema umi was still hiding her face, overthinking every word she just said.

Trickster laughed at this

"Dawwhh, is my little strawberry embarrassed? Hehehe, it's fine kema! I was just goofing with ya!"

Kema let go off her hair, giving trickster a

'Really...?' Looking on her face, which trickster had to admit did look a little cute.

"Hahah!" Trickster laughed "oh kema, you always know how to make me laugh!"

Kema umi wanted to blow up, but simply but looked away, pounting.

"Y-yeah I was just...feeling ill...that's all"

Trickster obviously knew this wasn't true, but still played along for her entertainment.

"Oh miss umi! Your just the cutest, you know that?" She giggled " oh, I just wanna squeeze so tight!" Suddenly, trickster put both of her arms around kemas neck.

Kema umi was surprised by this, not really knowing how to react. But she found confront in this, which honestly surprised her a little. She felt...safe, and honestly wished it lasted longer.

But then suddenly, a phone started ringing.

It was tricksters.

Trickster let go of kema, and answered her phone.

"H-hello?"

It was none other than casimir, who rung the house phone.

"How's my master doing? Can you come back please...little miss penelope is misbehaving, master..."

Trickster was a little annoyed, but simply replied

"Oh, yeah sure, I'll be there inn..." trickster looked up at the trains clock. "10 minutes..?"

"Just hurry master! She's making a mess!"

"Okay! Okay! Jeez..." trickster hung up the phone and looked down at kema

" I would love to stay and chat but, my family needs me dear! I promise when we meet again, I'll bring you all the sweets you want!"

Trickster winked at her, before walking off to the train station exit.

Kema umi heard her entire conversation with him, master? Penelope? Kema umi had so many questions, was she a mom? Did she have a boyfriend?

So many thoughts were racing through her head, why would anyone call their family member 'master' ?

Not too long later, her train arrived. Kema umi got up from her seat, and walked towards it, mind still running.

Kema umi sat down on one of the seats, looking out at the window.

"Well...that's gonna be a story to tell tommrow" she told herself, just as the train was about to leave.

THE END

Hope yall enjoyed this! Sorry for not making it till now! I kinda forgot about it till today lol. I hope you sweetened chaos fans liked your meal! <3

And also, trickster belongs to my dearest friend @boiling-potato ! Thanks for giving me permission to make this a while back, apologies for the extremely long wait! <3

#original character #ocs #trickster #not my oc!#kema umi #sweetend chaos #trickster x kema #kema x trickster #💚🩷

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starr-fall-knight-rise · 2 years

Text

Insider Intel

https://www.patreon.com/empyreaniris?fan_landing=true

https://starr-fall-knight-rise.tumblr.com/post/182501791735/master-post

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jzEIdDAB4omdO2JcQVMObfrhLJ5kX4ONmSsLypM1ks0/edit?usp=sharing.\

Something was wrong. It wasn’t anything overt or specific that caught her eye but it had been going on for weeks now. It wasn’t something she could quantify in words that would make any sort of sense, and “I just have a feeling” isn’t seen as an acceptable intelligence source, which is why she hadn’t bothered to send out a report.

What was there to say?

Dear Mr. Intelligence Director,

I have a spooky feeling that I cannot shake, I think we should look into it

Sincerely,

Your Friendly GA diplomat

No, no that wasn’t something she could do however much she wished she could tell someone about her suspicions.

She was no newbie either, in fact she had been in intelligence work for the better part of twenty years, and before working in arcadia, she had been a case officer for GCI (global central intelligence) on Earth. A lot of people misunderstand the work of an intelligence officer, and who can blame them, spies have been misrepresented in movies since time immemorial.

Even the oldest and most famous media spies, 007, for instance are misrepresented to an incredible degree. Truth be told James Bond wasn’t actually a “Spy”. The real name for a person like James bond would be a “case officer” the case officer is someone who recruits the actual spies and is the liaison that collects the intel given to them by the people they manage.

It is a case officer’s job to recruit spies, and turn members of opposing governments against their employers and convince them to sell secrets. The actual “Spy” is the person a case officer recruits, someone within their own agency who is actively committing treason.

Another misunderstanding a lot of laymen have is the assumption that their own government would never participate in such dirty dealings. People always get up in arms when it comes out that Earth has been spying on Irus or the other way around, but truth be told, good intelligence is collecting on any information that may be relevant to the safety of your own country. Every country with any sort of government does it. There is an unwritten rule in intelligence work that only intel operatives understand.

Everyone is collecting intelligence on everyone else, doesn’t matter who you are, doesn’t matter if you are allies or enemies, you better be sure someone is collecting intel on you.

But now, she couldn’t help but feel the roles had changed.

Another fact that the public generally gets wrong about the intelligence community, is that foreign governments always know who the case officers are. It isn’t a secret, anyone with diplomatic immunity, working a low level job at an embassy is probably a case officer. In fact she had had lunch with plenty of agents from opposing governmental bodies playfully bantering and halfheartedly attempting to turn the other against their own government.

But now the dynamic had changed.

She could feel it.

Something wasn’t right. She had been assigned a job on Irus, working directly at the GA headquarters. The rundi were secretive, the charwoman was hard to read, all to the director’s annoyance. Coming from a creature that had never known a world with secrets, it was no surprise Director Conn hated them so much.

Despite being allies with the GA, Arcadia was still in the business of collecting as much information as possible, and here she was in the midst of something that was making her feel more and more like a spy and less and less like a case officer.

Again she had no concrete evidence, but things around here weren’t adding up.

The day before she had watched two rundi distribute several tiny vials to members of the GA support staff. Had the interaction been done casually, she might not have thought anything of it, but the operation had gone down like a drug deal, behind a little used building late in the evening. The little glances taken over their shoulders and the nervous energy that surrounded them was enough to tell her something was going on

However, not even that was enough.

Sure some GA staff were distributing drugs or something, but that hardly made sense as, whatever had been in those vials, had been distributed by higher ranking members of the GA structure.

If it had been just that, still she might not have been suspicious, but it was that in conjunction with everything else.

The sudden disappearance of the chairwoman, explained away by “how busy she was” or “An unknown illness” or “shes been working on a special project.” Again, she probably wouldn’t have thought anything of it, but every time the chairwoman was brought up, she got the feeling that they were actively trying to seem nonchalant about the whole thing.

And then of course, there were the people.

It was like everyone around her had been replaced with an imposter. They still looked like themselves, sounded like themselves, but so many of them were off, just ever so slightly. Briefly she wondered if her mind was failing her. Wasn’t there a mental illness that presented by thinking everyone around you was an imposter?

She thought she remembered something like that.

But if she was losing it…. Would she be able to acknowledge that she was losing it?

Through all of this she had remind quiet, watching and waiting and collecting information, trying to quantify the strange feeling of unease that had taken over. And eventually her patience paid off.

She had been in the middle of her official job, chaperoning some documents to an upper level office, when she caught wind of a quiet conversation spilling out through an open office door. The rundi’s voice was soft, unaided by translation equipment. Her implant was unable to pick up the signal, but she had learned to speak the Rundi language long before this assignment was given. So she slowed, down, tilting her head for a better listen.

Two voices as far as she could tell.

“Drink this, and…. That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“What will happen?”

“You will become a part of something…. Bigger.”

There was no other explanation, and with the sound of footsteps she quickly backtracked, and then started forward again like she had been making her way up the hall. Two Rundi exited the room, one of them palming something in his fist as he walked, and for a moment, she thought she saw a flash of orange.

The two rundi looked up at her, and they exchanged a nod. She smiled as she walked past.

The one on the left shifted with unease at the expression, but the one of the right didn’t seem all that perturbed.

She continued on down the hall, listening as the two rundi’s voices faded into the distance as they walked the other direction. As soon as they were around the corner, she stopped and turned, reaching into her pocket and pressing the small button she had hidden there. There were cameras everywhere in the GA headquarters, but this would give her a few minutes.

She turned quickly, slipping back into the Rundi’s office, and began poking around, occasionally glancing back at the door.

This wasn’t her usual area.

Planting bugs, eavesdropping, and manipulating were all familiar to her, but what she was doing now was…. The work of spies.

Luckily for her, the object she was looking for wasn’t really hidden, and she found the little black case resting in the top drawer of the Rundi’s “Desk” so to speak. Inside were no less than thirty vials of pulsating orange liquid.

She took one, and quickly hurried from the room, leaving no trace of her presence behind.

The vial would have to be her proof.

***

“Targeted analysis on interstellar shipping manifests moved through large scale ports indicate a nearly 2,000 percent uptick in the distribution of artificial bulb fruit flavoring. If that weren’t enough, the distribution is inconsistent with purchase rates of the areas the flavoring is being shipped to. We believe that this is consistent with attempts to redistribute the pesticide mixture, if this is the case, we can expect Void operatives will be using any means of food distribution to infect the populace.”

Conn tapped his fingers against the desk ribbons flexing and undulating in great waves at his back. Before him, a team of his intel analysts all sat with their waiting presentations.

He didn’t need them to give the presentations at all. In fact, they could have simply walked into the room and allowed him to read their minds for a few second before dismissing them, and he had originally tired that model. However, he had learned rather quickly that such actions decreased morale and made the troops feel like they were undervalued.

He could put up with listening to them talk if it meant being able to manipulate them into doing what he wanted.

He knew it.

And everyone here knew it.

“That’s a good catch, I want market analysts examining stock prices, and value tables for the next week, report any sudden changes like this, and make sure to include it in the packet that we send over to Kelly.”

The analysts nodded and took their seats.

He sensed the visitor before they knocked, and motioned for his secretary to get the door.

The analyst outside almost fell in over the threshold as he went to knock, and missed the door entirely. Stumbling inside, the man went rather red before straightening himself. The urgency in his thoughts, alerted Conn to something strange, and he din’t bother to wait for the man to speak before rifling through his most recent thoughts

He held out a hand “let me see.”

Disoriented, but quick to recover, the man proffered a small, flat box to Conn, which he took and flipped open.

The box was full of confidential documents, all red stamped and in hard copy, but it wasn’t the files Conn cared so much about as he did the little vial of mystery orange substance that came with it.

Picking it up between thumb and forefinger, Conn examined the sloshing liquid inside.

“Where?”

Still, he shuffled through the man’s head even as he asked the question.

“From GA headquarters, sir.”

The implications of that hung in the air for a moment before conn determined that bit of intel warranted a swear, “Shit.”

He rose from his seat, a billowing cloud of ribbons, and adjusted his suit jacket, “I need a line to Adam, and get Eris and James if you can.”

The room burst into a flurry of nervous activity.

Conn had used zero euphemisms, made no lewd comments about adam being his “baby daddy” and openly taunted no one, so clearly whatever he had gleaned from the small orange vial.

Was very serious.

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loosesodamarble · 10 months

Text

A Double Enchanted Tale

Here's my contribution to the Disney crossover event from @vs-redemption.

This is Disney’s Enchanted (with some plot changes) featuring Nacht x Josele (my oc) and Finral x Mallory (@sailor-muno's oc). Cameo from the ZorAcy ship (from @faewraithsworld). And not to worry I'm using my friends' ocs with permission~!

Cast -Josele as Giselle -Nacht as Robert -Finral as Prince Edward -Mallory as Nancy -Sterling as Morgan (Robert’s daughter) -Yuno as Pip the Chipmunk (but a more character appropriate bird here) -Liliane Vaude as Queen Narissa -Alecdora as Nathaniel (the queen’s lackey) -Zora and Acylla as Phoebe and Ethan (the couple that almost gets divorced but doesn't)

Putting this under a cut because it got loooooooooooooong. Lots of little headcanon notes as well as some drabbles for scenes in narrative format (not my best prose writing but I think I would've gone insane trying to do it all in headcanon format).

..........

As with the original film, this story begins with Josele waxing poetic and singing about True Love’s Kiss. She imagines her True Love™ with pitch black hair and sparkling blue eyes.

Yuno, Josele’s little songbird friend, helps put together the statue of Josele’s True Love™.

Josele’s song attracts the attention of a troll. When it tries to take her away, she fights back.

Elsewhere in the forest, Prince Finral is returning from a diplomacy mission in another kingdom, attended by Alecdora, Queen Liliane’s henchman.

Liliane keeps sending Finral away as a foreign ambassador to keep him distracted from romance. So long as he doesn’t find a bride, she can remain on the throne.

Finral isn’t a fighter but he’s always concerned about people who might need help so he rides into the woods, following Josele’s (kinda wretched) screams.

Alecdora attempts to follow but is left behind as he’s without a horse. He can only grumble that Liliane should try to have Finral killed and not just distracted. He’s fed up with the guy too.-Finral is chasing after Josele’s voice. Josele is fighting for her life.

Josele is up in the trees, trying to smack away the troll with tree branches. Yuno is desperately pecking at the troll.

.....

Finral followed the shouts of a woman’s voice through the forest until he happened upon a troll the size of a house, reaching into the trees.

“Leave me alone already!” Finral looked up to where the voice emanated from and saw a lady with brown hair. “There’s no way I’m going anywhere with you!” She had a tree branch held in both hands and used it to smack at the troll’s fingers when it got too close to reaching her. Finral also barely made out the flittering movements of a bird flying at the troll’s hands one in a while.

“Ahem!” Finral forcibly cleared his throat then projected his voice. “Sir Troll! I know I just arrived but it’s clear to me that you’re bothering that lady. She has no interest in you so I suggest you be on your way.”

The troll didn’t look at Finral and instead just grunted and continued to reach up.

Finral groaned but went on, “If you seek the attention of a fair lady, you must do better than this. Attempt a more gentlemanly approach. Give your name and offer a small gift in greeting, like flowers or even a particularly lovely stone.”

Granted, Finral had no clue if those strategies worked. He had always wanted to attend balls and other events in search of his True Love™. But he was so busy helping his mother establish friendly relations with other lands that he never had the time for romantic socialization.

“Love isn’t something you can force. It’s something you build through mutual efforts.”

“Would you be quiet?!” the troll snapped at Finral, finally giving the prince attention.

“Ah… Well…” Finral uttered.

“Or how about you leave?!”

The lady in the trees jumped down and swung her branch down on the spot between the troll’s eyes, the weak spot of those creatures. With a pained roar, the troll held its face and ran off into the woods. Finral wished he’d been able to do more. But he couldn’t not feel glad that the monster was driven away and that the lady in the trees was safe.

Speaking of…

Finral watched the woman land on a lower branch of a tree and lean against the trunk, probably letting out a sigh of relief. He got a better look at her. Brown hair that shined like varnished wood, a fair complexion, and arms that showed more muscle than Finral had ever seen on a woman.

“Excuse me, miss! You’re alright, yes?” Finral called up to the woman.

She turned her face to Finral and his breath was taken away by the beautiful depth of her brown eyes.

“Me?” She gestured to herself. “Yes, I’m oka—”

All of a sudden, her foot slipped and she was falling to the ground. Finral spurred his horse forward. And not a moment too soon as Finral caught the woman in his arms.

For a moment, the two of them stared into each other’s eyes.

“Hello…” the lady whispered, her face now colored a rosy hue. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Prince Finral,” he managed to say despite the tenseness of his throat and the heat in his face. “And you are?”

“Josele.”

“A name that’s as lovely as you are brave.” Finral’s heart thumped in his chest. He’d never had such a reaction to a woman. Did that mean that Josele was… his True Love™? “Would you… marry me?”

“Y-yes! Yes of course!” Josele blurted out, giggles bubbling in her voice.

“Then it’s settled, we’ll be married in the morning!” Finral exclaimed with glee.

As Finral and Josele rode into the sunset, singing refrains that came to them as naturally as breathing, the little bird that had been around earlier watched them leave. The bird was Yuno, Josele’s faithful companion.

“But he doesn’t even look like the True Love™ from your dreams, Josele!” Yuno yelled while flying after them.

.....

In New York City, Nacht and his daughter Sterling are on their way home in a taxi.

Nacht brings up to Sterling that he’s going to propose to his girlfriend, Mallory Demiscura.

Sterling: Her name sounds like an evil stepmother's name. Nacht: That’s not nice to say, Sterling. Mallory is a fine woman. And what’s more, she looks like she could actually be your mother. Sterling: Is that why you’re thinking of marrying her? Nacht: … Maybe.

Sterling frowns at the lame reasoning. It’s so unromantic. She wants her dad to marry someone he loves, not someone to be her mom.

As Sterling pouts and stares out the window, she spots a lady in an elaborate wedding dress climbing up a telephone pole.

Sterling hurries out of the car to investigate and Nacht of course follows.

Sterling: Aren’t you afraid of falling from there, miss? Josele: Not to worry! I’m used to being in high places! Nacht: So she’s a drug addict… Sterling: Or she climbs stuff often. Jeez dad, no need to be judgy. Nacht: Lady, I think you should get down from there! It’s not safe! Josele: Nah, I’ll be fi— (slips and falls) WAH!

Nacht instinctively goes to catch Josele because of course. Nacht is hurt more by the collision than Josele is. Sterling’s jaw drops at how durable and muscular Josele is.

Sterling: How did you get like that, miss? Josele: Get like what? So disheveled and dirty? Heh, well I’ve been wandering around, completely lost, all day. But I’ll be fine, I just need— (wobbles and collapses on top of Nacht again) To rest. Nacht: Uh, well, uh… We can take you in for the night? Sterling: (pumps her fists in victory) We’re bringing a princess home!

.....

Nacht pinched the bridge of his nose after pushing all of the rats, pigeons, and roaches out of the apartment. First a lady climbing in a wedding dress and now a vermin-led housecleaning job. Maybe he was hallucinating. He was pulled from his thoughts by Sterling tugging on his shirt.

“Do we have to wash the dishes again? Because the rats touched them?”

“Use the disposable ones for now. Please,” Nacht groaned.

“Okay.”

After Sterling left his side, Nacht noticed a sing-song voice coming from the bathroom. It had to be Josele. Nacht approached slowly, taking in the sound of Josele’s voice. Admittedly, she had a lovely voice. There was then a pang in Nacht’s heart as he remembered how Morgen used to sing.

Morgen probably would’ve loved a weirdo like her, Nacht thought with a scoff. He couldn’t help but smile though. Nacht stopped in front of the door but before he even knocked, Josele opened the door.

“Good morning,” Josele said with a grin. Such a blithe and innocent look. Like she hadn’t nearly fallen to her death—or at least a broken bone—last night. “You’re looking well, Nacht.”

“Uh…” Nacht glanced down before hurriedly locking eyes with Josele. Holy hell, she is ripped! “Morning. So uh… you…”

“The shower is absolutely lovely,” remarked Josele, glancing back into the room. “I’m used to bathing in rivers but that was a whole new experience!”

“In rivers?” Nacht repeated. Did she grow up in the wilderness or something? “Right. So look, the thing is—”

“Nacht? Who’s that?”

Nacht’s head whipped in the direction of another woman’s voice. Mallory stood a few feet away, jaw dropped and eyes wide in a look of confusion and hurt.

Mallory was there. Seeing Nacht talk with Josele. While Josele was only in a towel.

“Oh hello there! I’m Josele!” She strode up to Mallory without a second thought and began to shake the redhead’s hand. “It’s so nice to meet you! What’s your name?”

“Mallory…”

“Oh that’s a gorgeous name!”

“Thanks?” Mallory pulled back a bit. Her face twisted, looking more horrified by the millisecond. “Uh, what are you doing here?”

“I was on my way to the castle to be married—”

Nacht hurried to the women and stepped between them.

“Mallory, please listen,” Nacht started while holding Mallory’s shoulders and moving her away from Josele. “She and I, we’re not— You have to understand.”

“Understand what, Nacht? That you’ve finally decided that I’m not good enough for you?” Mallory choked out. Tears had already formed in her eyes. “I thought we were just taking it slow because of Sterling and…” Mallory quickly rubbed her eyes. “And we have our careers to worry about too! But I guess the real reason was—!”

“That’s not it at all!”

Mallory pulled away from Nacht and stormed towards the exit. “I’ll go! If she makes you happy, I won’t get in your way!”

“Are you leaving already?” Josele asked, stepping in the way of Mallory’s exit. “But you just arrived.”

The question made Mallory pause. “You don’t want me to leave?”

Josele and Mallory stared into each other’s eyes for a moment. Both seemed confused. And Nacht had to step in.

“Ladies, please, I can explain everything,” Nacht said as he got between them.

“Okay then…” Mallory nodded for a moment then looked Nacht dead in the eyes. “Explain.”

.....

Nacht explains to Mallory the situation with Josele. And she listens.

Mallory is baffled to say the least but considering Josele’s behavior, it seems to be the most believable explanation.

Nacht asks Mallory if Josele could stay with her only for Mallory to say her apartment is getting renovated and she’s already sharing a space with her three sisters.

But Mallory promises to help look for leads about how to get Josele home.

The situation still puts a strain on the relationship since Nacht will be focusing his attention on Josele until she returns to Andalasia.

Mallory is jealous of Josele’s hopeless romanticism and optimism. She was once a romantic herself but lost her spark. She ended up with Nacht because of proximity and convenience.

Nacht takes Josele to his workplace. He hands Josele over to his coworker, Secre, hoping she can help locate Josele’s home.

Meanwhile, Nacht tries to help move along the divorce proceedings for Acylla and Zora. In Nacht’s opinion, they had to split sooner rather than later.

.....

Josele approached Acylla with a wide-eyed, almost awestruck smile.

“Your eyes…” she whispered sweetly. “They’re gorgeous with that little sparkle in them. And your presence is so calm and graceful.”

“I, well…” Acylla flushed at the forward compliments being given to her. “Thank you, miss.”

“The person who holds your heart is a very lucky individual,” Josele commented as she took Acylla’s hands.

And those words made Acylla’s shy grin drop into a deep frown instantly. “He may have held it before but he dropped it like a hot potato.” The words made Josele reel back. Acylla only continued, “And believe me, I doubt he feels lucky to know me at this moment.”

“I don’t understand…” Josele whispered as she shook her head. She glanced at Zora who scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Aren’t you two in love?”

“Read the room, lady,” snapped Zora. “We’re sick of each other.”

Nacht buried his face in his hands and groaned. First his personal life. And now his professional life was being torn asunder by a woman who made a dress out of his curtains before skipping away, without shame or guilt.

When he raised his head, Nacht had every intention of snapping at Josele to keep her nose out of Zora and Acylla’s business. But then he saw them, the tears in her eyes. Soft and real, truly broken up by something most people would brush off as an unfortunate but unextraordinary event. So Nacht ended up pulling Josele aside and quietly letting her know that she didn’t have to worry since the divorce was what the former couple wanted.

“But they’re losing the love of their lives, Nacht,” Josele whimpered as her tears fell. “I can’t imagine loving someone one day and then… not loving them the next…”

“That’s just how the world works,” Nacht said. He almost included an “I’m sorry.” But what did he have to be sorry for?

When Nacht glanced past Josele’s shoulder, he saw Zora staring at Acylla. Not with annoyance as he had been earlier. But rather, he looked curious, as though examining Acylla for the first time. As for Acylla, she was red-faced and avoiding Zora’s eyes.

The air between the two had changed. Nacht didn’t know how but it had…

.....

Mallory is still on her own commute to work. On the way, she spies a man in an elaborate medieval style tunic standing in front of a bus.

Finral: Be still you beast of steel! Those poor civilians in your belly don’t deserve to be eaten! Bus Driver: (honks aggressively) GET OUTTA THE STREET! Mallory: Oh no. That man’s gonna get himself run over. (runs over and grabs Finral out of the street) Finral: Hey hey! Wait wait wait! I was helping those people! Mallory: You were causing a traffic jam! (brushes Finral down because he looks like a mess) You good, man? Finral: I am a good man, yes. Or I’d like to think so. Mallory: Um… Yeah I don’t think you’re doing so hot, sir. (thinking) He does look hot though…

Mallory and Finral get to talking once they get some distance between themselves and the street.

Finral goes on and on about finding his “precious doe” and “other half.” But he doesn’t mention Josele by name.

Still, Mallory gets a weird feeling that Finral’s fairy tale dreamy attitude is familiar…

Alecdora runs up from out of nowhere and grabs Finral away, saying he knows where to find Finral’s love.

“Lead the way, Alecdora!” Finral exclaims as he and Alecdora run off.

“Alec-darrel? What kind of name is that?!” Mallory asks. She tries to chase them for a moment but she’s not fit to keep up.

And then, a little songbird (Yuno), lands on her shoulder and seems to glare at Alecdora.

“What’s your story, little guy?” Mallory asks sarcastically. “I’m actually thinking of chasing after Prince Charming there.”

Yuno chirps aggressively at Mallory and directs her to follow Finral. So she does!

At some point, Alecdora makes his first attempt to kill Josele with a poison apple provided by Liliane. Only to fail.

.....

“That’s how you know~!”

Josele’s melodious voice rang through the air.

“That’s how you know~!”

Came the harmonious echo of what felt like half of New York City, somehow knowing the song that Josele had begun.

Nacht had thought he was dreaming. Honestly, he’d thought that since he first met Josele. Yet sitting in an open carriage as everyone from street musicians to newlyweds performed in Central Park felt strangely real. Every smile on the people’s faces was wide and genuine. The clouds from the morning had parted and the afternoon sun made the colors around Nacht brighter.

And the brightest person there was Josele.

The song and dance had concluded. But people were lingering, mingling amongst themselves or approaching Josele as she stood within the carriage with Nacht.

Nacht blinked a few more times. But he couldn’t take his eyes off of Josele as she spoke with the people who complimented her song or thanked her for the experience. And she replied with a “no, thank you for joining” and such.

How did she manage to be so kind and genuine? Okay, Nacht knew why: fairy tale princess turned real. The question still lingered in his mind. He wondered if the kind of magic Josele exuded was something everyone had a little of, and that’s what made everything happen.

.....

With Mallory, she’s caught up with Finral who is separated from Alecdora thankfully. As they’re walking, she tries to get across that she knows where Finral’s “other half” is.

As she tries to explain, she gets a text from one of her sisters.

[Is he cheating?] The question is accompanied by a picture of Nacht and Josele, sitting in a carriage and surrounded by… a lot. [Check social media. They’re there.]

Mallory looks up what’s trending and finds pictures and videos of some chaotic flash mob. With Josele and Nacht seeming to lead it.

The doubt in Mallory’s heart starts to come back. She and Nacht had never done anything like dance or sing together, especially not in public. And yet with Josele…

.....

“Is something the matter, Miss Mallory?” Finral asked gently, breaking Mallory out of her gloom.

“Oh! Uh…” Mallory slid her phone into her purse, making her chest tight with guilt at hiding Josele’s location from Finral. But perhaps their reunion could wait an hour or two? “I’m… fine?” She shook her head. “It’s just that the man I love…” The words felt so heavy in her mouth that she trailed off and had to take a breath. “He’s not all that good at being loving.”

Finral blinked then stared wide-eyed at Mallory. “But how can that be? A fine woman such as yourself is surely easy to love. Why, I can already name several things that make you splendid!”

“L-like what?”

“Well for one, your hair! It’s the loveliest shade of red I’ve ever laid my eyes on!” Finral exclaimed with a wide grin. “I bet if you were to give a twirl, it’d fan out so beautifully that the crowd would stop and stare.”

“I don’t think I could do something like that!” Mallory squeaked, feeling herself warm up as people were already eyeing her and Finral because of his loud voice. “But, um, thanks for the compliment.”

“And I have more to give, still!” Finral quickly followed up. “Your smile. It shines as bright as the sun. Surely, that smile alone has made the day of your sweetheart.”

Mallory shrugged, not wanting to admit that she’d never seen Nacht smile. Not truly. Only ever the empty, cordial smile he used at work.

“There’s also your heart, so full of kindness. We only passed by each other this morning and yet you’ve returned to aid me.” Finral went on waxing poetic. It was incredible how genuine he sounded. Not a hint of irony to him. “Your lover, whoever he may be, should be ashamed for not treasuring you the way you should be!”

Mallory pursed her lips and nodded a little. She did want for a love that was… more. But she was never brave enough to ask that of Nacht.

Raising her head, Mallory locked eyes with Finral. His warm grin and the way his eyes looked at her with gentleness. The deepest parts of her heart wanted that.

Mallory wanted the bold and free love that Finral was offering.

It’s just that he wasn’t offering it to her…

.....

Finral breaks out into song. Let’s call it “With All Your Heart.”

I’m not writing the whole thing out (not a lyricist here), but the gist of the song is Finral explaining his belief that love should be expressed boldly and being proud of one’s love will make them happier. It’s why he’s so forward.

Finral’s song number gets the crowd going as much as “That’s How You Know” did. Mallory is in absolute awe of the literal magic in front of her eyes and excitedly runs alongside Finral as he encourages other couples to loudly proclaim their love for each other.

Yuno is following along the whole time and is picking up on the vibes with this pair.

When the song ends, a pair of doves fly up to Mallory. They give her a wreath of flowers and tickets to a ball happening later that week, addressed from Nacht.

And now she’s thinking of Nacht again and her heart hurts realizing that she’s already smitten with another man, a taken man.

Finral hears of the ball and excitedly thinks of taking Josele there before returning home.

Mallory agrees to help him get tickets. She wasn’t just going to give up the tickets for her and Nacht, but she’d at least help Josele and Finral’s love.

Alecdora finds Mallory and Finral and takes away the prince saying he has a lead on where Josele is. Mallory tries to argue that she knows but Alecdora ignores her.

Yuno comforts Mallory for a moment then chirps, as if to reassure her that he’ll get Finral back.

.....

Nacht blinked a few times, not quite believing what he was hearing.

“Can you say that again?”

“We don’t see any reason to divorce,” Zora repeated with a smile. He looked at Acylla who grinned back. “That lady from yesterday, she was so right. Acylla’s eyes have a beautiful sparkle to them. It was the first thing I noticed. I really am lucky to have fallen for her.”

“But just the other day you two were having problems,” Nacht pointed out, to which the couple snickered.

“Everyone has problems, Mr. Faust.” Acylla’s hold on Zora’s hand tightened. “But should we really allow the bad things in life to outweigh the good ones?”

Nacht raised a brow. “You’re really going to try again after a chance encounter with—”

“Have you considered that it wasn’t merely chance?” Acylla posed. “Maybe we were meant to meet that lady and she would remind us of what really mattered.”

“Like how sweet you are when I’m not bothering you,” Zora joked. The couple laughed again before sharing a brief kiss. “Yeah, I could get used to this all over again.”

Nacht fell silent. His mouth snapped shut as he had nothing to say.

There it was again. That strange magic that Josele’s presence exuded. At work again in Nacht’s life.

Nacht guided Acylla and Zora out of the office while reassuring them that Josele would hear of their gratitude towards her. There was no doubt in his mind that Josele would be overjoyed to know that the couple’s marriage had been saved.

“What a peculiar woman,” Nacht muttered, feeling a smile come to his face just thinking of everything Josele had done in only two days. “What else could possibly happen now?”

.....

The timeline of events does get extended. There’s an extra two or three days of shenanigans.

Mallory keeps on putting off telling Nacht that she’s met Finral because 1) Alecdora keeps dragging Finral off and Mallory would rather not say “I’ve seen him but I’m currently not with him” due to the inconvenience, and 2) she just wants more time with Finral herself.

So Nacht and Josele have their misadventures while Finral and Mallory have theirs.

Josele and Nacht’s misadventures include: 1) taking Sterling to an archery range since the kid is interested and when Josele tries her hand at the bow, she cuts her fingers on the fletching, 2) Josele helping some kids find their lost pets with her little animal summoning ability, and 3) Josele decorating a statue with flower wreaths and teaching Nacht and Sterling how to weave flowers together during that time.

Mallory and Finral’s misadventures include 1) getting caught up in a dance off on the streets which Finral absolutely flops since its break dancing and not ballroom, 2) coming across a runaway teen and talking things out with them (Mallory gives more grounded advice like finding a shelter while Finral’s advice is optimistic but helpful in keeping the teen’s spirits up), and 3) meeting Mallory’s sister Athena and her boyfriend, during which Finral convinces the boyfriend to go ahead with proposing.

Meanwhile, Yuno is fighting for his life against Alecdora, trying to separate him from Finral so Finral can meet up with Mallory again. Alecdora has tried clipping his wings, selling him to a pet store, and even threw him into a bird of prey exhibit at the zoo. It’s crazy.

Nacht eventually takes Josele and Sterling out for dinner, during which Nacht reveals the story behind Sterling’s lack of mother.

Sterling is Nacht’s adopted kid, but she wasn’t meant to be. She was supposed to be adopted by Morgen, Nacht’s brother.

Years ago, Morgen’s apartment building caught fire. Something about a stove being left on.

Instead of escaping immediately, Morgen went to every room he could to help others get to safety.

He eventually found a woman with one of her legs pinned under debris and a baby in her arms. The woman insisted that Morgen take her baby and leave her to die. If her baby lived, that’s what mattered.

Morgen carried the baby girl out, using his own body to protect her from the smoke and flames.

Morgen and the baby escaped, but he sustained some bad injuries.

While in the hospital, Morgen said he wanted to adopt the baby girl, named Sterling, once he was recovered. However, he wasn’t getting better, only worse.

With his dying breath, Morgen asked Nacht to take care of Sterling. “I know you have no attachment to her, brother. But please, watch over her. Don’t let the hope that lives in that child die.”

And so Sterling became Nacht’s child.

Alecdora makes a second attempt with a poison apple and Yuno saves Josele from this one.

Alecdora and Yuno face off. It ends with Alecdora “killing” Yuno.

After they return to the Faust apartment and Josele comforts Sterling, Nacht talks to Josele about staying in New York.

.....

“It’s been nearly a week since you’ve arrived, Josele. And if he hasn’t come by now, I just don’t think your so-called prince is coming at all,” Nacht whispered, trying to be gentle with the woman’s feelings.

“But he is,” Josele insisted once more. “I believe in him.”

“And maybe that belief is misplaced. You can’t hope for the impossible.”

At Nacht’s words, Josele’s expression twisted into a frown. A look which Nacht hadn’t seen since Josele had cried over Acylla and Zora’s situation days earlier. But the current frown she wore was markedly different.

“What’s with you, Nacht? Why can’t you have a little hope?” Josele asked as she leaned forward, closer to Nacht, more aggressive than she’d ever been before. “Why is it always ‘let’s stop now’ or ‘it won’t work’ or ‘it’s a waste of time’? Why are you always so gloomy?”

“I’m not gloomy, I’m realistic.” Nacht felt his chest grow tight as Josele’s eyes narrowed and she let out a sharp exhale. “You can’t always get your hopes up. Otherwise, you’ll get disappointed a lot.”

“So I should be like you and never get my hopes up?” Josele shot to her feet as she yelled.

“That’s not what I said!” Nacht rose to his feet too. “I’m just saying that hoping for the impossible will never work out!”

All Nacht has wanted to do was to spare Josele from the heartbreak of someone giving up on her. He didn’t intend to get Josele fired up, to cause her to come to the defense of her own hopes and desires.

“Well at least I have hope! Unlike you!” Josele jabbed Nacht in the shoulder, as if to emphasize. “You’re so afraid to try new things! You’re afraid to open your heart! Sometimes you’re so kind and sometimes you’re like this!” So caught up in her emotions, Josele started to pace back and forth. “And it just—! I don’t know—! All of it makes me so—! You make me so—!”

“I make you what?” Nacht pressed, leaning in close without really thinking.

“You make me so angry!” Josele snapped. “I’m angry with you, Nacht Faust!” The fierce scowl on Josele’s face was blinked away, and then she grinned. “I’m angry! Oh my gosh, I’m angry!” Her laugh, like a chime, echoed for a moment. And then, “Wait, I’m angry.”

Josele frowned again and then punched Nacht square in the stomach. The impact sent Nacht to the floor—it still shocked him how surprisingly muscular she was. Nacht groaned and held his aching torso.

“I’m sorry! Oh I’m so sorry!” Josele yelped while kneeling on the floor beside Nacht. “I didn’t think—!”

“You’re good, Josele. It’s fi—” Nacht paused when he felt Josele pick up his head and then rest it on her lap. “Josele?”

“I’m still angry, you know,” she whispered. Her fingers stroked through Nacht’s hair. “Just because not everything is as good as I want it to be, doesn’t mean I should resign myself to the bad, right?”

Nacht held his tongue for a moment. As refreshing as it had been to see Josele upset, he wasn’t going to risk a second bruise to the stomach.

“I still don’t know if your prince is coming. But… I guess we can give it a few more days.”

“Thank you, Nacht.”

It was then that Nacht dared to look up at Josele. The look on her face was… She wasn’t beaming the way she normally did. But she wasn’t scowling either. She looked… impassive. Yet peaceful. As if she was lost in thought. Something about Josele in that moment was… beautiful.

“Josele?” Nacht reached up and touched her cheek with the back of his hand.

“Hm?” Her eyes drifted down to meet Nacht’s gaze.

“We should get to sleep now. So we’re not exhausted in the morning.”

“Y-yeah…”

The silence that followed was heavy. Not even a “goodnight” was shared, only quick and quiet nods of acknowledgement.

When Josele sat back down on the couch, she noticed how fast her heart was racing. And she knew that the thought of Nacht, of standing so close to him, was the reason. But that couldn’t be right. Her True Love™ was Finral. Right?

When Nacht sat on his bed, he buried his face in his hands, feeling how warm he’d become. Seeing Josele and the new sides of her brought on by conflict, however small, had him wanting more. But she was not his to love.

Rest wouldn’t come easy to either of them that night.

.....

The morning before the ball, Mallory finally is able to get Finral away from Alecdora for good (taking Finral to her sisters’ place ensured that the man wouldn’t come knocking).

And Mallory is finally able to explain to Finral that she knows where Josele is.

Nacht receives a call from Mallory and she explains everything to him.

Mallory brings Finral over to Nacht’s apartment for the reunion.

Finral tries to prompt Josele into song but it’s Mallory who picks up on it and tries to feed Josele the words.

Still, everyone (except Sterling) agrees that Finral and Josele should return to Andalasia together. But not before a date in New York and some time at the ball that evening.

While Josele and Finral head out for their date, Nacht and Mallory sit down and chat.

Mallory: Sorry I couldn’t bring Finral by sooner. Nacht: Mallory, it’s fine. You were probably busy with work so it makes sense that— Mallory: No no, I wasn’t putting it off. I literally couldn’t bring him because some other guy kept dragging him off! He was super weird and really rude too. Even his name is weird: Alec-darrel. Nacht: That can’t be his real name. Mallory: That’s what it sounded like to me. Also, this bird kept on finding its way to me and it acted a lot smarter than the birds I usually meet. I haven’t seen him in a couple days though. Nacht: That must be the Yuno bird Josele told me about. Mallory: The bird’s name is Yuno? Not something like “Cheep” or “Chirpy”?

When Josele comes back from the date, she’s very worried about going to the ball. Mallory and Sterling immediately volunteer to help.

.....

The time came for the ladies to pick out dresses to wear to the ball.

“If you really want to get… to get Nacht’s attention, try wearing complementary colors,” Josele remarked while eyeing the rows of dresses.

Her chest ached as she thought about how lucky Mallory was to have Nacht’s attention on her. To be the one to make him stop and stare in awe. But why? Josele had Finral so why did she want Nacht to see her, to admire her?

“S-since your hair is such a lovely shade of red, you would look good in green.”

“Yeah! Daddy says green makes my hair look extra pretty too!” Sterling piped up. “I’ll go find something for Mallory! Just you wait and see!”

“Hmm.” Mallory pursed her lips and tilted her head to the side. “But isn’t Finral’s tunic green? It’d look weird if he and I… matched.”

The suggestion of which actually made Mallory’s heart flutter. She knew how silly her thoughts were but she couldn’t help it. The days spent beside Finral repeated in her mind and she wanted to remain beside him, even knowing they were both promising themselves to others.

Josele gave a weak laugh and shook her head before saying, “Oh no, it’s fine if you two matched.” She shrugged. “You two already do a fine job of matching energies so matching appearances isn’t out of the question.” She blinked and caught herself. “N-not that you and Nacht don’t also get along well! You’re both intelligent and understanding of me and Finral’s… peculiarities. A-and you, uh…”

“Sele, it’s okay.” Mallory took Josele’s hands in her own then patted the back of them. “I know Nacht and I aren’t two peas in a pod, but we’ve managed.” With a reassuring smile, she stepped back. “Now, let’s think about what you’ll wear. You ought to look like a princess for… for Finral, huh?”

A sickening jealousy twisted Mallory’s stomach. There had to be something wrong with her for wanting to be with Finral despite Josele being his True Love™. So she pushed down the wish for Finral to serenade her as his love.

“Let’s think about what you’ll wear now.” Mallory approached the dress rack. “Black goes with everything. And I know you’re more for blue but I personally think purple works better with black.”

“Yes, they make quite a pair…” Josele muttered, immediately imagining Nacht in the black suit and purple dress shirt she’d seen him wear the night they met. It was a dark and elegant look. Nacht looked…

“Oh right! Nacht!” Mallory yelped. “Maybe you shouldn’t wear black or purple because then you’d kinda be wearing Nacht’s colors! Not that it’d be bad if you did. It’d actually be good. More than good! Great even!” Mallory paced the boutique floor and gesticulated wildly as she spoke. It was quite cute, how animated and lively she was.

Smiling as she watched, Josele recalled when she first met Mallory. The red-haired woman seemed like she had been trying to restrain her feelings that fateful morning. But now, her fluster was on full display. It was cute. And she seemed more like herself.

“Because you two honestly look great together in my opinion. NOT THAT YOU’RE TOGETHER! WE CLEARED UP THAT CONFUSION ALREADY!” Mallory laughed in a way that sounded painfully forced. She then turned to Josele. “What I’m trying to say is that you’ve done each other good! I mean, you’ve brought Nacht out of his shell and he’s really gotten you adapted to New York!”

Josele blinked. “Finral hasn’t gotten used to New York?”

“Not really?” Mallory replied while giving a shrug. “He’s not talking to buses anymore but… It’s just not the place for him.”

“Well I quite like it,” Josele admitted. “It’s not as pretty as the forest I grew up in, but there’s so many people and so much to do. Each new day is an adventure.”

“There sure is a lot. Though I personally would want adventures like fighting a troll,” Mallory joked and earned a giggle from Josele as well.

The laughter between Josele and Mallory died down however. Though neither said it out loud and neither recognized how the other felt, there was a sad tension shared between them. The lives that they initially saw for themselves were no longer what they wanted.

“Mallory!” Sterling piped up, finally returning from her search. “I found the perfect dress for you!” She looked between the women. “Did I come back at a bad time?”

“No no no, Sterling!” Josele quickly knelt down by the girl. “Thank you for coming back.”

“You said you had a dress for me?” Mallory asked, hoping to dissipate the earlier atmosphere.

Sterling glanced between them again. She may have only been six, but even she knew that something was wrong.

.....

The ball scene! AAAAAHHHHH!

Finral would try to profess his love for Josele but he’d fumble it, so unlike his usual eloquent self. He’s got Mal on the mind.

Josele does her best to compliment Mallory and Nacht as a couple but Mallory points out that she looks sickly when trying to speak.

Mallory and Nacht can barely look each other in the eyes because they know they love Finral and Josele. But they stubbornly think they should stick with how things are.

Finral dances with Mallory. Nacht dances with Josele. Both men hold the women as close as they can in the dance because no one wants to let goooooo!

Still, Finral guides Josele away so they can return to Anadalasia. And when he goes to get Josele’s cloak, Liliane (disguised as a hag) comes and offers Josele the poison apple.

Finral only tries True Love’s Kiss with Josele once. After one try, he knows it’s not gonna work.

When Nacht tries to deny that his kiss might save her, Mallory snaps at him, “Don’t you dare give up. Josele needs you!”

Josele’s fight against Liliane is much bloodier, actually drawing blood from the evil queen.

But it’s Yuno pecking Liliane directly in the eyes which makes her fall to her doom.

Once the dust settles, the four adults finally speak honestly.

Mallory and Nacht officially break up and wish each other the best with their new loves.

Finral and Josele bid each other goodbye and hope for one another’s happily ever afters.

Mallory takes to the fairy tale world well, evening singing her own song on her first day.

After a year of dating, Mallory and Finral have their full fairy tale wedding.

Josele gets herself established in the real world, working some odd jobs before being able to establish her own boutique.

While Nacht does propose early on, they still take a couple of years to date and plan.

.....

“And they all lived happily ever after. The End,” Sterling stated with finality. “So? What do you think?”

Sterling’s younger siblings—Dawn, Dusk, Sirius, Merel, and Vivian—stared in awe.

“It explains why Mommy’s so good with animals,” commented Dusk.

“Mommy was gonna be a princess?!” Dawn gasped.

“But she married a lame lawyer instead…” Merel grumbled.

“Daddy’s job isn’t lame!” Sirius retorted.

“Daddy’s kinda lame for being kidnapped by a dragon though,” Vivian muttered.

“Kids, it’s time for bed!” Josele said before poking her head into the living room.

Nacht leaned his head into the door frame too. “And what was that about me being lame?”

“Sorry Daddy,” Vivian whispered.

Together, Nacht and Josele tucked in the kids before going to their own bed.

“Are we living happily ever after, Josele?” Nacht whispered as he stroked her hair.

“I’d like to think so…” she whispered back, smiling.

#disneycindy #black clover #black clover au #nacht faust #finral roulacase #black clover oc #josele canty #mallory demiscura #soda's ocs #bel's oc #nacsele #finmal #WAAAAAHHHHH THE FINMAL AND NACSELE!#zoracy #it's in the background but it's there!

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kumeko · 4 months

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A/N: Me, taking advantage of FeH to take the angst route for these two. I wish they could have talked more before everything went down. I would kill for supports between the 3 heads (just C + Bs even, with A is destroyed by the war).

…

Edelgard was avoiding him. This wasn’t new. Dimitri knew Edelgard’s back more intimately than he knew her face, could count the number of times she didn’t dodge his questions with a single hand. Every time he almost grasped her, she slipped between his fingers. Did she remember the dance? Did she care? Or had she forgotten it all, having been so insignificant to her?

Dimitri didn’t know which answer he’d prefer. Perhaps it was better that she kept avoiding him. He had enough ghosts on his shoulders, what was the ghost of what-could-have-been on top of all that?

Still, Dimitri couldn’t deny he had hoped that something would have changed now. It had been one thing when she’d avoided him at the academy, using teachers and classes as an excuse to walk away. It was yet another thing for her to do it here—in another world—away from everything and everyone they called home.

“She really doesn’t like you.” Claude whistled softly, his arms crossed behind his head.

Well, maybe not everything. Byleth and Claude were here as well and Dimitri turned around to look at his classmate. “Is it that obvious?” he asked, chuckling self-depreciatively.

“If it makes you feel better, she doesn’t like talking to me either.” Claude glanced at her back, smiling wryly. Despite how relaxed he appeared, Dimitri recognized his slightly bent knees and tense shoulders for what they were: a man always prepared to spring into action. There were times when he wasn’t sure why Claude was the future leader of the alliance, or even a house head for that matter, but things like this reminded him that Claude knew more than he let on.

“I am not sure if it is simply a matter of ‘like’ anymore,” Dimitri sighed, rubbing his neck as he idly looked around the great hall of this foreign castle. It was a massive place, far too massive for him to take it all in, and crowded to the brim with strangers. He couldn’t walk without bumping into one. There were heroes, villains, villains-turned-heroes, the dead, and oddly-dressed versions from alternate realities. He did not understand half of those terms, but it was enough to know that they weren’t the only ones pulled away from their world, dragged into a war that wasn’t their own. “I had hoped…”

Claude looked at him inquisitively. “Hoped?”

“That things would be different here.” Even amongst all of these heroes, her stiff back stood out. Edelgard disappeared into one of the side wings and he wondered what she could possibly be planning here, without any guarantee that they’d make it home in one piece, if at all. “That we could talk.”

“It’s not like she’s changed,” Claude pointed out. “It’s not like any of us have really changed—Teach is still hilariously expressionless, you are too easy to goad, and Edelgard likes her alone time.”

“And you are as hard to read as ever,” Dimitri replied, exasperated.

“Or you’re just bad at reading.” Claude chuckled. “My point is, Edelgard’s alone right now. There’s no creepy Hubert lurking over her shoulder, or Ferdinand challenging her.” When Dimitri stared at him blankly, Claude rolled his eyes. “What I’m saying is that if you want to talk to her alone, now’s the perfect time.”

Dimitri blinked. “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh,” Claude shook his head, disgruntled. “You know, if it weren’t for your ridiculous strength, I’m not sure how you’d survive the battlefield.”

Dimitri gave him a friendly tap on the shoulder. Ignoring Claude’s immediate painful groan, he hurried after Edelgard. Claude was right—they hadn’t changed at all, but their surroundings had. Edelgard couldn’t hide behind her old excuses anymore, and all of her shields were gone.

If there was a time to ask her about everything, it was now. His footsteps echoed through the arching hallways as he followed her previous path. Fortunately, she wasn’t too far ahead, her red cape swishing behind her as she marched through the hallway. It was strange. Dimitri couldn’t remember her ever walking at a relaxed pace. Even here, she looked prepared to go right into battle.

“Edelgard,” he called out as he got closer.

She didn’t stop. That was fine, he was used to that too. This time, though, he wasn’t going to just watch.

“Edelgard!”

Jerking to a halt, she pivoted on her heel to face him. “What?” she asked shortly, crossing her arms.

He hadn’t expected it to work and for a moment, he was caught off guard. “We… we have to talk.”

“Do we?” Edelgard looked away, though she didn’t move. When he didn’t say anything, she sighed. “Fine. I suppose we had to do this at some point. What is it? Why do you keep following me around like a lost child?”

“A child?” Taken aback, he stared. Had he really come across like that? As someone so needy? “I…Is that why you avoid me?”

“I do not avoid you,” Edelgard replied curtly, giving him a look. “I avoid everyone.”

“Oh.” It was funny, but that was oddly encouraging. It wasn’t personal. It wasn’t even hate. Squaring his shoulders, he steeled himself and forged on. “Do you remember when we first met?”

She shot him a bemused look. “The first day of the academy?”

Now he felt confused. Rubbing his neck, he corrected, “No, years before that. When…when we were children.”

“Children?” There were very few times he had seen Edelgard caught off guard. Like right now, she looked utterly flabbergasted and it was enough to make him wonder if he’d imagined their shared past. “What are you talking about?”

“I…we were…” Dimitri fumbled with a response. Family didn’t sound right, they’d been denied that opportunity. First loves didn’t work either. Their relationship had barely formed before it had been torn away. At this point he wasn’t sure if they even had one. “We were close.”

“Were we now?” Edelgard snorted elegantly, a perfectly formed eyebrow arching. “I do not remember any of this.”

“I suppose you are right. We could have been close.” Dimitri paused. Walking around the subject wasn’t going to help anything. Bluntly, he stated, “We were friends.”

She stared. “Friends?”

“We spent a summer together as children.” Dimitri lowered his eyes. A last happiness before everything had crashed down. Too many things had been ripped away from him. “You taught me how to dance and I had given you a dagger.”

“Dagger…I…” Edelgard winced, rubbing her forehead. Her face paled. “I do not know what you are talking about.”

Dimitri had expected a rejection, not an utter denial of the whole thing. “I know it has been years, so perhaps your memories of the matter are not—”

“It does not matter,” she interrupted firmly. Her skin still had an unhealthy sheen to it. He wanted to reach out, to check her temperature, but if she balked from even this level of connection, he was certain she’d outright run if he tried anything more.

“Are you okay?” he asked, voicing his concerns instead.

“I am fine.” Edelgard’s expression hardened and she took a deep breath. She winced and rubbed her forehead once more. “I hope this is the last we speak of the matter—it does not matter what our past was. It is the past. It does not change my ambitions; it has no bearing to me now.”

It didn’t? He couldn’t believe that. His past weighed him down even now, endless ghosts whispering in his ears until he sometimes couldn’t get out of bed. Despite her words, he could see the same feverish obsession in her eyes. For all her talk of forgetting history, the past dogged her every step.

“It matters to me,” he murmured.

Edelgard flinched. She opened her mouth for a second before snapping it shut, her hand clenched into a fist. “It does not to me.”

Without waiting for his response, she whirled around and walked away. Dimitri didn’t know what was worse—how he’d spent days wondering if she remembered, if she’d hated him, or getting confirmation that she didn’t care about it one way or the other. That he was the only one who held onto those memories fondly.

Claude was right. Coming here hadn’t changed anything—about themselves or their relationship. He was used to seeing her back, and it seemed as though that wasn’t about to change anytime soon.

#fire emblem three houses #fe3h #dimigard #dimitri alexandre blaiddyd #edelgard von hresvelg #claude von riegan #fanfic

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hjellacott · 1 year

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A republican's view on monarchy (having lived under two different ones)

I was born in a country with an European monarchy that's never worked. They don't engage particularly with their citizens, they have a minority support in the country and their frequent scandals and troubles with the law make us all quite sick of them. And still we now have a new monarch who even I have to admit is an incredibly respectable, knowledgeable person who truly cares about our country and to see this monarch representing my country out there, with all their knowledge, wisdom, elegance and diplomacy is incredible. And as much as I wish my birth country was a Republic, I have to admit that we couldn't have a better representative than the monarch we have right now. And that's important when it comes to international relationships. You don't want a Donald Trump to be representing your country and making all the neighbours furious.

Then I moved to Britain, so I've never lived outside a monarchy. And in Britain, I found a monarchy that works. I learned that sometimes, in very specific cases, monarchies can be a phenomenal option. In Britain, people adored Queen Elizabeth. I mean, she was an incredible, respectable woman. She solved countless diplomatic issues in the country, improved Britain's international relationships with every country they had relations with, solved social crises, truly cared about Britain, represented the hard-working female in a world of men, showed a tremendously resilient and strong character people were proud of, served Britain in the military as a car mechanic during WWII, never gave a scandal, never caused a problem, never embarrassed Brittons. And when there were hard times and she spoke, people really felt comforted by her. And that's without mentioning that she and her family worked on thousands of events annually (particularly famous is the case of Princess Anne, the most hard working royal after her mum!) And hundreds of them are supporting charities. Like, until I came to Britain I had never even heard of royals who give millions to charity, to culture, to health... they kept funding and funding great things with their own money, and using their faces to draw attention towards things worth supporting, such as less known charities, or social centres and theatres. And I had to admit that family was doing great things for Britain, much better than I'm sure any politician would. And King Charles, who I deeply dislike? Even I have to admit he's a champion for environmental causes, has spent his life pushing politicians (even when he was supposed to be impartial) to have a more environmentally friendly country with more love towards foreigners, more respect for culture and a more modern and cheaper monarchy. He's already even made plans to slim down the monarchy to make it cheaper for the citizens, and to scale down his coronation and he won't take the Queen's currency from circulation so as not to cause trouble to people. He's not stupid and neither is William. And I have to admit that I do believe William and Kate will make for tremendously great monarchs one day. They're what the country needs and wants. Loyal leaders who aren't full of arrogance and greed and who don't cause problems, don't hurt the national image and aren't thirsty for attention.

And yes Britain has an incredibly colonial past, like nearly every country worldwide. Even those who weren't colonialists, have been thirsty for territory. Look at the US, which has always been at war with someone, intervening heavily in other countries (and not really for the better, look at Iraq or Syria) and having military bases worldwide. Or China, or Russia. Everybody has been thirsty for more territory. But you can't look at monarchs by how they treat other citizens in other countries. They serve their own. And what really counts is how they serve their own people, who are actively hiring them to do what's best for their own country.

And in that aspect, I understand people's fury towards Harry and Meghan. Imagine you live in Sussex for example. You've got these nobles, these dukes, who carry the name of your homeland but have never lived in Sussex nor done anything for Sussex. And for years they even got your money from taxes. And now they leave the country they ought to serve, and instead of not causing trouble, not embarrassing the nation, and nicely representing Britain and improving the image of Britain worldwide and improving international relations, they do the whole opposite. Betray their family (they're at war with pretty much both of their families as a whole), get paid millions for venting out all the family secrets and dramas, betray the trust of relatives who didn't know their private conversations would be made public, and attack Britain's arguably most important institutions constantly. Always whining about their problems. And you're in Sussex, feeling betrayed and hurt, seeing these entitled people complaining non stop, thirsting for money and attention while you can hardly afford to live. I mean, how can someone not be furious at them? I assure you people I'm Britain have very little shits left to give about the Sussexes.

People in Britain are struggling with Brexit, massive economic crises, a year that's seen the most massive strikes in history, crumbling public services and rising inflation and cost of living crisis. People in Britain don't need privileged nobility complaining about how hard their lives are and getting all the attention, when the headlines should be their country's real issues.

#monarchy #republic #personal opinion #united kingdom #queen elizabeth ii #prince william #princess anne #prince harry #royal family #meghan markle #sussex

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pinkest-nekomata · 10 months

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Finally gathering some words around my AFAB femme enbie experience, and a special thanks to the gender dysphoria bible for getting me over the line here.

Probably one of the more surprising developments of my gender journey has been that the more secure I’ve been in identifying as gender vague, gender queer, and nonbinary the more femme I’ve presented.

As I’ve followed what feels good, another key ingredient to gender euphoria to me has been some element of weird.

“I want to get neck tattoos,” I said, “So even when I’m on a zoom call people will know I’m Not Normal.”

I spent the first twenty four years of my life working incredibly hard to not appear weird. I received praise from my parents and adults for being “so mature” (which now I see as a red flag). I developed a constantly self-effacing attitude in social situations, working hard to create an easy conversation for everyone else. I was calm, sharp, self-aware. I would hedge and self-deprecate around my special interests, anticipate and proactively avoid complaints. I hated the arrogance and patronizing tone with which other “smart people” moved through the world.

I leaned into smart casual at work. A-line dresses, a retro bob. I wanted to be seen as fashionable, different, as caring about my clothing—but without spending tons of money or seeming too vain. I now refer to this as “dressing as the type of lesbian I wanted to date” era.

I walked a careful line when it came to femininity. I studied and worked in STEM, meaning the prettier I looked, the less likely I was to be taken seriously.

And as friendly as I was and am, I was also smart, cunning, driven, ambitious—and I wanted to be perceived that way. When I worked as an engineer, I would go out of my way to wear jeans and a polo (which, if I was honest with myself, I hated) to ensure I was taken seriously.

It chafed. I could never quite put my finger on why something felt “off”, even though on paper, dressing more androgynously theoretically should have been affirming to me.

Masculine elements were not foreign to me—I would have dreams where I was a man, and the emotional tenor was always curious neutrality. I had the sense that if I had been born a man, very little about me would be different. My me-ness ran much deeper than that.

When I write, I drift between masculine and feminine perspectives. Writing for me has always been a flow state—an unfolding of parts of myself that are usually suppressed, a safe place to explore emotions and identities and experiences that are unsafe or inaccessible in physical reality. Not everyone who writes the opposite gender inhabits that gender—but I do. I have written whole novels from the perspective of a man—not wondering what it’s like to be a man, but simply existing, expressing, experiencing as a man. (Though, not a particularly heteronormative man, to be fair.)

I never wished to be a man—but I did wish that being perceived as a woman did not bring with it expectations about my preferences and competencies.

It seemed at the time that my experience was well-explained by friction with misogyny, but there were other clues. The wordless not-rightness. An internal flinch whenever I was included in a “thanks ladies” or a “oh a girls meeting”, even at the same time as I felt strangely distant from the more masc-oriented women in my workplace.

I was, on some level, jealous that they were more comfortable in polos and jeans, more awkward in a blouse and skirt.

I felt the most affinity with our office manager, who wore flowing sundresses from Anthropologie and carried herself with feminine strength and warmth.

Meanwhile, I would reach for a dress in the morning and then correct myself—No, you see clients today. Better to be taken seriously.

The shifts happened slowly—and then in lurches. I realized I had ADHD, and then autism. I started to trace all the ways that I’d been compensating, all the signs that I’d never really fit in.

And with great relief, the thought settled over me—“I have never been particularly good at hiding how weird I am.” Now I understand it wasn’t just relief—it was a little jolt of gender euphoria.

I have never thought about gender a cis amount. But my flavor of autism means I think about most things more than most people do, and I had never hated being a girl, and I had never wished to be a man. “Non-binary” had still be framed to me as a matter of androgyny, but terms like “gender vague” and “auti-gender” and “demigirl” started to illuminate my path.

I felt simultaneously a disconnect with my gender and a not-yet-realized sense that my gender was so much broader than I realized—that it included my autism, my weirdness, my enthusiasm, my sarcasm, my interests, my intensity, my me-ness.

The switch to remote work with the pandemic left most of my closet irrelevant. When I was going to bother dressing up, it was for me. I bought goth dresses and thigh highs, mini skirts and crop tops. I reclaimed the adolescence I’d never had. I slowly learned how to do my makeup—something I’d spent hours trying at in high school, then scrubbed off in frustration, more terrified of looking like I’d tried and failed than that I didn’t care to try at all.

And it felt right. And I started getting tattoos—and then I didn’t stop getting tattoos. I donated one batch of work clothes, then another. I figured out I was bisexual and I’d been dressing like someone I wanted to be with, not who I was.

This essay was in part inspired by trying to figure out why I feel such a strong affinity with trans women. “I walked through the valley of gender fuck and emerged in bows and skirts”, I wrote last week, my way of cheering a group of trans women being excited about dresses.

It felt too fraught to say, I get this feeling. I love dresses in this same way. In a trans way. Not in a cis way.

I insisted on wearing a dress to school every day until the second grade, and really the only reason I stopped was undiagnosed sensory issues—when I realized that I could just wear a bike short and a t-shirt and be surrounded in cotton, that became my new obsession.

But I wore dresses in the dirt, dresses chasing bugs, skorts on the soccer field, bows with frogs on them. I knew, from a very young age, that “girl” did not feel quite right—but it did not feel quite wrong, either. And if “girl” didn’t feel right, then that meant I was supposed to be a tom boy and hate dresses and parties and cooking and makeup and dolls—but I didn’t hate any of those things. I just also loved heavy machinery and science and paintball. And, importantly, I wanted to be perceived as someone who loved all of those things at the same time. I wanted the very facts of my presentation to challenge people’s assumptions.

I have thought about, and wrestled with, and chafed at gender in a way that cis women have not. I have felt a rush of gender euphoria in adulthood and have a deep, deep appreciation of how much a skirt, a dress, an eyeshadow palette can mean to someone who is finding themselves in adulthood.

Also, thanks to genetically small breasts and an ED phase, I have also experienced watching my body gain/redistribute weight in a way that is gender-affirming. I can finally buy bras off-the-rack now. (Sort of. 38A is a specialty size, but the right 36B works.)

In retrospect, I can see how I always knew that I was a non-binary person and I was attempting to present in a way that non-binary people are supposed to—androgynous, practical. Dressing femme in a “normal” way felt wrong, too. But femme on my terms—weird femme, autistic femme, queer femme, hyper femme, divine femme—feels right. It feels like it can encompass and express the power, presence, and vitality for which I lacked an outlet for so long.

Alt fashion has given me a way for my gender presentation to say, I am not what society tried to make me. I cannot be told what to be. I don’t play by your rules.

I made a little “wheel of genders” for days I’m feeling indecisive. “Cottage core”, “high witch”, “bubblegum goth” and “athleisure” are a few of the options. And even on sweatpants days, bright pink hair and a rapidly growing collection of tattoos (my own form of bodily transition) are always sure to say, I am not normal.

While I may appear to have gone from subverting stereotypes to embracing (some of) them, my inner journey has been one of attempting to comply with stereotypes and then breaking out of them—as so many other trans people experience.

My goal in sharing this, other than to affirm to myself in so many words, I am nonbinary, is that it might resonate with someone else going through something similar.

I’ve read and read and read through definitions and descriptions of what it’s like to be nonbinary (another distinctly not-cis thing to do), looking for a glimmer of recognition. And slowly I collected those glimmers into a beam of light that’s guiding me now. And I hope my story can be a glimmer for somebody else, too 💕

#actually autistic #autism #nonbinary #enbies #enby pride #enby #trans enby #trans pride #trans #gender euphoria #cw gender dysphoria #gender dysphoria

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kingcenred · 5 months

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Merry Christmas to my favourite @iomamuise

"Hey Mary, I know your family probably want to keep you in England...but any chance you'd be able to stay with me for Christmas this year?" He spoke quietly into his phone, aware how many listening ears were always around in the palace. He hadn't told anyone of his plan, knowing that his staff would advise against involving the British Royal Family in his Christmas festivities. Even though Mary wasn't directly in line for the throne, and a dozen or so of her relatives would have to suddenly drop dead before she'd become Queen, the British were sticklers to their rules and traditions. Certainly, it would not be wise to irritate one of his most powerful allies...but he was desperate for a friendly, familiar face this year.

"You know, it's my first year as King and I'll have to host the Christmas Eve dinner and ball. I'm pretty sure I'll be the only one there under the age of fifty, and I don't think I'll stay awake through the first course if I have to listen to Lord Hampton talk about the state of the grass on his golf courses for a third year in a row," he drawled, trying to convince Mary that was the reason he desired her company.

Of course, Mary would see right through him. They'd known each other since early childhood, when Mary was the only younger royal that Cenred would tolerate during their summers. There had been a scheme of encouraging foreign co-operation between the European royal families which meant frequent visits between the two countries. At the time, Cenred had disliked the encroachment to his freedom - why did he have to spend a month in England every other summer? However, not only had the trips helped him develop his now near flawless English, but he'd found something much more valuable - a friend.

Cenred was a popular figure to his people; a strong, stoic and serious presence that instilled respect from the public. Personally, however, Cenred was significantly harder to like. Brooding, short-tempered and unsociable, it was rare to see the royal smile and rarer still to hear a laugh. There were few people in his life he would truly call a friend; Mary was one of them.

Nevertheless, it was true that it was his first Christmas as King - his father had died several years ago, but Cenred had turned 21 earlier in the year and had become of age in Esseterian law. Mary had, of course, attended his coronation in the summer but they'd barely had a moment alone to speak what with the hundreds of visiting dignitaries wishing to impart their wisdom to the newly crowned King.

"I'll see what I can do," Mary replied, simply - although Cenred could almost hear her knowing smirk through the phone.

Mary arrived early on the morning of the 23rd, and within hour of greeting her Cenred already felt some of the tension he'd been carrying with him since his coronation fade away. There was, of course, surprise and mild displeasure from his royal advisers but none dared to question him. His mother - thankfully - was as happy as ever to see Mary and squeezed her into a tight hug.

"You should have told me Mary was coming!" she tutted, slapping Cenred lightly on the arm. "Now I only have one day to choose her the best present."

"Oh, your Royal Highness, there's no need," Mary assured her.

"Nonsense!" his mother declared, and Cenred fondly rolled his eyes at the pair of them. He was glad that the two most important women in his life got on well, but sometimes it seemed they were a little too close - particularly when they tried to gang up on him! Mary, unlike him, was very popular not only with the Essetirian gentry but also with the palace staff. He watched absentmindedly as she greeted her usual lady's maid, a faint smile playing at the corner of his lips.

"Mary would make a wonderful Queen, don't you think?" his mother commented in the Essetirian dialect, with a bright smile. "Much better than that Morgause woman."

"Mother," he admonished, his eyes darted back towards Mary in mild panic. She was definitely within earshot, and excellent at languages - he was sure she was almost fluent in Essetirian by now. "I would appreciate it if you did not ruin my friendship with Mary."

Although even Cenred could not deny the truth in those words: objectively, Mary would make a wonderful Queen - intelligent, compassionate and of royal blood herself. Cenred had not been one for serious relationships, and the only girlfriend who had made it into the public's knowledge had been Morgause. Unfortunately, that had ended rather badly...to say the least. A knife in his torso, six stitches and a short stint in intensive care for blood loss was hardly the ideal end to a fairytale romance that the newspapers had been craving. The exact details had blessedly been hushed up by the royal press team and few knew the exact impact of Morgause's jealous rage. Still, since then, Cenred had been even more reluctant to seek out a partner.

"I should practice my speech for tomorrow. Dare I leave you with Mary?" he questioned, his arms folding across his chest rather defensively. Despite his calm outward appearance, he was more than a little nervous about the event tomorrow. Other than his coronation, this was his first significant event as King and he did not want to disappoint: his father left a huge gap to fill. Cenred was a man of action rather than words, and he relied upon his team of advisors and assistants to turn his jumble of ideas into a suitably coherent speech. They rarely disappointed.

"Of course," his mother smiled sweetly, but Cenred eyed her with suspicion. "Try not to worry, Cen," she added. "You'll do wonderfully tomorrow, you always do."

~0~

Knocking, but not waiting for an answer, Cenred swung open the door. "Mary, I was thinking -" the words died on his lips. Mary had her back to him, and her dress was yet to be zipped up - revealing the soft expanse of her shoulders and back, all the way down to the curve at the top of her buttocks.

"Hello to you too, Cenred," Mary spoke over her shoulder, amused. "Will you do me up?" The lady's maid who had appeared to do just that, exchanged a knowing look with Mary, curtsied neatly, and disappeared into the adjoining room.

Swallowing, he stepped further into the room. "Of course," he murmured, hoarsely. He softly swept Mary's hair over her shoulder and slowly reached for the zip. One hand rested on Mary's waist, while his fingertips brushed more than truly necessary along the curve of her back as he gently pulled the zip along it's track.

"Fucking hell, Mary," he muttered, as she turned to face him for the first time. "You look incredible. What happened to that awkward sixteen year old that I remember?" She'd spilled a whole glass of red wine on Cenred's white shirt at his eighteenth birthday party, just moments before he was due on stage to speak to all his guests.

"Thank you. You don't look too bad yourself. Here, let me..." she reached up and adjusted his bow tie. "Much better." She took a step back and smiled. "What was it you come in here for?"

"Oh, right." Clearing his throat, he pulled a velvet box from the inside of his jacket. "I'm not sure how much time we'll have tomorrow, so I thought I'd give this to you now. Merry Christmas, Mary."

He watched with a faint smile as Mary opened the box, revealing the jewels within. A pair of earrings and matching necklace, crafted from the Essetir diamond - an exceedingly rare jewel that was only found in one particular location in the country. The diamonds had a distinctive blue hue to their shine. Cenred had the jewellery made especially - it was the first time such a thing had been crafted exclusively from the national diamond. Indeed, Mary held almost ten percent of the country's current supply - the rest split between the Natural History Museum, an Essetirian billonaire businessman's collection, and below them in the palace vaults.

"Cenred...this is too much. I can't -" Mary began, but the King cut her off.

"I want you to have it," he insisted, carefully lifting the necklace from the box and gesturing for Mary to once again turn round. He clasped the necklace carefully, before reaching for her hand and spinning her back to face him. "It suits you."

"Thank you," she murmured, standing on her tip toes and reaching up to kiss him on the cheek. Cenred turned towards her at that precise moment, and the kiss landed on his lips. He should have pulled away and apologised, but that was impossible - he wasn't strong enough. Almost unconsciously, he had wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her flush against him. All he was aware of was Mary. Mary's body melting perfectly against his, Mary's hand tangling into the hair on the back of his head, Mary's sweet perfume, Mary kissing him back. He was not conscious of how much time had passed as he finally pulled back just far enough to rest their foreheads together, breathing heavily. Neither of them spoke.

"I should go," he murmured eventually, "its almost time for my speech." Reluctantly, he withdrew his hands from around her. "I'll see you at dinner?"

"Yes," she replied, breathlessly, brushing her now slightly disheveled hair from her eyes.

Cenred stepped out into the corridor, and closed the door behind him. He didn't have time to dwell on what had just happened, nor the impact it would have on their friendship. Purposefully, he strode towards the throne room where the guests would be beginning to gather.

"Sir, there you are," his personal assistant's voice called from behind him. "Lord and Lady Hampton - " he suddenly stopped midsentence as he saw Cenred's face. Wordlessly, he pulled a handkerchief from his suit pocket and handed it to the King.

Bemused, Cenred took the offered article. Why...? And then it dawned on him: Mary had been wearing lipstick. Sure enough, when he wiped his face the handkerchief came away with a redish smear. That would certainly have raised a few eyebrows.

"Thank you, Henry," he returned the handkerchief, with a mildly amused smile that faded instantly as he saw his personal assistant's serious expression.

"I hope, sir, that you will not be distracted this evening. I know I do not need to remind you about the importance of this event," he held the door open as they headed into the room next to the throne room for their last minute preparations. He handed him his notes for the speech, which Cenred slid into the pocket of his jacket.

"That's enough," he warned him. Indeed, Cenred felt calmer and more focused than he had in a long time. The nerves that had been simmering under the surface for the past few weeks had now mainly dissipated. "I'm ready."

And then it was down to business. Certainly, there were many perks to being King but the public did not appreciate that at times it remained very much a job. Did he want to be doing bizarre vocal warm ups and re-reading a speech about the spirit of Christmas for the thirtieth time in the last three days? Of course not. Ten minutes later, with a final adjustment to his tuxedo, the double doors swung open and he stepped into the busy room.

"Ladies and gentlemen, presenting His Majesty, King Cenred of Essetir."

There was a ripple of bows as he passed through the crowd, towards the small stage and microphone that awaited him. Taking a deep breath, he caught Mary's gaze in the crowd and a small smile twitched at the corners of his lips.

"Thank you for joining me today. I would like to welcome you all to my home..." and so the words flowed effortlessly. He had to admit that his advisers had outdone themselves this time. The ideas he had expressed had been perfectly transformed into a professional yet warm message of unity and hope for the future, a new chapter for the country under Cenred's reign, while remaining in touch with the seasons festivities. "I would like to invite you to accompany me into the Banquet Hall, my chefs have been working hard to delight you."

The hardest part of the evening was over, and Cenred had a moment to breathe as the guests began to filter out of the throne room. As he waited for the room to clear, he clasped his hands together behind his back and turned to gaze up at the portrait of his late father - the newest addition to the wall of past monarchs.

"He'd be so proud of you," his mother murmured, as she approached him.

"You think so?" He replied, unconvinced. His father had never been unkind, but also never warm; he always felt more like a King than a father. Whatever Cenred achieved, it was never enough - his father always wanted more. More time spent on his horsemanship, more studying of languages, more practice of his piano. His strive for excellence had transferred to Cenred, and given him an ambitious perseverance to succeed even in activities that he disliked. Although now Cenred could see his father's attitude had prepared him well for the crown, at the time it felt that he was never quite good enough, always a little disappointing.

"Of course!" His mother declared, linking their arms together as they followed their guests through to the Banquet Hall. "I know he was hard on you, but look at what you've already achieved."

"Standing in front of a group of rich people?" He queried, with an amused twitch of his lips.

"The rich ones are the most difficult," his mother retorted, with a quiet chuckle. He inclined his head in agreement: they were much harder to impress than the general public. The two royals took their seats, and shortly after the first course arrived. The room filled with happy chatter, and although he was seated some distance away from Mary, he could already hear the compliments about her new jewellery. He knew such a gift would cause a stir, and dozens of different rumours, but he certainly had no regrets; he wanted to show the world how important Mary was to him. He ate a few mouthfuls of his meal - he never had much appetite at formal events, although he would more than make up for it with their family Christmas Dinner the next day. Impatiently, he waited for his guests to finish eating so they could move onto the final part of the evening: the dancing. The sooner it began, the sooner he could slip away unnoticed. He did not enjoy dancing, but his parents had dragged him to twice weekly lessons throughout his teenage years despite much protestation and declarations of hatred from the then crown prince. Now, at least, he was thankful for it - he wouldn't embarrass himself.

Deciding he'd waited long enough, he signaled to the guard to begin opening the doors to the ballroom. He stood, and there was a distinct clinging of cutlery and scraping of chairs as his guests hurried to follow suit. Instead of heading towards the doors, he took several strides in the other direction - towards Mary.

"Would you accompany me?" He asked, reaching out his hand towards Mary; she took his arm with a smile.

"Does accompanying you include dancing?" She asked.

"I'm afraid so," he smiled, as the guests parted to let them pass into the ballroom first, where the orchestra had already begun playing.

"It's a shame you aren't wearing steel capped shoes," she commented, as he lead her into the middle of the floor.

Cenred laughed, "You'll be fine, it's all in the leading anyway." For the first time, he felt a hint of excitement bubble up within him regarding the dancing - a perfect excuse to have Mary so close to him in public. Once they'd reached the middle of the dance floor, he reached an arm firmly around Mary's waist - pulling her closer to him. "Ready?"

They made quite a pair, effortlessly spinning around the dance floor - Cenred's dark to Mary's light. There was only the occasional wince from the King as Mary made contact with his toes. The noise of the room, and in Cenred's mind, seemed to quieten as he held her in his arms. Reluctantly, he stepped back from her as the song ended. "Well, that wasn't too bad...was it?" he joked, but his smile faded at the half a dozen calls of 'Your Majesty' as he was approached by ambitious dignitaries from varying nations. "I'll see you later," he released Mary's hand, and plastered a smile on his face as he turned to the first Lord in line.

It didn't take long for Cenred to lose track of all the lords and ladies that he greeted and exchanged pleasantries with; his assistant, Henry, remained by his side and whispered reminders when he paused in his response. Twenty or so introductions and forty-five minutes later, Cenred was lagging; the adrenaline that had soared him through his speech and dinner was abating and he was hit with a sudden wave of exhaustion. Waiting for a brief moment where no obvious eyes were upon him, he snuck out the back of the ballroom and collapsed in one of the armchairs positioned in the empty corridor.

Resting his head against the wall, he pulled his phone from the inside pocket of his jacket, absentmindedly scrolling through his socials and news apps. Five minutes turned into fifteen, and still nobody had called him back into the room. He was just debating whether to return to the ballroom or sneak back to his bedroom, when a familiar voice spoke to him.

"Your Majesty, are you hiding?" and Cenred looked up from his phone to see the only person he wanted to be in the company of.

"Maybe...just a little," he admitted to Mary, putting his phone back into his pocket. "I don't think I can handle anymore of that," he inclined his head towards the ballroom. "Can I walk you back to your room?" he asked, standing up and offering his arm again. They walked back in companionable silence, and Cenred was thankful for the peace; he'd had enough conversations to last him all week. As they reached Mary's door, he stood a little awkwardly outside. The memories of their kiss were brought to the forefront of his mind but...where did they go from here? Her friendship was too important to him to jeopardise.

"Well...goodnight, Mary," he murmured, and he took a step away.

"Cenred?"

"Mmm?" he turned back, and suddenly Mary's lips were on his and her hands were grabbing at his shirt, pulling him into the room. Kicking the door shut behind him, he smiled into her lips and helped her to pull his shirt off - buttons bouncing onto the floor in their urgency. They stumbled towards the bedroom, banging off the wall and hitting the doorframe; not daring to pull away from each other even for a moment. Blindly, his fingers searched for the zip of Mary's dress and...success, he tugged the loose material from her shoulders and they collapsed heavily onto the bed.

"Are you sure?" He pulled back just far enough to whisper. There would be no going back now. This wasn't like his numerous one night dalliances, who Henry often had the unenvious job of escorting out the palace the following morning. This was Mary. His best friend. Everything would change after tonight.

"Fuck yes," Mary replied, grabbing the back of his neck and closing the gap between them once more. That was all the confirmation he needed, and finally he gave in to what he had desired for a very long time.

~0~

Bang, bang, bang. He jumped awake at the unpleasant noise, momentarily confused as to his location. Seeing Mary stirring in his arms quickly reminded him of last night's events, and a smile graced his lips before he was even fully awake.

"Princess Mary?" a voice called from the other side of the door. "Sorry to disturb you, ma'am, we are trying to locate the King."

Oh shit. He reached out for his phone on the nightstand to check the time: 9:27am. Double shit. The Christmas breakfast started at nine, and it was a tradition he rather enjoyed - a selection of the closest staff members, and their families, joined them for an hour or two in the morning. It was a way for the royals to show their gratitude to their most trusted aides, something that Cenred certainly needed to do more of!

"The King's mother suggested you might have seen him last," the voice continued. Well, great, they told his mother. Merry Christmas to him! "Ma'am - ?"

"I'm here. I'm fine, give me a minute," he cut them off, quickly reaching for his suit trousers where they'd be chucked on the floor last night. They'd asked his mother?! As if the morning couldn't get anymore frustrating. "Sorry," he mumbled, pressing a kiss to Mary's forehead, with surprising tenderness. Dammit, he better get King of the Year award for tearing himself away from the gorgeous naked blonde in the bed. "Don't move," he pleaded to her, "I'll be back in an hour."

There was no use putting his shirt back on - most of the buttons had pinged off around his room - so he headed out the door topless. It was his home, after all. The shock on his aide's face was somewhat amusing as he emerged, and he darted down the corridor to his own room. "Tell my mother I'll be there in ten minutes," he called. Grabbing the hideous Christmas jumper that he'd received last year, he pulled it on and ran his fingers through his long hair; he needed a shower really, but he'd no time for that. Scratching at his stubble, he gave himself a critical look in the mirror - did he look like he'd just woken up in a different bed? Probably.

He was just slightly out of breath when he finally arrived at the breakfast table. His mother's amused expression made it quite clear to Cenred that she'd been informed about where the King had been located. "Good morning, Merry Christmas," he greeted everyone, and collapsed back into the chair beside his mother. As soon as he sat down, Henry's twin toddlers did their best to clamber onto his lap.

"Cenred late," one of them accused. Nothing like a three year old to really humble you.

"Boys..." Henry immediately swooped in, but Cenred waved him away.

"It's fine. Have you looked to see whether Father Christmas has left you anything under the tree?" he asked and they toddled happily off to their mother, who was already sitting in a heap of wrapping paper.

"Here, Henry," and Cenred pulled an envelope out from his pocket, containing a very generous cheque. "Take the week off, go be with your family. I'm worried they'll start forgetting what you look like." He cut him off before he started to protest, as Cenred knew he would. "I'll survive without you. There's no official engagements until the new year."

The breakfast was objectively enjoyable, and even Cenred had to admit the children were rather cute as they tore through the Christmas wrapping paper, but he was itching to return to Mary. Of course, his mother knew what was preoccupying his thoughts and she squeezed the back of his hand - giving him the permission he needed to leave. "Bring Mary for lunch, won't you?"

Nodding, he waved goodbye to the children and darted back to Mary's room. A soft smile tugged his lips upwards as he found her exactly where he'd left her. With a faint sigh of relief, he joined her back under the covers of the bed and wrapped his arms around her bare waist. She stirred awake at his touch, and rolled over to face him.

"Hi," the King mumbled, pecking a soft kiss to her lips.

"Hi," she replied, resting her head on his chest. "Nice jumper," she smirked.

"Well I'm glad you said that, as I am almost certain my mother has got us matching ones," he teased. "Now, I don't want to move from here until the afternoon," he informed her, bringing her tightly onto his chest. And for a blissful couple of hours, that was exactly what they did - only moving briefly to the shower together to get decidedly dirty before covering each other in soapy bubbles.

"I suppose we ought to go for lunch," he informed her reluctantly, as he entwined their fingers together and headed towards the door. "I hope you're prepared for my mother's excitement when she sees this..." he warned her, squeezing their fingers together, as they headed down the corridor. He had no desire to hide his feelings now that he had finally acted upon them, and it would be worth his mother's embarrassing comments if he could enjoy the time he had with Mary. He did not want to think of the fact that she would be shortly returning to England.

Entering the dining room, still holding hands, his mother predictably beamed and pulled Mary into a tight hug.

"Merry Christmas, Mary! I'm so happy you could join us this year. Come, I have gifts for you."

Cenred rolled his eyes fondly, and followed behind the two women as his mother linked her arm with Mary's and enthusiastically took her through to the adjoining room where the large Christmas tree was twinkling brightly. Sitting down on one of the large armchairs, he reached for Mary, wrapping one arm around her waist and pulling her down onto his lap. God, when was he last this happy?

"Merry Christmas, Mary," he whispered.

#iomamuise #//his mother is their biggest supporter XD #//okie i got a little carried away #//love you <3

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