#(Is this a princess and the frog situation where she needs to kiss him

[lokisprettygirl]

Under his influence (Post Avengers! Loki x female reader)

Read chapter 10 here // Series Masterlist

Chapter 11

Summary : You are there for him in the moments of insecurities.

Warning: mention of psychological torture, angst, insecurities, self deprecating behaviour, Melissa, some much needed steam , 5k words (if I was dividing this chapters we would have had 15 chapters by now), Discussion of Erectile dysfunction and Impotency (it will make sense i promise)

“I’m here to take revenge for last night, you lied to me sweetheart, you didn’t think I’d let it slide so easily, did you?”

You looked where you thought he was because you could feel the heat radiating off his body or in his case, the cold breeze. He smiled as he saw your confused expression so he placed his finger on your jawline and turned your face so you were looking right at him. Of course you couldn't really respond to him and he was going to have so much fun with that prospect but at first he had to make sure you were comfortable with him causing such nuisance, the last thing he wanted to do was irk you with his behavior.

He noticed the black cocktail dress that went past your thighs and you looked divine as usual, he hardly ever saw you in colors that weren't black.

You gulped as his arms wrapped around you again and he placed his lips on your neck to suck on it lightly, both of your palms clenched onto the edge of the counter, he was going to be the death of you today but boy you'd be lying if you said that you weren't just thinking about him and had not desperately wished for him to be there. Strangers and social situations always made you anxious so him being there was calming for your soul even though he came there to mess with you.

You wondered if people could tell you were getting your neck sucked like this, probably not

"Princess" he whispered in your ear before he kissed your earlobe so you hummed in your mouth, thankfully nobody had their eyes on you, except that weird guy from 5th floor who couldn't stop staring at you.

"Is this alright? I can leave if this is bothersome, i would never want to hurt you like that" your mouth opened slightly as he said. You didn't want him to leave. Please don't leave.

You looked up and shook your head lightly, hoping he'd understand the gesture.

"I'll stay" a small smile crept on your lips as he said that.

"Hii…Y/n can you make a sandwich for your mom?" Mrs Geller said to you so you nodded. Why were you nodding still?

"Yeah ofcourse…ummm should we get the music going? You know danciiiiinhgg" You said excitedly as you rolled around your arms, hitting Loki right in his torso. It probably just felt like a tickle to him though. You walked towards the living room and before she could even answer you used the stereo to play the music and you made sure it was loud.

This way you could pretend to lipsync without being suspicious. You stepped back into the kitchen and got behind the counter to make the sandwich and then you felt him holding onto you from behind, his lips latched onto your neck again and your hands were starting to shake because of the tingling sensations you were feeling all over your body. And inside your body.

"Loud noises, nice play darling, but it's still not going to be enough"

"I'm going to kill you" you mumbled as you bobbed your head to the rhythm of the music and he chuckled

"But what if I kill you first?" you gasped at the comment but you had no time to react because your mom was walking right towards you. Why did that comment arouse you? You had issues.

"Let me know if at any point of time you'd want me to turn her into a frog"

You chuckled as he whispered in your ear and your mom looked at you confused,

"What happened?"

"Uhhhh nothing..just .. some people look so funny when they're dancing" she turned around to look but nobody was actually dancing there.

"Here…are you having fun?" You asked her as you passed her the sandwich so she smiled.

"Yeah you know Becky wants me to stay here, girls night she said" she giggled so you smiled at her. You were so used to calling Mrs Geller as Mrs Geller that you almost forgot she had an actual name.

"But I told her that I was going to stay with you sooo" Oh no stay here. Stay here. That way Loki could spend the night at yours.

You felt his fingers playing with the zipper of your dress and you gulped as he lowered them down a little.

"Maybe I should take this off right now and put you in my clothes, haven't stopped thinking about it since last night sweetheart"

"Ohhh dear God" you mumbled so your mom looked at you all perplexed.

"Is everything alright with you? You look drained"

Not drained. Wet. You were wet.

"No I just..you can stay here, I mean you guys have become such good friends right?" she hummed as she munched on her sandwich.

"Friends? Like us?" He whispered

"Definitely not like us"

"What?"

"I mean that she likes you so much and it would mean alot to her, it's her birthday and you know..her husband passed away a few years ago, she's lonely" you said to her and her face contorted in sadness.

"That's so sad, okay maybe i'll stay here"

You smiled so wide as she said that, she went back to the living space to tell her that she was going to be staying here. Thanks Mrs Geller.

"You want something to eat?" You mumbled as you looked down so other people won't see you talking to yourself.

"No but you need to be fed, make one for yourself"

"Not hungry"

"Do it"

"Yes sir"

Erection charm stat.

He couldn't stop touching you while you were making the sandwich, his hands trailed down from the side of your waist and you took a deep breath as his fingers pulled your dress up and caressed the insides of your thigh.

"Look at you, you're trembling like a leaf" he whispered in your ear and it only made the matters worse for you.

"I know you adore my cold temperature but I always wonder if you'd be sensitive to extreme cold" you glared at him as he said that. "Perhaps i should put the theory to a test" he conjured an ice cube and you felt it rubbing against your bare back, it almost knocked the wind out of your chest. Your knees felt weak, if it wasn't for him holding you so tightly you probably would have collapsed.

"I wish I could watch you suck on it" "Okay alright"

You got away from his hold because you felt afraid you'd moan or do something worse, grabbing the plate of your sandwich you stepped out of her kitchen.

"Where are you going?"

Mrs Geller asked you so you smiled so widely that it seemed unnatural.

"I'll be right back I just uhhh..i don't like eating in front of people " she looked at you for a moment before she shrugged

"Ohh okay come back though..we have cake "

"Definitely I'll be right back " you walked out of her apartment and quickly went into yours, you kept the door open and you smelled his cologne as he walked in, that's when you shut the door with a thud and he made himself visible. His long hair seemed as if he had just shampooed it, he was in his Asgardian garb, a long black tunic with the same colored pants, you walked towards the kitchen to put the sandwich down, glaring at him all the way.

"You think you're funny huh?" You stormed him so he smiled.

As soon as you reached closer he picked you up in his arms and kissed you as passionately as he could, it's been more than 24 hours and you had tortured him last night with that little teasing play.

He sat down on the sofa with you on top of his lap in the usual position.

"That was a reckless thing to do" you mumbled between the heated kisses and it made him smile.

"Well I am reckless"

You got even closer to him, almost sitting on his crotch , your hips moved slowly on him and the moan that escaped deep from his chest was something that would keep you wet and your fingers working late at night. But then you didn't feel anything as you moved against him, he wasn't hard, like at all, now you may not have had plenty of experience in this department, you hardly ever stayed zoned in whenever you had sex with those men, by men you meant those two men you actually dated but atleast you knew he was supposed to be hard. Right?

You pulled away from him and shifted yourself back onto his thighs

"What happened?" He asked you so you smiled, your lips latched onto his neck and he leaned his head back on the couch as you placed your hand on his clothed cock and rubbed it slowly.

Should he stop using the charm? You wanted to touch him right?

You pulled away from him and he was looking at your hand movements while you were looking at him

"Lo?"

"Mmmhmm"

"Oh baby ..it's okay " you cooed to him and it only confused him further.

"What?"

"You know..that " you gestured towards his cock and it took him a few second to realize what you meant. Did you really think he couldn't get an erection? You pressed a soft kiss on his cheek then you pecked his lips to comfort him, you just hoped he wasn't embarassed by it, maybe you shouldn't have pointed it out.

"So it is okay that I can not get it…up?" you looked at him as he said that.

"Ohhh honey..it is okay..it's alright, it really doesn't matter" he chuckled at the response.

"It does not matter?"

"I mean it's more common than you think..it happens alot..yeahh" you brought your hands up and started to massage his shoulders for some reason, you seemed nervous and you were trying to not hurt him in anyways. Okay maybe he can have a little fun with this.

"Well it would certainly matter when I am not able to fulfill your desires" you bit on your lip as he said that,

"Umm has it always been this way?"

"Ofcourse not, it's only since I found out about my heritage, it is some kind of defect in our genes, we can not get it up for some reason" ohh that's why you never felt him get an erection while you two cuddled so intimately.

"Ohh I'm sorry baby, it's going to be okay I promise" he bit on his cheek to hide his smile as you comforted him with sweet words and gentle kisses, your fingers caressed his scalp.

"That is it, that is all you have to say?"

"Mmmhmmm"

"So you do not care about this?"

"I care about you lo"

Okay he started this joke but now he was actually getting sentimental. Were you really just going to be okay if he actually was impotent?

"What about sex, your needs? I'm assuming we were going to do that at some point" you looked into his eyes as he said that.

"Well there are ways.. several other ways, it's really not a big deal for me I swear to god, i swear on you" you assured him again and it made him smile, his eyes did seem teary though.

"You're so precious my darling" he cupped your cheeks and kissed you as passionately as he could, his fingers waved once and then he grabbed your hand to put it back on his crotch.

"Lo I know.." you were going to say something to comfort him further but then you felt it, you felt him hardening instantly at your touch. God of mischief right? Ofcourse he was messing with you.

"I see..that was a prank"

He smirked as you said that but as you started to rub your hand up and down, the smugness was wiped off his face

"I was using a charm all this time" he gulped as the sensation began to build in the pit of his stomach, why was he such a putty in your hands?

"Why?"

"To..ahhhh–" he moaned as you cupped his bulge with your hand, he felt so big, you have never felt anything like this before "Didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable"

"Well who is precious now?" You cooed in his ears.

"I am still in awe of you willing to stay with me despite that situation" you tilted his head as she said that and then you stopped touching him.

"What kind of girl do you think I am? Do you think I'll just ditch you if you're having some stupid performance issues?" You crossed your arms and he sighed.

"Well isn't fornication an important aspect of a romantic relationship?" He asked as he tucked your hair behind your ears and caressed your cheek with his fingers because he could feel you were starting to get agitated a little.

"Look loki ummm.. would you leave me if I was ..ummm.. Wait, what's the female equivalent of erectile dysfunction?" you got off his lap as you started to think about it "Oh my god there's nothing.. ohh wow you guys really do have to stress about this thing huh?" He smiled as you said that.

"I don't..i am a god"

"Ofcourse"

"Come here" he raised his hand forward so you sighed before you placed yours on his and sat down on his lap again.

"Would you leave me if for some reason I can't have sex with you?"

"Noo"

"Well why? Isn't hornyfication an important aspect of a romantic relationship?" He smiled and cupped your cheeks to kiss you before he answered.

"Someone once said that there are several other ways to derive pleasure"

"Are you stealing all my answers?"

"Yes, because you're so good at them"

You giggled as he said that.

"No but really answer me, would you not want me anymore if I couldn't do it the traditional way for some reason? By calling it traditional I'm assuming that's how you do it in Asgard and frost planet as well..like the whole dick in vagina process" he laughed as you said that.

"I'd always want you sweetheart, because there is a friendship involved and I value that relationship more than anything"

"Okay I'm going to steal your answer and say ditto" he smiled.

" Besides we are just friends who kiss sometimes"

"And don't see other people" you retorted.

"And don't see other people"

You smiled and kissed him again, you weren't lying to him or trying to get into his good books, you just cared about him way too much to let anything ruin this bond for you two. He was a precious baby and deserved all the love, you were glad though that he was able to get hard because you weren't able to stop touching his bulge since he had magicked the magic away from it.

"I'm afraid I would do something dirty if you'd continue to touch me like this" he giggled but his breathing got heavier as you gave him a squeeze "Call me baby again "

"Awnnn you like that?"

"Mmmhmmm it makes me feel so small, so tiny in your arms"

"Well you're anything but small, I can tell you that little babyyy" you whispered in his ear and he placed his head between the crook of your neck to suck on it

"Ohhhh darling"

"Are you going to stay the night?"

"That is so licentious of you madame"

You chuckled as he said that. You were going to pretend you understood whatever he meant by the word.

"I had to beg Thor to bring me here, I can stay but I'll have to leave early in the morning"

"Godd make me stop..i can't stop" you bit on your lips as you continued to caress his clothed cock so he grabbed your hand and lifted it up, you both needed a moment to calm down after that "Mmmm well atleast I got you for a few hours and Mrs Geller is keeping my mom so yayyyy" you kissed his forehead and he purred like a kitten.

"Did you tell Thor that you appreciate his help?"

You questioned him as you got off his lap. You really wanted to eat that sandwich now. Wow being horny sure made you hungry.

"Noo" his voice came out so meek so you looked at him. Their relationship always bothered you, you knew both of them cared about each other but so much had happened that it must have been difficult for them to talk to each other now.

"He's doing something nice for you..just tell him you appreciate it, that's it" you told him so he hummed. You took a bite of the sandwich and it was so good you couldn't possibly deprive him of that could you?

"You eat this one, I'll bring more, I don't think we need dinner after this oooh and there's cake" he smiled at your excitement so you leaned down to kiss him briefly before you went back to Mrs Geller apartment.

That night he stayed and you cuddled him like usual, the only problem was he wasn't really trying to hide his beastly erection anymore so it kept rubbing against you all night, you barely got any sleep, how could you when all you wanted to do was hump against him like a bitch in heat.

As soon as he went back to the tower he had to go train with Cap. For some reason Rogers was in a nasty mood today so he took it all out on Loki, there were several cuts and bruises on his face and he looked way worse than he usually did.

"Gotta say your brother is a better fighter than you any given day" Rogers said to him but he ignored it. He could have killed him right there if he wanted but he didn't want to waste his energy. As he stepped out of the training room he found Melissa and Thor chatting up like old buddies in the hallway. What in the name of hornyfication?

"Geee were you both trying to kill each other in there?" Thor smirked as he looked at Loki, Melissa came forward and tried to touch his cheeks but he stepped away,

"Awnn baby you're hurt"

"I'm not a baby, I'm a god, address me as such"

"Calm down Loki, she's your lady, respect her" Thor teased him, he probably found the situation funny but Loki didn't find it amusing at all. There was an awkward silence amongst the three before Thor spoke again

"Oh I have to go polish my hammer, have a good day lady Melissa, pleasure talking to you" Thor took her hand to give it a formal kiss, making loki roll his eyes.

Loki was about to walk past her but she spoke out of turn again.

"You know your brother is so much better than you could ever dream to be Loki?" he didn't miss the venom dripping from her words

"Then why don't you go fuck him?" He was done being respectful.

"I wish I could, he's so much hotter and sexier, so manly, and ohhh he would never get so bruised like a peach in a fight, no wonder he wasn't discarded at birth and no wonder your daddy picked him over you all your life" she smiled as she finished her sentence before she walked past him.

He shouldn't have allowed her words to affect him, she meant nothing to him and she just wanted to hurt him for whatever agenda she had ongoing but her words still reminded him of who he was, he was the second best, the villain, he could never achieve greatness in his pathetic life because he was merely a pawn in everyone's game.

He stood under the cold shower and tried to forget about the whole day, he truly wished he was free to just stay with you, at least you won't hurt him like this.

He walked towards the mirror and those bruises somehow made him look uglier, he slowly morphed into his jotun form, his natural form, but he couldn't even look at himself for longer than a few moments, that bald protruded head, those monstrous ruby eyes and those scales on his skin only made him feel disgusted. His eyes welled up even more as he continued to look at himself.

He felt so alone in the moment, all he wanted to do was talk to you and hear your voice so he quickly put on pants and sat down on his bed to dial your number.

"Hi, are you missing me already?" He heard your voice and it made him smile between the tears,

"I always do" he heard you smiling at the comment.

"Lo I'm going out with mom and Mrs Geller so I won't be able to talk but, can I see you later? She'll leave in the evening" he nodded as you said that but you couldn't see him, he wished you could have stayed longer and he knew you would have if he was to tell you the truth about how he was feeling at the moment.

"Sure darling" you smiled as he said that, for some reason he sounded sad, maybe you were overthinking but his voice didn't have the usual chirp

"Are you okay ?"

"Yes I am Princess, enjoy your day, I'll see you soon hopefully" he lied to you and you paused for a few seconds before you answered him.

"Okay ummm..I.. take care okay?"

"You do that too"

He hung up the phone and now you felt anxious, why did you have to go right now? Maybe he wanted to talk about something?

You tried to keep yourself distracted throughout the day but his sad voice kept ringing in your head, you almost yelled and screamed at your mom when she started to discuss how much she hated Loki and why she thought his image makeover was just another political agenda.

When she finally left you decided to shower and you kept looking at your phone to see if he'd call but he didn't, you even dialed on the telephone number but he didn't pick up either.

"Aren't you going to see your lady today?" Thor asked him, he was looking for Loki and he was nowhere to be found so he went to the roof and there he was, sitting on the ledge as usual. It always terrified him whenever he found him there because of what had happened that night on the bifrost.

"Oh I just saw her, I am assuming you're talking of lady Melissa right?" Loki snapped at him so Thor sighed deeply.

"I was just joking, lighten up" he chuckled.

"Your jokes have never been humourous Thor"

"Look i didn't come here to fight, if you want to go see lady y/n now is the time" Loki stood up, ofcourse he wanted to see you and hug you, and kiss you.

"Where do you go after you drop me off?"

Loki questioned him and Thor's face flushed all of a sudden.

"Nowhere, i come back here"

Loki squinted his eyes at the response, he knew Thor was lying but he didn't want to get into it for now.

You were in the kitchen making tea when you heard the knock on your window so you ran towards it. You smiled as you looked at him but you noticed those awful cuts and bruises on his face.

"You are hurt" you made him sit down on the sofa and he sighed.

"It will heal"

"How did you get hurt lo?"

"Captain was in a sour mood, he went hard on me"

"And you.. didn't fight back?"

"I didn't want to"

"Why??"

"I don't know"

"You're a god, you're much stronger than them all, don't let them treat you like this" You huffed as you said that, your eyes seemed teary though "Besides what are they even training you for? You are a prince, have been in battles and wars, you know how to fight"

His brows furrowed as he looked at you, the puppy look on his face immediately melted your anger so you climbed on his lap, you weren't angry with him but for him and he understood that but he didn't want you to be so upset because of him.

"Is that why you called, you felt hurt, that's why you called?"

He nodded so you cupped his cheeks and kissed his forehead, then you placed soft kisses on his cheeks one by one, making sure to kiss all those wounds before you pecked his lips

"Why didn't you tell me?" He didn't look up as you questioned him, a tear rolled down from his left eyes so you wiped it with your thumb

"What's bothering you baby, talk to me" his arms wrapped around your waist and he put his head down on your chest for a moment before he hid his face between the crook of your neck.

You immediately embraced him in a bear hug. He told you what Rogers said and what that horse Melissa said to him. How dare she say something so cruel to him? She was lucky you weren't there at the time.

"You are not going to listen to her and take her lies to your heart are you? She's just being nasty because you won't give her the attention she thinks she deserves from you" you said to him in an affirmative tone.

"But she didn't lie, did she? She said what I have heard all my life, he's better than me, he always has been and the only person who never discriminated between us was our mother, but in the end she chose him didn't she? She chose him over me" your eyes welled up at his words, his mother claimed to love him but if she really did then why didn't she tell him the truth? Why did she allow her childrens to hate on Frost Giants when she knew Loki himself was the one? Probably it wasn't your place to judge but you were judging her.

"And how unfortunate that is lo? Not for you but for them, I'm sorry you were made to feel as if you were someone to be forgotten like that but you are not, you are Loki, you're a god, a majestic powerful god and you deserve to be treated like one, you deserve to be loved for who you are and I don't know about everyone else but I'll always choose you over anyone else, always" he sniffled before he placed his head down on your chest again.

Maybe that's all he needed to hear today, he just needed to be chosen for once, he just needed to be prioritized and that need couldn't have been fulfilled by just anyone, he desired it from you, only you. You once said to him that you wanted to be there for your man for those rough and difficult moments, he knew you surely meant it and those weren't just words. He stayed engulfed in your arms like a child for as long as he needed before he pulled away,

"For a god I sure do weep a lot " you smiled as he complained.

"And that's absolutely fine, crying is good you see, you feel better now?"

"A little, but not enough" he mumbled so you kissed his forehead then his nose and finally his lips.

"You look so pretty, your cheeks are flushed, lips so red, you're the prettiest thing I ever known of"

"I am not" he wasn't looking at you but playing with the fabric of your shirt as he spoke, your words definitely made him feel bashful.

"Okay maybe I can pamper you some more, would you like that?" You asked him and that made him look up, he didn't miss the tender voice you were putting on just for him, he had always desired to be treated like this so when it was finally happening he couldn't even believe his luck.

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

"Would you like more kisses maybe or hugs? Cuddles? Or maybe something naughty" you whispered in his ear before your lips trailed down to his neck. He was squirming in your hold and you couldn't fathom how a god was so affected by your touch, did you really affect him this way or he was just too nice to deny you?

"Explain Naughty, what does it entails?" he asked you so you smirked before you lifted your hips up and scooted even closer to him so you were sitting on his crotch,

"A bit of this" your hips gyrated back and forth and it made him moan ever so timidly, his cheeks were flushed again, as much as you hated those bruises on his face they did give him an edge, he looked so battered and hurt and you just wanted to keep pampering him in every way until he was all healed and happier.

Your palm cupped his bulge and he placed his head down on the back of the sofa, you felt his fingers digging in your hips but it wasn't hurtful, far from it.

"A bit of that" you mumbled against his mouth before you kissed down from his jawline,

"Darling" he let out a whiny little noise of resistance so you looked at him "I want this, I do…norns I want you to keep going..I just.."

"Too soon?" You asked him so he shook his head. It wasn't too soon for him but maybe it was for you, you wanted to take things slow and he knew once you both were to indulge in anything this sexual he wouldn't be able to stop and he didn't want to do anything with you that you'd regret later, you meant too much to him for you to regret him like that.

"It's okay baby, it's ok" you stopped teasing him and cupped his cheeks to kiss him as lovingly as you could "Goddd you're so cute" you giggled.

"Cuter than those puppies you seem to adore?"

You looked at him as he questioned, a devious smile evident on his face

"Equally cute..okay moreeeee" you mumbled nervously and it made him chuckle but then his eyes moistened again.

"Thank you princess "

"Well it's just the truth"

"No..for.. everything..i really needed this"

"You have me lo, i promise, i have you baby" he sighed in contentment as you hugged him tightly.

A part of him wanted to reveal everything there was to him, all those ugly parts that he wanted to show you, perhaps you'd still find him cute in his natural state, it certainly was a wishful thinking but there was a possibility that it could happen or maybe he'd make you feel disgusted, maybe you wouldn't want to touch him at all once you see him all blue and bald and scaly, that possibility scared him, but he knew he'd never show you those parts of him again if you'd feel offended by his true self, he knew if you were to be disgusted by his real self then he'd willingly suffocate and kill that giant inside him just to appease you.

He knew he'd do anything for you as long as you'd continue to hold him and care for him like this. And that's what scared him the most.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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#loki x female reader #loki #loki x reader fluff #loki x reader #loki x reader insert #loki x reader angst #loki x reader smut #loki x reader fic #loki x you #post avengers loki #canon divergent au

[hatihams]

☆﹔princess and the frog

(alhaitham x gn!reader)

synopsis; in which alhaitham gets turned into a frog, and his only way out is a desperate signal to his lover.

warnings; established relationship, sfw, reader kisses a literal frog, gn reader, alhaitham makes a mean comment to lisa nd razor

notes: omg guys its my first fic on this acc yipee

alhaitham didn’t know how he let himself get into this situation.

actually, he did. after miss lisa paid a visit to sumeru and he made an unnecessary comment towards her academic abilities, the witch pulled a classic fairytale spell out of her pocket and cursed him with his new froglike form.

alhaitham had a new dilemma now. he was well aware of the classic fairytale this situation stemmed from, which provided him with a classic issue: if he wanted his regular form back, he needed his own true loves kiss.

a true loves kiss from his INCREDIBLY squeamish lover.

alhaitham was already well aware of his lover’s opinions towards slimy creatures like his new form had become, but he wasn’t aware of how severe this fear was.

and as y/n walked into their shared home and spotted him waiting for them on their kitchen counter, he was met with a narrowly missed shoe.

“oh my god! oh my god! there’s a frog in the house!” he could hear the frantic tone in their voice, and it gave him a small pang of hurt to think they were so disgusted and fearful of him (even if he was a frog).

a small croak escaped alhaitham, as he jumped from the counter to the floor, and a little closer to y/n, trying to avoid the flying objects being thrown at him.

“alhaitham! there’s a frog in the house!” y/n yelled, backing away from him with frantic eyes. alhaitham responded with another emotionless ribbit, trying to get them to listen.

“alhaitham?!” they would call again, to be met with no reply besides the croaking of frog-alhaitham.

“..that’s weird.. he would usually be home right now..” y/n mumbled, staring down at the frog in front of them. alhaitham let out another noise, trying to communicate.

“y’know, for a frog, you don’t seem very scared..” y/n mumbled, crouching down to meet alhaitham’s small beady eyes.

“..do you know where my boyfriend went?” alhaitham jumped up and down, trying to communicate that he was in fact, the boyfriend.

“hm..” y/n was a smart cookie, and seemed to get the memo. nervously putting their hands out in a cupping motion, it allowed alhaitham to cautiously jump into their palms.

“..hey.. that’s not so bad!” y/n said, lifting him up to be eye level with them.

“i heard miss lisa was in town.. maybe alhaitham went to see her?” they were so close! alhaitham tried his best to make a nodding motion, which caught y/n’s attention.

“..did you just nod?” y/n asks, dumbfounded, causing alhaitham to do the same motion once again. this caused a small, almost knowing smile to cross y/n’s face.

“i heard witches have a spell that can make annoying little scholars turn to frogs..” y/n says, laughing a little, causing alhaitham to almost cross his arms angrily in his frog form.

just then, y/n leaned in a little, almost connecting their lips with his slimy frog ones, only to stop halfway.

“..this is so stupid.” y/n says, causing alhaitham to impatiently jump up and finish the job, pressing his frog lips against theirs.

a small poof of green smoke filled the air, y/n falling backwards with a small yelp of a new found weight on top of them, clearing to reveal alhaitham back in his original form, still kissing y/n, now on top of them on the floor of their foyer.

disconnecting their lips, alhaitham looked down at y/n with an annoyed expression, his chest rising and falling a little rapidly in an effort to catch his breath.

“what did you do?”

“i told miss lisa she was about as clever as her son.”

#彡 | works ! #彡 | fics ! #alhaitham #genshin #genshin x gender neutral reader #genshin x reader #genshin fanart #genshin fanfic #genshin fluff #genshin x y/n #genshin x you #genshin alhaitham #alhaitham x reader #fanfic #fluff #gender neutral insert #gender neutral reader

[artstar1997]

Here’s @groovinyeen’s trollsona, Emi as the princess and Prince D as the prince from the story, The Frog Prince. The Disney version of the story, The Princess And The Frog is a match for them but in my reimagining, it takes place in the the 70’s USA where Emi is a struggling funk musician and Prince D is a prince from a fictional African kingdom who was in hiding from conspirators. He was sure that no one will find him and his valet, Creek but he was turned into a frog by a warlock who promises them both their dreams but Creek sided with the warlock.

In a form of a frog, Prince D met Emi, who was also turned into a frog. Realizing the situation they were in, they decided to find Cybil, a powerful fairy living in the woods. During their travel, Emi and Prince D met his long-lost brother Cooper, his girlfriend Jussy some animal friends that help them in their journey but in the process, Prince D and Emi fell in love with each other and Prince D found his talent as a musician. When they finally met Cybil, the fairy told them that she is more than aware of what Prince D wanted (to be human) but spends the time trying to explain their desires won't make them happy if they' that the thing that's important is not what they want, it's what they need. Cybil also warned them about the conspirators and the warlock’s plans and sent them back home but not before giving Emi the secret to breaking the spell. Joined by old and new friends, they uncovered the two villains’ plots, defeated Creek, and defeated them altogether. Back at the forest, Cybil officiated Emi and Prince D at their wedding ceremony in the woods and upon kissing each other, they were transformed back to their human forms, in which he discovered that Cooper is his twin brother. They also had a second official wedding, where Prince D and Emi met his parents and they fulfilled their dreams together.

#dreamworks trolls #trolls band together #trolls world tour #trolls oc #trollsona #emi x prince d #prince d #darnell #fairytale au #the frog prince

[rotomartsblog]

Stories I want to base Ever After High OCs off (an ever growing list)

Hans My Hedgehog (One of my favourite ‘obscure’ fairytales. Already decided her name would be Hannah M. Hedgehog. To fit the design aesthetic of eah she wouldn’t literally have the upper body of a hedgehog and the lower body of a human, she’d be more of a hybrid. She’s a rebel because she rejects her destiny of becoming fully human at the end of the story and embraces her hedgehog side.)

Boy Who Cried Wolf (See my last reblog. Lies a lot but because of their destiny no one tends to believe them anyways. Also accidentally right a lot. Not lying maliciously just doing it for shits and giggles)

The Frog Princess (Because I think it’d be funny for there to be two royals who turn into frogs but are completely unrelated to each other. Also there’s so many variants of this story from region to region that it’d be fun to write this girl)

Speaking of, The Frog Prince (Specifically the daughter of the princess from the tale and the son of the prince’s gayass servant. Princess Girl does not want to be Hopper’s princess but is slightly willing to enact the version where she gets to throw Frog Hopper at a wall instead of kissing him. Dislikes frogs a bit but plays it up as a seething hatred to scare Hopper. Kind of a bitch if you couldn’t tell. Sporty girl. The servant boy is 100% in love with Hopper, like father-like son, and has the iron bands around his heart. Maybe he could be Hopper’s real true love :x)

Pinocchio (Daughters of The Coachman and Mangiafuoco, and niece of Lampwick. The Coachman’s daughter has a pet donkey that everyone thinks is a turned boy, but nope it’s just a regular donkey. She’s a rebel because she doesn’t want to go down the route of her father. Mangiafuoco’s daughter is scary and off-putting, but actually a genuinely nice girl. Would love to perform onstage but she has stage fright and is just so shy in general, so she resorts to puppet theatre instead. Always uses a hand puppet to talk through. Lampwick’s niece is a rebel because she’d rather not turn into a donkey thank you very much. Low-key resented Cedar up until Legacy Day because she believed if Cedar didn’t exist she wouldn’t need to turn into a donkey. Now they’re on better terms since Cedar decided she’d become human in her own way)

The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats (Youngest son of the youngest goat. Really I just like people with goat features. He’d feel tense around Ramona, even though he’s pretty sure she’s probably not the wolf from his story)

Puss In Boats (Daughter of Puss In Boots. Would probably be able to transform between an animal and human form like Bunny Blanc. Doesn’t really align herself with Royal or Rebel, but has slipped into thoughts like ‘if I can make someone else royalty, why can’t I make myself royalty?’)

The Prince and The Pauper (It’s not a fairytale but the books included King Lear’s daughter so I feel like I’m free to do this. I just think designing two boys that look identical would be fun)

Mwindo (One of my favourite tales because of how entertainingly OP Mwindo is. I imagine that his son would be equally as OP and like half of the student population is scared of him. But that fear often gets subsided because he’s not that keen on using his powers like his dad was)

Commedia dell’arte (Not a story but kids based on the stock characters could be fun. They probably wouldn’t attend Ever After High since they wouldn’t have actual destinies, they’d attend another high school. I had the idea of Cedar doubling as the Burattino stock character, and it developed into all the stock characters being based on different dolls/toys, ie Pierrot being a rag doll, Pulcinella being a wind-up toy, etc. Really I just want Cedar to have people who could understand her whole ‘Am I even real’ situation better, is that too much to ask?!)

Two miscellaneous additions that don’t actually align to specific stories; a Warrior Princess and a Forest Witch. (The Warrior Princess is, obviously, the daughter of a warrior king. My idea for her story is that it’s an ancient epic that is so old it has lost its exact name, having been repeated so many times. Also, her reason for following her destiny is less ‘we have to or we all disappear’ and more ‘I have to so I can prove myself worthy’. Her warrior kingdom’s society is very different from Ever After’s society, which she learnt the hard way. She feels awkward hanging out with the other princesses because of cultural differences, and she doesn’t like hanging out with boys because they tend to underestimate her. She was only supposed to attend for Legacy year so that she could sign the Book of Legends because Milton Grimm would not stop bugging her father about it, but she decided to stay after the shit show that happened on Legacy day. I didn’t base the Forest Witch of a specific fairy tale because goddamn it there are too many witches living in the forests in these tales for me to choose just one. In universe she probably has a specific destiny, or a few, I just haven’t chosen it yet. Very closed off from others. Actually lives in the Enchanted Forest with her mother. She also likes archery but how much of her skill is genuine and is magic is up to debate)

The Devil (He appears in a lot of fairytales. The OC is a girl who is clearly the daughter of the devil, but it’s never said so no one actually knows it. Every time someone asks about her destiny she’s like ‘it’s nothing important don’t worry about it :)’)

#hello eah fandom I like fairy tales and folk stories #rotomtalks #ever after high #ever after high oc #hans my hedgehog #the boy who cried wolf #the frog princess #the frog prince #iron henry #pinocchio #mangiafuoco #lampwick #the wolf and the seven young goats #puss in boots #the prince and the pauper #mwindo epic #commedia dell'arte

[luimagines]

Could you maybe do one where the reader is in their time and they take them on a date since everything is calm for a moment?

Masterlist

It's Reader's turn to treat their favorite hero!

Date Day! Part one will included Wild, Legend and Hyrule!

Content under the cut!

Wild

“Ok, bare with me for a minute?” You grin and put a finger to your lips to keep your boyfriend quiet. “I want to show you something.”

“And we’re sneaking out because?” Wild tilts his head but follows you regardless.

“They to the place is a little... challenging and I don’t my Grandma or Time... or Twilight for that matter getting on our case about it.” The face you wear is mischievous and Wild can feel his morph to match yours as you tip toe away from the main group.

When you get far enough away you look over your shoulder and giggle. In a flash, before Wild can figure out what’s happening, you grab his hand and sprint away into the forest growth behind your house.

Wild snorts at your excitement but follows you step for step as you lead him through the foliage.

You stop a quick breather by a rock cliff and before you point up. “That’s where we’re going.”

And then you start climbing.

Wild blinks and doesn’t hesitate to follow you. A small woop leaves his mouth as he takes a running start up the rock and catches up to you relatively quickly.

Your practiced movements and Wild innate ability to climb anything makes the trip as simple as walking up a hill.

You get to the top first, since you’ve made this trip countless time to your Grandmother’s chagrin, and wait for Wild to make it up, holding out your hand to help him with the final stretch and pull him to you. You jump a little in your spot as he gets himself situated and giggle a little at the way his jaw drops at the sight before him.

A meadow of those flowers Wild seems to like so much, the Silent Princess.

But in the middle?

A natural fountain, with water sprouting upwards to give the rocks below the chance to be rained upon even if they’ll never see the light of day beyond what the crevices would offer. It falls into a small pool just beyond the rocks where small lily pads grow ands frogs sing their songs. In the darker corners you can see fireflies take off and return and there’s multiple dragonflies to dart from flower to flower where they know the mosquitoes reside as they try to catch their own lunches.

You see Wild take it all in and stare.

“This is my favorite spot.” You admit in a whisper. “No one else knows it’s here. They can’t get up even if they tried. But I can, and I knew you could because you can do anything.”

“It’s...”

“It’s a bit small I know.” You say with gulp. “and I doubt it’s anything compared to what you’ve already seen in your own world but I wanted to share it with you.”

“It’s just like you.” Wild says and looks over to you with a large and and boyish smile on his face. “It’s perfect.”

The admission strikes you in your spot and you don’t deny the blush that follows. “That’s a bit much, don’t you think?”

“No.” Wild takes your hand and kisses your knuckles. “Not at all. I think it’s a bit lacking actually, but there’s no other word to use to properly describe what I think about you.” 

“What am I going to do with you?” You snicker and take your hand away to cup his face.

“Tell me about this place.” He answers. “How did you find it?”

“Oh that’s easy! You see, Link...uh, my brother, was just born and I was left unsupervised as mom and dad had to take care of the baby so-”

Legend

“Legend!” You cry and drape yourself across his back. “Come with me! I wanna take you somewhere!”

The boy in question falters in his step from your added weight and looked over his shoulder to see you better. “Now?”

You grin and nod. You’re fairly certain that you look crazy but you’re too excited to care.

“Should I be concerned?” Legend gets a small smirk on his face.

“Of little ol’ me?” You tilt your head, your smile never leaving your face. “Maybe. But right now? No. Come on, let’s go! I got Wild and Warrior to watch over Link and Zelda and Time and Twilight are busy humoring my grandma. It’ll just be you and me!”

Legend pauses before he seems to mellow out, and he reaches for your hand behind him. “Ok.” His voice is soft, the kind he saves only for you and when you’re alone. “Lead the way.”

You barely suppress the giggle that passes your lips before you pulled him closer to your side. You take off a brisk pace in case some of the others who are unattended decided to follow you.

You drag him through the streets of your home, your footsteps a mere after thought to the idea of Link’s reaction to what you plan on showing him.

He doesn’t say anything as you travel and keeps a tight grip on your hand, less he get left behind and lose you.

You stop in front of a flower shop and tilt your head in its direction. Legend nods, at your unspoken question and beams when you brighten even more so than you already were.

You both enter and you b-line for the some of the smaller flowers they have near the back and begin to seemingly pick a few at random.

You don’t even notice you lose Legend sometime in the middle of your choosing.

You’re so focused on your selection that you go to pay and head out, already working on your project.

You weave and bend and keep the flowers in place as you begin your journey out of the store.

Legend watches you leave in the middle of the your concentration and quickly pays the needed amount before following you out. He walks next to you at you pace and keeps one hand on your shoulder at all times to guide you back through the streets and make sure you don’t crash into anyone or anything.

He smiles at you, a soft and secret look he knows he should give you more often but he can’t seem to handle the idea when you’re in public.

Within moments he can see what you’ve been making.

A flower crown, braided with such intensity that the flowers covered every inch of the band, there’s not a spec of stem green in the mass that’s been created by your fingers and Legend has to admit that he’s impressed.

You beam and glance at him, as if he’s never left your side the entire time and rip off his hat.

He jumps to take it back but you throw it over your shoulder and spin him around. It’s a dance you both do often and there’s a laugh on your breaths as you anticipate the other’s reaction. But what Legend doesn’t expect is for you to trap him in your arm as you spin and to put the crown over his head from behind.

He’s stunned and when you kiss the tip of his nose, he’s inclined to not move a muscle until you say he’s free to do so.

You spin around while he freezes and bend down to pick up his hat, placing it on your own head with a cheeky wink.

Oh, Legend thinks, he likes that.

Legend blushes crimson and take takes his hand and places the single flower he bought up to your ear and between your hair. “There.” He says. “Perfect.”

You giggle and adjust the hat to keep the stem in place and grab Legend’s hand to lace your fingers together.

“Thanks for coming with me.” You grin and swing your hands together as you begin to walk around with no destination in mind.

Legend smiles back just as bursting with joy as you are. “I’ll follow you anywhere.”

Hyrule

“If I were to say we should leave, what would you do?” You ask your boyfriend, as you watch the group meander around your house. No on is paying attention to you, too focused on the game your cousin and little brother have made up as your grandma watches from her rocking chair, knitting something that will no doubt be gifted to one of the boys before you have to leave again.

It was nice.

A bit loud.

But that your everyday anyway, whether in your home or with the group, so it wasn’t all that unfamiliar.

Hyrule looks over to you with a raised eyebrow and and grin on his lips. “I’d follow you anywhere anytime.”

You smile and place your cheek on your hand as you rest your elbow on the table. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Did it have to?” Hyrule snorts. “You already know my answer.”

You hum and tap your fingers on your face before you smile. “Come with me.”

Wordlessly, he follows you and you lead him out of the house and into your garden. It was something your mother started before she left.

You took it upon yourself to try to keep it alive but you never had the same green thumb that she processed. Still, it wasn’t too shabby if you had to say so yourself.

Hyrule took a deep breath through his nose and grinned. “There’s magic in the air.”

You pause and turn to look at him. “You can smell that?”

“Nooo...” Hyrule laughs. “But I can feel like. It’s nice. It’s warm and sweet.”

You smile and hold your hand out to him, waiting until he seems to get a ahold of himself and pull him from behind you. 

You walk together in silence before the old and beaten path opens up to reveal a small clover covered clearing, with a two seater swing hidden by the tree branches. “Come on, let’s sit there Link.”

Hyrule smiles and sits down first, pulling you unexpectantly onto his lap. “And here I thought we were going to go on those adventure you like so much.”

“No.” You blush at the close proximity but lean yourself against him, placing your head by his and poking his neck with your nose. “Grandma would still need me close by incase the kids get too rowdy. At least I’m within yelling distance.”

Hyrule nods and begins to play with your hair as he pushes off the ground somewhat to get the swing in motion. “I like this. I want one.”

“I’ll build one just for you.” You snort and snuggle closer. “Anything for you.”

“Only if you’ll join me.”

“Obviously. Who else you plan on swinging with?”

“I didn’t think I’d be here at all, let alone have someone other than you.” 

You hum and play his hair even if you can’t see it. Hyrule shifts the both of you around so that you’re both lying on the swing instead of being precariously placed on the edge. “Well, I’m glad I’m with you.”

“Me too.”

Part 2 

#linked universe #linkeduniverse #linked universe x reader

[yandere-wishes]

A Story Told In Maybes  {Part #1}

🗡️Yandere! Enma Yuuken x reader

🗡️Summary: Enma Yuuken lives on the fine line between "Hero" and "Villain" but his story will never end in a "happily ever after" or a "tragically ever after" it will only end in Maybe...

🗡 Edited by the amazing @tealyjade-libran

🗡️ Alternative title: How many times can Genie use "Damn" in a story...

Maybe in some other world, they could have been lovers

Imagine that...

picture it as vividly as a fresh stab wound to your heart. Sketch the vision of a red waterfall carrying away your life. 

Now picture two people. A young man and woman, sitting on a park bench, holding hands and laughing, inching closer and closer. 

Imagine love, happiness, tranquility...

But those things only exist in fairy tales. And his life was most certainly not a fairy tale. 

They were foreigners, outsiders, aliens. Banished into a strange land were twisted fairy tales, roamed the earth. Where magic and mischief came as naturally to the inhabitants as breathing. Where nothing mattered, because nothing was. Everything is and thus it isn't. Nothing made sense, and sometimes, in some rare moments of stolen repose, Enma Yuuken was scared that nothing would ever make sense again. 

All of it, every microscopic thing about this 'new world' was wrong, abnormal, twisted. 

Everything except his traveling companion. Another lost soul as disjointed and out of place as he was. Another ghost trying to survive in this matrix of a so-called reality. 

There was no shock initially, no surprise in not being the only normal creature to be transported to this bizarre world. Enma knew full well that he wasn't special in any way. Another foreigner being here was one of the few things that actually made sense. 

But as the old expression goes, everything comes at a price. 

Someone else just like him being here, being stuck in this nightmare, made sense. Yet the price of logic was a thread of hysteria that had woven itself deep within his battered heart. A maddening sense that gripped his lungs, robbing them of breath. That picked off pieces from his tattered mind, replacing them with clear cutout thoughts of her. It was always only her.

His companion in this broken world just had to be you. A frail, naïve little girl with no sense about her. Some pretty-girl protagonist straight out of the pages of Shojo Beats. The kind of girl who finds her happily ever after no matter where the hell she is. 

Yet he did not have that luxury, his life was dictated by a series of maybes and could bes. He was a secondary character at best, a background shadow at worst. With no purpose other than smiling and waving. And listening to the protagonist weep about their love-driven woes.

Some days, when the dreary bell chimed for the last time, when the students marched back to the solitude of their dorms, Enma would wander around the halls, squirming in his own misery. Pondering why, oh why of all the people, in all the towns, in all the worlds, did you have to be the one to wind up in this grim land along with him. 

Why fate always had to be so cruel, so domineering, thinking it knew better than the people whose miserable lives it toyed with. He wanted to be your lover, your prince, yours. But what would a guy, who doesn’t even belong in this backward world, have to offer some heroine-type sweetheart? 

🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️

The Ramshackle’s flickering porch light glows in the distance. Like a dying star beckoning him to a destroyed paradise. He knows what's waiting for him behind the worn door. He knows you'll be there standing by the cracked dinner table, laying out days-old sandwiches for dinner, while Grimm rangles with an expired can of tuna. He knows you'll smile with tears in your doe-like eyes as you retell the fables of your endeavors. Telling him in great detail how the so-called king of beasts overpowered you in the school garden. How the King of poisons stole yet another kiss. The tales go on and on. Never-ending, never stopping, never giving him the chance to scavenge the fragments of his shattered heart.

You play your role so damn well. You know how to be the damsel in distress, the poor thing in need of saving. It's repulsive, disgusting...but only because he doesn't know how to be the hero that you need. 

If he was being honest -something he rarely did nowadays- Those "prefects" were the root of all his problems. They were the evil that made this dark world an endless horror. They'd been the ones to drive him into the "caring older brother" role. They had twisted his hand, leading him to the role of the "side-hero" like a lamb to the slaughter. Made him into a prince charming in a world that ate princes alive and spat them out once more. 

They had sealed his fate with a few insults and loaded threats. With just a few longing stares overflowing with lust and envy. They were villains, in a world that celebrated sinners. A world that cheered when the dragon steals the princess and rejoices when the evil king sits upon his skeleton throne. They were villains in every dreadful sense of the damn word. 

It's hard to be in love when all odds are against you. 

When your fate binds you into one role with no way out.

Like a rabbit hole made of quicksand. It dragged him deeper and deeper into intimate madness.

Maybe in some fair world, those leeching villains could keep their greedy blood-drenched hands off of you.

Maybe in a world where the sun never dies, you could bring yourself to love him.

Maybe he could have been the love interest, maybe, maybe, maybe.

It's always only MAYBE!

🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️

"Welcome home Nii-san," 

It's a sweet greeting that ties his guts into ribbons. His hands grow damp as his heavy eyes stare into yours. His lips curl into a painted smile, shielding you from the pain that's clawing in his stomach.

"Hi..(Y/n)"

His voice cracks and croaks like a dying frog. His lips feel abnormally dry and his eyes sting as if they've been pierced by diamond daggers. His steps are heavy as he plops down in his seat. The weight of his worries pulled him down harder than gravity ever could. He watches you through tried, restless orbs. Watches as you waltz over to your seat and sit down with the half grace of some future queen to be. It's bitter, dreadful, leaving a sickly toxin-like taste in his mouth. The mere thought that someday one of those, sinners, will take your hand and drag you to some kingdom far far away makes Enma want to claw his brain out with his bare nails. 

Enma's focus shifts over from his traveling companion to the silver-coated fireball licking his paws. Grimm's teal eyes scan him nervously before he offers a nervous smile, a rarity for the narcissistic cat. He's usually so talkative, so boasting, there was never a moment of tranquility with that cat around...

It takes a moment. A steel coated moment before the gears in Enma's head begin to turn. Before he can place his finger on the heavy abnormality weighing down the atmosphere. His nerves jolt to life, leaving a freezing sweat behind their trail. The room is spinning like a ballroom floor. Something's off, something big and obvious and hidden and...

Maybe...

"So..."

It's your sweet voice that breaks the tension creeping into the air. Melodic and luscious just like the sensation of a blissful dream. The room freezes in its tracks. The heavy atmosphere melts away like a cube of ice. Normality has one foot through the door. Behind it, hope and tranquility peek their heads through the tiny gap.

 Maybe just maybe everything is alright. Maybe it's just him, his stress and anxiety are starting to play cruel jokes on his wonder mind. Maybe he's just going mad. Yeah, that's the sanest conclusion to draw from all this. 

Enma cranes his neck to the side to get a better view of your face. Distress is scribbled all over your skin, like pristine razor cuts. You shift around in your seat, clawing at your uniform skirt as if the midnight black fabric is cutting off your circulation. Your fingers nudge the entrance to your pocket fiddling with something he can't quite make out. 

His voice is low, shaky, as he replies. The unusualness of the situation has him on edge. Nervous to the bitter bone. Maybe he was wrong, maybe his nerves were right to be wary of whatever this was. This uncertainty permeated the air-tight room. 

"What is it?" 

Slowly you drag out a white envelope flooded seven times over from your pocket. You stretch out your hand placing it in between his fingers. Enma throws a passive look at the note, his nose wrinkled up at the familiar scent that pervaded from the paper. 

"What's this?" 

It was rhetorical, asked out of dull, morbid courtesy. This time he didn't bother looking at you, in fear of seeing you look -lord forbids- gleeful. 

"A love letter, Grimm found it in our locker after class." 

There was a pause, lengthy, nerve-wracking, heart wrenching. Yuuken could hear the way your breath hitched in your throat, he could almost feel the excitement radiate off your body. 

"Can you believe it Nii-san? Someone actually left me a love letter!"

It hurt it really did, this time his heart didn't shatter. It simply broke, in two or three or maybe four. Who knows, who cares.  They had escalated from simple harassment and unsightly displays of public affection to leaving you love letters. How ungodly, how absurd, how brave...

He laments, eyes tracing over the fog of his breath as it wafts through the musty room. He wants to rip that damned piece of paper, shred it into millions so the words become ineligible, so you'll never read those horrible words again. So you'll forget that some damn fool other than him can actually love you. But he doesn't, he has too much self restraint and too much respect for his dear "little sister" to actually do it. 

His arm stretches over the table, skin illuminated by the dying candle on the center. He places the letter back safely in between your fingers. His eyes meet yours for only the second time that night. He takes in your face, Committing every piece of it to his miserable memory. The heartily glow in your crystal eyes, the faint schoolgirl smile dancing across your lips, the rose blush kissing your cheeks, the way the candle illuminates your skin, wrapping in a sparkling glow like the princess from those tales of old. You're mesmerizing in every way, it would be reasonable for other men to notice your elegance. No wonder those "prefects" were drawn to you so naturally like moths to a golden flame. 

"Who sent it?" 

His voice comes out like a block of ice, shielding away any and all his stray emotions. He doesn't want to know how doleful he is, he just can't have you taking pity on him. 

Your smile fades ever so slightly, your brows draw closer. Confusion is etched on your face. You haven't got a clue. 

"Well...I'm not sure, but they did say to meet them at the school gates when the clock chimes twelve."

Oh, joy, another fairy tale reference. It's comedic how fairy tales have begun to dictate his life. Everywhere he turns there's a grim tale awaiting him. Yuuken spares a quick glance at the crooked clock hanging by a loose thread. It’s a minute to midnight. 

"I should come with you" 

It's not a request but you take it as so. 

"No need to bother, I'll take Grimm, he could use the walk. He's starting to bulk up a bit"

"HEY! The great Grimm-Sama doesn't "Bulk up" He only gets more powerful!" 

Before the older male can protest, you're already halfway out the door. Grimm scurrying to follow you on all fours like a pesky rat. The door slams on your way out, leaving Yuuken alone with his morbid screeching thoughts. 

There goes the only good thing in his life. Into the arms of another. 

For a second he contemplates leaving you to fate, after all, who's he to disobey fate, go against whoever orchestrates this universe. But it's only a second, short lived and quickly died. 

Maybe he's a hero.

Maybe he's a Prince Charming.

Maybe he's a villain.

Maybe he's just some honorary older brother looking out for his kid sister.

Maybe, just maybe, he's your future lover;

and he'll be damned if he lets you slip out of hands. 

Enma's quick to grab his old practice blade from the overstuffed closet. It's not much, but it's all he has from the normal world, from his world. 

The door grates for the last time that night as he steps out into the cold midnight air. The stars blink in some sort of secret tongue, either warning him or encouraging him, he doesn't know. Nor does he truly care, for Enma Yuuken is done letting life and fate and villains decree his meaningless life. Here and now that's where he'll make his stand, he'll save you. Kiss you. Love you. Marry you. You, You, YOU

But there's still one nagging thought that screams inside his head as he dashes for the school gates. This world worships villains, prays at their feet, and hands them death and destruction on golden plates. And he's no villains, he's some sort of upside-down, in-between. Rotting alone in the border between Hero and Villain. By law of society, he's a reject, a useless foreigner, an alien, an outsider. 

and MAYBE he's already too late...

Who wrote the love letter? Was it the head of the savanaclaw dorm or maybe the head of the heartslabyul dorm ? Maybe it’s the ever mysterious  Tsunotarou... 

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #enma yuuken #enma yuuken x reader #yandere enma yuuken #yandere x reader #yandere x you #twisted wonderland x you #twisted wonderland enma yuuken x reader #twisted wonderland enma yuuken #twisted wonderland enma yuuken x you #enma yuuken x you #yandere enma yuuken x you #yandere #yancore #yanderecore #yandere imagines #Yandere aesthetic #yandere scenerios #yandere twisted wonderland x reader #yandere twisted wonderland #yandere twst #twst x reader #yandere twst x reader #twst yuu #yandere twst x you #twst

[rebrandedbard]

If you are still writing 14?

Okay so this one accidentally went from a drabble to an actual fic whoops. The cure is totally inspired by the Rapunzel fairy tale, spoiler alert, where the prince falls in the thorn bushes around the tower and Rapunzel’s tears fall into his eyes, curing him.

14. “Hey, I’m with you, okay? Always.”

wc: 4444 which is an awesome number I’m so happy lol

Robbed Blind

Someone botches a spell to steal Jaskier’s artistic vision and he’s cursed with blindness. Thankfully, he falls into the company of Ciri and Lambert. They journey safely to Kaer Morhen, but what could be the cure to his affliction?

-

She had found him, tripping over the strings of destiny, in Drakenborg. He’d been on his way to Oxenfurt when the curse took hold, and he had gone no further. Jaskier was haggard, gaunt, and looked quite worn. His hair lay flat from constant fussing. It was a habit Ciri remembered well from his visits, always combing a nervous hand through his hair before a performance. She had never seen it look so lifeless. He needed a mirror, she thought. She would soon realize that a mirror would serve him no purpose.

He was blind. He startled when she ran to him, throwing her arms around his waist. She’d been so relieved to see a friendly face that she’d run right into his arms, nearly knocking him from the stool in the corner of the tavern. Why should he not catch her as he’d always done? He’d been looking directly at her; she thought he’d merely not recognized her beneath the mud and hood.

“Let me go! Who are you? Stop—stop this now or I’ll give you such a wallop, I’ll—!”

“Jaskier!” Ciri cried, shocked. She flinched away from him as he elbowed her roughly against her temple. She rubbed the spot, standing out of reach.

Jaskier straightened up at once. “Is that—? Little cub, is that you?” he asked. He turned his head as if searching for her and reached out a hand, feeling the air. It was nowhere near.

Ciri took his hand. During their long weeks of travel, she refused to let it go again. She became his eyes, and together they started for Oxenfurt and the safety of its halls.

He’d woken up blind one day, he explained. No warning or explanation. The mage had told him what magic was at play. Someone had tried to steal his artistic vision and the enchantment had gone wrong, stealing from him his very sight.

“Is there not a cure?” Ciri asked.

Jaskier shook his head. “The mage said it was a botched spell. There’s no telling what will fix it, only that it must have something to do with artistic vision. The mage suggested it might be cured by the old methods: kisses and the like; gazing upon true beauty.”

He squinted and took her face between his hands. “I’m looking and looking at you as hard as I can, and I remember you were the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen when you were first born. So what do mages know? Have you become a pox-faced adolescent or scraggly Medusa? Ah,” he chuckled, “but you’d still be a fairytale princess in my eyes if you had the face of a basilisk.”

She laughed and squirmed out of his hands. “You were always very good at Blind Man’s Bluff. Do you remember when we used to play it? Back then, you were always stumbling; you aren’t stumbling as much anymore.”

“I’ve grown used to it, I suppose. But you are a princess—do you suppose a kiss from you might cure me? How are you with frogs? Ever wake a sleeping prince?”

“No, but we may try it. There’s magic in me of a sort, I know. Here, kneel a moment.”

Jaskier knelt on the dry road and closed his eyes, tapping the lid. “Right here. Give it a go,” he said encouragingly. “If it doesn’t work, we’ll practice on a frog and work our way up.”

Ciri kissed both eyes to be sure. “Alright. Open them. Do you see anything?”

She tried not to get her hopes up, watching Jaskier squeeze his eyes tight. He opened them, blinked several times, and gave her a sad smile.

“Not to worry, we’ll find a pond in no time,” he joked, trying to keep the mood light.

-

“Well! I go to find a cat and find a lioness instead. And a songbird. Must be my lucky day.”

Ciri put herself between the stranger and Jaskier, waving a large branch in warning. “Keep away,” she growled. “If you come any closer, I’ll scream.”

The scruffy man put his hands up and grinned. “I’ve heard what sort of screaming runs in your family. Trust me, I would rather not be around for one of them. Heard it knocked pretty boy flat on his back at your mother’s little Surprise party.”

Jaskier put a hand on Ciri’s shoulder. “Wait a moment,” he said. “I know that moniker. Geralt complained of it before.” He was quiet a moment, stirring up a memory. Then, he lit up, asking excitedly, “Did you say you were looking for a cat? A cat witcher, by chance?”

“Why? Find one up a tree?” the stranger pressed.

Jaskier patted Ciri’s shoulder and strode forward, extending a hand. “You must be Lambert! I’ve heard—” his hand buckled against Lambert’s chest, his stride clearing the distance too quickly “—oh, my apologies. I’ve heard about you before. I was hoping to see you under better circumstances if I ever got the chance. Or to see you at all, really. Damnable timing.”

Lambert looked at him, then took his hand. Ciri watched as the understanding settled in, for Jaskier was staring straight at the man’s forehead, a near lucky guess of his eye line. Lambert wore an expression of pity freely, knowing Jaskier could not see it, though his tone was light and cocky as before. “I always wondered what you saw in that sourpuss, following him as long as you did; now I know you didn’t see anything after all,” he joked.

Jaskier snorted. “It’s new.”

“Ah, so you’ve been blinded by love, have you?”

Jaskier flapped his hand until he felt the brush of Ciri’s sleeve at his side, then he tugged her forward and presented her. He cleared his throat, a tad flushed. “May I introduce Her Royal Highness, Princess Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, the Lion Cub of Cintra. Geralt’s child Surprise.”

Ciri tossed her branch aside. “You know Geralt,” she said.

“They’re brothers.”

Lambert sneered. “He got all the looks, Eskel got the talent, but I got the brains.”

“What little there were to be had,” Jaskier added.

“Oh, ho! You’ll fit right in at the keep, talking like that.”

There was a pregnant pause between the three of them. Jaskier nudged Ciri gently forward. “She’ll be safe there. And her wit is more cutting than mine.”

Ciri turned at once to protest. “But what about Ox—”

“And so would you,” Lambert cut in. “A dull knife and a dull wit can be sharpened, and I’d rather keep two knives in my belt than one, whatever their make. Don’t start that maudlin shit with me; you’re coming along.”

Jaskier opened his mouth to protest and Lambert raised a hand. Then, realizing how ineffective that was against one who could not see it, he recovered and smacked the side of Jaskier’s head to shut him up before he started.

“Come on; it’s a long and dull road we have ahead of us, and you’re my entertainment. I want to hear every embarrassing story you can supply. I’ve long run out of blackmail and I’m in need of fresh material. Besides, what better bait for a cat than a twittering bird? If you sing loud enough, we might pick him up along the way.”

-

They were all together in the great hall when at last he came. The figure stood in the doorway, a black dot against the stark white of winter outside. A pair of bags dropped with a thundering bang upon the floor, the sound echoing throughout the room, and the figure bundled up by the fire started awake in fright.

Jaskier patted the blanket beside him, made frantic by his sudden awakening. “Ciri? Ciri!” he called, for she had been asleep next to him what seemed only moments ago.

She paused only a moment to stare at the imposing figure in the light. Something in her shouted, compelling her to go to him. But Jaskier called for her in that voice wrought with panic once more. She flew from the circle of wolves to his side, abandoning her hand of cards, disregarding the man of destiny at the door.

“I’m here,” she said, taking his hands. “Hey, I’m with you, okay? Always. I’m not going anywhere.” She and the others looked at each other, looked at Geralt, and said not a word.

Jaskier settled and took a deep breath. “I heard something crash. I dreamed—but never mind that.” He sighed, pressing his head to their joined hands. “I’m sorry. I know it’s safe here. I’m just not used to you wandering off just yet.”

“I know.” She stroked his hair gently. It was soft again, though not as silky as before. Lambert and Eskel had drawn him a bath for the first time in a long while, but he had not his customary soaps and oils. He was … less bright, his appearance dulled with his mood.

Vesemir had examined him. Countless hours, the wolves had huddled together in the old library, trying to find a cure for Jaskier’s condition to no avail. As time went by, the reality of his situation weighed on Jaskier. He could no longer read his notebook, nor write his music to be remembered. Ciri read his notes aloud and studied the art so she might transcribe them for him, but it was obvious how he felt.

“I don’t want to be a burden,” he’d said.

And now he gave her that same false smile, the one that failed to meet his eyes. She missed the lines in the corners and wished they might come back. Perhaps they’d flown off with the crows, frightened of the winter snow.

“Go back to your game,” he whispered. “I’ll head up to bed.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” she offered.

He shook his head. “I know the way now. If someone will take me to the stairwell?” he prompted, raising a hand.

Ciri looked at Geralt. There was so little she knew of him—stories and songs … words spared in rumors and stolen from conversations where she lingered unnoticed to listen. What she knew of the wolf and bard she had pieced together with care. For all the tales Jaskier would tell, he would not disparage Geralt before her, and he would not tell the story of the dragon hunt. But dwarves talk. Stories travel and lesser bards would imitate the songs of greater. Witchers collect news of other witchers, and two adults would speak as adults when ale made easy speech. Jaskier had confided in Lambert those tearing words once flung at him upon the mountain. And thus she had put the final piece into place of the great mystery between them.

‘If life could give me one blessing…’

“Who will take him?” she asked. She kept Geralt’s eyes as she rose to her feet. “Who will take him into his hands?”

It was only the barest movement, but she swore she saw the wolf of legend flinch.

Jaskier sat up with a huff. “You make it sound so dramatic. Are we playing at a quest now? Very well, who is my knight errant? The princess has thus decreed a quest is in order: a quest up the perilous tower steps, my-my! Such a task!”

“I should think a white knight is the one suited best for the task,” Vesemir grunted. He shuffled his hand, eyes narrowed at Geralt.

The white knight in question let his cloak fall. He shook the snow from his arms and dusted them slowly, looking at each watching face in turn. His hesitation was clear. When none moved to claim Jaskier, he stepped forward cautiously. Without a word, he took Jaskier’s hand and lifted him to his feet.

Jaskier clapped an arm around his shoulder, hands patting the edge of his long hair. “Ah, thank you, Vesemir,” he said. His hand slipped from Geralt’s armour and he made a face, flicking his wet hand in the air. He prodded the armour curiously. “You’re soaked; I thought you said you’d sent Eskel for the firewood.” He prodded again and bumped against Geralt’s shoulder pad. He pinched it between his fingers, figuring out its shape. He hummed curiously. “What are you wearing? Did you go hunting?”

Geralt stared. Jaskier was not looking at him. Geralt looked at the circle of men by the fireside and there sat Vesemir in silence, watching. He was struck dumb. What … game was this?

“A knight needs a knight’s armour,” Lambert called.

Jaskier laughed. “Oh, of course. Such a soft touch; did you get all dressed up for Ciri? Have I woken in the middle of a game?”

Eskel tossed a card in the middle of the circle. “Yes,” he answered, “but we’ve just started on another, different game.”

“Very cold and calculated,” Ciri agreed.

“Cold and calculated. So a snowball fight has become a snowball war, no doubt born of the most complicated strategies. Shame on the lot of you. You ought to let your elders warm themselves before sending them on tasks. You’re young; you’ve got legs,” Jaskier scolded.

“It was his idea,” Eskel replied.

Vesemir nodded, keeping silent as the game unravelled.

Jaskier looped his arm through Geralt’s and stood straight and tall in an affected manner. “Come, my good knight,” he said, “and let us bid good night to these slacking youths.”

He started to walk in the general direction of the stair, Geralt turning them with truer aim. Geralt looked over his shoulder at the others, frowning. This was not the sort of confrontation he expected when next he saw Jaskier. If he ever saw him. And here was his child Surprise in their midst without a word of greeting or explanation, and the bard, the two of them together and settled within the walls of the keep.

It was too perplexing for him to puzzle out. And Jaskier was acting strangely. Where were his speeches? Geralt had expected him to argue on sight, or else to pretend all was right and greet him, “Geralt! How good to see you,” or, “Fancy meeting you here,” and play off the mountain like it never happened. Or at the very least to ignore him. But to call him Vesemir and take to his arm? What joke was he playing at?

The answer came as Jaskier dodged the first step and nearly fumbled upon the stair. He clung to Geralt’s arm with a cry and his other hand shot out to grope the wall. He flailed for it, feeling his way from the step outward, then sliding his hand up the side of it. He turned his head, looked at Geralt and laughed. “I’m still not used to these uneven steps,” he said. “Give me time and I’ll be able to find my way around unassisted. By next week, I’ll be able to navigate every pool in the hot springs, then you four will never see me fully dressed again!”

Geralt raised a hand to Jaskier’s face. He rested a thumb just beneath his eye. They were as blue as ever, nothing seemed amiss, and yet …

Jaskier’s smile weakened. He closed his eyes and pushed the hand away. “I know the three of you are working hard to find a cure. I know the jokes fall flat. But I must make them. If I don’t … Vesemir, if I can’t make light of it, the darkness I see will be all I have left.”

He turned toward the stair again, hand firm on Geralt’s arm, the other on the wall. “Right then. Up we go. Just one at a time,” he said. He stepped tentatively forwards, prodding his foot before him until he nudged the base of the first step. “Got it. First is always hardest, isn’t it?”

They carried on. Two steps, three, one after the other slowly. They were uneven by design: a final defense against those who would try to invade their stronghold. The spiral stair favored those who walked it every day, gave advantage to the men who would be at the top, swinging their swords to fight back those who would dare trespass unwitting. It was difficult enough for any stranger with sight. With Jaskier, it was a quest in itself.

Midway up, Geralt thought to carry him. They were going so slowly; it would have been easiest that way. He nearly offered, but stopped. If he spoke, Jaskier would know him. He began to reach an arm out to simply lift him, but Jaskier fumbled once more, his knee hitting the step with a mumbled curse. And Geralt heard him muttering through his teeth as he crouched upon the stair.

“I will learn,” he hissed. “This will not stop me. I refuse to be a burden to anyone. Never again.” He touched his forehead to the step and Geralt put a hand to his back. He was trembling.

When Jaskier rose again, he did not take Geralt’s arm. He reached out and took hold of the wall on either side, arms stretched wide to hold himself up. He proceeded to climb the stair alone. When Geralt reached out to help, Jaskier waved him away.

“No,” he whispered. “We’re nearly at the top. Just let me do this much. Please.”

And Geralt let his hand fall away.

Jaskier reached the landing with a powerful stomp, expecting a final step. He breathed a sigh of relief and sagged against the right wall. Geralt followed behind and patted his shoulder. Small congratulations. From there, Jaskier walked down the corridor, tapping when he came upon a wooden door. He passed three, tapped each with his knuckles, counting. When he reached the forth door, he opened it. In this space, he walked with ease away from the wall. He flopped confidently upon the bed and rested a moment as one does after a long journey.

He shucked off his doublet and loosened the laces of his boots. He set these aside at the very foot of the bed where they might easily be found again. He undid the back lace of his trousers, paused, and inclined his head toward the door.

“Are you still there, Vesemir?” he asked.

Geralt did not know how to respond. He stood fixed in the doorway, but dropped his eyes to his feet modestly. After a moment’s wait, Jaskier finished undressing and climbed beneath the heavy furs. A memory stirred—that was not the final task of the evening. What was the last of their routine each night? What was left undone that made this finality seem so abrupt? Geralt realized it in the darkness of the room. He had no candle to blow out.

The truth struck Geralt sharp as a blade to his gut. He stole through the door, walking quietly toward the bed. He sat on the edge, the furs rumpled beneath him, and listened to Jaskier’s breathing. He was not yet asleep—would never be, so soon—but he did not stir.

Geralt took his hand gently.

Jaskier squeezed it back.

“I only wish that had not been the last I’d seen of him,” Jaskier whispered. “I try to remember his smile now. For all my poetry, I can’t remember it clearly. His smiles were so rare, but I don’t suppose you need me to tell you. Or perhaps you do. I don’t know if he smiled here; I know nothing his life in this place. Were you so fortunate that they were commonplace?”

Silent footsteps creeped up the stair. Ciri had waited long enough to follow. Geralt heard no sign of her under the ringing words of Jaskier’s speech. Though he spoke no louder than the breath of the wind, every last syllable echoed like a clap of thunder in his ears.

Jaskier slipped his hand free and turned on his pillow, hugging it close. “I wish I might at least see Ciri now, know how she’s grown. They change so quickly at that age. Does she look like her mother? Does she look like him? Destiny makes strange things of those it touches. She was beginning to look like him, I once thought.”

She saw him well enough, looking through the open door. She crouched behind the wall, listening as she always did in secret, for the things he would not burden her with.

“I always did wonder what you looked like. Geralt spoke once to me of his brothers, his mentor. You’re still stories to me in ways. I know you have long hair, grey with age. I know Lambert is shorn, Eskel is shaggy. I know your voices, your height, and a hundred other things. But do you share his eyes? What color is the armour you wear? How does the sun set over the mountainside? The carpets before the hearth—what pattern is woven there? What thousands of stories do you keep in that library? What do the monsters look like illustrated in the great bestiary?”

He buried his face in his pillow. His voice was muffled, but both Geralt and Ciri could hear the husk in it. “I won’t feel sorry for myself. It doesn’t mean anything—just idle curiosity. It doesn’t matter how the carpet is woven or if you wear brown shirts or red. I’ve seen a lifetime of sunrises and sunsets and stars. I don’t want them!” he barked. He writhed on the bed, his face falling from the pillow, stained with tears. “I don’t! I never needed them, not one! I don’t care—I don’t! None of them are important!”

Geralt rushed forward and took Jaskier in his arms. Jaskier struggled, beating at his chest, and refused to be coddled. “No!” he wailed. “Don’t comfort me, I don’t need it! I don’t want it! I will not be pitied!” But for his hard words, he clung to Geralt’s armour, sobbing against his shoulder. “It’s unnecessary. It’s just a bunch of poetry. Useless poetry and songs.”

Jaskier pulled away, Geralt’s hands trailing from his back to his shoulders as he sat up. Geralt held him there before he could retreat more. Before he could think twice of it, Geralt leaned in, his hands cupping Jaskier’s face on either side.

“Vese—”

Something warm and wet fell onto Jaskier’s lashes. He heard a shaky breath, felt the warmth of it upon his face. Another hot tear fell into his other eye and he blinked in surprise, for it was not his own. He sat perfectly still in shock, blinking the falling tears away.

“They were never useless,” Geralt said. “They were always important—all of them.”

Jaskier twitched, raising his head by instinct up to look at the man who held him now. “You were—!”

“I’m sorry. For not speaking before. For … not speaking then. After. And for saying what I did that day.” He wiped the tears beneath Jaskier’s eyes away, an expression of pain twisting his hollowed features. “If I’d not sent you away—I don’t know what’s become of you, but I might have—I could have tried to prevent it. You would still have your sight.”

Jaskier covered Geralt’s hands. “No, Geralt. This is none of your doing. You can’t—”

A loud bump from the hall startled him. Jaskier turned at once to look.

“Ciri,” he breathed.

Ciri had a finger to her mouth and was glaring up at a tall man. They both cowed back, being caught. Jaskier looked between them as Geralt’s hands slipped away. He stood, walking toward them. He looked at Ciri, gaping, their eyes perfectly aligned. Jaskier fell to his knees before her and took her hands without fumbling.

“Ciri,” he said. “You’re so … my good gods, you’ve grown.”

All were still as he reached out, touching her face as though she were made of glass. He smoothed her hair away, taking all of her in. He laughed, new tears falling as he pulled her close and crushed her in his arms. “You’re so beautiful!” he cried. He stroked her hair, cradling her against him as tight as he dared. “And you!” He looked up at the witcher in the hall, reaching out to him and taking his hand. “Which one are you? Say something now, quickly. Let me hear your voice and know you.”

“Eskel,” he answered. And then Jaskier was up on his feet, pulling him into another embrace.

“Eskel!” Jaskier cheered. “Eskel, you look even more heroic than I ever imagined! Oh, let me look at you. Oh, oh! Lambert! Vesemir! Where are you, come forward!”

He dashed into the hall, only to turn on his heel for another look at Eskel, for just one more eyeful of Ciri. Over her shoulder, he saw Geralt sitting there on the bed, his yellow eyes wide, the tears still clinging to his chin.

“Oh,” Jaskier whispered. “Oh, I see. I see.”

He walked forward, gliding a hand beneath Geralt’s jaw. He touched his eyes with his other hand. Carefully, he wiped the last of Geralt’s tears away. It dangled, a little drop at the tip of his finger and he brought it close. He closed his hands around it, cradled them to his chest.

Geralt stood slowly before him. And he smiled.

Ciri tugged at Jaskier’s shirt, her head turned away politely. She cleared her throat and said, “Jaskier? Lambert and Vesemir are on their way up. And you’re … well, you’re not at your most presentable.”

Eskel averted his eyes, his back turned to the scene, however touching. “You might want to get a bit more dressed. And quickly,” he added, for Jaskier was standing in his smallclothes.

Jaskier snorted. “All of you, turn away for decency’s sake! We’re having a moment, here.”

“And what about me?” Geralt asked. “Shall I look away?”

It was nothing but empty jest and Jaskier smiled. “No,” he replied. “No, you’re looking where you’re needed. But I suppose to be fair …”

He clapped a hand over Geralt’s eyes. He leaned forward, whispering against Geralt’s lips. “There. Now no one can see. No one … but me.”

There were no witnesses to that first kiss. It was a secret Jaskier kept for himself.

However, the second, third, and forth had quite a startled audience, as Geralt and Jaskier both fell deaf to the clatter of footsteps in the hall. Ciri took it upon herself to usher the others from the room, explaining on the way. After all, with the curse lifted, she no longer needed to be Jaskier’s eyes. His mouth, however, was currently occupied.

-

Send me a drabble prompt!

#my fic #drabbles #witcher #the witcher #geraskier #geralt of rivia #jaskier #cirilla fiona elen riannon #lambert #eskel #vesemir #I'd tag aiden but he's really only mentioned in passing #ew I came back to look at this and the scene breaks did not transfer over #fixed it now

[variousqueerthings]

Daniel LaRusso: A Queer Feminine Fairytale Analysis Part Three of Three

(another massive, massive thank you to @mimsyaf​ )

part 1

part 2

8. Queerness and femininity and masculinity and the colour red and *record breaks*

If we spin the record aaalll the way back to this paragraph: “…looking at what it is girls and women in fairytales have/don’t have, what they want, and how they’re going to get it. It’s about power (lack of), sexuality (repressed, then liberated), and men.” Reading Daniel as a repressed, bisexual boy in a society that doesn’t accept his desires it’s interesting looking at how he moves through the world of the Miyagi-verse, at how threatened other men are by him, at how obsessed they are with him.

He’s out in the symbolic woods and these large boys and men see him and decide for whatever plot reasons to come for him. And they are large and violent and attractive and apart from Johnny again, they don’t have the nebulous excuse of fighting over a girl and even that excuse dies by around the midpoint when Johnny kisses Ali just to get a rise out of Daniel. He’s not trying to “win her back,” he’s not even really looking at her. He’s just trying to get a reaction. They don’t have any of the fighters in Rocky’s excuse either of Daniel being a macho opponent. 

You can read whatever subtext into TKK1 and TKK2 (which becomes especially tempting once CK confirmed that the guys he fought at seventeen have been thinking about him ever since – for thirty-five years), but TKK3 is where it’s really At in terms of obsession and lust and forbidden desires.

Silver is presented as both a handsome prince who saves Daniel and mentors him (where Miyagi is undoubtedly cast in a fatherhood role) and later on becomes twisted into a dark secret that Daniel has to keep, while he turns that thing that Daniel loves (karate, it’s… it’s karate… it’s also men, but it’s definitely karate, because karate makes him feel… things...) into an abusive, violent version of itself.

A wolf in sheep’s clothing.

But he’s also offering him something liberating. Whatever is going on in that nightclub scene is about something other than breaking Daniel down. Even the bloodied knuckles aren’t just about revenge. It’s about giving him something that he isn’t, in the end, willing to receive, at least not from Silver. In that roundabout, strange way of these feminine fairytales, it’s exploring hidden desires through the metaphor of karate.

Daniel wears red because it’s his colour. In the movies he wears red a lot. Often in scenes with violence in them (the beach/the hilltop in TKK1 and the date/the destruction of the dojo/the final fight in TKK2), but he also has a variety of shirts (and in TKK3 pants) that pop up all the way through the narrative. He wears a red jacket when he accepts Terry’s training, when he punches a guy in the face, and when he tries to get out of the training again (as badly as that goes).

Did anyone consciously think about red’s link to desire, obsession, and violence when they made these? Eh. But is it there symbolically? When he meets Johnny, when he fights Chozen, when he’s in emotionally fraught situations with Terry? Hell yeah.

Probably the most lust-and-violence infused red is that aforementioned punching-board-until-knuckles-bleed bit – not that I thought Terry was going to pull him in for a kiss, because I knew, logically, of course he wouldn’t right? There’s no way… is there? Or later on when Daniel punches that guy and ends up with blood all over his shirt and Terry once more grasps him, euphorically. Blood is violence. Blood is also desire. Red is Daniel’s colour, even though he doesn’t acknowledge it come Cobra Kai. (Maybe he just needs someone else - cough Johnny Lawrence cough - to inspire it in him again).

Daniel LaRusso’s narrative is exploring that most feminine of fairytale tropes: To want and be wanted by monsters and having to hide those desires.

“Maybe this time that strange churning in my stomach that feels like a mix of anticipation and fear will turn out good for me.” - Daniel’s mind.

At the end of the story, Daniel saves himself, with all of the strange mixed narratives around it, and the acknowledgement that the end of The Karate Kid Part Three isn’t satisfying and its aftermath will likely be delved into in the next season of Cobra Kai.

Nevertheless, he saves himself. Not from Silver or Kreese or Barnes, and not entirely, but he makes a decision not to give in to fear (and he continues to try and live by that decision, making it over and over again for the next thirty-five years, even when the return of Cobra Kai makes that difficult for him). 

He doesn’t do it by being the strongest in the land or even through a lucky shot (although that too). He does it by refusing to be like the male antagonists that surround him, by telling them they have no power over him. The narrative isn’t just his getting lost in the forest and all the monsters he finds there, it’s about how he redefines power for himself within that forest. 

He’s a man who isn’t violent, whose victories include helping out a girl whose ex-boyfriend just broke her radio, successfully doing the moves to a cultural dance he’s trying to learn, sitting with his father figure while he cries over the death of his own father, telling a girl that she’s just made her first friend, and breathing a sigh of relief that a tree that got broken has healed. 

Daniel LaRusso is a good boy is the point!

Karate is a metaphor. It can turn into many things: A series of lessons learned about how to be his own man and take care of his own house, a respect for the history of the father teaching him and sharing his home and story with him, fear, desire, masculinity (and the different forms that can take). 

When a tall, handsome stranger offers to teach him karate in the dark, without Daniel’s caretaker knowing how to help him, and twists that karate into something that hurts him - when he reclaims that, over and over, that means something too. 

This man is fine and definitely isn’t carrying the weight of buried karate-based queer trauma - could a traumatised man do this? *stares blankly at a former tormentor as blood runs down his forehead*

9. In Conclusion Daniel Has Kissed Dudes… Symbolically… But We Can HC Literally:

So there’s Daniel and his coded feminine fairytale narrative. It’s all a series of fun coincidences.

1. Ralph Macchio is just Like That

2. Red. All the red. 

3. large portion of his storyline is about lack of power. Yes, he regains that power by the end of the first and second movie through A Fight, but generally he is framed as powerless opposite these almost monstrously physically powerful boys/men. And in the third one it’s barely even about physical prowess (he’d still lose a real fight against Barnes or Silver) and more about regaining lost autonomy off the back of a manipulative, abusive relationship with an older guy.

4. The third movie in particular is narratively a mess, but if reimagined as a fairytale makes a lot of sense (because it’s secretly all about how karate is bisexuality and Daniel gets manipulated through that desire to be better at karate).

5. Queerness and femininity and themes about hidden desires that can only be approached sideways through couching those desires in symbolism: Handshake meme.

6. The fact that the more I think about it, the more feral I am for a Labyrinth AU.

7. To sum up over 5000 words of text: The inherent homoeroticism of wanting to be slammed against a locker by a bully, but extended over three movies and ever-more inventive ways of hurting pretty-boy-Daniel-LaRusso.

Johnny’s not going to be happy when he realises Daniel’s got other ex-rivals buried in his closet...

10. Some Other Stuff Aka The Laziest Referencing I’ll Ever Do

Further reading on trans Matrix

Further reading on masculinity and rape narrative in The Rape Of James Bond

Youtube Video from Pop Culture Detective (Sexual Assault Of Men Played For Laughs)

Some film/TV references in this: Dracula (Coppola), Princess Bride, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Labyrinth, The Matrix, Rocky, Princess And The Frog, Cinderella, Enchanted, Shape Of Water, Swamp Thing, Phantom of the Opera 

Some fairytale references: Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, The Wolf And The Seven Little Kids, Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Company of Wolves (Angela Carter), Through the Looking Glass, Princess Bride

Also referenced is Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel and the subsequent musical Funhome. Further thoughts on this by @thehours2002​ and @jenpsaki​:

https://thehours2002.tumblr.com/post/650033577171533824/daniel-larusso-and-fun-home-click-to-enlarge

https://jenpsaki.tumblr.com/post/650530225997971456/cobra-kai-fun-home-inspired-by-goldstargirls

My list of Cobra Kai meta posts

I wanted to delve into fairytale movies more, but then I was like “fuck, I have actual work to do,” but I was interested in the ways male and female characters are written in these stories:

The Last Unicorn, The Never-Ending Story, The Dark Crystal, Legend, and Stardust.

The Last Unicorn is an interesting one because she’s not really human, until she is. It’s more like The Little Mermaid (the fairytale, not the Disney film) in tone, and of course there’s a pretty substantiated rumour that Andersen wrote that one as a metaphor for falling in love with another man (who eventually got married). 

Andersen in general is just fun to analyse as someone who popularized so many fairytales and exists as an ambiguously queer historical figure – might’ve been modern-day gay, bi, ace, but we’re just not sure. All your favourite fairytales can be read through the lens of queer loneliness and ostracization. Just like horror.

Anyway I didn’t go into the whole Little-Mermaid-Last-Unicorn transformation bit so much as the Monstrous-Desires bit, but I think there could be something to that too, with monsters representing otherhood and all. Stardust is a kinda-almost-this, except she sticks to her human form and all is okey-dokey by the end, she’s allowed to marry the handsome man and be a star.

The Never-Ending Story has Atreyu and Bastian and because of a lack of female characters, an interesting bond between the two of them, but mainly Atreyu is absolutely a go-gettem Hero Type and it’s just interesting to see how Bastian relates to him as both an audience insert, but also eventually as his own character in that world.

The Dark Crystal contains certain… androgynous elements of feminine and masculine coded characteristics in the main character because of how he’s not human, but also they do have a “female” version of his species that he needs to go save (and bring back to life) by the end, so in a way it’s both more and less heteronormative in its characters.

Legend sees another example of a monster (literally called Darkness and looking like a traditional devil) trying to seduce a princess through promises of power, and she “goes along with it” in order to trick him and succeeds in that trick, but is ultimately saved by the male lead. 

In conclusion: I don’t even have Shrek in this.

#daniel larusso #terry silver #the karate kid #the karate kid part three #cobra kai #ck #cobra kai meta #and in conclusion... brain brain brain

[sfb123]

Sapere Aude - Part 13

Book: The Royal Heir

Pairing: King Liam Rys x Queen Riley Brooks

All characters belong to Pixelberry.

Catch Up Here

If you’re new to Sapere Aude, please click the link above to start from the beginning. There’s so much going on right now that you’ll be way too confused to start from this point. Plus, there are some major bombshells that won’t be as fun if you read this and get a bunch of spoilers.

Series Description: I developed a theory of what I think will happen in TRH Book 4, and I was encouraged by some very lovely people to turn my theory into a fic, so here it is. Basically, Riley is recruited to join the Via Imperii, this series will follow her as she joins them to try and bring them down from the inside, and all of the drama and bombshells she learns along the way. Sapere Aude is Latin for “dare to know” it seemed like an appropriate title.

Rating: PG-13 Adult language, discussions of death, conspiracy, blackmail, and other adult themes.

Trigger Warning: There is a brief moment of physical abuse, it’s not much, but I definitely wanted to mention it and give a fair warning. 

Warning: The Royal Heir Book 3 Spoilers all over the place.

Disclaimer: I have no current affiliation with any other Via Imperii themed stories. Any claims that I have pre-read anything are false.

Word Count: 2,383

A/N: I know you’ve all been on the edge of your seats wondering what was going to happen, the answer is a lot. This is a pretty big chapter. I hope you enjoy!

Thanks to my pre-reading babes, @jessiembruno & @txemrn. And to @twinkleallnight for my lovely moodboard! 

Tags: Listed below, hit me up to be added or removed.

“Um...actually, it’s about the queen. Your majesty, you need to come with me, and we need to send some additional guards along with us.”

Liam’s face paled at Thomas’s words. “Where is my wife, Thomas?” He kept his voice quiet, so that he wouldn’t upset his daughter but his tone was stern and authoritative. 

“I believe she is at the old Fierro estate, and time may be of the essence.” 

“Li, go. We’re all here, we can take care of Eleanor.” Drake chimed in. 

Liam nodded. “Bastien, please send as many guards as you can immediately, and prepare the car for us. Thomas, go with him and tell him everything you know so that we can fill the team in.” Both men bowed and quickly exited the room. Liam walked over to Eleanor, sitting in the chair next to her. “Eleanor, I need to step out and pick up mommy, ok? Your auntie and uncles will be here to play with you until we get back.”

“Can I come with you?” She asked hopefully.

Liam took a deep breath before answering her. “I’m sorry princess, but I need to go by myself. But you have a very important job here. Since Valtoria is your home, you need to host our guests. Being a hostess is something you will need to do a lot when you become queen, so this will be wonderful practice. Do you think you’re up for it?”

She nodded her head rapidly. “Yes daddy, I will be the best hostess!”

“Good. Now go with Uncle Drake, and mommy and I will see you when we get home.” He pulled her into a hug, kissing her cheek as they pulled apart. 

Eleanor ran to Drake, taking his hand and pulling him toward the door. “C’mon Uncle Drake, I’m the hostess.” Drake chuckled before looking back at Liam and giving him a reassuring nod.

Liam waited a few moments to make sure that Drake and Eleanor were out of his path before rushing out of the room and toward the front entrance. The car was waiting for him, Bastien holding the back door open for Liam to enter. He jumped in and Bastien shut the door behind him, quickly jumping into the driver's seat. The SUV’s wheels squealed as it rushed toward the gates.

“How far out are the guards?” Liam asked. 

“We had a team training not too far from the estate, they should be arriving shortly. They have been briefed.” Bastien replied, looking at Liam through the rearview mirror. 

“Excellent. Would someone care to brief me now? Where is my wife?” Liam commanded. 

Bastien looked over at Thomas, who was seated next to him. “Thomas, please explain to his majesty the current situation.”

Thomas took a deep breath, his hands nervously balling into fists. “Of course. You see sir, there is an organization, the Via-”

Liam pinched the bridge of his nose, interrupting Thomas. “Thomas, please spare me. I know about the Via Imperii, Riley has been telling me about the meetings, the plans, everything.”

“Everything?” There was a slight crack in Thomas’s voice as he looked back at Liam. If she had told him everything, Liam knew who he was.

“Yes Thomas, everything, including our relationship. Right now, that is the last thing I am concerned with. I need you to tell me what they are doing to Riley, and what we need to do to get her out.”

“Unfortunately, I do not know much. I’m sure you were made aware of the conflict between her majesty and Lord Neville. Well it appears that he and Mara have lured her to the estate under the guise of a meeting with our chapter president. I don’t know what they are planning to do from there.” 

Liam’s jaw clenched as he ran a hand through his hair. “Bastien, remind me again why we didn’t dismiss Mara after her charge, the queen, my wife, was kidnapped at our wedding? It seems like grounds for termination to me.”

“She went through a thorough re-training process, and passed all of the associated tests. It was determined that she was able to adequately perform her duties.” Bastien replied. 

“Adequate is not acceptable for protecting the life of a Queen. We need exceptional as the bare minimum. She should have never been cleared to return to such a high profile duty. We will be having a meeting immediately to review protocol and standards.” The mixture of concern and rage swirling inside of Liam was becoming overwhelming, he was having trouble thinking straight. He turned to look out the window, taking deep breaths to regain some level of composure. 

***

“Since rational discussion is not going to be an option here, I guess we’re going to have to go to plan b, elimination.” Neville said to Mara as they sat across from each other, Riley tied to the chair at the head of the table. 

Riley laughed. “Sure, elimination. I bet that will work out great for you. It’s super easy to just make a reigning queen disappear.”

“We have been successful in doing it with two out of the last four queens. What do you think makes you so special?” Neville turned his attention to Riley, genuinely curious to know her reasons. 

“Well first of all, Eleanor was in on the plan, so she doesn’t count, so it’s actually one out of four. And second, I’m sure Liam and the rest of the guards, the loyal ones,” she looked poignantly at Mara, “are on their way. I’ve been gone long enough that Liam has definitely already had them ping the location of my phone.”

Mara pulled a phone out of her pocket and waved it in front of Riley with a smug grin on her face. “It has been powered off since I pulled it from your pocket as you were getting into the car.” She placed it on the table and slid it toward Riley.

“Any more smart remarks?” Neville asked, standing from his seat. He approached Riley, taking her face in his hand and leaning in close. “The fairytale is over Riley, and the ending isn’t quite as happy as you thought.”

Riley could feel her nerves starting to take over. Yes, Liam would be missing her right now, but how was he going to find her? She felt her heart rate increase, trying to keep her composure. She had been through this before. For as much as she hated Anton, she had to give him credit, he was much better at this than Neville was. If she could survive that, she could figure out a way out of this. 

She thought back to that night at the abandoned castle, she needed to channel that version of herself again. And she certainly couldn’t let Neville know he was getting to her. “What happened? You couldn’t find a woman to kiss you out of being a frog faced asshole? Or you did and it just didn’t work?”

“That’s enough!” the back of Neville’s hand abruptly met with Riley’s face, the force of the impact almost knocking the chair over. She moved her jaw back and forth several times, trying to assess the damage as best she could with her hands tied behind her back. “Mara, do we have anything to gag her with?” 

Before she could answer, there was a knock at the door. Neville and Mara looked at each other in confusion, nobody else knew about the plan. “Well?” Neville raised his hands in frustration. “You’re the security guard, go assess the damn threat!”

Mara jumped to her feet and opened the door to find Eleanor on the other side. “Ah Mara, I heard you and Queen Riley had stopped by, I’m so glad I was able to catch you.” She didn’t wait for Mara to respond before brushing past her and entering the room. “Lord Neville, I didn’t know you would be using one of our meeting rooms today. You didn’t clear it through the proper channels. What have we got here?” Eleanor walked straight past Neville and went right to Riley. She took in her appearance, noticing a red mark on her cheek and a small trail of blood running down her face. Her eyes were watering, but she hadn’t shed a single tear. Eleanor was impressed by the strength she was showing under these circumstances. She gave Riley a subtle wink before taking a seat and motioning for Mara and Neville to do the same. “Now, should we talk about where you plan to take things from here, considering you clearly haven’t thought this scheme all the way through?” 

“We’re going to do what this organization has done for years, eliminate the threat. Maybe we will be more successful in the king’s next social season, and get a cooperative queen in place.” Neville replied.

Riley took a shaky breath, but the idea of her being taken away from her family was too much for her to bear. The tears she had been holding back broke free, and she began sobbing. Eleanor walked back over to Riley and knelt down in front of her. “It’s alright dear, you aren’t going anywhere.” She placed a comforting hand on her shoulder before standing and turning her attention back to her captors. “Are you insane? Do you have any idea how much time and careful planning goes into enacting an elimination plan? You can’t just decide to kill the queen and expect that everything will go off without a hitch!”

As if on cue, the door burst open and several members of the King’s Guard entered with their weapons drawn. Mara immediately drew her weapon and aimed it at Neville. “Hands in the air, Lord Vancoeur.”

“Drop the weapon Mara.” One of the guards commanded.

Mara continued acting as if she was assisting in the rescue efforts, ignoring the guard’s warning. “I’m glad you guys got here, I was having trouble calling for backup to save the -”

A loud pop filled the room, Riley flinched, keeping her eyes closed for a moment. When she opened them, she saw Mara laying on the ground in a pool of blood as two guards rushed Neville and took him into custody. Two more pulled Eleanor away from Riley and forced her hands behind her back. “Stop!” Riley ordered, causing both guards to look up. “She is not a part of this, she was here rescuing me. Let her go.” The guards complied, and Eleanor went back to Riley’s side, quickly undoing the fastenings that bound her to the chair. As soon as she was free, Riley stood and rubbed each of her wrists before raising a hand to her face, gently placing it on the spot that Neville had hit, and moved her jaw back and forth a couple more times. She looked at Eleanor, her eyes welling up again. “You...you saved me.”

“Of course, dear. I told you I wouldn’t let them take you away from your family.” Riley wrapped her arms around Eleanor and pulled her into a hug. Eleanor could hear her hitched breathing and knew she had begun to cry. “It’s ok Riley, you’re safe now. Let’s go get you cleaned up.”

***

Liam was lost in his thoughts, watching the scenery go by as they neared the estate. The sound of Thomas’s phone ringing took him out of his thoughts. He quickly moved his attention to the front of the car, listening intently to Thomas’s answers to the person on the other end. They were simple, one word answers, and he was unable to read any kind of emotion in his voice. “Well?” Liam said, before Thomas had even fully moved the phone away from his ear. “Is Riley ok?” The seconds it took to get his response felt like an eternity for Liam. 

“Yes your majesty, Riley is safe. Lord Vancoeur has been taken into custody, and Mara was killed. Queen Riley is safe and awaiting our arrival.” 

Liam breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back in his seat. He was glad she was safe, but he needed to get there. He needed to see it for himself, to hold her, to kiss her. He needed to get her home where he could protect her. 

The car pulled up to the front of the estate, and before it could come to a complete stop, Liam had jumped out and ran to the door. He burst into the estate frantically sticking his head into every doorway looking for her. Finally, he approached a large sitting area with a fireplace running, and there she was, silently watching the flames dance. “Riley? Love?”

Riley blinked a couple of times before turning and meeting Liam’s gaze. “Liam…” her voice was barely above a whisper as she slowly stood to greet him. 

He rushed to her, immediately pulling her into his arms. He held her tightly as he kissed the top of her head. He pulled back, taking her face in his hands. The pressure of his touch on her still tender cheek made her wince in pain. Liam removed his hands and examined her face. “Riley, who did this to you?” He tried to keep calm, not wanting to cause her any more stress or pain.

“Stupid fucking Neville. I made some frog prince joke and he decided to heckle me with the back of his hand.” 

Liam clenched his jaw, and took a deep breath. He would deal with Neville, but for now, he needed to be with his wife. “Riley, I am so sorry that you had to go through this. I should never have let you do this. It could have been so much worse.”

She placed her hand on his cheek, he noticed the marks on her wrist from the restraints, and turned his head to kiss them softly. “But it’s not, because Eleanor, your mother, saved me.”

“My...why would she do that?”

“Because I couldn’t let you lose her.” A lump formed in Liam’s throat at the sound of the voice behind him. He hadn’t heard it in years, but he had never forgotten it. He turned around and as soon as they locked eyes, he felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him. “Hello, Liam.”

Permatag:

@anjanettexcordonia @athena-penrose @bbrandy2002 @chemist-ana​ @choicesficwriterscreations​ @choiceskatie @cordonia-gothqueen @cordoniaqueensworld @emkay512 @gabesmommie1130 @gkittylove99 @hopelessromanticmonie @iaminlovewithtrr @jessiembruno @kat-tia801 @khoicesbyk @kingliam2019 @lucy-268 @marshmallowsaremyfavorite @mile9213 @mom2000aggie @pixie88 @queenrileyrose @secretaryunpaid @sweatyrysconnoisseur @tessa-liam @theroyalheirshadowhunter @twinkleallnight @txemrn

Sapere Aude:

@burnsoslow @busywoman @gardeningourmet @ofpixelsandscribbles @tinkie1973

Liam x Riley:

@jared2612

Liam:

@amandablink @yourmajesty09

#choices #play choices #choices stories you play #pixelberry #choices fic writers creations #choices trr #choices trh #trr/trh #trr fandom #trh fandom #trr fanfic #trh fanfic #the royal romance #the royal heir #trh book 3 #the royal finale #choices the royal romance #choices the royal heir #king liam #trr king liam #trh king liam #trr liam x mc #trh liam x mc #Sapere Aude #liam x riley

[multiversecarnavep]

Howard's first appearance in comics is when he is abruptly abducted from his home planet by an unseen force and randomly dropped into the Florida Everglades by the demon-lord Thog the Nether-Spawn. He meets the Man-Thing, who had been attacked by Korrek of Katharta, and the three of them are confronted by warriors of the Congress of Realities.[22] He then meets Dakimh the Enchanter and Dakimh banishes the warriors and transports Howard, Man-Thing, and Korrek to his castle, where they are joined by Jennifer Kale. They then travel to the realm of Therea and destroy Thog the Nether-Spawn. Howard then accidentally falls off the inter-dimensional stepping stones that the group were traveling on[23] and materializes in Cleveland, Ohio, where he battles Garko the Man-Frog.[24] Howard is arrested at this time for disturbing the peace and is mistaken for a mutant during a strip search, but is released because the police fear he has mutant abilities. Howard also briefly encounters and kills a vampiric cow named Bessie the Hellcow.[25]

Howard makes friends with an artists' model named Beverly Switzler and a bizarre series of encounters follow. He battles Pro-Rata, the cosmic accountant, then meets Spider-Man at the end of the battle.[26][27] He battles Turnip-Man and the Kidney Lady,[28] who would become a semi-recurring character over the years,[citation needed] then learns the fictional martial art of "Quack-Fu".[29] Howard then encounters the Winky Man, who is actually the sleepwalking alter-ego of Beverly's artist friend, Paul Same,[30] who would become a series regular and later become the pair's roommate.[citation needed] Howard also briefly becomes a wrestler.[31]

Howard and Beverly hit the road, seeking shelter in a gothic mansion where they battle a girl named Patsy and her giant, animated-to-life gingerbread man.[32][33] They eventually end up in New York City, where Howard is nominated for President of the United States by the All-Night Party[33] and he later battles the Band of the Bland, alongside the Defenders.[34] A doctored-photo scandal leads him to Canada where he defeats a supervillain, the Beaver, who caused the scandal. The Beaver falls to his death in a battle with Howard.[35] Howard then suffers a nervous breakdown and flees Bev and their situation on a bus. Unfortunately, the bus' passengers are all believers in various weird cults, and try to interest Howard in them. His seatmates are Winda Wester and the Kidney Lady, a woman who believes that the soul of a person lives in their kidneys and attempts to stop anything she sees as "anti-kidney health." After the bus crashes, Howard and Winda are sent to a mental institution. There he meets Daimon Hellstrom, and is briefly possessed by Hellstrom's demonic soul, becoming the new Son of Satan.[36] Beverly and Paul manage to get them both back to Cleveland. Later, while on the S. S. Damned, a cruise ship returning from scenic Bagmom, Howard and Beverly are taken captive by Lester Verde. Verde had known Beverly in college and had a crush on her and had assumed the identity of the supervillain Doctor Bong,[37] who illegally marries Beverly against her will and transforms Howard into a human.[38][39]

After escaping back to New York and being restored to his natural form, Howard is hired as a dishwasher by Beverly's uncle, Lee Switzler. Howard is later reunited with Dakihm the Enchanter, the Man-Thing, Korrek and Jennifer Kale, and they all battle the demon Bzzk'Joh. Korrek pilots the ship the Epoch Weasel and drops Howard back off at Cleveland before he and their allies fly away.[40][41] Howard finally meets up with the cruise ship that rescued Paul and Winda from Doctor Bong, and finds that Paul and Winda have befriended socialite Iris Raritan.

Howard is later kidnapped by the Ringmaster and his Circus of Crime. Winda is abandoned by Paul and Iris and Paul is shot and left in a coma.[42][43] After defeating the Circus of Crime, Howard is plagued by pessimistic dreams and goes his way alone, just as he had at the series' beginning.[44]

Writer Bill Mantlo, beginning with issue #30, returned the series to its former status quo, bringing Beverly back into the picture and having her divorce Doctor Bong. Howard's creator Steve Gerber, who left the series after issue #27, originally intended for Beverly and Bong's marriage to be lasting and for Beverly to be written out of the series from that point on. Howard and Beverly's friend Paul, who had ended up in a coma after he had previously been shot by the Ringmaster, awakens from his coma and is released from the hospital. Beverly's uncle Lee brings everyone back to Cleveland and employs Howard as a cab driver, while Paul, back to being a somnambulist after his release from the hospital, becomes Winda's boyfriend. Howard dons a suit of "Iron Duck" armor made by Claude Starkowitz, a man who has delusions of being related to Tony Stark and dreams of being the personal armorer to Iron Man, and battles Doctor Bong in the final issue of the original 70s Howard the Duck series (issue #31).[45][46] Howard later encounters Dracula[47] and even once returns to Duckworld.[48] At the end of the nine-issue magazine series, Howard leaves Beverly (at her request) and is later offered a genetically-constructed female duck mate, whom he does not take to.[49]

On a later occasion, She-Hulk accidentally pulls Howard though a cosmic wormhole along with theoretical physicist Brent Wilcox and they are able to prevent other universes from crowding out Earth-616. During this time, Howard meets a character called the Critic, travels to a dimension known as the Baloneyverse and again battles a group called the Band of the Bland, whom he had previously battled with the Defenders.[50][51][52]

In an encounter with Peter Parker and Ben Reilly (the then-current Spider-Man), Howard gets a rematch with the Circus of Crime and the Circus is defeated. During the fight, Howard and Beverly get stuck in a warehouse full of anthropomorphic ducks, briefly meeting the Savage Dragon and Destroyer Duck. Parker and Reilly leave the warehouse believing that they have the correct versions of Howard and Beverly with them. However, in the Savage Dragon/Destroyer Duck companion story that takes place simultaneously and that was written by Gerber, it is explained that the version of Howard and Beverly that left the warehouse with Parker and Reilly are simply clones taken by mistake and that the real Howard and Beverly actually left the scene with Savage Dragon and Destroyer Duck .[53]

The sorceress Jennifer Kale, in a weekly attempt to return Howard to his home world, inadvertently teleports Devil Dinosaur and Moon-Boy into her New York apartment. The disoriented dinosaur attempts to eat Howard, but spits him out when shot with John Blaze's hellfire gun. Devil Dinosaur and Moon-Boy then rampage through the city before being subdued by Ghost Rider (Daniel Ketch). Howard says that he relates to the pair being trapped in a world they never made before wandering off.[54][55]

Heroes RebornEdit

After a brief series of adventures with Generation X,[56] Howard gets a job as a department store Santa Claus, which gets him dragged to the North Pole where the real Santa Claus has sold out to HYDRA.[57] Howard goes through several dimensions, apparently through the power of Man-Thing, who can now talk but does not understand this new, unknown ability, and lands on a version of Duckworld where his parents are essentially Ward and June Cleaver, he has a sister named Princess, and he is regarded as a hero because his activities on Earth-616 were recognized by Duckworld's version of Reed Richards. This origin traces the source of these dimensions to be projections from Franklin's mind. Throughout the course of the adventure, Howard has a romance with Tana Nile, culminating in a kiss, after which he apologizes and tells her of his attachment to Beverly.[58][59][60] When Franklin understands that he has shaped all of these worlds, the group finds themselves back in the Man-Thing's swamp. While Man-Thing becomes a self-appointed guardian to Franklin Richards, Howard goes off on his own and is captured by the Cult of Entropy, who wrap him in swaddling clothes.[61] Although last seen in the swamp, Howard states that he was thrown into baggage and transported on a plane. The cult wants Howard because he has part of the Nexus of All Realities, which shattered during Heroes Reborn, inside of him. Man-Thing then enters Howard's mouth, and Howard vomits him back out with the fragment, but Man-Thing is left desiccated and practically dead.[62] Howard then encounters Namor, who thought he had slain Man-Thing, but Howard explains that he would not be lugging his friend's body around if that were the case. Howard sets the Man-Thing down in the water, and he revives during Howard's conversation with Namor. Once he sees that the Man-Thing is alive and well, he bids Namor farewell and says that he is returning to Cleveland.[63]

Years later, back with Beverly, he undergoes further shapeshifting experiences after an accident at a chemical facility of Doctor Bong's. Beverly is hired by Bong's Globally Branded Content Corporation, which manufactures boy bands from protein vats based on the sexual arousal of a focus group of gay men. Attempting to destroy an escapee whom Beverly has taken in, Bong inadvertently knocks Howard into a vat, which changes him, unstably, into a rat.[64] When Howard later showers, he changes his form multiple times before again permanently returning to the form of the giant rat. Verde then goes to the press and claims that his building was attacked by Osama el-Barka ("Osama the Duck" in Arabic). Howard and Beverly are sent back on the road after the junkyard office where they are living is destroyed by a S.W.A.T. team.[65] Denied admittance to every possible shelter due to lack of funds, the pair and their dog find a sign for the Boarding House of Mystery, but are taken to the police station for questioning and strip searches by Suzy Pazuzu, with whom Beverly had attended high school. One of the officers on the case is the same beat cop who mistook Howard for a mutant many years before. Suzy is the inheritor of the doucheblade, which starts to take her over when she wears an enchanted bracelet. In a skirmish, the bracelet is caught by Howard causing him to be the wielder of the doucheblade. The doucheblade causes its holder to grow enormous bare breasts and armor in a parody of Witchblade, and, possessed by this, Howard kills the male lover of a businessman who works with Verde as he and Verde break into Suzy's house.[66]

Arriving at the Boarding House of Mystery, Howard and Beverly encounter Cain and Abel, the latter with a rock stuck in his head that allows him only moments of lucidity. There, they are granted their every wish, including Howard's return to his true form, and Beverly never being poor again, and meet parodies of John Constantine, Wesley Dodds, the Endless, Spider Jerusalem, and Gerber's own Nevada (called Utah), all characters from DC Comics' Vertigo imprint. The downside to the House is that everyone staying there gets their every wish; so Che Guevara can have his revolution, but someone else can easily slaughter him.[67] One tenant, a writer named Mr. Gommorah (a parody of Spider Jerusalem), later takes Beverly and Howard to be on the Iprah show with the topic "Why Women Give It to Men Who Don't Get It", guest starring Dr. Phlip.

Upon leaving the House of Mystery, Howard is once again transformed into an anthropomorphic mouse. It is revealed that Iprah has been merged with an experiment by the Angel Gabriel called Deuteronomy, intended to replace God, because God has been spending all his time in a bar in Hell since 1938. Deuteronomy is a creature half-id and half-superego, while Iprah is an all-ego promoter of self-indulgent pop psychology. Considering her dangerous, Gabriel sends the cherub Thrasher to resurrect Sigmund Freud, whose cigar blasts out half of Thrasher's brains (being immortal, this just makes him act drunk). Iprah destroys Freud, but Howard blasts her with the cigar, separating her from Deuteronomy. Puffing on the cigar, Howard disintegrates and arrives in Hell.[68] He is eventually freed by Yah, a being who claims to be "God".[69]

Civil WarEdit

Sometime later, Howard attempts to register under the Superhero Registration Act during the superhero Civil War, but learns his socially disrupted life has created so many bureaucratic headaches that the government's official policy is that Howard does not exist. This lack of government oversight delights him: "For the rest of my life, no more parking tickets, or taxes, or jury duty. Heck, I couldn't even vote if I wanted to!" In this story, Howard says he was pressured to give up his cigars.[70]

After he defeats the supervillain M.O.D.O.T.’s (Mobile Organism Designed Only for Talking) scheme to control the public through mass media, his attorney, Jennifer Walters, successfully restores his citizenship, including all relevant responsibilities.[71]

Secret InvasionEdit

Howard the Duck is briefly seen as part of the superpowered army gathered to battle invading Skrull forces.[72] He is seen armed with a pistol and wearing a Skrull's hand around his neck.[73] He is later seen kicking a Skrull during interrogation after the invasion.[74] Brian Michael Bendis has commented when asked of Howard: "That character has shown up in six issues I've done, and I've never typed the words Howard the Duck."[75]

Marvel Zombies 5Edit

Main article: Marvel Zombies 5

In Marvel Zombies 5, Howard the Duck of Earth-616 teams up with Machine Man to travel across the multiverse fighting zombies.[76]

Fear ItselfEdit

During the Fear Itself storyline, Howard forms a team called the Fearsome Four with She-Hulk, Frankenstein's Monster and Nighthawk to stop the Man-Thing when he goes on a rampage in Manhattan, due to the fear and chaos he senses on the citizens. They later discover a plot by Psycho-Man to use the Man-Thing's volatile empathy to create a weapon.[77]

Spider-Man: Back in QuackEdit

Howard and Beverly are brainwashed and forced to work for Save Our Offspring From Indecency (S.O.O.F.I.) as Cynical Duck and Swizzle. They promote S.O.O.F.I. at a public speech held for them by J. Jonah Jameson. Spider-Man later interrupts a S.O.O.F.I. indoctrination at the New York Public Library, and Beverly and the other S.O.O.F.I.s see Spidey as a semi-demonic figure and attack him. Spidey escapes with Howard and breaks his brainwashing when Beverly is threatened. Howard quickly explains S.O.O.F.I.'s goals to Spider-Man. As Spider-Man publicly announces his long-standing support for S.O.O.F.I., Howard confronts Bev as she stands beside the Supreme S.O.O.F.I. Howard is able to break through to Beverly, reminding her of their past together. The Supreme S.O.O.F.I. orders the S.O.O.F.I.s to throw the pair into the special Blanditron at Guantanamo Bay, but Beverly keeps them at bay with a whip. Spidey attacks the S.O.O.F.I.s and unmasks the Supreme S.O.O.F.I., while the others escape through their teleporter. Howard states that he believes S.O.O.F.I. will lay low for a while after such a defeat and he also hopes that the group's Florida Everglades base might lead them to meet up with the Man-Thing.[78]

The Ducky DozenEdit

Because of his experience with zombie-infested worlds and his leadership of Machine Man, Howard is chosen as the leader of, as he dubs them, the Ducky Dozen. The team is composed of him, several Golden Age heroes, Dum-Dum Dugan, and Battlestar, who is also a veteran of a zombie incident. Upon entering Earth-12591, the Ducky Dozen fight hordes of zombie Nazis and Asgardians, but suffer grave losses as the team's members are either killed or zombified during the battle. After successfully accomplishing their mission, Howard, Dugan, Taxi Taylor and Battlestar are the only members to survive and return to Earth-616 along with the Riveter, the only survivor of Earth-12591's resistance team, the Suffragists.[79][80]

Wolverine and the X-MenEdit

Howard later teams up with his friend Doop to battle the Robo-Barbarians in Dimension ZZZ. They beat the horde back with nothing but a broken sword, a rubber chicken with nails in it and a gun that shoots bees.[81]

Original SinEdit

After the death of Uatu the Watcher and the activation of the secrets buried in his eye, Howard discovers that he has the potential to be the most intelligent being in Duckworld. After evading a squirrel while driving, he is thrown flying from his vehicle but uses his intellect to calculate a way to land safely in a nearby dumpster.[82]

Back to New YorkEdit

Howard returns to his business as a private eye, working in the same building as She-Hulk, in Brooklyn. One of his first new clients is Jonathan Richards, who hires Howard to retrieve a necklace stolen by the Black Cat. With the help of Tara Tam, his new friend and assistant, Howard manages to recover the necklace. However, on his way to give it back to Richards, he finds himself kidnapped by the Collector and allied with the Guardians of the Galaxy to escape the villain, who was attempting to add Howard to his collection of rare space objects and entities. Upon returning to Earth, Howard is robbed by May Parker, Spider-Man's aunt, and later re-encounters the Ringmaster, who is revealed to have brainwashed the elderly into committing robberies. After recovering the necklace for a third time, Howard is approached by Richards in the middle of his fight against the Ringmaster and Richards reveals himself to be Talos the Untamed, who reveals that the necklace was part of a marginally powerful item known as the Abundant Glove. With help from Doctor Strange, Howard and Tara locate the final piece of the Abundant Glove, but are unable to put it back together when Talos grabs it and proceeds to use it to wreak havoc on the city. Talos is confronted by numerous heroes while Howard and Tara take cover. Howard is able to point out that Tara, who is revealed to possess shapeshifting powers similar to that of a Skrull, could help him defeat Talos. Tara used her powers to impersonate Skrull Emperor Kl'rt (the Super-Skrull), distracting Talos long enough for Howard to snatch the Abundant Glove from his hand. Talos is later apprehended by the Fantastic Four and everything returns to normal.[83]

Afterwards, with the help of new arrival Gwenpool, Howard prevented HYDRA from infecting the world with a deadly virus.[84] He also has a crossover event with The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl.[85] Howard the Duck is shown to be living in the She-Hulk's apartment building when Patsy Walker moved out.[86]

Civil War IIEdit

During the Civil War II storyline, Howard the Duck is among the building tenants that learn from Patsy Walker what happened to She-Hulk following the fight against Thanos.[87]

War of the RealmsEdit

Howards last name, Duckson, is revealed in War of the Realms: War Scrolls #1.

Young biochemist Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis, a native of Omaha, Nebraska,[28] is working in the Everglades as part of Dr. Wilma Calvin's Project: Gladiator team, which includes Dr. Barbara Morse and her fiancé Dr. Paul Allen, and an assistant named Jim. A Dr. Wendell is later cited as being on the staff after Dr. Calvin is shot.[29] The group is attempting to recreate the Super-Soldier Serum that had created Captain America.[30] Web of Spider-Man (vol. 2) #6 revealed that Sallis at one point treated and worked alongside Dr. Curtis Connors shortly after Connors' arm was amputated, driving the research that would eventually transform Connors into the Lizard.

Though warned that the technological terrorist group Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.) has been operating in the area, Sallis breaches security by bringing with him his lover, Ellen Brandt (referred to here as "Miss Brandt", but later retconned to be his wife). He destroys his notes to his formula, which he has memorized. Later, he is ambushed by two thugs and learns that Brandt has betrayed him. Fleeing with the only sample of his serum, he injects himself with it in hopes of saving himself. However, he crashes his car into the swamp where scientific and, as Man-Thing #1 later explained, magical forces combine to instantly transform him into a slow-moving plant-matter creature with large, solid red eyes.[31] Unable to speak, and with dim memories, he attacks the ambushers and Brandt, burning and scarring part of her face with an acid that he now secretes in the presence of negative emotions. The Man-Thing then wanders away into the swamp.[32]

Sallis' mind was apparently extinguished, although on rare occasions he could briefly return to consciousness within his monstrous form, as in Doctor Strange (vol. 2) #41 (June 1980), The Defenders (vol 1) #98 (August 1981), and Peter Parker: Spider-Man Annual '99, and even to his human form, as in Adventure into Fear #13 (April 1973), Marvel Two-in-One #1 (January 1974), Marvel Comics Presents #164 (October 1994), and Man-Thing (vol. 3) #5 and 7-8 (April 1998, June–July 1998).

Under writer Steve Gerber, the Man-Thing encounters the sorceress Jennifer Kale, with whom he briefly shared a psychic link and who knew his true identity, in a story arc in Fear #11-13 – the final issue of which established that the swamp had mystical properties as the Nexus of Realities. Through an interdimensional portal in Fear #19, he meets Howard the Duck, who becomes stranded in this reality. The Man-Thing became the guardian of the Nexus, and found himself facing demons, ghosts and time-traveling warriors, while continuing to encounter such non-supernatural antagonists as rapacious land developers, fascist vigilantes and common criminals. He formed a bond with young radio DJ Richard Rory and nurse Ruth Hart. Issue #12's "Song-Cry of the Living Dead Man", about an crazed writer named Brian Lazarus, spawned Gerber's posthumously published 2012 sequel, "The Screenplay of the Living Dead Man", in the three-issue miniseries The Infernal Man-Thing.

In Man-Thing (vol. 2) #1-11 (November 1979 – July 1981), writer Chris Claremont introduced himself as a character in the final issue, as Gerber had in the finale of the first series. Additionally, Claremont temporarily became the Man-Thing after being stabbed to death. His and other characters' deaths were later resolved with the intervention of the War Is Hell series lead, John Kowalski, now an aspect of Marvel Comics' manifestation of Death. In Man-Thing (vol. 3) #1-8 (December 1997 – July 1998), Ellen Brandt Sallis returns to the Citrusville area and encounters a little boy, Job Burke, who is actually the Sallises' son, who had been put up for adoption. Following this series, the story continued in Strange Tales (vol. 4) #1-2, and was projected to continue in the unpublished issues #3-4. Summaries based on DeMatteis' unillustrated scripts appear on the K'Ad-mon and Ellen Brandt pages in Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe.[21][22]

During the "Civil War" storyline, two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents unsuccessfully attempt to register the Man-Thing under the Superhuman Registration Act.[33]

The Man-Thing later appears as a member of the Legion of Monsters alongside Morbius, the Living Vampire, the Werewolf by Night, the Manphibian, and N'Kantu, the Living Mummy.[34] He later gains the ability to speak comprehensibly through the use of the "Universal Language".[35] Phil Coulson subsequently recruits the Man-Thing for his incarnation of the Howling Commandos.[36]

As part of the All-New, All-Different Marvel branding, the Man-Thing appears as a member of S.T.A.K.E.'s Howling Commandos.[37]

During the "Empyre" storyline, Man-Thing falls under the control of the Cotati led by Ventri that were operating in the Savage Land.[38] Doctor Voodoo takes control of Man-Thing to free Matthew and Black Knight. As Matthew and Black Knight fight the Cotati, a Doctor Voodoo-controlled Man-Thing fights the Cotati's control and defeats Ventri.[39] As Doctor Voodoo exits Man-Thing to assist Scarlet Witch after Ka-Zar was stabbed by a Cotati using Black Knight's Ebony Blade, Man-Thing continued the fight against the Cotati. When the Cotati were defeated, Man-Thing takes his leave after being thanked by Black Knight. Ventri claims that what they learned from Man-Thing's energy has been sent to Quoi to fuel the Cotati's invasion.[40]

[travellvogue]

“Daddy, can you dress up with us?”- Trent Alexander-Arnold

Halloweek Imagines- Day 3:

The Halloween celebrations had certainly become more exaggerated since the two of you had kids, trick or treating wasn’t necessarily something the kids cared about- especially since they hardly had any sweets or chocolate anyway- but it was more the costumes, the dressing up, and pumpkin carving they cared about. So it was no surprise that your three babies had spent the day telling you all about their plans for their costumes, giggling to yourself as they mention being pieces of cheese… literal cheese… with their faces painted yellow.

You can still hear them chatting away between themselves upstairs in the playroom, your eldest, Cairo, taking charge of the situation as Jackson- his younger brother- chirps in. And your youngest, Sophia, doesn’t entirely have much of a say in the situation- she’d just started walking and only about blubber out a ‘mumma’ and ‘dadda’ when being persuaded with food. 

Trent’s car pulls into the driveway whilst you make dinner, instantly smiling at the sight of him walking towards the door, you craved this time of the evening, when he was home for the night, the kids always so excited to see daddy after he’d been at training all day. 

“Hi baby” he whispers, the kids were too caught up in discussing Halloween costumes that they hadn’t heard the key be pushed through the door, Trent taking the opportunity of peace and quiet to pay attention to his wife. 

There’s a thick smell of spaghetti bolognese lingering in the air- his favourite- humming at the smell as he puts his bags down and tip toes into the kitchen.

“How was training?” your bum taps against the counter, Trent pushing your body so you’re trapped between his own and the cold surface, having no other choice than to look up at him and press your lips against his puckered ones. He tasted like coffee, he usually does these days, at the beginning of your relationship he was never an avid coffee drinker, but with Captaining one of the biggest teams in the world and parenting three kids, sometimes a little caffeine boost was needed.

“Was good” he hums against your mouth, since there were no nosy kids asking for your attention he took the opportunity to snake his hands down your back and to the mound of your ass, giving it a good squeeze. “Missed ya” his head buried against your neck, inviting you to play with his curls. You hum in response, as much as you love that he’s living his dream, it would be nice to spend more time with him on a daily basis, especially now you have to share his attention with three mini-me’s you’d created together. 

“The kids have missed ya” you whisper, feeling him pull away slightly so he can look you in the eye. ‘Fall in love with someone's eyes, they never change’ his mother had told him, and god was she right, every time he caught the glimmer of yours he felt himself falling in love with you all over again. Sometimes he’d wonder if this was all a dream, seven years of marriage and three beautiful and healthy kids, he really couldn’t ask for more of a perfect life. 

“They’ve been planning out their Halloween costumes” you smile, watching his eyebrows raise in interest. Nodding towards the kitchen island where paper and crayons scatter across the shiny marble counter. 

“Princesses huh?” he smiles, flicking through the drawings the kids had done of themselves in pretty dresses and fitting prompts for their characters. The little frog next to Cairo’s drawing of himself hinting that he might want to go as Princess Tiana- not a surprise when he’d made mummy and daddy watch the movie over and over again.

“Mhm... be grateful, this morning they wanted to go as pieces of cheese” you laugh.

“Well they’d make grate pieces of cheese... get it?” he wiggles his eyebrows at the poor pun, watching you roll your eyes once the mess of a joke registers, the Dad-jokes had been out in full force recently.

“Daddyyyy” the two of you smile at the sound of the boys running down the stairs, Cairo holding Sophia as best as he could, her little legs dangling in the air, Trent quickly scooping her up and into her arms for a more comfy hold, her little blabbers and giggles making him coo at her. 

“Hi boys” Trent cheers, “Mummy was just showing me your costumes!” he explains, excitement washing over their bodies all over again at the mention of the topic. Cairo claps his hands and climbs up onto the bar stool next to his dad, grabbing at his picture. 

“We’re going to be princess daddy” he says proudly making your heart burst with joy. “I’m being Tiana… see there, with the green dress and froggy” he points out the details of his drawing, Trent nodding along patiently despite Jackson tugging at his leg ready to show daddy his drawing, and Soph pulling at the collar of his top- patience is a virtue when it comes to having three young kids. 

“That looks great buddy, and who’s J gonna be?” Trent asks, you have to help Jackson onto the other barstool, he didn’t quite have the height to get up independently. 

“Snow whiteeee!” Jackson cheers, waving the paper in the air. Soph’s little chubby hands reaching forward and grabbing the air to try and grasp at it. “And daddy guess what…!” he waits for Trent to show enthusiasm in his next piece of information.

“What? You’re gonna give me a poisonous apple?” Trent asks, Sophia giggling along in his lap as he bounces her on his knee.

“No silly” Jackson tuts, “That’s the witch, I’m snow white” Trent sighs in realisation at his mistake, looking over to you as you share a look, finding it funny how bosy the kids can get. “The d- d-” at his young age he struggles with the next word, you have to help him out and say ‘dwarfs’ so he can copy you. “Yeah, them” he nods, “They are gonna be the doggies!” he cheers, Trent let’s out a laugh, of course they were, any opportunity the kids got to dress the poor dogs in costumes, they grasped with both hands. 

“And mummy’s okay with this?” Trent raises his eyebrows at you, wondering if you’d agreed to let the kids have creative freedom when dressing up the dogs. You giggle and shrug your shoulders, as long as the dogs weren’t in any harm or discomfort you didn’t mind. 

“Tell daddy who you’re gonna be Soph” Cairo coos, it was cute to see him acting so grown up when it comes to his sister. Trent had certainly raised your boys to be very protective of their sister. Sophia simply coos and giggles in response, sucking on her fist and bouncing on Trent’s lap. You make a face at your youngest as you whisper “Moana!”. Trent smiles at the idea of your little girl dressed up in her Moana outfit. 

“Soph can you say: I am Moanaaaa” Trent sings, lifting her up into the air, your two boys finding it hilarious as they giggle and sing along to the movies most infamous song. 

“Daddy?” Cairo hums, nervously fiddling with the hem of his t-shirt, Trent turns his attention to your first born, waiting for him to continue. “Can you dress up with us?” you smile at his question, and when you look to Trent, your smile only grows. Within a heartbeat he’s answering; “Of course I can buddy… pick me a princess and I’ll dress up with you”. 

***

The costume discussion continues throughout the whole of dinner, spaghetti eventually turning cold on the kids plates, their conversation about dress colours, shoes, props and face paint seemed far more interesting than actually eating their food. Your two boys discussing who Trent could go as, right now it seemed a battle between Cinderella and Aurora- seeming to love the idea of dressing daddy in a mermaid's tail. All you and Trent can do is smile and laugh at their excitement.

Bath time was the same, poor Sophia sat clueless in the bath with her brothers whilst they decorated her head with mounds of bubbles, telling you they were giving her ‘moana hair’. Even up until bedtime they were discussing October thirty-first, their bedtime story was of course a Halloween themed one, the three of them cuddled up in their pyjamas with mini-illustrated pumpkins on them. “I love you daddy, you’re going to look beautiful as a princess” Jackson whispers gently, Trent tucking him into bed and gently kissing his head, inhaling the familiar scent of his baby, the two of you had certainly done a great job raising them. 

By the time you and Trent get into bed you're exhausted from the endless Halloween discussions. “I wonder what their dressing up as” Trent teases making you giggle, snuggling up close to him as he wraps an arm tightly around you.

“I love you so much, you have no idea” you whisper. He smiles at your words, and as he lays back and closes his eyes and hums “I think the ring on your finger and the three kids give me an idea

#trent alexander arnold #trent alexander arnold imagines #trent alexander arnold one shot #daddy trent #trent alexander arnold blurb #liverpool fc #england nt #halloweek

[stray-kids-react]

You go into little space

Masterlist

...

Bang Chan

* Protective caretaker mode has been activated, no matter what the situation is. *

° Chan came home from work, throwing his keys onto the kitchen counter. Soon noticing a cute crayon note stuck to the fridge with a magnet, 'Hi daddy! I hope work was good. I am in the room drawing, come join me!'

* Chan knew about little space, and understood that it was a way of you calming down from any stress. He was always willing to take care of you, and never got annoyed or weirded out like some people did. *

° Chan walked into the bedroom, noticing cute little stick fairies stuck all over the walls. Your tongue stuck out as you focused on coloring in one of the fairies dresses. Too focused to notice your care taker admiring you from afar.

"Hey princess/prince charming, did you draw these?"

° You nodded shyly, looking at the floor worried that he would be upset at the new decorations. But you relaxed when he cupped your face, pecking the top of your head softly.

"They look amazing y/n, which one is your favorite?"

° You pointed to the glittery blue fairy with large pigtails, unsticking it from the wall to hand it to him.

"That's mine too! I love the glitter, that was a nice touch."

Lee Know

* Is already whipped for you, but becomes even more soft when you go into little space*

° You were in the middle of shopping, when he noticed you shift into a more clingy and innocent faze. Minho looked at you with softened eyes, asking if you were alright. "Can we visit that store, please daddy?"

*Once Minho found out that you would sometimes go into little space, he researched everything about it to make sure he knew what to do. Constantly praising you for not being bratty or a bad girl/boy. *

° Minho guided you to the pajama store, wrapping his hand around your wrist gently. You skipped towards the sleeping masks, passing him a panda one and grabbing a cute glittery cat one for yourself.

"Does daddy look like this mask? Or do I look more like yours?"

° You tugged at the panda one, jumping up and down on the floor. Giggling excitedly when he would poke his face out from the mask, sometimes sticking his tongue out at you and making derp faces.

"Can we please get them? I really like this one~" You begged, pouting slightly.

° Minho loved seeing your bright smile, so he took it a step further and let you pick out one more. Chuckling when you clapped in joy.

"Let's go to the cash, and then we can go get some donuts. How does that sound munchkin?"

Changbin

* Changbin adored when you went into little space, always playing around with you. *

° You knew that Changbin was coming home in a couple minutes, and you decided to hide from him wanting to see if he could find you. Grabbing a flashlight, so you wouldn't be scared of the dark while in the closet.

*Changbin was really curious about little space, and let you explain everything to him. The next day, buying you a whole bunch of stuffies and glittery stickers. Letting you put one on his laptop, not planning on removing it anytime soon. *

° He walked in, noticing the empty bowl of ice cream with sprinkles left over. Changbin clued in that you were probably in little space, and played along with your hide & seek prank. Even though he could hear your small giggles from the closet.

"I wonder where my cutie pie went? Is she/he in the kitchen?"

° You jumped out of the closet with a cute rawr, making him "scream" in "fear". Placing a hand over his heart dramatically, he repeatedly praised you for being so "intimidating".

"I practiced my rawring all day, I wanted to surprise you daddy."

° He adored when you got all giddy after getting a reaction out of him, only encouraging him to be more dramatic each time. Sometimes even falling to the floor when you jump out of an obvious hiding spot.

"Get ready for supper cutie pie, I bought you your favorite pizza."

Hyunjin

* Loves when you go into little space, Becuase you both play around and he gets extra cuddles*

° You just woke up from a nap and wanted some attention, and you just so happened to jump into little space when you woke up. So you secretly grabbed one of your tiaras and planned on secretly placing it on Hyunjin.

*Hyunjin didn't know what little space was at first, so he let you guide him through all of the facts and duties of being a caretaker. He enjoyed when you became clingy, and used your light baby voice when asking for stuff. *

° Hyunjin immediately got into the character of a prince, assuming you were in little space. Voicing some of the barbies you brought out, and kissing a soft frog stuffed animal so it could turn back into a human.

"As prince of Amercanodale, I declare that Ken shall be released from jail."

° You soon grabbed different doll clothes, asking Hyunjin which one your dolls should wear. Asking for help with braiding the doll's hair, which he happily did along with some of his own hair.

"Can I bedazzle your hair? I have cute clips to use in it!"

° Hyunjin always allowed you to play with his hair, whether you be in little space of not. Loving that feeling of you stroking through his locks, and looking at him with only admiration and love.

"Use as many clips as you want beautiful, you can even use that hair chalk if you want."

Han

* Accidently found out about you going into little space, when he found your sticker stash*

° Jisung noticed your small pout throughout the day, noticing that you ran out of stickers and were in little space. He wanted to cheer you up so he took you onto a trip to the nearest dollar store, letting you pick out some stickers.

* Jisung knew about the basic things of Little Space, but never really looked into it until he found out that you used it as a stress relieving mechanism. He won't tell the members unless you are comfortable with it*

° You specifically picked out a pack of animal stickers that included some squirrels, sticking one on his cheek once he bought them for you. Pointing out that he reminds you of the sticker that you stuck on him.

"I look like the squirrel?... As long as you like squirrels than it's okay. *Chuckles*"

° You kissed the sticker on his cheek, and soon went on a rant about how much you love squirrels. Mentioning their fluffy tails, and cute cheeks that hold so much food. Not realizing how long you were ranting.

"Do you like Squirrels? Or are you more of a chipmunk lover?"

° Jisung thought wisely about which option would offend you the least, soon going with the most neutral answer. Explaining that he likes both and finds them just as cute as you do, loving the way your eyes sparkled in joy.

"Even though they are both cute, nothing can compare to my little squish y/n."

Felix

* The cutest and cuddliest caretaker ever, loves when you become his own personal backpack and pillow*

° You were both heading home from dinner with the boys, and by the last ten minutes he noticed you switch into little space. Getting hints by your constant clingy hugs, and never letting go of his hand.

* You told him about your shifts little space when you were serious enough in the relationship. Letting all of the anxiety you had leave your body, when he simply nodded and sent you a soft reassuring smile. *

° Felix tucked you under the soft sheets of your shared bed, brushing away any stray hairs from your face. Letting you choose a bedtime story to read to you, rubbing a soft circle across your stomach as he read aloud.

"The prince left a soft kiss upon aurora's lips, watching as her lovely eyes fluttered open."

° Felix constantly glanced at your increasingly tired state, thanks to mixture of his deep soothing voice and soft delicate hands. His hand trained up to your cheek, pressing his thumb against the corner of your lips.

"Before I go to sleep, can I have a goodnight kiss? Pleeeaassee~"

° Felix giggled at your dramatic begging, but caved into your needy yet calm cuteness. Placing small playful pecks all over your face, before landing his last one across your smile gently. Staying on your lips for a couple seconds longer than the rest.

"Goodnight sleeping beauty, wake me if you need anything. Even if it's just cuddles."

Seungmin

* Spoils you when you are in little space, just because you are too cute to say no too. *

° Hyunjin won a bet against Seungmin, so he had to go out and buy a toy for Kkami. You tagged along because you wanted to spend time with Seungmin and see some cute kittens. But you shifted into little space while looking at the kittens and babying them.

* Seungmin clued into small habits and hints you showed while going into little space, such as changing your voice, pouting, & being 10× more hyper than usual. Soon bringing emergency toys, just in case. *

° Seungmin asked an employee if you were able to hold one of the kittens, soon getting an answer when he unlocked the cage that the small kitten slept in. You held it close to you, making small baby noises during it.

"I wonder if Hyunjin would get mad if we came home with a kitten instead of a toy."

° You heard his sentence, but you were too focused on making the kitten purr louder for affection. Soon exclaiming in joy when it cuddled into your hand, making Seungmin comb his fingers through the soft fur.

"I think it likes me! Or maybe it just wants food... Either way I'm getting cuddles~"

° Seungmin saw the kitten a while back when he went shopping with Hyunjin for dog food, and knew that it needed someone who would love it unconditionally. So he ended up driving home with and furry lump asleep on his lap.

"We're home and brought something extra special, I hope Kkami doesn't mind cat fur."

Jeongin

*The only time he will let you call him oppa or daddy, understanding it's part of Little space*

° You were terrified of the loud storm that was happening outside, so you rushed to your boyfriend's dorm to try and calm down. Bringing a couple extra presents while in your child like splurge of ideas.

*Jeongin enjoyed playing with you, loving the innocent gaze you gave everytime he used a big word. Sometimes he would shift into little space with you without realizing, but he secretly enjoyed the feeling *

° Jeongin turned on a couple flashlights while strapping on the adorable hat you brought, asking if your wanted any drinks or snacks. Holding your hand while walking to the kitchen for some chips and soda.

" You don't have to be scared of anything, oppa is right here and won't let anything happen."

° You nodded still a bit cautious thanks to the booming thunder outside, but that only led to him holding onto you closer while walking back to the room. Shooing your irrational scary thoughts away.

"You're the best oppa ever Innie, thanks for the yummy snacks and cuddles."

° He played music off of his phone to try and distract you from the loud storm outside, feeding you chips and giving a cute bendy straw for your drink. Chuckling silently when you fell asleep with crumbs all over you.

"You such a cute little sunshine y/n, have a good rest cutie."

#stray kids #changbin #kpop #hyunjin #jeongin #lee know #skz scenarios #stray kids reactions #bang chan #han jisung #skz rp #skz requests #skz reactions #skz room #skz smut #skz fluff #skz imagines #skz seungmin #lee felix fluff #little space #skz x you #skz x y/n #skz x reader #stay

[not-close-to-straight]

You did such a lovely job with Tony cleaning out his apartment, it was so heartwrenching when he saw how bad it actually was, now that all their personal items were missing. But Peggy said exactly what I wanted to tell him, that Peter knows that Tony loves him and he's not going to rmbr the shitty place they lived, only the happy memories they were still able to make together despite their situation. ^-^ Peggy getting all tearful had me start as well, and I'm very happy with their "goodbye", bc she definitely is family and I know Steve would have no problem inviting the other Alpha over for dinner. OMFG CLINT THO! I honestly loved their exchange, how he is so good at giving advice and such, but still gives a hearty helping of inappropriate comments in between. The line about Cinderella getting her back blown out definitely had me crying laughing. XD. I sure hope Clint is able to get a better job too, he doesnt deserve to be in that situation either! Steve and Peter painting were so so cute and sweet, and I loved Steve pretending to get all offended when Tony called it a mess. Steve already planning on what else to buy and what to do next was so sweet too, I love how he's just jumped right in to fatherhood too. Oh my gosh and their intimate moments in the shower and afterwards were so lovely!! It was incredibly sexy and hot too of course, but I just loved how their emotions were running high, being apart for so long until now, when Tony was ready to really be in a relationship with Steve. And Steve being so understanding when Tony apologized was perfect too, I just loved everything about that scene!!!! Oh and Tony saying that he didn't need rescuing, just some help, was so good too, I loved it! The hint of Bucky and Nat turning into Those Auntie and Uncle was fantastic too! 💖💖💖

OKAY

The line about Cinderella getting her back blown out. I literally laughed out loud writing that. Because one of my favorite genres is like, "grown up fairy tales" where we see the reality of a story or the after of the ball or the ick factor of having to kiss a frog... anything like that. So for Clint to just be so sure that Cinderella's happily ever after wasn't being a princess but apparently having the Prince had some top tier dick game is SO FUNNY.

The painting scene turned out so cute. I was rereading our emails and I know we've had that painting scene planned out for SO LONG and it just ended up being wonderful.

Honestly its a little weird to finally be writing some of these scenes cos it's literally been a year since we started talking about it. A WHOLE DAMN YEAR and now I'm actually getting to publish the moments and I'm like, super weirdly nostalgic about it lol

[pastelsandpining]

Bittersweet

Previous | Next

Summary: Link stays a moment with a friend to think about the princess and her valiant, endless fight against evil incarnate--and what she might mean to him.

Words: 2112

Warnings: questioning of faith, survivor’s guilt if you squint, let me know if there’s anything I missed, it’s kind of just super bittersweet haha

Masterlist

Please do not comment anything HWAOC related as I do not want to be spoiled! :)

______

“Master Link, are you alright?”

The Rito bard meant well. He was one of the many who’d been nothing but kind and helpful towards him since the very beginning. Yet his question made Link pause the drumming of his fingers against the wooden platform and frown.

“I’m just thinking,” he decided to say as he looked up.

“Ah,” sighed the bard, who turned his gaze towards the vast expanse of Hyrule. “Yes, happens to the best of us. Would you perhaps like some company?”

Link shrugged with a gesture to the open area besides him. 

“I apologize if I overwhelmed you with my song,” spoke Kass again as he took a seat. “But I suppose everything is a little overwhelming.”

“That’s generous,” Link replied simply and busied his fingers with the Sheikah Slate. He tapped through the compendium, through the photo album, through the map, just to have something to look at other than his friend. And after a moment of thought, he shuffled back from the edge of the platform. “She’d kill me herself if I dropped this.”

“Do you remember much about her?” Kass asked, ending another stretch of silence. 

Link frowned again, tracing the swirling patterns with his fingers. What could he say, really?

Everything from the mossy trees to the breath that sustained life carried the Princess of Hyrule with it. There were bits of her everywhere. 

She was nothing more than another ghost in the beginning—a face he couldn’t make out, a voice that called from nothing, a girl he should know but could not recall. But when he stood under the arching gate of Lanayru Promenade, with the overgrown grass scratching his boots and chilled wind from the mountain biting his nose, her face became as clear as crystal.

And suddenly, every petal of a Silent Princess carried her name, and every gust of wind echoed her voice, and every touch of the sun’s light mimicked her smile, and every Hot Footed Frog was a hypothesis, and every piece of Sheikah technology he uncovered was her passion, and every drop of rain was her grief, and every deactivated guardian was a totem of her power, and every glance towards the castle was a token of her love.

There were glimpses of her hiding a smile behind her hand. There were glimpses of her fingers brushing so softly against his that he wasn’t sure any of it was real. There were glimpses of his fingers tracing gentle lines over the shapes of her face while she slept. A kiss, light as a feather, to the inside of her wrist. A grab of her hand as they ran for safety. She was the heartbeat that kept Hyrule alive, and there were so few who knew that—but he did.

“She’s everywhere,” Link answered softly, wondering vaguely if she could see him or hear him from the confines of her prison. If she could, the wind was quiet.

Kass gave no response, but his gaze was something understanding, and he was compelled to continue speaking.

“I don’t remember everything,” he said and fiddled with the Slate again. “I don’t think I ever will. I didn’t know where to start at first. But she left me pictures and now everything reminds me of her. Sometimes she’s the only thing I know, and I don’t even know her.”

“Would you like to?” Kass asked, as if he really had a choice in the matter.

“I don’t even know if she’s alive,” Link spoke, but it wasn’t quite true. He couldn’t be certain, but a part of him simply felt that Zelda was, somehow, very much alive. It came with every warning she whispered out when the blood red moon was high in the sky. It came with every tap to the Sheikah Slate, which she once held and studied so dearly. It came with every glance towards Hyrule Castle, and each feeling of dread, of guilt that it caused. It came with every memory of her, whether she be submerged in a spring or invested in her studies. It came with the very life that filled the kingdom—the life that she’d been draining herself of for the past century.

“She is stronger than anyone gave her credit for. I would love to meet her.”

“She’s smart,” Link added, turning his gaze back to the ancient piece of technology in his hands. “Too smart. Research was her passion, and all that remains of it is with me. I hate to keep her waiting.”

“For you, Master Link, I believe she would wait however long it takes.”

If it were possible, she would. But fighting took so much that she didn’t have a forever to give. She’d served enough time.

“You said she loved me,” Link spoke at last. The words made his heart twist violently, like it wanted to wring out all of the pain. 

“Loves, yes,” Kass said softly, setting a feathered wing on his shoulder. “She loves many things and many people, and she loves very deeply. I believe it was my teacher’s one mistake—her sacrifice was not solely for you. Yet one does not throw themselves into the aim of a kill without harboring a deep connection.”

Link turned his gaze towards the castle again, wondering not for the first time if perhaps he’d loved her too. He woke with nothing, with hardly a name to himself, and still he followed her. She was but an echo in a vast and darkened tomb, and still he was compelled to listen to her, to obey her, to call out to this being that filled him with such a foreign familiarity. He’d never met her—not in this Hyrule, but he craved getting her back from the thing that had separated them a century ago. And he knew that simply being a knight devoted to his kingdom didn’t sink this far. Her voice was a comfort, her face in his memories was a safety he didn’t know he’d lost, and a simple knight attendant wouldn’t dream to see her smile, rumored as warm as the sun, with his own eyes.

And faintly, he could remember the feeling of her lips on his—a moment of clarity in what must’ve been the worst birthday on record. Goddesses, what he wouldn’t do to have her back.

“Can you love someone you don’t know?” Link wondered aloud, watching the clouds move slowly over the darkening backdrop of the sky. 

“There are little rules that love follows. Once you accept that, I think, then answers come easy.”

A soft sigh slipped past his lips. Kass was right of course, just as he always was, even if he didn’t know what to say to someone with a situation as twisted as his.

He knew Zelda before, had loved her before—and if the demon of destruction Calamity Ganon had become could surpass lifetimes on hatred alone, then why couldn’t love last past a century? It made him all the more anxious to end this, because only then would he know for sure. Only seeing her before him, feeling if she was truly solid, would answer his questions. And she was the only tie he had to his life over one hundred years ago.

“And if I fail? Again?” Link asked, and the weight of the Master Sword doubled, like the burden had never left his shoulders after all—because it hadn’t.

Everyone he’d met, they were all depending on him. And if he failed, then the events of a century ago would repeat. There would be no resurrection shrine this time, no sacred princess to hold the Calamity back as they waited for their hero. 

“I believe our fates have been set out long before us. There’s no changing what the goddesses have in store. Whatever happens was always meant to happen, and no fault for that lies on your shoulders, Master Link.”

“Would they let their kingdom burn?” Link said, gripping the Slate so tightly that his knuckles whitened. “Would they turn their backs on us again, on Zelda, after we’ve done nothing but show them loyalty?”

“Do you believe they would?”

He turned his gaze away, because he did. They’d already done so in the years they ignored Zelda’s pleadings. They’d already done so by allowing the slaughtering of Hyrule as their princess begged and cried for those same people to be saved. They’d done so by making their goddess incarnate wonder whether or not she was meant to be who she was. And they’d done so by ripping him from her grasp, then dropping him back into existence with nothing but a body and a deep, foreign sense of grief. And maybe this anger, this blame he felt towards the goddesses was not helping them to grant him the kindness he knew he needed for this journey. They’d taken everything from him, and now they expected him to turn to them for help and grovel at their feet and beg them to save their own kingdom.

How cruel the deities could be.

“It’s alright,” Kass continued, as if he simply knew. “I think everyone doubts their faith at times. With the suffering you’ve endured, how could you not?”

“What do you think?” Link asked. “About the gods.”

For once, the bard did not have an immediate reply. He hummed as he thought, and Link took to watching the first few stars peek through the dusk. A light twinkling at the end of the darkness. The irony was not lost on him.

“I think the more time that passes, the more clouded it becomes,” the Rito said at last. “The details of the goddesses become fuzzy, and we take to retelling victories alone. I think the gods of our world are very old, and communications have dwindled even in hours like these because they, too, are tired. But I know that we will never truly understand the gods. Oh, we may have our theories, but they have existed far longer than us.”

Link wondered partially if that was true. The sword told the tale of a thousand lifetimes, with a hero’s spirit tied to each one. And with every hero, there was a daughter of Hylia to go with them.

At this point, living a century after the time he once belonged in, he absolutely felt like a god that had lived forever. 

“I’m angry,” Link admitted, though he was sure he didn’t have to. “I’m angry they turned their back on us, and I’m angry for Zelda—that she’s had to fight alone for the past century after everything else she’d been through.”

“Are you also not fighting alone?” Kass asked. 

“No.” His reply was immediate, coming without a second thought, because he’d never truly been alone for any of this. Even before he met his newfound friends, Zelda guided him. And he could do no more than whisper into the air and hope that it carried on the winds to her, and that she was listening. “I’m not alone.”

“Neither is she,” the bard assured. “As long as there are people who remember her, and as long as you stand with intentions to help her, she will never be alone.”

The words made his voice catch and his lip tremble, so Link ducked his head and fiddled with the gloves over his hands. 

Zelda deserved the world as soon as she got out of her prison. It was time he stopped with his fears, because she was counting on him. All of Hyrule was counting on him—again. And he needed her like he’d known her his whole life.

“You'll be the first to meet her,” Link promised as he glanced to his friend. “She’ll love you.”

“It would be my honor, truly. And perhaps then I will write my own song about a boy who traversed mountains and deserts for the girl he held dear, and a girl who brought destruction to its knees for the people she loved.”

Link cracked a smile and said, “As long as I’m the first to hear it.”

“Oh, of course.”

He turned his gaze back towards the sky. The moon was just beginning to peak over the horizon, as big and white and calming as it belonged. He wondered vaguely if, wherever she was within that castle, she could see it too.

“I think I do love her,” he said softly.

“And there is no shame in that,” Kass replied. Another feathered wing was set upon his shoulder. He was grateful for the comfort. “I have faith that you will get her back for us. For you.”

“I’ll do anything.”

And he meant it.

#zelink #breath of the wild #botw zelink #link #botw link #legend of zelda #go get her link :')

[sukurarose92]

I’ve been watching Brave again

I absolutely LOVE the Disney Pixar movie Brave! There is so so so SO much to unpack about this movie that just gives me absolute stimming levels of joy and I'm gonna go into some of them because these are points that I feel Disney got right in this film and that we need to see more of in future movies. Strap in theydies and gentlethem, here we go! (a disclaimer here. I’m mostly counting movies that came out before Brave back in 2012. Disney is doing better with some of their newer movies on some of these fronts but a lot of this is based on the Disney movies I grew up with in the 90’s and early 00’s. This is also about PRINCESS movies, not just Disney movies in general.)

The absolute RESPECT them have for women. I don’t know if this is just because of Elinor’s character or if it’s because Merida and Elinor are royalty (I'm not counting Maudie because she is made to be a joke character and she’s the only other woman we get any interaction with) but I adore seeing an entire room of screaming and fighting men part like the ocean for Moses for a woman to walk through. They go silent when they speak, they remove their helms and bow to them and show the women the utmost respect and for someone who grew up on Disney movies where the women were meek and spoken over constantly this just made me so inordinately happy.  

Disney movies have this lovely habit of building up how stunningly beautiful a princess is, to the degree that most couples were “love at first sight” or she was simply “the most beautiful girl in the town/city/beach/etc”. It's practically a prerequisite of falling in love that they have to be beautiful and have that beauty commented on by someone, usually the love interest. In Brave, Merida’s beauty is commented on ONCE, by her mother (“to win the fair maiden they must prove their worth by feats of strength or arms in the games”) and that’s it. It's certainly not mentioned by any of the men because that is not what’s focused on for her. Merida’s focuses are her strength, bravery, resourcefulness, independence, and lastly her beauty. She is beautiful, it’s simply not the thing that’s focused on the most. She’s not turned into a sexualized icon for male gaze, she looks her age.  

FAMILY DYNAMIC!!!!! Okay, so there is ONE other movie with any kind of parent/child dynamic that is actually a focus and isn’t positive and that’s “the little mermaid”. But that dynamic is only used as a means to push ariel into the arms of her love interest, it’s a side plot, not a focus of the movie. Brave is different in this aspect. Not only is the main relationship focused on in this movie a familial one, it’s about a mother and daughter, (no daddy issues in this house) which gives us TWO female leads. (about time~). Not only is the dynamic between the mother/daughter explored we get a functioning family. Merida has siblings!!! (this is pretty new. First time we get a disney movie focused on siblings was frozen) She has BOTH PARENTS!!!! And they’re happily married and in love! Her parent’s relationship is actually expanded on, we get to see their love work. We see them working through issues together, we see Fergus support Elinor when she can’t talk to Merida and we see Elinor help Fergus when he doesn’t know what to say during the gathering. We see them kiss and hold onto each other and smile and laugh and see them in a happy relationship together and that is such a wonderful step for Disney to take. I adored seeing a happy and healthy family with loving parents and a fun sibling dynamic that’s pretty darn accurate if you ask me to what having younger siblings is like.  

Another thing about this movie that I really really REALLY love is that this is the first Disney PRINCESS movie where the heroine knows how to fight. Merida not only uses her Bow and Arrow and is canonically “the greatest archer in the land” she also sword fights and can throw a grown, if not scrawny, man over her shoulder. She fights her father and manages to take him down temporarily. She’s willing to fight a bear even if she’s afraid. And best of all, she does all of this in a dress. It’s not a threat to her femininity that she can fight. It’s just part of who she is. She shows up the men in the movie constantly and it’s incredible to see a woman in such a position of power by her own skills.  

This movie is about personal growth!!! Most Disney movies when you meet the princess what you see is what you get, they are introduced as a fully fleshed out and concrete character and the movie isn't about them, it’s about what they go through. It’s about situations. Sometimes it’s about romance, which normally leaves the room for growth to the prince she’s falling in love with, not to the princess herself. The only other Disney movie I can think of where the Princess does the growing is Tiana from Princess and the Frog, who learns to have fun and let loose. Merida’s entire storyline is about her personal growth. She grows into a diplomat, she grows to understand her mother, she matures and changes through the course of the movie and it’s focused on. Not only does the movie catalog Merida’s growth it catalogs Elinor’s growth too. It shows how they grow through understanding of each other. That is an incredible thing to capture. Sure, things are happening around them and they’re facing situations, but the focus is never on the situations. The focus is on them and on their bond and how it grows as they do, and I feel that it makes the movie so much more compelling and enjoyable to watch.  

I really love this movie for so many reasons and I'm sure I'll think of more later, but these were what popped out to me most upon my most recent watch. Let me know what you think and noticed about the movie that made it stand out to you. Brave may not have been one of Disney’s most popular movies but there was so much in it I think Disney could apply to future movies to make them better.

#Disney #Brave #Merida #merida dunbroch #Elinor #Elinor dunbroch #Fergus #Fergus Dunbroch #Meta #movie review #mild spoilers

[queenxxxsupreme]

Run

Part 2

A/N: Here is part 1 in case you missed it. So I lied. This is not the final part to this little mini series. I’m going ONE more part. One more. Just one. I keep reminding myself just one. 

Word Count: 5.2k

Warning: none, maybe angst?

Summary: Geralt meets a princess who is bored with life and wishes for excitement.

You’d been in your room for two days now. You refused to leave, refused to interact with anyone. Any semblance of hope you had for escaping the hell that was your life died the night Geralt so quickly shut down the very idea of him assisting you in escaping. 

You were resting on one of the ledges in a window in your room, eyes focused out of the window. Your legs were curled up alongside you, a pillow in your lap. 

From as high up in the castle as you were, you could just barely see the city walls and the green rolling hills that rested beyond it. It was heartbreaking to be able to see what you wanted, what you longed for, but never actually being able to get there. 

There was a knock on the door to your room. You paid it no attention, instead sighing softly. 

“Princess?” Mousesack opened the door and stepped in. “The Queen sent me to check on you.”

You didn’t acknowledge him. 

“I know you can hear me, princess.” He moved further into the room, hands clasped behind his back. 

Your fingers tightened on the pillow in your grip. 

“Something troubles you.” He stated. “Your grandmother says that you haven’t spoken to anyone in two days. The garden is completely dead. Your precious flowers-,”

“I don’t want the gods damned flowers!” You cut him off, turning your head to look at him. “I don’t want to talk to anyone, Mousesack!”

He watched you for a few moments, holding your fiery gaze. You looked away, shaking your head. 

“Fate is a cruel whore.”

“All this anger over something which you cannot control.” Mousesack leaned against the wall that your window was cut out of. “Anger blinds the body of any other emotion. It makes its captor fixate on what makes them angry.”

You were silent. 

“You’re young, princess. Once you’ve become queen, you can have anything you want in the world. You can travel and visit places you’ve never been.”

His words did little to comfort you. You didn’t want to be queen.

“You haven’t eaten in two days.” Mousesack said. “Tonight is your grandmother’s birthday celebration. She’d love to see you there.”

When you offered no reply or even so much as a look in his direction, he left. 

***

Outside of your room, Mousesack found Geralt. The witcher has been busy with the duty he was given by the Queen. 

“Have you ran into Calanthe yet?” Mousesack asked. 

“No.” 

“Good. Avoid her at all costs.”

“That’s what I try to do.”

Mousesack stopped and turned to face the witcher. 

“What did you do to the princess?”

“What are you talking about?” Geralt drew his brows together. 

“Two nights ago at the gala, Calanthe saw you leave with the princess. One of her guards followed you both but he said he was blocked from entering the garden. Ever since that night, Y/N has been in her room. She hasn’t spoken to anyone or eaten anything.”

“And you suspect I did something to her?” Geralt tilted his head to the side just a little. 

“You’re the last one she spoke to.”

Geralt locked his jaw, looking to the door of your room. Should he tell Mousesack what you asked of him? Or should he cover for you in case you did plan to run away?

The White Wolf could hear footsteps coming up behind him. It was Calanthe and a group of guards. 

Calanthe pulled a sword from one of the guards and placed the blade on Geralt’s shoulder, ready to behead him. 

“What did you do to my granddaughter, beast?” She growled, hardened eyes focused on him. 

Geralt turned, unaffected by the blade now being pressed against his throat. 

“I’ve done nothing to her.” He held her gaze. 

“You did something. She’s fallen ill-,”

“She isn’t ill. She’s sick of this place.” Geralt swatted the sword away from him. This caused the guards flanking the queen to draw their swords. She put her hand up to stop them. She wanted to hear what the witcher had to say. “She told me of how she doesn’t wish to be queen. She wants to leave, to flee Cintra before she becomes queen.”

“I know Y/N hates the thought of being queen, but she’s never expressed a desire to leave.”

“Then you’ve clearly not been listening to a damn thing she’s said. The second I saw her, I knew she couldn’t stand being here. She doesn’t want to be here. She longs for more than royal duties and banquets.”

“Mousesack, did you try to speak to her?” Calanthe took her eyes from Geralt to look at the druid. 

“I did, but she didn't want to talk to me or anyone else.”

Calanthe was silent for a few moments, trying to think of what needed to be done. 

“I expect you to complete your job by tonight’s banquet, witcher.” She told him, passing him to go to the door to your chambers. 

She knocked twice before opening the door. 

You were still sitting in the window ledge, the anger that had once crossed your features was replaced with something more docile, something more saddening

Calanthe moved to sit on the ledge by your feet, reaching up to gently stroke your hair. You turned your head to her, meeting her worried gaze. 

“I know this isn't easy for you, Y/N.” Her words were soft and gentle. “But your blood entitles you to this life.”

“I just want to see more than Cintra, grandmother.” You murmured quietly, leaning into her touch as she stroked your cheek. 

“You know that I keep you from leaving the city because it's dangerous out there, Y/N. You are the heir to the throne of Cintra. Our people’s future rests on your shoulders and because of that, you can't be putting yourself into potentially dangerous situations.”

You turned your head away from her, nodding softly. Hearing what she said made you sick. It made your stomach twist and knot up. 

“Have you a dress for tonight’s banquet?” Calanthe stood to her feet. 

“Yes.” You gave a monotone answer. You didn't really have a dress. You had plenty in your wardrobe to pick from. But you wouldn't be attending the banquet. 

“I’ll see you tonight, my dear.” Calanthe leaned down to kiss your forehead. 

The door to your room closed quietly behind her. 

You brought your knees to your chest, arms wrapping securely around them. 

***

The falling sun was warm as its light peaked through trees at the far end of the garden. Your fingertips brushed across the stone wall that surrounded the garden you once deemed a haven. 

You stopped at the entrance to the garden, your hands tugging the hood to your dark red cloak over your head. Then one of your hands went to the strap to the bag tucked safely beneath your cloak. 

Though your mind was running at a speed which you couldn't keep up with, you couldn't find a single thought to focus on. Your heart was beating slowly, steadily. 

This was your only chance to escape, your only chance for freedom. Everyone within the castle was bustling around to make sure the queen’s banquet was perfect and last minute things were taken care of. No one would focus on you and your whereabouts. You'd stayed in your room for the last two days. For all they knew, that was where you stayed. 

You stepped into the garden, guilt weighing heavy on your heart. The plant life had suffered greatly with your  sour emotions. Everything was wilted and dead, a nasty brown color opposed to beautiful green. 

You moved through the garden with slow and quiet steps, breathing evenly as you focused on bringing the garden back to life. 

You stopped at one of the ponds, spotting a frog sitting on a lily pad. You knelt down by the pond, dipping your fingers into the cold water. 

You could feel someone enter the garden, their footsteps nearly silent but weighed heavy on the vines that crossed the walkway. You looked over your shoulder to see Geralt. Quickly you looked away from him and stood up, making your way towards the back of the garden. 

“I can hear your footsteps, Princess.” His voice was low but bounced off of the stone walls within the garden. 

You said nothing in reply to him. Would he try to make you stay? Or would he tell your grandmother of your escape? Would he notify the guards and have them chance you down before you could get very far? 

At the very back of the garden in the southwest corner was a thick hedge, nestled into the stone wall. As you approached it, the hedge died, it's decaying branches falling to the ground to reveal an opening in the stone wall. You stepped over them and just as quickly as you slipped out of the small opening, you made the hedge come back to life and sealed the exit with thick vines. 

You turned your back on the castle, eyes gliding over a small meadow just beyond castle was.

When you were young, you'd sneak out of the castle and sit in the meadow at night. You did this for weeks until one of your servants noticed your absence. After everyone freaked out and panicked, your secret escape was discovered. 

The sound of something heavy landing behind you made you spin around. Geralt stood there in his armor, looking down at you. He had scaled the wall and jump down upon seeing you exit the garden. 

“You can't stop me!” You told him, taking a step away from him. Your hold on your bag tightened, fearing you'd have to run from the witcher.

“I'm not going to stop you. Where do you plan on going?”

“I don't have to say shit to you.” You turned away from him but he wasn't letting you go just like that. He placed his hand on your arm and turned you around to face him. 

“If you haven't got a plan, you'll end up dead in a week.”

“Good.” You jerked your arm out of his grip and started through the meadow. The moon wasn't full but it was bright enough to light your way. 

You couldn’t hear his footsteps but you could feel them through the grass. He was a surprisingly silent walker. 

Irritation festered in your veins and you couldn't handle it for very long. You turned to face him. 

“Why are you following me? Just two days ago you said I could find out how to escape on my own. I have, so let me be.”

“I didn't think you'd actually be stupid enough to do it.”

“Is it stupid to want more from life? To want to make your life better?” You asked him, tilting your head to the side. He said nothing to you. “You said that you were dealt a life you didn't ask for. Have you made any attempts to make your life what you wanted from it?”

“Why can't you just be happy to be alive?” His words came out through gritted teeth. He was at war with himself, trying to tell himself that he needed to go tell Mousesack or even Calanthe that you were trying to run away. But another part of him wanted to go with you, to leave for Kaer Morhen where you'd be safe and where you had the potential to be happy. 

“I want more than to just live, Geralt of Rivia!” You raised your voice, though it threatened to crack as you continued. “I want to feel the rain against my skin without a servant hurrying me inside in fear that I will catch a cold! I want to witness the sun rise from a cliff top in Skellige! I want to taste the salt from the sea that linger in the air in Novigrad! I want to hear music from the famed bards of Oxenfurt and not our shitty ones here in Cintra!”

You paused for a moment, searching his eyes as tears glossed your own. You weren't too sure why you were crying but you were sure it was because you thought he wouldn't let you leave Cintra. 

“I-I  want to meet a man and-and fall in love with him on my own terms. I don't want my life set out in front of me like some strategic plan for battle. I want to live not knowing what I will have for dinner tomorrow or even not knowing if I will wake the next morn.”

When the last word rolled off your tongue, you took a shaky deep breath, wiping the tears from your cheeks with the back of your hand. 

“I can't allow you to make me stay here.” You told him, softly shaking your head. Your hand by your side turned so your palm was towards him. You lifted your hand up and as you did so, vines shot from the ground and wrapped around his legs. 

“Y/N!” He growled, fighting the plants that were rendering him immobile. 

“I-I’m sorry, Geralt. You left me no choice.” 

You turned away from him and crossed the meadow, disappearing into the forest on the other side. 

***

A twig snapped, making you still your movements. 

The night was quiet. Some time ago, the sounds of wildlife had fallen silent. There was no longer the chirping of cicadas or the chattering of raccoons. You were left in complete silence and it made your skin crawl. 

You looked around, eyes wide as you searched for anything but you could see nothing. Everything was black. 

You began to turn around, feeling as though there was some force behind you. 

A hand clasped around your mouth, covering your nose too. In the same instant, an arm wrapped around your shoulders and pulled you back into a hard chest. You tried to cry out, tried to scream, but the hand muffled any noise and stopped you from being able to take in a breath. 

“It's just me, princess.” Geralt breathed against your ear. You muffled out a few curse words, throwing your elbow back in an attempt to catch him in the ribs. It didn't seem to affect him. “I'm going to let you go but I need you to be silent. There's a foglet not too far from you.”

Your heart was beating in your ears and you couldn't help but struggle against him. Your lungs screamed for oxygen. 

“Stay still.” His voice and breath sent shivers down your spine. 

He was suddenly gone and you could breathe, though you did your best to keep quiet. 

Something cried out and then there was the sound of a sword cutting through a body. 

You could no longer stand to breathe through your nose, unable to pull in enough oxygen. 

A hand was placed on your shoulder. 

“How did you find me?”

“You've managed to go in circles for the last two hours. Tracking you wasn't difficult.”

“How far away from the castle am I?”

“Perhaps an hour’s journey.”

“Fuck.” You cursed, bringing your hand up to rub your temple. 

“If you would've listened to me earlier, we'd be further away from here than we are now.” Geralt muttered. His touch left your arm and you panicked for a moment, fearing he was leaving you. Then his hand was placed on the small of your back. 

“You…. You were going to go with me?” You furrowed your brows together. 

He hummed an affirmation. 

“Why did it take you so long to find me?”

“After escaping those damned vines, I returned to the castle to finish my job. Calanthe paid me and sent me on my way.”

“Did she say anything about me?” You asked.

“I heard her a few times mention you but my guess is that she just assumed you were staying in your room.” 

In the darkness, you didn't see a tree root jutting out of the ground. You tripped and stumbled but Geralt held you firmly, one hand on your back and the other on your arm. 

“We’re nearly there.”

“Where are you taking me?” 

With your sight being useless, your ears picked up on his breathing. It was steady and quiet, something that you found oddly comforting. 

“To the main road. Roach and your horse are waiting there for us. Once we get to them, we’ll travel until sunrise.”

“What after that?”

“I'll tell you when the time comes.”

You stopped suddenly. Geralt sighed heavily and tried to budge you to get you to move. If he tried hard enough, you knew he could make you move, but he only gave you a firm nudge. 

“I don't want to be kept in the shadows, Geralt. I've been kept from things my entire life. If you are going to travel with me, you're going to tell me everything. I want no secrets.”

“If I were to leave you to travel alone, you’d wind up right back at the castle. Your sense of direction is horrendous.”

He had a point, but you were too stubborn to say he was right. 

“When the sun comes up, we will hopefully be in a village six hours from the castle. There's an inn there we will stay at until early evening.” He gave you one final push and you moved, allowing him to guide you to the main road. 

“Is that how all of our traveling is going to be? Moving at night and resting during the day?”

“At least until we get to Redania.”

When you finally got to the road, you could see the faint outline of your white mare. You smiled, happy that you wouldn't have to leave her. 

Onc Geralt was sure you were on your horse, he mounted Roach and held on to the reins to Boots. This allowed him to guide your horse since you couldn't properly lead yourself. 

You were overjoyed and excited. Geralt would ensure you got to wherever it was you wanted to go. 

***

When the sun came up, Geralt made sure you had your hood on your head. He told you to keep your head down while he went in to the inn to get a room for the night. You offered him some of your coin but he declined, muttering a ‘no’ before moving away from you and the two horses. 

You kept your head down, brushing your fingers over the fine leather of Boots’s saddle. You were exhausted, having traveled all night. You hadn't gotten much sleep in the few days leading up to your escape from the castle. But you forced your eyes open, wanting to take in every little detail of your journey. 

Geralt returned to you shortly. 

“I’ll take you up to the room and then take them to the stables outside of town.”

You nodded softly, sliding down from your horse with ease. 

The second Geralt closed the door to your room behind himself, you settled on one side of the bed, closing your eyes. 

***

You were sitting on the edge of the bed, braiding your hair over your shoulder as you watched the sun set through a window in the room. You'd been up for a while but hadn't ventured out of the room. You weren't too sure if leaving the room to find Geralt would be a good idea. You didn’t want to jeopardize your escape by risking the possibility of someone recognizing you.

Just as you finished the braid, the door to the room opened. 

“Good. You’re awake.” He crossed the room to pick up his bag from the floor. “Are you ready?”

“Yes.” You firmly nodded your head, a little smile coming to your lips as you looked at him. “I never had a chance last night to thank you for helping me.”

“Don't thank me yet. Calanthe is sure to have the entire Cintran military searching for you. Perhaps even Skellige.” 

“Is leaving now safe?”

“We leave now, or we risk running into a caravan of soldiers later on tonight. Word’s spread quick. I overheard someone downstairs saying they're coming to every town and searching every household.”

“That’s ridiculous.” You shook your head. 

“You're the only heir Calanthe has, and she loves you dearly. She'd do anything for you.”

“Not anything.” You picked up your bag after slipping your cloak on. “I am ready.”

***

The sun had yet to set but you two were making good time on your journey. You had decided earlier to give him a break so you were walking. Geralt walked alongside you, humming every now and then to something you said but he didn't really care to listen to. 

You came to a stop. You turned your head to survey the woods to your right and then to your left. 

“Come on, princess.” Geralt told you.

“There's something in the woods.” 

“It's hard to tell what-,”

“It’s dead.” You passed him the reins to Boots and took off into the woods, grabbing fistfuls of your skirts. 

“Y/N!” He gritted his teeth together. “Damn it!”

You moved swiftly through the trees and undergrowth. Your heart was beating heavily in your chest. While you were unsure of what exactly made you dash off in such a hurry, you knew exactly when to stop. Laying in a patch of sunlight that broke through the canopy was the corpse of a deer. You stopped just a few feet from it, your heart jumping to your throat at the sight of the creature. The air in your lungs was forced out with a shaky breath. 

Geralt was right behind you, brows drawn together and ready to shout all the reason why you shouldn’t have run away from him. He noticed the way your shoulders slumped and how your heart was beating fast. Your lips were parted and tears were in your eyes. 

“It-It’s dead.” You whispered. He looked past your shoulder to see the animal.

“Looks like it had a broken leg. Starved to death.” Geralt took note of the lack of scavenging. It must’ve died within the day. 

You moved towards it, hands fisting your skirts so that it wouldn’t be tugged on the undergrowth. You all but collapsed to your knees by its head, your hand stroking the reddish brown fur on its neck. Its dark eyes were glazed over. 

Geralt wanted to say something but he could feel a sudden rush in his head and he felt a little dizzy. There was a shift in the energy in the air. Your magic was strong and potent. It was electrifying and made his skin tingle. 

With your hand on its neck, you breathed evenly, focusing on healing the doe and bringing her back to life. Within seconds, the creature blinked and jolted awake, scrambling to get to her feet. You watched in awe as she ran off into the woods, making her hasty getaway. 

Geralt’s enhanced hearing was able to catch the sound of beating hooves against the dirt road where he’d left Roach and Boots. 

“Princess, we must go.”

You nodded softly, standing to your feet and rubbing your hands together. But as soon as you were on your feet, your head spun. Geralt was by your side in an instant, his arm sturdy around your waist. 

“Are you okay?” 

You nodded in reply. 

***

You knelt down by the small fire, warming your hands a safe distance from the flames. Geralt sat across the fire from you, messing with one of his swords. You stood up, brushing the dust and dirt from your skirts, then sat down against a tree not too far from the fire. 

“How did you do that earlier?” He lifted his head to look across the fire at you. 

“I did the same as I do with my plants.” You shrugged your shoulders softly. You weren't entirely sure what you had done, but you did it the same way you fixed your plants that were wilting or dead. 

“How could you sense it all the way from the road?” Geralt sheathed his sword and placed it aside. 

“I can…. I don't know. It’s like I can feel things through the plants. Like….” You looked around the little makeshift campsite. Your eyes landed on Geralt. “Just behind you in the woods behind a honeysuckle bush is an animal. A fox.”

The witcher nodded. He could hear the quiet creature’s heartbeat. 

“Is it weird that I can do that? I can move plants?” Your voice lowered to a timid murmur. 

“It isn't something that the average human can do, but I wouldn't call it weird.”

You dropped your gaze to the fire, a soft smile finding its way to your lips. 

A sudden gust of wind blew through. You shivered, holding your cloak tight to your form. 

“You chose a shit time to leave.” Geralt sighed as he stood to his feet and moved around the fire to get to your side. “Traveling north isn't something many do in the winter.”

You watched him closely, unsure of what he was doing. He sat down beside you.

“Want me to keep you warm?” You asked him, softly teasing him. 

He muttered something incoherent under his breath. You scooted closer to him so you could tuck yourself into his side. He hesitantly put his arm around you, allowing you to sink further into his side. 

***

As days passed, you drew closer and closer to the border of Cintra. Geralt said you would go through Sodden to cross over the Yaruga river. From there, he said you would have better luck traveling without worrying about Calanthe’s military. 

It was a calm night. The air was bitter but the moon was shining brightly in the sky. The canopy above the trees prevented you from seeing the moon but you didn't mind. 

You sat near the fire, playing with a twig to keep your hands occupied. Geralt had gone off into the woods to search for better firewood. Apparently just any log wouldn't work. 

You had enjoyed every second of your journey with the witcher. A ball of tension was knotting up in your stomach. He mentioned earlier that you'd only have two more days until you reached Sodden. After that, you'd part ways. You'd never see the White Wolf again. 

You jumped when an armful of logs hit the ground with a loud pound. 

“Thought I told you to listen for any unwanted company.” He sat down a few feet away to mess with the fire. 

“I was.”

“No, you weren't. If you were listening, I wouldn't have scared you.”

You brought your eyes down to the twig in your hand. 

Geralt could see that you were deep in thought still. You were physically there next to him, but your mind was a hundred miles away.

“What's on your mind?” He asked quietly. You shrugged your shoulders. “Are you regretting leaving?”

“No.” You answered quickly, bringing your eyes up to him. “I regret nothing.”

“Then why do you look so lost?”

“I was just…. just thinking about the man my grandmother was going to marry me off to.” You brushed the pad of your thumb over the twig. “His name is Phillip. He’s a knight.”

“The one you were dancing with at your banquet?”

“That is him. He was the one who gave me the rose the day of my banquet.” 

Geralt watched as the twig in your hand trembled and turned green. A red rose bloomed right before his eyes.

“I feel quite sorry for him.” You leaned forward to toss the rose into the fire. “He thought he had a chance at taking my hand, at being king. He always treated me like a child. And his chivalry….” Your nose crinkled up like you were disgusted by the thought. 

Geralt chuckled just a little. 

“Don't get me wrong. He was handsome.” Your eyes flickered over to the witcher. “But he only had flowers to give.”

“And you want more than just flowers.” Geralt remembered the conversation you had the day he found you sitting in the window in the library. “Tell me, princess. What is it that qualifies as more than flowers in your book?”

A grin cracked across your lips and you brushed your hair back. 

“Well, master witcher. For example, all Phillip had to offer me was his bad jokes and long life within the castle. You….” You trailed off, unable to catch yourself. 

Geralt tilted his head up a little more, holding your gaze. You cleared your throat and directed your eyes to the fire. 

“A man like you, for example, would have more to offer. A life of excitement and adventure.”

“You’d be mistaken if you think my life is all excitement and adventure, princess.”

“Oh, I know it isn’t. A life of excitement and adventure doesn’t gift you with scars.” You lowered your voice to be more gentle. “I’m not naive to the cost that comes with being a witcher, Geralt. I’ve heard of how terrifying and traumatizing it is to become one. Very few chose to become witchers.”

You weren’t even sure where you were going with your rambling anymore. You couldn’t explain to him what you meant when you said excitement and adventure. You couldn’t explain it without letting him know that the journey with him had been one you will never forget. It was exciting and wondrous. The thought of parting ways with him saddened you. 

“It’s getting late.” Geralt commented, ending the very poor conversation right there. 

You nodded your head and watched him settle down. You shivered a little, crossing your arms tightly over yourself. You stood to your feet and moved around the fire. His eyes followed you the entire time. 

“I’m cold.” You told him, laying down in front of him. You scooted back until your back was pressed to his chest. He seemed to stiffen up at your actions but said nothing. With a heavy exhale, which tickled your neck, he put his arm around you and held you close. 

You smiled a little, glad that he didn’t try to stop you. 

Geralt couldn’t deny that he wasn’t looking forward to leaving you once you reached Sodden. While he didn’t usually care for company during his travels, he enjoyed having you by his side. You were fascinated with everything. You’d stop at the sight of rabbits running across the road, smiling as you watched where they disappeared in the undergrowth. You’d stop to marvel at a mother goose that was herding her little goslings around a pond. You giggled rather joyously as a flock of little birds emerged from thick bushes, chirping and flying towards the canopy that provided shade over the road. You’d gasp at the sight of a butterfly, watching it flutter past you. Your happiness was contagious, your smile made him smile. 

Geralt had never been able to smell your happiness. At the castle, you were bitter and bored, but in the woods you were free to do whatever pleased your heart. 

Geralt swore he’d never seen someone so fascinated with every little living thing in the forest. He knew the time to part ways was drawing near, but he couldn’t help dragging it out. Leaving you was something he wanted to avoid at all costs. 

Unbeknownst to you, he chose the more scenic route to offer you different views and sights he thought you'd like. These scenic routes were out of the way but your reactions were well worth the added on time. 

It was a shame he couldn’t keep you by his side after you reached Sodden.

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