#If she had that power she'd be unstoppable

[nattravn-art]

"Eyes blinded by the fog cannot see the truth."

#rusty lake #cube escape #elizabeth eilander #fun fact: the texture used for this one is from an old photo plate from the 1800's #something something lore #alyway she's the best girl #I have a lot of feelings for her and her siblings alright ;; #another fun fact: that pose was a struggle and I accidentally drew her absolutely JACKED #think à la Luisa Encanto #If she had that power she'd be unstoppable #lift the house and the animals and yeet it away #last fun fact: it looked like she was having googly eyes on my sketch #the shitpost was so close let me tell you #David would have put googly eyes on it #David would have put googly eyes on everything

[shedobewritingalittle]

I Know The End

Pairing: Miguel O’Hara x Reader

Summary: She meets him. They fall in love. She dies, he mourns. The cycle continues.

Rating: R

Word Count: 2k

Warnings: Angst, mildly graphic descriptions of death, grief, mentions of injury

In every universe, she dies.

It was a canon event-completely unstoppable if they wanted the multiverse to stay together.

Every Spider-Person knew this. Every time they saw a version of her at HQ, they knew not to get too attached. She'd disappear and another version would take its place, looking slightly different from the previous version of her, but her nonetheless.

In every universe, she also fell in love with Miguel O'Hara.

It was a canon event and Miguel had to just let it happen, no matter how much it hurt him.

Every time she'd swing into his life, he had to let the cards fall where they may, even if he knew exactly where they led to.

In one universe, she had a baby who looked just like the two of them. She balanced being a mom and being Spider-Woman almost effortlessly. Miguel, once again, was able to play dad, was able to pretend like this could be his life. He would spend the night in her universe, sleeping with her in the bed, helping her with the midnight diaper changes and three a.m. feedings. Hell, he had even thought about marrying her, wanting so bad to ignore the canon, wanting to find a way that he can have his cake and eat it too.

She had gotten impaled on some rebar after saving a kid from Green Goblin and the others had got there too late to do anything about it. Peter B. Parker had watched as Miguel lifted her off of it, her blood staining his suit. He could hear as his friend whispered something to her over and over in Spanish. Peter had kept his distance, knowing that Miguel needed this moment. Her daughter-the one that had his hair and her eyes-went to live with her mother's family in California.

In another, she was a nurse. She helped save lives off and on the clock. She would tend to the other Spider-People's wounds, stitching them up when needed, giving IV's and injections and millions other things. They had spent so many nights together in his room post-mission where she’d take care of him. Her lip drawn between her teeth as she carefully focused on her work. As soon as she was done, as soon as she came out of that almost trance-like state, his lips would be on her skin, wanting to repay her. Medical supplies would be tossed to the floor, injuries ignored.

She had gotten taken out by her universe's Doc Ock. Miguel had personally hunted him down after that, unable to control his rage. Peter B. and Hobie had to drag him off of the guy.

In one, she had been married to someone else, but that hadn't stopped the relationship from forming. She'd slip away from her universe and into Miguel's, and in between helping take down anomalies, she'd be in his bed. She had been sick the whole time and every time she used her powers she had gotten worse. They could all see it-the gradual decline even if she wouldn’t tell them outright, but Miguel knew. He wouldn't let her do missions anymore, but she still continued to be Spider-Woman in her universe. She died in her sleep beside the man she was married to, but not the one she loved. Miguel had attended the funeral, but had kept his distance. He had waited and watched as she had been buried. He had been the last one to leave the cemetery that day.

There were versions of her that were artists, models, chefs, actresses, teachers, but they were all her. And they all fell in love with him, one after another. No one could stop it, no one could prevent it. It was just fate.

She meets him. They fall in love. He mourns. And then the cycle continues.

The Y/N they had right now, she has lasted longer than all of the others. She had been with them for a few years now, which has felt like a lifetime compared to the time they got with the rest of them. That had only made them all uneasy. Every mission, every missed visit to HQ, they all thought that was going to be it, but then she'd show up, a smile on her face and jokes spilling out of her mouth without a second thought . Miguel was constantly checking in on her, which was something she teased him about.

"I guess you really do like me, eh bug boy?"

God, he did.

It was terrifying how attached to her he was, how his whole demeanor seemed to change as soon as she enters a room. His stoicism and broodiness completely melts away, no instead he gives her a version of himself that no one else sees (save for maybe Mayday-she's a baby, so how could he be a dick to her?). At first, Jess and Peter B. used to tease him about it, but as Y/N died over and over, the teasing came to an end. Now all they could offer was sad smiles when Miguel talked about her.

He was selfish-he wished he could keep her at HQ forever. Miguel wanted to ignore the canon and just hold onto her as long as he could, keeping her all to himself. Who cares if the multiverse falls apart? He’d have her, he’d have a life with her. That’s all he needed, isn’t it?

But he’d never go against the canon.

-

"I know, you know. How this ends. That we are doomed to repeat this over and over." She announces one right, moonlight-or at least what she thinks is moonlight-streaming in through the gaps of his curtains, his room smelling like the two of them-a mixture of her perfume, his cologne, sweat, and sex. Her finger absentmindedly traces a mark she’d had left on his skin moments ago. He sits up in bed, looking at her with wide eyes. His mind was racing. Had someone told her? Had he somehow let it slip? How did she know?

"Y-You do? Mierda. Why didn't you say anything?" He questions, his brows furrowed together. She shrugs, tucking an arm behind her head as she looks at him, as if it wasn't a big deal that she knew about her own coming demise.

"What's the point, cariño? I die, I come back, this starts all over again. Why spoil the time I get with you?" She responds, her eyes focused on him, "It's me and you, always."

"It's me and you, always."

She said it so nonchalantly, as if a piece of him doesn't die with every version of her that does. As if he doesn’t meticulously check for signs of the next version of her after she disappears from his life. As if it doesn’t feel like a huge weight has been lifted off his shoulders when she starts to don her black and pink Spider suit, because he knows he’ll be with her soon. He lets his eyes shut for a moment as her fingers trace a scar on his shoulder. He thinks about what he should say, about if he should be upset that she knew and didn't tell him. But it's Y/N, and he can't bring himself to be mad at her.

"How long have you known?" Miguel asks, his eyes opening and landing on her. In the moonlight, he could see that her neck and chest were littered with marks-bruising from sucking at her skin, angry red lines from where he had dragged his fangs against her, puncture marks from biting her. They had already started to heal, just like the matching marks on his skin had started to.

"I think we all know-at least I did. We get bits and pieces of it, of you mainly. Of a life with you. I think for the most part, we all think it's a dream-that you're just a hot guy in a dream and then we meet you." Y/N explains, her gaze turning soft as the corners of her mouth turn upward. He keeps himself from rolling his eyes at her little “hot” compliment, his mind still reeling.

The rest is left unsaid-the fact that she can see all the different ways she has met her end, how she knows how it feels to die. The feeling of falling on that rebar, the sickening snap of her neck, her being strangled by a Doc Ock’s tentacle, the crushing feeling of a building falling on top of her, choking on her own blood, the feeling of her organs spilling out-

Sometimes she’ll reach down and expect to feel metal sticking out of her, tearing her apart.

"And you're-You're okay with that?" Miguel's eyebrows are furrowed together as he looks at her. Her eyes were on him, but she wasn’t there, not fully. He wished he could take a peak inside of her mind, wanting-no, needing to know how much she could remember. He studies her face in the moonlight, trying to read her, trying to understand how she could be so…okay with all of this.

"I still get a forever with you, don't I? I still get to live a life with you, even if it's just bits and pieces." Her voice is soft as her smile starts to grow ever so slightly, "And I'd take that any day."

His lips are suddenly against hers once more, his hand cupping her cheek. She’s a little surprised, but returns it eagerly, her hand slipping into his locks, holding him to her. Y/N knows that Miguel isn’t good at expressing his feelings, that talking about his feelings is like pulling teeth for him. She also knows what the kiss means, what he wants to say. Each kiss, each bite, each thrust-she can decipher them all.

I wish we had more time.

I wish it wasn’t like this.

I want this, with you, forever.

This isn’t enough.

I can’t keep watching you die over and over.

I need you.

It’s me and you always.

-

This Y/N still meets her end, just like the dozens of others before her.

When she goes this time, she’s in his arms, crimson spilling out of her, covering both of them. She’s looking up at him, tears in her eyes from the pain as she gives him a small, pained smile.

“Don’t be sad, pendejo. I’ll see you again, yeah?” She says hoarsely, blood covering her lips. He leans forward, pressing his lips to her forehead. He stays there a moment, his eyes shut. When he pulls away, there’s tears streaming down her face, but she is still trying to smile at him, trying to tease him. Even like this, she’s still trying to make him feel better. So Miguel tries to smile back at her, but he’s sure it looks more like a grimace.

“Yeah. You’ll see me again.” He murmurs, wiping away her tears. It’s more like he’s reminding himself rather than agreeing with her. He swallows the lump in his throat, “It’s you and me.”

“It’s you and me.” Y/N manages to get out, her breathing more ragged. Her hand moves to rest on top of his, where’s he’s putting pressure on her wound even though they both know there’s no point. Her fingers intertwine with his and he holds her hand. There’s tears streaming down his face, his like there is every time he watches her dies.

Miguel just sits there, holding her hand long after her body stills, her head laying on his chest. He knows eventually he will have to get up, that he will have to take her back to her universe. For now, he just sits there with her, holding her body to his, quietly telling her all of the things that were left unsaid.

#miguel o'hara #miguel o’hara x reader #miguel ohara #miguel ohara x reader #spiderman 2099

[brawlstars-dragon-au]

Sketch dump time! A whole bunch of requests from the crazy ex-bird app

In Order: Maisie, Pam, Colette, Buster, Chester, Chuster ❤️🧡 (and a teeny Gus), Leon and Sandy (Leondy 💚💜), Bull, El Primo, and Mandy!

Extra notes about each sketch:

Maisie:

Her breath attack is a condensed foam material, similar to that of a fire extinguisher. Using a gas similar to a pressurized CO² (based on gas-based fire extinguishers!), she shoots it out at high speeds. These hits can potentially cause frostbite and even severe damage to the body if left unattended. She's quite powerful in this AU due to this ability 👀👀 being able to put out the fires and overpower another dragon's breath? Now THAT'S some queen moves right there! She can also simply spray out the foam substance at short range without that pressurized gas. This helps with more close range fire fighting work.

Her right wing and front leg were undeveloped, a disability she'd had since she hatched. However! With the help of mechanics, she uses these prosthetics to help her fly. Still gotta test out how to draw it to make sense, as well as sort out how it stays in place. I've been using inspiration from Toothless (HTTYD) and his tail that Hiccup made.

Pam:

Pam is a bulkier dragon, very much on the larger side of all of them. I'm at odds with myself to figure out whether ot not she'll have wings 🤔 so I had two copies there! Perhaps her wings may be a bit smaller if I do give her them.

Pam spits out molten magma that's stored up inside her as an attack. However, it can also be chunks of scrap metal that she stores up. Otherwise, it's just magma.

Though I didn't draw this, I want Pam to be very resilient to fire in general, as her species/family of dragon use their ability to spew this magma (technically Lava after ut leaves her body? I'll do more research on this...) in order to craft and shape metal. While other dragons need to spend some time to build up a fire hot enough, the Junker family line is able to do this much more easily. (Amber is a close second, though)

Her skin has the ability to crack and seep up lava out of it, potentially coating her body in this to give herself a temporary lava shield, something extremely hard to break through. (In the future, little Jessie may also be able to do this... however, Pam doesn't think she's ready at the moment and avoids the topic or any ideas of teaching her how.)

Colette:

Colette flies in a sort of funny way, twirling around and flapping her wings to maintain somewhat of a chaotic flight pattern. Think of a snake slithering through the sky, but with large wings and the grace of... a teenage dragon (not much, but it does work).

When she gets better at flying...pray and hope she isn't able to catch up to her favourite brawlers cause she isn't ever gonna let go of them 💀 It makes for a great attack, actually! Charging at enemies and coiling around them like a snake to prevent movement, like a big hug ❤️ she just loves everyone SO much 😍

Buster:

Finally kinda set on a design for this funky guy! He's a larger dragon (smaller than El Primo or Frank, but still definitely up there in size)

His wings never quite grew fully, so he wouldn't be able to fly 😔 however, that'll never stop him and his dreams of being a cool movie star 🧡🧡

Buster, at the heart of it, is an unstoppable force when he sets his mind to something. He'll charge in with the same ferocity as his favouite protagonists, rivalling the audacity and hard-headed nature of even Bull! All while doing so for his friends 💪 we love Buster in this AU frfr

Chester:

Chester always has theatrics when he flies. Flips, spins, and fun aerodynamic movements up in the sky! He's gotta compensate for his lack of speed compared to other wyverns after all, but he thinks he's pretty great 😎

Loved drawing this kinda unique pose tbh! That's what I loved with these drawings, I got to experiment without really thinking too much for em with how polished and clean that look. It was very fun! 🔥

Chuster ft. Gus❤️🧡:

We love some goofy gays here 🥹❤️🧡 I just wanted to let em have a little nuzzle + smooch! Dragons don't necessarily kiss, but little side boops like this are the equivalent of a cheek kiss.

Also, a little Gus on the side 🥹🥹 I love this sort of found family dynamic that have! Buster being the cool dad vibe/big bro to Gus, and then Buster being in a relationship with Chester so that he's also a cool dad too 😎 Gus loved these two guys from the very start, they're funny 🤭 never a boring day for these silly lads.

Leondy 💚💜:

My beloveds 🤲 I really do cherish the ship, as well as strong friendship Sandy and Leon have. (Btw in my HCs, Leon and Sandy are 13 & 14 respectively, just to clear that up!)

Sandy, I've mentioned a few times, is very inspired by Capybaras, so Leon finding one is just perfect 🤭 silly little deadpan face lads.

Bull:

BULLDOZERRRR- What a lad! Bull is inspired by- uh, Bulls! Great creatures, large bodies and thick necks to support those headstrong charges 🐂 I love making his posture all confident, strong steps to say, "Yeah. You TRY and stand up to me. I DARE you." Don't wanna mess with him on most days 🏃‍♀️💨💨

El Primo:

Still figuring out a full-body for El Primo, bit he's roughly the same size as Bull! (Maybe a bit bigger)

El Primo has got really small wings, similar to his El Dragón skin. Even his scales and horns are inspired by that mostly! Love when characters have preexisting dragon themed skins 🤭 makes it a lot easier to make ideas!

His "mask" is actually just body paint. He has similar paint on his body, really showing off the vibrant colours and persona he puts on for the crowds.

He WILL beat up his enemies into a pulp in matches. Thank goodness there's the gem powered regeneration and the respawn system in place 😭 I plan to give him a very strong body and tail, enough to support him when he needs to go on his hind legs and overpower his opponents. Buster is designed in a similar way as well!

Mandy:

Last but not least, the Queen of Candy herself. Not even the Dragon AU let's her escape fast food work 😔😔

Her super attack is purely a magical sugar-based rainbow blast, as shown in the sketch. Also, I'm now realizing that I forgot her red spots oml- No wonder she looks so empty 💀 uhh sorry about that, lads 😭 I'll redraw her one day to show off that glowing effect of her spots 🥹🥹

And that's all! Thank you for reading if you made it this far! Hopefully I can make more of these sketch dumps 🤭✨️ maybe take reqs from here too! We shall see. Take care y'all!

#bs dragon au #brawl stars #brawlstars #brawl stars dragon au #robos art tag #dragon #Maisie #Pam #Buster #Chester #Chuster #Leon #Sandy #Leondy #Bull #Primo #Mandy #oh god ao many tags ararrra #brawl stars Maisie #brawl stars Pam #brawl stars Buster #brawl stars chester #brawl stars leon #brawl stars sandy #brawl stars bull #El Primo #brawl stars el primo #brawl stars mandy #sketch dump #art

[sinful-lanterns]

Eleven having a big dick would just be so unfair. Like girlie has tiddies that look bigger then my head! So if she had a big dick too? She'd just be unstoppable powerful, she'd have so little competition in both departments.

That is true. Big tits and big cock? Eleven you are making all the PTN women jealous 😨

But honestly, I think Eleven deserves it. She doesn’t seem like the type to brag too much, so it’d be a beautiful surprise in the locker room one day, if Eleven just strips naked to go take a shower and all the women are like O-O “ELEVEN YOURE HUGE ON TOP AND BOTTOM???”

She’d get pretty flustered about it. After her shower, her and Hamel just sulk together in the “cute but big” category 😅

#⛓️ interrogation complete #eleven won’t be as big as hamel for the memes #but they both give zoya a run for her money

[deathbxnny]

Yanqing, Jing Yuan, Herta, and Kafka with an Emanator of Finality!Reader who follows HoFi!Kiana because I firmly believe that Kiana is Terminus (Aeon of Finality)!

Also, they're friends with Elio (Elio confirmed to be also an Emanator of Finality but maybe I'm wrong) just because they can.

-----♡

A/N: I had to look up the lore surrounding the concept of this, so if I got this completely wrong, then I'm so sorry, I did my best to understand. Also thank you for the request!<33

Content: Fluff, established relationship, some lore Spoilers??, angst if you squint hard enough, sfw

Reader has no set pronouns!

((Not fully proofread))

-----♡

》Herta

She'd absolutely want to know everything about you and conduct some experiments on your abilities, if you agree ofcourse. You give her the opportunity to learn more about a world that is still so vague and unexplainable even to her and she's most grateful for that.

She'd love to see you use your powers in her simulated universe and often gives you her odd backhanded compliments, that she however actually means well. Don't be surprised, if you find plenty of notes and files on you either. It's all in the name of sience ofcourse.

She's not afraid to voice her distate of Elio and will make sure to take up all of your time to keep you away from him. She doesn't want you to get hurt and doesn't trust him with you at all. Arguing with her on this is also useless, as she loves you way too much to listen.

-----♡

》Kafka

She's already familiar with the concept of your abilities and therefore doesn't make all too much of a fuss about it. Though she can't hide her excitement, whenever she sees how powerful you are. It's something she is proud of, when it comes to having you as a s/o, and she isn't shy to compliment you for your abilities either to the point of flustering you.

She likes fighting by your side, mainly because it makes her stronger and makes her feel much more safer. She feels unstoppable and is near addicted to your power. She'll teasingly call you her protect you and keep you close to her at all times.

She ofcourse doesn't mind your friendship with Elio and generally even uses it to her own advantage for whenever she wants to spend more off days with you.

-----♡

》Jing Yuan

Jing Yuan was a little concerned about the source of your abilities at first, but eventually began to accept that they were a part of you. He trusts you and knows you won't ever use them for anything evil or bad, which calms his worries however.

He likes to see your abilities in battle and often proudly smirks to himself, knowing that someone as powerful as you is his dear s/o. He loves to secretly therefore show you off to others, just to remind them who you belong to. He'll also like listening to you tell him more about your abilities, which makes him mentally wonder how to use it best in any upcoming battles.

He absolutely does not approve of your friendship with Elio and will try calmly telling you so. He doesn't want to control who you're friends with, but this is an exception to him. He doesn't want you to get hurt or used, so he'll slowly try you to get you to distance yourself from Elio for your own safety.

-----♡

》Yanqing

Yanqing doesn't question your abilities much and just happily accepts them as a part of you. He enjoys watching you fight and use your abilities, mainly because he finds them just that fascinating. He also always eagerly listens to you, whenever you tell him about your powers.

Yanqing will ask you to train with him often, as he sees you as a worthy and perfect opponent. You don't have the heart to tell him, that you hold back alot of your powers to not hurt him in the process, but he thankfully never notices either. He's just happy to spend time with you.

He doesn't know much about Elio, but after asking his Master about him, he decides that he's not a suitable friend for you. Yanqing would never force you to do anything, but he still voices his worries and fear about your friendship. The last things he wants, is to lose you, after all.

-----♡

A/N: I hope this was okay! I'm sorry if I got it wrong and thank you again for the request!<33

#honkai star rail fanfic #honkai star rail x reader #honkai star rail x you #honkai star rail #hsr x reader #hsr kafka #hsr kafka x reader #hsr herta #hsr herta x reader #hsr jing yuan #hsr jing yuan x reader #hsr yanqing #hsr Yanqing x reader #hsr

[moremousewrites]

Tempest

Pairing: Minthara/Tav (femme drow)

Summary: You and Minthara relate to your utter distaste for the weather of Faerun's surface. While you've had some time to acclimate, Minthara suggests another solution. You're not really in a place to judge, but you can convince her to stay the night at least

Tags: kissing, smut, fluff, cuddling after sex, pet names (my divinity),fingering, oral sex, grinding, nipple play, slavery mention

Note: I'm sorry i keep making fics about my ocs and putting them in 2nd person lmao. This is hardly a reader insert but old habits die hard im afraid. Anyway brackets is drowish, quotes is common. Enjoy!

A Heavy thunderstorm in rivington forced the adventuring party to set up camp for the night. You were settling in when a very flustered, very wet Minthara burst into your tent.

“Does this miserable weather never cease?” She kicked off her muddy shoes in your tent and started peeling off her wet nightclothes. How considerate. 

You didn't bother averting your eyes, she'd find it pointless as well. You had not laid together yet, but your relationship was very close. She had healed your unclothed body before and you had bathed with her a few times now. She made it a ritual after confessing to you, washing your hair. 

“It's only rain, Minthara” you opened your bedroll to her and she climbed in beside you, her face a breath away from yours.

“I do not mean this weather. I mean all surface weather. The unruly sun, smothered by this deluge. And the biting cold that greets you if you're not so bloated by nightfall. You know of what I speak. Do you not agree that the temperament of Menzoberranzan is much more suitable for life?” she ranted. It was almost funny how serious she was about this but you could sympathize with her difficulty assimilating to the climate. A few decades ago you saw sunlight for the first time and you were equally miserable.

“It is one of the few things I miss about the Underdark” you switched to high drowic, just in case your companions were listening. [I won't pretend to understand why the surface dwellers tolerate conditions here as they do, but I know it is not my place to impart my views on other cultures] you explained, wrapping your arm around her. She was shivering. 

[It is indeed your place to do just that] she stated, bluntly. Ah, the source of your disagreements. [You're a powerful, influential heiress of a noble house, Tav. And how I see it, you'd be doing the surface a favour by enslaving it and disseminating them within the Underdark] she shoved her freezing hands up your nightshirt and you jolted at their temperature. 

[I'm not enslaving Faerun. And I can't go back to Menzoberranzan. There's a reason I left] you took off your shirt and Minthara pressed herself against you.

Minthara warmed in your embrace. [Your mother? That's simple we will kill her with the aid of your liberated army] she kissed your neck, placing her hands on your chest. 

She was so severe you couldn't believe her sometimes. Then again, you had been just like her. Sometimes, you forgot how vicious you really were. Dreams of total global enslavement and matricide were commonplace. You have had those exact ambitions before. 

[Minthara…] you moaned at her touch.

She placed a hand at your mouth. [Be quiet. I need silence to plan our world domination] she got up to straddle your hips.You dared not utter a word. [We will conquer the surface together. Then we will conscript the strongest fighters to slay your mother's house] she rolled her hips into yours. The idea of dethroning your tyrant mother was enticing. Minthara's body on your clothed cunt was even moreso.

She pulled your bra off of you, marveling in your beauty. [Then I shall claim my place as the head of house Baenre and our joined forces will be unstoppable. All will bow to our devastating power] she cupped your breasts, massaging them, rolling your nipples between her fingers. She was awaiting your response. 

You thought it was fitting she believed it to be easier to enslave all of the surface of Faerun than vanquish a portion of the Underdark. Fitting but ridiculous. This was dirty talk for her. And you apparently, since you were dripping at the thought.

[Yes, my Queen] you consented. She leaned in and kissed you with a searing passion. Your hands flew to her body but she tore away from the kiss. 

[Yes, I will be your queen. Kneel before me and swear your fealty] she leaned back, spreading her legs for you. 

You got on your knees, you slid your hands up her thighs slowly. [I, Tav, do swear by no gods- only unto your name, that I will be faithful and serve you, Minthara, as my true queen] every word, you inched your hands closer to her core. You could smell her desire for you.

She was so flustered by your performance, she couldn't even respond properly. [Please, Tav] she humbly begged.

[What is it my queen asks of me?] You dipped lower, kissing down her chest, lower and lower. Not low enough.

[I ask you to lick me] she panted out. You were very grateful for the thunderstorm. Even in high drow, the way she begged you to lick her cunt was so lustful you could have known it in any language. Your companions certainly would have overheard had the storm not muffled her. You did your queen's bidding and licked her. First, through her smallclothes to tease. She was aching so much that it would not have made a difference. You lapped at her through the cloth and she ground herself on your tongue. 

Before she could finish, you pulled her panties to the side, licking a stripe up her cunt and taking her swollen clit into your mouth. She moaned deeply as she came, chest heaving and a thin sheen of sweat covering her body. You needed more.

You placed one finger at her entrance, gathering her moisture on your finger. She flinched at first, unprepared for the sensation, then welcomed it greedily as you sunk a knuckle in. Then the other, and the second finger. You pumped them in and out of her slowly, pressing into the spot you knew she'd love all too well. You were devoted to serving your queen.

“Tav, you were taught love magic in your youth, surely” Minthara was gripping the sheets in ecstasy. She was trying desperately to hold out. Even slipping back to common tongue to distract herself. 

You continued your efforts and leaned forward to take her nipple in your mouth. Minthara squirmed under your touch but still, held strong. You pushed your free hand on her lower belly, causing her to gasp. Still, it wasn't enough. But you swore fealty and it was an oath you would not break. You wrapped your lips around her clit and tongued at her while you fucked her with your fingers. She screamed your name as you came. The thunderstorm couldn't hide that, though you didn't really care.

Exhausted, Minthara cuddled into your arms. You guided her back into the bedroll. “Give me a moment and I will take care of you, my divinity” she nuzzled into your neck.

You noticed her hair was still up. It would get tangled in her sleep. “No, my queen. Rest. It would honour me” you pulled the tie from her hair and it spilled over her shoulder and onto the pillow. You ran your fingers through it. She didn't protest, your touch had proven effective. She was snoring lightly in seconds. 

You took in her beauty. She was worthy of being your queen- your goddess, even. Faerun would never stand a chance. The two of you would be malevolent rulers, treacherous and perfect. Lucky for Faerun it would never know. You both were only faithful to each other, the world would never have you. 

#bg3 #bg3 fanfic #bg3 fanfiction #minthara baenre #minthara/reader #minthara/tav #minthara x oc #minthara #baldurs gate fanfiction

[aimportantdragoncollector]

If ask game still open:

AU where Inko is the personal Mary Poppins for Todoroki family

1. This is a Dad for One AU where All for One got in a fight with All Might earlier in canon AND his organization was even more devastated. While he was unconscious, the safeguards he set up to send money to his family failed. Inko had to get a job.

2. Because of AFO's early arrest, he never kidnapped Touya after he burned himself. Touya manifested a phoenix ability and regenerated after burning to ashes, surviving and returning to his family. However nothing got better as Enji was even more desperate to stop his oldest son from training and Touya even more convinced he could become a hero and also pull off the phoenix power again if his father would just give him a chance.

3. After Rei burned Shouto and got sent to the hospital, Enji sought out a nanny. However, the Todoroki children drove off everyone he hired. Touya's just a total brat. Fuyumi has a notion in her head that her mother will come back if she can get rid of all the nannies, and on some level resents them for stealing her perceived job. Natsuo got discriminated against by several caretakers for being quirkless, so he joined in. Shouto is the only good kid.

4. Inko got hired because her husband is listed as having a fire quirk and her son is quirkless, so Enji hoped she'd be able to handle his children's unique needs. He also thinks he can use her economic vulnerability to keep her quiet about anything that happens in his house, but he underestimates her. This Inko is a former villain fully aware of his husband's business. Despite her outwardly sweet demeanor, she used to be an assassin with a kill count in the triple digits. She easily sidesteps every prank the children try to pull on her and destroys every trap they send against her with a smile. Touya is convinced she might be a supernatural creature.

5. Shouto is happy because he just wanted a mom who wouldn’t pour boiling water on his face. This boy’s standards are so low that it’s pathetic his family couldn’t meet them.

6. Izuku moves into the house along with Inko and quickly befriends Shouto. Natsuo bonds with Izuku over them both being quirkless. Izuku hates how hard Endeavor trains Shouto and goes to his mom for help.

7. Inko absolutely verbally eviscerates Endeavor for his lousy training plan that is likely to cripple Shouto or burn him out, then presents a much better training plan. She also scolds Endeavor for giving up on his other two children. She presents a list of creative ways to use Fuyumi's ice quirk to kill, including blood-bending and freezing people's blood in their veins. According to her, why can't Natsuo become a hero even if he's quirkless? Finally, she has a plan for Touya to slowly train his body to adapt to his quirk. By this point Touya has been converted to an Inko fan.

8. But Inko isn't done yet. She also chews Endeavor out for giving up too easily on defeating All Might, then presents him with a detailed list of All Might's weaknesses that she obtained from her husband. (Izuku is appalled at this All Might slander, but Inko is not the biggest fan of the hero who maimed her beloved husband.) Endeavor is convinced and decides to re-devote himself to becoming number one. He allows Inko to train his children instead while he focuses on his own career.

9. Inko takes over training all the Todoroki children into unstoppable badasses. They might or might not become heroes, but no one will ever mess with them. She includes Izuku, training him to become a future quirkless hero. In this AU, Inko is more willing to teach Izuku to fight because they no longer have All for One's protection so she believes he needs to defend himself. Plus her husband failed to look out for them so he doesn't get a say. With Endeavor's backing, Izuku has a real chance at becoming a quirkless hero.

10. Izuku's totally going to get One for All, though. Natsuo can become the first quirkless hero.

#5 headcanons game #closed ask game #bnha #mary poppins #what a crossover!

[nadia-zahra]

st5 ramblings plus more

I've been wondering if anyone was talking ab how plausible time travel is for st5, and the first and only post I've seen about it was this really well done post by @endgamebyler. I'm just gonna add on to the crazy-train lol.

The first lines El has in st4 are this:

"Dear Mike, today is day 185. Feels more like ten years. Joyce says time is funny like that. Emotions can make it speed up or slow down. We're all time travelers if you think about it..."

Emotions can make time speed up or slow down

It makes ya wonder if Will's emotions the night he disappeared were so strong that it caused time to completely halt in the Upside Down, and that's why it's stuck on November 6, 1983.

And like if ya really think about it, how the fuck was Will to know he'd been in there for a week? There is no sense of time in the Upside Down, so for all we know he could've thought he'd only been in there for the night. Him thinking he'd only been in there for the night could also explain why time didn't continue moving with the seven days he'd been there.

Plus the st writers' posted this:

It makes a fuck ton of sense for time travel to be involved in st5 if it's supposed to tie Will's disappearance in 1983 and Vecna together. Maybe it'll be able to answer the questions of how tf Will got there in the first place if he didn't use a gate, why tf was Vecna seeking out Will at all, and why was El able to point Will out in the photo when they'd never met.

All of these questions are major plot points that had never been touched on-- maybe with st5 being a combo of st1 and st4 we will finally get some answers.

To rope in the flea and the acrobat for a sec, maybe the way it worked for Will was that he was so fucking scared and desperate for a way out that he accidentally traveled to the Upside Down with unknown powers instead of with a gate.

That's right, I'm tyin in the Will has powers theory cause believe it or not it makes fucking sense for Will to have the power of time control!

To further back up the idea that emotions are tied into Will's Disappearance lore and to Will having powers, EVERYONE who has powers in stranger things uses strong emotions to harness them-- what if Will was just unconsciously using his powers to stop time and escape (aka go into the Upside Down)?

This has already been touched on, but Will having the ability to control time would explain why Henry wanted him so freaking badly. Like the only people Henry didn't want to kill, but instead team up with, were Will and El. El has the power of going into the mind and opening/closing gates, and Will (probably) has the power of time control. If Henry was capable of either getting these two on his side or gaining them for himself, he would be unstoppable.

And think about it-- Vecna only goes after people who are extremely emotional because he thrives off of people's fear and emotions. What if he killed all those poor kids in st4 and in 1979 because they couldn't harness their emotions into powers he deemed valuable like El and Will can?

Furthermore: How did El lose her powers and Vecna gain them?

Well, obviously El was emotionally drained after everything she'd gone through within the last six years (yeah I'm starting with the mf rainbow room massacre) and she had to regain her emotional strength to get her powers back, but before she lost them Henry definitely didn't have the ability to just magically go into people's minds like we see him do in st4. He practically jumped Billy and had to possess him to gain control over his mind, so why tf didn't he have to do that with the other kids?

This is a stretch, but what if Vecna got a lil bit of El's power when that slug thing was in her. Seriously, after she had to manually rip it out from within her body, she lost her powers. That lil peice of Vecna did get squished by Hop, but it was still in there for long enough to cause some serious damage. Enough damage to make El lose her powers and give Vecna a taste atleast.

So to bring this post back to st5 time travel, let's speculate on how it's gonna come into play. They can't just randomly have Dustin or Nancy be like, "Oh no Vecna's back, looks like the only reasonable thing to do is use a wormhole!"-- like no they need an explainable reason why time travel's even involved. Personally, I think it's gonna be with Will needing to go back into the Upside Down and change the past.

Like what if those phone calls Joyce was getting from Will were actually 1986 Will trying to tell Joyce to go to the library or something while in the Upside Down, but he couldn't get in touch? What if he was trying to warn himself and Mike by flickering the lights outside the garage?

Will and Mike have been HEAVILY hinted at being the ones to stop Vecna *cough 20 cough*, but my brain is a lil too fried to add Byler onto this rn.

Point is, time travel is most likely happening it's just a matter of how and when.

#byler #will byers #stranger things #st theory #st analysis #el hopper #st time travel #will byers has powers #will byers theory #st5 speculation #st5 predictions #st5 theory #stranger things 5

[captainzigo]

Luster Dawn should've been the first villain of G5

Opaline is fine, but Luster is WAY more interesting as a potential villain

Then again, maybe I'm just salty over Luster being forgotten about after G4

now personally i don't think she is evil. i think she's just a loser. also i dont know if timelines line up for her to be a bad guy in g5 unless she is extremely old, or immortal somehow.

however

that would be awesome if she was evil. or at least misguided. i think her evil plan / evil ways would be unethical friendship experiments. like forcing people to be friends to power a laser. figuring out how to put friendship in jars for later. studying friendship in a lab and putting the test subjects through like science rat mazes. kidnapping people to study their friendship. using friendship magic for evil stuff. making people do weird shit to harvest their friendship more efficiently. that kind of thing.

and in the process of defeating her people would have to like convince her subjects that their contrived super friendships aren't healthy. or that friendship is cooler when a machine isn't sucking it out to use for evil. or even that their friendships are cool, but that they're being used to hurt people.

at first our heroes might even help her because some other threat vaguely justifies having more powerful friendship magic. and the experiments would start out being ethical and kinda cool. like learning how to be better friends by putting it to the test in a lab. or just general social studies. but the whole time leading up to them realizing she is evil, she'd always be ready to take things too far.

she would be unstoppable by even super friendship magic because she would have some of her own. she would keep a few friends of hers in a bunker somewhere to power her with their friendship. she would keep them in a plato's cave truman show style situation. every so often she would visit them to foster their relationship and like give them a bunch of gifts and love. and they would have no idea what she did when she left their cave. a little friendship cult to make her immune to the the-elements-of-harmony-were-just-symbols style friendship blasts even when all else fails.

she's described as twilight's best student, and that's certainly not because of her friendship skills. and if we pretend that that must include starlight, then that probably makes her the most powerful unicorn of all time. so if she goes super freak style with the friendship alchemy then she'd be unstoppable. beating her would mean they'd have to go rainbow power again but this time it's like nebula power, or aurora borealis power or something like that. which would be great for toys

I’ve always thought it would be cool to have a my little pony villain who was like doing friendship, the right way, and had all of this friendship magic stuff as a result, but was also bad and evil. and like the whole lesson can be like some people can be really good friends or even do really nice things and even be really nice people but still do bad things and stuff like that. a lesson I’m sure they’ve had before, but they’ve been going for nine seasons. What lessons haven’t they had. I think luster is a good candidate for this role based on her like two lines from the finale lol.

#I should really write a fanfiction but watch me not do that. #maybe I’ll end up making like one or two spoof comics that vaguely imply this stuff but are horribly limited in scope like I always do lol #this would have to be g4.5 i think #it fits the vibes of g4 better than those of g5 #my little pony #luster dawn

[mega-aulover]

A S. W. A. N. Story

This is for the wonderful @alwayseverlark who is always finding ways for this fandom to unite. I am grateful for your friendship and for your encouragement. Thank you for all that you do!

Special thanks to @lemonluvgirl87 for betaing :)

T rating for some bullying family disputes - family drama-meet cute - elitism - A modern AU of an Everlarked Cinderella....but with out the whole shoe thing.

Summary: Katniss Everdeen is a smart girl. Brilliant, actually. She has more degrees than she has fingers on one hand. But she has never felt beautiful or interesting. When she is asked to be Madge's maid of honor Katniss has serious doubts she'll fit in with her childhood glamorous friend. Will she survive the wedding and find love? Or will she be a total embarrassment.

Katniss sighed as she looked at her image in the mirror. At 24 she wasn't the typical girl in her mid-twenties. For one, she had a masters in the field of botany and another in Environmental Biology, with two minors- one in Paleontology and another in Genetics. She had several papers published in prestigious medical and scientific papers and was one month away from getting her doctoral thesis reviewed.

Though none of her academic success wouldn't have happened had it not been for Mrs. Swanson. At the age of eleven Mrs. Swanson saw that Katniss wasn't interested in what was being taught. Her teacher suggested Katniss take an aptitude test to see if she had any learning difficulties. Her scores for the test showed that Katniss did not have learning difficulties, she was in fact a smart brilliant child.

Katniss was next given the national IQ test to see her acumen. Mrs. Sawanon believed Katniss was smart. Her high scores were surprising. As a result she was skipped from the sixth grade to high school. Katniss qualified to be instantly enrolled to the University of Panem on a scholarship when she turned sixteen.

Because of her genius, Katniss often found it difficult to interact with people. Unless she was truly comfortable, she didn't talk, and she often felt left out in social situations.

The weekend wedding, she was going to be part of, scared the living daylights out of her. It's why it was important this weekend, everything went smoothly.

Critically she examined herself in the mirror. She wore comfortable green cargo pants with the hems rolled up because she was short. Her white t-shirt was clean, her sneakers were new. Katniss slipped on a loose heather gray knit sweater as they were going to take a flight and planes were often cold.

Katniss grimaced at her reflection one more time giving herself a pep talk. "You're going to be alright, Everdeen. If it gets too much you can always take a walk."

Walking helped center her and it would also help her not stuff her face. Food was her drug of choice, when things became bad.

Katniss still had about ten pounds to lose. She'd gained a lot of weight during her undergraduate years. The University of Panem, located in the heart of the Capitol of Panem, was surrounded by an urban concrete jungle and she didn't have the ability to hunt or hike.

During that time Katniss learned she needed the outdoors to help her cope with the stressors of life. The gym wasn't something that motivated her and so she gained a lot of weight on her petite frame.

"Don't forget to pack your contacts," Prim yelled from the guest bedroom. "Madge does not want you to wear your glasses!"

Katniss rolled her eyes pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Her contacts were packed, as Madge dictated. Anyone who was considered a plane Jane knew that removing their eyeglasses didn't turn them into automatic beautiful swans. She wasn't pretty, she was dull and uninspiring. No one would ever wax poetically about her physical appearance. Though, with a bow and an arrow in her hands, Katniss transformed into something powerful and unstoppable.

She sighed, "Too bad there isn't going to be an archery contest this weekend."

Katniss turned around and walked into her bedroom. She lived alone in the Capitol these past two years. Her sister traveled from the university she attended in District One so that they could travel together to the wedding destination. Katniss hoped that this weekend things would change for her and Prim. She wanted them to somehow grow closer. This wedding could be the jumping point for new horizons. Things had been rough between Prim and Katniss. Katniss hoped being accepted by Madge and her sister's friends, maybe just maybe Prim would see she was worthy.

Katniss sat on the bed briefly and picked up the framed photo of her parents. It was one of the few mementos she had of her fathers. Her father, the late great Jackson Everdeen was a well-respected archaeologist, and he took them on adventures all over the world. He wore a hat and leather jacket like Indiana Jones.

Then he became ill.

When he died, Katniss's entire world turned upside down.

Turning sixteen and losing her father while finishing her last year of school was not easy. Her mother became depressed, and the bills piled up. It was up to her to take the mantle of adulthood. Katniss learned how to budget for money. She sold things on Craig's list to make ends meet. While most girls her age were at the beach, she was preparing dinner and lunches for the week, mowing neighbor's lawns for extra cash, and buying groceries. With the help of a friend of the family, Katniss convinced her mother to get help. Her mother slowly came back but she was never the same.

By the time August came around, Katniss was considering not entering University. Things were just starting to turn around, and her mother's mental health was important. But her mother pushed her to leave. Katniss suspected her mother was relieved when she left to study at the Capitol. Her mother never cried when Katniss left. There wasn't pride that her eldest was going to university. There was a feverish desire to get rid of her.

Katniss supposed that she was a living reminder of her father Jack, and her mother hurt to see her. It was this discovery that caused her to leave her home.

While her mother recovered and blossomed; for Katniss, living in the Capitol was hard. It was a stressful transition from the gentle rolling hills and mountains of her home district to the frenetic energy of a city full of towering buildings made up of glass, steel, and concrete. The only green to be found was in the clothing people wore.

Katniss threw herself into studying and working to maintain herself while in the Capitol. She made sure to put aside any extra money for her sister. Katniss saved a nest egg to fund Prim's education.

"Is that what you're wearing?" Prim asked, frowning. She placed her hand on her hip. Prim was clad in a short bubbly-pink slip dress, and mile high heels.

"It's freezing outside."

"But we're going to a tropical island."

"We're going to be in the air for nearly five hours. And we'll land at like five in the morning. I want to be comfortable."

"You'll look like one of the servants."

Katniss looked down at her outfit and sighed. She wondered where her sweet little sister had gone. When she graduated and came home Prim was all grown up. Her sister had transformed into a great beauty just like their mother. "But I'm comfy…"

"It's horrible," Prim said, her fist curling. "You've got to change, or at least take your hair out of that stupid childish braid."

"There isn't time."

"Just don't embarrass me," Prim huffed.

Katniss looked down at the picture in her hand. "I'll stay out of your way, don't worry."

Prim stomped away. Katniss could hear her sister say, "I don't know why Madge made you a bridesmaid."

Katniss expelled a deep breath before putting her picture back on her bedside table.

Madge had asked both Prim and Katniss to be in her bridal party. Katniss was surprised. She and the Mayor's daughter sat together during lunch back in high school, they didn't talk but they were friendly. Katniss was flattered until she met the other bridesmaids. All of the bridesmaids including her baby sister were tall slender modelesque blondes, with fair complexions and pale blue eyes. In contrast Katniss was short, with dark hair, gray eyes, and olive skin complexion.

Once again, she felt as if she didn't belong. The first time she'd felt this way was the spring she'd graduated from her undergraduate program and returned home for one summer.

Prim and her mother were a team, Prim inherited her mother's looks and bubbly personality. Katniss looked like their father and had his fire and frightening intelligence. Her mother refused to engage with Katniss. Instead, their mother focused on Prim. She showered her baby sister with everything, while Katniss was pushed to the side.

Katniss was a fish looking out of the fishbowl not being able to participate in the life her mother and sister had outside of the bowl.

"Come on Catnip," Prim sang, knowing Katniss hated that nickname. Prim bounded out of the house. "The car is here!"

"I'm coming," Katniss muttered, she loathed being called catnip.

"HURRY!" Prim bellowed from the car.

"Okay, okay," Katniss said. It was so cold outside her breath came out in puffy white clouds. Locking up the door she ran to the car and got in. The warmth stung her cold cheeks.

"I can't wait to get glammed up," Prim said as she put her seat belt on.

The car pulled out of Katniss's driveway.

Katniss smiled thinly, wanting the three-day weekend to go well, as she had hoped.

"I can't believe Madge is getting married tomorrow night," Prim said as she hummed along to the bubbly song. "She was so welcoming to me when I was pledging to her sorority. Took me under her wing, and so did Glimmer and Cashmere who are cousins. I can't wait to see them."

"I'm glad you've made great friends," Katniss quietly said.

"I know you don't care but I can't wait to get into my dress," Prim squealed.

Katniss said nothing, as the car slipped into the highway.

"Madge said that Cinna was hand-making the dresses, it's why he sent his assistants to take the measurements," Prim chirped happily.

Katniss frowned. No assistant came to take her measurements. As per the instructions she received via email she was to take her own measurements and send them to the provided address. She'd made sure that followed all the directions to the letter, she didn't want to make anyone upset with her.

"Can you imagine, me, putting on a couture gown that's worth ten thousand coins?" Prim smiled, her eyes were bright with happiness.

Katniss didn't say anything. She settled back in her seat and tried to relax letting what Prim said go over her head.

When they pulled up to the private airport that was going to take them to the wedding destination.

Katniss's smile faltered as they got out and saw the other women who were giants, one was named Glimmer, and the other Cashmere. These women were always frosty to Katniss, but for the sake of her sister Katniss squared her shoulders and plastered a smile on her face.

Prim squealed when she saw them.

"Have you met any of the groomsmen?" Cashmere asked.

"No, I haven't met any of them," Prim said.

"They're gorgeous," Glimmer said.

No one had met their partner; Madge had gotten engaged less than two months ago. It was a whirlwind romance that led to a quickly planned wedding.

Katniss tried to keep her calm when she was left behind to take care of the luggage. All three women were talking at the same time. Their voices were a cacophony of vain prattle. On the plane, Katniss sat by herself as it took off. Five hours later they landed at the exclusive island Madge was going to get married at.

A car drove them to the house, and Katniss's jaw dropped. The white house was enormous, and it was set amongst lush landscapes. The air smelled sweet with tropical fauna. The botanist in Katniss wanted to investigate what flowers produced such a sweet scent. The elegant front porch with its roof supported by four tall columns was welcoming. The elaborate doorway was made from a native rich wood. The elegant large windows had shutters, which were merely decorative.

There was a woman waiting for them with three frosty fruity drinks.

Katniss was about to reach for one when Glimmer shoved her to the side.

"Oh, my goodness these are delicious," Glimmer said.

"I know," Prim squealed. "I'm legal here I can drink!"

"I really need to relax. I've been so stressed," Cashmere said giggling.

Katniss watched her sister giggle and nod.

Madge came out and she grinned when she saw them. "Hi, I'm glad you're here. We've got to get you guys ready for tonight. Cinna is here with his team. The guys are getting ready as we speak. Helene will take you to Cinna's prep team," Madge said.

Katniss was going to follow when Madge pulled her back.

"Katniss, thank goodness you're here, I need you to help with the flower arrangements, they're a nightmare."

Katniss smiled. "Sure."

While the others were whisked away for mani-pedis, and facials Katniss was put to work. Even though she didn't know much about bridal floral arrangements, Madge was right, the arrangements were a hot mess. Using her phone she looked up wild plants. Katniss found a few species of plants outside that could be used to better the decorations.

When she was finished with her first task, a message was sent down from Madge. Katniss was to assist the staff set up the reception, next she was told she was to help set up the cocktail hour, she was made to help while everyone was getting ready. That is how she found herself hauling chairs down to the patio.

As she was tying the decorations on the chairs that lined the wedding aisle, she heard the distinctive voices of men. She looked up to see four men dressed in tuxedos standing by the backyard entrance of the house.

One was tall with a slight build with sandy brown hair, another had thick meaty fingers, and there was another that was bronzed with green eyes. They were all handsome, but in her opinion, it was the last guy that was the best-looking one.

He had warm blue eyes and was athletic like the other guys, but his movements were graceful. There was something about him that caused her to want to give him a flirty smile. And Katniss did not flirt.

"Hey, Marvel, maybe she can get us some drinks," the one with the meaty fingers said as he pointed to Katniss.

"Cato, I don't think she'd know, she looks like she's here with the vendors," Marvel said.

"I don't think Madge would like for us to get drunk, until after we have taken the pictures," the one with the warm blue eyes said.

"Peeta's right, Madge would have our arse if we looked drunk in those pictures," the bronzed one said.

"Come on, live a little, Finnick," Cato said. Turning to Katniss the one called Cato said, "You wouldn't happen to know where the drinks are would you?"

Katniss shook her head, she was a bundle of nerves, and she couldn't answer their simple question. She brushed by them entering the house, hoping she wouldn't have to speak to them. She took her sweater and tied it around her middle. Her hair was piled up into a messy bun. She was sweaty and tired, and she still needed to take a shower and put on the dress she was sure would not fit her.

Katniss felt like she always looked like a frumpy potato sack, even when she tried her best. To her embarrassment her cousin Gale had taken her to her winter formal dance when she was sixteen. It was her father's last wish. The dress her mother had secured her was a tiered silky pink ruffled dress with high lace collar and long sleeves that were also ruffled. It was one size too big, and the color was supposed to be pink but in the pictures, it looked brown.

"Are you sure you don't know where the drinks are?" Cato pulled out a stack of coins and asked, "I can make it worth your while?"

Katniss took a step back not knowing how to make these men know that she had no idea where they would keep the alcohol.

"See I told you she wouldn't know," Marvel said.

These were the times Katniss wished she had her bow and arrow. These entitled pricks always thought they had the right to objectify women and treat them like crap.

"Leave her alone Cato," Peeta said. "Look she's just trying to earn a living okay? Just leave her alone."

"Peeta's right," Finnick said.

"She probably doesn't speak English." Marvel then proceeded to shout, "HABLA ENGLISH! ENGLISH!"

"Come on, we're wasting our time," Cato said. "We better get back."

Katniss was glad they were leaving, Marvel and Cato were idiots. Money did not buy people class.

Peeta stayed behind, as he watched the guys move on to the other side of the room. They cornered one of the waiters. Peeta turned to Katniss, "I'm sorry about them. They're not even my friends. You did a great job."

"It's okay really," she said.

"They're real jerks. I guess that makes me a jerk too, but I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to deal with guys like me, like us." He slipped his hand in his pocket and he looked full of energy as if uncomfortable.

"Thank you," Katniss said. She smiled politely. He was a nice guy and she wished that someone like him would one day pay attention to her. She knew that it was useless to want something like this. A gorgeous guy like him would never really pay attention to someone like her. She was the help in his eyes.

"So what…"

"There you are," Prim said, looking resplendent in a floor-length chiffon gown with open crisscross back and sweetheart neckline with spaghetti straps in a lovely peach shade. "Why aren't you dressed!"

Katniss was about to respond.

"Prim," Cato exclaimed.

"Cato, I didn't know you'd be one of the groomsmen," Prim said breathily.

Katniss rolled her eyes when she realized this was the guy Prim had saved in her phone contacts as Steak. She hung back.

"So…" Peeta said. "Do you work here or are you with the rental companies?"

Katniss cleared her throat, took a deep breath, and said, "No."

"Will you be at the wedding?"

Katniss nodded, her heart racing in her chest.

He smiled at her and Katniss swore time slowed down, like in the movies.

"Do you think you'll save a dance for me?"

Dumbfounded, Katniss stared into his eyes. She saw that he was a gentle soul. Katniss felt her cheeks heat up. He wanted to dance with her and that itself was a miracle. She gave him a crooked smile, unsure what to say. It figured she'd finally meet a guy when she looked and smelled her worst. He was in a tux, looking like a gift from the gods.

Before she could answer, her sister's head snapped to Katniss. She gave her a venomous look.

"So, I'll see you later?" Cato asked Prim.

Katniss glanced to her side wondering what she had done wrong.

Her sister giggled, before purring, "I've got to go, but I'll see you later." Her sister wrapped her hand around Katniss's arm and then dragged her away.

"Prim, would you mind slowing down," Katniss said as she was dragged to a corner. Katniss could see the guys from where she stood hidden in the shadows.

"You're not supposed to speak to anyone," her sister hissed.

What her sister said didn't make sense."Prim, I was…"

Prim pushed her away and pointed at her chest."Where have you been?"

Her tone denoted more of a demand than a question. "I've been working, while you and the rest of the girls were getting dressed."

"Madge…"

"Madge was the one who sent me down there to work."

"Madge would never do that," Prim huffed.

"You know I don't lie Prim."

"I don't believe you."

"When have I ever lied to you, Primrose? Besides, didn't you notice I wasn't there with you guys?"

"You know what, it doesn't matter. What does matter is the photographer is here to take pictures and here you are ruining Madge's day."

"I was only doing what she asked me to do." Katniss wished her sister would believe her. "Prim…"

"Instead of arguing you should be worried about getting ready. Though I doubt there is anything Cinna and his team can do to make you look better."

Katniss ignored her sister's insult, having an argument would be counterproductive. Her shoulders slumped, as she took a deep sigh. "Just point me to my room so that I can take a shower."

"Fine," Prim huffed.

Katniss followed Prim down a flight of stairs down a long corridor to a room far away from the rest of the guest's rooms. In fact, it wasn't even in the same wing. "Madge didn't want you disturbing everyone's fun this weekend," Prim smirked.

The room was smaller than her college dorm room. But at least it offered privacy. "Where is the bathroom?"

"It's in the hallway." Prim crossed her arms. "You'll be sharing it with the staff."

"Okay," Katniss said. It didn't matter; she was only going to be here a few days. "I can be ready in ten, fifteen max."

"You only have five minutes."

"Okay." Katniss was trying not to get annoyed by her sisters' curt responses. She opened her suitcase and took out her shower kit.

"Don't get upset. It's not my fault you don't have time, because you were wasting time downstairs."

"Prim I wasn't wasting time-"

"You know, Madge didn't even want you to be part of her bridal party. She knew you were going to do something to ruin her day. And she was right."

"Then why am I here?" Katniss asked, shocked and dismayed by her sister's vitriol. Her eyes watered up, but she tempered down her sadness.

"The only reason you're here is because Madge's father was a friend of his…"

"You mean our father, Prim, Jackson Everdeen."

At the mention of their father's name Prim's face became stormy.

That summer Katniss lived at home; Prim never mentioned their father. There were no pictures of their father in the house. In fact, Katniss noticed their mother had taken down any pictures of Katniss as well. Any time Katniss brought up their father, Prim became upset. Katniss tried to broach the subject with their mother, but their mother shut her down.

With rage Prim ground out, "He abandoned us."

"He was sick, Prim, for a long time. He fought to get better to stay alive. I don't know what lie you've told yourself but our father didn't want to die…he loved us."

"He wasn't even a father to me."

Katniss was going to respond but Madge and Glimmer came into the room. Madge was wearing a white robe with the word bride in pink crystals, and she also had a pink sash that said the same thing. Glimmer wore the same dress Prim was wearing except she wasn't wearing heels she was wearing fuzzy slippers. It was such a silly thing for Katniss to notice as she looked into Glimmer's steely eyes.

"Prim," Madge said, looking at Primrose with kindness. Her frosty eyes flickered to Katniss momentarily. "I came to get you. I'm about to put my dress on and I wanted you to be in the picture..." Madge said with compassion, "Primypooh, Are you okay?"

Prim stood there; her face twisted in anger. "No, I'm not! She always does this…like a dog with a bone."

Madge turned to Katniss and then spat, "I don't know why my father idolizes you. You're a freak of nature, you smell like dead things, you're fat, and you're not even that pretty."

Katniss opened her mouth and shut it. She turned to her sister, silently pleading for some sort of benevolence.

She didn't understand why her sister was so mean and caustic with her.

"That man messed up my mother. Fucked her up in the head! He was selfish. He filled mother's head with the life they would have. But in the end, all she did was suffer. Our mother could have married into a reputable family. A family with means, a name, like the Mellarks or the Johnstons. Mother had her choice of men to choose from, but she made one mistake. She got knocked up with her…" Prim pointed at Katniss. "She's just like him, ugly as fuck, and always ruining things!" Prim sneered at her with so much malice, Katniss was taken aback. "My mother regretted her life with that man. Regretted having you. She said she should've gotten rid of you when she had the chance!"

Katniss stood there numb. It was like being pelted in the face with a frozen snowball multiple times.

"I told you that she's a disaster," Glimmer said.

"Ladies," a gentle voice called from the doorway.

Katniss balled her hands trying to displace her pain and hurt into that part of her body so that they wouldn't be witnesses to her tears. Part of her acknowledged she should have stayed home, said no to Madge, and made an excuse. However, the drive to fix her relationship with her sister prompted her to say yes and come.

"Oh, Cinna!" Madge's tone of voice changed, and in an instant, the countenance of all three blondes changed from irate, to ambassadors of light and happiness. "What are you doing here?'

"I'm here to get Miss Everdeen ready," Cinna said calmly.

There was a woman with him, she had aqua-spiked hair and gold tattoos above her eyebrows. Her face did not belay the tension that had to be swirling in the room.

"I'm assuming you're Katniss?" Cinna asked.

Katniss nodded, she didn't expect Cinna to be so young for a man who'd already made a huge mark in the fashion industry. Even though she wasn't a fashionista, Katniss was aware of who Cinna was. He dressed one of her colleagues when their suit was ruined. Unlike the woman who stood next to him the only decoration he had was a thin gold line over his eyelids. He was dressed in an elegant black dress shirt with gold-colored buttons and crisply pleated pants. He glanced at Katniss and his smile was gentle, and his eyes were reassuring.

"Venia, tell the others to get everything ready," Cinna said.

Venia nodded.

"There's no need…I'm afraid plans have changed." Madge smiled thinly, but Venia didn't listen to Madge, she left.

"Oh," Cinna breathed out.

"I just don't have time for…besides you've dressed my cousin who I sent you the measurements for, she looks amazing in the dress. Plus, I'm sure, you don't have anything that will fit her."

"You know, your father was the one who made the request," Cinna said. "Mayor Undersea told me, it was important to him that Jack Everdeen's eldest be present in the wedding because he saved his life."

"My father?" Madge said.

"He did?" Prim questioned harshly.

Katniss had no idea, but it was a balsam to hear that her father was a good kind man, and not the monster Primrose painted him to be to Madge and the rest of the entourage.

"Yes," Cinna said, "He and your mother were excited that Miss Everdeen was the maid of honor."

"He did," Madge squeaked out.

"So, if you do not mind, I have to make sure your father's wishes are taken care of."

"I…" Madge stammered.

Cinna smiled.

"But she has no dress!"

"Do not worry, I will make sure your pictures are wonderful. Also, Caesar Flickerman is here."

"Caesar Flickerman!" Madge squealed.

"Upon my invitation, he came to interview you and your family," Cinna said charmingly. "Your wedding is the event of the season. You are, after all, marrying a Highbottom."

"OMG, Caesar Flickerman," Glimmer exclaimed. "My mother loves him!"

Katniss wasn't sure what was going on.

"You're needed downstairs," Cinna said, winking at Katniss. "Caesar is going to set up his cameras in the bridal suite so that he can have footage of you in your dress."

"Madge, forget about her," Glimmer urged. "You have to be camera perfect."

Madge turned to Prim, "I want you to be there for the interview."

"Of course, you're going to be famous," Prim said.

Madge turned to Cinna, "Thank you so much." She turned to Katniss and her face soured. "There isn't enough magic to make her look good, but if you can do something to make her less embarrassing that would be wonderful."

Madge, Glimmer, and Prim left in a hurry.

Katniss expelled the breath she was holding.

"I'm sorry," Katniss apologized; she never intended to cause problems.

"I heard everything," Cinna said quietly.

"Oh." She was mortified that strangers had heard everything. It was one thing to be known as the black sheep of the family, it was another to have it be known to strangers. Especially important ones.

"I am going to make you look resplendent," Cinna promised.

"You don't have to, I'm not going down there." The words were thick in her throat as it closed up with emotion.

"No, don't let them win," Cinna said. "Don't let your sister treat you like that."

"But, she…" Katniss stammered as the tears she'd been battling slipped from her eyes.

"She's a bratty bitch," Cinna said. "I've met plenty of girls like her, however, I've not met a woman like you…Mayor Undersee told me how you kept your family afloat after your father died. He told me how you are the one who is paying for your sister's education, and still sending your mother a part of your paycheck. The Mayor is very proud of you, he showed me the articles you've written, and the accolades you've received."

Katniss bit the bottom of her lip to keep from balling.

"I also heard the way you worked downstairs, pitching in…" Cinna said. "You're quite admirable."

"How?"

"My friend Portia was supposed to be downstairs doing the decorations. Her plane was late, when she arrived she said she saw you handling things. You're unique, and if they could remove the stick out of their asses they'd be able to see it."

"I'm not…" Katniss was going to say she wasn't worthy, but Cinna spoke over her words.

"You are," Cinna gently smiled.

"Thank you for your kind words," Katniss sighed. She blinked and then taking a tissue from her pocket blew her nose.

"No need," Cinna said. "Just leave that behind, I have everything you need."

Katniss blinked, she believed him and left her shower kit behind. She blindly followed Cinna. Part of her wanted to run and hide. The small hope Katniss held to possibly fix her relationship fizzled. Once more she felt unloved and an outsider.

When she arrived in his suite of rooms, his assistants were all ready for her. "Everyone I'm guessing you heard what this brilliant young lady has been put through."

Venia smiled and her eyes sparkled, as she approached. "We're going to make you look better than the bride. And when this weekend is over, everyone is going to love you!"

Katniss swallowed, the fiercely determined look in the eyes of the group of people, it made her tremble. No one had ever looked at her that way. Even though she was fantastic in her field she never attended social events. Katniss was terrified to be called a phony.

"Trust me?" Cinna said.

Katniss nodded. Instantly she was whisked away to the bathroom that was twice the size of her apartment bedroom. For the rest of the time she was soaked in luxurious scented water, buffed, polished, perfumed, and peeled. The peeling wasn't great but her skin had never been softer.

She sat in a chair, her hair in a towel having lost track of time.

"What do you want to do with her Cinna?" Venia asked.

"With those eyes, smokey and dangerous," Flavius said.

"I think we should keep it basic," Cinna said, tipping her chin up. "Amplify her classic beauty," Cinna said.

Katniss couldn't believe that Cinna was saying she was beautiful. Physically she wasn't pretty but Katniss knew in the woods, she shone like a diamond.

"Oh yes," Octavia breathed. "She's such an exotic beauty, we can play up her eyes, and her skin tone. Ugh…I wish I had your olive skin tone."

"You think I'm pretty?" Katniss blurted.

They laughed.

"You really don't know do you?" Venia said.

"You're a treasure!" Flavius exclaimed. "You are so gorgeous you make all of the girls ripe with jealousy."

Venia added, "And you have a banging bod!"

"I always thought…" Katniss didn't finish her sentence, instead, she peered at her reflection. The pert nose, the weird color of eyes, the extra weight. She was forever comparing her darker skin to her mother's and Prim's fair one.

"Did you bring contacts?" Venia asked.

"Yes, Madge said I should," Katniss said. "It's in my shower kit, but I left it on the bed."

"Kist," Venia said to her assistant. "Go get all of her stuff."

"Sure thing," Kist said.

"Well young lady, it's time to get your hair done," Flavius said.

Katniss watched as Flavius quickly transformed her thick straight dark locks into bouncy waves of perfection. He parted her hair to the side and then explained he was giving her a relaxed finger wave. Her hair looked fantastic.

After putting on her contacts Venia applied her makeup as Octavia finished up her nails. Katniss wasn't allowed to look at herself while they worked on her face. When they finished Cinna held out the dress. It left her speechless.

"What do you think?"

"Cinna's it's your best design to date," Venia breathed.

The dress looked like a soft sunset. It was a floor-length strapless gown with silk organza draped over one shoulder creating a small cape.

"Are those polka dots made from fabric?" Katniss asked.

"Actually, tiny crystals were woven into little pockets throughout the dress so that when it moves," Cinna said, moving the gown. "It glitters."

Katniss gasped as the dress shimmered in the light.

"She's going to look like a Grecian goddess," Flavius whispered.

"Let's get you dressed," Cinna said.

The dress slipped over her head and within moments she was ready. Katniss wondered what she looked like. They didn't have time to do a reveal because Madge was calling.

"Just trust me you look amazing," Cinne said, winking at her. Katniss nodded and stood straighter feeling it. The dress felt amazing, softer than her favorite cotton tee-shirt.

Cinna leaned in close and whispered into her ear, "It might hurt but sometimes you have to cut the toxic people from your life."

Katniss looked at him wide-eyed. She could never cut her sister out of her life. She was so alone and having her sister and her mother even if it was hurtful made her feel part of a family.

"Ready?" Cinna said.

Lifting her chin in the air Katniss nodded and followed them downstairs.

She could hear the women talking and laughing as they were congregated by the doors. None noticed her and for once Katniss didn't care.

"Katniss Everdeen," Mayor Undersea said, coming forward with his wife.

"You look wonderful," Roberta Undersea said.

"Thank you Mrs. Undersea," Katniss said. Roberta was Edward Undersea's second wife. Madge's mother passed away a few years ago due to a botched-up plastic surgery accident. She was smart and it was well known that Madge and her stepmother didn't get along.

"I am so happy Madge had the sense to put you as her maid of honor," Mayor Undersea said. "Come and see me. I want to introduce you to a few people here. They've read your articles and want to meet the young lady who is making our world a better place."

"Thank you, sir," Katniss said.

"Oh Peeta, have you met the young lady you are going to walk down the aisle with?" Roberta said, pulling the blond man from before. Katniss could feel her cheeks warming up at the sight of him.

"Uh hi again," Peeta stammered.

"Again?" Roberta said grinning.

"Well she was helping out before," Peeta said pointing to the outdoors.

"Of course, she was," Mayor Undersea said. "That's the type of lovely young lady she is, Muriel," he called over to someone.

A woman with a dour face and critical blue eyes came over. "This is Jack Everdeen's oldest. This is Katniss."

Muriel's face turned wide with surprise. "Oh, she's the one that saved us all of that money."

"Mom," Peeta said.

"Shut up, boy. This is the type of woman I wanted for one of your brothers, not one of those bottle died blondes with the botox-injected faces. I read your article on how to save money while going green. We saved millions because of that article."

Katniss hid her smile.

"Mom," Peeta said. "She's the girl who I'm supposed to be…"

"Don't lose sight of her, she's a peach," Muriel said. "I shudder to think of you with that Glitter girl."

Mayor Undersea laughed, "Muriel we'll do lunch next week. Catch up on that golf game?"

"Why not? You'll lose," Muriel said. Turning to her son she said, "Now just stand there, give her a compliment Peeta."

"Mom," Peeta looked at her. "She's right…I mean you're gorgeous and I'd like to know if you'd go out with me this weekend?" Peeta said, rushing through his words.

"Really?"

"He's the best of the Mellarks," Roberta whispered to Katniss encouragingly.

"Well you don't have to say yes, but I just thought you should know that I also think you're also amazing. She fixed the decor earlier this afternoon."

"They had you working?" Mayor Undersee asked.

"I was helping out," Katniss said softly.

"You were the only one. I can't even tell you where the other bridesmaids were," Peeta said.

"Father, Father…" Madge called out.

"Madge dear," Mayor Undersea greeted.

Madge's lips were thinned. Despite her unpleasant attitude, Madge looked gorgeous in her princess-cut cathedral-length ball gown. It looked like she had sparkly white coral motifs on her dress. Cinna had done an extraordinary job on her gown. It was masterful, it made her look regal. "You cannot expect me to have…that woman in my wedding party."

"Now Madge," Mayor Undersee began.

"Father, I have to tolerate having her here, but now my pictures will be ruined. I mean have you seen her, she's an unattractive troll."

"Madge," her father said.

"Why can't cousin Mavey take her place, she is after all family?" Madge argued.

Katniss realized Madge didn't recognize her and she decided to keep quiet and see what happened.

"Madge, you will do what your father wants," Roberta said, and winked at Katniss. She too had come to the same conclusion as Katniss. "He is paying for this entire affair after all."

Katniss could see Madge formulating the all too familiar you're not my mother when her father cut her off.

"I told you. I did not agree with you marrying that young man, but you wanted him. So out of love, I have done all of this. However, per our agreement, Highbottom signed an ironclad prenuptial agreement. And you were to have Katniss as your maid of honor and Prim as a bridesmaid."

"But…at least Prim is presentable. My pictures will be fine with her in the back…but Katniss…" Madge looked and finally spotted Katniss.

Katniss was sure Madge would recognize her.

"Ugh, I'd rather have this woman here. She's better looking than Katniss. She will even look good standing next to Peeta."

Muriel snickered.

"Madge," her father opened his mouth and shut it, he gave Katniss an apologetic smile.

"Fine," Madge ground out. She huffed away her gown, nearly knocking down the easel with an image of her and her fiance.

"Just like her mother," Muriel muttered.

Roberta chuckled.

"I am sorry for my daughter's rude behavior." The Mayor rubbed his face. "It's my fault for spoiling her after her mother's death."

"People do funny things while grieving," Katniss replied.

"You know it was me who introduced your father and mother. He was so brilliant, like you. I was lucky to have known him."

"And if not for you, I wouldn't have married Peeta's father," Muriel said.

Gentle music began to play. A sign for all of the guests to go to their seats.

"I think I better grab my seat. Remember Peeta don't let this one out of your sight," Muriel said to Peeta.

"I think I'll join you. Edward honey, you better join Madge I think they're about to start." Roberta left with Muriel. Mayor Undersee walked away to find his daughter.

Peeta glanced around, his face was red. "I'm sorry I thought you were an employee…I didn't know you were that Katniss."

"How many Katniss's do you know?" The cheeky words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"Not many," Peeta chuckled.

"So how long have you known the groom?"

"To be honest the only guy I know is Finnick. He's in the fraternity that my brother went to. I've known those guys but never really hung out with them. Truthfully I think they picked me because I'll look good in the pictures."

Katniss found herself laughing.

"Honestly I'm glad the pictures are over with. I think after this I'm going to get a ticket and go back home."

"Why?"

"I'm not wanted here. I'm not going to stick around to be around people who don't like me."

"What if one of those people were your sibling?" The question slipped out of Katniss's mouth before she could even stop them.

"I overheard the way your sister spoke to you. You were only trying to help out the bride, not ruin her day. If anything without you the decor wouldn't have been finished."

"You heard all of that," Katniss felt her face become heated. It was embarrassing for her to know others had heard her sister's demeaning words.

"My older brother was that way. I love him but we don't get along. He disapproved of everything I did. I had to walk away."

Peeta's words were like a revelation to her. Her eyes found her sister. She loved her baby sister with every bone in her body but at the moment their relationship was toxic to Katniss. The words Primrose had spoken about their father hurt. The way Prim perceived Katniss hurt. Katniss looked up at Peeta.

"I learned a long time ago that family doesn't have to be blood-related," Peeta said.

Her sister threw her head back and laughed. It was a girlish yet feminine laugh intended to allure Cato. Cinna's words came to her in that instance. Both men were correct. As she watched Prim flirt with a tipsy Cato it dawned on Katniss that her sister was no longer a defenseless little girl. She was an adult.

Her mother was an adult.

They were all adults and her mother and sister didn't need her as much as she needed them. Katniss wanted more out of life. She wanted to feel safe again like when her dad was alive. She wanted that sense of family. Peeta was right she didn't have to be related to someone to call them family.

Prim was able to care for herself. Cato leaned over and whispered something in her sister's ears and her sister gave him a lusty look. Cato grinned and as he leaned back he nearly tripped over Finnick.

"Finn, you're cramping my style…" Cato looked flushed and his eyes were a little watery.

Marvel handed Cato a flask and the man drank from it and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Both of them chuckled. As they took more swigs from the flask. Marvel and Cato were clearly intoxicated.

"Marvel, Cato please find your partners," The wedding planner said. She was a redhead that looked like a fox. She wore sensible low-heeled shoes as she briskly put everyone in order.

She hovered over the group, her eyes quickly darted from looking at the tablet and looking about wildly at the group assembled.

"Peeta, would you happen to know where I can find Katniss Everdeen," the woman asked as soon as she reached them.

"I'm Katniss." Katniss said.

"Oh, I thought you were…well they said you…" The woman stammered.

"You thought I was ugly?" Katniss prompted.

"The way the bride described you…" she stammered then she took a deep breath. "We need you and Peeta to be ready to walk. I'll give you a signal to line up in front of the doors and then you march down the aisle."

Katniss smiled.

"Alright everyone please take your places," the woman shouted.

The procession began and Katniss watched a stately couple make their way through the doors. Katniss hung back as she watched the harried wedding planner try to wrangle the bridal party and the groomsmen. Katniss watched as her sister left with a drunk Cato followed by the other bridesmaids. It was finally her turn.

Katniss put her hand over Peeta's arm before taking a deep breath. There was a brief flicker of recognition as Prim recognized Katniss. Her sister's look was glacial, to say the least. Katniss stood waiting for the bride unaware of the appreciative glances she was getting from the groomsmen.

Madge floated down the aisle and did not pay any attention to Katniss; Madge was too busy hamming it up for the cameras and the audience. When the ceremony was over Katniss was glad that the reception was followed immediately by the cocktail hour and the dinner. They were waiting for the meals and Katniss was starving.

The meals were late and so the dance floor had opened up and people were dancing, and the drinks were flowing. Cato and Marvel were getting progressively louder. Waiters were walking around with small little hors d'oeuvres.

Mr. Undersea had been introducing Katniss around the room. She had more business cards in her hand than there were flowers in Madge's bouquet. Katniss saw a waiter with a silver platter loaded with bacon-wrapped scallops.

"I wouldn't eat those if I were you," Peeta said by her side.

Katniss turned around to ask why not when she saw that he had a slider in his hand. "Unless you're willing to lose some fingers I suggest you move that away from my face."

"Actually this is for you," Peeta offered.

"Oh, you're my hero," Katniss snatched the slider and with two bites it was gone.

"Katniss," Mayor Undersea called her.

"Hide me," Katniss whispered.

"Tell you what, I'll go get you food. Talk to the Mayor then meet me by the ice sculpture of Madge."

"As long as the food doesn't make me sick I'll eat anything," Katniss said.

"I'll take it you're not one of those salad queens."

"Either you cough up a salad or stop talking. I'm about to go outside and munch on the grass."

Peeta laughed. "Point taken."

"Katniss," the Mayor waived her over.

Katniss watched another waiter walk by.

"Trust me I get you the food." He winked and said, "I'll see you soon."

Katniss was headed to the mayor when a waiter got close. She was about to get an hors d'oeuvres when she was pulled back. Prim pulled her into a room where Madge was with the other girls.

"What are you doing wearing that!" Prim whispered furiously.

"Are you trying to upstage the bride?" Glimmer accused.

"Yeah," Cashmere said narrowing her eyes. 

This was a little too reminiscent of every movie where the Cinderella character was confronted by the antagonists. Over the years it could be the evil stepsisters, the mean co-workers, the popular 'it' crowd, or the disappointed family members. Katniss stood straight; she wasn't going to be beaten down.

"I'm not going to justify your behavior by letting you beat up on me. I've done nothing wrong. Madge congratulations on your nuptials. I hope you have a pleasant life and that you will never need the prenuptial agreement your father put in place. Primrose, I think it's time you grow up. I love you but I've been killing myself paying for your expenses and your education and all I seem to get from you is rotten vitriol. It's time for you to grow up. I'm not paying for your education or your lifestyle."

"Doesn't matter, mom will take care of me."

"Our mother. She can't afford it," Katniss "You're such a big fat liar. Mom…"

"Why would I lie? Do the math. Numbers do not lie. Mother hasn't worked in years. Where do you think she gets the money?" Katniss felt no victory at her words but they were truthful and were coming from a place where she put herself first for once.

"From her family. Our grandfather left her a small inheritance."

"Oh Primrose, there is no inheritance. It's been me…" Katniss wondered what lies her mother had put inside Primrose's head. "I've been the one sending money home. The one who has paid for your education, and the one who has spoiled you rotten. It's time that I stopped and let you be an adult."

"I don't believe you," Primrose spat.

"Don't," Made said. "She's only doing this because she's jealous. Jealous of you, of me, of how hot I am."

Katniss smirked, "Right."

"The only reason you're here is because of my father. I think it's time you left. Glimmer, call security. I don't want this riff-raff in my wedding."

It didn't matter at this point. Katniss was ready to leave.

The door to the room opened, and Peeta walked in. The music blasted in, and there was shouting. The room became quiet when Peeta shut the door. "Hey there you are, I was looking for you." Peeta took a look around the room, "Are you alright?"

"Yep." Katniss felt lighter than in years. She smiled at Peeta. "I was about to leave."

Peeta offered her his arm and she gratefully took it.

"Oh Madge, I forgot to tell you. You need to go speak to Cato and Marvel. They're trying to hit on the officiant's wife."

"What?" Madge said.

Peeta opened the door and there was Cato and Marvel grinding against Madge's ice sculpture.

"No!" Madge screeched as she got up and walked out with her group. Prim wouldn't look Katniss in the face.

Katniss felt a stab of pain in her heart. At this moment she wouldn't cry, she'd save that for private time. Peeta put his hand on hers and gently squeezed.

"One day your sister is going to see that her friends are not supportive and she's going to regret this moment."

"I know but it still hurts. I love her so much," Katniss said.

There was a loud yell and both looked out of the door to see Madge falling into her cake. Marvel and Cato were on the table laughing as the only thing that could be seen was her red-bottomed shoes sticking out from a mountain of cake.

"I think this is our cue to leave," Katniss said.

As he walked with her out of the room Peeta turned to her and said. "I know this is going to sound very douchey. But I flew here with my mother. She's got her bags already packed and ready to leave. I wouldn't mind giving you a ride home or having you forever with me. Did I say there was a bounty of food aboard my plane? I have cheese buns."

"That is quite the request?"

"So I take it forever, is off the table?"

"I didn't say it wasn't…" Katniss was contemplating what a cheese bun was.

"Okay, so I got my swan chance?"

"Swan?" Katniss frowned as they walked across the reception to exit. Peeta pulled her into a dance. From the distance, she saw Mayor Undersee nod at her

"You know a story without a name, this is our meet cute…"

Katniss laughed. This was her Swan story.

The End….

Epilogue Sort of…

Katniss sat aboard Peeta's private plane. After the wedding, Katniss and Peeta started dating. They were going out for a few months. Katniss had never been so happy. She missed her sister and mother, but she knew they had to learn to defend themselves and learn to live on their own two feet.

"Are we ready," Peeta's father said, clasping his hands and walking into the cockpit.

Peeta and his father were going to fly his mother and father on a small vacation in another district. She bit into one of the flaky morsels of bread. The fragrance of the melting cheese and herbs made her mouth water as she moaned. This was her third one.

"Good huh," Muriel said.

"I'd marry your son for just these," Katniss said with her mouth full of food.

"I think that can be arranged," Muriel said.

Katniss's eyes widened. "Um…"

"Mom," Peeta said as he walked on board.

"She's a good girl, and smart to boot," Peeta's father yelled from the co-pilot's seat.

"My husband is right, plus, I need some intelligent grandbabies."

"MOM! DAD!" Peeta exclaimed. His face was red.

Muriel smiled and waved the plate in front of her face. "He made them from scratch."

Peeta gave his mother that please-stop-look before saying, "I wanted to have something to eat on the flight. I was nervous about the trip."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Katniss felt guilty. "I'm eating your food."

"No don't worry, I don't mind," Peeta grinned, taking one from her hand. "Just save me one or two."

"Don't worry Everdeen…you can keep your name if you want…I just want a grandbaby, in return."

"MOM!" Peeta exclaimed.

Peeta turned to her his hand rubbing his neck, his face red, "Don't…listen…unless you know… that forever thing…that's still on the table."

Katniss grinned. "If you promised to make me cheese buns, I'll take it into consideration."

Muriel laughed. "I told you she's a keeper from the get-go, I don't know what you're waiting for."

"Mom, please…"

Katniss couldn't help chuckling. Peeta and his family were always this way. His mother was right, though about the women his brothers married. Those women were only interested in the money, that's why they were not invited.

Peeta was going to head for the cockpit when his mother winked at Katniss but addressed Peeta. "Son, why don't I fly with your father? You come back here and get to know this lovely girl, entertained."

"Are you sure?'

"I don't mind, besides this'll be a bonding time for your father and me, and your dad gets a thrill when I fly." His mother saucily said.

"I think I need my ears checked. Do you know if it's possible for that memory to be erased?"

Katniss laughed. As Peeta leaned over and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. "I've been dying to do that all morning."

"Mmmm…" Katniss hummed contentedly.

"Sorry about my mom and her pushing for a wedding and a grandbaby."

"No need, she's just trying to take care of you."

"I just wish they'd let me woo you on my own," Peeta said.

"You're doing just fine, wooing me," Katniss said.

"I am?" He grinned.

"You are, and if you keep me feeding me I won't even notice the wedding."

Peeta laughed. "Alright duly noted. Just remember this moment when I propose. Because forever is on the table for us."

Katniss settled back with her plate, like a dragon hoarding a golden treasure. Her swan story was a beautiful one.

#A Swan Story #Swan Story #A Story without a name #Mega-AuLover #Ficlet #Katniss Everdeen #Peeta Mellark #Primrose Everdeen #Cato #Marvel #Madge Undersea #Cinna #Poria #Mayor Undersea #Mrs. Undersea #Mrs. Mellark #Everlark Fanfiction #Modern AU

[jayswritings13]

Disney: Psychic s/o with Jafar, Ursula, & Rapunzel

Request: "Hi, Hope your day is going well! Sorry if this sounds a little weird but could I request the same Headcanons about the physic s/o with Jafar, Ursula & Rapunzel?" by @underqualified-human

💗Masterlist | WIP Page

Ursula

OOOOOOHHHHh

If you didn't catch her interest before, you defiantly did now.

Sure, she's always had that crystal ball and Flotsam and Jetsam, but that was different.

She couldn't see the future for herself without a little help.

You could.

She's more curious as to how you developed this ability, and even more so after hearing that you were born with it.

With you by her side, she'd be unstoppable.

Well, she thought that she would be.

"Angel fish, why not?"

"Nothing good comes of it."

"Well, we just gotta change your perspective, 'cause I can think of a whole lot of good thing that would come of it."

"...Urs- I can't." You sighed, "I promised myself this."

So, this was it. You knew it.

As much as you loved Ursula, she was always looking out for herself.

Dating someone who had psychic powers but didn't use them when she wanted them to? Instant breakup.

You were already ramping yourself up for her harsh words and for your lonely swim home.

"I think that I get it." Ursula shrugged, "Kind of." Ursula remembers the not-so-fond days of Morgana's and her competitions over potions and spells to impress her mother. It almost killed her love for magic. Almost. "Now, tell Flotsam and Jetsam to get going. Triton isn't going to stay out in the open forever!"

Jafar

Very curious as to how your psychic abilities work.

Mostly for his benefit, but also as someone interested in sorcery.

Get ready for some questions, experiments, and tests.

Definitely wants to test the limits of your power.

Pre and post genie Jafar utilize your powers.

He had all of these plans for you.

With his sorcery and your Psychic ability, you'd be unstoppable.

"Well, uh, I don't really use it."

What?

"You-" Jafar paused, "You don't use it??!"

"Yeah. I've had some really bad visions and I an afraid to get more of those."

He simply can not comprehend why you don't utilize this amazing power.

Until he caught you one night, sobbing and shaking over a vision that he finally sort of understood why you found your power a curse.

Since then, he did not push as hard for you to use your psychic abilities.

Well, as much.

Jafar was still power hungry, so he very much so pestered you about using your ability.

The only thing that changed was that when you said no, he did less bitching, moaning, and complaining, which you appreciated.

Rapunzel

Very happy to not be the only one with some type of supernatural ability, even if she currently does not have that ability.

You guys sometimes playfully fight over who has that cooler ability.

Rapunzel is dead set on that you have the cooler ability.

She asks questions about how it works and what it feels like.

But, she is quickly sadden when you tell her the immense anxiety you feel with every bad vision you get.

Rapunzel may have had a bad experience using her power, but in general, her healing powers are a good thing.

And Rapunzel views them as so.

So, she can't imagine what it must be like to have this ability but for it to cause you so much trumoil and pain.

SUPPORTIVE AF

Rapunzel is there whenever you need her to be, always ready to take you away and distract you if needed.

"Need a hug?"

"Why don't we talk a stroll around the castle?

"I think that there are some cookies in the kitchen. I can grab us some."

You appreciate it, of course, especially since Rapunzel is always down to have the big feelings talk about it.

"How are you doing?" Rapunzel asked, taking your hand in hers.

"....Better." You sighed, "Or at least better than before."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Rapunzel asked. "I mean, you don't have to, if you don't want to."

"....yea, kind of." You said, "Is that okay?"

"Of course, it is. I'm always here for you."

#disney villains #disney princesses #disney aladdin #disney little mermaid #tangled #disney tangled #disney jafar #disney ursula #disney rapunzel #disney x reader #disney headcanons #jafar x reader #ursula x reader #rapunzel x reader

[zoobus]

The Bad Ending of an Otome

From time to time I've expressed a desire to explain otome isekai's appeal to me through a pastiche of my favorite writing pieces from tumblr, the Scorpion and the Frog. I still have not followed through, despite the fact that it should be literally the easiest thing in the world - the Villainess and Her World. Frustrating.

Anywho, today's scorpion/frog meta regards the jealous hater replacement heiress of a beautiful but terminally ill child in a dating sim.

The original game followed a girl who happened to look just like the now terminally dead Ophelia, who was previously alive and loved by all. The identical not-twin fills the Ophelia-shaped hole left in everyone's heart. The jealous hater replacement heiress (the villainess/frog, naturally) is quickly replaced and eventually killed for jealous hater maneuvers. Our main character (MC) of course reincarnates as the frog.

The first twist is a genre staple, could almost be considered the blueprint every story builds off of; rather than a specific, vindictive bitch... What if I was kind? What if I chose not to do anything that would make them want to kill me? What if I simply befriended the terminally ill Ophelia?

But like any good OI, the subversion takes it somewhere specific, someplace more personal. What if I befriended the terminally ill Ophelia...and still coveted everything she had? What if you're forced to realize it's actually pretty hard to not be a jealous hater when you're sitting side by side with someone effortlessly wealthier, prettier, more beloved than anything you'll ever experience? Especially when the beautiful dying Ophelia was honestly kind of a hateful bitch? And what if, despite all of this, you truly loved her? And that love didn't extinguish your overwhelming envy for what you could never have? This is an OI framing of what it's like to lose your best friend, the person no one else knew or loved like you did, to a slow, unstoppable terminal illness. It's a look at real friendship while harboring immense amounts of envy and hatred.

There's this tension with whether the MC really liked Ophelia, if she's saying "friend" or "love" out of habit rather than sincerity, whether Ophelia was just a bully using her wealth and power to manipulate someone she essentially owns, if her comment about dying with her are more about avoiding the the future or maybe placating a sick person, and nice little nuanced character things meant to keep you on your toes about the nature of their relationship. Area woman uncertain if she's being bullied or if this is girl bonding kind of stuff.

At times it would be logical to pity Ophelia, to despise her at others, even to take a certain amount of schadenfreude in this popular hot rich girl's pain. I liked the various ways the narrative muddied MC's perspective of Ophelia. She's an unpleasant, mean person that MC has to stick with whether she wants to or not.

I loved Ophelia. A lot.

Now of course they don't let this girl look terminally ill - this is a princess comic after all - but lmaooo do they let her act it. Ophelia is *Bitter* that she has to die. *Terrified* of the inevitable. *Seething* over the expectation that she suffer through future agonizing symptoms just so her family can see her longer. *Furious* at these lovesick horny men courting her like they don't know her days are numbered. "Oh I worship you Ophelia, nobody's made me feel this way before, no woman will ever measure up to you" she knows they only like her cause she's hot. Ophelia is so hostile, so spite-filled, so fucking mad that not only does she have to die young, these people who claim to love her are - in both overt and subtle ways - pressuring her to take her imminent death gracefully, quietly, and above all else, beautifully. Foisting dignity on this teenager who's going into her casket kicking and screaming. If Ophelia had a tumblr she'd spend her time browsing vent tags and sending suicide bait.

Her character is so good, I was unfairly irritated by her in-game replacement who hadn't done anything yet. You really get where Ophelia's at times excessive hatred for the male love interests was coming from because like...wow. You're going full yandere eternal prisoner bad end for her...? This innocent good girl lamb who wants the best for everyone? No matter how similar they look, the fact that she offers a kind word and a helping hand would break any TRUE Ophelia stan's immersion instantly. She would never.

Anyway. Stories centered on the friendship between girls that aren't overly saccharine or stilted displays positivity are sadly uncommon, but they're my favorite. Like not to be aro on main but I think what others get out of tales of romance is how I respond to tales of deep friendship between women. Asobi Asobase, Binbougami Ga, Nichijou, Surviving Romance, they all fulfill some base desire that no one else seems to cherish as strongly😢

When we finally get confirmation, I have to admit. I stared at this page for like three minutes, eyes wet.

Spoilers! She did love her. She loved her more than anyone.

#otome isekai #the bad ending to an Otome #recommendations #please note that I am above all else a serial incompletionist and wrote this review around 2 years ago on discord #not talking about the mls because words can't describe how much i don't care about them #especially what i have to believe it's the worst yandere ever written. like there's no way what yandere fans want is this tantrummy toddler

[ozziesdisco]

Ik I'm very vocal about how Yeon should've been human and stuff, but imagine the inverse of the situation- Ji Ah becoming a gumiho or some other supernatural creature

Like

We know how overprotective she is of Yeon in general

Imagine how unstoppable she'd end up becoming if she actually had the means to act on this

Like if ANYTHING happens to Yeon, everyone's screwed because 1) Yeon is powerful by himself and 2) his wife is powerful and aggressive and unhinged in the right ways and will DESTROY you

Also like imagine the power couple dynamic

Although knowing them Yeon would have to probably stop Ji Ah from doing insanely crazy things even though she has powers- like knowing her she'd push the boundaries of her abilities sm to the point where it gets concerning

No but srsly tho

Supernatural Ji Ah

Just a thought lmao

#tale of the nine tailed #nam ji ah #lee yeon x nam ji ah #yeonjiah

[leftsidebonfire]

Wild Blue Yonder

Part 1

The thought of a dungeon inside the Germa castle was terrifying. That was where all the bad people went. Killers and monsters. But, Unaek was going to be eight soon. And that meant that she could be brave.

Tag List: @supernaturallyginger @momokujo @chopperwithouthishat @cherryblossom-chopper @saiyanblood2 @dexterrbydesign @i-am-an-atomic-bomb

(If you want to be tagged in Part 2 when it comes please let me know!)

The Germa fortress was a modern marvel. The castle was vast, expansive, and impressive. Solid stone, rainwashed into a faded gray. Then again, the sky around it always seemed to be gray, as if the clouds above recognized the sort of people kept inside. Gray, all around, trapped there like an eye inside a hurricane. Calm, deadly, quiet, always wondering when the hammer will fall next. It was a marvel in the same way a volcano's eruption would be. The way the magma creeps along, deadly and unyielding, taking everything in its path with it.

Judge Vinsmoke, the leader, hardly an excuse to be called a leader, though. Leaders through history were revered as nobles, freedom fighters, historic legends like Gol D. Roger himself. Judge Vinsmoke deserved no such titles, but he, unfortunately, was a leader all the same. Standing at just over 8 feet tall, the menacing leader oversaw the kingdom with an iron fist. And what a death grip he held upon it.

Inside the castle that reeked of death, evil, lies, and cover ups, were also hundreds of workers. An army, at that. Responsible for warmongering and many unprovoked attacks. The evil deeds of the Vinsmoke army could not be overstated, from less-than-moral experimentation on children, to the lives they claimed with their wrath in search of technology useful enough to command an unstoppable army.

Two admirals for the Vinsmoke army, Agnar and Solveig Seveer, were among the top of the rankings. Which put them just below Judge Vinsmoke himself in terms of unjust cruelty.

Agnar and Solveig were some of the very few outsiders among the soldiers, joining their forces to test experiments on the legendary Devil Fruits. This, in hindsight, was likely the only reason they conceived and were allowed to birth a child under the reach of the Germa kingdom.

Born merely seven months after the Vinsmoke princes— Seven months to the day, at that— Unaek Seveer, firstborn daughter to the Seveer family, came into the world and regretted it ever since. A pointed-ear phenomenon like her parents, an abnormality, some sort of marvel to the world. Only six months after her birth, the anomaly was fed a pureed Devil Fruit with the expectations of her parents and the entire Germa Kingdom riding on the hope that this child would be a natural super-soldier, having been equipped with her Devil Fruit nearly her whole life.

The disappointment was immeasurable the day the child made it clear she wanted nothing to do with fighting, and Agnar left a sizable hole in the wall beside her head, and a very palm-shaped red mark across her cheek.

Instead of taking an interest in fighting, using her natural-born ability to fight, the girl chose gardening of all damn things. The Devil Fruit's power allowed her to make any plant sprout from anywhere within sight, in an array of plants even from ancient books, any fruit or vegetable imaginable, and vines that moved like extra arms, and the toddling child sat there sniffing her goddamn roses with the stupidest smile on her face. To say the Seveers were disappointed was an understatement.

Despite daily training, in which Agnar, her father, and Solveig, her mother, traded off in a fighting ring, the girl would never lift a hand to them.

Agnar would recall to Judge, one night, over a strong glass of whiskey, how he had even gotten a strike with a wooden rod to the girl's back, and she was never once inclined to fight back. She'd crawled away, weak and scared, and wouldn't even stop crying long enough to take a strike with her own staff. Something about "I can't hurt you, dad," or some other pathetic excuse. To which Judge deeply commiserated.

Eventually, Unaek began to seek out any way to escape from daily training. She'd take the opportunity whenever her parents were experimenting to wander the halls. It was a big, expansive castle. Very lonely and easy to get lost in, and yet somehow, the three Vinsmoke princes always managed to find her. Niji in particular always found great pleasure in dragging Unaek across the floor by her little pigtail braids, and Yonji would step on her fingers until she bloomed flowers for them, at which point they would destroy every last petal while Unaek wept.

It went without saying that Unaek did everything in her power to stay far, far away from the Vinsmoke brothers. She would take her walks at different times every day, hoping to explore around alone when the boys were doing their training. She could at least guarantee they would be away for at least an hour. Luckily for her, the Germa guards seemed wholly uninterested in her, so she rarely had to duck away from them when she saw their cowls walking down the halls.

Unaek tiptoed around all the same, even when she was alone. She was afraid of making too much noise. Sometimes it would remind her parents that she existed, and they would come into her room to scream at her. She would never forget the time she was found playing with her vines, making them tickle up her fingers and arms, and her parents took her bed for a week because she was giggling too loud and disturbed them. So she had become all too keen to enjoy things quietly— whenever the world had something for her to enjoy. And currently, her enjoyment came from being left alone to wander the halls.

They were well decorated, if not pretty bare. Dark black banners with the symbol for 66. Long, dark hallway runners in a deep purple. The carpet certainly helped Unaek walk quieter. Her feet padded along the floor, toe then heel. It was how she learned to walk quietly. Step with her toes and gently roll the rest of her foot to the floor. It was slow work, but she could creep along silently, which was what she needed to do when her parents were asleep and she wanted to go outside.

Today's adventure was a creepy-looking door. She had passed it in her travels before, but was always too scared of it. Tall, wooden, braced with black metal. And naturally, it was labeled Dungeon. To the little gardener, the thought of a dungeon was terrifying. That was where all the bad people went. Killers and monsters. But, she was going to be eight soon. And that meant that she could be brave.

She hovered there at the door for a long time, creeping closer as if the door itself was going to jump out and bite her. She was really curious about it, especially because it seemed unlikely any of the Vinsmoke princes would come down there to torment her. And her parents would probably be happier if she was stuck down there anyway…

It was a long debate outside of the door, that was only quickly forced into an answer when she heard footsteps coming down the hall. Not taking any chances to run into the workers or any of the Vinsmokes, the decision was made for her and she quickly ran inside, prying open the big door and shutting it behind her, leaving her in pitch darkness. Her heart was thumping in her chest, doing little flips as she felt it trembling against her ribs. It didn't feel like it was beating right. She squinted to try and see, waiting for a hazy outline in the dark to come into focus. Her back was against the cold wooden door. It felt smooth and yet it prickled along her delicate back like every splinter of wood was dotting out along every single freckle she had.

Unaek did not hate Spiders or bugs, but yet she couldn't help but imagine being swarmed by them, smart and scary evil ones, as big as her fist, crawling up her. She shivered. The dungeon was so cold and she was only at the top steps. Her breathing was shallow. It really was terrifying down here. She understood why murderers, thieves, and evil people were sent to the dungeon. This was an awful place.

Just as her heart had stopped racing, she froze up again as she heard a noise. It was shallow, hard to pick up, and sounded like it was echoing off the stone walls and coming from everywhere and nowhere at once…. Someone was in the dungeon. It sounded like wailing. A ghost? Was it a ghost? An old sailor haunting the castle??

The cries continued, but they sounded less terrifying the more she was frozen to the spot listening. Complete with hiccups and sobs, like the crier was out of breath and still wailing. She couldn't turn around and go back out now. She'd risk getting caught snooping in the castle and her parents would surely beat her again. Her hands and knuckles still stung from that. And what if someone was hurt? Even if it was a ghost, it sure sounded sad, and the sad sobs were going right through her like a knife. She wanted to help. She wanted to help so badly.

Slowly, she started to creep down the long staircase as her eyes began to adjust to the darkness. She held the wall for support, delicate little fingertips brushing the cold, slimy stone. She sang to herself, mumbling beneath her breath. "When I sing, I'm not afraid, when I sing, I can be brave…" whispering it over and over in the quiet as she approached the sound of crying. It no longer sounded like it was coming from all around, but a designated point now. Just around the bend of a long staircase.

One missed step caused her to stumble for a moment, and her feet slipped on the stone. She felt her heart leap into her throat and a tingle of adrenaline zap up her body like electricity, starting at her toes and going all the way up as her heart pounded so loudly that she could hear it in her ears. The crying stopped immediately as soon as she caught herself, and there was a long moment where it felt like she and the crier were both holding their breath. She didn't dare to move a muscle. She held the wall, toes curling in her shoes in fear as she tried to keep from slipping. She kept her breathing shallow despite wanting to yelp in fear.

"Dad?" The voice asked, a very soft, timid voice that sounded raw from wailing and sobbing. "Dad? Did you come to let me out?" The voice whimpered. Unaek opened her mouth for a moment and closed it again. Should she respond?

"Where did you go? Are you there?" The voice asked, sounding wavery and on the verge of tears from the lack of response. "Please don't go!! Please don't go, I promise I'll be strong!!" The voice rose in pitch, screaming out in full desperation. The voice hitched and the cries and sniffles resumed.

Unaek took her chances. Her heart felt like it was shattering as she stood there on the steps, coming down from her adrenaline. Her voice sounded so loud in the quiet. So loud, and yet so scared and timid. A little airy voice, like as if a scared mouse could speak.

"N-No, I'm not your dad… I'm— I'm Unaek." She started down the stairs again, faster this time. Trying to get to the bottom to see who she was speaking with. The crying stopped again. Clearly the person was not expecting that answer. Or that voice.

"Unaek?" He repeated. "I—I'm Sanji," he replied, and Unaek finally made it within the eyeline of the cage. It was a tall cage, but not very large. About half the size of the room she lived in, so it wasn't much. There was a bed and a shelf and a toilet, but it was lacking pretty much everything else. Unaek pattered her way up to it.

There was a boy inside. At least, she thought it was a boy. He was small, a little shorter than her. His one eye was covered in messy blond hair, but the other was blue and shone with big, hot tears. But that was all she could see of him. His face was encased in Iron, like a strange sort of helmet that locked around his head. It covered his entire face except for a small opening for his eyes, no place for his mouth. Unaek was horrified at it. It looked painful, heavy, and scary. Just taking one look at it made her feel like she couldn't breathe.

She tiptoed up to the cage with the thick metal bars, still cautious. People in dungeons were supposed to be bad people. But this was a kid. What could he have done wrong? As she got closer, she noticed his eyes, especially the one that was showing without his bangs. His eyebrow twirled upward on the outside.

They took a long moment to look at each other, Sanji in his yellow t-shirt and bandana around his neck, and Unaek in a pink dress with a little white lace trim. Her ginger-blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail shed done herself, so it was uneven with a few strands of hair framing around her face and poking out at odd angles from her amateur hairstyling ability. Her freckles almost made her tan, but she was very fair skinned, and green eyes met his blue with immense curiosity as she finally approached him.

"I like your eyebrows."

"Thanks, I— I like your ears."

He pointed to her ears. The Vinsmoke princes took great pleasure in pulling on them, yanking them away from her head, leaning in close to scream into them until she squealed and cried. She had never been told they were nice before. Her cheeks turned pink.

"You really think so?" She brought her hands to her ears like she had to feel them to make sure he was telling the truth. They were normal ears, though the tops curled up into a point instead of a normal rounded ear. Naturally, she had gained the cruel nickname of "Sharp-Ear" from her little tormentors.

Sanji nodded his head. "Yeah, I do. I really do think so. You mean it about my eyebrows?" He seemed so hesitant to even accept that little compliment just like she had been.

"Yeah, I do. It reminds me of… people I don't like, though." She added softly. She watched Sanji's reaction, like he was scared all over again at the mention.

"I don't like them either."

He reached up to touch his curled eyebrow like he was ashamed of it, and Unaek felt bad.

"Why are you in a cage? I thought the dungeon was for evil people, but you're just a kid." Her voice was laced with concern and it seemed to surprise Sanji, like he truly couldn't believe anyone cared enough to ask. Let alone to hold such sadness in their eyes when they saw him. Everyone else had looked at him with contempt at best, or at least disinterest.

Sanji retreated into himself, his hands curled in against his chest like he was taking a protective pose. "They said I'm weak… that they wanted to pretend I was never born." His voice sounded so frail, and Unaek's eyes welled up with little tears.

"Who would say that??" She gasped, appalled and horrified at how quickly the boy seemed to retreat away in fear.

"My dad…"

It made sense now, why he was crying for his father. His father… who locked him in here. Her shoulders dropped as she looked at him. She wished she could see his face, not that terrible iron mask.

"Why do you gotta wear that thing?" She asked him, reaching her hand through the bars to touch the side of it. It was cold, smooth metal, but it was an awful thing.

Sanji shrugged. His one eye just focused on her. He didn't answer because he couldn't answer that question. It was something he asked himself every day. Waking up in a dirty, dusty basement, cold, locked up in this iron prison. Suffocating him. Giving him a chill down his spine and a sort of deep-seated freeze in his bones that never really went away.

Unaek felt her tiny heart aching for him. She pushed both arms through the slots of the cage and held them out. Sanji jumped back, almost as though he was afraid she'd try to grab him and harm him, but she didn't.

"Come closer, I want to hug you." Unaek said quietly. Sanji just stared in complete confusion. He hadn't been hugged since… he could feel his throat tightening— since his mother had passed. The worst day of his life, and that's saying a lot for a small boy of only eight years old, who'd already spent weeks in a dirty basement alone.

He timidly stepped closer until he was within arms reach and Unaek gently wrapped her arms around his chest, ducking in. The bars of the cage were too close to really snuggle her head against him, but it didn't stop her from trying, leaning to one side to try and press in as much as she could, feeling Sanji do the same as he tucked his little arms beneath the bars to wrap around her waist. He had only been hugged for a matter of seconds before his tears welled up in his eyes and he had begun to cry. He was so alone. So alone and so scared, and he hadn't been touched by anyone else in weeks. Or hugged in months. Nobody had ever given him that luxury. A hug. From a friend.

She felt him cry into her shoulder and she simply rubbed his back. She never received hugs either. The only thing she ever was able to hug was one little brown bear she'd been given just after her birth. It hadn't even been a gift from her mother, but from Sora Vinsmoke, Judge's wife, who had been thrilled to hear of another baby in the castle. The only reason it was not immediately thrown out was because it would be seen as disrespectful.

After a long hug, made slightly awkward by metal cage bars in the way, Unaek pulled back just enough to see Sanji. His metal mask was cold and uncomfortable in the hug but she didn't dare tell him that. It was so clear they both needed a hug that the presence of the bulky, horrid mask in the way hardly mattered. They both needed a hug more than anything else in the world right now. Two very lonely, sad children who were dealt a terrible hand.

"It's so dark and sad in this dungeon… do you like flowers?" She batted her eyes at him. Sanji looked puzzled for a moment, head tilted to one side like a dog.

"I do like flowers. I think they're pretty."

"I can make flowers," Unaek boasted proudly, cupping her hands. "I've got a special power that allows me to grow them however I want!"

"Oooh… can you make… uhh… daisies?" He asked, saying the first flower he could think of.

"I can!" She grinned. She closed her eyes, brows and nose scrunched up with focus. There was a long moment where Sanji was even holding his breath right along with her. Her palms tingled a little, and in the matter of seconds, a small green bud appeared between her palms, flowering open into a yellow and white daisy. It was like watching the growth process of a daisy all in the span of a few moments.

"Woaaaaah!" Sanji gasped in awe, reaching to take the flower and feel the little petals. "How did you do that?!"

Unaek shrugged. "I dunno, I just… can. I really like plants. And I like animals too! Mom says flowers are for pussies… I dunno what that means, but she glares at me when she says it." She sunk her shoulders.

"I think they're pretty." Sanji promised, putting his hand on top of hers where she held the bars. He twisted his foot into the ground for a moment before shyly glancing up, like he was terrified to ask her a question. "Are you gonna come back to visit me?"

Unaek felt her jaw fall a little that he even had to ask. "Of course! I'd love to come back down here. You're the only one in this castle who talks to me. The Princes always hunt me down and pull on my ears. Or they rip up my flowers when I make them. You're the first person who even likes them." She said sadly.

Sanji relaxed when she confirmed that she would return.

"Good… I don't have anyone to talk to either. You're the first person who was nice to me, too. The Princes are my brothers… They're always so mean to me." Sanji frowned, his blue eyes sad and wet-looking. Like a kicked puppy, Unaek thought. It was heartbreaking.

Unaek offered Sanji a shy little smile. "Here… Here's something to brighten up the place." She closed her eyes again, nose scrunched up, lips pursed in the ultimate face of concentration. As her eyes were closed and palms tingled hot, vines crept up the back wall of Sanji's cell, lining the perimeter with a soft mossy green that soon popped with little yellow flowers. The dreary, dusty, smelly basement suddenly seemed a little bit brighter. A little less lonesome. And the smell of the flowers counteracts the mildew smell.

"I gotta get going… Mom is gonna notice that I'm gone soon…" Unaek sighed sadly, looking dejected that she'd have to leave so soon.

"Will I see you tomorrow?" Sanji hastily asked, almost sounding panicky about being left alone. "I'm gonna be a cook one day… I can cook you something!"

Unaek smiled a big, gap-toothed grin. "Yeah!! I'll try to! I can usually slip away for a while when my parents are at the lab. Or if they're sleeping really soundly at night, I tiptoe out and go up to the roof to be outside. I'll come back as much as I can!" She promised him excitedly.

She couldn't see it, but she knew Sanji was smiling by the way his eye crinkled up and brightened. His cheeks were round and full instead of sullen, clearly grinning even beneath that prison of a mask. He looked around at all the little flowers that had bloomed around him, making his desolate jail cell feel a little bit more friendly.

"I-Its been really wonderful meeting you, Unaek." Sanji held her hands and looked up at her like she was an angel coming down to save her from the torment of having to live through this nightmare. The hope in his eyes made her heart ache.

"You too, Sanji." She smiled back, squeezing his hands. She grabbed him in for another hug, which Sanji stiffly accepted, not even all that sure what to do with a hug. But it was clear he needed it by the way he clutched at her dress.

She never even saw the boy's face that day. That little disgraced Germa Prince failure. But Unaek determined there and then that she finally had a friend. After seven— nearly eight— lonely years, Unaek finally had what she was looking for. A living, breathing friend. Her first friend in this cruel world. She didn't want to break the hug, but she did, not wanting to risk being found. (Though as the days went on, she would grow to be more bold in her adventures around the castle.)

And knowing her little secret, the fact that she had someone to talk to, someone kind, well— that made the horrid, sleepless night that followed a little more worth it. As she made daisies in her palms and remembered the joy in Sanji's eyes when she gave it to him.

#One Piece #One Piece Fanfic #One Piece OC #Sanji #Black Leg Sanji #Germa 66 #Child Sanji #Oc tag #Oc writing #Unaek Seveer #Unaek x Sanji #Oc backstory #Wild Blue Yonder #My Writing #My fic

[kinwarband]

Who is Hesperiah Kinslayer?

Behemoth. Mountain. A Bastion.

Those are just some of the words used to describe the Pact Lieutenant Hesperiah Kinslayer. While nowhere near as famous as the storied Commander, or their guild. Hesperiah has carved a name for herself among the ranks of both the Vigil, and The Pact.

Despite being a hulking 9 foot 11 inches. (302.26cm). Hesperiah is often described as sociable, yet reserved by her peers. An 11 year veteran of the Vigil, and the Pact means that she has taken part in every campaign waged by The Pact during the Dragon crisis. And carries the stories and scars to prove it.

Having joined The Vigil in 1325 at just the age of 18. Hesperiah was wild, snappy, and difficult to work it. Reclusive during her training, Hesperiah spoke nothing of her past before being recruited, often giving other recruits the cold shoulder. For most of the Zhaitan crisis, she remained a lowly foot soldier in The Vigil, and much the same during the formation of the The Pact.

It wasn't until the assault on Orr where her shell began to crack, as Hesperiah made friends with a group of Gladium that comprised the squad she was attached to. Although she still she kept much to herself, Hesperiah explained that she, too, was a Gladium. and had been since she was 15.

Hesperiah's original warband had been wiped out in an ambush set up by Flame Legion posing defectors seeking asylum. It was supposed to be a simple training exercise that quickly spiraled out of control, with even her Primus being injured in the ensuing battle. At the time, Hesperiah, still too young to properly cope, was deeply scarred by the experience.

This trauma manifested in her unstoppability during battle. Cleaving through hordes, and in some cases shrugging off wounds if it meant claiming one more dragon minion head. Her sheer size, and tenacity growing into a beacon that others could rally around. After all, it was difficult not to be inspired watching her shatter her greatsword slaying an enemy, only to cast it aside and continue the fight with her bare hands.

Due to this, Hesperiah earned her promotion to Lieutenant after the defeat of Zhaitan. Having grown into a leadership role during her time in Orr, she signed on for officer training. Further cracking the shell she surrounded herself with, as she grew comfortable with the members of her order, and the Pact. Forming deeper connections with the gladia she'd come to know, as well as members of the other orders.

In 1328, The Pact suffered a cataclysmic ambush from the Jungle Dragon, Mordermoth, while confronting him over Maguuma. This being Hesperiah's second brush with death, as she became lost in the Tangled Depths following the utter chaos and confusion. Surviving for days against Chak before eventually reuniting with The Pact at Dragon's Stand. The ordeal leaving much of her armor in tatters, causing her to fashion replacements using Leystone. Although during her time in Maguuma, Hesperiah discovered her knack for Longbows, embracing her role as a Dragonhunter.

Not much is known about what Hesperiah was up to between 1328 and 1332. As she took leave during that time, along with her Squadmates. Although before she left, she had a custom Greatsword and Longbow made for her. Much larger than the standard, and made from much stronger materials. These weapons wouldn't break under the strain of her powerful swings, and could channel her magic much more effectively.

However, after she returned from her absence in early 1332, Hesperiah was now the leader of the newly formed Kin Warband, having taken the surname of Kinslayer. Comprised of the Gladia she'd grown close to over the years. Not a single one of them speaks of the events that transpired, often stating that it is not their story to tell when asked about it.

Later that year, The Pact suffered a defeat at the hands of Kralkatorrik, after they failed to slay him at Thunderhead Peak. Again, Hesperiah showed her fierce tenacity, surviving being buried alive in the aftermath of the Elder dragon fleeing. After her third brush with death, Hesperiah developed a dark sense of humor, as well as solidifying herself among her peers as truly hard to kill...

Later still, when the Charr Civil war began. Hesperiah and her War Band of course participated on behalf of the United Legions. Although they officially had no loyalty to society that discarded them, they still felt that it was a right thing to do. Especially so, after the learning the circumstances of General Almorra's death, which infuriated Hesperiah to no end.

When The Dragon Storm happened in 1334, Hesperiah once again threw herself into the fray. Wanting to witness the end of the Twin Elder Dragons for herself, and as a quiet, personal tribute to Soulkeeper, someone she looked up to fondly in her early years in the Vigil. Once Primordus and Jormag destroyed each other, Hesperiah bid farewell to Almorra, promising to carry on her legacy, just like the rest of the order.

Which meant throwing herself headlong into the Void crisis in Cantha. The Last Elder dragon. One last fight. For Almorra...

Although she didn't take part in the direct assault on Soo-Won atop the Harvest Temple, Hesperiah did what she did best: Slay Dragon minions, and be an unshakable beacon for her allies on the battlefield.

Now a well, and truly seasoned veteran Lieutenant. While she has considered applying for a high position, as some have put in recommendations for her. But for the time being, she is content with staying where she's at. Especially now that The Pact finally has a moment to rest and breathe. Hesperiah taking an extended leave of absence to travel the world, and experience life away from the battlefields of Tyria.

Maybe one day, you will cross paths with the Kinslayer herself.

#Hesperiah #Character Lore #Guild Wars 2 #gw2 #long post #Good god writing this was hell #And I still feel like I need to draft this like three more times- #it's so... long winded #But it IS deep lore #so that's probably why #spoiler warning #contains story information from LWS2 all the way to the end of EoD

[lily-orchard]

Baldur's Gate II - Proposition

After the death of the last of the Five, the group took a seat among the remains of Sendai's Enclave. Drow bodies were strewn across the hall, and the remains of the Bhaalspawn's armour were being picked at by scavengers looking for a corpse to eat.

Aryana's eyes weren't on the carnage. She'd seen enough carnage that she didn't need to revel in it any further. They were on her friends as Imoen offered Hexxat a donut, and Jaheira and Viconia were at each other's throats again. It brought a small smile to Aryana's lips, especially when she saw Imoen fumble. Hexxat must have had to remind her that she couldn't eat real food.

"She's adorable," she sighed.

Then there was the sound of clinking plate as Sarevok took a seat beside her. Almost immediately her good spirits were sucked right out of the air.

"The end draws closer," he said. "We both know this to be true."

"Mhm," Aryana said.

"Listen to a proposition then, sister, and I-"

Aryana turned a scowl toward Sarevok, orange light burning behind her eyes. "I told you. Do not call me sister. Bhaal may have sired us, but that does not make us family."

"Do you say the same to the hyperactive squirrel you call a friend?"

"Yes," Aryana said. "What is your proposition."

"I expect no greatness from myself. You should know this. The plans I once had to become the new Lord of Murder died with the loss of my divinity," Sarevok explained, sitting forward. "Your own plans, however, are mostly unknown to me. You may have decided to undertake my old goal and seek to become the new Lord of Murder... if such a thing is indeed possible. Or you may seek to rid yourself of our sire's taint forever.

"I urge you to seek the path of power. Take the reins that are meant for you and assume your birthright! After all you have been through, it is the only reasonable path! And I beg you... allow me to stand at your side. Together we could advance across the realms, an unstoppable force with an army at your command! You would be the ultimate terror, and I would be your iron right hand to rule over all!"

Aryana frowned. Even after all this time, and the humiliation of defeat, Sarevok was still plotting. Still scheming. It was disappointing that time, defeat and humiliation had not humbled him at all.

"I have other plans, Sarevok. Forget it," she said.

It was the truth. Aryana had no plans to ascend to godhood. She'd been talking with Imoen about it the week prior. They both agreed to give up divinity and be rid of Bhaal's taint for the rest of their lives.

"But why? Why would you not take that which will be offered to you?" Sarevok asked, utterly bewildered. "Power, wealth, rule over lesser men! It is all within your reach!"

"None of that is important to me," Aryana said, turning her gaze back to where Imoen and Hexxat were chatting.

"I don't understand," Sarevok said. "What is the use of power if you do not carve out an empire for yourself?"

Aryana turned a scowl his direction. "You think I asked for power? It was thrust upon me. I never yearned for adventure, I was content studying in Candlekeep. Then you came around and ruined that," she said bitterly. "You took my father from me. My real father. You took my home from me. I can never go back. Imoen is all I have left. Bhaal's essence has caused me nothing but pain and suffering. Why would I sacrifice anything else for that?"

Sarevok frowned. "Sacrifice?"'

"I'm not the only Bhaalspawn here," Aryana said. "Imoen still has her divinity. If I were to seize power, she would have to die. And that's not happening so long as I draw breath."

Sarevok scoffed. "So that's it? Give up godhood for the sake of that squirrel?"

Aryana's frown deepened with a profound disappointment. "Spoken like someone who has never loved anyone before, Sarevok. I loved my father. I loved Candlekeep. I love Imoen. I'm not letting this prophecy take her away from me."

"That... that is absurd!"

Aryana shook her head and stood up. She had to accept that he would never get it, and she was through with this discussion.

Sarevok watched as she approached Imoen and Hexxat and sat down beside them. The scowl on her face was gone, replaced with a smile brighter than the stars, and a laugh as Imoen tried to shove a donut into her mouth. The way Aryana's bitterness and anger was immediately wiped away in the girl's presence couldn't be denied.

He had seen it before, in fact. In the Undercity Sarevok had tried to pull Bhaal's essence out of his wayward sister, but something had been suppressing it. It had since come out, forcibly pulled out of them both by that wayward mage, but if reading Aryana's journals was any indication he only succeeded once he put a continent between the two.

Looking at them now, they were both giggling and laughing like schoolchildren. Thoughts of murder, conquest, and bloodshed couldn't be further from their thoughts, even as they sat amidst a dozen dead and mutilated drow. Their minds had been made up, and they had rejected any association with Bhaal whatsoever.

It reminded him, for the first time in over a year, of Tomoko. Who begged him not to ascend and who he rewarded by sending her to die at his sisters' hands.

For the first time in his life, he felt regret.

"I see..." he whispered.

#baldur's gate #throne of bhaal #charname #imoen #sarevok