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#the different interactions and alliances and friendships and enemies

dragons-brandsif · 4 months

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Dragon's Brands

Dragon Riders linger on the cusp of war. For centuries, they have played the role of peace keeper. Ensuring the safety of the inhabitants of their world.

However, whispers are arising. Filtering through the back alleys and black markets, places of ill repute and debauchery. That something is stirring. Something ancient. And you, a new Dragon Rider, are somehow caught in the midst of it all.

Dragon’s Brands is an interactive fictional game that allows you to play as a Dragon Rider. Choose your dragon’s color, build, talents and personality. Romance one of the five gender selectable people available to you. Discover more of Lusedover, the magical world you have been dragged into. Build relationships with your squadron, or become the enemy within their ranks.

Create alliances with other species, or cast away the hands of friendship. Lusedover is beautiful, but it is a harsh world. Do you have what it takes to belong to it?

RO's:

Blake:

A fellow human, in another life, they might have been a confidant. But the human world repels Blake. When they made The Crossing, bonded with their dragon, they cast away their second name and their humanity.

Female Blake: She is devastatingly beautiful, so much so that even her attempts to mask it fall short. She wears her bright blond hair in a choppy cut at her shoulders, dark liner around her striking aquamarine eyes, and a scowl never fails to twist her full lips.

Male Blake: To his chagrin, the Rider is often described as feminine. Slender, he keeps his hair cut at the nape of his neck in a messy style. The black liner around his eyes is something he dares others to comment upon.

Elijah/Eliana:

An enemy of the Dragon Riders. Child of--------. Their skin is as pale as milk, stark against the ebony curls that fall to their waist. They are incredibly slim, almost to the point of emaciation. They are cautious and reserved, tall, with a hungry look in their eyes bordering on the verge of feral.

Eliana: There is little difference between Elijah and Eliana. They are focused on their task to the point of obsession, and despite their bland countenance, no slight goes unnoticed or forgiven. However, Eliana is far quicker to snap at provocation.

Samantha/Samuel:

Samantha: “Sammy”. Of average height and build, the typical “girl next door”. A spray of freckles across a snub nose, brown hair falling over light green eyes and a cheeky smile.

Samuel: “Sammy”. Only a little taller than his female counterpart, Samuel is just as laid back.

Any relationship with “Sammy” will be tender and romantic, if it were not for the slightest snag. Their girlfriend, Amelia Thorpe.

Theodore/Tatiana Graves:

Graves is sin incarnate. Full lips, thick black curls that fall to their shoulders and a killer smile. They are the tallest of the love interests, and the most muscular. They are smart, a more than capable fighter, and possess not one ounce of ambition.

Shipped off to the Rider's Academy, a place where escape is impossible, they spend their days training and their nights drowning in alcohol and weed. Daddy’s money and Daddy issues combine to create the mess that is Theodore/Tatiana Graves.

Content warnings: Dragon’s Brands is a game that will contain many triggering topics, including, but not limited to, drug use, alcohol abuse, sexual themes, foul language, etc.

#dark fantasy #dark romance #Interactive Fiction #Dragons #MC #18+

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that-ari-blogger · 4 months

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Are We the Baddies?

I have stated before that She-Ra thrives on realism and morality, and stand by this view. But in terms of morality, apart from the first two episodes and Catra's entire deal, this hasn't been explored explicitly. The story has heavily implied some moral complexity, but not developed the princess alliance in any depth.

Ties That Bind changes this, and the way it does that is fascinating.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Before I begin, I feel the need to get on my soap box and explain something: Morally complex does not mean evil. This is a lesson that a fair few TTRPG players need to learn, as well as the people writing The Boys. You can have nuanced morality and still be a good guy, or a bad guy, or something in between.

The overarching plot of this episode is essentially a bottle episode, characters get trapped together and have to work out their differences. Usually in live action media, this is the episode for with the crew realised they had no budget left over, so they use actors that are on hand and the set they last filmed in to make something interesting.

I say this, but these episodes have a habit of being some of my favourites in the series. Heaven Sent and Blink for example are often praised as the best Doctor Who has to offer, and they follow this rule, and Wild Blue Yonder is my favourite of the 60th anniversary specials despite the set being the Tardis, a greenscreen and two treadmills and some corridors.

Characters being trapped in one place is also the foundation of a fair amount of horror and detective fiction, and its the premise of my favourite play ever written: Waiting For Godot, by Samuel Becket.

However, you may have noticed that She-Ra and the Princesses Of Power is not, in fact, live action. If you haven't noticed, I'm not sure what to tell you at this point. So why does it have a bottle episode? What are the benefits of this style?

The answer is complicated, but it mostly pertains to character drama. Characters stuck in a room together with a mutual need to get out of that situation are forced to work together. Even enemies will work together if they have a common goal. Star Wars: The Clone Wars did this in Dooku Captured and The Gungan General.

But here's the thing, Ties That Bind subverts this in one simple way, the two parties in this story have opposing goals. If they get to Brightmoon, Catra will be imprisoned. So she works to stall the journey. The story isn't three people who don't want to be in a situation, it's two people who are trapped with a third.

Catra is a gremlin in this episode. She leans fully into the idea of power that Shadow Weaver taught her, manipulation, and it gets her pretty far. Although there are a few cracks, my favourite of which being how easily Bow pushes her buttons in return, and he's doing it accidentally.

"Come on. I bet even the Horde has friends. What about Adora? You two grew up together, right? What was she like as a kid?"

Bow's love of friendship is scoffed at. Catra doesn't have friends, so she thinks she is immune to this line of question. But then Bow brings up Adora, and touches a nerve, so he keeps pushing until Catra responds with a snarl. She's trying to keep up a bulletproof exterior, but that armour still has a weakness, that being Adora.

Catra also gets outmaneuvered by Glimmer, who has learned from previous adventures enough for an escape plan. So, her manipulation skills aren't as good as she thinks they are.

Bow isn't a particularly morally gray character; I don't think that is a hot take. He's the heart of the group, and usually holds everyone else to account. That isn't to say he is morally uncomplicated; the nuance of Bow's character gets shown when he interacts with complicated problems, like the guilt of having left Entrapta behind, and the question of what to do with Catra.

"We took a hostage! We're supposed to be the good guys."

And so, a question is raised, in times of war, do your ethics change? Is this a good thing or not? Just, please don't argue about it in the replies.

Bow's ethics don't change, he is kind and empathetic, and will remain these things, even towards a prisoner, and like Shadow Weaver before her, Catra uses this as a weapon.

Glimmer, on the other hand, is much more complex, and as perfectly moral strategies begin to fail, she is the one who is more likely to actually step into the more dubious territory. This gets displayed multiple times in the episode. For example, when falling, Glimmer plays a game of chicken with Bow's life, and I'm not actually sure what her goal is with it. Maybe she's just trying to scare Catra.

But there's also the scene towards the end when Catra calls Glimmer's bluff again. But this time, Bow isn't directly in the way, so she very nearly does outright kill Catra. Once again, however, it is Bow that keeps her sane.

"We can't take that chance, we're not them."

That's all it takes. All Glimmer needs to hear is that she has becoming her enemy. Bow's line draws attention to what he perceives as the difference between the Horde and the Princesses. The Horde gambles with people's lives, the Princess Alliance doesn't, in his eyes. But throughout this episode, Glimmer has done just that multiple times.

Glimmer's complexity comes from her strength of will. She is the person who will take that extra step when everyone else stops. She has the loosest moral code, and despite still being a good guy, she can react to situations in a completely different manner to others on her side.

The reveal of Entrapta's loyalty also brings up something interesting. People in this story can have goals beyond "good" and "bad", most of them do, in fact. Entrapta's switch from Team Princess to Team Horde shakes Glimmer and Bow's preconceived notions about binary morality. The best way of explaining that is actually this:

"You're on the side of the Horde?"

"I'm on the side of science!"

Don't get me wrong, the Horde is evil as an organisation, and people who are a part of it get up to some pretty heinous acts, this episode just complicates that. It gives a bit of wiggle room within the two sides of this war. But it makes something abundantly clear with Entrapta:

"At least we know for sure that Entrapta's alive, and working for the Horde, making weapons to wipe us out."

Being morally grey does not obfuscate the actions taken. Entrapta isn't villainous, but her actions do further a destructive end, and she is very clearly accountable for that. Being neutral is possible, but Entrapta is very much not neutral, she has chosen a side, and is aware of the consequences of that. It's a stretch to say Entrapta is evil, but she isn't good either, and she is complicit in the Horde's destruction.

Final Thoughts

This episode is ok. I'm not overly impressed by it, but there is some neat storytelling on display, and the animation is cool. Adora's storyline does raise a few more questions about the first ones, most notably: Why did Mara break the watchtower? There's more to this story and Light Hope isn't telling Adora what that is.

Next week, I'll be looking at Signals, so stick around if that interests you.

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sapphia · 1 year

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after four seasons, this alliances/friendship web is getting really complicated.

the mean gills:

internally are two friends from previous smps with similar gamestyles who are both very loyal to their teammates

have a strong alliance with the clockers because cleo is in charge of them and cleo and scott were soulmates by choice in the third season.

have no official alliance with the bad boys and have periods of hostility, but this is complicated by the fact that scott and jimmy were "married" in the first season and scott's been chasing jimmy ever since (hence why scott gives jimmy a life), and also by the fact that joel loves hunting scott no matter the series for some reason.

have no alliance with the ties but scott is on good terms with several of them due to being generally pleasant, while martyn is on bad terms with several of them due to being generally sneaky and also killing a few of them

had an alliance with the nosy neighbours that was blown up seemingly randomly when pearl stole their enchanting table, but pearl and scott had been partners in season 2 and then scott had refused to partner with her in season 3 when they were soulmates (martin had also abandoned her rather than teaming up).

the bad boys

internally, they are three very good friends who've known each other for a long time and have a very established dynamic. you would think this makes them a stronger team but unfortunately this makes them very themselves around each other - jimmy becomes very pathetic, joel becomes very reckless, and grian sets about creating as much discord and drama as humanly possible, including trying to start several unsuccessful coups within the group itself for seemingly little reason

have an alliance with (and are "cousins" to) the clockers, with the only previous link between the groups being grian and scar, who were partners in season 1 and soulmate partners in season 3. they work well together in a team and both like to create chaos, but grian seems to resent being "tied to" scar across the seasons (he was protecting scar because he killed him in season 1 and unwillingly soul-bound in season 3, when he 'cheated' on scar). so even though they have a lot of interaction and seem to get on most of the time, grian would rather go out of his way to avoid teaming with scar or working with him too much

have been technically enemies this season with the nosy neighbours because jimmy decided to go apeshit over a frog, but joel and grian didn't actually care about this feud. grian also was previously bigb's "secret soulmate" in season 3/double life, but given the intense partnerships, this didn't actually amount to them spending any time together and grian has largely ignored him this season until randomly forming an alliance with him after the rest of the bad boys died

ties

internally they are old friends who've worked together in varying capacities for a number of years and have been in alliances and teams with each other before. because they've mostly worked with each other rather than with a lot of other people on the server, they don't have strong alliances outside of the group but are very cohesive internally and work together well (barring etho, who is a conundrum)

are enemies with the clockers except for etho, who is the clocker's dad in their roleplay set-up although he is now currently at war with scar and cleo. this seems totally nonsensical at first, but etho and bdubs have what is best described as a "thing" where they seem to always need to be allied with each other even when it doesn't really make sense. like for example in season 3 when they had different soulmates, and in this season where etho has spent multiple episodes roleplaying families with a team where all the members other than bdubz are actively trying to kill him on sight

some of the team have teamed up with some of bad boys before in large groups, and joel/etho and tango/jimmy were soulmates in double life but with minimal effect on this season's dynamics

some of the team have previously allied/teamed with bigb

clockers

are team members all from the hermitcraft server where they've known each other for a while. cleo and bdubs have been teammates before.

are controlled by cleo who is in charge, so largely her previous relationships are their previous relationships - they have animosity with the nosey neighbours because bigb betrayed her in season 2 and animosity with pearl because of the tension in the divorce arc from double life when cleo teamed up with her soulmate.

cleo and etho have always had a strange relationship. cleo and etho are both... intimidating, though for different reasons. over the entirety of the life smp, cleo has always held that etho was overrated skill-wise (perhaps correctly) as a danger on the life SMP, and seemingly in response etho treated cleo as though she scared him, which might have been to make it seem to others like cleo didn't rate him because she was good rather than because he was bad. this largely worked for three seasons: however, this house of cards seems to finally have come tumbling down in limited life, where etho being washed up has become a server-wide joke.

and that's what you missed on glee...

#limited life #limited life smp #third life smp #life smp #grian #zombiecleo #jimmy solidarity #ethoslab #bdouble0 #goodtimeswithscar #pearlescentmoon #bigbstatz

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cienie-isengardu · 1 month

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I read several of your and not only your analyzes of mortal kombat characters (you did a very good job, btw, thank you for that!) and noticed that no one, as far as I know, mentioned this dialogue between Bi-Han and Liu Kang. maybe you know about it and just didn’t think it was necessary to mention, but I only recently saw this and I was very interested in the fact that Bi-Han essentially said that he was ready for peace if the Lin Kuei were left alone👀. And the sins that Liu Kang talks about are also interesting: does he mean only Bi-Han or inclusive of his ancestors? 🤔I don’t know if you expressed an opinion about this, but if anything I’m interested in hearing

Just in case the pictures won’t show or text may be hard to read from, below the full intro dialogue:

Sub-Zero: You want peace? Let us be. Liu Kang: The Lin Kuei's sins aren't easily forgiven.

Hello there and thank you very much, I appreciate your kind words about my analyzes.

I did mention this intro dialogue (though not as a quote) in my reply to discussion about Bi-Han’s interest or lack of thereof in weaponizing Tarkat illness, as an example that though Sub-Zero believes the ends justifies means, he is still not against a truce, be it with Mileena or Liu Kang, if it benefits him and Lin Kuei.

I really like this intro dialogue, because it shows us Bi-Han as a more capable leader that people give him credit for and it does support the sources that his rebellion against Liu Kang is something more than big ambition of just a power-hungry man. For one, we have the theme of freedom and enslavement in his interaction with other characters and though POWER is A) Sub-Zero’s official character theme and B) has often negative connection, Earthrealm’s safety heavily relies on its champion’s might. As in, a show of power is what keeps Outworld in check for centuries. Bi-Han coming from a clan deeply involved in ensuring Earthrealm’s safety, most likely operates on this logic*: Power is what secures your safety.

Yet despite the anger at Liu Kang and Lin Kuei’s situation, this intro suggests that Bi-Han is capable of putting aside emotions - even his pride - for the clan’s greater good. If there is a chance to peacefully end the conflict in a way it benefits his clan, Sub-Zero will take it and this adds a lot of weight to him as a leader. For example, Mileena is so set into her hatred toward Sub-Zero to the point she won’t consider any truce or alliance that could end the conflict in bloodless way because she blames Bi-Han for her mother’s death. Even if he wasn’t even there when it happened, and as intro dialogues say, he saw Sindel’s death as regrettable, despite her friendship/alliance with Liu Kang (the enemy). Bi-Han in that matter seems more willing to cease conflicts, as long as Lin Kuei’s independence is secured. And as I said, it adds a lot to our understanding of Sub-Zero, who, logically thinking, was trained since childhood to take over Lin Kuei. Thus I imagine he was prepared to deal with politics to some degree. Though of course, his father did not think Lin Kuei will ever break up with Earthrealm & Fire God.

Understandably Bi-Han’s enemies have all right to refuse any truce he offered due to Lin Kuei action, especially when he is the one setting the conditions. I assume Liu Kang’s words “The Lin Kuei's sins aren't easily forgiven” refers to Bi-Han’s choices made during storyline (allying with Shang Tsung, Quan Chi and General Shao, not aiding Earthrealm against Titan Shang Tsung) and post-MK1 (suggested by intros & characters endings: attacks on Tarkat people, hunting down his brothers, being in general problem in Outworld). Since Lin Kuei supported Sub-Zero, it makes sense Liu Kang keeps them as much responsible for the mess as their leader and is not willing to just "let them be" as they are at this moment.

[*]This is a topic I’m planning to talk more about in the upcoming part of “Bi-Han & Kuai Liang. Good brother? Evil brother? Nah, just different reactions to trauma”.

#mortal kombat #bi han #sub zero #liu kang #my replies

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catohphm · 1 year

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HPHM Cardverse AU: Friends Aren’t Faraway

Hey everyone! So I got a small stimulus of inspiration today for Cardverse! Why not flesh out Cato’s friendships with a few of the leading members of the other kingdoms? Two years ago I wrote three fics detailing three of his friendships with the canon OCs, Talbott, Chiara and Badeea. While Cato can regularly interact with his friends at Hogwarts in the canon universe, it’s different for Cardverse.

The characters are all in different kingdoms, but physical distance cannot crush true friendships! For this post I’ll be focusing on canon HPHM characters, so only Spades and Hearts will be covered. Cato and Penny’s ship will be in another post. I’d love to work on friendships with other people’s OCs - all of you guys are always welcome to send me asks and DMs to discuss ideas!

Tagging a few mutuals: @carewyncromwell, @dat-silvers-girl, @nerdyliv, @helenadurazzo, @oneirataxia-girl (hope you don’t mind me tagging yall)

Cardverse AU was originally created by @ariparri, who also is the creator of Veruca McQuaid. With all that said, here’s our feature presentation.

Representing the Land of Clubs, the Ace of Clubs, Cato Reese, often interacts with the officials of other kingdoms. He takes part in meetings where the four kingdoms join to conference on issues that affect all the states. Letters and telephone calls are also used by him to reach his friends in other kingdoms. As a high-ranking Clubs official, he also has the ability ride the train to anywhere in Cinderhaven, with first class accommodations.

It is important to note that he was appointed to the position of Ace of Clubs by King Orion Amari in the early stages of a crisis in the Country of Spades. He couldn’t reach anyone in Spades because Rakepick’s regime had cut all communications and transport. During that period of time, the only way he’d be able to meet and interact with the Ace and Jack of the kingdom was during conferences.

Queen Veruca elected to only send her representatives Bill Weasley and Rowan Khanna to them. She was very devoted to her commitments and responsibilities to the citizens of Spades. They depended on her to keep their efforts to take back and rebuild their country organized and morale high. As a result, Cato only heard her in mentions, but he held a lot of respect for her and her ways of handling the crisis.

Clubs and Spades were in an alliance during the war, in which Cato would lead a surprise attack against Rakepick’s army. He got along well with both Bill and Rowan. With the Ace of Spades, he’d go over strategy, tactics and the innards of the enemy. He and Rowan would discuss the impacts of Rakepick’s actions on Spades and the steps needed to rebuild. While the commander of the Clubs’ military, Cato also had a duty in overseeing law enforcement there. These two circumstances were among the reasons that contributed to him taking the diplomatic and political implications of the matter seriously.

Outside of their duties, Cato, Bill and Rowan also exchanged details about their lives in their respective kingdoms and their hopes for the future. They continued to maintain contact after the war. With the situations in the kingdoms stabilizing, they would have the time to meet up more often.

Cato also had strong relations with Barnaby Lee and Chiara Lobasca, the Ace and Jack of Hearts, respectively. The two Aces were similar in their styles of leadership. When not at conferences, they at many times would look to each other for inspiration and advice, both in writing and over the phone. Cato also revered the times he’d get a letter or a call from Chiara. She concerned for his well-being and how the situation with Rakepick’s regime was treating him. The Jack also appreciated his ways of balancing his loyalty and accountability to his people with the interests of the other kingdoms.

King Diego of Hearts was impressed when he first heard that young Cato had become Ace of Clubs. He was excited and anticipated his future progress holding the position. The King was thrilled when he was able to meet up with Cato after his appointment to Ace of Clubs. They enjoyed each other’s company, and his attitude helped Cato’s confidence in his new duties. Diego would catch onto his ability to keep calm and reassure his people in spite of the uncertain and unpredictable nature of the Spades crisis.

He noted that the Ace of Clubs had the values of Hearts, using his intelligence and knowledge for the benefit of the citizens. While he was sure that Cato would also be just as good in the Kingdom of Hearts, Diego understood that his true place lied with King Orion in Cubs. Nevertheless, Cato was always welcome in Diego’s court, even receiving invitations from him, Chiara and Barnaby from time to time.

#cato reese #hphm cardverse #cardverse au #hphm cardverse au #cardverse #orion amari #bill weasley #veruca mcquaid #diego caplan #chiara lobosca #barnaby lee #rowan khanna

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aigenfandoms · 10 months

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Randomized Fuckery

A AI generated Fanfic

All writing is completed by an AI program

All characters and scenarios are randomized

Miraculous Ladybug

Characters selected: Chloe Bourgeois & Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Just seeing the characters selected I knew this was going to be funky

Scenario: Marinette gets akumatized and Chloe is the only one who can save her

Y’all I have to watch the movie I’ve been slacking 😔

Embers of Redemption

In the heart of Paris, Marinette Dupain-Cheng had always been the epitome of kindness and selflessness. However, beneath her bright smile, she struggled with the weight of others' expectations. The constant pressure to be the perfect Ladybug and the perfect student had become a burden she could no longer bear. One fateful day, an Akuma found its way to her, feeding off her emotions, turning her pain and frustration into a raging storm of darkness.

As Chat Noir tried to save her, his attempts were futile. The Akuma's hold on Marinette grew stronger with every failed attempt. Even Ladybug, her own alter ego, couldn't break through the darkness consuming her. Feeling utterly alone, Marinette withdrew further into despair, leaving only one person to stand by her side - Chloe Bourgeois.

Surprisingly, Chloe was the only one who saw through Marinette's facade. She recognized the torment within her, remembering her own struggles to be accepted and respected. Determined to help her former adversary, Chloe set aside their differences and approached Marinette with empathy and compassion.

As they spent time together, Chloe discovered the real Marinette, the vulnerable girl hidden behind her confident exterior. She learned about Marinette's dreams, her fears, and the enormous weight she carried on her shoulders. Chloe saw herself mirrored in her enemy, realizing they both shared the burden of society's expectations.

With each interaction, the animosity between them slowly transformed into understanding and a strange bond began to form. Chloe guided Marinette through her emotional turmoil, urging her to embrace her true self, flaws and all. She encouraged Marinette to acknowledge her feelings and confront her insecurities head-on.

As Marinette's emotions shifted, the Akuma's grasp weakened, and rays of hope broke through the darkness. Chloe's genuine care and friendship acted as a catalyst for Marinette's transformation. But it was not an easy journey; they faced trials and setbacks, learning to trust and rely on each other.

Throughout their struggles, Cat Noir continued to fight for Ladybug's release from the Akuma's control, unaware of Chloe's involvement in Marinette's salvation. The city grew desperate as the Akuma's destruction escalated, but Chloe remained steadfast, offering an unwavering support that no one expected.

Finally, the moment of truth arrived. With Chloe by her side, Marinette confronted her inner demons and the Akuma head-on. The battle was fierce, but Marinette's determination and newfound belief in herself began to break the Akuma's hold. As the last traces of darkness dissipated, Ladybug returned, her heart filled with gratitude for Chloe's compassion and acceptance.

In the aftermath, Paris stood united as they celebrated the defeat of the Akuma and the newfound alliance between Ladybug and Chloe. The once-antagonistic relationship between the two girls had blossomed into something beautiful - a bond of trust, understanding, and love.

As Ladybug and Chat Noir fought side by side once more, they acknowledged the role Chloe played in saving their beloved city. Her transformation from an adversary to an ally was a testament to the power of empathy and the strength that lies within every individual, even in the darkest of times.

And so, the story of Embers of Redemption spread across Paris, inspiring hope and reminding everyone that redemption and understanding can arise from the unlikeliest of connections. For Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Chloe Bourgeois, their journey from enemies to lovers was a tale of courage, compassion, and the enduring power of love and friendship.

#ai generated #miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #miraculous lb #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #tales of ladybug and cat noir #chloe bourgeois #chloe x marinette #Chloe bourgeois ml #cat noir #miraculous fanfic #miraculous fandom #miraculous ladybug fanfic

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mugunghwc · 11 months

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unprompted ask / always accepting

anonymous said: Can you point out some of the ways your characters have developed or changed over time? Perspectives, behaviours etc? Especially because of interactions with another character?

some have definitely changed more than others through roleplay, & the use of a single verse has helped A LOT, too. it has allowed me to develop them throughout a single timeline & take notice of all these changes in their personalities, perspectives, etc.

han, for example, became more goal oriented. back when i first started writing him, my interactions were similar in nature, with me playing the role of him working as a host at stardust, which allowed more romantic, or sexual interactions. at some point, it became tiring to do the same thing, & since i started to focus on different kinds of interactions ( possible friendships, alliances, potential enemies... ), his character feels more complete to me. keeping most interactions within a single verse has also emphasized this idea i had of him being a charmer, someone that plenty of people could look up to, or admire. it makes his portrayal more impactful imo, just having different characters know of him & hold similar views.

another character who has gone through great changes, has been rei. she was supposed to be my timid, misguided girl. quiet, serious... & SHE IS, but in a different way. my interactions with @badheart ( shoutout for influencing all my muses ) definitely helped me in developing her by giving her friendships, a relationship which it’s something she’s new at, & plenty of potential through things that had been discussed ooc. there are more nuisances to her character now, with a grey morality & some conflict within herself, as she learns to let others near. she’s more affectionate, assertive at times ( it’s a work in progress ), bolder ( also a work in progress ), & overall more welcoming than what her character was supposed to be. she was just an oc i created because i wanted to have a translator ; thinking of her as someone work-oriented, with not much of a social life, but now i have all these great & sometimes wholesome interactions with her. she allows me to explore a different kind of character, with her being a regular civilian dealing with day-to-day issues that are more relatable (misogyny, harassment, etc. ).

this one comes to mind due to my recent use of his character, & that’s mako. he was supposed to be more antagonistic, starting as a simple oc that could potentially start something with someone by putting them down, bully them & such. egotistic, selfish. someone you’d want to punch in the face, pretty much. in the end, he turned to be far more charming than i’d expected. his character isn’t just this antagonist anymore, & by giving him more of a background, it has allowed me to show different sides of him. sure, he’s still full of himself & such, but mako is different depending on who you ask. someone like sunny would tell you he’s a prick ( & even their relationship changed over time, becoming less hostile & more like banter between siblings that don’t get along ), while someone like vivian ( @unladielike ) or futaba ( @badheart ) would tell you he can be quite sweet.

even ji-eun has gone through some changes, with him being more than this disturbed weird guy, which feels like such a popular trope on tumblr. his relationship with fang (@badheart) made me realize that he can be immature as well, & have moments in which he could be oddly considerate or ‘ cute ‘. meanwhile, he still carries that dangerous aura, which is something that bora (@badheart) has picked on. i had no major plans for him, even thinking that he could die at some point, but now i’m eager to push his character further & explore him a bit more with the relationships that i have planned for him; with his half-brother ( pretend im tagging snow again ) having some relevance.

i feel i could go on, but it would take so long. most of my interactions carried within my main verse has had some impact on my muses, but as anyone could be able to see just by looking at my blog, i’m lucky enough to have a partner that indulges me & helps them grow, just as i hope to provide the same 😌

#anon #.ask / never have any regrets after the game #.behind the reflection

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punishdsin · 5 days

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🚢 - not sure what muses of mine you'd be interested in but i'm always down to talk/plot those things out

🐝 * ― 𝑺𝑯𝑰𝑷𝑷𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑺𝑯𝑬𝑬𝑻.

send 🚢 or ( 'SHIP' ) if you ever considered shipping our characters romantically and want me to fill out the following form for our muses. bold all that definitely applies, italicize what could potentially apply. feel free to add more if you think certain options are missing or you just want to add more.

do i ship our characters together?: yes | no | not yet but maybe soon

would i like to ship with you?: yes | maybe, i'm willing to try | no

would i rather plot first or jump right in and see where it goes?: develop their relationship first | jump right in | something in between ( what specifically? )

what now?: let's plot something | send me shippy memes | i'll send you shippy memes | write me a random starter | i'll write you a random starter

anything else i want you to know about me / my character / my shipping habits:

When considering potential relationships for James, it's important to note that he is not interested in romantic relationships with other males. For James, chemistry with a potential partner is crucial, as I believe that the best relationships develop organically through role-playing. While I am open to plotting out specific scenarios and developments, I find that allowing the relationship to grow naturally often yields the most fulfilling and authentic connections.

To ensure a thriving relationship for James, I prioritize character compatibility, where both characters complement each other in meaningful ways, whether through shared interests, mutual respect, or complementary personalities. Organic development is key, as I prefer to see how the characters interact in various scenarios, allowing their bond to evolve naturally over time.

It's also essential to maintain balanced dynamics, ensuring that both characters contribute to and benefit from the relationship equally, creating a balanced and healthy dynamic. For me, the interactions during role-playing should feel genuine and engaging, fostering a strong connection between the characters.

By focusing on these elements, I believe James can form a meaningful and enduring relationship with a partner who resonates with him on multiple levels.

While I appreciate the creativity and effort you put into your characters, I feel that a romantic relationship between James and your characters isn't quite fitting. That said, I'm definitely open to developing relationships with your characters of a different nature. Whether it's friendships, alliances, mentor-mentee dynamics, or even rivalries, I'm excited to explore a wide range of interactions.

#coolrpblog #[ answered ]

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hassingwatts73 · 10 months

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Role-playing Realms: Immersive Minecraft Servers for Adventurers

Minecraft, the renowned sandbox game, offers players a multitude of gameplay experiences, and one captivating aspect is the world of role-playing servers. These immersive Minecraft servers provide a unique environment for players to embark on epic quests, engage in captivating stories, and immerse themselves in a rich and interactive virtual world. In this article, we will explore the enchanting realm of role-playing Minecraft servers and how they offer adventurers a truly immersive and unforgettable gaming experience. What are Role-playing Minecraft Servers? Nomad.so Role-playing Minecraft servers are multiplayer game worlds that simulate immersive and interactive experiences akin to traditional tabletop role-playing games. These servers often feature dedicated plugins, mods, or custom scripts that enable players to assume different roles, engage in storytelling, and participate in cooperative or competitive adventures. Role-playing servers create a vibrant and dynamic community where players can collectively shape the world and influence the unfolding narratives. Engaging Storylines and Quests One of the key elements of role-playing Minecraft servers is the presence of engaging storylines and quests. These servers often have dedicated moderators or server administrators who create intricate narratives, quests, and challenges for players to undertake. By assuming specific roles or character classes, players can dive into a well-crafted narrative, complete quests, solve puzzles, and uncover the secrets of the server's world. The ongoing storylines and evolving quests provide a sense of progression and excitement, keeping players invested in the server's immersive experience. Character Customization and Development Role-playing Minecraft servers offer extensive character customization and development options. Players can choose from a variety of races, classes, and professions that define their character's abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. As players progress through the server, they earn experience points, level up, and unlock new skills or abilities, allowing for character growth and specialization. The character development aspect adds depth to the gameplay, providing a sense of achievement and personalization. Player Interaction and Collaboration Role-playing servers foster a strong sense of community and encourage player interaction and collaboration. Players can form parties, guilds, or factions, working together to overcome challenges and accomplish shared goals. Cooperation and communication among players are often vital to succeed in quests, defeat formidable enemies, and unravel the server's mysteries. The social aspect of role-playing servers enhances the immersion, as players forge friendships, build alliances, and participate in community events and activities. Dedicated Role-playing Plugins and Mods Role-playing Minecraft servers utilize dedicated plugins or mods to enhance the immersive experience. These additions can introduce new gameplay mechanics, character progression systems, magic systems, custom items, and more. These plugins or mods are often crafted specifically for the role-playing server, offering unique features and functionalities that contribute to the server's immersive environment. Server Rules and Role-playing Etiquette To maintain the integrity of the role-playing experience, role-playing servers have specific rules and guidelines that players must follow. These rules often include guidelines for in-character role-playing, respectful behavior towards other players, and adherence to the server's lore and storyline. Role-playing etiquette encourages players to immerse themselves in the server's world, respect the boundaries of the narrative, and engage in constructive role-playing interactions. Role-playing Minecraft servers provide adventurers with an immersive and enchanting gaming experience, allowing them to step into a world of captivating narratives, challenging quests, and collaborative gameplay. Through engaging storylines, character customization, and dedicated role-playing mechanics, these servers offer a dynamic and interactive virtual world where players can create memorable moments, form lasting connections, and embark on epic adventures. Whether you're exploring ancient ruins, engaging in political intrigue, or battling fearsome creatures, role-playing Minecraft servers provide a gateway to immersive gameplay that captivates the imagination and leaves players yearning for more. So, venture forth into the realm of role-playing servers, embrace your character's destiny, and unlock the endless possibilities that await you in this immersive Minecraft experience.

#how to add a health bar in minecraft servers #Best minecraft hunger games servers 2021 #Minecraft Xbox One Servers #Best minecraft hosting servers 2022 #How to join random minecraft servers ps4 #how to unban on minecraft servers #Where Can I Buy Minecraft Servers #minecraft 1.8.3 servers #How To Update Minecraft Realms Servers #how do faction servers work minecraft

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jieeeae · 1 year

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Exploring the Thrilling World of Ran Online

Introduction: Welcome to the electrifying world of Ran Online, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that has captivated gamers around the globe. Step into a virtual universe where martial arts, intense PvP battles, and a vibrant community combine to create an immersive gaming experience. In this blog, we will delve into the various aspects that make Ran Online an enthralling and unforgettable journey.

Setting the Stage: The World of Ran Online Ran Online takes place in a modern-day setting with a unique blend of Asian martial arts and urban aesthetics. Choose from different schools, each with its own distinct style and skillsets, as you embark on an adventure filled with quests, challenges, and formidable enemies. The detailed and visually appealing environments bring the game world to life, from bustling city streets to ancient temples and mysterious dungeons.

School Selection: Find Your Fighting Style One of the defining features of Ran Online is the diverse range of schools available for players to choose from. Each school possesses its own fighting techniques, weapons, and specialties, catering to different playstyles. Whether you prefer the agility and stealth of the Swordsman class, the devastating ranged attacks of the Archer class, or the mystical powers of the Shaman class, there is a school to suit every taste and strategy.

Engaging Gameplay: Quests, PvE, and PvP Ran Online offers a plethora of quests and missions, immersing players in an ever-evolving storyline. Embark on epic quests to uncover the secrets of the game world, battle powerful bosses, and unravel the mysteries surrounding your chosen school. Additionally, engage in challenging player versus environment (PvE) encounters, where teamwork and strategy are vital for success.

For those seeking intense competitive action, Ran Online delivers adrenaline-pumping player versus player (PvP) combat. Participate in massive guild wars, engage in thrilling duels, and prove your skills in action-packed tournaments. The thrill of victory and the camaraderie of fighting alongside fellow players create an unforgettable gaming experience.

Character Development: Skills and Upgrades As you progress through Ran Online, your character will gain experience, unlock new abilities, and acquire powerful equipment. Master a wide array of skills and combos, tailor your character's attributes to your preferred playstyle, and strategically upgrade your gear to become a force to be reckoned with. The constant pursuit of growth and the satisfaction of becoming stronger serve as major driving factors in the game.

Community and Social Interaction Ran Online thrives on its vibrant and passionate community. Join guilds to find like-minded players, forge alliances, and tackle challenging content together. Engage in lively discussions on forums, share strategies, and make lasting friendships within the game. The social aspect of Ran Online adds an extra layer of enjoyment and encourages collaboration in achieving shared goals.

Events and Updates: Keeping the Adventure Fresh The developers of Ran Online regularly introduce exciting events, updates, and new content to keep the game fresh and engaging. Participate in seasonal events, compete for exclusive rewards, and explore new areas and challenges. The dedication of the development team ensures that players always have something new to discover and experience.

Conclusion: Ran Online offers an exhilarating MMORPG experience with its captivating setting, diverse schools, engaging gameplay, and a vibrant community. Whether you are a fan of martial arts, intense PvP battles, or immersing yourself in a thrilling virtual world, Ran Online has something to offer. Embark on an unforgettable journey, forge new friendships, and become a legendary warrior in this adrenaline-fueled MMORPG.

Disclaimer: As of my knowledge cutoff date in September 2021, this information reflects the state of Ran

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brmains · 2 years

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Fallen hero retribution full version apk

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Above all make sure your past never catches up with you.

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Romance a mad scientist, your former partner, or both. If you need support, please message dashingdon. DashingDon is not associated or affiliated with Choice of Games LLC or Hosted Games LLC. The majority of games here are incomplete and unedited. This site primarily hosts 'work-in-progress' games. DashingDon: Free ChoiceScript Game Hosting.

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Make alliances or enemies in the Los Diablos underworld while you outfight and outthink the heroes set against you.

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Posted by By tf2 console commands how to open Februcyberpowerpc microsoft. Become the greatest telepathic villain Los Diablos has ever known Once you were famous soon you will be infamous. Posted in liceo scientifico equivalent in uk. He would have fallen to the ground, had it been programmed into the game.Īt the beginning where not given any background whatsoever. minnesota basketball 2021 » fallen hero: retribution demo. Download Stormblades and enjoy it on your iPhone, iPad and iPod. The hero dies in a bloody attack and falls down into a great graphical glitch on the ground. Read reviews, compare customer ratings, see screenshots and learn more about Stormblades. Shortly thereafter he gets on a mounted machine gun and starts to shoot other bikers. Perhaps even lower.ĭuring the first minutes after turning on the game I'm treated to a biker sitting on his Harley Davidson (or rather what looks like a Harley, but without the costly license). If we had been blessed with a percentage scale with which to score games, the grade would have wound up around the 1% mark. Simply put it's such an awful mess that no-one should even come close enough to poke it with a stick. That's the first clue about the aspirations of this biker adventure.

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rabbitrah · 2 years

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r/place has truly been so fun for me to both participate in and just to observe. With all the countries interacting in a new/artificial environment there's been a kind of model UN vibe, but then you have all of the other communities on reddit. The trans community, pride community, linux users, r/fuckcars, r/leaves, r/superstonk, various universities, various fandoms for movies, tv shows, video games, and bands... and all these different communities are thrust into a meat grinder together to make art in a way that is inhetently both collaborative and aggressive. All the unlikely friendships, unlikely enemies, and unlikely frenemies are so beautiful to me. In order to survive, communities have to create governing bodies, elect diplomats, and make alliances. In the Nordic Union, the countries elected "speakers of the house" to negotiate and organize on their behalf. All this in less than 4 days!

#someone needs to write a paper on this #r/place

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ladyartemesia · 3 years

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Once Upon a Bracelet

Pairing: Prince Jungkook x Sorceress Reader (Featuring Platonic Jin x Reader Friendship)

Genre: Fantasy • Soulmates • Enemies to Lovers • Fairytale

Word Count: 12.5K

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT. MINORS PROHIBITED. I DO NOT CONSENT TO ANY INTERACTIONS WITH PERSONS UNDER THE AGE OF 18. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Warnings: explicit sexual content • mentions of death • injury with a knife • passing mention of patricide • mentions of blood in relation to magic • literally none of this is graphic at all • I am just trying to be safe • loss of virginity • some hurt/comfort elements • social inequality and classism • pseudo-infidelity but not really •

Rating: Explicit (18+)

Summary: You were born to nothing, but your powerful craft caught the eye of a charming prince. However, his distinctly un-charming younger brother challenged your betrothal and is routinely challenging you. Jeon Jungkook is (probably) a former necromancer and (definitely) the wrong prince…

But the bracelets tell a different story.

Author’s Note: This story would not be here without the love, support and friendship of my incredible support system. You talk with me, you laugh with me, you listen when I’m crying, and you read my chaotic drafts when I am ready to pull my hair out of my head in frustration. I love you all. @ppersonna @xjoonchildx @untaemedqueen @lemonjoonah Special thanks to my lovely beta Hope @hobi-gif who keeps my work sharp and gives so generously of her time to help me. If I shine, its because you ladies are lighting up my life. And finally, shout-out to the lovely @wwilloww who read the very first version of this story year before we ever connected through BTS. I hope you like this new version--my brain clearly ran away with me...

Content Note: In this universe a necromancer is defined as a magic user with the ability to drain and/or manipulate the life force of living beings to fuel their own power. Using life force magic temporarily grants them advanced abilities—most of which are forbidden or illegal in the Kingdom of Dionysia where this story is set. Most mages with the ability to use this type of magic do not elect to do so. Magic users in this universe are typically proficient in three to four varieties of magic generally determined by their genetic make-up (meaning you are likely to inherit the same type of magical abilities as your parents or family members).

꧁ Prologue ꧂

It is said that the world of mortals contained three sacred wells where ancient magic rose up within the waters like springs from the depths of the earth.

One such well could be found in the Kingdom of Dionysia—a nation of great warriors and powerful crafters who served as its caretakers for generations.

The Dionysians called this place Sanguine Well and, as a reward for their devotion, the gods honored them with a remarkable gift...

Bonding Bracelets

—a set of unique magical artifacts used to join, identify, and empower soulmates.

On the first day of their twentieth year, Dionysian youth traveled to Sanguine Well for the ritual creation of a bonding bracelet pair.

When the appointed hour arrived, a young seeker ventured into the depths of the well and held their breath beneath its waters till the currents receded—leaving a bracelet pair behind.

One bracelet formed fully clasped around their wrist. The other remained open and would only close for the seeker’s destined mate.

Naturally the people of Dionysia did not take the gift of bonded soulmates lightly...

All proposed matches were registered and approved by the Ruling Council before an open bracelet could even be tried on by a potential partner and both parties were required to present evidence of their commitment to one another.

If the alliance was approved, the betrothed pair participated in a public ceremony where the first seeker’s intended would activate the bond by placing the open bracelet around their wrist.

When an unclaimed bracelet united with its true owner, the open ends stretched and intertwined to form a rune.

From that moment on, the seeker and their soulmate were blood bonded in a supernatural union of their hearts, powers, and abilities that was—to all known craft—unbreakable.

Dionysia believed that this care and reverence honored the craft and the gods, thereby allowing the sacred tradition to continue.

In 900 years of recorded history, only five bonding ceremonies ended with a bracelet that did not close.

Now there were six…

꧁ Once Upon a Time ꧂

“Jin!”

Your voice echoed through the elegant corridors of Solemn Truth Palace as you chased after your betrothed. “I’m sorry! I—”

Jin whirled on you, shaking his head vehemently.

“None of this is your fault.”

“There are many reasons why this could’ve happened,” you offered breathlessly.

“There’s only one reason why this happens.”

He sighed and you rubbed your temples in frustration.

“I don’t understand… The Council gave permission.”

The Ruling Council was a sovereign governing body of three kings and three queens—one monarch from each of Dionysia’s six royal bloodlines.

“The Council isn’t all knowing…” Jin collapsed against a nearby wall. “This is a disaster,” he whispered.

And it was.

You had no family, but all of your friends and colleagues from the Academy were there.

Jin was technically an orphan as well, but his adopted family, the Jeons, were there.

Jeon Alaya was high queen of the Ruling Council, so half the kingdom was there to see the prince, her (adopted) son, bond with the craft prodigy from The Wastes.

Half the kingdom, but not her blood. Not her youngest son...

The two of you were silent for several moments as you struggled to process the shock.

“Do you think the rumors—what they say about me—is true?”

Jin’s head shot up in an instant.

“No,” he swore, “they’re absolutely not true.”

Your heart warmed at his fierce defense, but after today’s debacle you were beginning to question yourself…

Whispers that ‘Wastelanders’ like yourself were citizens of no nation and loyal only to their own desires had plagued the majority of your academic and professional career.

You were forced to work twice as hard as any of your peers for each of your achievements, relying on nothing more than your natural talent and a stubborn determination to succeed in spite of the prejudice you faced.

And you did succeed.

The gatekeepers of Dionysian society may have sneered at your background, but the powerful craft in your veins and the mastery with which you wielded it earned you undeniable respect and acclaim.

Yet—even then—you were still an outsider.

A strange girl with strange magic.

Most Dionynisians practiced forms of elemental and illusion crafts. Your primary abilities, however, were every bit as foriegn and hard to define as you were.

Strictly speaking your magic fell under the umbrella of transfiguration arts (manipulating matter and energy to transform one thing into another), but you had been known to affect everything from the taste of tea to the weather—abilities far outside the norms of that designation.

Nevertheless, transfiguration mages were rare and most of their lore was outdated—a situation which allowed you to establish yourself as a leading authority in the field almost by default.

Between your fortuitous betrothal to Prince Seokjin and the widespread recognition of your achievements, you had hoped—after a lifetime of challenges—that the path ahead might be an easier one.

But nothing ever came easily to you...

“Jin, it didn’t close—”

“It didn’t close because we aren’t soulmates—not because you aren’t one of us.” His expression softened. “We were a good idea… Just not the right one.”

Bitter tears welled up in the corners of your eyes.

On some level you were not surprised. You cared for Jin but–

Yours was not an overly romantic attachment.

It was a strong friendship—one that spanned several years. When you decided to apply to the Royal Council for bonding, it seemed…

Logical.

Friendship was an excellent criteria for identifying a potential mate and over the centuries many bonded pairs applied as friends.

You trusted in the wisdom of the Royal Council—everyone did.

If you and Jin were not meant for one another, surely the Council would see it. They would turn down the application—someone would object—

Well...

Someone did object.

But you were approved, nonetheless.

The date was set. Announcements were made. Invitations were sent out.

Then, at last, the ornate golden cuff was placed over your wrist and…

Nothing.

Nothing happened.

Jin’s bracelet remained stubbornly un-closed.

And you had never felt so mortified—so exposed—

So profoundly alone in your entire life.

It was a scandal of epic proportions, one which potentially called into question the judgement of the entire Ruling Council.

“Listen,” Jin spoke at last, “I need… I need to clear my head and think about the next steps. I know an expert on bonding bracelets. Perhaps I can convince her to help us figure out this mess.”

His hands settled over your shoulders in a familiar comforting gesture.

“Head to my house outside the city for a while. No one will bother you there, and I’ll be back tomorrow.” He gave your arms a brotherly squeeze. “We’ll work through this—I promise.”

Neither of you were keen to face the commotion unfolding in the grand ballroom of Solemn Truth Palace (where the failed ceremony took place), so Jin suggested a discreet escape through the secret entrance in his mother’s office.

The two of you parted ways with a final hug before the prince set off for the Hall of Records—leaving you to trudge miserably toward his beautiful mansion by the lake.

Technically, Golden Starlight Manor was just one of many homes owned by the Jeon family. This one, however, Jin shared with his younger brother…

Jungkook.

You kicked a stone irritably at the mere thought of his name.

Prince Jeon Jungkook was rather a sore subject for you.

In fact, over the course of your acquaintance, you expended considerable energy either avoiding him or engaging in dramatic shouting matches with him.

As such, Starlight (the family’s affectionate nickname for the sprawling ancestral holding) was normally the last place in Dionysia you wanted to be.

But that was no longer the case.

Jungkook had been gone for weeks. He left the very day your betrothal was announced…

“Why do you bother with those ridiculous gloves? Anyone who’s watched you cast knows what you’re hiding.”

You sighed heavily.

“Good evening to you as well, Jungkook. Nice of you to finally show up.”

“Mother made some very explicit threats against my person when I told her I was busy so I assumed it was important—and, judging by your fancy gloves, I was correct.”

“Honestly I’m beginning to suspect you’ve never seen a pair before.”

“I’m just baffled by their purpose. It’s only a scar—your hands are not disfigured… So why cover it up?”

Only a scar…

You shook your head.

Only a scar you earned in a back alley knife fight when you were a mere ten years old. With no proper medical care it had become infected and what should have been a simple wound became a permanent reminder of your ugly past.

Tonight—of all nights—you would rather not be reminded...

“Is there a purpose to this discussion, Highness, or are you just interrogating me for fun?”

Jungkook scoffed at your cool reply.

“That scratch on your hand isn’t even noticeable, you know.” He opened up his own palm to reveal a thick band of gnarled tissue slashing diagonally across the center. “Mine is significantly more impressive.

Something that might have been a smile tugged insistently at the corner of your lips but you covered it quickly with a blistering scowl.

“Comparing scars—really? Can’t you be civilized for one blasted evening?”

“Why would I do that? Think of how bored you’d be.”

You groaned and threw back the rest of your drink with a frustrated gulp.

“Believe it or not we common folk long for a bit of peaceful boredom now and then.”

The prince snorted and clasped his hand dramatically over his heart.

“So righteous.”

“Someone ought to be.”

“Enough you two,” Jeon Alaya called from across the family’s spacious day room. “I just replaced those curtains and I don’t want them exploding into a herd of butterflies—or some other such nonsense.”

In any other context, that would have been a profoundly strange comment.

However…

Disagreements between yourself and Jeon Jungkook had become downright legendary over the last several months.

A heated argument in Night Meadow Park caused several trees to burst into bright multicolored flames and start shooting all their fruit at peaceful park-goers like tiny delicious cannonballs.

A dispute over the best ingredients to use in vegetable casserole ended with an entire bowl of green beans growing legs and chasing the family dog out onto the lawn.

The two of you got into a row at the Centennial Peace Celebration and sent all of the lightning swans (specially flown in for the occasion) into a static-electric mating frenzy that plastered everyone’s clothes to their bodies obscenely—including the ninety-five year-old high priest. (The chief matron from the Knitting Guild was so scandalized that she fainted into a bowl of punch.)

And just last week Jungkook’s stubborn refusal to acknowledge your point in an ongoing debate about teleportation made you so mad that your hair literally turned red for an entire day.

As such, you both had the decency to look abashed under the high queen’s wary gaze.

“I don’t know, Mother,” Jin chuckled before offering the assembled guests a dazzling grin. “Perhaps you should have let them go. Butterflies are good luck after all.”

You sighed happily—impressed yet again by your partner’s elegant diplomacy.

The two princes of House Jeon could not have been less alike.

They shared a deep affection for one another and for their parents, but that was where the similarities began and ended.

Seokjin was a playful charmer with a silver tongue and a delightfully mischievous demeanor.

He was remarkably similar in both looks and temperament to Alaya and her husband Roomin—so much so that people often assumed Jungkook was the adopted sibling.

The elder prince was also a natural politician. He enjoyed appearing in charitable competitions for cooking and fishing where his flirtatious habit of blowing kisses into the crowd would unlace corsets and purses strings left and right.

Not that he had ever been unfaithful—Kim Seokjin was every bit as kind and loyal as he was beautiful.

And he was very beautiful.

Jungkook on the other hand…

Beautiful was altogether the wrong word.

The sharp sensual planes of his face seemed shaped for something darker and wilder than beauty.

Jin was clever and outgoing, but Jungkook was brilliant and quietly intense. His abilities and impressive spell lore were both highly sought after, but he was difficult to draw out and generally preferred to practice his science and experimental craft far away from the public eye.

Most people agreed that he was an enigma—and a wickedly handsome one at that. His fiery brown eyes and impressive muscular physique were only enhanced by the apathetic confidence of his demeanor.

However...

The younger prince’s most arresting feature was unquestionably his hair.

Once, it had been brown—like the rest of the Jeon family…

But he returned from ‘the incident’ several years ago with a distinct new color—one no dye or spell could replicate.

Ashen Gold.

The mark of a deadly necromancer.

A constant visual reminder that he had taken a life.

And yet even that could not detract from his seductive allure—if anything it made him appear more poetically ethereal.

Like an Angel of Death.

Women all over the kingdom were obsessed with the mysterious Jeon prince—

Not you of course.

That raw, unruly magnetism might cause some hearts to flutter—but certainly not yours.

After all...

Jeon Jungkook was still a true-born prince.

And you—even with all of your accomplishments—would always be a street waif from The Wastes with a little too much magic in her blood.

You had no business noticing the soft curve of his lips or the strong line of his jaw or—

… anything below that.

As such you shot the man in question one final dirty look before turning your attention back to Jin.

The elder prince finished thanking the assembled guests for accepting his invitation and finally arrived at the true purpose for the evening.

“Honored loved ones… I am pleased to announce that a bond between this incredibly beautiful woman and my unworthy self has been unanimously approved by the Royal Council! We are betrothed!”

A predictable burst of applause and excited murmuring erupted as you stepped forward, prepared to graciously take your place at Jin’s side and accept congratulations when—

Strong fingers suddenly wrapped around your wrist—holding you back decisively.

Shocked silence fell over the room as you turned to face Jeon Jungkook (resolutely ignoring the fact that his unyielding grip was sending the strangest sparks of heat all through your body).

“No,” he growled with startling finality. “You cannot be with him.”

… Perhaps that humiliating spectacle at your betrothal party should have been the first indication that today’s ceremony was bound to end in misery.

Jeon Jungkook was a menace, but he adored his brother and his impassioned objections to the match were wildly uncharacteristic.

Still…

Considering the turbulent nature of your relationship, you were rather relieved that he had not been there this morning to witness his own belated triumph.

It was a small comfort, but a comfort nonetheless.

The repercussions of today’s disastrous ceremony loomed overhead like the Sword of Damocles. There would be no escaping the fallout.

It was well past the eighth hour when you finally reached the manor and the staff were already gone for the night…

There was no one to greet you or ask any well-intentioned questions about your sudden appearance.

Thank the gods for small favors.

Normally you took a moment to appreciate Starlight’s elegantly carved entryway and vibrant woodland wallpaper (a stunning and expensive feature which made the entire house feel like an enchanted forest)—but the reality of the day was already beginning to take a physical toll.

You were entirely too drained to attempt the stairs, bypassing them in favor of the main drawing room where you intended to simply collapse fully-clothed on a chaise when—

“Shouldn’t you be off playing princess literally anywhere else?”

Of course.

A mirthless laugh bubbled up before you could stop it.

“Jeon Jungkook.”

Just what I needed right now.

The prince crossed his arms and offered you a condescending tilt of his head.

Years of social training had you dipping slightly into an informal bow—hoping it would hide the way your body always seemed to go haywire in his presence.

Jungkook’s tall muscular frame leaned indolently against the fireplace, dressed head to toe in his signature black garb. Two silver earrings—priceless heirlooms of the Jeon bloodline—dangled rakishly from his ears beneath riotous waves of golden hair.

He looked more like a renegade pirate than a high born prince.

And his effect on you was maddening.

“What are you doing here?”

Jungkook raised a single imperious brow in response.

“It is my house, Sandflower.”

You bristled at the familiar nickname.

Sandflowers were native to the desolate region you grew up in.

It was an easy way to remind you of your place into the world.

And his.

A prince of Dionysia forced to interact with a foundling from The Wastes simply because you happened to catch his brother’s eye.

How that must grate his delicate sensibilities.

You tapped your chin thoughtfully.

“I heard you ran off to pout over Jin’s terrible taste in women on one of those South Sea pleasure cruises.” Condescension dripped from your tone like poisoned honey. “What happened? Couldn’t find any lost souls willing to partner you for naked badminton?”

He grinned devilishly.

“Quite the opposite in fact. There were far too many volunteers.”

You rolled your eyes, firmly pushing aside the unwelcome heat his words evoked.

“Please spare me the details. I recently ate.”

“Yes, how was that overblown betrothal banquet?… Boring?… Pretentious?” He sighed theatrically. “Such a shame I missed those speeches—especially King Tiemore. His habit of loudly sucking snot up into his skull really adds a special something.”

You just barely managed to bite back a snort—

King Tiemore’s speech was rather excruciating—and for that very reason.

“The dinner was lovely—naturally. Of course the younger prince’s absence was keenly felt by all—though I confess some of us enjoyed it more than others.”

“I knew there had to be something about me you enjoyed.”

“Indeed. Your absence is by far your most attractive quality. I find myself powerfully drawn to it.”

Jungkook laughed and offered you a wry grin.

“You know—you play so coy, but I’m sure you missed me a little.” He leaned forward ever-so-slightly. “Or were you truly content with all that ‘peaceful boredom’ I left behind?”

No. I wasn’t.

“Yes, of course I was,” you snapped.

“I don’t believe you.”

“You’re free to believe whatever you like.”

A sudden scuffle erupted from the corner as Pippin (the family dog) scrambled nervously out into the kitchen. Ever since the green bean incident he refused to be in the same room with the two of you together.

Jungkook sighed and ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation.

“What are you even doing here, Sandflower?”

A sharp burst of anxiety spiked in your stomach. You were in no way prepared to reveal the extent of your humiliation to him just yet.

“I could ask you the same question.”

His eyes narrowed curiously.

“A man hardly needs to explain why he’s present in his own home. The same, however, cannot be said for you. Now why are you here when you’re supposed to be hanging off my brother's arm like a good little bride-to-be.”

“Perhaps I’ve come to plan,” you answered coolly. “Golden Starlight House would make a lovely venue for the wedding, don’t you think?”

You gestured toward a worn leather chair near the fireplace (one you knew to be his favorite). “We just need to clear out all the trash and it will be absolutely perfect.”

“Over my dead body.”

You shrugged.

“If you insist—though I’m afraid your hideous corpse will clash with the decor.”

“Oh you don’t have to worry about all that, Sandflower. I wouldn’t be caught celebrating that union dead or alive.”

“Well now that is fortunate,” you sighed in a sickeningly sweet tone, “—as I would rather not share the joy of my wedding ceremony with the man who publicly objected to it.”

Jungkook pushed off his perch against the mantle, rising to full intimidating height.

“I had good reason.”

The words were quietly spoken, but his eyes burned with conviction—just as they had the last time you saw him.

“What reason could you possibly have for obstructing your brother’s happiness?”

The prince took a full step closer and you tried very hard not to be unnerved by the reduced space between you.

“Jin is not right for you, little Sandflower—”

“You do not have permission to address me informally!”

Your voice cracked through the air like a whip as you sought to reestablish a safe distance (whether real or metaphorical) between the two of you. “I may have been born a nothing from The Wastes, but I am a ranked crafter and the betrothed of a royal. You will refer to me accordingly.”

Jungkook could feel his normally frigid heart pounding madly as he stared down his brother’s woman with unrepentant heat.

His eyes drank you in as you stood before him—teeming with barely controlled fire.

Gods but you were magnificent.

He still remembered the day Jin brought you home to the family estate.

You seemed so serene, so proper… an ideal contrast to his charmingly brash elder sibling.

Within minutes, Jungkook dismissed you as vapid and uninteresting.

The girl at his brother’s side spoke very little, smiled very tightly, and sat very straight.

You would make a lovely decorative addition to Jin’s political career—one that would never distract from his efforts or clash with his carefully maintained persona.

But oh…

He’d been so very wrong.

Some months later Jungkook was called out to the Academy on unavoidable business. After several hours of work the prince was eager to leave the crowded campus and return home—until he heard something that stopped him in his tracks.

It was you.

Several classes were gathered to watch you debate a renowned authority in the field of experimental alchemy. The man’s theories had been the gold standard (literally) for decades, yet you challenged his findings with methodical precision—letting your infectious zeal color every word as you reduced his pretentious ramblings to ash.

That was the first time he saw you—the real you—not the shallow little angel his brother brought home—but a woman brimming with vibrant energy and irresistible passion.

He had no idea how you managed to suppress the force of your true nature, but he suspected that the pleasantly tepid persona you adopted with his family was meant to compensate for your ignominious origins.

He was certain, however, of one thing:

You and Jin were a terrible match.

His brother would never make you happy and he could not bear to see Jin’s spirit broken by the anguish of an ill-fated entanglement.

Naturally, this newfound conviction had nothing to do with the way his own blood stirred at the sight of you rising up in glorious fury.

Nothing at all.

From that moment on, everything changed.

Jungkook went from passively ignoring your presence to deliberately baiting you at every turn. Time and time again he pushed and prodded until that mesmerizing fire blazed in your eyes and you were alive with riotous animosity instead of cold and distant.

“Forgive me, Mistress,” he tilted his head thoughtfully, “or is it Princess now?”

You snorted and shook your head.

“You know I will never be a princess.”

“Oh? So you’ve finally given up this ridiculous alliance with my brother?”

“Your brother is a royal, but not a true born prince. His title is just a courtesy—one his mate and descendants cannot share.”

“Disappointed?”

“In you? Frequently.”

“Fair enough—but Jin is a far better person than either of us and he does not deserve to have his heart broken.”

Your mouth dropped open in outrage.

“I resent your entire implication. I know you do not think very highly of me but—”

“You have no idea what I think of you, Mistress,” he interrupted fiercely.

Anger flared in your gaze as you stepped defiantly into his space, fueled by the familiar wave of restless energy you encountered every time the two of you clashed.

“I am a powerful crafter in my own right, I don’t need a wealthy mate to survive. I have done exceptionally well for myself—by myself.”

“Then why are you with him?”

You drew back incredulously.

“Is it so hard to believe that I do not want to be alone anymore? Is it wrong to look at my gorgeous best friend and consider that perhaps we could create the one thing I cannot earn or buy or craft—not with all the gold and power in the world?”

“Love?” Jungkook sneered.

“Family,” you shot back. “Something you take for granted. Something you don’t even want. You’re not even looking for a bond mate!”

Jungkook met your cutting accusations with an icy glare. He knew you were baiting him, yet for some masochistic reason he refused to stop you.

Lines were about to be crossed, but—as usual—the prince had torn away your genteel civility and unleashed that penniless spitfire who clawed her way up from the rotting streets and into the hallowed halls of Dionysia’s Academy.

“Ah, yes. I forgot,” you drawled, not bothering to conceal the venom in your words. “The great Jeon Jungkook lives a life of self-imposed solitude—as the walking eulogy of a traitor.”

“How dare you!” he snarled.

You crossed your arms defiantly.

“How dare I what? Call her a traitor? She was a necromancer! A dark crafter using evil—and highly illegal—magic!”

“I suppose we cannot all be walking, talking saints like the Mistress of the Wastes!”

“Well, her immaculate bloodline certainly wasn’t a guarantee of any notable virtue! Really what is the point of nobility if so few of you are actually noble?”

The two of you pressed progressively closer with each traded barb and now stood nearly nose to nose seething in reciprocal fury. Every atom in your body was engaged and—for the first time since he stormed away all those months ago—you felt gloriously alive.

At heart you would always be a fighter and there was no better opponent than Jeon Jungkook.

“Careful little Mistress, you’re starting to sound awfully judgemental. Ridicule me and my advantages all you want, but birthright is not the shield from suffering you believe it to be. I endured a loss you cannot possibly comprehend.”

“A loss?... That woman was a disgrace. And yet you still have the audacity to mourn her?”

Jungkook scoffed.

“Gods, why am I even bothering? It is impossible for you to understand such things… You only know how to gain—how to advance. Loss is not something you’re accustomed to—a fringe benefit of being born with nothing I suppose.”

“Spoken like a privileged prince!”

His eyes narrowed dangerously.

“Do I look like a privileged prince to you?”

You knew what he was getting at and with anyone else it might have been an effective shut down, but you were a master debater—able to quickly reclaim his point for your own cutting riposte.

“Of course you do! Do you think anyone else could turn up with a necromancer’s mark and just waltz back into the fold without consequence? What have you lost? Certainly not your position—and certainly not her because everyone knows that your relationship was nothing more than an accursed spell!”

Jungkook’s jaw worked in silence as he fought to control his emotions.

For a moment he looked almost…

Vulnerable.

And you could not help the wave of sympathy that suddenly rose up for him—for the young prince of so many years ago who placed his trust—and his heart—in the wrong hands.

Your tone was noticeably softer when you spoke again.

“At first I thought it was just a ridiculous rumor spread by the Royal Council to justify your pardon... but when the Academy called me in to help permanently dispose of her spell books last winter I saw…” You bit your lip. “It really was possible.”

A soft, empty laugh left Jungkook’s lips as he shook his head.

Of course it was possible.

But the truth—that he was a fool too blinded by love to recognize the evil he allowed to flourish—was so much worse.

Elaena was heart-stoppingly beautiful—the kind of lovely that could haunt a man’s thoughts and ruin his mind.

She was a vision.

When she sought him out, it was like nothing he had ever experienced before.

She dazzled him, flattered him—left him breathless and enchanted—taunted and teased him till he adored her with obsessive intensity.

In time he eagerly offered her both his heart and his body—

But Elaena was after his soul...

Jungkook’s grandfather, Jeon Olin, was the most powerful necromancer in a thousand years.

The gift (or curse) of necromancy was genetic. Only a few bloodlines could use it.

When his beloved wife died giving birth to twins, Olin turned to dark craft in a desperate attempt to get her back.

The cost of necromancy, however, was impossibly steep.

It drained life force. Exposed the wielder to dangerous dark energies—

And slowly drove them insane.

In the end, Jeon Olin was put down by his own children.

Elaena wanted Jungkook’s power desperately. Her own necromancy was weak, but a blood bond with the grandson of Jeon Olin could make her invincible.

The young prince, however, remained stubbornly blind to her true motives, even as she convinced him to explore the dark edges of the magic in his blood.

After a series of passionate arguments with his concerned family, Jungkook declared his intent to marry Elaena in defiance of their express wishes.

In response, his uncle, Jeon Anjin, did something unforgivable. He removed Jungkook’s bonding bracelet from the Jeon vault and disappeared with it.

The theft and its dramatic aftermath tore the royal family apart.

Jungkook was convinced that his mother and father conspired with Anjin to keep him from bonding with Elaena. Roomin and Alaya swore they had not, but openly admitted that they were grateful for Anjin’s actions.

Neither Alaya nor her brother could forget the trauma of killing their own father and both were determined to protect future generations from the poison in their family tree.

Necromancy was a curse and, though they had no proof, the twins could sense its hold on Elaena.

When Jungkook told his beloved what Anjin had done, she flew into a violent fury—and for the first time he experienced a sliver of doubt in his previously unshakable resolve.

But it was not enough to free him.

Consumed by his bitterness and resent, the young prince cut himself off from his heritage—from his people—

And disappeared entirely.

After a few tearful pleas, Elaena persuaded him to cloak their life force using forbidden blood spells, effectively concealing them from even the most powerful seeker mages.

Daily cuts across his palm to maintain the cloaking spell left him with a thick gnarled scar—one that had not faded even after years of treatments.

For months no one knew the prince’s whereabouts… or even if he was still alive.

Elaena believed that if they held out long enough the royal families would relent and welcome them back with open arms. Her obsession with finding Anjin and his stolen treasure put an incredible strain on their relationship...

“You have… no idea what you’re talking about,” Jungkook whispered angrily.

“Of course I do,” you scoffed. “I’ve worked with mind and heart spells for years. Once the magic is broken or the caster dies—the feelings cease to exist!”

Fury sparked chaotically in the prince’s gaze as he shook his head in frustration.

“You’re so sure of yourself—of everything—and you never stop to consider that you might be wrong.”

Your fingers pressed into your temples as you tried to ease the headache he was giving you.

“What could I possibly be wrong about? The entire kingdom knows the story! You were bewitched until Elaena cast a dark spell that rebounded and killed her—”

“That,” he hissed, “is the story—but it is not the truth.”

His hand shot out to grasp the back of your neck and with a sudden flash of heat you found yourself yanked roughly into his memories...

The door to Elaena’s makeshift workshop slammed open with a deafening crack.

“Ju-Jungkook—what are you doing here, my love? I thought you were out hunting for our dinner.”

Something was wrong. She could see it in his eyes. For months they were filled with open adoration...

Now they burned with hurt and mistrust.

“I was looking for the knife,” he whispered quietly, “I remembered seeing you with it last night...”

Elaena paled.

He’d gone through her chest. But that didn’t have to mean anything—he could have missed—

“I found this.”

Jungkook slammed an old leather scroll down on the table between them, confirming his lover’s worst fears.

“That… that isn’t what it seems—I promise I—”

“Enough!” Jungkook shouted—his voice was already beginning to shake. “These are experimental incantations to force an unfated bracelet bond… Tell me—why would you need such a thing?”

His pain and anguish grew every moment she remained silent.

“Elaena... if you believe that we are soulmates—why would you need to force the bond?”

Elaena rushed toward him, sliding her hands up to cradle his face imploringly.

“It isn’t like that, my love. This is just research. Of course I believe—”

A soft whimpering sound suddenly cut her off and Jungkook drew back in alarm.

“What is that?”

He pushed past her, making his way toward the source of the noise—a small moving object covered by cloth in the middle of the room.

“It’s nothing! Wait!”

Elaena tugged frantically at his shirt but he shook her off and pulled back the cloth to reveal—

“Elaena—gods what have you done?”

It was a little girl—one he recognized from the village they were hiding in. She was bound and laid out over strange dark casting symbols he did not recognize.

“I discovered a spell, Jungkook. It’s an ancient necromancer incantation. With it you can find anything—anyone.”

A hard hollow feeling gripped his chest tightly.

“... Why is the girl here?”

“Don’t you see? Now we can finally take your bracelet back from Anjin! You and I—we can truly be together—”

“THE GIRL, Elaena! What are you doing to the girl!?”

His hands came up to grip her arms, but she pushed him away in disgust and extended her palm toward the child.

“I told you—she’s nothing. Just a bit of collateral damage.”

Elaena’s eyes darkened to an inky black and the little girl began to cry, struggling as the primal essence her life force was cruelly ripped away.

“Elaena stop! Let her go! You can’t do this!”

“OF COURSE I CAN!” she snarled. “I’ve done it before.”

Jungkook’s eyes widened.

“But-but your hair—”

“I’ve been brewing a potion to cover it for years! How could I be satisfied with the meager energy of animals when a single human life can make me more powerful than the high queen!”

The girl screamed again and Jungkook ran to her side, yanking and pulling at the ropes around her small wrists in horrified desperation.

“It’s too late!” Elaena shouted. “The ritual has already begun. You cannot save her now!”

The prince cradled the shaking child in his arms and sobbed out in anguish.

He knew in his heart what had to be done—

… And that he must be the one to do it.

“I can save her...” he whispered. “It is you who cannot be saved.”

A single tear drifted down the side of his cheek as he stretched out his palm toward the woman he loved.

“I’m sorry...”

You gasped as the memory began to darken—holding your breath as the last few moments played through your mind—

—watching as the prince’s beautiful brown curls lightened to an unmistakable gold...

—watching him run to the lifeless Elaena and pull her against his chest in despair.

“Oh my gods…” you whispered. “It wasn’t a spell. You—”

“I loved her.”

The words fell heavy on your heart like molten lead.

It hurt to hear them—and you could not bear to think about why.

Heavens above I’ve been a fool.

Jeon Jungkook was far more complicated than you realized.

Though… perhaps a part of you had always known that.

“Your hair was dark in the vision until…” You swallowed convulsively. “Was… was that—”

The prince’s eyes were strangely hollow.

“I’ve only ever taken one life.” His gaze held yours with quiet intensity. “Hers.”

The word lingered like poison in the scant space between you—even as emotions too strong and too numerous to identify churned chaotically through your senses.

This man was such a fascinating force in your life—a question you kept trying to answer over and over again without success.

After a moment Jungkook slowly turned his back to you, resting his weight against the mantle with a weary sigh.

For the first time you realized just how close the two of you had come to one another.

“I’m sorry…” you whispered.

“I can’t imagine why you’re apologizing. You’ve made it quite clear what you think of me.”

“I don’t know what to think of you at all… Why won’t you let them tell the truth?”

Indignation and self-loathing warred over his features as he swung around abruptly.

“Because the truth is—that I would rather they all believe I was a spoiled, bewitched pawn and not a monster who used his own grotesque abilities to kill the woman he loved!”

“No!” You shook your head fiercely, “You saved that little girl!”

“And I lost myself!”

You gasped at the violent bitterness behind his words.

The raw pain in his voice—in his expression—was heart wrenching; such a departure from the normally arrogant and apathetic prince.

“Jungkook,” you breathed sympathetically, but he kept going—almost as if he hadn’t heard you.

“My honor, my dignity, my self-respect —perhaps even my chance to forge a bond… All of it died with Elaena.”

“That’s not true! You chose to do the right thing—to protect an innocent life—even if it meant sacrificing someone you loved! That is a truly noble act.”

“Noble?... Are you blind, Mistress? Everyone, including you, regards me with fear and distrust. All anyone sees when they look at me is a monster.”

“Stop saying that. You’re not a monster—”

“Oh?” He leaned in again, crowding your space, “Then what am I?”

Your breath caught. Your eyes widened in response to his proximity—

—and Jeon Jungkook forcibly bit back a groan.

Gods but you were so unpardonably beautiful up close it was almost painful.

He couldn’t say what compelled him to reveal the truth of his past to you or why all of his carefully maintained defenses routinely seemed to fade away in your presence. He spent so much time pushing others back and yet—by instinct rather than by choice—he was always trying to bring you closer.

Even now—as uncomfortable as it was to have the darkest parts of his soul laid bare before you…

He could not bring himself to regret it.

“To that little girl… you’re a hero,” you whispered softly.

Surprise flickered briefly acros his gaze. It was clear he had not expected such an admission from you. His eyes seemed to search your face for signs of mockery and for a moment you were thoroughly ashamed of yourself.

“Then what am I to you?” he asked finally.

You paled.

“...W-what?”

There was nothing but a whisper of space separating you now. You could practically feel his breath against your skin when he spoke.

“If I am not a monster… then I must be something else.” His eyes locked with yours significantly. “So what am I to you?”

Oh gods, help.

It should have been such a simple question.

But it wasn’t.

And it became increasingly more complicated with every moment that passed between you. Something dark and inviting stirred restlessly beneath the surface each and every time your paths crossed...

You could feel it.

But you could not afford to acknowledge it—and he could never seem to let it go.

“Elaena was the monster,” you insisted firmly, twisting your response away from dangerous territory, “—and you cannot continue to let her control your life like this.”

Jungkook drew back with a frustrated growl.

“She is not controlling my life! You think I’m mourning her? The person I loved was a lie. She never even existed!”

“Exactly! You were the victim every step of the way… So why are you punishing yourself?”

His eyes hardened.

“You’re taking shots in the dark now, Mistress,” he warned.

“Am I? You’ve locked yourself away in that dungeon you call a lab for the past four years. Barely twenty five winters, but you walk like a beaten man. Elaena may not have bewitched you, but she still has her hands wrapped around your throat.”

Jungkook snapped forward with a strangled roar and seized both your arms—yanking you close to him once more. Sharp, spiraling heat shot through your veins as you met his livid black gaze.

“You have no right to speak to me that way. You have never been in love. You don’t know what it is to lose it!”

“I love your brother—”

“You do not know my brother! And he does not know you.”

“Of course he knows me!”

“Does he, Sandflower?” Jungkook addressed you intimately once again—not caring that he was forbidden to do so. “Does he know how you light up the moment you win an argument? Or see the smile you save for finding that solution no one else could? Does he even realize that you hide an insatiable passion behind that chilling calm? Answer me, woman!”

But you could not.

Jeon Jungkook had seen you.

He had seen you.

—and the truth he threw in your face cut deeply.

For years you searched for a partner who would suit you. Someone who needed you. Someone safe and comfortable...

Someone like Jin who was kind and charming and often benefited from your perspectives.

… And yet—

Something was missing.

You didn’t want Jin as a woman should want her mate… and you always suspected—on some level—that he did not want you (in that way) either.

Perhaps it will come with time. Perhaps I’m just nervous—you reassured yourself over and over again.

But here and now—after everything that had happened—the truth was unavoidable.

You did not feel with Jin.

Not like when you argued your theories at the academic tribunals. Not like when you traveled to every corner of the kingdom just to satisfy your curiosity. Not like—

Your breath caught.

Not like with Jungkook.

All at once the truth crashed over you like flood waves from a broken dam.

It wasn’t anger, or resent, or even frustration that flared chaotically through your system every time he got too close—

It was desire.

When the prince saw his accusations confirmed in your troubled gaze, he lashed out and seized your wrist.

“How can you even wear his brace-”

He stopped cold.

It wasn’t there.

“Where is the bracelet?”

His entire being seemed to suspend within a single question.

“It didn’t close,” you said breathlessly.

Then your eyes changed. From guarded to almost… hopeful.

Inviting.

Just for an instant.

But it was enough.

Every urge—every impulse—every desperate longing he caged out of self-preservation suddenly broke free with a vengeance.

Jungkook dragged you completely into his arms, bringing your face mere breaths from his.

“You can never belong to him,” he growled as his lips came crashing down on yours.

Oh sweet merciful heavens.

You had allowed Jin to kiss you before. He was your betrothed after all and the few tender kisses you shared with him were quite sweet, very pleasant, utterly polite—

And nothing—absolutely nothing—like this.

Dark, wicked heat poured through your body in relentless waves as his mouth moved against yours, giving and taking with unmistakable hunger.

He tasted like summer and wonder and every wish you ever whispered into the wind under the stars.

Jeon Jungkook was definitely the wrong brother and you were an upstart from the wrong class—but oh...

This was so indescribably right.

Your breath caught as the prince bore you back into the wall, desperate for any part of you he could touch— and you opened to him willingly—eagerly—as if you had done so a thousand times.

As if you belonged to him...

You shouldn’t want this. You knew better—but instead of pushing him away you pressed forward shamelessly, tangling your fingers into his hair as you melted against him.

The contrast of his muscular frame intertwining with your supple curves was unspeakably erotic. Everything about this man was unspeakably erotic and your body responded to his with hedonistic fervor.

One of his hands slammed against the ornate surface behind you and suddenly the beautifully rendered woodlands frozen within that absurdly expensive wallpaper hummed with magic—coming to life beneath his fingertips even as he poured his passion into you.

Trees began to bloom. Animals began to move. The sky shifted in between previously inanimate branches. Spring broke forth from the four walls around you—

But neither of you noticed.

For you and he there was nothing beyond the explosive longing that had waited too long and too bitterly for release.

"Gods woman, you drive me crazy,” he rasped, drawing back momentarily for a breath before plundering your lips again. The rough timbre of his voice—so obviously dazed with desire—shot a fresh wave of arousal down your spine.

There would be a reckoning for this moment, of that you were certain—

… yet it no longer mattered.

The pain and humiliation of the last several hours lifted off your shoulders in favor of an incredible lightness. Everything in your world narrowed down to the feel of your heartbeat next to his.

You had slept on the streets of the Wastes, claimed unprecedented academic prestige, ascended to the gilded halls of the Grand Palace—but nothing had ever felt like him.

And nothing had ever felt like home—

Until him.

Jungkook—for his part—did not intend to kiss you, or hold you, or hoist you up against the wall as he was currently doing, but when his hand closed over your bare wrist an unholy triumph had blazed to life in the depths of his defeated soul.

Elation the likes of which he’d never known suddenly flooded his senses.

Jin may have found you first, but he would be the one to claim you.

You were his.

He knew it from the moment he watched you dismantle that overblown alchemist like a warrior queen.

The day the council approved your betrothal he felt as if his world was ripped in half.

It was unthinkable.

How could you belong to his brother when it was his soul that burned for you?

Watching you stand next to Jin, smiling and accepting congratulations with that pleasantly vacant smile on your face, had been the last straw.

That night he ran as far away as he could, hoping to escape you… but it was never far enough.

You haunted him relentlessly. And he soon discovered that there was no point in putting distance between you—

Not when you were already in his heart.

In the end he returned to Dionysia determined to face his fate—only to find that he had been right all along.

“I’ve always loved Sandflowers. Did you know that?”

You gasped as he began to press hot open-mouthed kisses down the column of your throat.

“I-I didn’t know.”

You didn’t know your own name at this point, so that wasn’t saying much.

“It’s true,” he hummed, sucking a trail of pretty pink marks into the soft skin along your collarbone. You whined breathlessly at his boldness, losing yourself in each new sensation until he spoke again.

“Sandflowers flourish and grow where nothing else can. They’re incredibly strong,” he pressed forward, melding the hard lines of his body into yours till his center ground against your throbbing core, “yet still so beautiful and soft.”

Nimble fingers pulled at the laced sides of your elegant betrothal dress—loosening the ties till he could slip through and brush over your bare skin.

“They cannot be kept in vases on desks or in little glass houses… Nothing so fragile could ever contain them.”

You moaned needily and his breath caught as the sound of it curled through him like an echo from his wildest dreams.

“I thought—”

“I know what you thought,” he whispered, fisting his hand in your hair to gain better access to the delectable curve of your neck. “And I let you think it because it was easier if you hated me.”

Your eyes flew open as he reached lower, sliding his hands under your dress to fully reveal the smooth legs wrapped around his body. One firmly muscled thigh suddenly pressed directly into the warmth of your swollen cunt—

And then he began to move.

“Jungkook—oh my gods!”

Pleasure—urgent and messy—rippled out from your center in all directions, overtaking you in a way that felt utterly primal and uncivilized. Your body trembled as he rutted against yours folds, opening even further to accommodate that glorious new friction.

The sounds he drew out of you were incoherent—unhinged even. Mindlessly, you moved to cover your lips but his hand suddenly closed over your wrist and pinned it to the wall.

“You sound so sweet,” he murmured in between thrusts, “so perfect.”

Your gown was slowly coming apart, slipping further and further down till it barely clung to the swells of your breast.

The need building between your legs was fast becoming unbearable. You were racing toward some sort of breaking point when you felt his hands latch around your hips and lift you onto a nearby decorative table—shattering the lamp and what was certainly a priceless antique vase as he swept them aside to make room.

The sound of glass breaking against the tile barely registered through the haze of desire pulsing between you—and neither of you noticed when the larger shards sprouted shimmering gossamer wings and began to flutter whimsically around the light fixtures.

Instead you were mewling pitifully at the unacceptable emptiness between your thighs and pulling at him in an attempt to soothe your frustration.

“Shhh,” he chuckled, “I’ve got you.”

His mouth played lazily over your skin as he leaned you back, lowering himself till his lips hovered over the greedy tips of your breasts.

Some distant part of your mind knew that this was beyond scandalous.

The once beautiful betrothal garment pooled at your waist, leaving your top and bottom bare to the hungry gaze of a man who was definitely not your betrothed.

Then his tongue darted out to give one tightened peak the slightest flick and you hissed as sensation twisted through you.

“These are exquisite,” he mused naughtily and you whined in response—arching toward him without conscious thought as his words wound around you like the strangest spell—warming you from the inside out with their simple forthright magic.

Finally he leaned forward and drew one tormented nub into his mouth with obvious obscene pleasure and—heavens above—it felt so good you almost blacked out.

“Oh my—please yes,” you keened as he sucked noisily.

Wetness flooded between your thighs as that desperate need for release continued to build recklessly. Your fingers curled into his hair as he serviced you, switching between the twin swells of your breast with greedy satisfaction till the stimulation was nearly overwhelming.

“Gods what a dream you are” he growled, worrying your swollen nub gently between his teeth, “so bare and needy.”

He moved forward to kiss you again and you gasped as his hand slid down to stroke the wet linen of your undergarments.

“Does it feel like this when he touches you?” he whispered against your lips, letting his fingers trace your sodden slit with deliberate intent.

You could only whimper in response as he continued, drawing the fabric aside to caress your bare folds.

“Do you make these noises for him?”

You shook your head frantically. “No, Jin never—ah!”

Jungkook growled at the sound of his brother’s name on your lips and slid his fingers forward, breaching the tight heat of your virgin cunt for the first time.

The pain and pleasure were so sharp and deliciously potent that you threw your head back and cried out loud.

“Of course not,” he snarled, “because he doesn’t want you like I do. He isn’t driven near to madness at the thought of you in another man’s arms.”

Your hips swayed forward desperately at the sudden foreign fullness—searching instinctively for more. Jungkook wasted no time locating that sweet secret spot inside of you, pressing and coaxing it with such reverent persistence it was almost spiritual.

“That’s it, pretty one,” he murmured heatedly. “Take what you need.”

Wanton cries poured out as you rutted against his hand, rubbing your swollen clit lewdly over his knuckles while he moaned filthy praises against your skin.

“Let me have you, Sandflower,” he whispered, curling his fingers into your soaked cunt till the arousal slid messily over his hand. “Let me show you what it’s like to be adored.”

“Yes!” you sobbed as a sharp peak of pleasure finally overtook you.

Jungkook growled in triumph as he pressed his lips to yours again—savoring the sounds of your pleasure while he worked you gently through your first release.

How could there be such a feeling in this world?

And why was he the only one who had ever let you feel it—this indescribable thrill that transcended mere physical pleasure to approach something almost like…

Freedom.

You had barely a moment to recover from your high before Jungkook was hauling you off the table and fully into his arms.

Vaguely you acknowledged that he was taking you to his room (and what was probably going to happen there) but you were too preoccupied with tearing him out of his shirt to worry about the consequences now.

Your bridges were burning and you fully intended to dance in the flames.

Every room you stumbled past on the way to his chambers was steadily overtaken with the same strange magic that had bloomed through the drawing room.

Fires spontaneously flared in dormant fireplaces, figurines twitched to life, newly sentient ancestral portraits looked down in scandalized confusion at the oblivious (and enthusiastic) couple staggering through their halls...

And Pippin went tearing out to hide in his miniature outdoor doggie castle after seeing a fox chase a colony of rabbits through the wallpaper in the dining room.

Your clothes were fully discarded by the time you finally crashed over the threshold of the prince’s quarters in a scramble of limbs and hungry desperation. (The tattered remains of your expensive betrothal gown would later be discovered beneath a traumatized painting of Jungkook’s great aunt Mildred.)

“You cannot possibly know what you’ve done to me,” he whispered, lowering you onto his bed, “—how I’ve ached to be close to you...”

Part of you was so afraid that this was a trick. That you would wake up to discover that the words he was saying were nothing more than a cruel and elaborate lie—

But there was such utter conviction in his voice as he spoke—such awe in his gaze as he took in the sight of you uncovered before him.

Yet you barely had time to be moved by it before he was kissing you again.

An irresistible magnetism charged in the air between you, mixing potently with palpable relief and the downright joyous acceptance of a passion that—in hindsight—felt oddly inevitable.

All you could think about—all you wanted— was him. The spark between you had been building for far too long. Now it blazed out of control.

Technically you had never explored this level of intimacy with a man before, but your body seemed to find rhythm with his instinctively—as if it had waited for the perfect moment to shake off its mask of civility and revel in its true primal purpose.

You should have been self-conscious—shy even—but those impulses simply never arose … Not in his arms. Not with his words wrapping around you like the warmth of a morning sun.

Arousal soaked the soft core of your body and Jungkook hissed in pleasure as the thick solid length of his cock slid messily over your folds.

“This might hurt.”

“Doesn’t everything?” you asked softly.

The words were out of your mouth before you could think to stop them and the prince’s eyes flew up to lock with yours.

There was nothing between you now—no clothes, no defenses...

No regrets.

“Yes... It did,” he whispered, “until you.”

Tears drifted down your cheek as you lifted your hand to his face.

“Jungkook…”

Then he surged forward—sinking himself into you entirely with one perfect thrust.

The feel of him nestled deeply in your sensitive heat was equal parts overwhelming and addictive. Your body bowed back in primitive gratification and for a moment you swore the sky mural on the ceiling sparked with literal lightning.

Power unlike anything Jungkook had ever experienced surged violently through his blood causing him to throw his head back with a mighty roar.

What are you? he thought dizzily as pleasure and magic raged over him. What is happening

The initial pain from being stretched so tightly morphed instantaneously into hot molten pleasure and you surged forward, bringing your mouth to his again.

Jungkook leaned back against the headboard, pulling your intimately joined bodies upright till you were facing one another.

“So good,” he gasped against your lips and your walls tightened at the sound of his praise.

His hand drifted down between to stroke your clit and you shuddered, reveling in the combination of fullness and stimulation. Your hips jerked forward involuntarily and you both groaned at the delicious friction.

“Hold on to me,” he whispered.

Then his hands clamped into the soft curve of your waist as he lifted you, sliding your heat up the solid length of his shaft only to slam you back down over him again.

“Yes!” You were nearly incoherent with pleasure—reveling in the sheer strength it took to work you up and down on his cock.

Words spilled out past your lips like the tides of a rising flood—words of adoration and want whimpered prettily into his skin like a prayer as he worked himself in your cunt.

That explosive release was building up again; Jungkook could tell by the way your body trembled wantonly against his own.

“Look at me,” he growled, “I wanna watch you fall apart.”

His words were like kindling on an already raging fire. Every time he spoke it made you hotter.

Look at me, Jeon Jungkook.

Look at what you’ve done to me.

You drew back, opening your eyes to let him see you—dazed and euphoric as you bounced like a toy on his cock.

The sound of him pistoning in and out of your sloppy wet cunt filled the air around you, braiding in between your keening and filthy lascivious moans—

But everything else fell away when your gaze finally locked together with his.

No one had ever looked at you like that.

Like you were priceless.

Like you were everything.

“I never hated you,” you gasped, unable to let the truth go unspoken for another moment.

A beautiful smile bloomed over his features.

“I know.”

You came then—tightening brutally around him like a velvet vice. Jungkook shook with restraint as he worked you through it, letting the feel of your release build into his own.

“Your sweet little pussy is holding on to me so tight, Sandflower. Let me come inside you please? You like being full don’t you? Isn’t that why you’re so messy, baby? You just want to be filled.”

“Yes!” you screamed.

“Say it,” he growled, digging his fingers into the soft rolls of your hips for leverage as his pace increased. “Tell me who made your little pussy this needy.”

“You did!”

“And what do you want me to do about it, huh?”

“Fill me up please,” you sobbed deliriously.

Your pretty begging sent him over the edge with a carnal groan. His head dropped heavily onto your shoulder as he spilled into your womb, filling you till the evidence of his pleasure ran down your leg.

“I’ll give you anything,” he swore. “Anything you want.”

Dawn trickled in slowly through the windows, spreading soft tendrils of light over the bed where you lay next to him.

Your mind was torn between elation and guilt. But your body...

Your body could still feel the imprint of his fingers where they cupped your jaw—could still hear the tender words he whispered across your skin…

Anxiety and reality begin to claw through the haze of pleasure.

Oh gods…

What have I done?

You were betrothed to his brother.

… Yet it was Jungkook’s name you called into the darkness.

Jungkook who broke through your maidenhead as you writhed and begged beneath him.

Your passion raged well into the night, and now you lay in knots beside him, watching his chest rise and fall in soothing rhythm even as your own thoughts spiraled out of control.

In the end, you wrenched your gaze away out of self-preservation.

Dawn provided enough light to make out the books and artifacts lying haphazardly on the small drafting table next to his bed. Notes lay strewn among piles of discarded quills and glass bottles...

Then your eyes caught on a distinctive shape resting in a glass case near the center of the desk.

After a moment’s hesitation—you reached forward cautiously to retrieve it.

This must be his.

Jungkook’s bracelet was very different from his brother’s. Jin’s was ostentatious—covered in sparkling rubies and square-cut diamonds—it didn’t suit your tastes at all. In fact, you remembered cringing at the thought of wearing it for the rest of your life...

But this piece was exquisite.

Thick golden vines and delicate leaves braided intricately around each other in a complicated pattern to form the width of the band…

It was the most beautiful bonding bracelet you had ever seen.

Suddenly Jungkook stirred beside you and your heart broke all over again.

How could I have been so blind?

Stifling a gasp, you could no longer hold back the tears that drifted down your cheek as you studied the bracelet—knowing you would hate whoever wore it.

Or perhaps it would never activate—not if Elaena was his soulmate. It would have died with her life force.

Still...

You turned to make sure Jungkook remained asleep.

For a moment… I can pretend...

I can pretend he’s mine.

Holding your breath you carefully slid the bracelet over your hand and pressed it to your wrist—right at the pulse point—

And it burned. For several seconds it burned everywhere—inside and out.

Then it stopped as abruptly as it began. Your eyes flew to your wrist in alarm–

No...

It can’t be.

The golden vines of Jungkook’s bracelet wove together in a perfect fit, bound irrevocably beneath a glowing rune directly above your pulse—the same rune that sealed every bracelet pair.

An Integra rune.

It meant complete.

“Oh...”

Frantically you began to tug at the bracelet, but it molded stubbornly to your wrist and would not disengage. Panic closed in from every side.

This cannot be happening! I had no right! The Council will be furious—

And Jungkook…

I never meant to trap you.

“... Sandflower?”

The heat of the bond forming had roused the prince from a heavy slumber. For a moment his gaze was soft and disoriented—until it landed on the glowing bracelet wrapped around your wrist and his eyes widened in shock.

You opened your mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Your soul was laid bare before him and he could destroy your with a word.

Tentatively he reached forward, lifting his fingers to trace the rune.

“Complete…” he breathed reverently. Then his eyes found yours. “It's complete.”

You gasped as he pulled you close, tenderly brushing away your tears.

“You are mine,” he whispered, unable to disguise the wonder in his voice.

Hope swelled in your chest.

“I love you.”

The words escaped without conscious thought, but his smile came too quickly for you to regret them.

He kissed you then and you moaned happily against his mouth as he lifted you from the bed to gather you fully into his arms. After a long moment he drew back, resting his forehead tenderly against yours.

Joy warmed through him for the first time in nearly a decade.

“It’s so much more than I imagined.”

You smiled and shook your head. “What is?”

“Love,” he sighed against your lips. “Love when it’s real.”

Real…

This was real.

Jeon Jungkook was yours.

And you were his...

Happiness swirled around you in glorious waves—

Only to be replaced by absolute shock when your mind finally registered the state of Jungkook’s bedroom.

“Oh my celestial gods! What happened?”

The entire chamber was—for lack of a better word—alive.

Glass shard butterflies fluttered romantically around the windows. Thick leafy vines sprouted out from the wooden frames of the bed and chairs. The clouds painted over the ceiling drifted lazily across the plaster sky. The tea service on his dressing table was serving itself and the ancient sea battle painting positioned above the fireplace raged violently within its frame—complete with canon fire and tiny little pirates sword-fighting across the canvas decks.

Jungkook huffed out an astonished chuckle as he took it all in.

“Actually… I think it was… us.”

A hysterical laugh bubbled up in your throat.

Perhaps the rush of the bond forming has made him delirious.

“Jeon Jungkook… I’m not sure what you were up to last night, but I was certainly far too busy to enchant your bedroom furniture with…” you shook your head incredulously, “wildly advanced magic.”

Jungkook crossed his arms and leaned forward in mock disapproval.

“There you go again, Sandflower, assuming the world revolves around you—”

“It should, you know. I’m very important.”

“Of course you are—but do recall that I said it was us—not you. And it's true—we are absolutely the cause.” He smiled softly, letting his gaze wander around the room again. “Honestly it was so obvious every time we fought—I can’t believe I didn’t figure it out sooner...”

Jungkook’s expression was radiant when he finally turned back to you. His whole body seemed to hum with barely contained excitement.

“You’re a polarity mage.”

Huh?

“I’m… I’m a what?”

“A polarity mage—it’s an ancient magic—no one’s seen it in centuries because all the bloodlines that carried it were lost but…” his eyes darted over to where his quills were writing nasty notes to each other about who had the sharper tip, “it’s the only explanation.”

You drew back and began aggressively massaging your temples. A lot had happened in the last twenty-four hours and your brain was starting to hurt.

“Jungkook, you’ll have to walk me through this—I’ve never even heard of polarity magic and now you’re saying I’ve used it—”

“Polarity mages can reverse the nature of any magic. They’re the natural counterpart of a necromancer because their abilities combine to form a balanced symbiotic pair.”

He turned toward the dresser and carefully retrieved his favorite set of earrings. Then he held out his hand to reveal the two little jewelry bits dancing excitedly over his palm.

“A necromancer can drain and manipulate life force—but we cannot increase or transfer it. However, when our energy combines with the aura of a polarity mage the result is—”

“Creative magic...”

Your eyes widened in shock.

Creative magic was nearly impossible to perform—the skill and experience required was extraordinary. What he was saying could not possibly be true…

And yet everything around you testified that it was.

“But... how could I not have known?”

Jungkook grinned.

“Because polarity magic is mostly dormant until activated by a profound emotional catalyst—which—in this case…” he leaned forward to brush his lips gently over yours, “was me.”

“Mmm,” you hummed as he leisurely explored your neck with his mouth as if he hadn’t just dropped a life-altering revelation in your lap. “So am I going to have to hear about how you awakened my magic for the rest of our lives?”

“You really do know me so well,” he sighed, nosing playfully at the silky skin beneath your jaw.

Unfortunately, the earrings—sensing they were about to be dropped—chose that moment to dig their spiky hooks into the meaty flesh of his palm.

“Nasty little beasties aren’t you,” he chuckled. drawing back to dislodge the bloodthirsty jewelry.

Your eyes widened in shock once again.

“Jungkook… your scar…” Your gaze flew to your own hand and you gasped—not quite believing what you were seeing. “Our-our scars they’re—”

They were gone.

Completely gone—as if they had never been there to begin with.

You ran your fingers over that small patch of flesh that had once symbolized the inescapable stain of your past.

But there was nothing.

Jungkook had fallen completely silent. After a moment you finally lifted your head to discover that his eyes were welling with tears.

“I understood—somewhere in the back of my mind—that creative magic had healing and restorative potential, but I never expected—” the words caught painfully in his throat and he clenched his jaw as the emotions threatened to overwhelm him. “...I thought I would die with that scar.”

The significance of his words—of this moment—was not lost on you.

You had both come to believe that the damage inflicted by your pasts was irreversible.

And you were wrong. Gloriously wrong.

Healing and restoration were entirely possible when the two of you were together.

Jungkook wrapped his arms tightly around you and for a long while you simply held on to one another in tearful silence.

“My abilities were a curse,” he whispered, “but you have made them a redemption.”

꧁Epilogue꧂

Six Hours Later...

Jungkook shifted uncomfortably as his brother paced about the room.

“And she just… went to bed with you like she wasn’t betrothed to me two hours beforehand?”

“I’m not sure if answering that is—”

“Jungkook—”

“She did. It… happened.” He cleared his throat. “Repeatedly.”

He tried very hard not to grin.

Jin pretended not to notice.

“And you’re willing to face the consequences of this? To potentially fight our parents—the Council—centuries of sacred tradition… For her?”

“I was willing to cross many lines for Elaena,” Jungkook’s fists clenched, “—but nothing will separate me from her.” He rose to his full height and loomed menacingly. “And that includes you.”

A small smile twitched at the corner of Jin’s mouth.

“Good. That’s what she deserves.”

Jungkook’s jaw dropped. His eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“You’re being awfully accommodating and supportive right now, big brother…”

“Well… The thing is—” Jin shook his head. “Okay. Let me start over.” He took a deep breath. “Do you remember that deranged woman who drives me absolutely insane?”

Jungkook blinked several times and Jin attempted to be more specific.

“You know—the one from work who keeps bothering me with her face and her hip swaying and her total inability to see reason—”

“… Lin Yuna? That sweet archivist who bakes cookies for everyone?”

“Everyone but me!”

“My mistake,” Jungkook coughed.

“Yes… Well—she’s an expert on bonding bracelets. So I headed directly over to her office when my bracelet didn’t close to see if she could check it for some sort of… hex–or something—”

"You have no idea how craft works, do you?”

“None whatsoever.”

“Alright then—”

“Well we got in a fight—because she is the most unreasonable woman in the entire kingdom. And I accused her of being jealous—for some reason. Then she accused me of being an impulsive hot-head—which was rude. So I grabbed my bracelet and shouted ‘how’s this for impulsive!’ and I slipped it right over her hand and–”

“It closed.”

“It bloomin closed! On the wrist of a woman who has literally dumped tea on me five separate times!”

“Well… What did she do?”

“She screamed at me for a solid hour.” Jin’s face broke into a slow grin. “Then she screamed my name for several solid hours.” His eyes glazed over a bit. “I am unreasonably in love with her.”

Jungkook groaned and ran his hand over his face.

“Ooh, we are in so much trouble.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Mom is going to kill us.”

“Exactly—which is why I think it might be best if we approach the Council together and explain to them—and our parents—why we’ve been casually slapping sacred bonding bracelets on women.”

“Technically my woman was the one slapping—”

“Reeaally—”

“-the bracelet.” Jungkook rolled his eyes. “Gods, you’re an animal.”

“That’s what Yuna said–”

“I am formally begging you to stop.”

Jin chuckled, raising his hands in mock surrender while Jungkook indulged in a generous chug of his wine.

“That reminds me, little brother… Is there a reason all of our silverware can talk now? It made for a rather off-putting snack.” He shivered. “My fork started screaming every time I tried to take a bite of cheesecake.”

“... And you still kept eating it?”

“Of course I did. I’m a grown man. Wailing flatware is not going to keep me from cheesecake.”

Jungkook bit his lip—his eyes squeezed shut—

“It wasn’t that funny,” Jin grumbled several minutes later while his brother wiped tears of laughter from his eyes.

“Yes. Yes it was.”

The elder prince just shook his head and sighed. “So… the Royal Council. Together?”

“I think that’s probably for the best.”

“... You have any idea what you’re going to say?”

Jungkook let out a long breath.

“How does ‘I seduced my brother’s betrothed the moment I found out she couldn’t marry him’ sound?”

Jin winced.

“Needs work.”

Endnote: This story gave me a ton of trouble and I had to tear it apart and put it back together so many times I lost count. It has been through a hundred different versions (I originally posted a very different version of it for another fandom, but it barely resembles that early draft). Feedback and support is incredibly powerful magic. Even just the love you guys left on the teaser helped me with pushing through and posting. Please let me know what you thought of my story. I promise to treasure every word you say. The love people show my work fuels my creativity and keeps me posting. Truly it means so much...

#jungkook smut #jeon jungkook smut #jeon jungkook imagines #jeon jungkook #bts smut #bts #jungkook oneshots #jungkook scenario #jeon jungkook imagine #networkbangtan #bangtanarmynet #heartsforbts #ficswithluv #jungkook x reader #kim seokjin #jeon jeongguk

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gatheringbones · 3 years

Text

["Dannia and I did several anti-racism trainings together. Our workshop model began in the morning with written personal reflections, moved on in the afternoon to role-plays of interrupting racism, and was supposed to end with a discussion of anti-racist activism. Our most effective ploy was a role play in which a white daughter or son returned home for Thanksgiving and had to deal with the father's racist comments over turkey— a scenario guaranteed to generate collective meltdown. We found that participants became so absorbed in the interpersonal issues that we never got to the activism. Were we starting at the wrong end of the process?

These politics will be recognizable to many lesbians who lived during these years. We had an ideological unity then that did not survive the 1980s, for better or for worse. Class and race divisions did not dissolve so easily in the solvent of our sisterhood. "Sex radicals" raised questions about the nature of lesbian and female sexuality that many feminists, straight and lesbian, had no tolerance to hear, and the "sex wars" tore through the community. AIDS soon began to impact all of our lives. There were deeper schisms among women, and new alliances with gay men. A younger lesbian generation began to shape a different politics in the space that we had worked to open for them.

(...) Lesbian-Feminism in the 1970s taught that you should not work with straight women because they "gave all their [and therefore your] energy to men." After Feminary imploded, I figured, Shit, nothing could be worse than this. That's when I went to a meeting in Durham of the National Anti-Klan Network to hear from Leah Wise, Lauren Martin, and Reverend Wilson Lee that North Carolina had the worst Klan/Nazi movement in the country and they were looking for local people to organize. It was 1983 and I was ready to take the plunge. In this border crossing between the lesbian and feminist and the anti-racist movement, I began to realize how such movements separate people as much as bring them together. I found a compelling and complicated reality that neither race theory and organizing, nor class theory and organizing, nor feminist theory and organizing is capable of handling.

Lesbian-feminism had given me a clear analysis of how power operates among people and in a culture's institutions. But it gave me few of the specific skills I needed: how to put on a press conference, build up a computer database, interact with community agencies, organize white and Black people in small towns and cities, or monitor and call to accountability the criminal justice system. With Feminary, our battle had been largely interior, a psychic confrontation with the lethal forces of the culture as we had internalized them. It was an intense, revealing, but sometimes insular process. The "politics of identity" could easily slip into a politics of victimhood and guilt, its focus more purity of consciousness than effectiveness of social change. By 1983, I had hit the limits of this internal work. (I was not the only dyke to think that lesbian-feminism was dangerously over-literate and under-strategic.) Guided by the people who eventually incorporated North Carolinians Against Racist and Religious Violence, I set to work to learn to organize.

(...) The shit hit the fan about a year after NCARRV had begun our work in Statesville. A woman involved in the national work suddenly brought up gay issues across Flora's kitchen table. Flora and I were friends by that time. I had come out to her the evening she had asked me whether my interest in the Statesville work came because I also had a Black lover. She was on the right track, I had explained, telling her of my different outcast status. "We still love you," she had said, and reached across the table to take my hand.

Okay, I thought when the woman confronted me. You want this discussion, you'll get it.

Soon everybody had fled the room except my opponent, Flora, and me, as I heard how being gay was like being on heroin, and how this particular woman was raising her daughter to be heterosexual, and how she wouldn't want her organization to take a stand on homophobia because it might promote heterosexuality.

"If I ever have a child," I countered, "the main thing I will teach her about relationships is that she deserves love and intimacy and should never let herself be abused. What this is all about— gay rights and these cross burnings to which Flora and Joe have been subjected— is the right of human beings to love."

Flora stayed beside me, nodding agreement.

When I got back Durham, I called Leah Wise to report. Whenever an emergency arise, I could count on her to let me sit down near her desk for five or ten minutes to think it through. It was natural that I take the incident at Flora's back to her. She responded immediately, "This homophobia is like racism; it's got to be opposed." We arranged a further discussion with the woman in question, and Leah came with me for support. On the way back, Leah took the time to share with me all the things she saw me doing right.

I was intensely grateful. "Shit, Leah," I replied, wedged in the seat adjacent to hers on the plane. "I feel like I do not know what I am doing most of the time. All you folks have all this political history, and here I am flying by the seat of my pants."

"Actually, it's better that way," she said. "A lot of times, that other sectarian stuff just gets in the way."

Her ready support in challenging homophobia and her affirmation of my work marked a major turning point for me. If I knew my enemies, I also knew my friends. Perhaps I could stop looking over my shoulder.

Leah affirmed my instincts to build not just coalitions, but movements grounded in relationships. I figured I was doing work on racism and anti-Semitism because it was the right thing to do, and once I laid out the case about homophobia, the people I was working with would do the same for me and mine. I was not disappointed. The result was friendships that come among people who catalyze changes in each other. Our work carried a lot of risk, but the risk gave us occasions to develop substantial trust. I was scared shitless a lot of the time, but I never regretted what I was doing.

After thirty-five years, my life was no longer segregated.

Somewhere in my metamorphosis, I realized that I could not longer settle for "lesbian space" as just one room, or camp, or building, although I was, and am, still grateful for those gathering places. The Reagan era made it clear: there is no separate safety. "Lesbian space" had better be a world where everyone belongs."]

Mab Segrest, Memoir of a Race Traitor, The New Press, 1994

#mab segrest #lesbian separatism #lesbian feminism #lesbian literature #history stuff #wasteland radio

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soranis-sunshadow · 4 years

Text

Entrapta deserved better

My posts are usually either detailed analysis or memes and shitposts.

I’ve re-watched the show and this will be an angry rant…

With every viewing of the show, Entrapta’s arc makes me progressively angrier because I empathize with her so much.

She is introduced to the show as being a reclusive scientist, known throughout the Maker’s guild for her genius. Even her staff is weary of her. She spends all her time alone with her robot friends in her lab within her isolated castle.

The alliance interacts with her with the explicit purpose of recruiting her into their war effort. They want her for her ability to build weapons for them. That’s as deep as the relationship goes this far.

Entrapta has no stakes in the war, the Horde hadn’t attacked Dryl. She joins them because she wants to be their friend; she wants to help them in the only way she knows how, using her technological prowess to their benefit. Due to her isolation (and her being autistic), Entratpa struggles to understand interpersonal dynamics. Human interaction is a skill she has had little practical experience with. She understands the concepts, the rules of the game, so to speak, but she has seen it in play only as a third party rarely ever practicing it herself.

She’s invited to the Princess prom due to her princes status but she’s an outsider there too. No “friendly” princess seeks her out to hang out with her as a friend would. The only person who does so is Catra, and she does it for her own reasons…

With Glimmer abducted, the alliance mounts a half-baked rescue operation. Everything Entrapta did in this episode had a purpose, it looked like she kept getting distracted when in actuality, she was studying horde tech, rescuing Seahawk and furthering their mission and she had no time to explain herself (it also occurs to me that Entrapta might not explain herself because no one asked and no one ever understands her reasoning anyway) The princesses try to control her because she’s being “difficult”. They don’t care why she’s being difficult, they want her to conform.

Once they rescued Glimmer, they don’t even come back to check if Entrapta’s actually dead, or to get her remains and put them to rest respectfully. They allready have the princess they came for.

Entrapta is all alone with her new robot friend Emily in the Frightzone vents, expecting that she’d get rescued because “no princess left behind” but rescue never actually comes.

Catra uses this new abandonment to convince her to switch sides. Entrapta didn’t jump ship because of her tech hyperfixation, she switched sides because Catra used her skill at pinpointing someone’s weak-spot and poking at it.

Catra may not have been Shadow Weaver’s favorite ward (she was her scapegoat and punching bag, the poor girl) but she did learn from her and repeatedly put those skills to “good” use.

Once they find out she’s alive, the alliance wants to rescue her but she’s made new friends in the Horde and she think that they understand her fascination with science, friends that actually interact with her directly. She actually feels included here and as such, she’s not eager to return to the alliance’s side.

Entrapta befriends Catra and Scorpia but even in this trio, she is the third wheel. Catra is focused on herself, her ascension in The Horde and on her missing Adora. Scorpia is focused on Catra and on pinning for her.

Once Entrapta and Hordak start growing closer together, Catra stops talking to her. Perhaps she was hurt because Entrapta “broke her promise” to not go in Hordak’s sanctum, perhaps she was envious of her closeness to the Horde leader, or perhaps both, either way, the friendship is broken from Catra’s side. Entrapta still sees her as a friend and fights Hordak over the decision to send her to Beast Island. Despite his grouchiness, he considers her request and grants it.

As recompense for saving her life, Catra backstabs Entrapta when she tried to stop Catra from triggering a potentially world ending event and then sends her to the fate Entrapta saved her from: exile on Beast Island.

When faced with the choice between Catra and Entrapta, Scorpia choses Catra. Hordak is lied to so he doesn’t know to look for her, he believed she used him and is heartbroken about it.

You can actually pinpoint the moment his little heart breaks in this scene:

Even so, he spends most of season 4 wanting to face her; he’d rather see her as an enemy than not see her at all.

After Catra proves herself a bad friend, (after months) Scorpia finally decides to rescue Entrapta and goes looking for help, deserting to the alliance. She has this little realization:

Adora is the only person that actually wants to go right away and rescue her. Bow wants to rescue her because they need her tech savvy and Glimmer says that they can rescue her after the war or something… (the Island she’s on is a death trap, she might not live that long for all they know)

she said this

then this

She knows that this is a time sensitive issue but she wants to put it off despite the urgency, if that doesn’t sound like friendship to you, then what does? *sarcasm intensifies*

Contrast this with how the villain of the show reacted to the news of her being sent to Beast Island:

On Beast Island Bow gives her a longwinded speech about how she’s supposed to work harder at friendship. I know he’s projecting his own issues here but it still makes me so damn angry. Entrapta’s trying; she’s trying so hard, no one ever tries back! No one makes the effort to understand her (except that one clone but we’re not talking about him), she has to conform to their expectations, the reverse is never applicable.

Anyway, stuff happens and Glimmer is abducted again, by Horde Prime this time.

Then that whole “Lauch” episode happened. Entrapta is distrusted by the alliance more than Scorpia is. She is seen and cold and interested only in tech, she has to explain and redeem herself in their eyes after they treat her like rubbish. They don’t connect the fact that helping them with tech is how she shows her friendship.

It’s the only thing she thinks she’s worth to them. She wants to be accepted by them so badly.

Entrapta gets emotional over rescuing Glimmer!

The person who when faced with the same prospect, said she’d do it later…

Even Catra’s apology to Entrapta for trying to kill her is a blank “I’m sorry”. Pls say what exactly you are sorry for Catra. Entrapta deserves that much. Bow received a better apology for far less of an offense.

All she ever does in the show is work towards furthering someone else’s goals, her own are always a second thought. As @cruelfeline pointed out, even a small scene with her discussing what happened with Hordak, her reaction to it and the gang focusing on Entrapta’s troubles for ONCE , even if it’s just offering her emotional support, would have meant so much.

Why is the show trying to tell me that Entrapta should work on being a better friend?

That's a terrible message!

She doesn't need to work harder on her friends, she NEEDS BETTER FRIENDS.

So many of us ND people end up being third wheels at best and we blame that on ourselves, we internalize the reasoning that our friendship fail because we’re weird and we’re not doing it right. That we’re the ones that have to try harder to be understood and that our concerns should come second. That is a terrible thing to internalize, we are blaming ourselves constantly because we try to understand others and they never try to understand us back.

With age, I’ve grown out of trying and being different so that other people would like me. They’d end up liking the mask I project, not me anyway. I’ve found people that understand me and that like me for who I am, but only after I’ve stopped trying to be “better” for others to accept me. With being honestly “weird” with those around me, I’ve been accepted far more than for trying to fit in. And I’ve realized that people that shun my otherness are not worth the effort to try and befriend in the first pace .

That is what young autistics need to hear, not “git gud” at friendship. You are not wrong, you are not defective or broken, you are you and you’re beautiful just the way you are. If other people don’t see that, then the failing is theirs. Don’t change, just look for people that see you.

#Entrapta #SPOP discourse #rant on how society expects autistics to conform to normality

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