#we know it belonged to the orphan queen

[raayllum]

So this isn’t going to be quite as coherent as I want it to be, but one of the reasons I think the cube is related to Aaravos’ prison is precisely because it was entrusted to Callum by Harrow, the two characters most concerned thematically with the theme of Freedom. Now, freedom (and freedom from the chains of history, the cycle, etc) belies most of the series and most of the characters, particularly Ezran as the child king. But it’s a word most often reserved for Callum and Harrow’s arcs and struggles, specifically, because it was something Harrow was deeply concerned with, and because of Callum’s connection to the sky arcanum, and the sky as Freedom specifically.

Think of it this way. Before S3, Ezran’s arc had very little to do with freedom, outside of helping to teach Zym to fly (which ended up being a joint endeavour by him and Callum in the end). It’s only in S3 with his abdication that it becomes more overt. But throughout all three seasons, Callum is our tether to freedom.

He’s the one who shatters the primal stone to free Zym, causing what would’ve been the baby’s tomb to be his new birth. In doing so, Callum also frees Rayla from her literal/metaphorical chain through her binding. Then in season two, he receives Harrow’s letter, learning both of the Key of Aaravos and that it unlocks something powerful, in addition to the importance of freeing himself from the chains of history. Freedom is put in opposition to destiny directly in 2x08, as dark mage Callum mandates that Callum’s destiny is already written (symbolized, in that scene, by the cube with dark magic sigil) whereas Harrow encourages Callum to be free. The fact that the cube is used, as a symbol of Aaravos (stars = destiny) is absolutely perfect and indicates so much of what is to come of the show’s final conflict. The subplot ends with Callum resolving that destiny is a book you write yourself, and then he connects to freedom itself by way of the Sky Arcanum. In season three, he’s able to do this for Rayla as well, putting Harrow’s words into practice and helping to (somewhat) free her from the weight of her family’s sins and encouraging her to make her own choices. Rather than seeing love as a weakness or tool, the way Viren and Aaravos do, respectively, Callum finds strength in love, drawing on the Sky arcanum to summon his wings (about as much of a manifestation of freedom as you can get) and successfully saving Rayla’s life.

However, the only other character who has as much invested in the concept of freedom as Harrow and Callum is arguably Aaravos. (While getting out of prison was important to Viren again, in early S3, it isn’t a big motif with him in S1-S2 and the rest of S3 by comparison.) One of the biggest points of the show is that idea of concepts or ideals as a double-edged sword, and characters’ biggest goals or strengths being weaknesses under different circumstances. Claudia’s loyalty to her family is one of her most redeeming qualities, until it leads to her betraying her brother; Rayla’s selflessness is what helps her be so heroic, until it becomes self-destructive; Ezran’s compassion is a wonderful thing, but it can make him passive and easy to take advantage of.

 So you have Callum, who is tethered to the theme of Freedom, with a Key in his possession, Aaravos having some idea of how to get himself out of his prison if his machinations / guidance of Claudia and Viren are any clue, and Aaravos, who wants to be free of his mirror prison more than anything. 

While alternatively I think the Key could relate to a Guardian of the Great Gates and the possible magic potential that could yield (Callum connecting to the essence of magic, anyone, the same way Aaravos seems to be?), while it would/could represent freedom from the perceived expectations/limitations placed on Callum... we have already seen that substantially in S2. While I’d love to see Callum connecting to more magics or magic itself in the future, I don’t think the thematic connection of the cube there would be quite as strong, especially since it seems almost too positive a connotation, and the cube has always had both good and bad aspects assigned to it. It would more so be Callum being given freedom because he has this object, rather than Callum giving freedom by choice. 

I do think the series will end with either the cube destroyed by Callum’s hand or fully in Callum’s possession and control, mostly because it was Harrow’s parting gift to him and that carries a certain amount of weight, it could mean reclaiming and recapturing the key from Aaravos so it cannot be used for anything else (as I don’t doubt the cube has more than one capability/purpose), and because Callum has a habit of destroying magical objects. But that’d be a plot line for much later.

The point is that, thus far, Callum’s associations with Freedom have all been positive, but like I said: the series loves to make concepts more complicated (is this Justice or Revenge? The dangerous sides of grief and Love in Harrow’s arc with Sarai in particular, etc) the further we go along. How long will it be before Callum frees something with more disastrous consequences?

#the key of aaravos #the royal family of katolis #tdp callum #king harrow #parallels #tdp writes from theme so often and it's so rewarding tbh #analysis series #analysis #tdp #the dragon prince #god the way the moon and sky arcanums symbolically are gonna impact callum's s4 arcs #i'm so freaking excited #cube hostage exchange theory #adjacently #we know it belonged to the orphan queen #it's been indicated she and aaravos were on good terms #theme: freedom

[cherienymphe]

Violet Eyes & Violent Delights (Aegon II Targaryen x Reader)

WARNINGS: NON-CON, manipulation, loss of virginity, mentions of incest (Helaena x Aemond), power imbalance, mentions of consensual fidelity 

➥ banner by @maysdigitalarts​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​|  ➥ divider by @firefly-graphics​​

summary: You picked a flower, and Aegon picked you for himself.

~

You always belonged to Prince Aegon.

Even when you didn’t know it.

You were never supposed to get distracted from your duties nor stray too far from the other serving girls. It was an easy enough rule for your young mind to comprehend, but it was a beautiful day, and the sun shown down on the flowers just right, and you wanted to pick some.

Aegon wanted to pick you for himself.

You hadn’t known that was possible then. For someone to just pluck another person all for themselves like you often plucked flowers. The queen had been beside herself, a look upon her pretty face that you had not been able to decipher until years later. She had rubbed her hand over her chest, pink lips pursed as she flicked her eyes between you and her eldest son, the latter with a tight grip around your wrist as he awaited her answer.

“Well…your sister will require a lady-in-waiting one day. I suppose that we can get her started early-.”

“Helaena?” Aegon had scoffed, a deep frown on his face. “I want her for me, mother.”

Her face had fallen, taut now.

“You don’t like it when I enjoy the company of my nephews, Aemond is a twat, and Helaena is…stupid-.”

“Aegon,” she snapped, eyeing you once more.

Even if you felt it was your place to speak, you had not known what to say then. One moment, you were picking flowers, and the next you were being pulled through the corridors by prince Aegon himself.

“You’re pretty,” he had told you. “…and my mother says that I can have anything my heart desires.”

You had been rendered speechless to be in such proximity to the royal family, but the more he went back and forth with the queen, the more you thought that the eldest prince just wanted a friend. Your free hand landed on the arm that held yours, and the action had caused the prince to pause in his quarrel with the queen, turning to look at you.

His own silence had triggered his mother’s, and you could feel her eyes on you. It was the strangest situation to find yourself in then, and you had cleared your throat, feeling overwhelmed.

“I will…be grateful for any place her majesty finds for me here.”

The red-headed woman had sighed, looking down at you two with a furrow between her brows. That was your first lesson in just how stubborn and determined Aegon could be, and just how much the queen would spoil him.

“I will bring it up with your father,” she had firmly told him in a quiet voice.

Years later, when you would ask Aegon what the king had said that night, he would tell you that the older man had all but waved it off, declaring that his eldest son should be allowed any friend he wishes. Overnight you had gone from a serving girl to prince Aegon’s…companion.

Getting work in the castle as an orphan had been a feat on it’s own, but to become so close to the family that sat on the iron throne was another entirely.

“I do not feel right in this,” you had said one day, gingerly touching the nicest dress you’d ever had the pleasure of wearing.

“My sister has so many. She could really stand to lose them all,” Aegon had murmured from behind a cup.

You did not agree as Helaena seemed very precious to you. In fact, you did not agree with the prince on a lot of things, but you quickly learned that your opinion hardly mattered in his eyes. In fact, a lot of things about you hardly mattered. It took longer than you would have liked for you to realize that you were not so much the prince’s friend, but instead his trinket, his possession to do with as he pleased.

You belonged to him…and no one else.

“Even if you did have any right to talk to her, she would not want to hear your crazy ramblings,” he’d sneered at his sister one day.

The white-haired girl had shrunk in on herself, timid eyes finding the floor. Aemond had been nearby, quiet and disapproving as he watched with a frown. You had wanted to say something to defend the innocent girl, but without saying as much, Aegon had made your place here pretty clear.

He had made it so that you could have a life of comfort and leisure and fine things…and he could just as easily take it away.

“She was only being friendly,” you had told him later that evening.

The look that Aegon gave you, you would have thought that you were attempting to cut his throat. You had looked away, head falling as he neared you. He did not respond for what felt like a long time, and you wished that you could take it back.

“Do you wish to be hers instead?”

You frantically shook your head.

“No, I only meant-.”

“What need would you have for Helaena?”

You had looked at him then, lips parted, and he frowned at you.

“She did not find you. She did not beg mother to keep you around. I am the one who went to her to get you nice things to wear and a nice bed to sleep in. You are mine…not hers, and if you wish it to be different, then I can just let her give you all those things instead.”

The threat was clear enough for your young mind to comprehend even then. You had swallowed, slowly shaking your head at him, and it took a moment before the prince looked satisfied enough with your answer.

Your dynamic was something you grew to get used to. It was no longer weird for you to follow after Aegon like a lost puppy. Somehow, his heavy footsteps ahead of yours became something like a comfort to you. You no longer second guessed his disapproving stare at one of your dresses, a nasty sneer on his lips as he snapped at one of the maids to find you something better.

You donned what only Aegon approved of, you wore your hair in whatever way he liked, and when you spoke, it was only after a quick glance in his direction. You were well into your adolescence when you realized that you were not Aegon’s friend. You never were.

You were his doll.

He made you up and dressed you up as he pleased to sit prettily at his side. He insisted that you go everywhere with him, and while the king did not mind your presence at dinner, his spirit still jovial even with his failing health, the queen however still eyed you with that look you had yet to place. However, when you felt Aegon’s fingers absentmindedly touching your shoulder that night, like he had every right in the world to, and her face fell like her worst fears had come to pass, you understood then that she was terrified.

It had started small.

Your eyes would wander, and you would find them meeting a gaze that was already waiting for your attention. Aegon’s shoulder would brush yours when dining, his chair as close to yours as humanly possible. Even in the most mundane of settings, you would feel the faint touch of his fingers stroking along your sleeve, careless to all who might see.

Only his drunk lips betrayed his sober thoughts.

“Do you love me?”

You had blinked at him, hovering over his prone form, tucking him in as you often did when he got too much ale into him. His pale blond hair hung in his face, and there was the barest of frowns on his features as he stared at you through tearful and bleary eyes.

Queen Alicent’s fearful expression was ever present in your mind, and you wondered how you never saw it before.

You were not ignorant to the ways of men. You saw the way they behaved when they had too much to drink or even when they were sober and feeling particularly bold. You knew what Aegon had dragged his brother out for one night when the latter was only thirteen years of age. You knew it was the same thing Aegon himself had been eager to seek for himself only a year before.

You felt so cold as you realized what the queen had tried to prevent years and years ago.

Even in this moment, as the prince eagerly awaited your answer, he could not help himself to touch you. His head lolled, and his hair went every which way, and he could hardly keep his eyes open. Yet, his hand still found the strength to toy with your sleeve and trail his fingers over the back of your hand. Aegon did that a lot, and you wondered if he even noticed it now seeing as it was almost second nature for him.

“Of course, I care for you,” you eventually replied, straightening a little. “As I care for everyone in your family who has never been anything but kind and…so very gracious to me.”

Aegon’s hand fell, and he was quiet as he merely stared at you. Your heart pounded, and cautiously, you straightened and backed away.

“You should…rest. You will have a hard enough morning as it is.”

He said nothing more, and you did not look back as you left his chambers.

You could not get to yours fast enough, only a wall away from his own, and you pressed your back to your doors when you closed them. Your nails scraped against the wood, and your heart threatened to leap from your chest. The truth was not only that you did not love Aegon, but that you never would.

Prince Aegon Targaryen, second of his name, was not a good man.

His marriage to his sister had come and gone, and he treated her no better than he did before. He was quick to anger, and slow to forgive, and you bore witness to this more than anyone. Aemond had the reputation for being especially cold and intimidating, but Aegon possessed a cruelty that made your stomach turn. You knew of the time he spent in Flea Bottom, unfortunate enough to be forced to go with him sometimes, and you were not stupid.

The unmistakable white hair and light eyes a child or two possessed was telling.

Aegon was a selfish and demanding prince with a dark heart that desired any and everything it should not. Somehow, over the years, that had come to include you without you even realizing it. His pet. His doll. His poor servant girl that he had saved from the plights of poverty and decay.

His cold violet eyes starred in your nightmares many nights…

…because the truth was that he scared you beyond belief.

The same man that had changed your life in the course of a night was the same one who left you shaking most days. Where you once felt like his shadow, the roles had reversed somehow, and you felt like he was always over your shoulder instead. You felt like it was his breathing that you felt down your neck instead of the cool autumn air. His fingers along your spine instead of the soft fabric of your dress.

His presence was oppressive and paralyzing, and you feared that if you offered to give it all back as if these past years had never happened, he would not even let you go. Aegon may have never touched you in the same manner he did those poor serving girls who often ran shaking and crying from his chambers, but you were well and truly his.

You were right on Aemond’s heels as he smoothly made his way down the steps. His long blond hair swayed against his back with every movement, and you found yourself absentmindedly admiring it. You did that more often than you wanted to admit, and you quickly looked away, reminding yourself how devoted he was to his sister.

The Targaryens and their odd customs would never grow on you, you were sure, but you supposed that if Helaena had to find comfort in one of her brothers, better it be the lesser of two evils.

Sometimes you envied her in that way. You did not know how, but your future seemed so assured to you. Every time you thought about it, all you saw was the eldest Targaryen prince, and somehow someway, you knew that is all it would ever be.

It seemed inevitable, and not just to you, but to all those around you.

Once you had shown up, a drunk Aegon was much more eager to leave the brothel, preferring to hang off of you than his own brother. His breath wreaked of wine, and his hand was tightly curled around your waist. You followed Aemond down the familiar path as you snuck his brother back into the castle, nights like this a regular occurrence.

When he fell back onto his bed, eyes already fluttering closed and lips parting, his fingers were tight on the fabric of your dress. It took a lot of strength to pry them away, and even then, even in his sleep, they tightly wound through yours. You sighed to yourself just as the youngest prince spoke.

“You know what my brother is like…”

You looked over your shoulder at him, gaze meeting his as he watched you two with his hands behind his back. The fairness of his skin was made all the more so by his dark attire, and as he stared you down, you frowned.

“I…do not-.”

“I know you hear the whispers,” he quietly interrupted. “We all have.”

You swallowed, heart sinking as he brought up Aegon’s disgusting nature.

“I know you see the fear in their eyes whenever he comes around…whenever it’s their turn to tend to his chambers and food…”

You looked away, shaky gaze finding the floor.

“It’s either them or you,” he brutally murmured, causing your stricken gaze to land on him again. “…and my brother has never been one for patience.”

“Aemond-.”

“Do you think…that playing the ignorant fool…will save you?”

You furiously blinked, not even realizing you were crying until the tears hit your cheeks.

“Why are you saying this to me?”

“…because perhaps you stood a chance once, a long time ago, but the moment has passed.”

He blinked at you, and if you did not know any better, you would say that the look in his eye was pitying.

“…and I do not believe in delaying the inevitable.”

You sharply exhaled at that, chest tightening, and Aemond left you without another word. You stared after him with parted lips, wet cheeks cold from the air that hit them before turning your face away, visage crumbling as he voiced what you were always thinking.

There had always been some part of you that wondered if Aegon only did to those poor women what he really desired to do to you. There were many nights you had lied awake wondering how much torment you could save if you only gave in, but there was a part of yourself that you never wanted to face. A part of yourself that was selfish and still hoped for marriage to a nice man and a good life beyond Aegon’s reach. You had convinced yourself that it was still possible somehow despite the phantom grip prince Aegon had on the back of your neck.

When you finally pulled your hand from his, you were desolate in returning to your chambers. Aemond’s words were heavy in your mind for days, so much so that you found yourself staring at him almost with a glower, silently begging him to take them back. Inevitable. Gods, how you hated that word, but it was true.

Your life had become inevitable.

You had plucked a flower, Aegon had plucked you, and from that point on, your life became inevitable.

“They are talking of marriage for my baby brother,” Aegon slurred, chuckling to himself. “…finally.”

He stumbled into his chambers with your help, plopping onto his bed.

“Truthfully, I do not know why our mother did not just…marry him off to Helaena. We all would have been much happier for it,” he almost sneered at the mention of his sister.

You went to pull away when he reached up, fingers digging into your arms through your sleeves, a look in his eyes that you could not place. They were glassy and lilac and almost pleading beneath that layer of coldness.

“Do you wish to marry some day?” he murmured, looking up at you.

“Doesn’t every girl?” you replied, avoiding an answer.

Aegon briefly looked away, scoffing to himself before those dead eyes met yours again.

“I suppose so… I suppose you want a beautiful gown and flowers in your hair and a sweet wedding night to match…”

His tone was almost mocking, and you frowned at him.

“I suppose,” you weakly told him, trying to get him to lay down.

“…and…do you want those things with Aemond?” he almost seemed to force out, glassy eyes trained on you.

His words took you by surprise, catching you off guard.

“Aemond? No,” you lightly chuckled, shaking your head. “No…”

It was a stray thought here and there, but nothing more. Aegon seemed to study you, jaw ticking and gaze hardening.

“I see you look at him sometimes…the way you look at him lately…”

Your frown deepened.

“Aegon-.”

“He’d never touch you,” he suddenly spat, making you flinch. “Not unless he wanted to lose that other eye.”

You hissed at the venom in his words, attempting to step back, but he only held you in place.

“Don’t be cruel,” you cried.

“I am not being cruel, I’m being clear.”

You could not move, and Aegon’s fingers absentmindedly massaged your arms. He pulled, causing you to stumble closer, and he lowered his head, pressing his forehead to your stomach.

“Why don’t you love me?” he murmured.

It sounded like he was talking more to himself than you, but then he lifted his gaze, chin resting on your stomach now. His blond hair fell back away from his face, and despite the tears in his eyes, there was an anger there that made you shudder.

“I get it. I am not…the kindest…and I am no gentleman like my brother,” he sneered. “…but have I not…?”

Aegon licked his lips, the top one curling over his teeth a tad.

“Have I not given you everything?”

His hands slid down to your wrists, tight around them, and you winced.

“Have I not given you all?”

You had no response to that for he was right. Everything you had, you owed to Aegon, and some part of you had always dreaded the day he’d come to collect. He abruptly stood, and you almost tripped over your feet. He drunkenly eyed you with a wild look in his gaze before reaching out and ripping the comb out of your hair. You helped at the slight tug, eyes wide as he threw it to the ground.

“Your pretty pins…your pretty necklaces,” he ripped the jewels from off your neck. “…the clothes off your very back are because I gave them to you.”

“I-I know that,” you shakily said to him.

His hands found your throat, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to be alarming. You reached up to touch his arms, and Aegon’s gaze flickered between your eyes. His breathing was heavy, and you blinked out more tears.

“You say that,” he murmured, roughly brushing a thumb over your mouth. “…but I think it’s time I finally remind you.”

“Aegon-.”

“…time I finally get what I am owed.”

Prince Aegon’s lips were rough on yours, tasting of sweet wine. He kissed you like he was trying to take all of your breath away, and in the back of your mind, you noted that this was your first. You were unsure of what to do, pulling at his hands and trying to lean away.

“Wait,” you mumbled. “Stop, I-.”

“Stop?”

He pulled away from you, a deep frown on his face.

“What right do you have to tell me what I can and cannot do?”

Your gaze was pleading, hands futile as they pushed at his chest.

Aegon’s lips were just as hungry as before, teeth nipping at your lips and hands rough on your body. He cared little for your dress, ripping it off of you in any way possible. The cold air had you pressing yourself against him despite yourself, and he was eager to trap you in his arms, nails dragging along your skin.

The fear of what was happening wholly hit you once he tried to lay you down, and although the small grin on his pink lips told you that he enjoyed the small fight, the ravenous look in his eyes betrayed his impatience. You could do nothing but cry when your back met his bed.

Aegon took his time in kissing his way down your body, a childish eagerness in him as he seemed not to know where to play his lips next. He wanted to taste all of you at once somehow, and even though it was impossible, he was determined to try. With his face between your legs, you tried to run away, but his arms snaked around your thighs and held you in place.

“I will show you,” he promised into your skin. “I will make you addicted to my very touch.”

The conflicting feeling of pleasure from someone you feared made your head spin. Your hands flailed, unsure of where to put them at every swipe and swirl of his tongue. One eventually tore at the sheets while the other reluctantly found his hair. Your stomach clenched, and your chest arched, and you fought between pushing him away or pulling him closer.

When wave after wave of ecstasy washed over you, you did not know how to handle it. It was the most intense thing you had ever felt, and Aegon did not let up until you were practically sobbing again beneath him. Drunken lips danced their way up your frame, kissing your skin in no certain pattern, and Aegon’s hand slid along your neck.

“I plucked you…like you were my very own flower…”

Your lips parted into a silent scream, nails clawing at his skin when he pushed into you with no warning. Your vision blurred all over again, tears falling past your ears, and Aegon’s fingers pressed into the bone of your jaw.

“I watered you…I made you bloom…”

His hips snapped against yours, his thrusts short and forceful. He leaned in to bite at your neck and shoulder, marking you and tasting you. You pushed at him to no avail, and Aegon seemed to let out a growl of frustration, fucking you harder.

“I will reap the benefits of what I have sewn,” he said through clenched teeth.

His hand was harsh in your hair, tugging on it and yanking your head back. Your nails pressed into his shoulder, and you cried beneath him. Aegon either paid your tears no mind, or he actually enjoyed the sigh of them. His cock pushed into you and stretched you in ways you did not think was possible.

Much to your horror, eventually, your pain gave way to more pleasure. It still stung and was still uncomfortable, but that same heat as before began to creep along your body. It started deep in your gut before slowly spreading to every part of you. Aegon hovered over you, looking down at you and repeatedly looking down to where he disappeared into you.

You were afraid to look.

You were afraid of what you might see.

“So pretty,” he said to himself, pressing his forehead to yours. “…and all for me.”

His words had you squeezing your eyes shut, turning your head away with a cry. His mouth was at your ear, labored breathing and soft lips. His blond strands brushed your skin, and you cringed when he placed a kiss just below your ear.

“You will know true satisfaction by sunrise.”

You were still wiping away a stray tear when your chamber doors were opened. The woman behind you paused, fingers still on the laces of your dress when he spoke, causing you to squeeze your eyes shut.

“Leave us,” he deeply said, tone leaving no room for argument.

When you had quietly snuck out of his chambers during the early hours of the morning, you knew that your solitude would not last long. It did not mean you were not allowed to mourn it though. You remained still as he approached you, and a shiver traveled down your spine when his soft fingers grazed the skin of your back.

He said nothing as he finished her job, hands running down your sides, greedily tracing your curves as he stepped closer. It was only when his arms came down over you, the cold feel of a necklace on your skin, did you finally lift your gaze to meet his in the reflection. Aegon looked more than satisfied with himself as he secured the piece of jewelry at the back of your neck.

Your lips parted, another tear skipping down your cheek as his chest brushed your back. He reached around to take your chin in his hand, holding your head in place while he pressed his lips to your cheek. They lingered there, and he held your gaze.

“Flowers…for my flower.”

#aegon ii targaryen x reader #aegon targaryen x reader #hotd fanfic

[thehorizonlinex]

Close to the Wind

A series of snippets of Eric’s life, as seen by Grimsby

Author’s Note: My first-ever Tumblr fic (ah! please be nice!) so open to suggestions, requests, and feedback. I watched The Little Mermaid (2023) and fell in love with Jonah Hauer-King’s portrayal of Prince Eric, the layers of backstory added to his character, and of course, his stunning chemistry with Halle Bailey as Ariel!

This is my take on what Eric’s life might have been like - before and after he met Ariel. I loved Grimsby as a character, especially his relationship with Eric, so there are some ideas of what it might have been like for the two of them together during Eric’s childhood. I’ve only seen the movie once in theaters, so some of the quotes are loosely based on my memory and might not be 100% in accordance with the script. Thanks for reading, and if you like it, please feel free to comment or reblog :)

Warnings: Mentions of parental death, fluff, young Eric being a little shit

Tags: @ohkarasm​ @nimerdo​ @namufication​ @chey-cheygl​ @snk25blr​ @snk25blr​

Twenty-One Years Prior

Grimsby tried his best to make his way through the crowd, pushing past the careening necks and excited whispers.

A baby!

One of the ships found him next to a whole lot of debris.

Bundled up in a chest, just floatin’ on the water, I heard. 

Could it be an omen?

How’d he get there in the first place?

What about that shipwreck the other night?

He finally squeezed past the first row, members of the royal court who’d arrived at the palace to see the infant child creating a buzz throughout the islands. The guards had been able to create a wide space between the royals and the court, allowing Grimsby to finally catch his breath as he approached the thrones at the front of the room.

“Sir Grimsby! There you are.”

“Your Highness,” Grimsby bowed to the king, both his sovereign and his employer - and an old friend. He turned to the regal woman on his right, dressed in a pale blue gown and seated in an intricate golden throne. “My Queen.”

Both nodded in response. The king gestured to the infant rocking in the queen’s arms, cooing lightly as he stared up at her.

“The baby,” the king said, his voice resolute. “Will stay here.”

He was afraid that this might happen.

The child had been found a few nights prior, swaddled in a chest that floated nearly right up to one of their merchant ships. At first, the sailors onboard had assumed he was dead - his eyes were closed and there was no way a baby could have survived the storms that had wrecked the oceans for nearly a week.

And yet, he had survived, immediately rushed to the royal palace and brought to the infirmary, where he was given round-the-clock care.

It’s a miracle he survived, the doctors had said, just as alarmed as everyone else who’d gotten wind of the curious baby from the sea. Survived without a scratch.

“Are you sure you want to decide so soon, your majesty? Perhaps the baby belongs to some of the neighboring islands, or from the coast.”

The royal couple had struggled with having children - one had been lost in the womb early on, and there hadn’t been much luck since. But he couldn’t imagine this child - this washed-up orphan of a child - becoming the heir to the throne. 

Would the people even accept him?

“We’ve looked, and we’ve asked the other lands. No one seems to know where the child is from.”

The king quieted for a second.

“And the ship that wrecked the other day - there were no survivors. We’ve sent crews to search high and low, and nothing.”

“A tragedy for certain,” the queen murmured, lightly stroking the top of the baby’s head, fingers playing with his dark curls. “But we can help turn his life into something meaningful.”

Grimsby nodded again with a sigh. He knew exactly how much both of them yearned for a child, a son, and perhaps chance was finally on their side.

He just didn’t care for children, personally.

“Have you picked out a name?”

The queen smiled widely at the infant, causing the child to giggle, his eyes twinkling in the palace light, as blue as the waves that had saved his life.

“Eric.”

~~~~~~~~~

Twelve Years Later - Eric, Age 12

“Eric!”

“Eric!”

“Prince Eric!”

Grimsby leaned to his side, his hand pressing against his ribcage as he slowed his breathing. 

He was growing too old for this, the continuous chasing around the palace, running after a twelve-year-old boy who seemed to be getting taller and faster and more of a nuisance each day.

Grimsby couldn’t imagine himself behaving this way at that age - even when he was younger than ten, he’d known to not cause such a ruckus. And he hadn’t been into royalty, didn’t have the expectations of a future king on his shoulders.

Eric, on the other hand, never seemed to get the memo.

“Are you alright, Sir Grimsby?”

Grimsby looked down at the boy as he skipped over to him. Eric’s height rose to his chest now, mischievous eyes peeking past a messy mop of brown curls.

“There isn’t supposed to be running in the palace, Eric.”

“Who said anything about running? We’re chasing!”

Grimsby huffed, the ache in his side still lingering. “You’re old enough to know they’re the same. I know you have access to a thesaurus.”

“Well, we wouldn’t be running if you just stopped chasing me.”

Eric squinted as he watched his majordomo leaning over to his side in pain. “And, if that side hurts, you should bend the other way so it stretches.”

Grimsby huffed again as he followed Eric’s instructions, immediately feeling relief in his side. Once the ache subsided, he straightened back up, his hands crossing over his chest.

“I was chasing you because you’ve left your study a mess, Eric.”

The boy lifted a hand to scratch his head, crooking it to one side.

“A mess?”

“A mess. Things everywhere! Books all over the place, seashells from the beach strewn all over your shelves. And that globe - did you steal that from your father’s study?”

The prince snickered.

“I didn’t steal it Grimsby. Mother said I could have the globe to help with my studies. And all of father’s old charts.”

He flashed his dimples once, causing Grimsby to mentally groan. The boy had grown into a cheeky young thing, as charming as he was reckless, his charisma as abundant as his energy.

“What studies could you possibly need them for?”

“I’m teaching myself,” Eric said confidently. “I’m teaching myself how to sail. Even if mother won’t let me yet. So by the time I do go on the water, I can navigate just using the stars.”

He placed his hands on his hips in a defiant stance.

“And I’m collecting the seashells. I’ve been reading about them in some of the old books from the royal library. Some of them aren’t native to here, you know. The ocean carries them to us for us to find.”

“I’m glad you’re finding your artifacts so educational, Eric,” Grimsby sighed. “But if you leave your study a mess, Lashanna won’t allow it. You know better than to keep them around like that.”

The prince’s eyes, normally a crystal blue, began to darken.

“I’m not throwing them away!”

“You don’t have to throw them away. But you do need to keep them organized.”

Eric rolled his eyes again. 

“Says who?”

“Says me. And until you grow old enough to be king, you’ll listen to me.”

Eric let out a huff of frustration. 

“When I’m king, Grimsby, I’ll see to it that you get fired.”

The man laughed aloud. “I’ve been with your family for decades, my young prince. You won’t be getting rid of me that fast.”

“I can do whatever I want! Eric means eternal ruler, you told me yourself, Grimsby.”

Grimsby shook his head, turning on his heels to head back towards the palace. Better to stop the conversation now before Eric’s temperament got the better of him, he hoped.

He turned once more to look at the boy, the childish expression on his face contrasting his ever-growing stature. Sometimes, he couldn’t help but wonder if the king and queen had made the right decision, bringing this boy into the fold, setting him to be the future ruler of their islands. 

Eric was intelligent, compassionate, curious - but reckless, uncontrollable at times, with a mind of his own.

And Grimsby couldn’t help but pray that eventually, he’d grow up.

Six Years Later -  Eric, Age 18

“Well, doesn’t the prince look dashing!”

Grimsby turned to face Lashanna, who’d crept up behind him to watch as Eric stood deathly still at the other end of the room. The prince grimaced as the royal tailors fussed over his new jacket, using him as a human pin cushion of sorts.

“Looks just like his parents,” Grimsby joked, causing the woman to swat at his shoulder.

“Big night for the prince, eh?”

“You wouldn’t think so, talking to him.”

“Hmm?”

Grimsby sighed, placing his hand on the pillar next to him. 

“All he can talk about is going out to sea, tomorrow morning. You wouldn’t even know it was his eighteenth birthday today, if the queen hadn’t made a rule forbidding him from sailing until then.”

“What about the party?”

“What about the party?”

Lashanna frowned. “Don’t tell me I have the staff running around for Eric to not show up to his own birthday party tonight.”

“He’ll show up. The queen will make sure of it. He just won’t be happy with all the fuss, you know he never is.”

Lashanna remained quiet briefly, watching as Eric’s gaze focused out the large glass window to his right, looking over the ocean waves.

“Do you think she regrets it at all?”

It’d been a question Grimsby had wondered himself, many times, and even more so after the king’s sudden passing the year prior. The baby in the chest had become a source of joy for the queen and for the people of the islands. He’d grown into a strong, bright young man, grounded by his values and the desire to lead his people.

And yet, it seemed as if Eric never saw his role the same as his mother, rigidly determined to do things differently. He’d grown even more passionate about voyaging and opening the country to faraway neighbors since his father died, frustrated at the lack of support his ideas received from his mother and the court. He’d vented at Grimsby more than a handful of times, but usually locked himself in his study, surrounded by shelves upon shelves of treasures and tokens other sailors brought back for him.

It’d been manageable, for a while. But now he was eighteen, allowed to voyage the seas himself for the first time, and taking matters into his own hands.

“She loves him,” Grimsby replied. “And that’s what matters.”

He straightened as the tailors finished up with Eric, taking his jacket to have the final touches added before the night’s festivities. 

“Well, aren’t you going to be a sight tonight,” Lashanna smiled at the prince, reaching out to brush a stray curl from his forehead.

“Do you know what time we leave tomorrow, Grimsby?”

“Nine o’clock, Sire.”

“Any chance we could leave earlier? I’d love to see the sunrise on the water.”

Lashanna chuckled. “You’ll see plenty of sunrises over the next few weeks, young prince. And you’ll want to get some rest after your big party tonight.”

“There will be girls there, Eric,” Grimsby reminded him.

“So?”

“You’ll be expected to make conversation with them, dance with them.”

Eric scoffed.

“To find a wife, you mean?”

“Well, if all-“

“Wouldn’t my father say I’m too young to be finding a bride?”

Grimsby let out a deep sigh. “Your father wouldn’t want you to be reckless. But you are his heir, and you’re eighteen now. In a few years you will be old enough to assume the throne per our kingdom’s laws.”

“I’m not interested in finding a wife, Grimsby. Not when there’s so much out there to see. Did you know, one of the other islands just opened a large port? Large enough to completely change their economy. We’re being left behind here, and the rest of the world is moving on.”

“Eric-“

“And besides, don’t you think it wouldn’t be fair to my future wife if I was out on the seas all the time? A shoddy husband I’d make, I figure.”

As if he’d be allowed to voyage as the king. 

“Just dance with a few, Eric. They might surprise you, there’s plenty of ladies from different kingdoms coming. Consider that your bridging between cultures and lands.”

The idea seemed to please the young man somewhat, though his face showed no hint of a smile.

“If you dance with five of the young ladies tonight, I’m sure Grimsby could convince the queen to allow you to sail before sunrise,” Lashanna offered, causing Grimsby to shoot her an annoyed glance.

“Really?” Eric’s eyes lit up again.

Grimsby shook his head. It might be the only way.

“Alright, Eric. I’ll talk to your mother.”

The bounce in the prince’s step returned as he hurried towards the passageway. 

“I’ll get to packing now. Thank you, Grimsby!”

Grimsby turned to Lashanna once Eric was out of sight.

“You needed a compromise, no?” she smiled. “And besides, you’ll need to start getting ready yourself.”

“I’ve still got a few hours before the party.”

Lashanna’ grin grew wider. 

“I meant for your voyage tomorrow. Enjoy the sunrise, Mister Grimsby.”

~~~~~~~~~

Three Years Later - Eric, 21 Years Old 

“Eric! Eric!”

Grimsby ignored the ache in his legs as he ran through the palace halls, headed directly to the wing containing the prince’s bedroom.

The news had arrived while he was helping the queen’s secretary draft a letter to the neighboring kingdoms, desperate for any news or sign of her beloved son. 

Found him washed up ashore! 

Barely breathing!

But he’s alive! 

Grimsby could hardly believe it himself; that Eric’s life would have once again been spared by the sea, fortunate enough to arrive right on their doorstep. He could have sworn, watching the flames engulf the ship that night and Eric falling backwards as it listed in the water, that the prince was lost to the waves. 

It’d been the first time Grimsby had nearly cried, the presence of the rest of the crew in the rowboats the only thing stopping his tears.

Their last interaction had been an argument, another fight about Eric’s role as a leader, his incessant need to voyage and travel and explore for the sake of the islands. Their conversation had rung in Grimsby’s ears all night, the man unable to get any sleep once they safely reached shore.

“Eric!” He burst open the door to the prince’s bedroom, causing Max, seated at the foot of the bed, to bark loudly.

“Shhh, Max,” Eric muttered with a groan, his eyes looking at Grimsby tiredly. “It’s just Grims.”

“Thank the heavens,” Grimsby rushed over to his side, clutching one of Eric’s hands in his own. “I thought you were lost-”

“A girl saved me.”

Grimsby raised a brow, his eyes moving to the bandaged wound on Eric’s head.

“Pardon?”

“A girl, Grimsby,” Eric repeated slowly, his voice betraying his body’s exhaustion. His eyes fluttered open and close. “She saved me.”

“You’ve had a long day,” Grimsby said. “You should get some sleep.”

Surely the doctors would have informed him if Eric had sustained any major head injuries, not just a scratch?

“She sang to me, Grimsby. The most beautiful melody I’ve ever heard.”

“I’m sure she did, Sire.”

Eric’s eyes opened suddenly, the piercing blue gaze making direct contact with Grimsby’s own. 

“Find her for me, Grimsby.”

“Eric-“

“Please. She saved my life. I owe her my life.”

Eric closed his eyes once more, his tiredness quickly lulling him back to sleep.

A mystery girl who’d saved the prince from certain death in the ocean? How hard could it be?

He closed the bedroom door behind him as he walked towards in the direction of the infirmary. 

The doctors had some explaining to do.

~~~~~~~~~

“We could take a carriage tomorrow, if you’d like.”

Grimsby stopped as he heard the familiar voice coming out of the prince’s study, warm lantern light peeking out of a door left just ajar.

He was surprised to see the two of them in the light, diligently peering over maps and charts across Eric’s belongings. He’d hardly expected Eric to even get to know the new arrival at the palace, the girl who’d been found in the waves just as he had.

Perhaps that connected them, in a way.

But he’d distinctly recognized the disappointment in Eric’s face once the prince realized she wasn’t the mystery girl, the one who’d saved her and sang to him on the beach. How could she be, when she had no voice of her own?

Grimsby coughed quietly, causing the two of them to look up at him. Eric’s face was beaming, a look he hadn’t seen in the young prince since the night of the shipwreck, dancing with the crew.

“Oh, Grimsby! We’ll need a carriage for tomorrow.”

Grimsby nodded politely, hoping not to cause any distress to the red-haired girl staring wide-eyed at him.

“Of course, Sire. If I might have a quiet word?””

Eric looked back at the girl with a smile, nodding slowly as if in a daze. “Yes, of course.”

When they were out in the hall and out of earshot, Grimsby decided to broach the subject. Part of him wanted to not bring it up at all - the fantasy girl they were spending all of their resources chasing, and yet, Eric had been insistent. He still remembered the desperation in the prince’s eyes, begging him to find her.

“Sire, all of the carriages are being used tomorrow to look for the girl.”

A wave of realization seemed to pass through the prince, as if he’d been woken from a dream. “Oh, yes! The girl. Yes, we need to find her.”

“And may I remind you,” Grimsby continued. “That the queen insists that you stay inside at the palace until you’re feeling better.”

“I feel fine, Grimsby!” Eric grinned, his familiar dimples flashes. “I’ve never felt better.”

Grimsby looked at the prince carefully. In the study, he could have sworn the young man’s face had been glowing in the light, the golden hues reflecting off his skin. And yet, he was still beaming in the hall, a joyous grin he couldn’t hide even if he wanted to. 

Perhaps the silent girl was the distraction he needed, someone to make him happy for at least a little while.

“Yes, yes, I can see that,” Grimsby acknowledged, scanning Eric’s blue eyes once again. They were as blue as the waves.

“Well, I’m sure we could spare just one carriage. But you do need to go to sleep, Eric. The doctors said you still need plenty of rest.”

“I know. I got distracted all day in there.” He smiled. “She likes looking at my collections.”

“Hmm?”

“The girl,” Eric gestured back towards the study. “I’ll tell her she can stay in and keep looking, if she wants.”

“Ah, yes. Well, if you trust her with it all.”

Eric quickly slipped back to say goodnight to the red-haired girl, and as he’d assumed, she decided to stay back. He climbed up the stairs in the direction of his bedroom with Grimsby, the man’s arms clasped behind his back. 

“I trust her,” the prince said, a sheepish grin on his face. “It’s funny, really. You know that fossilized sea stone that’s been on my shelves since I was eighteen? From my first voyage?”

“Ah, yes.” Grimsby distinctly remembered Eric’s accomplished expression on that first voyage, as he traded some of their island cane for a few treasured items at the market.

“She threw it onto the ground,” Eric explained, chuckling to himself. “And it shattered all over the floor, but there was a beautiful gemstone inside, this vibrant rock that had been hidden for years. I’d never known it even existed.”

“I wonder where she must have learned to do that,” Grimsby commented.

“Me too. It’s not in any of my books. She’s strange, isn’t she? But in the best way.”

Grimsby kept watching the prince as they walked through the passageways, the young man seemingly lost in thought.

They stopped outside his bedroom door, Eric ruffling through his locks with his fingers. 

“Goodnight, Grimsby.”

“Goodnight, Eric. I promise we’ll continue to search for the girl in the morning.”

Eric frowned slightly as he made sense of the words.

“Right. The girl. Yes, thank you, Grimsby. Let me know what you find.”

“Of course, Sire.”

~~~~~~~~~

In any other time, Grimsby likely would have made a fuss over the mess that Eric had made in the main passageways of the palace, lake water dripping from his clothes onto the floor.

The queen had nearly slipped in a small puddle, and again, in any other time, Grimsby would have said something.

But he couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corners of his lips as he saw the two pairs of soaking-wet feet hiding behind a wall, so by the time he finally approached Eric and the silent girl, any thought of scolding the prince had long vanished.

“We went out onto the lake, and well, we ended up in it,” Eric chuckled sheepishly at him, as if that somehow served as an excuse.

“Well, it seems you two had fun,” Grimsby remarked, the gleam in Eric’s eyes not going unnoticed. “I imagine you’re tired, and we should let you get some sleep.”

The red-haired girl smiled gratefully at both of them, a dazzling grin on her face that Eric seemed to melt into.

“Yes, goodnight,” the prince said, as the girl smiled again before ascending the stairs.

Suddenly, she turned, taking the hat off her head - where had they even gotten such an item? - and placing it gently atop Eric’s. She flashed another grin at the prince again before walking up.

“Goodnight…Ariel.”

She turned again once more, her smile reflected in her warm brown eyes. Grimsby watched as Eric’s gaze followed her up the staircase until she disappeared from sight.

“Sire,” Grimsby said, finally breaking the silence. “About the carriages…unfortunately, they weren’t able to find the girl.”

Eric stayed silent for a moment, though Grimsby could see his shoulders tense slightly. “Oh.”

“Should we resume the search?”

Eric turned to face Grimsby, a mix of emotions on his face. The man had known the prince since he was a baby - he knew exactly what Eric was feeling, even if the young man couldn’t verbalize it.

“Grimsby…I feel...a little…”

“If I may, Sire, from one old man. Don’t let what should be get in the way of what is.”

Eric nodded. 

“Goodnight, Sire.”

“Goodnight, Grimsby.”

He turned towards the passageway, hoping to find Lashanna to help take care of the mess in the halls before the queen woke up in the morning.

“Wait, Grimsby!”

“Yes, Sire?”

“Her name…her name is Ariel.”

Grimsby nodded. He’d gathered as such, though he couldn’t imagine how young Eric had figured that particular one out.

“And how did you come across that, Sire?”

Eric laughed to himself, his hand touching the top of his hat as if it contained a cherished memory.

“It’s a long story. I’ll have to tell you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Eric.”

“Goodnight, Grimsby. And thank you.”

~~~~~~~~~

“Grimsby! Grimsby!”

Eric rushed over, a frantic look in his eyes inconsistent with the celebratory atmosphere they were surrounded by.

Grimsby glanced over at Vanessa, the mystery girl, the woman in purple who’d arrived at the palace on Eric’s arm early that morning. She was busy entertaining members of the court, waxing poetic about what it was like to save the prince from drowning, a story that seemed more like fantasy with each passing minute, or so he believed.

“Grimsby, have you seen Ariel?”

He furrowed his brow, looking back at the prince. It was like Eric had completely reversed overnight, the feelings he felt for Ariel replaced by an enchanting trance for the newly-found mystery girl. 

It didn’t sit right with Grimsby. Something had felt off all day, even if the queen and the rest of the court thought nothing of it.

Of course, Eric had desperately wanted to find the girl for days, pleading with Grimsby to find her - and yet, he had assumed, perhaps foolishly, to think the mystery girl was no more than a passing thought, now. He had sensed something in the air between Eric and Ariel the night before, something stronger than the mystery girl, now gone like the tide.

And as far as he was concerned, there didn’t seem to be a true connection between Eric and Vanessa. 

He couldn’t explain it.

“According to the servants, she left this morning.”

“Left?”

“Can you blame her, Eric?” Grimsby finally said, exasperated. “I don’t understand, this isn’t like you.”

“I…I know,” Eric muttered. “I’m not sure I understand myself.”

“I don’t think it would be fair for Ariel to stay, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Yes,” Eric said, his voice sounding deflated. Grimsby noticed a glassy haze in his eyes, as if sleepwalking or under a spell. “Yes, that wouldn’t be fair.”

“You’re old enough to make your own decisions, Eric. And to learn to accept the consequences.”

“Yes. Yes, yes, you’re right, Grimsby.”

“Eric!” 

The two of them turned to see the queen gesturing towards her son.

“Go,” Grimsby said, his heart sinking slightly in his chest. He knew what the queen would be giving him - he’d had one of the palace servants polish it earlier that day at her request.

But it was Eric’s decision now.

“Grims-”

“Go, Eric.”

~~~~~~~~~

The walk back to the palace was eerily silent, the crashing waves the only sounds filling the air.

Grimsby glanced over at the prince, dripping from head-to-toe, his clothing torn to shreds and clinging to his wet skin. The queen and the rest of the staff were several feet ahead of them, the two men bringing up the rear back to land.

Back to safety.

“Eric-”

“I don’t want to talk about it, Grimsby.”

“She was real, Eric.”

The prince stayed silent for a few seconds before stopping mid-step. He lowered himself to the ground, balancing himself against a large rock as Grimsby took a seat next to him.

Eric’s gaze stayed focused on the horizon, watching the colors of the sunset reflect off the ocean intently, as if Ariel might reappear if he looked hard enough.

“I’ve been a fool, Grimsby.”

“No, no. What you felt for her was very real, your mother was right about that. You would be a fool to deny the connection you felt between you two.”

Eric sighed, taking a small pebble from next to him and throwing it into the ocean.

“She really saw me, Grimsby. Like no one ever has. Not to mention that she’d been the one to save my life in the first place.”

“I understand.”

His heart ached for the prince - just as the oceans had spared his life, they’d also torn Ariel away from him, their two homes at odds with each other forever. Eric had always been stubborn - but now, he seemed completely deflated.

“I loved her, Grimsby,” Eric murmured under his breath. “I do love her.”

He stared out into the ocean one more time, before standing back up, reaching a hand out to help Grimsby onto his feet.

Grimsby noticed the tears welling in the corners of his eyes, threatening to fall.

“And now she’s gone.”

~~~~~~~~~

“Eric! Eric!”

Grimsby clutched his side, a cramp near his ribcage causing him to wince.

Certainly, he was getting too old for this.

“Grimsby!” He heard Eric’s familiar laugh as the prince opened his bedroom door, allowing him to enter.

Eric was already dressed for the big day, his curls neat and clothes pressed. “You’re going to kill yourself one day, old man, chasing after me.”

“I’ve done it for twenty-one years already, Sire, I’m sure I’ll last at least a few more.”

“Did you need something? The wedding’s supposed to begin in less than an hour.”

Grimsby nodded, reaching into the hidden pocket of his jacket as he took out a compass, slightly worn from age, though the mother-of-pearl and gold fixtures still shone brilliantly in the light.

He straightened up as he placed the compass in Eric’s hands, the prince’s blue eyes looking curiously at him.

“This,” he said. “This was your father’s. Many years ago. I thought it would serve useful on your voyage with Ariel.”

“It’s beautiful.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t find anything larger, but I imagined you two have already been showered enough by the court.”

“Grimsby, it’s perfect,” Eric’s eyes shone brilliantly. “Than-”

“Oh, no need to thank me,” he replied quickly, hoping to clear his throat of anything too sentimental. “It was your father’s, after all-”

His breath was knocked out of him as Eric pulled him into a tight hug.

“Thank you, Grimsby.”

“Sire-” the corners of his eyes began to prick.

“For leading me to Ariel.” 

“I-”

“And for believing in me.”

Grimsby patted the prince’s back as the tears in his eyes finally spilled over.

The boy - the child on the waves - had finally grown up, into a man that Grimsby couldn’t have even pictured. He imagined he had Ariel to thank for that, the silent red-headed girl who’d shone a brilliant light into the prince’s life, helped secure his destiny, allowed him to find his place in the world.

“Always, Eric.”

#the little mermaid #the little mermaid 2023 #prince eric #Prince Eric x Ariel #Eric x Ariel #Ariel x Eric #jonah hauer king #grimsby

[tarulink]

OOT Zelink is possible after Majora's Mask (theory 2024)

We don't really know what happened after MM so everything is possible until Nintendo denies it so here is my theory:

Everyone thinks that the only place Link could go after his trip through Termina is Lon Lon Ranch, but what if not? After all the last memories he had were about Zelda wishing she could meet Link again, she was THE ONLY PERSON who actually waited for him after his trip. THIS IS IMPORTANT!!

So after his trip he goes to Zelda and tells her everything that happened to him, she believes him, in fact she might be the only person who believes him because he believed her when she had her visions of Ganondorf.

Link does not necessarily have to have worked on the ranch, there are many other jobs in castle town, I would like to think that he got a job near the castle so he could continue meeting Zelda.

As the years go by their relationship becomes even closer, unfortunately Zelda has to marry someone else so Link decides to continue his life without her. He meets someone else and they get along well, he decides to rebuild his life and marries that woman (Maybe that's why Nintendo never said with whom he had a child, because it was probably with a random woman we don't even know lmao). He has a daughter (I would like to think he has a girl) and thinks she is the most important thing he has now in his life.

Zelda does not love her husband but by the laws of nobility she has to give him an heir. Zelda becomes pregnant and although she does not love her husband, she loves her baby. She thinks it is the most important thing she has in her life now.

Link and Zelda rarely communicate because they already have priorities to maintain (each one with their children).

If you notice this is where the lineage of TP Link and TP Zelda is born!

As fate would have it Link's marriage doesn't work out and he gets divorced or she leaves him with his daughter.

The king passes away.

Do you see where I'm going with all this?

Zelda as queen can do whatever she wants now, so she goes to visit Link after so long. They both talk about their lives and realize they still have romantic feelings for each other. Zelda offers Link to be her personal knight and he unhesitatingly accepts, she gives him a special armor (the armor we see in Twilight Princess).

He becomes her prince consort.

However they have no children or maybe they had one but that son never had descendants Take it as you wish!

We don't know how exactly Link died, but everything points to the fact that he died in a war and lost his eye. Maybe he knew he wouldn't survive and that's why he went to the Lost Forest, dying there and regretting not having taught his techniques, so his spirit stays there until the other chosen one arrives to teach him his techniques.

Zelda is widowed again, that's why we see Link's grave in the castle graveyard in Twilight Princess (like why would his grave be in the castle?)

Years go by and both Link's daughter and Zelda's child grow up. Link's daughter decides to leave the castle and make her life elsewhere, she takes Epona with her, playing the song that HER FATHER taught her (because it is not necessary for Link to have married Malon to learn Epona's song)

Zelda's child takes the throne once she dies.

So with this we have the birth of TP Link and TP Zelda many years later. The reason I don't support the Link and Malon theory is because I find many inconsistencies: TP Link is an orphan, he lives in a tree not in the ranch (he doesn't even own it, the ranch belongs to Fado and he is a human) Link is the only Hylian in Ordon. It's probably that Jaggle or Pergie are descendants of Malon bc their sons are named Malo and Talo (probably she married a human knight or probably Nintendo just put those names bc yes lol)

Also remember Sheik's words? Young love become deep affection Link and Zelda spent time together before Link went on a trip to Termina, I think these words are a reference to them, how much they care about each other ♡

Of course these are my thoughts, you may agree or disagree with me!

#zelink #oot zelink #tp zelink #loz #ocarina of time #twilight princess #MY BABIES DESERVE TO BE HAPPY TOGETHER

[nexility-sims]

𝐍𝐎. 𝟑   ❛ 𝐝𝐨𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 ❜   |   QUEEN'S OFFICE, MID MARCH 1991

❧  𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠  /  𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬  /  𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭.

   ❛  Beatriz, like her grandmother before her, lived by the belief that Uspana was her true firstborn. When her daughter’s mourning period concluded, she returned to work on its behalf. She was not a simple figurehead. Her job was not to pose for pictures, to fundraise money for good causes, to lift the spirits of the weary with a benevolent smile. She did the work of a statesman, and she did it well. She was a politician. On any given day, her attention divided in a thousand directions—domestic versus foreign affairs, diplomacy and economics, tempestuously petty interpersonal dynamics on which national matters of life and death too often depended. Staff abounded to keep it all in order, but Beatriz had always been a hands-on executive. She knew what skeletons lurked in the closets of allies and adversaries alike, and she knew the details of bills and proposals less careful eyes overlooked. She enjoyed sparring with representatives. She harangued her ministers for sport. It wasn’t ideology that drove her so much as the desire to win. More than merely dedicated, the queen thrived in the high-stakes, head-spinning world of governance. It was one in which her weaknesses were strengths. The people of Uspana knew her reputation, but most of them credited it with the long era of stability that she seemed to have held together, almost single-handedly, through sheer force of will.

❧ TAKE TWO FUCK TUMBLR i took the screenshots for this ages ago, and !!!!! i wish that i’d had the time and energy to redo it, but :/ fine enough to just post. i wish i could say beatriz gets better, but ... idk, man, this is just who she is, which sucks sdkfshj

𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭 ↓

TRANSCRIPT:

{Conversation}

[L] She canceled again, didn’t she?

[B] Not quite. It’s business as usual, is all. They’re taking a coffee break in a moment, so she’ll see you for a few minutes then. [L] {scoffs} Of course.

[B] Look at you. Such a tired trio.

[B] I’m glad to see your faces. These last several weeks have been difficult for everyone. Time to come together.

[B] That’s what I wanted to share with you. Everything is the same for us—well, except for you three. How can we have orphans in a family so large? That’s how you feel, I presume.

[B] You don’t know this, but he had all sorts of inquiries about Safya’s estate within mere days of … Well. Mourning is over, and there is a definitive, sweeping answer. An eviction, in fact. That was her home, and I intend to preserve it as such indefinitely.

[L] I don’t understand. What about Gil and Mateo? [B] You would understand if you let me finish, Leonor. Anyway, this is hardly your concern. You wanted to live alone.

[B] Boys, you will take up residence at Nakawe Palace. Damian and Julian are there, Arnaut’s pair will be around … You will be with me, with your grandfather—right where you ought to be. [G] Mother Beatriz, will Papa be there?

[B] These apartments are for those who belong to the Crown. You belong. Some others do not. [G] Can he visit? [M] We’ll still see him, Gil.

[B] Before you get any ideas: don’t mistake this for a discussion. I was just going to send a moving van to pick you up, but your grandfather was convinced that would be somehow cruel.

[B] Leonor, give me a moment. I have something to say.

[B] Why would you go out like this? They’ll notice. [L] Who will? [B] Come on now. The papers, obviously.

[B] You look awful. To start, go home and wash your hair. These things matter.

[B] They’re going to eat you alive. Do you hear me? They will because they can, and there’s little I can do about it. [L] {softly} They already are …

[B] Exactly. This is my one warning. Let’s not disappoint.

[M] Why didn’t you say anything? [L] Why didn’t you? [M] That’s not fair.

[L] Don’t call him. He should hear everything from her people. It’ll be easier for everyone that way.

[M] Easier? You know that’s not true.

[M] Wait—where are you going? We have plans!

[M] Leonor!

[mister-tom-a-dildo-lover]

Since we're on the topic of what makes Harry who he is what about the things that make Voldemort who he is? I feel like many people seem to forget what Voldemort was actually like these days when interacting with fan content. I wrote a oneshot last year and the one review it got was how out of character Voldemort was when I began it in the middle of the boneyard scene using 400 words of his monolog from the book itself! "Voldemort wouldn't act like that." Yes he would! He did it for a whole chapter actually he loves to talk about himself!

That's something the stans of Dumbles do. You dare have him do his bad canon shit in your fic, and have someone call it out for once, and suddenly you're bashing him! It's so unfair!

Voldy monologues in Ch. 34 of GoF. He sabotages his own guaranteed victory just so he could take some time to show off and pat himself on the back. Could have solved all of his problems right there, but noooooo. He wants everyone to know about how smart he is.

I would say the things that make Voldemort who he is are:

Being the product of a loveless marriage.

Growing up as an orphan in a tumultuous time period.

Developing a debilitating fear of dying because of how he grew up.

Being obsessed with power and control in everything as a result of being a powerless orphan that no one cared about.

Developing lofty ambitions and a superiority complex because of all of this.

Having the urge to constantly show off to assure himself that he's special and better than others.

Obsessing over collecting the belongings of famous people so he can have what others don't and assure himself that he's better.

All of that leads to what he became. It is a lot harder to accept changes to Tom Riddle's character than is to accept them from Harry Potter's character. Because we grew up with Harry. We see Harry grow for years. Everything we have on Tom Riddle, that he has not shared with us personally, was given to us through Dumbledore's biased, stalkery memory collection(mostly from people who didn't even like him). But that doesn't meant it's impossible to think of a still murderous drama queen as being an In-Character TMR/Voldy if the rest of his personal stuff changes due to fic reasons.

But no one out here is like, "Ohh, you just wrote an OC and passed it off as Tom Riddle! If you don't have him with Abraxas as his best friend, then it's OOC!"

#tom riddle #lord voldemort

[lindstromm]

Bartholomew Brimsley. He's an only child and an orphan who misses his parents, per the book. Reynolds, on the other hand, has two older sisters. Fandom can make up any backstory for Brimsley and Reynolds that it wants (and it will), but if you're curious about what the book says about their families, here it is:

"Sisters," Reynolds said with a knowing chuckle.

"Have you any?" Brimsley asked. He suddenly realized he didn't know. And he wanted to.

"Sisters?" Reynolds repeated. "Two. Both older. You?"

Brimsley shooks his head. "It was only me. My parents had me late in life." And then, even though Reynolds hadn't asked, he said, "They're gone now."

"I'm sorry."

"So am I," Brimsley said softly. He'd been alone for so long. Maybe it was why he loved palace life so much. It had given him a place to belong. But he did not want to grow maudlin.

from p.167. More from the book about our favorite valets below the cut.

Brimsley found out he would be attending the Queen only a week before she arrived. from page 31:

Sophronia Pratt, head maid to Princess Augusta, had pulled him aside only last week and said, "You have been given the honor of serving our new queen." [Sophronia gives him instructions like teaching Charlotte "how we do things here." Brimsley irritates Sophronia by asking too many questions.] Pratt's eyes floated heavenward, and Brimsley, while not a skilled lipreader, was fairly certain she mouthed the words, Heaven help me. Heaven help them both. Honestly. He was getting thrown to the wolves, and they both knew it.

Pratt is the one who recommended Brimsley for the position. From page 33:

Brimsley wasn't stupid. Vain, perhaps, but not stupid. "I understand perfectly, ma'am," he said. "I thought you might," Pratt replied. "It is why I recommended you for this position." "Thank you, ma'am." Pratt gave him a look that said his thanks were beneath her. "Do you want to know the other reason I recommended you?" Brimsley was not sure that he did. "It is your face," Pratt said. "It is a bit like a fish." "Thank you?" He coughed. "Ma'am." "That is another reason, I suppose. I just insulted you, and you thanked me. You will get a lot of that from the Queen." Brimsley was not cheered by this. "Have you heard very much about her, then?" "Not a word," Pratt said briskly, "but royals are all the same in that regard. At any rate, your fish face lends you an air of perpetual disdain. You appear rather pleased with yourself, when we both know you have no reason to be." Brimsley was not sure he had ever been insulted so thoroughly, and if he were not the victim, he'd probably admire her for it. It was really rather deft.

That's his only conversation with Sophronia Pratt, thank god. Brimsley loves his new job, because of the status and the food. There's a hint here that Brimsley has gone hungry in the past, and that some of the maids weren't particularly nice to him before his promotion. Though he would be with a different group of maids and footmen when he moves to Buckingham House. From page 68:

He had been given a completely new uniform with a gold brocade vest, and the move to Buckingham House meant that he was at the top of the belowstairs hierarchy. Who could be more important than the chief servant to the Queen?

He might not sit at the head of the table in the servants' quarters -- that was the butler -- but he was at the butler's right hand.

He selected the choicest cuts of meat for his plate when they ate. He never had to worry about there being enough pudding for everyone because there was always enough pudding if you were the second person to be served.

Everyone looked at him differently, too. The maids no longer looked down their noses at him. Now he looked down his nose at them, even the ones who were taller, which, to be honest, was most of them.

Fish face, his ass. He was on top of the world.

Brimsley has several chapters in the book written from his point of view. In an inexcusable omission, none of the chapters are from Reynolds' point of view. This means we don't get the scene in which Reynolds tries to rescue George from Dr. Munro's torture. It's just not there. What we learn about Reynolds comes through in the chapters from George's or Brimsley's POV.

page 111:

[George] knew that Reynolds did not like it when he referred to himself as mad. They had been together since childhood, since before it became obvious that George would be King, and Reynolds would be, well, Reynolds. They had a bond of friendship and shared secrets.

Here's the part where Reynolds tells Brimsley how he ended up as King's Man, from p.270:

The two men found a place to sit, leaning against a bale of hay. Reynolds sighed. Brimsley did not think he had ever seen him so tired.

"Have I ever told you how I came by this job?" Reynolds said.

Brimsley tipped his head, letting the side of his forehead kiss against Reynolds's shoulder. "I imagine you were marked from a young age for your unmatched unction and superciliousness."

Reynolds gave him a little smirk, but there was a hint of good nature to it. "The King and I grew up together. I was His Majesty's playmate. We fished and climbed trees and were boys together."

Brimsley nodded. Reynolds had mentioned this. Not often; he tended to be circumspect about his background.

"I'm still not sure why the Palace allowed it," Reynolds continued. "They were monstrously strict about who got to spend time with the princes and princesses. I suppose it was because my mother was a trusted maid and my father a palace goldsmith. And I was the right age. Our birthdays are just two months apart."

"Who is the elder?" Brimsley asked.

"Me." Reynolds gave him one of those smiles he loved so much. "Of course."

"Of course."

"There was no one else for him unless some foreign dignitary or prince came to visit, but those were always awkward affairs. Two little boys dressed in their ridiculous finest and ordered to be friends."

"That does not sound as if it would go well."

"No," Reynolds mused, "it never did. Half the time they didn't even speak the same language. So it was just me. Me and George. I still called him George then."

"You don't now?"

Reynolds gave him a look. "You know I don't. And I certainly never did when anyone else was around when we were children."

Brimsley chuckled. "No, I can imagine that would not have gone over well."

"Of course I knew my station, but I liked Georgie. I liked him even when adults pushed me aside in their haste to bow and scrape to him." Reynolds looked up and grinned. It was a sentimental sort of smile, with the barest hint of something sad.

"He was affable," he continued. "And full of good humor. He put on no airs. I was perhaps the first to recognize his ... peculiarities. But I liked him no less. I was the closest thing he had to a friend, so I kept his secret. I sang distracting songs when he lost control of his thoughts. Held his arms down when they trembled."

He looked at Brimsley more directly. "I hid him from his monstrous grandfather."

"That was good of you," Brimsley said quietly. He had heard about George II. He had not been a kind man.

Reynolds nodded slowly, the kind one did not when one is agreeing, but when one is remembering. "When it came time to follow my father into the Goldsmith's Guild, I asked to stay with George instead. It would not be as lucrative, but I made the choice gladly. Because he needed me. And because --"

He swallowed.

"Because he knew my secrets, too. My own ... peculiarity. And he did not care. He kept my secret as I kept his. As I had to. Even from you."

"I'm sorry I was so angry with you," Brimsley said.

"I would have been the same way," Reynolds admitted.

There it is. Reynolds gave up on being a goldsmith, took a paycut, and stayed with George out of friendship, and because George accepted him as gay.

Reynolds doesn't say his parents have died. Reynolds is only 23 in the movie (King George III was 23 when he got married). It's possible his mother and father serve at the palace with him and he might see them occasionally.

This next scene was funny about Reynolds and his sisters, and it isn't in the movie. George is freaking out while Charlotte is in labor, and Reynolds assures him that this is normal. George gets snappish with him, p.297:

"You know this ... how?"

"Er, I've heard things."

"You've heard things," George repeated crossly.

"I have sisters. They both have children."

"Were you present for the births?" George wasn't sure why he was being such an ass to Reynolds. Probably he just needed to be an ass to someone, and he couldn't very well do it to the archbishop.

"I was not," Reynolds said in that ever-calm manner of his. "But they are both prodigious storytellers, and I was informed of every last detail."

The mental image of Reynolds trying to keep his composure while his sisters torment him with every last childbirth detail just cracks me up.

Anyway. Fandom will make up what it wants, but I thought I'd retype way too much of the book in case anyone was interested.

#queen charlotte: a bridgerton story #reynolds x brimsley #brimsley x reynolds #brimsley #reynolds #sam clemmett #freddie dennis #queen charlotte a bridgerton story

[jimins-left-nipple]

ACFTL SPOILERS

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Things I wanted to see or at least get answers to but didn’t get:

-I wanted to see Eva and Jacks slow dance at least once ever since it was mentioned in Ballad :(

-I wanted a more drawn out scene in the one bed chapter. I felt like it was super rushed 😔 for example, it would’ve been nice to see them wake up in each others arms, feel all warm in cozy etc 🥰. On that note, I also wanted to see what exactly happened when he woke up next to Eva from Jacks pov.

-I wanted to see Eva and Lala beat the fuck outta Aurora, just like we saw Jacks kick Apollo’s ass at the end. I cheered when Lala called her a bitch lmao

-I wished Eva and Jacks first kiss was… different? I don’t know, something about it just didn’t hit the same. It feels like Ballad had more tension between the two of them than in this book.

-what about Lala and Chaos? Is that gonna be a thing? I would love for Stephanie to write a short little spin off on them. I bet the tension would be fun to read!!

-it looks like Chaos was able to stop his hunger from overpowering him when he saved Eva from Jacks but why did he slaughter house fortuna?

-what happened to Tiberius!?? Or Luc? Or Marisol? I wanna know where they all ended up

-does Eva ever write to Scarlett to let her know what went down in the North? I feel like with her nearly becoming Queen that would have been enough for Scarlett to reach out to her 🥴

-is Jacks still a fate? And if so, why? Or is the fact that he’s in love negate his powers since it turns him mortal?

-what great house did jacks belong to when Lyric was still alive? Or did he come from a peasant family? Was he an orphan too? What was his childhood like? Who taught him to be such a great archer?

-what happened to the broken heart scar on Eva’s wrist? Does she still owe him a kiss?

#evajacks #a curse for true love #a curse for true love spoilers #acftl spoilers #acftl

[tangledbea]

What are your thoughts on Eugene becoming Captain of the Guard? I personally have mixed feelings about it. I understand that they wanted to give Eugene something to do since Rapunzel is going to become Queen. But he’s going to become Prince Consort. Even if he wouldn’t be ruling, he would still get to have input, and give advice to Rapunzel. And it just seemed weird that the Captain would choose Eugene over a bunch of trained soldiers.

I too have mixed feelings about it, for the reasons you state, and because ultimately becoming a part of the guard just doesn't seem like something he'd gel with, let alone captain. It's strange to me that he gave it a shot early in S1, and they discovered he wasn't good at it, but then made him Captain in S3. Yes, he's grown and matured throughout the series, but it's not like he's gotten better at listening to authorities since then.

And yeah, I understand, it's meant to be character growth. Eugene used to not belong there, and now he's in charge. But one would think that the job of Captain would be given to someone who was vying for it, not someone who, until that time, had shown some level of disdain for it and didn't even want it. And I get it, the Corona guard is incompetent and Eugene has been besting them at every turn for the better part of a decade, but honestly, him training them not as Captain seemed to be working out okay (in as much as he kind of left for a year and we have no indication that the training continued when he got back). Besides, the end of the movie (aka the ultimate canon that everything else must be measured against when it comes to this franchise) says that it's Max who whips the Guard into shape, not Eugene.

In my headcanon, Eugene doesn't stay Captain for very long. He gets the kingdom rebuilt, establishes a new way to be a guard, which vastly increases the competence of the troops in general, but then hands over the reins (so to speak) to Max and steps down to help Rapunzel. I see him in an advisory role, based largely upon my headcanon that Rapunzel forms a council of representatives from all the villages in the kingdom. Before laws are passed or big decisions are made, she turns them over to the council to get their input, and she relies heavily on people who are from lower income brackets and overlooked corners of the citizenship. She is determined to improve Corona starting in the gutter and working up. The upper class and nobility don't need as much help as the orphans and criminals do. And Eugene is her most trusted advisor in this department. He was an orphan. He was a criminal. He's intelligent, strategic, and thoughtful. He knows what life is like for the people in that tax bracket, and he gives the best advice on how to help them out.

Thanks to Eugene's advice, free education is implemented, available to every child, and apprenticeships are given to orphans close to aging out of the system so that they have better prospects then becoming criminals or dying. Rapunzel is already an advocate for criminal reformation, but Eugene's advice helps to steer her in what types of reformation work best with what types of mindsets.

Because Rapunzel focuses on helping those who actually need help the most, the overall emotional and economical health of Corona improves, and it becomes truly prosperous, rather than a veneer of prosperity that hides the criminal underbelly. And because she asks for the advice of the council, she also lays the foundations of democracy in Corona. I don't believe it would become truly and fully democratic in her lifetime, but that's at least in part because her changes make the citizens want her to continue leading them.

#Tangled #Tangled the Series #Eugene Fitzherbert #Rapunzel #TTS #Headcanons #Answered

[raayllum]

So what's the Mirrored Trio Theory?

The Mirrored Trio theory is, for lack of a better explanation, a two pronged theory regarding the way the main trio will parallel both the generation that led to / immediately received Aaravos upon his fall (himself, Leola, and a speculative human who may or may not have been a mage / helped to found Elarion) and how they may also parallel the Orphan Queen, Jailer, and Aaravos yet again. So put your tinfoil hats on and strap in because it's going to be a speculation heavy one, lads! We're going to get deep in the weeds.

Fallen Trio

So the first trio we want to talk about is what I'm going to, for lack of a better term / meta simplicity, refer to as the Fallen Trio, consisting of Aaravos, Leola, and 'Elarion' — our stand-in for a potential human Aaravos had a close dynamic with that may be intertwined with the human city of Elarion.

First, I want to talk about Aaravos and Leola. We get our first mention of Leola in S5, specifically with Leola's Last wish being a star for both Xadians and for humans, who use it to navigate and "to find their way in the endless darkness of the night." This is fitting given that what we know of unicorns from the book one novelization — that they gave primal magic and stones to humanity out of mercy and compassion — and that Tales of Xadia singles her out further as the specific unicorn to do so, although it omits primal stones from the equation:

This is, of course, a big parallel between Leola and some details we know from Aaravos as well, who also gave gifts to humanity: the relic staff that Ibis identifies as truly belonging to Aaravos ("It was a gift from one of the Great ones" / "If you seek to return that staff to its true owner...") and, as Claudia says, dark magic:

However, there's also been indications that Leola might've been a Startouch elf (tweet from Aaron Ehasz identifying her as the Startouch child + the star on the star chart map, although it's not entirely clear), that star magic can be reality altering, that Startouch elf designs had unicorn like horns protruding from their foreheads, and that history can change and shape things differently than they necessarily were.

Either way, unicorns are one of the few creatures we know to also possess the Star arcanum and, seemingly like the Startouch elves, are all but gone from Xadia (+ the Pentarchy)'s physical plain. And that she, like Aaravos, were two Star(touch) beings who both wanted to help humanity and help them develop magic, but did so in very different ways. Whether they are literally related or the same species, I think this parallel between them means they're set up to have an almost sibling-esque bond — one that existed, and one that accordingly fell apart under the brunt of dark magic and other disagreements, as TDP is prone to do.

(Put a pin in Callum and Ezran for now, cause we're going to circle back to them shortly.)

Bare minimum, Leola and Aaravos will have to be foils if not contemporaries of each other, given the closeness of their original goals in manifestation, regardless of motivation. This is particularly true given that Aaravos preys on mages in particular and that dark magic (plus a little Star magic, maybe?) allows him to literally possess people who have done dark magic, which can be no happy accident.

Given that Leola seemed dead set on giving humans primal magic, it seems unlikely she might've been too keen on a dark magic, alternative development either, which we know came after, thanks to Ripples.

It happened long ago, when humans had only just learned to hold fire in their hands without burning. They nurtured their precious primal flames secretly—in the dark of night, beneath shadows and shrouds—as cultivating its glow drew the eyes and ire of monsters. Eventually, for the audacity of their fire, they were hunted, and—though they looked to the stars for salvation—the stars, too, looked down upon them with disdain. Humanity had been given something it was never meant to have.

So again, you have two characters with very similar goals/desires, but very different ideas of how to achieve said goals. This one of the reasons why, I think, that TDP loves to have siblings disagree, as it's an effective way of having more worldviews on display with some hope for reconciliation or the tragedy of deterioration, or both. Callum and Ezran stand alone as the one sibling pair that hasn't been terribly wrenched apart by political or ideological disagreements thus far, save for Sarai and Amaya, who were torn apart by Sarai's death.

Which brings me to my next point: if Aaravos and Leola had a sibling like bond, did he lose her to their potential ideological disagreements, or did those disagreements actually cost her life?

Whether Leola just walked away and likewise abandoned him (like Soren), became too distant in disagreement to continue having some sort of bond (like Harrow and Viren, and Janai and Karim), flat out died (like Khessa, Harrow, and Sarai), or all three, that could be one of the many cogs motivating Aaravos to keep turning the wheel of the cycle, as grief has often been the primary motivator throughout history, even amongst the 'villains'. A "song of love that loss" that Aaravos has chosen handpicked "instruments" for, after all (4x03, 4x04).

And like I said, Callum and Ezran are long over due to have a disagreement, given that they haven't had a substantial one since season one, and given that Ezran has grown to only be more assertive than he was since then, not less. This could easily be over Runaan (Callum, having already sworn himself to helping Rayla free her parents, and Ezran, understandably holding onto anger and grief concerning Harrow's death). I'm sure there are also plenty of other things they could heavily disagree over in the future, like military aid or action or how to approach trying to defeat Aaravos, etc.

The point to all of this is that I think Ezran could be a very good stand in for Leola — at least in terms of being selfless, deeply compassionate, uncomplicated, and adamant about giving people their freedom even at the cost of themselves and even if that gift can be misused or discarded (3x04) — which means Aaravos could offer a potential parallel to Callum in the sibling split. Aaravos, who turned to dark magic as an option regardless of or precisely because of the potential violence, and Callum, who argues for the Nova Blade whereas his brother still always champions a non-violent route thus far.

After all, TDP loves to have their "person A is estranged from their sibling and is determined not to lose their lover" parallel, given that it's happened four times (Harrow, Viren, Sarai; Viren, Harrow, Lissa; Claudia, Soren, Terry; Janai, Karim, Amaya) already.

Now, this could be wildly off base as we know very little about Leola and even less about her potential dynamic with Aaravos, but if we follow along with the idea that Ezran could parallel her and Callum could parallel Aaravos, I think now maybe we can talk about Elarion and Rayla.

Years ago we learned that there was a place on Xadia's map (both sides) that was named after someone who had a deep connection to him, and that many of his choices are based around this relationship. Given the Midnight Star poem, people defaulted to Elarion ("Elarion, black-eyed child / her twisted roots spread deep and far / The humans’ might sparked by the light / of Aaravos, her midnight star") although I've also considered Kalik.

And while I'm still not unconvinced that Elarion isn't just a name like Elara and Laurelion, before Aaravos changed his name, combined, I do think Elarion has to be important in Aaravos' backstory, and that it's more than likely that a founder of Elarion / a human involved with Elarion for a variety of reasons.

For starters, while we can be told that Aaravos had a soft spot for humans at one point, giving us a specific person or dynamic to think of is helpful in regards to emotional investment, and in helping to explain why he may have developed said soft spot. We also know, thanks to a birthday post years ago, that a human once gave him a gift:

He thinks that if he cared for the idea [of birthdays], he’d like to remember the taste of a smooth red fruit a human had plucked from a tree for him, once. It had been so crisp, and so sweet.

While this could've been the Orphan Queen (we do know, thanks to 1x01, that there's a tree planted in the castle courtyards 300 years ago, but we don't know it was an apple tree), an apple transfer like this one feels far more "Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden and knowledge isn't always a Good thing" type schtick. Not only does it seem to indicate a more intimate bond, it also might foreshadow the reason Aaravos Fell.

One of the most interesting, but perhaps more discreet, reasons I think there's a connection between 'Elarion' as a person and Aaravos is because of the nature motif running between what little we know of Elarion and to do with Aaravos' mirror and appearance motifs. The Midnight Star is riddled with flower and nature symbolism, referring to it as a "trembling seed" and "fading bloom," that "her roots took hold" and later became "twisted," and that before the gift of Aaravos, she was "wilting" with "bone-white branches". And Aaravos' mirror and the box that held his matching key have blooming flowers on it.

See the flowers along the bottom on the actual frame of the mirror, then sculpted along the sides, and the top? Yeah. We also know that flowers themselves, thanks to Tales of Xadia, are featured in a story told both in Katolis and amongst the Moonshadow elves in particular, featuring an elven thief who steals what you value most, leaving only flowers in their wake. This is the only story in all of Tales of Xadia that we see two cultures share, even if they interpret it wildly differently.

Flowers that were always gone by morning, and gifts that couldn't be accepted or understood ("I’ve got one more gift for you, Callum: I'm going to keep you safe. I have to. I love you too much not too [...] Taking on hard choices and going to dark places is an act of love. It’s a gift. So, please let me give you this gift, Callum. Stay safe, and stay in the light").

We also know that whoever Aaravos loved, he inevitably lost whether due to time or tragedy. While this form of grief is one the show has explored, it was previously largely only through Harrow, who mourned Sarai for 9 years upon losing her, and who avenged her by slaying Avizandum, and more briefly through Ethari believing Runaan was dead.

That was, until season four, where Callum grieving Rayla and dealing with the fallout of that grief and distance turned it into more of an accentuated plot point, both before and even after her return.

Before, losing your partner in this manner would've been something Callum had witnessed, but not experienced. Now, whether the show wants Callum to sympathize with Aaravos or not, it is an experience that they could both understand, particularly if it is going to be one of Aaravos' main motivators.

Thus, we have a disagreement set up between 'siblings' (Leola, Aaravos; Ezran, Callum) as well as lost love (Elarion, Aaravos; Rayla, Callum) as a big motivator for choices, grief, and what possibly led to the fall. That Aaravos, at least in practice / thematic lineups, being a Callum who lost his Rayla and his Ezran*, and then lost himself.

Therefore:

Aaravos — Callum

Leola — Ezran

Elarion — Rayla

[ * This is not to say that Callum would pull an Aaravos and go on a hellbent 1000+ year revenge scheme, because he's not like that, but I do think it could be a very poignant and apt parallel of giving him and Aaravos more in common than they currently have, which is about nothing but magical curiosity and connection. ]

However, 90% of this is all speculation of things that have been kept supremely under wraps. For something a little more tangible simply because we have slightly more information, let's talk about the

Imprisonment Trio

The Imprisonment Trio, as the name implies, refers to the two humans who seemed to directly (the Jailer) and potentially indirectly (the Orphan Queen) be involved in imprisoning Aaravos (the third in this trio). This time, however, I'm going to argue that Aaravos — in terms of his imprisonment — is going to parallel someone other than Callum, but we shall see.

To start, I want to look at the Jailer and the Orphan Queen, since their parallels to Callum and Ezran respectively are the most obvious.

We don't know for sure whether the Jailer came from Katolis, but we know that the Orphan Queen did, eventually taking on the throne from the previous royal family and starting Harrow and Ezran's royal line, first hinted at in 3x05 with "Only orphans can ascend to the throne". Ezran has been directly compared to her in both role and appearance by the show's framing and by characters like Rex Igneous in 4x08: "I should have seen it before. Long ago, it was a human who saw through the Fallen Star's schemes and helped Xadia put an end to them. You look so much like her." This plays well into Ezran's tendency to discover or unearth long lost things, most notably Zym's egg, just as the Orphan Queen became the Truthteller of Aaravos' treachery.

Callum, for his part, is a human mage, just like the Jailer. He's clever, very talented with magic, and despite being Aaravos' preferred prey as a mage will ultimately — like the Jailer — play a role in his defeat. He will also work with and for the archdragons and their wills, but has no problem being disobedient either, in the name of concern or mercy, much like how the Jailer kept Akiyu alive rather than tell the archdragons the truth. And like the Jailer, he understands the potential danger of knowledge: "The entire world would be in danger if she let him live with this knowledge" / "I need you to kill me."

Like the brothers, they were a (future) royal and mage working together, starting off what perhaps was a long tradition of Katolian monarchs having high mages. If, as often theorized due to having an Aaravos-y twin box (S2 novelization) and his love of puzzles, Kpp'Ar is indeed descended from the Jailer, that adds another layer onto Kpp'Ar being one of Callum's predecessors as High Mage. While Ezran has the job and the bloodline of the Orphan Queen, Callum would've more directly inherited the position of (high) mage from the Jailer's thematic and occupational line.

Granted, there are differences. Most notably, the Key of Aaravos was given to Callum, not to Ezran, although there could be potential future parallels between the brothers and the Sunfire siblings, with Karim unable to undo Kim'Dael's chains because his sister is still queen, and the brothers needing to work together to fully use the cube. I wouldn't be surprised if Ezran learns more about the cube and the Orphan Queen in S6 while Callum still has some unknowns to its true meaning, leading to some delicious dread and dramatic irony. But I digress.

The point is that the Jailer and the Orphan Queen both had their roles to play in imprisoning Aaravos, and that Callum and Ezran, respectively, will both have their roles to play in trying to keep Aaravos contained, only to inevitably somehow fail in a way that allows him to escape, if by another's hand. We do know the brothers will be going to weird ruins in a future season thanks to some out-of-context spoilers that have yet to pass, and the Ruins of Elarion would certainly fit:

Which, just like the out-of-context spoiler card, you might've noticed that I haven't mentioned Rayla and who she's going to be paralleling yet. Well, that's because this time / generational pass around, I think she's going to be the primary foil to Aaravos.

Now, this train of thought isn't new by any means. I've thought Rayla paralleled Aaravos reasonably well since S3 aired largely due to their status as ghosted/banished elves, a compassion for humans (at least implied for Aaravos) that other elves disapproved of, and their dynamics with Callum and Viren, respectively.

Both Rayla and Aaravos have to work to earn their high mage's trust ("And should we trust you? Have you told us the truth about everything?" / "And why should I trust you?") over the course of season one for Rayla and season two for Aaravos, ending in promises of allegiance and togetherness: "You've got to stay with me" / "I will stay with you" (2x09). Aaravos leads Viren to his doom in being tackled off the Pinnacle, and Callum throws himself off the Pinnacle after Rayla.

You can imagine my delighted surprise, then, when S4 simply cranked it up even further: Rayla was hunting Aaravos' mage ("I spent two years hunting"), and Aaravos was hunting Rayla's mage ("Yes, mages were his prey"). Rayla wants to protect Callum and kill Viren, and Aaravos had promised to save Viren and use Callum. Even for Callum himself, 4x04 and 4x07 seemed like clear set up for Rayla symbolizing agency in Callum breaking free from Aaravos' control someday, putting the two in literal opposition to each other. Two potential paths (although picking Rayla, at least at first, may not be mutually exclusive from picking Aaravos).

Rayla, who was also harshly punished by Xadia with no trial.

This isn't to say that Aaravos didn't do anything wrong and is being unjustly punished — far from it — or that Aaravos' imprisonment and subsequent freedom won't have parallels to anyone else like say, Callum, who will likely be imprisoned by Aaravos through possession in S6 and ultimately freed by Rayla. More so that imprisonment of different sorts has been a running theme throughout Rayla's arc, and that Callum — who is primed to be Aaravos' chain breaker, whether through possession or not — could also be hers (if not just her parents') the way he has routinely been in the past, whether it was from instigating the events that eventually led to her binding (chain) coming off or saving her from being emotionally stuck (3x08) or from doing anything for her freedom (5x01, 5x08). He's primarily been someone who is tethered to freedom when it comes to recognizing and breaking cycles (chains of history) or literal restraints, and it's only in season four and season five that he's shifted to being both tied to freedom and having himself restrained.

I've speculated in the past this may result in Callum (and Ezran) leading to Aaravos' release in order to save/free Rayla; however, the show may not want as much of a repeat from 5x08, and freeing the Moon fam from the coins also resulting in Aaravos' freedom through an escalation of events would also keep that ironic thread, so it could really go anywhere.

Two humans, one elf, and endless tragedy, repeating and breaking cycles all at the same time. Ezran, discovering important info about his ancestor and possibly the Key; Callum, following in the Jailer's footsteps and unravelling the final puzzles of the prison and figuring out how to undo it; and Rayla, ghosted, banished, vying against Aaravos for the control and agency of his latest pawn who also happens to be the love of her life.

So for the Imprisonment Trio:

The Orphan Queen — Ezran

The Jailer — Callum

Aaravos — Rayla

In Conclusion

Is any of this something? I don't know, honestly. I think it's plausible, at least partially. I think it'd be neat. We know TDP likes varying intergenerational parallels and looking at how history repeats, whether that's directly through family (blood or not) lines, or by having repeating plot points (the dragon quartet, or Rayla being immobilized) and trials (Rayllum facing Sol Regem, much like Ziard, etc). We know there was someone Aaravos loved and lost, we know he's not above using what people want against them, and the connections between Ezran and the Orphan Queen are just Text at this point, although how they may manifest further, we don't know.

This is just one particular stab at it, and an examination of three of the series' most interesting (potential) trios. We'll simply have to see if anything here hit the nail on the head.

As always, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!

—Dragons Out

#tdp #the dragon prince #tdp meta #tdp theory #predictions #mirrored trio theory #tdp aaravos #the orphan queen #leola #aaravos x elarion #parallels #analysis series #analysis #brotp: we're in this together

[dumpster-fire-deluxe]

The prompt is (thank you @asdeadasasquirrel): A conversation or a scene where Padme thinks she understands Palpatine better afterward but we know differently

Writing a character I've never written before + balancing the inner world of two characters who both have a very different perspective of the situation + incorporating dramatic irony (the reader knows something which the main character doesn't)?

The last time Padmé had been in Palpatine's apartment, it was as a refuge; when she was queen and her mentor a senator. Now, she was the senator, visiting the chancellor of the Galactic Republic.

“How have you been settling in?” Palpatine asked, reclining in his seat, two freshly brewed cups of caf on the side table between them.

“I’m almost done unpacking,” Padmé answered. “I’m waiting for a few more belongings to be shipped over, but I’ve already made myself at home.”

“That’s good to hear. I can tell you from experience that the transition from Naboo to Coruscant can be rather… jarring.”

“I do think I will miss the lakes.”

“What helped me back then, was frequenting some of the parks around here. Of course, it doesn’t compare to the sprawling nature you and I are used to, but it might help ease you into the city.”

“Thank you for the advice. I do think I’ll be taking you up on it.” She picked up her cup.

“Good.” Palpatine took a sip of his own caf. “How are you feeling now that you’ve officially taken on your new position as senator?”

“I'm excited to get to work. Though, I must admit that I'm a little nervous.”

“Understandable, yet unnecessary. There is not one person I would rather have representing our dear homeworld than you. I’m delighted to be working by your side.”

Padmé tried not to blush at the compliment. “I can only hope that I will serve our people as well as you did.”

“You have nothing to worry about. Someone as brave as you to run straight into a battle has enough strength to face a room filled with diplomats.”

“But what if they think I’m too young? I might be inexperienced compared to them.” It was a concern she hadn’t voiced to anyone else. But Palpatine had mentored her for so long. If anyone could advise her, it was him.

He didn’t speak at first and Padmé wondered if he was about to deliver an uncomfortable truth, a confirmation that she wasn’t ready after all. He’d be gentle about it, of course, but it would hurt nonetheless.

“Did I ever tell you about how I ended up in politics?”

Padmé thought about it. It was public knowledge that Palpatine was an orphan from a royal bloodline who had become a rising star in legislation following his family’s demise. It was an inspiring story, but one she didn’t know many details of. “I don’t think so, no.”

He took another sip and set his cup down. “I was seventeen years old when my whole life got turned on its head. At the time, I was at a youth legislative camp. I’m sure you’re familiar with those.”

“I am, yes.”

“My family went on a trip, but during their travel, disaster struck. Pirates. Not a single one of them was spared. When I heard the news, I was devastated.”

“I can’t imagine what that must have been like.”

“Suddenly, I was thrust into a different life." He looked off into the distance, a pained expression on his face. "I was lost and had to rebuild myself from the broken pieces that were left behind. I carried so much anger. Eventually, I learned to pour that rage into something more... productive.”

“Politics?”

He looked back at her, the same determined expression in his eyes that she'd seen many times before. “Precisely. I was still in the legislative program and I noticed that the only thing that made me feel better was to make a difference; to improve society from its very core and give everyone the life they deserve. And it’s that drive that has gotten me to where I am now."

Padmé nodded. She knew that feeling all too well; it's what made her get up every morning.

Palpatine leaned forward and put his hand on her arm. "Your age doesn't matter. What matters, is your passion for what we do here. You have a burning desire to make the galaxy a better place. I have seen it since you were very young, and it’s why I’ve always believed in you. And it’s what will make you among the best politicians the Senate has ever seen.”

Padmé smiled, comforted by his words and the warm encouragement in his eyes. “Thank you. It means a lot to me.”

He sat back. "I am here for you if you ever need anything. Senator Amidala."

The last bit of doubt faded from her mind. She was ready to serve in the Senate. "I'm looking forward to working together."

Palpatine smiled. "So am I."

#palpatine #padme amidala #darth sidious #chancellor palpatine #star wars prequels #sheev palpatine #star wars #senator amidala #fanfic

[sebeth]

Who's Who In The DC Universe #1: Aqualad, Aquagirl, & Aquaman

Aqualad & Aquagirl by George Perez

Garth belonged to a group of Atlanteans called the Idylists – a society of pacifists who lived in an underwater valley far from the city of their birth.

The Idylists were ruled by King Thar and Queen Berra. Everything was great until Thar went insane, assembled a military force, and attempted to conquer Atlantis.

The Idylists revolted, killed Thar, and banished a pregnant Berra. How was this poor Berra’s fault.

Berra gave birth to Garth, who suffered a bizarre mutation known only to Atlanteans – purple eyes. Garth was exiled from Atlantis as his purple eyes made him inferior.

Little is known of Garth’s early life until he was found by Aquaman, who became Garth’s friend and mentor.

Garth became a founding member of the Teen Titans and soon met Tula (Aquagirl) who he fell in love with.

Tula was orphaned at birth but found her way into the royal family of Atlantis. She was schooled in Atlantean ways and remained secluded in the Royal family.

Tula met Garth, fell in love, and occasionally joined Garth on a Teen Titans mission.

Atlantis was briefly ruled by Narkran while Aquaman searched for a missing Mera. Tula led a rebellion against the dictator.

I’ve always loved Garth. Quiet, shy, gentle. And his Silver Age catchphrases are hilarious. This entry is pre-Crisis so Garth hasn’t received his power-up yet but said power-up shoots Garth up into the upper levels of the Titans when it comes to sheer power. Garth remains a member of the Titans and makes recurring appearances in the various Aquaman titles. Garth has made appearances in the Teen Titans and Young Justice cartoons.

Tula didn’t have many appearances but managed to be stuffed into a fridge – twice! Tula died in the Crisis of Infinite Earths. She was among the hundreds of deaths in the first Crisis but the only after-effect of her death was Garth’s intense mourning. Tula made appearances in the Young Justice cartoon and video game where she was fridged once more to cause Garth and Khaldur serious man pain. I’m not sure if Tula has made an appearance in the post-Crisis ere (possibly in Blackest Night?) but if she does return to the comic book world we will need to set up a prayer circle to prevent a third trip to the fridge.

Aquaman by Chuck Patton & Dick Giordano

Tom Curry, professional lightkeeper, rescued a woman named Atlanna from a hurricane.

The duo fell in love and Atlanna gave birth to a boy named Arthur.

As a child, Arthur discovered he could breathe underwater and communicate with sealife.

Atlanna died when Arthur was six years old. On her deathbed, Atlanna told Arthur she was an outcast from Atlantis.

Several years later, Tom passed away and Arthur became an orphan of the deep.

In his early 20s, Arthur, now called Aquaman, met Garth aka Aqualad.

Atlantis called upon Aquaman to help them defeat an alien invasion and later named Arthur their ambassador to the surface world.

Aquaman would marry Mera, the queen of an interdimensional water world.

King Juvor died and Arthur was proclaimed King Of Atlantis.

Mera gave birth to Arthur Jr, who exhibited her ability to manipulate water.

The Shark deposed Arthur and forced the family to relocate. Aquaman defeated the Shark and was offered the Atlantean throne but he turned it down.

Black Manta killed Arthur Jr.

After his son’s death, Arthur and Mera moved to New Venice, a submerged East Coast city.

Even those with limited comic book knowledge know of Aquaman. Namor the Sub-Mariner was the first Atlantean hybrid hero as he predates Aquaman by a few years but Aquaman is more well-known among non-comic book fans.

Arthur is the first hero to have their child murdered. If the death of Gwen Stacy was the end of the Silver Age at Marvel then Arthur Jr.’s death signalled the end at DC.

Arthur would receive revisions to his origin and powers in the post-Crisis era. Arthur and Mera would have many ups and downs in the post-Crisis era but are back to being a powerhouse couple.

Aquaman has had multiple solo titles and was a founding member of the Justice League. He has featured heavily in the various eras of the League – Silver Age, Detroit, Morrison, etc. He has had two solo live action films, appeared in the Justice League live action film, and made numerous appearances in DC’s animated series: Superfriends, Justice League/Justice League Unlimited, Young Justice, Superman: The Animated Series, and the various animated Justice League movies. He also featured in an early Cartoon Network Adult Swim tv ad: Aquaman would wander into a random area, say “oh yeah”, and start dancing.

#dc comics #dcu #aqualad #aquagirl #aquaman #arthur curry #orin #garth #tula #who's who in the dc universe #atlantis

[greenmoons]

So I watched episode 4 of season 1 of the dragon prince and I noticed the cube or the 'key of Aaravos' was in a box with many keys . It wasn't seems important when I watched it back then but now with the information in season 4 I think it's might mean something.

We know the Orphan Queen had the cube we saw it in episode 4 of season 4. But when they prisoned Aaravos another human was next to her: The Jailer. We saw her in the credits of that episode and she had keys as a necklace. So we have the 'key of Aaravos' who was belonged to the Orphan Queen with a bunch of keys around it. Maybe the box was belong to the Orphan Queen and she and the Jailer kept everything that related to Aaravos in this box after they prisoned him? Maybe all of these keys are also important. I think they did foreshadowing for us of the Jailer and the Orphan Queen.

#the dragon prince #the dragon prince season 1 #the dragon prince season 4 #bloodthirsty #the orphan queen #the jailer #keys #key of aaravos #aaravos #foreshadowing

[whispers-soundtrack-project]

The Mandalorian

Fanmix Part Five

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four

Link to the Spotify Playlist is at the bottom of the post

The Razor's Edge (Digital Daggers)

Seems I forgot * Which way I was going * Echoed mistakes * Repeating again

What I've Done (Linkin Park)

Put to rest what you thought of me * While I clean this slate * With the hands of uncertainty

Nine (Sleeping At Last)

Wake up, roll up your sleeves * There' s a chain reaction in your heart * Muscle memory * Remembering who you are

How Did You Love (Shinedown)

How we forget ourselves * Lose our way from the cradle to the grave * You can't replicate or duplicate * Gotta find your own way

I Am The Fire (Halestorm)

I don't believe I'll fall from grace * Won't let the past decide my fate * Leave forgiveness in my wake * Take the love that I've embraced

Kings And Queens (Thirty Seconds To Mars)

We were the kings and queens of promise * We were the victims of ourselves * Maybe the children of a lesser god * Between heaven and hell

Wolves (Acoustic) (Aviators)

I, the messenger of loss * Have traveled at a cost * To save their legacies * I, the stranger in the wind * A man of many sins * Alone with memories.

Vagabond (Tommee Profitt, ft. FJØRA)

Endlessly lost from dusk till dawn * Orphan before you were ever young * By crawl lights lead you on and on * Breathing in worlds that you don't belong

The Fear (The Score)

I've battled hard with the face in the mirror * Every scar makes me dig down deeper * I push it 'til there's nothing more * 'Cause I'm stronger than I was before

Invincible (All Good Things)

This storm up there it knows my name * It calls from a sea of light * When the soldiers look away * And now we stand at heaven's door * But we're just mortals * Can we face another war?

#the mandalorian #mando #star wars #din djarin #mandalorian fanmix #fanmix #playlist

[richincolor]

New Releases

A bunch of new releases, many that we have been anticipating. Which are you going to add to your TBR list?

The Noh Family by Grace K. Shim

When her friends gift her a 23-and-Me test as a gag, high school senior Chloe Kang doesn't think much of trying it out. She doesn't believe anything will come of it--she's an only child, her mother is an orphan, and her father died in Seoul before she was even born, and before her mother moved to Oklahoma. It's been just Chloe and her mom her whole life. But the DNA test reveals something Chloe never expected--she's got a whole extended family from her father's side half a world away in Korea. Her father's family are owners of a famous high-end department store, and are among the richest families in Seoul. When they learn she exists, they are excited to meet her. Her mother has huge reservations, she hasn't had a great relationship with her husband's family, which is why she's kept them secret, but she can't stop Chloe from travelling to Seoul to spend two weeks getting to know the Noh family. Chloe is whisked into the lap of luxury, but something feels wrong. Chloe wants to shake it off--she's busy enjoying the delights of Seoul with new friend Miso Dan, the daughter of one of her mother's grade school friends. And as an aspiring fashion designer, she's loving the couture clothes her department store owning family gives her access to. But soon Chloe will discover the reason why her mother never told her about her dad's family, and why the Nohs wanted her in Seoul in the first place. Could joining the Noh family be worse than having no family at all?

An Unreliable Magic (A Hundred Names for Magic #2) by Rin Chupeco

The second book in the A Hundred Names for Magic trilogy, an unforgettable alternative history fairy-tale series from the author of The Bone Witch about found family, modern day magic, and finding the place you belong. Tala, Alex, and the rest of their friends are safe for now, but know the Snow Queen is still out there. They have to be prepared for when she eventually attacks—and all decide to do so in their own way. When Ryker comes out of the woodwork, showing himself when he starts attacking American detention facilities and freeing refugees. And the Nameless Sword, a legendary weapon that according to Avalon legend, will make its wielder the most powerful warrior of their time turns up with her name on it, Tala's life gets messier...But when the Snow Queen arrives with an unlikely ally, the group will have to work together.

Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado

Mysterious disappearances. An urban legend rumored to be responsible. And one group of teens determined to save their city at any cost. For over a year, the Bronx has been plagued by sudden disappearances that no one can explain. Sixteen-year-old Raquel does her best to ignore it. After all, the police only look for the white kids. But when her crush Charlize's cousin goes missing, Raquel starts to pay attention—especially when her own mom comes down with a mysterious illness that seems linked to the disappearances. Raquel and Charlize team up to investigate, but they soon discover that everything is tied to a terrifying urban legend called the Echo Game. The game is rumored to trap people in a sinister world underneath the city, and the rules are based on a particularly dark chapter in New York's past. And if the friends want to save their home and everyone they love, they will have to play the game and destroy the evil at its heart—or die trying.

Ballad & Dagger (Outlaw Saints #1) by Daniel José Older 

Almost sixteen years ago, Mateo Matisse's island homeland disappeared into the sea. Weary and hopeless, the survivors of San Madrigal's sinking escaped to New York.

While the rest of his tight-knit Brooklyn diaspora community dreams of someday finding a way back home, Mateo--now a high school junior and piano prodigy living with his two aunts (one who's alive, the other not so much)--is focused on one thing: getting the attention of locally-grown musical legend Gerval. Mateo finally gets his chance on the night of the Grand Fete, an annual party celebrating the blended culture of pirates, Cuban Santeros, and Sephardic Jews that created San Madrigal all those centuries ago.

But the evil that sank their island has finally caught up with them, and on the night of the celebration, Mateo's life is forever changed when he witnesses a brutal murder by a person he thought he knew.

Suddenly Mateo is thrust into an ancient battle that spans years and oceans. Deadly secrets are unraveled and Mateo awakens a power within himself--a power that not only links him to the killer but could also hold the key to unlocking the dark mystery behind his lost homeland. 

Rebel Skies (Rebel Skies #1) by Ann Sei Lin 

Teen fantasy adventure set in a world of flying ships and sky cities, where chosen ones have the ability to bring paper to life and work as Crafters - people who hunt wild paper spirits called shikigami. Inspired by Asian culture and exploring themes of empire, slavery and freedom.

Kurara has never known any other life than being a servant on board the Midori, but when her party trick of making paper come to life turns out to be a power treasured across the empire, she joins a skyship and its motley crew to become a Crafter. Taught by the gruff but wise Himura, Kurara learns to hunt shikigami - wild paper spirits who are sought after by the Princess.

But are these creatures just powerful slaves for the Crafters and the empire, or are they beings with their own souls - and yet another thing to be subjugated by the powerful Emperor and his Princess?

#weneeddiversebooks #newreleases

[dfroza]

some Trees are used to make things

shared Today by B&G Guitars in Tel Aviv

One day, everything on earth will return to real things. things that are honest, True. valued, sacred. of integrity. genuine.

Authentic in nature.

we have a King who is absolutely pure in Heart who will bring about an end to the rule of man in A grand end of time. the eternal Son as the form of a Man reveals (perfectly mirrors) God our heavenly Father to us who cannot be seen (God is pure Light even brighter than the sun) who we know (and worship) in Spirit and in truth. and we cannot see nor hear the Spirit (who is heavenly Ghost) but we can see Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ) who is our Creator and the Wisdom and Word of the eternal God.

And so, we are not as lost or orphaned children for those who belong to Light. surely, we are here for the time being in a cursed world, as strangers. we carry hope (inside, Anew) of seeing things reborn.

(the Spirit is searching garden earth for the reborn heart of a pure Bride and Queen as A new Eve)

A Church Body

in a world that adulterates so many things, we have to hold on to the “genesis” design.