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chaotic-super · 6 months

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For Her Sake - Chapter 18

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“Hello, hello.” Lena greets the small group at her door and waves them inside. Winn, Alex, Kara and Lori all pile into her apartment and are ushered into the living room where Sam and Ruby are already waiting in front of a stack of board games, the pair lounging back into the oversized couch.

Kara moves in first, pulling Sam up and into a hug as though she hasn’t just spent several days with her. “Hey, you.”

“Ugh, so clingy.” Sam teases but hugs her back. “Kara, this is my daughter Ruby.” She gestures to the teenager on the couch, now waving up at her but her eyes darting down to her phone every couple of seconds.

Kara smiles at her. “Hey, Ruby. I’m Kara.” Then she opens her arms towards Lori, who is hiding behind Lena’s legs and looking at the strangers with apprehension. Seeing her mom waiting for her, Lori darts into her arms and wraps her hands around the back of Kara’s neck as she’s picked up. “This is Lori.”

Kara turns her body, and subsequently, Lori’s towards the pair of them but Lori isn’t a big fan of that and tucks her head into her mom’s neck to hide from them.

“It’s ok, baby. They’re friends.” Kara soothes, a hand running up and down her back. Lori isn’t swayed though and keeps herself buried in the safety of her mother’s arms.

Lena takes a couple of steps closer to the pair and sets a gentle hand on the back of Lori’s shoulder. She flinches at the unexpected touch and her eyes fly up to see who is touching her but she relaxes again when she sees that it’s just Lena and reaches her arms out for her.

There’s an easy transition between Kara holding Lori and Lena holding her but either way, as soon as Lori is in her arms, her little head is tucked into the crook of Lena’s neck. “You’re ok. You don’t have to speak to them, let’s just sit down and get started on some games, huh?”

The feeling of Lori’s head nodding against her tickles and Lena smiles, taking up a seat on the couch on the opposite end to Sam and Ruby so Lori can get used to them in her own time. Lori sits on her lap sideways, her head still pressed tightly against her except on her chest this time.

Kara goes to sit down beside her but hesitates and instead pulls her jacket off and puts it beside her, saving her seat. “I’m going to grab some drinks, want one?”

Lena nods. “I have one on the counter, I forgot to bring it over, if you could grab that for me, that would be great. Oh, and there’s some chocolate milk in the refrigerator, I thought a certain someone might like a glass.”

Lori’s head shoots completely up at that point and she smiles. Lena can’t help but find it absolutely adorable when she sees a little gap where one of her teeth has fallen out. “I want chocolate milk!”

“You do? Are you sure?” Lena teases.

“Yes!” She turns her head to Kara. “Please, Mommy, can I?”

Kara shakes her head at the pair. “I suppose one glass won’t hurt, will it?”

Lori’s head shakes back and forth rapidly. “No, it won’t hurt.” She repeats.

With that adorable exchange underway, Kara heads to the kitchen where Alex and Winn are pouring their own drinks. “Hey, get in there and socialize, you antisocial freaks.” Kara pushes them out of her way.

“Now that’s just rude.” Winn pouts, already heading to the living room. Alex doesn’t leave so easily though.

Kara tries to open the refrigerator but can’t because Alex pushes her hand against it, keeping it closed. If she really wants to, Kara can probably force it open but Lena’s fridge probably costs more than everything she owns so she’s not going to try it in case she breaks it, it’s just not worth the risk. “Can I help you?”

“I’m not sure, can you?”

Kara frowns, “What does that even mean?”

Alex shrugs, “I don’t know but you’re hiding something and you need to spill the beans before I beat them out of you.”

“Why are you acting like you’re a dealer I owe money to?”

“I’m asking the questions here,” Alex points a finger in Kara’s face. “You’re acting weird and you’re going to tell me why. Got it?”

Kara tilts her head up to the ceiling, her hands finding her hips and a sigh burst forth from her lips. “I’m not acting weird, I’m just a little nervous for you guys to meet my new boss. Is that a good enough excuse for you?”

Alex’s eyes narrow. “So you admit that it’s an excuse?”

“Shove off and go mingle. I’m trying to get drinks before we all die of dehydration because you want to interrogate me.”

“I’m not letting this go,” Alex informs her, completely serious. “I know you and I can see that something is off with you, it’s written all over your face.”

Kara lowers her voice, her teeth gritting as she speaks. “I’ll talk to you at home. We’re not doing this here now go in there, you’re embarrassing me in front of my boss.”

Alex doesn’t look satisfied with the answer but her eyes dart to the couch where the others are trying and failing to sneakily look at them and she realizes that she is drawing attention to them. “Fine but we are going to talk about this.”

“Whatever, just go already.” Kara pushes her and Alex actually goes this time, plastering a smile on her face as she goes and turns on the Danvers charm that has never failed her before.

With the sister-shaped blockade out of the way, Kara can finally get the chocolate milk Lori is impatiently waiting for, her bright blue eyes watching her mom over Lena’s shoulder to see if she’s almost done.

As her hand grips the handle to open the fridge, Kara’s eyes fall on the litany of pictures hanging on the fridge, all with boring silver magnets that decidedly clash with the messy drawings of a four-year-old. It’s cute and Kara wasn’t fully expecting Lena to have been telling the truth about having them on display here before but she can see now that she was in fact telling the truth.

She gives herself a moment to take it in. It gives her a strange feeling, the knowledge that Lena loves her daughter enough to have her pictures up on display in her apartment, a place that is sleek and fancy. It doesn’t fit but Lena doesn’t care because she made a promise to Lori and so she’s keeping it. That’s someone she needs in her daughter’s life and she can’t believe how this person came into her life.

Had the plan worked, Lena’s life could have been ruined because who is she kidding, even she’s not naïve enough to truly believe that Lena wouldn’t have been hurt by that. She tried to convince herself before that there would be no real victims to what was planned but she can’t keep lying to herself, she knows that it wouldn’t have been anywhere close to an innocent, victimless plot. It would have at the very least traumatized her and yet here she is calming her daughter down and buying her chocolate milk.

With a shake of her head, Kara pushes those thoughts aside. Lena has forgiven her. She might not have forgiven herself, but Lena’s forgiveness makes her hate herself a little less.

Kara hurries up and gets the drinks done because by now, Lori is squirming in Lena’s lap because she’s so impatient and Lena’s soothing hand running up and down her spine isn’t doing anything to soothe her anymore.

Lena smiles at Kara when she hands her the drink she left on the counter earlier and Lori grabs the chocolate milk from her, her eyes brighter than usual from the excitement of finally having it.

“Thank you, Kara,” Lena says and shuffles over a little when Kara lifts her jacket and sits beside her so she has a little more space.

Kara smiles back at her and takes a sip from her glass.

Alex snorts at her from the other side of her. “Are you drinking chocolate milk, Kara?”

“Yeah,” Kara answers back, not ashamed. “Why?”

“You’re such a weirdo.”

“And it’s taken you until now to notice?” Kara’s eyebrows scrunch. A cluster of chuckles from everyone else in the room fills the air and Sam is looking at them strangely, her hand covering her mouth to hide her smile. “What are you laughing at, Samantha?”

Sam holds up a hand. “Ok so first off, call me that again and I’ll fire you and secondly, you’re the world’s biggest dork.”

A sarcastic grin covers her face. “Oh really? Do I get a T-shirt for that?”

Lena cuts in before Sam can talk. “Ok, ok, let’s not continue this and get onto the games before you people give me an aneurism.”

The games are getting competitive and it’s getting frighteningly aggressive as everyone yells at each other. It turns out that while Monopoly is fun, it becomes less fun when a bunch of people are passionate about winning and argue about who owes who which properties.

Lori is playing in a team with Alex because she’s a little devil whose competitive side rivals her aunts so they make a good team. She’s warmed up to Sam and Ruby enough that she’s not hiding from them now and is willing to exchange a few words with them but she’s keeping her distance from them.

It’s really showing Lena that Kara wasn’t telling her a lie when she told her that Lori is shy and it was a shock she warmed up to her so quickly but she managed it much easier than Sam is and a part of her wants to rub that in her face because it’s always felt like Sam has herself together much more than she does so this is something she finally has over on her but at the risk of sounding petty in front of everyone, she keeps her mouth shut. She’s totally going to say something tomorrow when Sam will definitely call her to gossip about the night though, she can’t hold it in forever.

Kara went out of the game early on, not really trying all that hard because she was too busy overseeing Alex to ensure she was being nice to Sam and doesn’t ruin her reputation with her boss. She’s actually having the opposite problem now though because Alex is being on her best behaviour and that can only mean one thing; Alex is flirting with her boss. She supposes this is payback for having a crush on Alex’s boss.

Lena goes bankrupt and huffs, moving from where she was kneeling beside the coffee table to sit back down on the couch beside Kara. “This game sucks.”

“I second that.” Kara huffs with her. “I swear I used to actually be good at it at some point in my life.”

“Well, I can’t say the same. I never really played board games growing up. They had a few at boarding school but playing them was a very quick way to becoming known as a nerd so I only ever made the mistake of trying them out once and never did it again.”

Kara is slouched down on the couch and is sat at quite the unattractive angle but she doesn’t even process it, just leans her head back against the cushion of the couch and tilts her head towards Lena. “But you are a nerd.”

“Rude,” Lena says, no bite to the word. “I might have been a nerd but school definitely wasn’t my main focus when I was at boarding school.”

“Then what was?”

“It was an all-girls school and I was a queer teenager trying to find myself, I’m sure you can figure out how I found myself there.”

Kara’s eyebrows furrow in confusion, her eyes searching Lena’s face for answers for a moment until the penny finally drops. “Oh.”

“Yep.”

“Well, that’s understandable. School is pretty much when everyone does their experimenting. Mine was college.”

Lena’s eyebrow raises. “Do tell.”

A blush covers Kara’s cheeks. She wasn’t planning on mentioning that, it’s not something she ever talks about and even Alex doesn’t know a lot about her time in college, mostly because it’s weird talking to her sister about that stuff but also because it’s something that deeply personal to her at the time and it was a time when she was trying to define herself without any outside influences.

“It’s probably not as interesting as yours, I wasn’t at an all-girls college or anything. My roommate liked to bring around groups of her friends and they would get drunk in our dorm so from time to time I’d end up joining in since they were making so much noise I couldn’t study. Drunk me has less trouble flirting with pretty girls than sober me. Sober me just ends up tripping over her words and making a fool of myself.”

“I suppose it helped that you were already in your dorm, the bed was close.” Lena nudges her shoulder with her own. “I used to have to sneak down behind the bicycle sheds because my dormmate was a snitch and I didn’t want my parents to find out.”

“If it makes you feel better, my roommate ended up yelling at me on three separate occasions for sleeping with her friends and they stopped coming around to the dorm because she refused to risk me being around them anymore.”

Lena openly laughs at her then, her lips curled up into the sweetest of smiles. “Your roommate thought you were enough of a stud that you were going to make your way through all of her friends.”

“I only slept with two of them and they were a group of like…seven, or something. I slept with one twice. I tried asking her out after the second time but that was sober me so I think my stuttering put her off. It kind of knocked my confidence so I just went with the easier option. Men.”

“Ew.”

“Tell me about it. I got the best thing from sticking to guys for a while though. Besides, while I figured out my bisexuality, I never truly embraced the lady-loving side of myself, I accepted it was there but I pushed it aside and figured I’d just never be with a woman again after that.”

A hand falls onto Kara’s arm, Lena’s thumb running across her skin soothingly. “How come?”

Kara sucks in a deep breath to buy her time to think. “I guess…I think I just always struggled to fit in to the point where I thought that acknowledging myself in that way would undo all of the work I’d put in to be what I deemed to be an acceptable human being. I didn’t want to stand out in a heteronormative society.”

“Now that sucks,” Lena responds simply.

“Yes, it does.”

Lena looks down at her hand, still on Kara’s arm, and keeps up the motion with her thumb since Kara isn’t pushing her off. “Do you still feel like that?”

“Like I have to be with a man to fit into a society that is going to shit on me no matter what I do anyway?”

“Hm.” Lena hums her assent.

“No, not anymore,” Kara admits and then regrets it when her answer garners a tiny smile from Lena. God, she’s leading her on and she still needs to find a way to talk to her alone and address the relationship they’ve been sliding into because she needs to hit the brakes. She can’t do this now. “I’m going to grab another drink.”

The couch beside Lena is empty before she can process what just happened, one second they are having a moment and talking honestly with each other and then the next Kara is retreating. The joy she feels about Kara admitting being open to dating a woman is quickly overtaken by worry as Kara runs away. Maybe she’s not as ok with it as she says, or maybe she’s just overwhelmed with the topic and should drop it.

Lena follows her.

She’s not going to push her but she is going to check on her so she makes her way to the kitchen, stopping to throw a look over her shoulder to make sure that the others are all still occupied, which they are and they are arguing now so they are definitely not paying attention to the pair of them.

Lena comes up behind Kara and rests a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, are you ok?”

“I’m fine,” Kara answers quickly and with absolutely no chill.

“And that’s a very obvious lie. Kara, what’s wrong?” Lena implores her to open up.

Kara shakes her head. “Can we…not here, Lena. Can we speak somewhere else?” Her words come out in a rush and a little scrambled but the message still comes across loud and clear.

“I don’t think any of them will notice if we slip away for a few minutes.” Lena offers. “Come on, we can go and talk in my bedroom.”

Kara casts a nervous glance at the group and determines that Lena’s right. They are all too focused on the game to pay them any mind. She’s still not sure as though now is a good time to talk. If this goes wrong then Lena is going to be stuck in her apartment with a bunch of people she has to host while trying not to show her true feelings, whatever they may be. “I don’t know, Lena.”

“It’s ok if you need more time to think, I’m sure they’ll get distracted again in a little while anyway,” Lena reassures her, backing off so she’s not applying as much pressure on Kara.

Kara is very rapidly filled with guilt. Lena’s still being nice to her and she’s about to reject her before anything has even happened. She can’t put it off, Lena’s just going to keep looking at her with worry-filled eyes until they speak. “No, no, it’s fine. Let’s go.”

“Are you certain?”

Kara nods, swallowing harshly and then follows Lena down the hall to her bedroom. Her hands twist together nervously while Lena shuts the door behind them softly. Her eyes trace around the room and a part of her is a little shocked at how ordinary it is. If she didn’t know better she would just assume this is the room of any random person on the street, not a billionaire. While she knows the furniture must be expensive, it’s designed simply and none of it is bold. Even her bedsheets are just a gentle teal colour, plain and simple.

Lena clears her throat to get her attention. “You can sit if you’d like.”

Kara’s head jerks into another nod and she perches on the very edge of the bed. Lena takes a seat beside her, leaning back more firmly than Kara. “I’m not sure where to start. Let me just think for a moment please.”

“Take all the time you need.”

Her fingers tap on her knees while she constructs her opening sentence in her head and the movement does nothing to ease Lena’s growing nerves. “I was talking to Sam the other day and she told me that there’s a good chance you might have feelings for me that are more than platonic.”

Lena physically rears back. What just came out of Kara’s mouth was the very last thing she was expecting to hear and she is utterly unprepared to deal with it. “She told you that?”

“Yes. She basically told me that I need to stop being stupid and admit that I have a crush on you because you feel the same way.” Kara’s fingers are tapping so fast against her knee that Lena thinks she might drill her way right through it if she carries on but that’s not her main focus, not when she just heard something she doesn’t want to unhear.

“Was she right?”

“About me having a crush on you?” Kara’s voice is shaky.

“Yeah, do you?” Lena asks. She’s completely on edge waiting for the answer and doesn’t know what to do with herself so she crosses her arms over her chest.

Kara drops her head down for a second before lifting it again. “She wasn’t wrong.”

Lena’s lips part into a shy smile. “So we both like each other?”

“We do,” Kara confirms before administering a nasty blow to Lena. “But nothing can come of it.”

Lena’s smile drops off her face and her eyes start filling up with tears. It’s one thing to get rejected by someone that isn’t interested in you, it’s another to get rejected by someone that is. “Oh.”

“I wish we could. I would really like that but we can’t.” Kara’s words are choked and as Lena looks at her through her own tears, she can see Kara struggling too. “I have Lori to think about. I can’t mess up her life any more than it already is. We’re just getting back on track and you’ve become a stable figure in her life. I can’t risk that in any way. I’d rather have you as a friend than as nothing at all, Lena. I can’t risk you leaving because something went wrong between us.

“You’ve done so much to help us and I’m so incredibly grateful for everything you’ve done but that’s not why I need you to stay. I need you to stay in our lives because you’re really kind and funny and thoughtful and everything I’ve needed. I really do like you, Lena. I just can’t lose you when I’ve only just got you into my life.”

Lena’s whole face scrunches, her confusion levels skyrocketing. “So, you’re telling me that we can’t be together because you like me too much?”

Kara shrugs in response.

“Kara, for a woman as smart as you are, you’re acting kind of dumb and I don’t think there’s a nicer way for me to tell you than that.”

Lena almost laughs as Kara’s head flies up and her eyes narrow at her in offence. “What did you just say?”

“I said you’re acting dumb. I get that you want stability for Lori, especially after everything you guys have been through but that doesn’t mean you have to stop living to give her that. Change doesn’t equal stability, it’s just different.”

“But if that change means you’re not around anymore, that would devastate her,” Kara argues weakly.

Lena shrugs. “Well, that’s a pointless line of thinking because there’s nothing that’s going to stop me from being around.”

“Even if we try being more than friends and it doesn’t work out? Would you really be comfortable being around me because I’m pretty sure no sane person would stick around?” Kara makes her points as directly as she can manage, her voice strained the entire time. “She talks about you every day. She’s always asking me when we’re going to see you next and asking me to invite you over to watch movies with her. If I were to tell her that she won’t be seeing you again, it would break her heart. If I let anything happen between us, I’d be putting her heart on the line just as much as mine.”

Lena’s shoulders sag. She hadn’t thought of it that way. The risk involved in dating someone with a child is much greater than if she were dating someone childless. Even if she has no intention of leaving their lives if it doesn’t work out, that doesn’t mean that Kara will be comfortable with having her around and even in the best-case scenario of that, she would have to slowly phase herself out of Lori’s life. “I see where you’re coming from.”

“I’m sorry,” Kara says into the quiet of the room, the words heavy and dripping with sadness.

“Kara, you don’t have to apologize for looking out for your daughter. I understand your reasoning even if I don’t agree with it.”

Kara’s glossy blue eyes meet hers. “Why don’t you agree with it? You said you understand.”

“I understand why you’re so worried. I would be too but you’re only thinking in worst-case scenarios. In reality, we’re both level-headed women who care about each other and that little girl out there. Neither of us is about to do anything to hurt anyone on purpose. Besides that though, even if we tried and failed at a relationship, I wouldn’t want to end our friendship, it means more to me than I can say.”

Kara’s lips twist to one side, her brain working at a mile a minute. “Do you really think that we could stay friends after that?”

“I do but if I’m being honest, I’m hoping that it wouldn’t go wrong anyway. We might have had a rocky start but since then all we’ve done is build a relationship up on honesty and kindness. Switching our relationship status from platonic to romantic won’t change that core foundation. That’s why I said I don’t understand.” Lena explains, getting brave enough to reach out and trace her fingers across the back of Kara’s hand, prompting her to flip it over.

Kara feels Lena’s fingers slip between her own. “If we were to try, would you be ok with taking things slow?”

“More than.”

Kara’s gaze is deep as she searches Lena’s eyes for any hint of discomfort or hesitation. “And you’d be ok keeping it quiet for a while so Lori doesn’t find out? I don’t want her to get her hopes up just for us to go on a couple of dates and realize that there’s no spark.”

“She’s your daughter and I fully respect any decisions you make over her as her parent. If you want me to keep my mouth shut, I can do that.” Lena’s grip on Kara’s hand tightens in excitement because Kara is actually starting to agree with her, she can see it.

Kara breathes deeply. “Ok.”

“Ok?”

“Ok,” Kara confirms. “If you want to do this, let’s do it.”

“You make it sound so romantic.” Lena teases, a grin blossoming across her face.

Kara reacts beautifully with a bright blush and a breathy laugh. “Sorry. What I mean to ask was if you would please do me the honours of going on a date with me sometime?”

“I would love that.”

“Great,” Kara mumbles happily.

“Excellent.”

“Magnificent.”

“Cheesy.” Lena taps a finger to Kara’s nose. “Now that we’ve got that out of the way though, there’s one more thing I want to do before we go back out there and have to deal with the others.”

Kara’s eyebrows scrunch in mock confusion, her eyes shining brightly. “There is?”

“Yeah, something like this,” Lena leans towards Kara, meeting her halfway and letting their lips meet for the first time.

They both lean into it, their hands still entwined throughout. It takes a second for them to find their rhythm because Lena’s going in soft and delicate so she doesn’t scare Kara off and Kara is throwing caution to the wind and finally letting herself give in and have what she’s been talking herself out of since her crush on Lena grew noticeable.

They settle into a pace that is somewhere in between and breathe push against each other, both fighting to control the kiss. Lena puts up a good fight until she comes to the conclusion that it doesn’t matter who wins this one, she’s going to get the chance to kiss her again anyway. She lets Kara take over and instead focuses on just enjoying the moment.

There’s a gentle tap at the door that breaks them apart from each other just in time for the door to swing open.

“Hey, sorry to interrupt but there’s a little girl out there searching for her mommy.” Sam points a thumb over her shoulder but a smirk is seated firmly on her face. “I see you two have been having a productive time in here.”

Kara stands up, pulling Lena up with her because of their joined hands. “What makes you think that? We were just talking.”

“Oh honey, there’s lipstick all over your face. You should clean up and then come check on your daughter, she’s getting nervous with you gone.”

Kara’s hand flies up to her face as she looks at Lena’s which is covered in smeared lipstick. If her face is anywhere near as bad as Lena’s then she looks a mess too. “Can you tell her I’ll be out in a minute?”

“As long as I get all of the juicy details of this interaction later on.” Sam barters. “I’m looking forward to hearing about how you changed your mind about taking a bite of that hot ass.”

“Can you not?”

Sam shakes her head. “That would be no fun, now go clean up, Lori’s waiting.” She leaves the room looking smug and chuckling to herself evilly.

Kara and Lena share a look before Lena speaks. “You told her you didn’t want to date me.”

“Yeah but to be fair, she’s really good at extracting information.”

“That’s true.” Lena’s head flicks to one side as she gives Kara that one. Sam has always had the power to get her hands on the latest goings-on without putting in much effort. “We need to go and clean ourselves up.”

“Yeah, Lori will be nervous if we’re gone much longer, let’s go.” Kara goes to pull her towards the door so they can go to the bathroom down the hall but Lena pulls her back.

“Kara, did you not notice the bathroom that’s been six feet from you this whole time?” Lena points to the door behind her.

Kara’s mouth drops open. “Apparently not.”

“Come on, nerd. We’ve got a little girl waiting in the other room.”

“Ok.” Kara lets Lena drag her into the ensuite and does her best to hurry so she doesn’t keep Lori waiting but there are definitely a couple of setbacks in her lipstick-cleaning process.

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#supergirl #supercorp #lena luthor #kara danvers #kara x lena #fanfic #cw supergirl #supercorp endgame #supercorp fanfic #supergirl fanfiction #supergirl fanfic #supercorp fanfiction #kara zor el #human kara danvers #single parent au #chaoticsuper

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kryptidkhaos · 2 years

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4 Disabled Queers Need Groceries

i hate this i hate this i hate this i hate this i hate this

it's been a hot minute since i had to make one of these posts, so i'm really hoping that means it's just That Time Of Year when everyone is struggling and that things will even back out soon.

my household is a week out from payday and there's nothing in our cabinets/fridge except a loaf of bread, a 1/4 of a gallon of milk, a small bag of rice, and some cheese slices. when that paycheck drops, almost every cent of it is going to need to go towards our rent (which is about to be increased by another $80) and our phone bill (and all four of us are absolutely REQUIRED to have our phones for work). i've been scraping the back of the cabinets to throw together poverty meals for the last four days and i'm out of options.

i've also been off my HRT for almost a month because my local clinic fucked me over again. i have a telehealth appointment scheduled with planned parenthood on the 29th, where i'm hoping i'll finally be able to have my RX filled consistently, but right now I'm not sure how i'm going to pay for that appointment.

i know we're going into december and everyone is stressed out and broke around the holidays, but it would mean the world to me if folks could help us out a little. my links are listed below. if you don't have anything to spare, i completely understand, but i would massively appreciate it if you would reblog this post to get it in front of more eyes.

[email protected]/chaosqueer

v3nmo: @chaosqueer

c@shapp: @chaosqueer

#help with bills #groceries #assistance #donations #signal boost #grocery bills #grocery help #orignal post

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sofoulandfairaday · 9 months

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heyyy i’m new to bellamort and i think they’ve become my otp already thanks to you,

what are your favourite recs? mostly sweet, however much they can be and some spicy ones.

thank you!!!

Anon, this comment made me GIGGLE like an idiot, huge grin on my face - thank you thank you thank you so much. This is the best compliment I’ve ever gotten! It literally means the world.

With that being said - and this goes for the other people in my inbox asking for recs - I’m not the best person to ask. Firstly, I don’t read that much fanfic (hi, med student running on virtually no sleep here) and I’m always behind on reviews (fanfiction is meant to be enjoyed from my laptop with a cup of tea and no one in the house so i can weep/shriek/pace etc). Secondly, I suck at keeping track of what I read.

Thirdly, your ask in particular is virtually impossible because I live for the grief. I lap up angst like a kitten does milk.

Sweetness… meh. (Except of course when I cry and moan about the fact that I need to stop reading for the day because a fanfic literally made my heart ache. I'm telling you, I suffer more for these two than I do my irl friends and that says something about me.)

Anyway, this is what I’ll do. I’ll link some of my favourite authors (in English, if you want Italian recs just ask and I will deliver) and I’ll leave you to browse their pages and see what speaks to you. These are just off the top of my head, and on Tumblr and around Ao3 (if you know how to filter), you'll find other great ones!

(If I forget someone, or if anyone who reads *is* a Bellamort author, feel free to tag them/yourself in this post, or in a reblog.)

@star-named-riddle - Nefaria_Black @saintsenara - Asenora @deslea - deslea (where are you, girl, I need you) Abigail Belle (ex Gamma Orionis) (see above) meanwhiletimely (see above) Also, there's this masterpiece by @metalomagnetic featuring Rodolphus which GHHHHHHHH. Is all I'll say. Screaming, crying, hollering, etc etc etc. (There's also this masterpiece by the same author but even looking it up to link it made me shake and I won't speak of it until I have processed my grief because I have people to see later in the day and I cannot be dazed or aching or in tears or shellshocked by the rawness of the writing etc etc etc)

And finally, the most recommended (and popular, I think) Bellamort fanfiction ever, which I admit I've never read in full (I know, I know, believe me when I say I have no time/mental fortitude) which is of course Surrogate.

They are all absolutely brilliant for reasons I wish I could get into right now (they deserve proper recs, this hasty reply does not do them justice). They all present different but equally fascinating versions of my characters.

Unfortunately, none of them are really saccharine/fluffy. There is softness but it's always bittersweet in most of them. WHICH IS HOW I LIKE IT MUAHAHHAA- coff coff.

Happy reading! :)

#asks #answered #bellatrix lestrange #lord voldemort #bellamort #bellatrix black #tom riddle #hp fanfic #hp fanfic recs

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mintytealfox · 6 months

Note

I got a small NortAlice blurb.

Alice takes her gloves off for Norton so when she takes his hand he's surprised at how soft hers is. Norton's rough and calloused hands are oddly comforting to Alice.

Ooooooohhh my gooodness I LOVE HANDS! lol that likely sounds so weird but there is so much to them! The symbolism and what they can DO and AAAAAAAAAAHH!

Hands can harm but also heal! They can be hard but also soft! Firm and hold others up, but also gentle and help lay down and rest AH They can create but also destroy! Hands have built so MUCH and they can really show how a person is 👀

Alice's hands can be seen burying a dead bird in the rain, showing how compassionate and deep feeling she is and her strong moral compass. Her hands can also be seen straightening a pen just right to show her particularness and organization. This organization carrying through with how she packed, how she was carefully holding things and carrying everything and placing it all down with care and respect 👀 This showing that, already said organization, but how she respects her work and even has a reverence for it and the stories tied to it all. And her handwriting being shown! small fine lettering slightly slanting to the right 👏👏 slanting to the right apparently meaning: You are open to new experiences and enjoy meeting new people small lettering tending to mean: linked to people who prefer staying out of the spotlight AHH I JUST LOVE

NOW for Norton 👀I don't have as much to study but what I have seen is fascinating! His movements with his hands tend to be fast, deliberate, and stabilizing! He constantly stabilizes himself with his hands, slamming (fast) a hand to his knee (exactly where he needs it) to help himself get up and when he is having a coughing fit AND when he is having a mental/moral crisis 🤌🤌 He uses all three when dealing with Alice in the basement, trying to get her to drink the bad grape juice. He moves fast, grabs her face with precision (exactly where he needs to) and firmly keeps her in the right position and holds her there (stabilizing her), then gently lets go, just letting his hand fall away. There was no extra movement, just doing exactly and only what needs to be done, No pushing her around or anything, just hold her still then release and back away. 😭 You can see those three again even in the short moment when he is tapping the packet that had the stuff for the explosives. He is tapping it fast, deliberate, staying surgically still with the hand that is holding the packet and he doesn't do any extra tappies, just the perfect amount of tappies. Then againnnnn lol with him eating that damn bread lol That hand his yanking in fine and sharp movements (fast), just right for what he needs with no extra unnecessary movement (deliberate), and that bread ain't leaving him with that grip lol so definitely stabilized He also tends seems to have proper control of his strength! from gentle tappies to gripping like crazy to slam that pickaxe down! and gripping the frig out of that glass of milk LOL Now we don't see any of his writing, I don't think (cause he could be crossing out Benny's stuff), but boi do we see him crossing stuff out lol. He seems to bare down HARD in the crossing out animations with that fountain pen and the ink just pooling lol but when you see everything crossed out you see that FAST movement and a hint of frustration with the extra lines, especially on the left page. He seems to show his emotions in his actual writing 👀 (also, The one that interests me the most is the single line that just goes diagonal over NoraBona. The others are practically scratched from existence except for that one

but that is for a different post lol)

WOW that was an entire tangent lol WHOOPS

------------ NOW as for the two coming together 🥹and their actual HANDS!

Alice's must be so well kept, pristine even! With how she handles everything with care and keeps everything NICE Norton's hands welllllllll they likely a mess lol I mean look at that book, its been through the trenches fr fr Part of it could be from Benny buuuuut by gosh there are even liquid stains, bends, rips, dirt. That book barely holding on. I can't rightly blame all that on Benny LOL (and when Norton first picks up the book, I am assuming its the first time, but its not nearly as DIRTY/GRIMY LOL)

So I 10000000000000000000000000000000% agree that Alice's hands are soft and Norton's hands are rough!

Alice's unfamiliar softness and care in her touch would likely send shivers down his spine, the good kind LOL Like her placing a hand on his shoulder and it just so happens to be where a scar is hidden under his shirt and instead of flinching he unconsciously leans more into that comforting care of a touch aaahhh cause her hands could just radiate that energyyyy! Then like her asking for him to take off his gloves so she can hold his actual hands. Him just removing the right one and unconsciously trying to hide his left one, the one with the scar that goes down into the glove. Her taking his hand and finding that he runs hot to her cooler touch 👀 Norton used to touching things that are hot and dusty/dry, and hard and then here comes this soft, cool to the touch, pristine hand. That might be wild for him. OH MY GOSH, to him, "she feels like gold" 👀👏👏👏👏

Then with Norton's touch, Alice would likely find stability in his touch, especially without gloves 👀 His hand on her shoulder would radiate reassurance and help her keep her feet on the ground/ back to the present and out of her thoughts. He likely just has to touch her hand or cup her cheek and her eyes dilate and look at him and just "Oh, I was lost in my thoughts again" When she sees his other hand, though! I hc that its scarred up and burned but still retained mostly full functionality by some miracle. So when he trust her to see that hand and allow her to touch it, gosh. She knows when she is touched by him without gloves on, its special 😭and a right reserved just for her aaaahhh. She knows those hands would never hurt her 👀 they didn't even hurt her when he was chasing her AND when he was forcing the bad grape juice liiikkeee there was no physical harm done to her. She didn't even get dirty AAAHHH 😭 So after all that madness, there is absolutely no doubt that those hands will only bring care and stability for her AAHHH AND he will always catch her when needed, bringing the FAST part back in here lol

AAHHH such a great topic to ponder onnnn aaahhhhhhhhhhhh 🥹🥹👏👏👏👏👏

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eurovision-song-bracket · 1 year

Text

Welcome to the Eurovision Song Bracket!

This will be a fairly large bracket, consisting of two "teams" of 68 songs for a total of 136 competitors!

The first team has been preselected, and will consist of all previous winners or popular vote winners if applicable.

This means that if your favorite song won, you do not need to submit them (a couple of exceptions apply, see list at the bottom/read more for details)

Submissions are closed!

Rules!

- Entries must have been a part of the main competition of Eurovision of any year (I might do a MGP mini bracket if the people want that)

- Once again, you do not need to submit winners, they are (mostly) automatically in. Again, see bottom for details and explanations.

- You may submit multiple songs, but please don't send the same song over and over.

- Propaganda is highly encouraged! There is a spot for it in the submission form, and adding it on to the poll itself or sending an ask is also allowed. You may send a DM, but I'll probably be slow to respond that way.

How it Works!

- There will be multiple brackets of 34 songs

- Each of the preselected winners will be randomly against one of the submitted songs. Pairings will be decided through number assignment and a random number generator.

- Vote for your favorite! I will include links to the songs in the poll so you can listen to both before voting. The winner will move onto the next round until we find the winner of that bracket.

- Once all brackets are complete, the winners of their individual brackets will go onto the finals to determine the (unofficial) Ultimate Eurovision Song Winner!

- There will be a preliminary around, as 1969 (hehe nice) had a four way tie, so we will need to determine which of those four will represent that year!

Tagging some other brackets to get the word out

@animalcrossingshowdown @ultimate-soup-showdown @least-sexy-man-competition @soulmatebracket @irlcats-bracket @little-cat-showdown @bestvegetablepoll @baby-brawl-bracket @died-but-not-dead-tournament @unusannusbracket

Click the read more for the list of songs that are automatically in the bracket!

(The colors are just to make it less of a wall of text and easier to read)

(Please let me know if a different color would work better)

1956 - “Refrain” by Lys Assia (Switzerland)

1957 - “Net Als Toen” by Corry Brokken (Netherlands)

1958 - “Dors, Mon Amour” by André Claveau (France)

1959 - “Een Beetje” by Teddy Scholten (Netherlands)

1960 - “Tom Pillibi” by Jacqueline Boyer (France)

1961 - “Nous Les Amoureux” by Jean-Claude Pascal (Luxembourg) 1962 - “Un Premier Amour” by Isabelle Aubret” (France)

1963 - “Dansevise” by Grethe and Jøren Ingmann (Denmark)

1964 - “Non ho l'età” by Gigliola Cinquetti (Italy)

1965 - “Poupée de cire, poupée de son” by France Gall (Luxembourg) 1966 - “Merci, Chérie” by Udo Jürgens (Austria)

1967 - “Puppet on a String” by Sandie Shaw (UK)

1968 - “La la la” by Massiel (Spain)

1969 – [FOUR WAY TIE – SPAIN UK NETHERLANDS FRANCE, PRELIM POLL] “Vivo Cantando” by Salomé (Spain) ; “Boom Bang-a-Bang” by Lulu (UK) ; “De Troubadour” by Lenny Kuhr (Netherlands) ; “Un jour, un enfant” by Frida Bocara (France)

1970 - “All Kinds of Everything” by Dana (Ireland)

1971 - “Un banc, un arbre, une rue” by Séverine (Monaco)

1972 - “Après Toi” by Vicky Leandros (Luxembourg)

1973 - “Tu te reconnaîtras” by Anne-Marie David (Luxembourg)

1974 - “Waterloo” by ABBA (Sweden)

1975 - “Ding a Dong” by Teach-in (Netherlands)

1976 - “Save Your Kisses For Me” by Brotherhood of Man (UK)

1977 - “L'Oiseau et l'Enfant” by Marie Myriam (France)

1978 - “א-ב-ני-בי / A-Ba-Ni-Bi” by Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta (Israel)

1979 - “הללויה /Hellelujah” by Milk and Honey (Israel)

1980 - “What's Another Year” by Johnny Logan (Ireland)

1981 - “Making Your Minds Up” by Bucks Fizz (UK)

1982 - “Ein bißchen Frieden” by Nicole (Germany)

1983 -Si la vie est cadeau” by Corinne Hermès (Luxembourg)

1984 - “Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley” by Herreys (Sweden)

1985 - “La det swinge” By Bobbysocks! (Norway)

1986 - “J'aime la vie” by Sandra Kim (Belgium)

1987 – “Laß die Sonne in dein Herz“ by Wind (Germany) [REPEAT WIN BY JOHNNY LOGAN(Ireland), USING 2ND PLACE]

1988 - “Ne partez pas sans moi” Céline Dion (Switzerland)

1989 - “Rock Me” by Riva (Yugoslavia)

1990 - “Insieme: 1992” by Toto Cutugno (Italy)

1991 – “Fångad av en stormvind” by Carola (Sweden)

1992 - “Why Me?” by Linda Martin (Ireland)

1993 - “In Your Eyes” Niamh Kavanagh (Ireland)

1994 - “Rock 'n' Roll Kids” Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan (Ireland)

1995 - “Nocturne” by Secret Garden (Norway)

1996 - “The Voice” by Eimear Quinn (Ireland)

1997 - “Love shine a Light” by Katrina and the Waves (UK)

1998 - “דיווה /Diva” by Dana International (Israel)

1999 - “Take Me to Your Heaven” by Charlotte Nilsson (Sweden)

2000 - “Fly on the Wings of Love” by Olsen Brothers (Denmark)

2001 - “Everybody” by Tanel Padar, Dave Benton, and 2XL (Estonia)

2002 - “I wanna” by Marie N (Latvia)

2003 - “Everyway That I Can” by Sertab Erener (Turkey)

2004 - “Wild Dances” by Ruslana (Ukraine)

2005 - “My Number One” by Helena Paparizou (Greece)

2006 - “Hard Rock Hallelujah” by Lordi (Finland)

2007 - “Молитва / Molitva” by Marija Šerifović (Serbia)

2008 - “Believe” by Dima Bilan (Russia)

2009 - “Fairytale” By Alexander Rybak (Norway)

2010 - “Satellite” by Lena (Germany)

2011 - “Running Scared” by Ell and Nikki (Azerbaijan)

2012 - “Euphoria” by Loreen (Sweden)

2013 - “Only Teardrops” by Emmelie de Forest (Denmark)

2014 - “Rise Like a Phoenix” by Conchita Wurst (Austria)

2015 - “Heroes” by Måns Zelmerlöw (Sweden)

2016 - “1944” by Jamala (Ukraine)

2017 - “Amar pelos dois” by Salvador Sobral (Portugal)

2018 - “Toy” by Netta (Israel)

2019 - “Arcade” by Duncan Laurence (Netherlands)

2020 – [CANCELLED]

2021 - “Zitti e buoni” by Måneskin (Italy)

2022 - “Стефанія / Stefania” by Kalush Orchestra (Ukraine)

2023 - “Cha Cha Cha” by Käärijä (Finland) [Second highest popular vote ever, also repeat win by Loreen(Sweden)]

#tumblr polls #Eurovision #ESC #EurovisionBracket

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dotieeee · 1 year

Text

The Dream That Got Away

Chapter 16

Pairing: Dark!Morpheus x You (no Y/N!)

This is a multi-chapter fic — Weekly updates (either Saturday or Sunday) because I found a rhythm of sorts lol

(The entire fic has been outlined, so I will see this to the end, you have my word)

**********************************************************

Link to the Masterlist

Overall Warnings!! Take heed:

Morpheus is DARK – in canon, he changes for the better (or at least, tries to – but we don’t do canon lol, so he goes even more batshit crazy) cue obsession, manipulation, possessiveness, powerplay

18+ ONLY – explicit scenes will be present, some explicit language

DUB-CON and NON-CON scenes

Character death (sort of)

Creator vs Creation drama

And other dark stuff that may be added in the future

This chapter’s warnings:

graphic dub-con ahead - turn back now if this disturbs you :)

touch-starved Morpheus should be a warning of its own

pregnancy angst

reader is a walking ball of angst at this point lol

You have been warned!! Proceed with caution!!!

Link to the previous chapter

Chapter 16: Vanilla Ice Cream and Cheese

The lovely scents of lavender and patchouli pervade the Dream King’s bathroom, and they’re coming from the warm bath that Morwyn had just drawn and prepared for you before she left to prepare your dress. Now completely alone with nothing but your intrusive thoughts, you reach the ornate, full-length mirror, and right in front of it, you shed your sheer nightgown, staring at yourself, stark-naked, your eyes automatically honing on your abdomen. Like what you have been doing absently for the past three weeks, your hand hovers over your belly, rubbing it as if seeking to soothe your inner turmoil.

It’s been three weeks since your dreaming-abilities have been reinstated, which also means the life inside you that the Dream Lord had placed is also of the same age. You wonder how he’s doing inside, what he looks like, how he’s holding up. So far, he hasn’t made himself known yet - not that you expected him to, not for another two, maybe three weeks more. Before you know it, he’ll grow big and snug inside, and then he’ll be out into the world and you’ll be cradling him in your arms, and he’ll be clinging unto you, looking to you for anything and everything: he will seek milk from your bosom, he will crave your touch and your warmth, your kind words, your love.

As if doubling in pain, you fall on the floor in a foetal position, and what starts out as a small, choked sob becomes a wail that bounces off the bathroom tiles and walls. You clutch your chest as you bawl and scream heavily for reasons muddled, even to you - was it because he’s here, and you’ll soon feel his little heartbeat alongside yours? Does being a mother frighten you that much? Will he hate you when he finds out he’s been conceived so unwillingly, not out of love despite the facade you’d have to put up to save him from all the hurt his father had put you through?

There is no comfort from these thoughts, especially not when the Dream Lord himself wraps your bare, trembling form with his own, starry cloak and picks you up from the floor so he could take you in his arms in an unrelenting embrace that to him, means to console - to you, however, it’s just a prison, just another cage he’s placing you in as he tangles your strings of fate further into his. And yet, there is no one else around you but him, and so in the lull of his soft whispers and the warmth of his grip, you eventually tire out and your crying wanes to that of mere sniffling, he takes his robe off you gently and carries you to the bathtub. The water, which has already gone tepid, begins to steam lightly once more, indicating that he had warmed it up for you. He lowers you to the water with so much care, and without shedding his clothes, he follows suit, helping you bathe like he did the morning after your first night with him, except, thankfully, he doesn’t pleasure you - it’s an act of pure intentions it seems, as hard as that may be to believe. Once he’s done, he wordlessly steps away, his clothes already dry, and conjures a robe and a towel and sets it on the edge of the tub, now empty of water. He sits on the edge as well, close to you, while you hug your knees in your modesty (as if he hasn’t seen every inch of you). With delicate grace, he caresses your cheek with a finger, and you avoid looking directly into those blue eyes, fearing what you might find.

“Mera, my dream, will you be alright if I leave you to dry up?” he asks quietly.

You give him the tiniest of nods as you stare blankly at the porcelain at your feet. He lingers for a moment, as if hesitating, but in the end, he gives you a kiss on the top of your head and steps out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Once you step out of the bathroom, you find your Dream Lord hunched over on the study table, inspecting the books you had borrowed from the library. His eyes roam your robed figure for a moment before walking over to you, satisfied with what he sees. He calls for Morwyn, who promptly emerges from behind the room divider, and then gives you a chaste kiss on the lips.

“I will wait here. We will talk,” he says after he pulls away.

Morwyn bows to him and escorts you behind the divider so she could dress you in private. She makes an expert work of your gown - a form-fitting satin gown with long, delicate tulle sleeves gathered in tiers with silk ribbons - and in no time, she excuses herself, leaving you and your Lord alone in the chambers you now share.

So, there you awkwardly stand, awaiting what he has to say. Once you notice that almost-imperceptible sigh, you brace yourself.

“It seems you are unwell, dream of mine,” he notes, stepping closer to you so he could tuck a stray lock of hair behind your ears. “What ails you in this lovely morning?”

You only shake your head in response, as the answer evades you, too.

With the smallest of smiles, his hands find their way to your waist, his thumbs rubbing tender circles on your belly. “Is our child giving you trouble?”

“No, my Lord -”

But he cuts you off with a finger to your lips. “Did I not tell you to call me by my name? Do you not recall freely using my name in the heat of our love-making?” he jests lightly.

His attempts to tease are lost on you, given you’re in no mood for such, but you give him a smile that doesn’t quite reach your ears.

“My apologies, Lord Morpheus,” you amend.

“That’s better,” he says, grinning wider as he strokes your abdomen and takes your cheek in his palms. He has always been touchy, but he’s recently taken to placing his hands on you even more so at every opportunity.

“I should like the mother of my own child to address me with familiarity. And if he is making a fuss, that is perhaps because he takes after you. He will be a force of nature once he comes out, and he will be, as you are to me, the bringer of my joy.”

You close your eyes as he dips his head and kisses your forehead before moving to your lips. It’s a chaste kiss, but his lips pull away, a mere millimetres away from yours as he breathes your air, rendering you lightheaded.

“You will stay in our chambers for the remainder of the day.”

Abruptly, you open your eyes and pull away from him completely, bristling at his command.

“Lord Morpheus, please reconsider, I have a dreamer -”

“Who can wait,” he interrupts one more in a clipped manner, his gaze growing sterner by the second.

You rub your face with your palms in your distress before pleading your case again and telling him the truth.

“Lord Morpheus, I’d be more distraught if I stayed here all day, I’ve got to do something,” you implore him, and with a gesture you know he couldn’t resist, you take his hand in yours and reassure him, “Our little one will be fine, and so will I.”

His stare softens considerably as he contemplates your request, and in acquiescence, he kisses the hand holding his and uses it to pull you close to him. You close your eyes as he captures your lips in a sensual kiss, priming yourself for what you know is about to come.

“Then indulge me, my dream: I must have you now,” your Lord whispers hotly in your ear before his tongue laps up the skin on the crook of your neck, his hands quickly hiking up the hem of your gown.

You really shouldn’t have held his hand.

***

Frantically, you straighten the kinks on your dress as you make your way down the massive marble staircase. You’re quite late to work, and you know it - it doesn’t help that you could barely walk because your boss had just decided to fuck the daylights out of you on his study table this early in the morning. You could still feel his seed damping your underwear which he strictly ordered you not to clean off.

“I’d like my dream to go about her day filled to the brim with her king’s essence,” you remember him growling over your ear as he filled you with his warmth.

So here you are, reaching the end of the staircase and about to take a sharp turn, when you hear the voice of Morwyn in a tone you never heard her use before.

“...you oughta be ashamed of yourselves, tattling about when you two should be at work!” You hear her furious tone, clearly reprimanding someone you couldn’t see. “Don’t you go spreading false rumours, or I’ll tell the King and he’ll have your tongue. The princess is far more virtuous than any of you combined,” she hisses just as you emerge from the corner.

Cowering before her are two of your Lord’s dreams, already looking at their feet in shame - they must’ve heard you approach, for they look up to see you, and you get a glimpse of their pale faces before they bow deeply and excuse themselves from your attendant’s ire and run away from the scene.

“Morwyn, what was that about?” you ask curiously, taking note of her fuming expression.

She releases a huff and responds, “M’lady, they were just gossiping, really, awful stuff. And slacking off.”

You might not be the smartest person in the world, but you know enough to conclude the topic of the rumour. “It’s about me, isn’t it?”

“Well, uh…” Morwyn hesitates, but your exasperated smile encourages her to go on. “Yes, m’lady. I heard them talking about how they think you, uhm…”

“They think that I…?”

“Slept with the king to get ahead, m’lady,” she murmurs, shuffling her feet awkwardly.

You place a hand on her shoulder, touched that she had defended your honour the way she did.

“You have a good heart, Morwyn, and thank you for telling me,” you praise. “And as for the rumour, I’m quite used to it, actually. They’ve been at it even before the Dream King’s century-long departure,” you add with a shrug.

Morwyn looks up at you with a despondent expression, clearly still upset on your behalf. “But, if they’re talking about you that way, we oughta tell the King so he could do something about it…”

“No,” you say with a firm tone and shake of your head, your expression turning serious. “He will not be kind to them if he finds out.” Unwillingly, in your mind, you see Nuros’ face, a long-forgotten dream whom you’ve never seen again after the Dream Lord’s supposed ‘talk’ with her.

“He can be cruel, especially about anything that concerns me, and he will be unless he does not find out.”

“I understand, m’lady,” she says with a bow, before adding determinedly, “But if I ever hear them again, I’m making no promises.”

You chuckle lightly at her remark while she opens her mouth and closes it again, as if she wanted to say something, but couldn’t find the words.

“You know, you can tell me anything, right?”

She gives a small nod, before starting, “You’re the only one who’s ever treated me nicely, m’lady. The other dreams look down on me because even though the Dream Lord created me, I was never given dream-forming abilities.” She pauses, wringing her hands in front of her. “So thank you for treating me like…like I’m not different.”

Your heart clenches at her revelation, so to comfort her, you clasp both her hands in yours. “But you aren’t different, Morwyn. We all have a function to fulfil. And so far, you’ve been fulfilling them beyond expectations. Pay the rumours no mind and they’ll get tired eventually.

“Now if you get pushed, you can always tell them to fuck off. Come to me anytime you need anyone to talk to,” ” you add with a wink, knowing very well how it feels to have no one on your side.

“Thank you, m’lady. You have my loyalty, as always.”

Bowing deeply once more, she excuses herself, leaving you feeling like you just gained another treasured friend.

Maybe an eternity here isn’t so bad with them around.

***

The throne room basks in the magnificent glow of the sunlight streaming through thousands of stained window panels that mirror the feelings of its sovereign. The King in question, currently at his full height at the foot of the winding stairs, his eyes focusing on nothing but the vibrant display of the glass behind his throne - his perfect dream and perfect nightmare, showcased side-by-side, their colour palettes contrasting and complementing each other.

The King of Dreams has many things occupying his mind, his little dream and the little one inside her being two of them. You, probably on your way to the sea of dreams to grace a lucky dreamer with your inspiring presence - the mother of his child, both of them so precious and so fragile, braving the wonders and the horrors of the human collective unconscious. And if he was being honest with himself, you being out there, exposed and vulnerable to humanity’s depravity, deeply unsettles him.

The tall, arched double doors to his throne room burst open, and the panels rapidly transform to only the likeness of the nightmare that he had just summoned. The Dream Lord turns to his feet to face him as he strides forward and halts a few feet away from the foot of the stairs.

“You called, my Lord?” the nightmare drawls lazily, placing his hands in his pocket.

“Corinthian,” Morpheus acknowledges his presence with a slight tilt of his head, using his sand to lock the doors and prevent any wayward being from eavesdropping. “Watch over the princess in the sea of dreams. Ensure that no harm befall her and my son.”

The Corinthian pauses momentarily as he raises an eyebrow. “So, now I'm supposed to babysit her, and the new nightmare?” he asks slowly as if trying to process the words of his master’s command.

“Sumnio will do fine on his own,” Dream replies with a dismissive tone. “The princess is infinitely more important.”

“She's not gonna like this,” the Corinthian comments under his breath. Morpheus hears it, of course, but he chooses to ignore it. Scratching his head with a lone finger, he adds, a bit louder this time, “And with all due respect, my Lord, I think she is more than capable of handling herself.”

It’s the King’s turn to raise his eyebrow; of course, he knows just how capable he had made you to be, but you also had this incredible proclivity to attract trouble, given your not-so-recent brush with a certain mortal man. He chooses to hide this observation, as he always does - he just clasps his hands in front of him, keeping his blank mask.

“My concern is simply of her well-being and that of our child, whom she bears. She will come to terms with it.”

Releasing a defeated sigh, the Corinthian relents. No point arguing with him, especially about you.

“Have it your way, your ma-jes-ty.” He retreats to exit the same way he came in.

It doesn’t escape Morpheus the way his nightmare addressed him tauntingly. He ignores that, too, his stare boring a hole in the back of his creation’s head. As an afterthought, he chooses to give him a second order.

“Corinthian,” he calls, his booming voice echoing in the throne room.

His nightmare turns sideways with a huff. “Yes? My Lord?”

“Keep her away from him,” he says simply, not bothering to elaborate.

The nightmare just dips his head, indicating that he recognized his master’s meaning.

“Of course, your Majesty.”

The doors close behind him with a resounding boom as he left, and Morpheus had expected his worries to go away with him.

Instead, he plops down on his throne with a sigh, his concern for you growing more than ever.

***

The large operating room provides quite the spectacle: the fabled surgeon, elbows-deep in the guts of a patient under anaesthesia and the crowd of medical students keenly observing the master at work - but your eyes are glued to the face of seven-year-old Ida Fisher in her thirty-five-year-old body, concentrating hard on the patient whose life hangs in the balance. The entire room awaits with bated breath, and the only noise that permeates is the quiet beeping of the life monitor. The dream you had formed from the beginning had blossomed into a fully-realised fantasy of little Ida’s future career, so you grin under your medical mask and pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

Not wanting to draw attention to yourself, you slowly back away until you reach the door and promptly exit. Swinging the door open with care, you see other students crowding the observation glass, all craning their necks to get a glimpse of Ida’s medical expertise. As soon as the door closes, however, you hear a familiar voice call you over the dream-hospital’s PA system.

“Calling the princess to ICU, calling the princess to ICU.”

You shake your head in mild amusement as you make your way to the Intensive Care ward, passing through the dream-nurses and dream-patients Ida’s mind has conjured. You push the double doors, which swing shut behind you, to find your favourite nightmare, clad in the same blue scrubs as yours, down to the tinted medical goggles and the rubber clogs doctors seem to fancy so much.

Pulling your medical mask back down, you greet him with a smirk. “If this was the last view I’d get under the knife, I don’t think I’d want to wake up.”

“You wish,” The Corinthian bites back with a grin matching yours, adjusting his medical gloves as you both pace the sterile hall.

“So, to what do I owe this visit?” you ask, waving your hand to instantly get rid of your hospital gear.

He clicks his tongue at the change, saying in mock disappointment, “I liked you better with the scrubs on.”

You roll your eyes at him and jest, “You know, some of us have actual work to do?”

He lets out a chuckle as he steals a clipboard from an unwitting dream-nurse, flipping over the chart before chucking it behind him. “You're not going to like this bit.”

“No, I already don't. What is it?”

He stops before a room labelled ‘Supply Room,’ and you follow him wordlessly inside, locking the door for good measure.

“Guess who his royal prickness assigned to be your bodyguard,” he states, leaning on a cabinet filled with IV bags.

“The fuck?” you blurt out, waiting for him to take it back, only for him to give you a smug look. “Oh, bloody hell. Why did I not see this coming? What about Sumnio?”

“Says he'll do fine without me,” your friend quips as he lights up a cigarette, not caring if he triggers the smoke alarm.

You run your hands through your hair in slight aggravation. You don’t actually mind him hanging around with you while you work - what you take offence to is the fact that your Dream Lord thinks you still need to be watched over like you’re some dainty little fairy. Like you had not proven time and again your ability to weasel your way out of sticky situations.

“I'm not weak and I don't need protection,” you protest to him.

He just nods as he takes a deep drag out of his cigarette, clearly as unamused as you are. “Yep, told him that.”

“I don't like this.”

“Told him that, too.”

You bite the insides of your cheeks, annoyed at this development. A few seconds of silence pass between you and your friend as you process your ‘workplace dissatisfaction’ together.

“So, are you going to follow me around in the dreams, now?” you ask tentatively.

“Fuck, no. I got better things to do,” he responds coolly. “Just don’t get yourself in trouble,” he adds as an afterthought while he extinguishes the flame of his half-finished cigarette on the shelf and flicks it away.

“And…if he asks?”

“Tch. I’ll think of something. Anyway,” your friend straightens his scrubs, preparing to be on his way. “I’ve got to run.”

“Off to your nightmare boyfriend?” you ask, batting your eyelashes in mock innocence.

He lets out a dry, clipped laugh and pulls a scalpel out of his scrub pocket, brandishing it at you. “Keep at it and I might just use this on you.”

“Where are you going, dressed like that, anyway?” you question him curiously.

“Another hospital dream, I guess. Not much blood here, I miss it.”

He motions farewell with a two-finger salute, his usual fashion, and you call out ‘say ‘hi’ to your dear little nightmare for me’ as he vanishes, managing an enthusiastic middle finger at you just as he moves on to another dreamer.

You’re done with Ida Fisher, so you follow suit, letting yourself get sucked into the ocean of dreams before it throws you into the mind of another sleeping human.

***

Two more eventful weeks pass for you - two tumultuous weeks of the infamous morning sickness, sudden mood changes, and weird food cravings (currently, you’ve been shovelling down soggy, sugar-frosted corn flakes and eating lemon curd by the spoonful), and surprisingly, your Dream King has been nothing but sympathetic, even indulging you and accompanying you when you wake up in the middle of the night to raid the kitchens for something to munch on.

He was there, this morning, holding your hair back as you retched what remained of last night’s kitchen raid, cooing words of comfort. After that nasty bout of hurling until your stomach cramped, he had attempted to bring up the topic of you staying in his chambers for the rest of the day, but you weren’t in the mood for arguing - instead, you shot him a reproachful look, and he actually ended up relenting, much to your astonishment.

But, all this came with a price: he has been more handsy with you as of late, and he’s gotten rougher, more possessive in bed, sometimes even summoning you in the middle of work, only for you to end up staying in his room for the remainder of the day because you’re too fucked out to get up and walk.

Despite these rather unsavoury changes to your routine, one thing you’d never let him touch is your work. Forming dreams was and is still your only outlet, and whenever you’re out there, inspiring a soul, you’d forget everything, including yourself - after all, dreams are all about them, and reading about their eventual success in their books gives you such a rush like no other.

You imagine it’s already past noon in the Dreaming, it’s hard to tell at times, but you could tell by the number of dreamers you had visited. You had just finished your seventh for the day, just lazily nibbling on a cheese pretzel as you wait for Ezekiel Gantz’s alarm to ring so he could get to work and absolutely kill it in his client presentation.

Before you, however, materialises a small piece of stationary with sprawling cursive writing - it isn’t your first time receiving the note in the same manner, so you let it fall on your lap. You could read its contents clear as day without even picking it up:

My dream,

Come see me in the library

With a sigh you get up from the office chair you’re lounging on and exit Ezekiel’s dreams, confident he’ll ace his meeting later with the big bosses.

Time to meet your own big boss.

***

You spend a good five, maybe ten minutes navigating the maze that is your Lord’s library, just looking for him among the towering shelves. You reach what is one of the most secluded areas, huffing at the effort. Finding no sign of him, you pick up a book from one of the shelves instead before you head back to the dreams. Just as you’re about to flip the cover open, you spot a dark shadow emerging from among the shelves out of the corner of your eye. Perhaps he took pity on you scrambling around and decided to show himself instead.

“My dream,” he half-whispers in that deep, velvety voice: a sign that you wouldn’t like what’s coming to you next.

“You sent for me, my Lord? May I ask what for?” you reply meekly, backing away as he approaches until your backside hits a desk.

You know what for, the Voice snidely comments.

Deciding to ignore that bit, you focus solely on the warm body pressing against yours and the lips now peppering your neck with wet kisses and nipping at your earlobe. Urgently, his mouth finds yours and makes both your tongues dance in a game of dominance he always wins. Pulling away, he whispers over your lips:

“I do not need a reason to see my beloved, the mother of my son, the only one from whom I seek pleasures of the flesh…”

He draws out the final phrase slowly as his hands bunch the hem of your dress, but your hand deters his, countering, “Lord Morpheus, Lucienne -”

“Is not your concern. I have closed off this part of the library,” he cuts you off, dragging his nose along your jawline and sucking on your pulse point. You gasp involuntarily at the warmth of his tongue on your skin, sending shivers all over your body - one thing you’ve discovered is that being with a child made you even more sensitive - and when he squeezes both of your breasts through your dress, the sensation actually sends jolts of electricity to your abdomen and heat pooling between your thighs. Your Lord knows this, for you feel him smirk against your collarbone before he bites down on it. Pulling the neckline of your dress, he exposes your breasts, tender in your pregnancy, and his mouth is on your nipple at once, licking and sucking and biting each of them and eliciting soft sighs and gasps from you.

“I need to be inside you, dream of mine.”

He plants one final peck on your lips before he turns your body, pushing you down on the desk, your breasts pressed against the cold, lacquered wood. He then lifts your dress to reveal his prize: your ass, and the lacy underwear hiding it from his view, an obstacle that he just pulls down to reveal your damp entrance.

You had nothing to hold on to but the edges of the table, so when you hear his zipper being pulled down, you brace yourself closing your eyes and biting your lips, whimpering as his hard cock parts your folds, taking your wetness, before plunging it in its entirety. He groans in pleasure as he begins sliding in and out of you, and at that moment you couldn’t help but let out the loud moans you intended to stifle. Even after the countless times he has bedded you, he still stretches you out to the point of mild discomfort, and he knows it all too well, for he likes brushing repeatedly against your sweet spot before bottoming out, only to hit it again as he withdraws his length. He finds a rhythm that always made you see white spots in your vision, all while holding you down firmly on the table with his hands, rendering you unable to meet his hips - you’re helpless, moaning and mewling wantonly, and at your Lord’s mercy, but it’s so, so good, and it’s in these moments where you lose all thoughts except him and his cock ramming into you until he takes you to oblivion.

“Lord Morpheus…fuck…”

Spurred by the way you moaned his name and the foul language that followed it, he brings his body close to yours - even with both your clothes in the way, his warmth invades your senses - he whispers heatedly in your ear:

“Language, my dream. I should punish you for that.”

He is always true to his words, for the pace that follows is one that makes your knees buckle, and if it weren’t for him gripping your waist in support you could’ve fallen to the floor.

“I should tie you up to my bed and lock my chambers, just so you could be ready for me to take whenever I please…”

Your response is nothing but a strangled noise escaping your throat. He continues rutting into you, and you start clenching his cock more erratically - you’re so close, so close…

“It will give me so much pleasure to take you even as you grow round with child…”

One particular rough thrust brings tears to your eyes - are you crying due to pleasure or pain? - not that you cared at this point, because you have only one focus - with a sharp cry, you come hard, and the cry is immediately followed by a series of teary, throaty moans and uncontrollable trembling brought about by your master’s insistence at finding his own release. With your orgasm being drawn out in long, torturing seconds, you could feel him losing his pace, until, finally, he groans loudly in your ear, and your womb is filled to the brim with his scorching hot seed. He comes so hard, thrusts so deeply, that the table beneath you creaks, and when he finally pumps the last of his cum inside you, his thrusts soften and slow down while your walls clench him feebly until he eventually stills within you.

You try to catch your breath, and to give you some air, his body pulls away from yours, all while carefully staying inside you. He had once confessed, after one of your many passionate nights, that he likes staying inside you for as long as he could, wanting, craving for as much contact with you as he can. In your fucked out state, you barely note how his hands travel all over your body with so much gentleness, as he often does after you both finish. Perhaps it’s an attempt to soothe you after he had taken you so mercilessly.

When he pulls out from you at last, he places your underwear back and rights your gown, while you manage to prop yourself up with your elbows and shakily get on your feet. You could feel a dull sensation between your thighs, one you just might not ever get used to, but his arms wrap around your waist to support you. He kisses your lips softly, and then your forehead, not caring about the sweat beading on your skin. When he’s done, he just stays in place, his hand finding its way to the back of your head and bringing it close to his heart, while your arms, finding nothing better to do, snake around his back.

“Lord Morpheus,” you call to him in a whisper.

Humming against your hair, he responds, “Yes, my little dream?”

“I’m hungry.”

Your Dream Lord lets out a light-hearted chuckle - a rarity for him - and he pulls away so he could look into your face, his own displaying a small smile.

“What do my dream and my little one crave?”

“Mmm…vanilla ice cream,” you declare, adding, “And cheese. Vanilla ice cream with cheese mixed in.”

***

Even after a few more weeks come by, you continually crave the same thing over and over: creamy vanilla ice cream with tiny bits of mild cheddar mixed in it. There are other food combinations, of course, but in between increasingly volatile emotions and longer bouts of throwing up every goddamn morning, it’s one of the only things you could hold down.

“Want some?” you ask your nightmare friend sitting across you, holding out the large bowl of ice cream to him.

“Nah, I don’t care much for pregnant-women food,” the Corinthian responds with his nose turned up, raising his cup of coffee. “I’ll stick to this, thanks.”

You’re back in the garden, taking advantage of one of your rare breaks from work. You had asked him many times to bring Sumnio so you could finally meet the nightmare he had a crush on (even if he’d rather be unmade than ever admit it). But he never does, much to your dismay. Maybe one of these days, you could find the human they’re frequenting and walk in on them, preferably making out, but given how busy you are with your current dreamers, you don’t see that happening soon.

“Fine, I’ll try it,” he says grudgingly, scooping a teaspoonful of ice cream from your bowl and sceptically tasting it. “Not bad,” he comments with a tilt of his head and gives it another go.

“Lady Mera!”

You whip your head in the direction of the voice that had just called you now. From afar, you see Morwyn running to your table, with a very familiar face traipsing behind her, almost floating, playing with tiny, colourful fish circling her head in midair.

Lady Delirium has found herself in her older brother’s realm, it seems.

And she spots you from the distance. You raise a hand in a tentative wave, and she comes running to you, reaching you even before Morwyn does.

“Meraaaaa!!!” she squeals in delight and lunges at you with a huge hug. “Oh, he sounds like he’s growing happily,” she comments with a knowing glance. You smile, not knowing what to make of it.

Morwyn catches up at last, with her hands on her knees and panting heavily, motioning to Lady Del and breathlessly mentioning the word ‘visitor.’ You hand her a glass of water which she gratefully accepts.

You turn to Lady Delirium, who you spot greeting the Corinthian and sampling your momentarily forgotten, rapidly melting ice cream bowl.

“Mera, you know what’s a great ice cream flavour? Telephone pole!” she exclaims, brandishing the teaspoon dripping with melting ice cream, spraying some of it on the Corinthian’s sunglasses.

“That’d be a bit chewy, I imagine,” you say thoughtfully, offering her a seat at the table and motioning to the tray of sweets for her to sample. Out of the corner of your eye, you watch your friend wiping his glasses with a table napkin. As Morwyn excuses herself, the youngest Endless takes a cinnamon roll out of the tray and takes a large bite.

“Mmm! I know this,” she comments, her eyes lighting up maniacally as she tends to do when an idea crosses her mind. “I remember why I came here. I find it difficult to remember stuff these days, but I think I remember that thing pretty clearly.”

Right across from you, your friend scratches his head, muttering to himself, “Interesting. Very gripping.”

As if she didn’t hear him, she sways in her seat, continuing, “Remember what I said about friends helping each other? And about friends helping each other find what they lost?”

You set down your now-empty bowl, curiosity now piqued. “Yes, my lady. What of it?”

“You’re my friend, and I found what you lost, so you know…yey!”

“What I ‘lost?’”

“I’m getting outta here,” your friend leaps to his feet, leaving his cup of coffee half-finished. Looking up at him, you read the two words on his lips quite clearly: ‘bad idea.’

“Bye, Cori!” Lady Del waves enthusiastically at his retreating form, before her eyes stare into yours - uncanny, the way her mismatched eyes seem to perceive things about you you aren’t even familiar with.

“If we go to the dreams now, we can -”

“She is not going anywhere, little sister.”

As soon as your Dream Lord reaches your full view, you get up abruptly, intending to say a polite ‘hello,’ but you forgo the thought almost immediately when you see his expression. He’s scowling heavily, his posture rigid, directing his ire at his sibling, the only company you have left, who’s smiling rather innocently and pointedly ignoring her brother’s harsh stare. “Delirium, this is the second time you’ve come to my realm unannounced.”

“But I said I was coming. It wasn’t that nice of you, ignoring my calls like that,” she comments, rubbing the back of her neck while her hair transforms into a dull, brown bob.

“My apologies, sister. I was busy with Dreaming matters. I shall be with you momentarily.”

And then, his gaze turns to you, his eyes searching, accusing, even.

But you haven’t done anything. So, you meet his eyes with resolve, wondering how on earth you’ve gotten on his bad side.

“Come with me,” he says.

It’s a simple command, but a foreboding one, especially as his sand circles the both of you and reveals his chambers once it clears. Growing more confused with his behaviour, you open your mouth to question him, but he beats you to it:

“I hereby forbid you to speak to Delirium and set foot in the sea of dreams.”

****************************** Link to the next chapter

Author notes on the Chapter:

Ya’ll really thought he’d have no qualms with her getting back to work? LOL this is Dark!Morpheus we talkin bout :P if he could, he would control Mera’s schedule right down to the minute :P he’ll hold on to whatever aspect of Mera’s life he could control

Also, I think we have four or five??? more chapters to this story, and it's already close to 100k words (96k)!! Funny how plot points keep adding up and growing :D

final note: forgive the *ehem CHEESY title xD

******************************

Author's notes in general:

Thank you, THANK YOU for reading!!

Please engage, comment and reblog!! I love feedback from you guys :) This is my first ever fic, so kindness is truly appreciated!

Thank you to my queen @queenshelby @endlessdreamqueen3 for encouraging me to pen this, as well as to my fellow Dark!Morpheus writers whose work I have thoroughly enjoyed and keep rereading :)

Post date: 2/04/23

Edit date: 2/04/23

Taglist: Just lemme know please if you want to be added, too!

Tagging the following:

@wt-fxck

@sandman-33

@reallystressedhoneybee

@akiraquote

@safe-teycar

@ponyboys-sunsets

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@kittenssss-blog

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ober-affen-geil · 1 year

Text

The thing about Arik in Willow (2022) that makes me really fucking sad for him is like...he has potential? And he knows it? And no one, including the narrative is allowing him to actually act on it.

'Cus see, I refuse to believe he is corrupted by The Crone because he's a fuckboi who wanted power. That's not what "I am your king" means to Arik.

Arik is the guy that everyone dismisses as a useless airhead who's only interested in one thing except???? He's not? Which he tries to tell everyone, including the audience/narrative multiple times.

In the *first episode* we see him actually pull some pretty fancy diplomatic footwork (offscreen) which was NECESSARY because Kit throwing a temper tantrum in front of the entire fucking court was a legitimate diplomatic incident. That was BAD, that was a BAD THING that endangered a lot of people! It's said multiple times that the marriage was to link two kingdoms and strengthen them and Kit just Deciding to openly blow off her betrothed was A Bit Not Good actually!

And then Arik swoops in and smooths everything over because he's good with people, actually, he's good at sweet talking them, and he BASICALLY FUCKING SAVES KIT A LOT OF FACE and then his mom yells at him for it because she's stressed about Willow's prophesy and Kit's immature selfishness.

And then! When he makes the promise to Elora he actually really fucking means it?! He really, really does. He stays faithful to her when The Crone tries to seduce him and reveals he does!! Actually!! Know her name!!! He knows it's Brunhilda and calls her "Dove" because he realizes she doesn't like her actual name!!!! He knows that about her!! Because he fucking meant it!

And to top it all off, the poor boy is genre savvy!!!!!!!! He didn't do shit in the creepy abandoned city and when it started trying to *talk* to him HE FUCKING LEAVES. HE LITERALLY NOPES OUT BECAUSE THAT CAN'T BE GOOD, RIGHT? He doesn't even drink the orange glitter goo until he's forced to go back into the city *or fucking die*. And even THEN after he's been drinking The Wyrm's Milk or whatever the fuck he still resists the The Crone. He doesn't succumb immediately, in fact when he realizes what she is he *tries to leave again*.

(What I'm not mentioning here is that he is also possibly very magic sensitive in some way, because he reacts to The Crone with the same sort of shudder/groan thing he does with Elora which Eye Wood Lyke To Sea Examined Thank You).

My point is, Arik is smart. He knows his strengths and his weaknesses and is pretty happy to be pandered to, but is not completely fucking useless when taken out of his ivory tower. He did get captured but he knew how to use that sword before he did. He has faith, and loyalty, and a lot of strength of character and seems fairly content with the apparent state of things (Kit destined for the throne despite being younger than him technically? I was unclear on that).

"I am your king" being his "temptation" is not for the *power*. With "king" comes responsibility, and more importantly here RECOGNITION that he has extremely laudable and noble qualities. "King", for Arik, means that people will see him for more than what they expect to see when the look at him.

His mother dismisses his quick thinking and quite necessary diplomatic talent as meddling and his sister waves off him succumbing to brainwashing and torture after an (unknown but) long period of time during which he did *everything in his power to escape* as naiveté and gullibility. Even Elora doesn't really believe he's true to his word about her.

"I am your king" means "I have integrity, diplomacy, and intelligence and I am honored to be entrusted with the protection of my people". "I am your king" means "See me for who I am". "I am your king" means "Recognize my talents, or you will lose me as I lose myself". Not "I want power because I was born privileged and deserve it by divine right".

Anyway we better get a season 2.

#a riley special #willow #willow 2022 #willow series #arik tanthalos #rant #that thing about tragic figures being in the wrong story/genre?#yeah #thats my boy #anyway i love him #im so mad they cut his hair #airk tanthalos

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asongofstarkandtargaryen · 5 months

Note

Not to demonize Cat but the woman literally said Arya was a trial and she wanted her to be like Sansa; she admired Edmure’s efforts to look after his people but at the same time she saw them as useless mouths to feed; she wanted 14 year old Jon out of his own home in Winterfell. How is that supposed to be similar to him? Same with Sansa being Ned 2.0 just because she’s in the Vale. She doesn’t recall any of his lessons like his other kids do. He is a man who lived and died for his family and was overall well liked by his people. He carried Lyanna’s secret to his grave. Sansa snitched on her family (bitterly regretting it) because she was in love with the little psycho who tried to murder her sister and she barely had any contact with the smallfolk. The math doesn’t add up. Just reads like a Jon/sa fetich of NedCat 2.0, same people who insist Jon longs for Cat’s love and approval since he has oedipus complex or whatever. But one can not erase canon and none of the women Jon felt attracted to had anything to do with Cat. They need milk of the copey.

Yes, I agree with you.

Comparing Catelyn saying that Arya was "a trial" while the latter was missing to Jon gifting Arya the Needle, it's clear that those two characters view Arya's behavior differently.

Arya herself was doubting that her mother would want her ( which mind you wasn't true, Catelyn wanted both her daughters back. But it says a lot about the impression she had given to her child through her behavior). Meanwhile, she was certain that Jon would want her even if no one else would. Jon's acceptance is wholeheartedly, he doesn't criticize Arya's parts their society considers unwomanly ( and in fact, all the girls he finds attractive share those traits of hers).

Here is the thoughts of Catelyn when her brother gives shelter to innocent people in Riverlands war zone:

Only my sweet brother would crowd all these useless mouths into a castle that might soon be under siege.

ACOK - Catelyn I

Jon Snow in ADWD is doing exactly what Catelyn is criticizing her brother for, he gives shelter to "useless mouths" ( aka all the Wildings that can't contribute to the fight against the Others).

Jon's worldview, beliefs and behavior is so different from Catelyn's that it's laughable to claim that "he's Catelyn with Ned/Lyanna's characteristics". Do they have a couple of things/ traits in common? Surely, but so does almost any pair of pov characters. That doesn't mean all of them are copies of each other.

Moving to Sansa, I disagree with the fandom's notion that she's Ned 2.0. As you said, she doesn't recall his lessons like his other children do. That's not to condemn her because Ned taught mainly the boys and Catelyn was responsible for the girls ' education ( Arya is the exception here because we know that she liked to follow her father and see him performing his duties as the Castle's Lord).

And then there is the scene where Sansa tells Cersei her father's plan. Again, I'm not gonna codemn a 11 years old for making a silly decision but considering that a major theme in Ned's story is that he never revealed his sister's secret, preferring to soil his honor in order to protect it I fail to see the similarities between father and daughter in terms of personal values and priorities.

As I often say, Sansa was way closer to her mother than she ever was to her father and she shares some core beliefs with her ( plus her narrative comparison to Cat is important due to the Littlefinger obsession with both of them). So if the fans want to link Sansa to any of her parents, Catelyn the correct choice imo.

On a side note, I'm sure that you probably meant no harm but I don't like the word "psycho" to describe awful characters. Joffrey was a little shit but that was because he was spoiled by his mother and neglected by his father. He didn't have any psychosis. Mental illnesses affect real people and that's why I don't like seeing them being used as slurs.

#asoiaf ask #laren-dorrs

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zarvasace · 1 year

Text

The Bet

Gen gen, Time POV but all boys involved, no warnings, 1.8k words. AO3 link here! (and disability AU summary post here!)

What's stronger: a one-armed Twilight or Legend with four power bracelets? Legend, barely. Now, what about a one-armed Twilight or a wheelchair-pushing, blacksmith of a Four? Now, that question requires more thought. And maybe a few rupees laid down. (disability AU! :)

---

"We're not being disruptive, are we, ma'am?" Time asks quietly, sliding over a few rupees before picking up the rattling tray of bottles.

The older bartender winks at him and sweeps the rupees off into her hand in a practiced motion. The money disappears into her apron somewhere. "Not at all, sweet. Nice to have a bunch of people in here to make the place a bit more lively. Regulars don't mind none, either."

Time smiles back. "I'll make sure the boys calm down and get to bed before too long."

"Much appreciated."

He carries the tray of milk bottles back to the pushed-up tables that the group has taken over, and sets it next to the tray of used dishes, carefully out of Hyrule's personal space. Legend perches on a bench across from Twilight. He leans over the table with his left hand clutched in Twilight's as they push against each other. He wears several glittering bracelets over his usual golden cuff, and is doing much better than the first time he'd arm-wrestled Twilight, a little while ago.

"Come on, Legend," Sky says, standing at the edge of the table. He's been responsible for refereeing, and Wind is all but jumping up and down next to him, calling out the play-by-play for anyone who's not actively watching, which is mostly just Time and Hyrule.

"Twi shifts his elbow but the competition is still locked! Oh, oh, is that a hair of an advantage for Legend? Nope, Twi comes back! Come on, Legend, this is embarrassing!"

"Why are you cheering for him?" Twilight complains through gritted teeth. His forehead shines with sweat. "He has magic items!"

Wild laughs and nudges a bottle of milk into Hyrule's hand. "Exactly. Legend has, what, four of those strength-enhancing bracelets on that everyone seems to have except for me, no I'm not bitter, and he's still not winning against you!"

"Ah, screw this," Legend says, and heaves one last time. He manages to knock Twilight's arm over enough that Twilight can't recover. The back of his hand hits the table.

"Legend wins that one." Sky smiles. "Eventually."

'Very impressive,' Warriors adds. 'On Twilight's part, of course.'

Legend grimaces and shakes out his hand, then rolls his shoulder back. "I can pick up boulders with the Titans, Twi, Din's dandruff. Can you pick up buildings with your bare hands?"

"Never tried," Twilight laughs. He stretches out his arm, too. "I mean, it's nothing unusual. I've been goat-throwing since I was young."

Time shrugs and passes down a few bottles of milk for those at that end. "Your strength could be a touch supernatural, pup."

Twilight rolls his eyes at Time. "I doubt it."

"Okay, now I'm dying to know. Twilight, come over here," Four calls from the other end of the table.

With a baffled frown, Twilight moves to comply, and Four takes one step out of his chair to settle on the table bench. Time realizes what he's going for and moves a few empty bottles out of the way to give them room.

Four's eyes narrow as he looks at the table, and he reaches back into one of the bags hanging from his chair to grab a thick book. He plops it on the table, sticks his left elbow on top, and looks at Twilight expectantly.

"Oh," Twilight says, the light going off. "You sure?" He still takes the spot, though, and grabs Four's left hand in his own.

"Of course I'm sure. Your hand is sweaty, ew." Four still smiles, though, the expression copied across every other face hovering around. Time feels the same smile on his own lips, irrepressible.

"I've been arm-wrestling everyone, I'm not apologizing." Twilight glances at Sky for the signal to start, looking far more cocky than Time thinks he should.

Wind leans over the other end of the table. "Oh, now this is one I wanna see."

"Me too," Hyrule says, to the snorts and eye rolls that his casual jokes always engender.

Time notices Legend next to him nudging Warriors with his elbow. "Bet?" Legend mutters.

Warriors hesitates, squints at Four and Twilight arguing a little over the book under Four's elbow, then gives Legend a considering nod. His signs are small when he agrees. 'Twilight. It would be stupid to bet against him, after what he did to you.'

Legend snorts softly and pulls out a few rupees. "Yeah, but you haven't seen Four in the forge. I'm betting on him."

With a short laugh, Warriors matches the bet with rupees of his own, smiling as if to say that Legend is making a long bet. Time waits a moment, then hands a few gems off to Legend under the table.

"Sky will declare it a tie," Time whispers under Wild's laugh. Warriors gives him a look but doesn't protest, probably seeing Time's contribution as more for him.

"I look forward to being twenty-three rupees richer." Legend dumps the pile into a bag he pulls out of nowhere, and sets it innocently on the table. Hyrule raises his eyebrows—of course he noticed—but doesn't say anything.

Whatever issues Four and Twilight had have been argued out, and Sky briefly looks at the ceiling in fond exasperation. Then he looks back down, nods, and starts it off.

"Go."

The two hands clasped in the middle don't move much at first. Four's and Twilight's faces twist a little as they push against each other. Time hums, a little impressed with their concentration. The arm wrestles have all been casual, but his boys are competitive, and the winner matters. Everyone goes quiet as they watch.

For a solid few seconds, they're evenly matched. Twilight gains a few inches, but Four comes back a few seconds later with the force required to make them even. He can't quite get past there, though, and he's visibly straining more than Twilight is.

The boys start egging one or the other on, sometimes both. A well-timed joke about dog breath on Legend's part makes Twilight laugh and lose a bit of pressure. Legend gets Warriors's elbow in his side for that. Twilight recovers, though.

Four's free hand clenches into a white-knuckled fist and lifts above the table a bit as he tries to stop himself from using it for a small advantage. His concentration face is a bit terrifying, really, he's glaring into Twilight's eyes like he's taken offense with his very soul. Twilight manages to keep a smile on his own face, somehow.

As the seconds tick by, even Legend is starting to look a little scared. Having one member stronger than several power bracelets is one thing, but two? Doesn't Four have power bracelets of his own? Time makes a mental note to never get on either boy's bad side.

The tension peaks, like egg whites whipped into shape for something delicious. Time tastes victory as Sky looks unsure and opens his mouth.

That, of course, is when the side of the inn explodes into slivers and gravel.

Time wraps his fingers around the hilt of his sword on reflec, and notices most of the others doing the same. They've been relaxing, but they've all learned the benefit of being constantly prepared. Four, facing the wall that burst, takes advantage of Twilight's confusion to slam their hands down, technically winning. Sky doesn't notice, though, and as several monsters step past the wreckage to wade inside, they're all too concerned with fighting to worry about the arm wrestling contest.

With the power bracelets he's still wearing, Legend uses an entire table like a club to stun a moblin. Twilight kicks aside the rubble to help pull out one of the tavern patrons who'd been in the blast zone, and Hyrule helps him, using healing potions as a cover for using a few motes of magic, nothing extravagant. The man seems to be okay.

There are enough monsters to keep them all busy for a little while. It's a bit cramped in here, but Time has his smaller sword, and the others are pretty aware of the space. Wild and Hyrule tend to go a bit wide when they fight, but Hyrule's focused on helping the other patrons out of the danger, and Wild chose a shortspear to keep with him. Behind them all, Four has pushed himself to the tabletop and sits there with his tiny crossbow, not doing much damage but keeping monsters distracted with slivers of bolts stuck in their eyes and throats.

They're effective, if perhaps a little destructive. At least none of them are severely injured. When the last monster falls and turns to dust, leaving behind some equipment and bloodstains, Time looks around at the jagged glass and splintered stools and hides a wince. He drops his blackened sword off at the table and heads to the intact bar to find the bartender.

She's hiding behind the bar, a broken bottle in her hand and a spark in her eyes that tells Time she would have fought if she had to. He confirms that the fight is over, apologizes profusely for the damage and the disturbance, and Wild helpfully hands over a fistful of gems. The bartender looks a bit more friendly after that.

After patching up the wall with canvas tarps and setting things to rights as best they can, Time herds everyone toward the stairs. Four takes Twilight's offer of a ride on his back, and Hyrule makes sure Legend can make it. Wind is slow, going up the stairs one at a time, and he stops near the top as if struck by lightning.

"Hey!" he says, and the tone makes more than one person pause in alarm. "What about the arm wrestle? Who won?"

"I think Four did, at the end," Legend says with an arm over Hyrule's shoulders. He says it casually. Too casually.

'The distraction was unfair, though,' Warriors shoots back, turning around before heading into one of the rooms they'd booked. 'Twilight would have won.'

"Would he have?" Time asks mildly. Legend shoots him a vitriolic glare.

Sky laughs, the sound soaked and reflected by the warm wood around them. "Let's just call it a tie, then."

"Until next time, rancher," Four says from his spot on Twilight's back, and Twilight grins in return.

Warriors sighs, but elbows Legend again, who pulls out the bag of bet rupees and all but throws it at Time.

"Hey, you were betting without me?" Wind asks, his voice climbing.

"Next time, sailor," Time promises with a pat to Wind's shoulder as he passes.

Warriors's face darkens in outrage. 'Next time nothing, Time! Don't teach him that!'

"As if he doesn't already know!"

"I'm right here!"

"Goodnight," Twilight says, his voice barely holding laughter back.

#linked universe #disability au #my writing #lu fic #lu four #lu time #lu twilight #lu warriors #lu legend

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