I finally did it ! I’ve finished my (old) illustration of Laurent of Vere and Damen (or more likely Damianos of Akielos here !) from the beautiful Captive Prince books ! I’ll never be tired of them I think haha… I love to think about them sometimes, happy together, lazily chilling after a long day ruling their kingdom together…
I hope you’ll like them too !
ftr yallre free to hate thea, it's unrealistic to assume every reader will like every character
bc you're against the 4yr/freshman-senior gap, bc she wasn't well-presented in her scene, bc i cxld the story that would've actually given her more time to breathe, bc you don't want Kevin with a Raven, bc her no-harm-no-foul approach to a man whose first response after any tragedy is "but can you still play", cool cool cool, that's fine by me. i have hated characters for less!
we're only revisiting her now because of the persistent argument that she somehow went out of her way to fuck a 14yo or groom kevin. unsure where or how it started, but at this point I have to assume something in the EC was blindingly unclear. so let's revisit it. not a rewrite or a retcon, but a reword of what we've already talked about before, in hopes it adds a bit of overdue clarification. and then I'mma mute her name, let the conversation die, and keep on keepin' on with my plans for her. thanks, lovies <3
Theodora Muldani "Thea"
Recruited to the Ravens as one of their token women. Advised from the get-go that the master is against both her race and her sex, and that she will have work twice as hard to earn her place. Spends years fighting her way up the ranks until the master finally approves her for starting line-up. Nominates self for vice-captain her senior year (soundly rejected). Had been seeing the captain at the time, but broke things off with him when he laughed off her irritation ("of course he wouldn't pick you, you're a girl"). Spends her senior year in a casual fling with the Ravens' starting goalkeeper.
Summer practices before her 5th year, the perfect Court officially join the lineup. Sees a lot of Jean, who follows her around wanting advice and insight. Sees more of Kevin & Riko (always together, since the two never leave each other alone in a room). Knows Riko is King, but is predisposed to be annoyed with Kevin who has already made snide comments about her goalkeeper and who dispenses nonstop opinions and judgment without invitation. They spend the next several months shit-talking each other's skills until Riko gets tired of it and tells Kevin to just fuck her already. Finding out that's why Kevin has been such a wretched bitch to put up with finally makes him interesting.
Thea drops things with her goalie, but Kevin is leery of actively pursuing her long-term when it puts her under Riko's microscope. They settle for harassing each other on the court and passing notes (sometimes using Jean as the bitter go-between). Kevin fusses at her for turning down the national team; she tells him he's better than Riko is. Bit by bit they see pieces of who they are past the Ravens, his love of history and her dream of climbing Kilimanjaro. Bit by bit they see how much they both want to be the best on the court, to be unchallenged and unstoppable. They're compatible, and Thea knows it, but Kevin has years at Evermore still, has a King!brother in his line-of-sight at all times and a master who is hawking him out to the press on a regular basis.
Thea promises to cut him out when she graduates. She has the national Court calling her back and professional teams trying to sign her to their line; she has enough to keep her busy and new lineups to hone her skills against. She'll focus on her own growth and let Kevin get through Evermore's hurdles. She says "Tell me if I should come back", and Kevin says "Yes". She jokes that he should get some practice in with the ladies while she's gone so he'll be ready for her: a joking insult against his skills to rile him up, a promise she'll wait as long as it takes, and reassurance that he isn't bound to her and can pursue other people if he so desires. Thea graduates, signs with the Houston Sirens and the US Court, and goes on to earn a fearsome reputation.
Almost two years later, the news is out: Kevin has been injured in a skiing accident and has vanished. Thea breaks her promise and tries to reach him, but his number is disconnected. She tries Jean next, and Jean tells her Kevin wants nothing to do with any of them anymore. Then Kevin starts helping at an unworthy scrap of a school, and he joins their lineup like he's not ashamed to be associated with dead-last losers. The future Thea was waiting for is burning; she puts everything she has into her own career and life to try and figure out where to go from here.
And then one day Kevin opens his mouth on live TV and says "Did you know I've never been skiing?"
She can't reach Jean for an explanation. She can't even reach Riko. So Thea breaks her promise a second time, and this time she buys a ticket to South Carolina to get the answers for herself.
I can’t even begin to express how much work and effort went into this piece and the fic it accompanies. If you enjoy flowershop aus and seeing Shinsou be a flustered mess please do check out “Poppies, Hemlock and Snowdrop It” by Kuriskhaos
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Random writing thought: the best stories are often the ones that only you could have written — but also the ones that you could only write at this one moment.
I couldn't write All the Birds in the Sky from scratch now if I tried. But the me of 2013 couldn't have written The Prodigal Mother either.
When people ask if I'd change anything about a book I've already written, I want to explain to them that I'm not the person who wrote that book any longer, and even if I tried right now I'd write a different one. Everything you make as a writer* is a combination of what you want to say and who you are at the time you are telling that story.
Katsuki nuzzles into Eijirou’s side on the couch, tired from the long day they had. Empty boxes are strewn about the apartment and the sun is beginning to set. Moving is a lot of work, even if your boyfriend is a muscle-freak firefighter. He yawns as he feels the weight of the exhaustion tug at his tired eyes. Eijirou wraps an arm around Katsuki’s waist, drawing him closer.
“Should I grab one of those boxes?”
Katsuki cracks an eye open and peers up at Eijirou. “Hm?”
“So that you can take a cat nap,” he teases.
Katsuki scowls. “I don’t sleep in boxes.” His ears flick backwards to show how annoyed he is and Eijirou kisses Katsuki’s temple in apology.
“I’m teasing. Are you hungry? I could order pizza.”
Katsuki holds his stern gaze for a moment longer before conceding his anger to the backburner. “Pizza sounds good. Wake me up when it gets here?”
Eijirou nods. “Go lay down.”
Climbing off the sofa, Katsuki’s arms and legs want to give out on him. Considering the fact that Eijirou already has a fully furnished apartment, they didn’t move a ton of Katsuki’s belongings, but it was still a lot of work. He slinks off to the bedroom and pulls back the comforter. Katsuki paws at the sheets and the pillows for a minute, then curls up into a ball, and draws the blanket over his body. His tail swishes between the sheets until he drifts off into the unknown.
He wakes to the sound of Eijirou’s voice and a gentle nudge of his shoulder shaking him awake. Katsuki blinks twice, then picks up the scent of pizza.
“Food’s here,” says Eijirou.
Katsuki sits up to yawn, arching his back as he stretches his arms high above his head. It feels like he had only been asleep for minutes. He crawls out of bed and follows Eijirou to the kitchen sleepily. Plates are already set on the table. There’s a cup of iced tea waiting for him, and he takes a seat. Eijirou sits across from him and opens the pizza box. Katsuki dishes his pizza slices onto his plate, then pauses.
“Should we say something? Do people usually say something when they move in together?”
Eijirou shrugs. “I’ve never lived with anyone so I’m not sure, but we can. It sounds nice.”
Katsuki can hardly believe Eijirou has never lived with anyone else given his age, but he holds his tongue. “Um, okay… I guess I’m glad you asked me to move in. You gave me a key right away, but I never anticipated we would get this far.”
Eijirou smiles. “I still can’t believe the angry kitty I rescued from a tree in the park wound up being my boyfriend.” He leans across the table and presses a soft kiss to Katsuki’s lips. “I love you, Kats.”
Katsuki rolls his eyes. “I love you too or whatever.” He waves his hand to brush off the affection, then picks up a slice of pizza and begins to eat, though he can’t help the blush that colors his cheeks.
A gift for @0ceanbleuu and @alythekitten
You can also read it on AO3 and consider checking out the entire series.
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