Fantasy AUs

[nerdietalk]

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[fluidgender]

[Well... she'll drop some fur into the bowl, just to see.

Its... two fae. No one anyone would recognize. They're just... happily handing her over to the royals, even in the immediate aftermath of her birth.

Kaori leans against Fuu.]

[hououji]

[ Fuu finally pulls her hand away from Ranma to hold Catra, stroking her hair. ]

Birth doesn’t have to matter, love. We are the luckiest people alive that you’re ours.

[fluidgender]

Yeah, I know. Just... wanted to be sure I was abandoned. I knew I was but...

Good to know I'm with my real family.

[hououji]

[ Fuu kisses the top of her head! Adora kinda… awkwardly tries to hold her shoulder?

She and ranma are just SO good at affection.

But nia holds out her hair for her turn! ]

[fluidgender]

Careful, they bite. [The old ladies frown at him, even as Ranma continues to hold these kids gently.

But... Nia's hair goes in the bowl.]

[hououji]

[ Something weird happens right off the bat. Everyone else has shimmered into two images split down the bowl.

This splits into three, rippling. ]

[fluidgender]

H-Huh?! [Ranma pulls Nia back, holding onto as many as they can protectively. Even the scryers seem spooked.]

[hououji]

[ at first it’s Fuu and ranma. Looking younger, for sure, but much healthier. Fuu has color and a roundness in her face again. Ranma seems happier, too.

Nia presses against ranma, wanting affection. But she’s confused.

The third portion shows the fae king, he’s speaking with someone without sound, pulling a child from a woman’s arms. A child with fluffy blue and blonde striped hair.

Fuu is horrified, but Catra will be the only one able to notice a physical difference in her as she pulls her closer. ]

I don’t… understand? What does this mean?

[fluidgender]

...It means... part of your family tree... definitely comes from us.

[But that third part... the implications... its overwhelming.]

[hououji]

But this… only shows direct parents? [ Fuu is looking at the seers ]

[fluidgender]

...Taking blood from a few parties, mixing it all together...

With fae magic involved... not impossible that they could find a way to build a child of their own.

[lowres]

… Build? A child? What do you mean?

[fluidgender]

It appears you are a child of three. Using the blood of the princess, the prince, and the fae, you were born.

Congratulations, Princess Nia. Meet your parents.

[lowres]

[ Nia looks. So very, very confused. ] I don’t understand.

[fluidgender]

[Ranma looks weakly at Fuu and the other daughters, before returning their gaze to Nia.]

Well, um...

I guess abandoned isn't quite the right word for what happened to you...

[lowres]

But why would anyone do something like that? And then send me here? What was the point?

[ She doesn’t sound emotional about it. Just. Confused. ]

[fluidgender]

...Well, with... the kidnappings and the swaps... I imagine there might have been a political plan to hurt someone.

[No way to put that delicately.]

[lowres]

[ she looks confused a moment more, then deflates a little.

She and Fuu ask it at the same time. ]

… What now?

[fluidgender]

...Well.

[Ranma has to think about it. They can talk about trauma. They can talk about the feeling of violation. They can talk about the history lost. The lies. The things they don't know. The things they'll never know. The pieces they have to rebuild. The pieces they'll never find.]

Well.

...We came in here expecting to confirm that we have two daughters, no matter what. Now we have three.

I say, let's feast.

[hououji]

You want to hold a feast? [ Fuu raises her eyebrows. ] It could… project confidence. Ease the people a little.

[fluidgender]

Certainly. There's all kinds of political benefits.

And also, I have three daughters and a wife who need to eat. I want to eat and I want to see everyone healthy. As far as I'm concerned, this is a time to celebrate instead of wallow in.

[hououji]

It will be a difficult thing to explain…

Kaori, would you like to draft a statement with me? [ Learn how that’s done? ]

[fluidgender]

Well, only if everyone's comfortable with things being public knowledge. We could also just have a feast for everyone's safe return.

[Kaori sort of looks to Adora and Nia to check on their states but.] Yeah, I could... help I guess.

[hououji]

[ Adora looks. Guilty. Oh man she made everything so much more complicated.

But ranma and Fuu get a biological daughter that suits them more. All regal and cute and whatever. All the more reason she can pull back into the shadows. ]

[fluidgender]

...Maybe we focus on the survival part and worry about announcing anything else later.

As long as there's meat, that's what I'm hoping for.