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autumnslance · 3 years

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What I’ve actually been working on for a bit over a week, now that the Zenos brainworm has been evicted. Back to Stormblood 4.0 and two besties having a post-sparring chat about current crushes and past regrets. Below the cut for those who prefer Tumblr to Ao3:

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Lyse and Aeryn fell on their backs onto the palm of Rhalgr, laughing as their early morning sparring session ended in a draw.

“Maybe we got a little carried away...But you have to admit that was fun,” Lyse said, lolling her head in Aeryn’s direction. “You’re getting better at hand to hand.”

“C’oretta’s been putting me through my paces. Got to keep up with her energy,” Aeryn replied, staring at the now-blue sky, the sun high enough over the mountains to have burned away the last of the early morning colors.

“I should practice with her more then,” Lyse said. “When we’re done with...all this.” She vaguely waved her arm, before letting it flop back to her chest. She kept watching Aeryn. “So what are you going to do once we’ve saved Krile and freed Ala Mhigo?”

“Nap,” Aeryn said immediately, setting off another round of giggles from them both.

“Oh-kay, that’s fair. But after that? Or maybe before?”

“If you’re going fishing you’re going to need actual bait, Lyse.” Aeryn turned her head enough to grin at her friend.

Lyse grinned back and rolled to her side, propping up on her left elbow. “I’m just asking, if there’s anything--or anyone--you’ve been thinking about.”

Aeryn frowned for a moment, looking to the sky again. “...Not particularly.”

Lyse wrinkled her nose. “You’re a terrible liar. C’mon, Aeryn, you can say it.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” she replied, her hands briefly gesturing from the wrist only before dropping back to their resting spots on her stomach.

“Right, because you didn’t spend half our time in the Far East writing letters to and talking and thinking about certain charming rogues.”

Aeryn didn’t reply, her brows drawing down as she frowned more.

“Aer-yn.”

“What do you want, Lyse?” Aeryn sighed, turning now to mirror Lyse, propped on her right elbow.

“For you to admit whatever’s going on in your head concerning—”

“Oh don’t—”

“Thancred,” Lyse finished. At Aeryn’s wince and blush, she grinned again. “Aha-ha! I’m right, I knew it.”

“We’re friends—”

“So are you and a lot of other people, none of whom make you look like that.”

“...Like what?”

“You’re not just blushy, you’re...I dunno, like someone’s knocked the wind out of you, but in a good way. Your eyes practically glitter when you’re looking at him. Which is a lot when he’s around, by the way.”

“You’re exaggerating. Also we’ve seen Thancred for a whole, what, half a bell since we returned?”

“I know what I saw. What I’ve been seeing, every time you got a letter. Or wrote one, for that matter; you even write to him differently than you do to Rashae or anyone else.”

Aeryn rolled her eyes, but the blush had deepened and crept up her ears and down her neck. “You know I don’t--It’s not that easy--I…” she frowned again, trying to organize her thoughts, but from the thoughtful little crease between her eyes, Lyse knew Aeryn was now truly considering it.

“And you believe you messed up with Haurchefant,” Lyse said quietly. Aeryn didn’t respond. “That’s why you don’t realize what’s been happening.”

“And what, pray tell, has been happening?”

“You acting like a besotted schoolgirl, that’s what.”

“I am not.”

“Oh yes you are. And it’s adorable.”

“Take that back.”

“I shan’t,” Lyse replied in sing-song. Her smile quickly faded and it was her turn to sigh. “I didn’t want you getting involved with him when you first joined the Scions, you know,” she mused. “One, I knew you weren’t interested, and two—well, I’d known Thancred too long.” They both snorted and giggled again.

“But,” Lyse finally continued once they’d calmed. “You two have always had a rapport. You got to be pretty good friends, and I don’t know, it seems like with everything since finding me and Papalymo again, and then after Minfilia left...It’s become something else and it’s...nice.”

Aeryn didn’t answer right away, staring at some spot on the stone palm between them, and for a moment Lyse began to think she had definitely overstepped when Aeryn finally replied, very quietly, “It feels nice.” She frowned and looked at Lyse again, her grey eyes dark. “Things have changed but I don’t know that it’s,” she stopped and thought for a moment. “I don’t want to...ruin anything.”

“I have a hard time believing you could ruin anything, even if you tried.”

“You’d be surprised,” Aeryn said, rolling onto her back again. “I tried relationships when I was a girl in Thavnair. Twice. Neither worked out because...well…”

“You don’t like sex.”

Aeryn winced at Lyse’s bluntness. “It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just...not something I look for. It’s fun in the moment, but not a priority. And for a lot of people…”

“It’s important,” Lyse said. “So you think any relationship is doomed because you don’t have the same wants as other people?”

Aeryn nodded.

“Hrm. Well, I’m no expert, but seems to me that’s one of those things you’d just have to talk about. That whole being adults...thing.” Lyse waved a hand again, gratified by Aeryn’s small smile in response. “Which you likely just weren’t experienced enough for all those years ago, right?” She paused, frowning. “Orrr, is this also about Haurchefant?”

Aeryn covered her face in her hands and made a frustrated noise. “Gods, if I could purge those rumors and stories and the damned songs about that…” She sighed again and let her hands drop to her chest. “It...was sort of like those earlier attempts. He was kind, and I knew how much he cared for me, and I guess I...tried to reciprocate. Confusing his feelings for mine, maybe? Sometimes it’s hard to tell.”

“You mean because of the Echo?” Each Walker’s Echo was a little bit different, and Aeryn’s made her especially empathic at times, Lyse knew.

Aeryn nodded. “Probably didn’t help that everything after Ul’dah was just...I was lonely, and scared, and I thought…” She shook her head. “I was stupid, and before I could apologize and fix it...Well.”

“You are far from stupid.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t make stupid mistakes.”

“Well, sure. Still, you couldn’t have messed up that badly.” At Aeryn’s cringe, Lyse raised a brow. “Come on.”

“I did sleep with him—once.”

“Really?” Lyse rolled onto her stomach, chin propped in both her hands.

Aeryn rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t...It was a stressful day.”

“You’ll have to be more specific. Your idea of a stressful day is different from other peoples’.”

“Fair.” She grinned at Lyse. “I had to babysit Emmanellain de Fortemps.”

“All right, that does explain a lot.”

“He got himself kidnapped by the Vundu…”

“Of course he did.”

“I went ahead, while Honoroit ran back to get aid--so, Haurchefant and a couple Haillenarte knights--and that was the day we learned about Bismark, as Cid rescued us with his ever-exceptional piloting before we were eaten.”

“That is a stressful day, even by your standards.”

“We stayed the night at the Rosehouse, there in the Sea of Clouds. Haurchefant came to my room--he claimed he had some nightmare that I had gone to fight the primal and had to see if I was all right; an irrational concern--”

“I don’t know, it’s what you do.”

“Well, yes, but not--anyroad, we spoke, and...held one another; not uncommon. But I felt as though something in me just...broke, and I wanted...I don’t know. Comfort? Closeness? ...I fear I may have simply used him…”

“I doubt that,” Lyse said gently. “You cared for him, right?”

Aeryn nodded.

“Well there you go. You had a vulnerable moment like any of us mere mortals,” she ignored Aeryn’s latest eyeroll. “It happened. And given what I’ve heard of Haurchefant, it couldn’t have been that terrible.”

“It wasn’t! But...As soon as he left—had to ‘protect my reputation’ or whatever—I realized...I didn’t,” Aeryn huffed as she paused in thought again. “I loved him, but not...like that. I couldn’t give him what he wanted.”

“And what’d he say to that?”

“That’s the thing; we never got to talking about it. I...avoided him for a bit after that, just to get my own head straight, think about what I wanted to say and why...and then we went on our mission to Dravania, and then it was just one thing after another and…” Her voice cracked. She took a breath and shook her head. “I regret not taking the opportunity to be honest with him.”

“Makes sense. And I can see why you’re hesitating to open up like that again. You’re afraid what you’re feeling is a reflection of Thancred’s feelings.”

Aeryn made a face. “I wouldn’t go so far as to presume what he feels—“

“I would,” Lyse stated. She smirked at Aeryn, then shrugged. “Before I would have said this is one of his fleeting infatuations. Buuut I’ve been watching since we rejoined you all in Mor Dhona, and he’s been...different.”

“How do you mean?”

“Well if I didn’t know better, lots of what I hear about how he behaved, up ‘til about Papalymo and I got back to the Toll, sounds like he was flat jealous.”

“Of what?”

Lyse scoffed. “Of other people being interested in you, of course. Not that you notice that ever. There’ve been talks he and I have had, where I look back and realize there were multiple meanings going on and I hate that he can’t just talk plainly like a normal person, but anyway the biggest one was when we did see him briefly in Castrum Oriens before he went off to find Krile.”

“He seemed normal to me,” Aeryn said, though she was pointedly not looking at Lyse.

Lyse recalled how Thancred had turned and smiled, his shoulders lifting as if a weight had been removed from them; not unusual in anyone, really, when the Warrior of Light walked by, but something about Thancred had lit up from within, and his uncovered eye had practically devoured Aeryn head to toe before simply settling on her, like someone basking in a sunbeam in the bath. In all the time Lyse had known him, he had never looked at anyone like that. And Lyse had known Thancred through some of his earliest attempts at relationships, when the experiences and emotions were all new (and Yda had teased him so much back in those days, before Lyse herself really understood what was happening), as well as more recent ones as an adult he had no real serious interest in.

“Well, he wasn’t normal,” Lyse said, uncertain how to explain it all out loud. “Neither were you, for that matter. If you’re acting like a schoolgirl, he’s just as bad.”

“Ugh!” Aeryn sat up, wincing a little, resting her arms on her half-drawn-up knees. “I still say you’re exaggerating.” She looked away. “...And given my Echo, it’s possible just one of us reflecting off the other.”

Progress, of a sort. Lyse sat up too. “I still say I’m not, and I don’t think so. Know how I know?”

“How Lyse?” Aeryn glanced at her friend, brows drawn into a helplessly annoyed expression.

“The way you were in the East when he was nowhere around,” Lyse reminded her. “Writing him letters, and excited to get his personal reply along with the reports. You wouldn’t even realize you were mentioning him, or telling stories, and the way you sounded and looked when doing so. And I know you were thinking about him other times, too.” She smirked as Aeryn went crimson again.

“...Fine. Maybe. It’s still...weird and makes no sense and doesn’t mean anything.”

“Means a whole lot, actually. You did say earlier that it felt nice.”

“Yes but...He’s a friend, and a colleague, and he...well…” Aeryn made a helpless gesture.

“Oh no; use your words!”

Aeryn let out an exasperated noise. “I don’t want to make the same mistake again,” she blurted finally.

“So, don’t,” Lyse shrugged, chin on her hand, elbow propped on a knee. “You know what went wrong with Haurchefant, and those others when you were younger. Thancred’s a smart man, and more considerate than he lets on. You can figure it out.”

“I don’t know that I should. It may not be a good idea, given...everything.”

“‘Everything’ like what, exactly?”

“Like, that we live and work together as Scions. That we’re in the middle of a war--which, by the way, we really ought to be meeting the others--and just…everything.”

“You mean being the Warrior of Light.”

Aeryn sighed. “Gotta admit, there’s a lot of...a lot, with it. Most of it I don’t even want.”

“Or it’s all the more reason, given who else outside the Scions really knows what you do?” Lyse shrugged as she got to her feet and stretched. “Food for thought, at least.” She reached down to offer Aeryn a hand up. “I think it’s a good idea, for the record,” she said as she hauled Aeryn to her feet and into a hug. “But that may be because I want to see my friends happy.”

Aeryn returned the embrace. “Thanks, Lyse. Let’s get cleaned up and meet the others.”

She was deflecting again, but that was all right; she was at least thinking about it now. Lyse nodded in agreement. “Thanks for the practice; I know I feel better.”

They negotiated the massive stone wrist and forearm to reach the entryway back into the old temple, then down the long, twisting stairs to the base. On emerging from the old door at the literal foot of the statue, they were met by Resistance runners delivering updates on matters in the Lochs, and a request from General Aldynn to return as soon as possible now that Alisaie and the other injured were safely in the Reach.

Lyse sighed as the runners left to make their next deliveries. “Guess cleanup can wait. If we teleport to Ala Ghiri we can meet Pipin and the others there and head to Praetoria together.”

“Good thing it has to wait, since Naago’s already there,” Aeryn said, a sly smirk on her face as Lyse stumbled.

“Wha—? I don’t know what you--Since when did she okay you calling her that?”

“I’m just pointing out that you call her that. Often. And I’m thinking maybe she can help you clean up since you’re so familiar.”

“Aeryn!” Lyse gawped.

“What?” She asked, all fake sweet innocence, hands clasped behind her back as she rocked on her toes.

Lyse peered. “Maybe you do notice more than you let on,” she muttered. Then shook her head. “I’m the Commander of the Resistance now, which means Na-M’Naago is my subordinate--don’t you dare!” she threatened, wagging a finger as Aeryn bit her lip, though that did nothing to suppress her giggles. “And it...it wouldn’t be proper or professional or...or something…” Rhalgr’s sake, now Lyse was the one feeling hot and blushing; her skin must have nearly matched her dress.

Aeryn patted Lyse’s shoulder as she buried her face in her hands. “I think no one’s going to care.”

“You know what? I take it all back; you’ve obviously spent too much time with Thancred already. Any more and it��s irresponsible levels of corruption.”

Aeryn laughed. “Don’t poke if you can’t handle getting poked back, Lyse!” She wrapped her arm around Lyse’s back and gave her a quick hug. “Though I do think you two are cute and I definitely know what I’ve seen is not me projecting,” she stage-whispered, grinning.

Lyse side-eyed her, trying very hard to be grumpy. “You’re lucky you’re my best friend and I love you or I’d kick your arse so hard right now.”

“Like you didn’t half a bell ago?”

“That was a draw! I could have had you!”

“Probably!” Aeryn sang, adjusting so they were walking arm in arm as they crossed the Reach toward the aetheryte.

Lyse grumbled, but couldn’t help smiling, too. This had been a nice reprieve from everything else going on before the final push to Ala Mhigo, and hopefully saving Krile along the way.

Alphinaud joined them at the aetheryte, grinning in that cheeky way he had when he had gotten the last word in on his and Alisaie’s latest verbal spar. Just to playfully annoy him, Lyse lightly punched him in the arm while Aeryn ruffled his hair before she initiated the teleport to Ala Ghiri for all three of them, to get back to the business of the war.

Despite that, Lyse knew that at some point in all this mess she was going to have to catch and play Little Sister to their resident sneak and probably just straight up bully him into admitting what he was thinking and spur him to do something about it. These two idiots would be happy one way or another, dammit, if Lyse had her way.

And if nothing else it might distract them from Lyse’s own love life issues. One could always hope, anyroad.

#Final Fantasy XIV #Lyn Writing #Stormblood #Lyse Hext #Shippy Nonsense #Thancred Waters #Haurchefant Greystone #Thancred x Wol #Haurchefant x WoL #Aeryn Striker

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thewritingdesk · 4 years

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It Had to be You ~ Part Two

Summary: Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world she walked into hers. Lin Beifong saw the world in two colors; black and white. That changes though when she meets the siren working with one of the largest gangs in Republic City.

Azami never had a choice. Didn’t have a way out. But she could destroy things from the inside. She could move information around. She could lie and smile with the best of them.

Neither needed anyone. Neither needed love. So what happens when fate ties them together? Can they save each other? Or will a smoking gun end something before it begins

A/N: A 1930s/40s LOK AU. Note that there will be themes that were present during this time including smoking, drinking, underlying homophobia, and potentially smut later on down the line. Writer’s views are not that of the characters.

Word count: 2046

In a city that shines from both street lights and stars, you’d think that all that glittered was gold. That truly, such a marvel of a city had achieved a beautiful balance in the world and everyone lived peacefully. Crime is minimal and the law has won.

But Azami knew better. The mirror’s reflection reminded her of that.

She’d experienced what it had been like to beg for her meal and hope the abandoned building had a dry place for her to sleep. And that the cops wouldn’t kick her out if they found her. Her parents had died young. Trip Threats said her father owed them money. Tossed him in the bay tied to a boulder. Her mother had been shot in the head when she’d tried to run. Azami hid in their pantry and heard it all.

She’d been fifteen when she took her first stage job. A lie and enough makeup to pass for eighteen had gotten her the gig. When they’d figured out her talents when it came that, the smaller leagues used her to move information around. Supply runs and caches for those that had needed them. Throw off the larger gangs and the police in hopes to feed those that the rest of the world turned their back on.

Brush strokes through her hair. One-two-three-four. Moving in time to the tinny sound of a trumpet and drum. Eyes that she displayed for the world that filled themselves with fires looked tired. Cheeks were gaunt.

“Nothing a little makeup can’t fix, doll.”

Takao had said to her after he’d smacked her across the face for sneaking the bus boy some food from the kitchen. Never enough to bruise. Only enough to control. Him and the four cronies that had started to show up more and more to stir things up. Setting the brush down, fingers pinned the front of her dark brown locks into a victory roll, leaving the rest of her hair to curl around her shoulders.

“Dyke freak like her would want ‘em soft.”

Feed the chief lies. Hook her with a smile. Leave her always wanting more, but remember, stay out of reach.

Nightingale, that is what they’d started calling her. Her voice was melodic and rang clear like the songbird. She fluttered around and went unnoticed, like the songbird. She was caged, like a songbird. The stage was her cage, no matter how she loved it. No matter how she had lied to herself and painted it in gold.

It was on the stage that Takao had discovered her. Had found her her family had been, and what her father had once been. It was the stage that he’d watched her eyes linger not on the men that came through the door. It was the stage that he chained her to the floor.

“Remember, little bird, the world has no sympathy for a freak with no power.”

Men like Takao had seized power after the uprisings that forced the council to step down as the head of the city. They had turned a blind eye to things such as who could love who. The president who was easily bought, easily swayed, was not so easily blinded. It was this man who had let the three major gangs begin to take over the city. Allowed for those who had already oppressed, already crippled, to only feel the hand around their throat tighten. It was his fault that she…

“Ten more minutes until curtain, Miss Nightingale.”

Jumping from her reverie, Azami turned to the young boy who had come to her door and nodded to him. Thanking him quietly, she quickly moved to dress in the crimson red dress that had been selected. The dress hugged and skimmed over her hips and showed off her thin waist. The V in the back showing off the soft skin, while thin straps sat on her shoulders.

A doll, she was a doll.

Slipping into her shoes, white gloves were slipped on before she left the room and headed for the stage.

Lin wasn’t sure how she found herself back in the smoke filled club. Or how she found herself seated at a table, whiskey in hand, rather than leaning against the bar. She’d even gone home to change out of her uniform. Black trousers that cinched high on her waist paired with the white silk blouse that tapered into her form, two buttons left open to allow her neck to be seen. She’d kept the bun, but put on some lipstick.

Maybe it had been something in those eyes that made her forget herself. She was just here to get information, she’d be able to sit without standing out dressed like this.

That’s what she told herself anyway.

So lost in her thoughts Lin had been that she hadn’t noticed Azami take the stage, hadn’t noticed the shift in the room as it stilled. Waiting for the first notes from the maestro that stood on the stage.

“Stars fading, but I linger on, dear

Still craving your kiss

I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear

Just saying this”

The siren’s pull had moved from her ears and down to her belly. The smooth sounds catching her off guard as pale green eyes sought out the darker green ones. Something was off about them tonight. The fire was still there, and they still held hers captive but there was something deeper. Something Lin couldn’t put a word to.

“Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you

Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you

But in your dreams whatever they be

Dream a little dream of me.”

The song faded as eyes locked, whiskey came to her lips and burned her throat. An anchor. Something to hold her there. She couldn’t fall under the spell completely if she was still feeling the burn of the alcohol. If she could feel the outside world still tugging at her.

Unlike the previous night, she didn’t make her way to her immediately. She waited. She listened as she sang through the upbeat tunes. Watched as she accepted a martini from a man, only to set it back on the bar when his back had turned.

Sitting back in her chair, she pulled her own cigarette from its case a bit too forcefully before lighting and releasing her own mark into the air. She knew she was there.

Azami had felt the chief’s eyes on her most of the night. Felt them as she made her rounds, made her wait. Tempted her to fetch her from the hands of others. She was almost disappointed when she didn’t. Finally making her way to the table, she offered Lin one of her signature smiles before taking her seat.

“I’m glad you could make it, chief. Did you enjoy the set?” Azami asked, a finger motioning one of the waiters over. Ordering herself another gin and tonic she sat back in her chair.

Lin brought the cigarette back to her lips and had just pulled a drag from it when fingers reached over and plucked it from her hand. She watched the other woman bring it to her lips deliberately, eyes never leaving hers and watching her expectantly.

“It was...good.” Her hand reached for the cigarette when it was handed back to her, noticing the way the two lipsticks seemed to mingle. “Now, about our deal.”

“Patience isn’t your strong suit, is it chief?” Azami asked, offering the waiter a winning smile when her drink was brought to her. “While I enjoy my drink for a moment, why don’t you tell me about your day.”

“My day? Why the fuck would you want to know--”

“Do you see that man behind me? The one in the obnoxious red suit?” Azami asked and waited until she received a nod from the chief before speaking again. “That’s Jun. Not a major player so he wouldn’t be on your radar, but he reports back to Ju-long who…”

“Who is one of the higher ups to the Agni Kai triad.” Lin finished and reached for her drink.

“Very good, chief.” Sipping her drink, Azami watched the woman. “All of these men know you. All of them are trying to discern if you’re you, or if you’re just another woman.”

“And what happens if they find out?” Lin asked, sipping her whiskey.

“They let you go the other night. Coming in more than once means one of two things; you’re willing to be bought, or you’re on to something. Guess it depends which you present to them.” Azami answered, setting her glass down.

She could feel Takao’s eyes on her and tried to ignore it. Instead she tried to focus on the pale green of Lin’s eyes, she wondered if she realized there were small auburn fleks in the green. Probably not.

“And how did a lady like you get caught up in this?”

“A lady she says, been a while since someone called me that.” Azami chuckled and folded her arms. “That’s a long, sad story. Maybe I’ll let you convince me to tell you about it, one day. Now, to our deal, there’s four people that keep coming in to speak with the owner, two men, two women. One of the men seems to be the ringleader, keeps one of the dames on his arm. Not sure what their deal is, seems to be upset about that young kid with ties that could shake up the layers of power. Don’t have any names.”

Lin leaned forward, she’d heard rumor of this group, had heard of the destruction they left behind them. “Can you come down to the station to describe them?”

“And risk my own neck, or find myself in the bottom of the bay? No thanks, chief.”

“We could protect you, Azami.” Lin pointed out, I could protect you, her mind whispered back.

“No, you couldn’t chief.” Azami answered, reaching to finish her drink. “So I guess your need for me is done.”

Let me protect you. Get out of here while you can.

“When is your next set?” Lin asked, almost shocked that the words had escaped her.

“Two nights from now.” Azami answered, watching the woman quietly. Gone were the flirtatious smiles. This woman was good, she didn’t want to drag her into this world. But too many people outside this club relied on her keeping Takao’s eyes off of them. “Should I expect you?”

Swirling the amber fluid in the glass, Lin tossed the rest back and hummed. “Will you have more information for me?”

Sing pretty bird, sing just for me. Sing the sweetest song you ever did see.

“Perhaps. Guess you’ll have to show up and see.” Azami answered and stood. She was tired. Her set was done and the next doll took the stage. She wanted out of the dress. She wanted to remove the facade. She wanted to go home.

A caged little bird, a sweet little doll. Remember child, you’re only as good as what they need you for.

Lin watched Azami walk away as she turned to reach for her grey trench coat. She moved with an effortless grace, but this time her head stayed lowered. Only the staff received any kind of smile when they came over to speak with her on her way to the back door. Had her eyes seemed despondent when she had asked if she’d have more information in two days time?

Now why would you care? Her mind whispered back.

Shaking it off, she stood and began out of the club. This nightingale, Azami, she corrected herself, had been something she’d been trying to look into since their first meeting. But every lead she found seemed to dangle in the wind. Women like that were dangerous. Women like that would get you killed.

But then, why did she feel her stomach clench when the fire in those eyes had dulled? Why had her heart tied up when that voice had hooked her in despite her best attempts to ignore it? Why was she dreaming of green eyed sirens when she closed her eyes?

She needed to get home. She needed a stronger drink. And she needed to crack this mystery so she could leave this woman behind.

#lin beifong #lin x oc #lin beifong x oc #lin beifong/oc #legend of korra #lok fanfic #fanfiction

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moth-and-raven · 3 years

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

We fly back through the narrow passageways chased by Lucio’s howls of protest, Julian explaining in fits and bursts what his plan is. Skylar is an old friend, he says, that he met when he still went by Ilya. If anyone would know something about what had happened three years ago, it would be him. I ask why he hadn’t considered contacting him before, and, with a guilty shrug, Julian admits that reaching out to old friends was never something he’d been good at. He and Skylar would often go years without interacting, only to run into each other again in the most unlikely of places.

With any luck, that can happen again.

Portia opens a panel in the wall for us to escape through. We emerge in a familiar corridor, the same one that led us to the greenhouse last night, and follow it outside. There’s a great gathering of servants on the other side of the lawn, overseeing the setup of a number of tents. Portia’s gaze lingers, guilt knotting her brow, before she turns away and ushers us down the narrow path back to her cottage.

Pepi barely stirs from her warm sunbeam, twitching her ears at our entry. Portia shushes her sleepy mew and steps into the sitting room, gesturing for us to make ourselves at home. “So where to now?” she asks.

Julian sinks onto the sofa and sighs, patting the space next to him in invitation. When I join him, he leans his head against mine. “I would bet dollars to donuts that, if he’s truly here, we’ll find Skylar at the Red Market,” he says. “For the plants, you know. Marvelous specimens here.”

Portia sits down on an ottoman across from us. “You’ll have to change again, then,” she says heavily. “If you show up dressed as a servant from the palace, they probably won’t even let you in.”

“Do they think so little of Nadia’s policies?”

She sneers. “It isn’t Nadia they hate, it’s the rest of the court. Vulgora put up such a huge tantrum when the Market moved into the Coliseum, I swear they were gonna run down there and set fire to the stalls themself.”

“The Coliseum?”

“Oh, Ilya. You’ve been gone a long time, y’know? Lots of stuff has changed.”

“Surely not the Red Market. That’s been a standby of Vesuvian tourism as long as the Coliseum itself has.”

“They kicked the whole thing out of the canals of the Flooded District a couple years ago to ‘clean up the area.’ Like they’ve ever cared about the Flooded District…”

“Well, I know seedy underbellies.” Julian snuggles closer, brushing his thumb across the back of my shoulder absently. “Those are the same no matter where you go.”

Portia smiles at him. “I guess. I can’t come with you, though. I really need to help with Masquerade prep.”

Julian nudges me and chuckles. “I think we’ll be alright, don’t you, darling?”

I think we’re venturing into yet another arena in which I have little to no experience. But I nod. It’s just a market. Maybe the goods are a bit spicier, and the clientele a bit rowdier, but we shouldn’t be there long and if Julian says he knows what he’s doing, I’m inclined to trust him.

“Excellent.” He kisses my cheek. “We’ve yet to go on a proper date anyway.”

She rolls her eyes. “You have terrible timing.”

He catches my gaze and arches a brow, soft grin turning cheeky. “Don’t I know it.”

“Be careful, okay?” Portia stands up. “And go get changed. I’m not leaving you two lovebirds alone in my house.”

I don’t blame her for that. Julian laughs and rubs my thigh before retreating into the bathroom and closing the door behind him. I’m casting around for something to do, some way to help, when I notice Portia watching me with a grin like a cat and a gleam of interest in her bright blue eyes.

“So,” she says. “You and my brother, huh?”

Me and her brother. She said she would ask, didn’t she? “What about us?”

“That’s what you’ve gotta tell me, isn’t it? How long have you been an item?”

“Oh, uh…” I think back through everything we’ve done. “We met a week ago.”

She just stares. “What?”

I can’t help but flush an embarrassed scarlet. All of it — breaking up and getting back together, sharing Mazelinka’s tiny bed, the eel bite, talking late into the night at the Raven, even him sneaking into my shop… it’s all happened in the last seven days. “Yeah.”

“Damn, you work fast.”

I shrug.

“So… how’d it happen?”

“What do you mean?”

She shakes her head impatiently. “Did he see you at a bar and start hitting on you? Were you in line together at the chancery? Did he… did he run into you in the marketplace and knock all your groceries out of your arms, then help you pick them up and offer to walk you home? Come on, Reyja, I’m dyin’ here.”

That’s an oddly specific scenario. But I ought to tell her the truth. “He broke into the shop the night before I came to the palace.”

“He did what?! ”

I suppose it is rather scandalous. “It was kind of a misunderstanding.”

“Uh-huh, sure it was. And then he was in your shop again the morning we came down to give the Masquerade announcement because…?”

“Um, he was checking on me. We’d spent a lot of time together at the Raven the night before but had to call things early.”

“Why?”

“Guards.”

“O...kay. Have you had any legal interactions with him?”

“Isn’t interacting with him at all illegal, considering?”

Portia laughs. “Fair point.” She leans back and looks me over appraisingly. “Listen, Reyja, no one’s a bigger fan of my brother than I am. And believe me, I know how much of a handful he can be. But you’re serious about this, aren’t you?”

“I am.” I’m almost offended she would think anything else.

She smiles to herself. “He was right, then. You’re someone special.”

He was…? “You already knew all this.”

“‘Course I did. He would not shut up about you last night. Classic Ilya, never using a two-word phrase when a ten-word one would do. He pulled out all the stops, really: you make his heart soar, he feels alive again, he can actually see coming out of this for once… it’s cute.”

My embarrassment fades. It warms my heart to picture him so joyful, and it’s even better knowing it’s because of me. “So why ask me?”

“Because there’s two sides to every story. I know how he feels about you, but how do you feel about him ?”

I pause. “I guess… I guess there’s just something about him. Something in him that speaks to something in me.”

Tightness creeps into my throat, cutting me off, but I don’t want to stop talking. I’ve never verbalized any of this before, what I’ve been missing. What I found with him. Why I care so much, so quickly, and why I’m willing to do almost anything to keep him safe. He may think I’m someone special, but so is he.

“I think it goes a lot deeper than that, too, though,” I continue, pushing the tears away. “I’m not really a happy person, or at least I didn’t used to be. But I’m happy around him. Lighter. He makes me feel attractive and interesting and sexy. Like I belong somewhere. Like I’m… like I’m not as worthless as I always thought I was. He appreciates me just as I am. And— and I don’t want to be anyone else when I’m with him. I never want to be me, but I don’t mind it so much when I see myself through his eyes.”

That’s the biggest thing: I am, for the first and only time I can remember, comfortable in my own skin, because of him. Quiet settles in the room around us, fed by the weight of my confession. I wasn’t expecting to get so poetic, or bare so much of my soul, but Julian does that to me.

“So I guess,” I say softly, “To answer your original question: me and your brother? God, I hope so.”

“Oh, Reyja.”

That isn’t Portia’s voice.

“My darling, can I kiss you?”

I didn’t hear, or see, him emerge from the other room. But there he is, leaning against the door jamb, back in his navy trousers and loose white shirt. Portia is still perched on the edge of the ottoman, her hands pressed to her chest and tears glistening where she had been eyeing me slyly. I don’t know how much he heard, but it must have been enough.

“You can always kiss me, Julian,” I say thickly.

He’s at my side in an instant, sinking to his knees. His lips are cool and soft, not deepening the kiss until I do. We stay joined for a long time, breaking apart reluctantly only after we run out of breath. Even then, he stays close, pressing his forehead to mine and peering at me with both eyes visible, glowing with affection.

“Then I always will.”

------

The last time I was at the Red Market, I was terrified. Not because of the people, or even the contents of the many stalls I passed, but because I was doing something new. It’s been several years since then but trepidation still rises at the back of my throat as the Coliseum fills the sky, towering over us, weeping rubble from the cracks in its smooth marble facade.

The Market itself is accessed through a nondescript doorway. Sometimes there’s a guard or two, neighborhood tough guys stationed to scare away the palace’s minions that come sniffing around spoiling for a fight, but today we’re in luck. I hope it holds; it would only take one person recognizing Julian from the old wanted posters to spoil everything.

Even so, he’s excited. I’m sure it’s been a long time since he last did something like this. And as anxious as I am, I’m nevertheless pleased to be with him, out on the town just like he imagined.

Voices and smoke, spices and charring meat and, barely disguised, the scents of the underground, of unwashed bodies and piss and vomit and blood, slither out of the stonework as soon as we pass into the Market. It’s dark, dingy, as red as its name from the glow of torches and lamps lighting up the tunnels. There’s a decent crowd for the middle of the day, most of them hiding their faces.

I squeeze Julian’s hand and pull him to the side of the pathway. “We should get some masks,” I tell him, gesturing with my head at the steady flow of other customers.

He casts his gaze over them too. “I suppose so,” he says, with a wry smile. “But I’d rather my first gift to you not be so… so…”

“Practical?”

He laughs. “Or such an obvious reminder of all this unpleasantness.”

“It wouldn’t be your first gift.”

“Mm?”

“The starstrand?”

“Ah, yes. The first thing I purchase for you, then.”

I suppress the urge to roll my eyes. He’s sweet, but now probably isn’t the time to be quibbling over such minor details. “Then let me get them.”

“Darling, the sentiment remains—”

“So does the problem.” I catch his hand and mesh our fingers, then stand on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “It won’t be the last thing we buy for each other."

Julian sighs into my touch and relaxes, just enough for me to relax a bit too. “No, it won’t. I’m being silly, aren’t I?”

“Maybe a little.”

“I reserve that right.”

“I’ll allow it.”

I kiss him again, in the wake of his adoring grin, and we step back into the crowd together. I shift to hold his elbow instead of his hand as we meander down the rows of merchants, keeping our eyes open for clothing booths. It doesn’t take long to find one that will suit our needs; I pick out a velvety black shawl that can dip low over my face and Julian finds a length of fabric to twist into something resembling a turban. I have to roll my eyes then: trust him to find the most conspicuous way to hide.

“That one, huh?”

He runs the cloth through his hands. “Is something wrong with it?”

“It’s bright red, Julian.”

“Is it? It isn’t a sort of brownish-gray?”

Wait… “Are you colorblind?”

He pauses. “Ah. This is Mazelinka and my coat all over again.”

“What happened?”

“Those inner panels? I was sure they were a nice dark brown, sleek and stealthy. Mazelinka laughed at me the first time she saw it and asked if I was trying to torment myself with memories of the Plague. I wasn’t, of course!”

“I’m sure you had fun convincing her it was an honest mistake.”

“I did my best. I don’t know if she believes me yet.”

I laugh and take the scarf. If nothing else, red suits him. And wearing red at the Red Market should only disguise him better, right? I pay for both without incident and help him cover his hair, artfully arranging the end of the turban around his mouth and nose to hide his profile as best I can. After I mask my own features with my new shawl, we set off deeper into the Market.

Julian is obviously comfortable here, navigating the twists and turns between stalls with ease. And never once does he choose a path I would struggle to fit through. We make a whole circuit of the catacombs without any sign of Skylar, but on the next round, I find my attention wandering. So we slow down, perusing the merchandise, looking for all the world like just another couple out buying some more unusual trinkets to keep things fresh.

At one booth, Julian wraps his arms around me from behind, resting his hands on my belly as he holds me close, rocking me gently and humming to himself. I lean into his chest, all thoughts vanishing in a flood of contentment; how he knew that I longed for touch like this, for connection and acceptance and— how he knew that I wanted to be loved like this, I don’t know, but he was right.

We while away at least an hour, maybe more, wandering the Market. With no daylight, it’s hard to tell the time. Eventually, Julian asks if I’d like to get some lunch, and I agree. We duck into a notch at the intersection of several rows of stalls, a larger space with some places to sit and a handful of food vendors scattered around the perimeter. We decide on a Karnassi gyro stand and fold ourselves into a corner to watch the crowd pass as we eat.

We’ve just started another circuit, the opposite direction this time, when luck strikes again.

I hear Julian’s sharp intake of breath, colored by his smile, and follow his gaze to a booth near the entrance. Admiring the books is the tallest man I’ve ever seen, his height made even more obvious by the curved horns emerging from his tightly-coiled hair. His face is unmasked; clearly he isn’t worried about being recognized, and his green eyes spark with intelligence even from a distance. He rubs the stubble on his chin and picks up a book, flipping it open one-handed and frowning slightly as he scans the table of contents.

Julian takes my hand and slips through the throng of market-goers, emerging in the empty space at Skylar’s elbow; he doesn’t even seem to notice us.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Julian chuckles, pulling his mask down. He has to look up into Skylar's face, something I’m sure he isn’t used to.

Skylar startles, but recognition washes over him almost immediately. “Ilya,” he says simply. His voice belies his size, soft and soothing. He puts down the book to wrap Julian in a hug, kissing his cheek too. “Nice hat. Vesuvia again, eh?”

“Vesuvia again,” Julian agrees.

“You’re a wanted man here.”

“They haven’t come after you, have they?”

“Of course not. And if they did, well… I have plenty of other places to go.”

Julian shifts anxiously. Before he can say anything else, Skylar turns his attention to me. “You’re with him?” he asks.

“Yeah. I’m Reyja.”

“Nice to meet you, Reyja.” His green gaze darts between us as he chews his cheek, clearly working out exactly the manner in which I’m with Julian. Whatever conclusion he comes to, he must not be interested in pursuing it.

“I’ve, ah…” Julian clears his throat. “I’ve a rather big favor to ask of you, Skylar.”

“Alright.”

Just alright? Nothing else? No caveats?

Julian doesn’t seem surprised by his easy acceptance. He shuffles closer and drops his voice to a conspiratory whisper. “So, erm. I heard that, ah. You were here, weren’t you? Three years ago?”

Skylar frowns. “Yes.”

“And, ah, and I was here.”

“Yes?”

“Could you…” he trails off. “What happened?”

Several beats of silence meet his question. “What do you mean, ‘what happened?’” Skylar asks slowly.

“Erm, exactly that. I… I find myself in a bit of a… I remember waking up in a jail cell, and working at the palace for Lucio, but everything in between is a bit of a blur.”

Skylar blinks. And again. “Okay, well… uh, yeah, I was here. Helping. Helping you, specifically. You asked me, said the research side of the Plague could be an interesting topic of study. The Palace had opened its doors to anyone who wanted to come, so that wasn’t an issue. I never dealt with any patients, of course, I’d just watch from the sidelines. You even let me observe Count Lucio a few times.”

I smile to myself. I don’t think Skylar knows just how much Lucio enjoyed his ‘observations.’

“Is any of this useful?” Skylar asks.

Julian nods, his gaze unfocused as he tries to force his memories to return.

“I guess it’s not a huge surprise that you can’t remember. You, uh… you weren’t at your best, Ilya.”

He nods sadly. “So I’ve heard. Some say I lost my mind.”

“I don’t know if I’d go that far. But you definitely weren’t doing well. You wouldn’t even tell me what had happened, that fucked you up so bad.”

“Really?” Julian shakes his head. “I had hoped…”

“Sorry. The most you told me was in the last few days before everything went to shit. You said that Valdemar was going to try something big soon.”

“Valdemar…” His voice is mostly breath, lost in the intervening years. Just the passing acquaintance I have with Valdemar sets the hairs on the back of my neck on end at the mere mention of their involvement. Portia had said they were familiar with the Plague. I didn’t realize just how close they’d been to it.

“Shortly after that, they sent me, and everyone else who wasn’t medical, away from the palace,” Skylar continues. “I stayed in town as long as I could, though. I didn’t want to leave you up there by yourself.”

“That must’ve been when…” Julian touches his eyepatch.

“Oh, I just remembered another thing.” Skylar shifts his weight and draws his palm along one of his horns, thinking hard. “You kept talking about a bird man. Like, half-man, half-bird. Raven, I think. You said it was going to help you stop death from stopping death.”

Despite the press of bodies around us and the faint warmth from the many torches and lamps, a chill settles into my skin in the wake of his words. Stop death from stopping death? What does that even mean?

At my side, Julian has turned ghostly pale. He mouths the phrase, wipes sweat from his forehead, skates his fingertips over the fabric of his patch. “I— thank you, Skylar. Thank you.”

“You alright?”

“Yes, yes, I’m, ah… Valdemar, you said?” He turns to me. “The other doctor, it must have been them. They must’ve— I must’ve— The Plague, it’s— And, and…”

I touch his arm, alarmed. He’s rambling, his movements sudden and uncontrolled. Skylar and I glance at each other. Before either of us can do anything, though, Julian starts to pace, taking several steps towards the entrance of the Market and then coming back for me.

“Reyja, I— We need to— Thank you, Skylar, you’ve been more than helpful. I’ll, erm, I’ll be in touch. Yes? Yes. Are you staying at the— the…?”

“Um, Samal’s. The inn,” Skylar offers.

Julian laughs wildly. “Small world, small world. Say hello to Zhannur for me, would you? It’s been awhile.”

“Sure. Are you going to be okay?”

Julian takes my hand, squeezes it, and some of the mania in his expression fades. “Yes. Yes, I’m alright. Apologies. I just, erm. Amazing how a few simple words can bring so much back. B-but, ah, yes. I didn’t mean to frighten you. Either of you.” His gaze lingers on me and he smiles faintly. “Do excuse us, Skylar. I promise, we’ll catch up properly soon. Just like old times.”

Skylar cocks his head, watching Julian closely. But he does seem better already, and after a moment, he nods. “Good to see you again, Ilya. Take care.”

We wave farewell and Julian whisks me away into the flow of the crowd, hunching low to speak close to my ear.

“Valdemar,” he hisses. I’ve never heard him angry before, but the venom in his voice now is unmistakable. “They did this.”

“What?”

He gestures at his plagued eye. “I wasn’t working quickly enough for them,” he spits. “Too focused on patient care instead of finding answers. They held me down, forced essence of the Plague distilled from the beetles that carry it into my mouth…”

Horror crawls through me. “How dare they,” I breathe, shocked almost beyond words.

“Absolute power, as they say. Valdemar was given a free rein. Anything for the cure.” He pauses, and slumps. “Anything for the cure,” he repeats. “If only I could remember why it mattered so much to me. Beyond the obvious, of course. If I didn’t even tell Skylar, it must’ve… well. There are very few things he doesn’t know about me. I can’t imagine what would’ve made me keep mum.”

Mysteries on mysteries. But does this mean…? “So did Valdemar kill Lucio?”

He sighs. “It’s possible. They’d certainly be capable of it, considering—”

I never saw them coming. Julian never saw them coming. It took only moments, measured in the pounding footsteps of armored boots, the shouts of people used to being unquestioningly obeyed, a whirl of red and palace gold. In a beat of clarity, I meet Julian’s eyes. We have less than a second, but it stretches like spider silk as horrible understanding dawns over his features.

His luck has run out.

I scream when he pushes me away, sending me reeling into the gathering crowd, but it’s swallowed by the noise of the guards and no one gives me a second glance. I scramble to my feet to see Julian surrounded by soldiers. One of them, short, clad in quilted red, bares their teeth in his face. He snarls back and they lash out at the side of his head with a vicious-looking maul.

I scream again when he falls, motionless, to the cobblestones.

—————

Skylar belongs to @ollifree.

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#moth & raven #the arcana #the arcana fanfic #reyja north #julian devorak

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kkintle · 3 years

Text

Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen; Quotes

The heart is on the left side also in emperors.

And as he sat, it occurred to him that maybe the fairy tale had gone into hiding, like the princesses in the old folk tales, and now had to be sought out. If she were found, she would shine with a new splendor, more beautiful than ever before. “Who knows? Maybe she lies hidden (…)

Tragedy was bottled in champagne bottles that start out with a bang, as tragedy should

“He’s sure like a human being, that pixie!” said the old cat. “Just one sweet miaow from the mistress, a miaow about himself, and he immediately changes his mind. She is clever, Madame.” But she wasn’t clever. It was the pixie who was human. If you can’t understand this story, ask about it, but don’t ask the pixie or the Madame.

An actor once told me that when he played a lover he thought about just one person in the audience. He played to her and forgot the rest of the spectators.

“I could have said that better,” thought the critic, but he didn’t say it out loud, and that was already really something.

You can’t learn imagination.” “But what shall I do to make my living by writing?” “Oh, you can manage that by Shrove Tuesday! Become a critic! Knock down the poets. Knock down their writings—that’s just like knocking them. Just don’t be over-awed. Hit at them without ceremony. You’ll get enough dough to support both yourself and a wife!” “You’ve hit upon the very thing!” said the young man, and he knocked down all the poets because he couldn’t become one himself.

When the clock struck five the five senses were there. Sight came as a maker of eye glasses. Hearing was a coppersmith. Smell was selling violets and woodruff. Taste was a cook, and Feeling was a funeral director with mourning crepe hanging down to his heels.

People who are dead can’t walk again, we know that very well, but works of art can haunt. The body was broken, but not the spirit. The spirit of art was spooking, and that was no spoofing matter.

I have something of the poet in me, but not enough. Often when I’m walking the city streets, it seems to me like I’m in a big library. The houses are bookcases and each story a shelf with books. There stands an everyday story. There a good old fashioned comedy. There are scientific works about all kinds of subjects. Here smut and good literature. I can fantasize and philosophize about all that literature.

There’s something of the poet in me, but not enough. Many people have just as much of it as I have and yet don’t carry a sign or a collar with poet written on it. They and I have been given a gift from God, a blessing big enough for oneself, but much too small to be parceled out to others. It comes like a sunbeam and fills your soul and mind. It comes like a waft of flowers, like a melody you know but can’t remember from where.

“People are like milk that curdles. Some become fine cottage cheese and others thin, watered whey. Some people are lucky in everything, always given the place of honor, and never knowing sorrow or want.”

Everyone has his burdens to bear. We’re not alone in it, and there’s a comfort in that.

There was an open casket standing in the middle of the church floor with a dead man in it, soon to be buried. Since he had a clear conscience, Johannes wasn’t afraid at all, and he knew that the dead hurt no one; it’s evil living people who cause harm.

She looked at all the innumerable little stones on the shore; the water had polished them smooth. Glass, iron, stone—everything that was washed up on the beach had been shaped by water, water that was softer still than her white hand. “They roll tirelessly, and so they smooth out the roughness; I’ll be just as tireless! Thank you for your wisdom, you clear rolling waves.

It’s true that the sea is softer than your fine hands and can shape the hard stones, but it doesn’t feel the pain your fingers will feel. It has no heart and doesn’t suffer the dread and terror you must tolerate.

“You can make one up,” said the little boy. “Mother says that everything you look at can become a fairy tale, and that you can get a story from everything you touch.” “But those fairy tales and stories are no good! No, the real ones come by themselves. They knock at my forehead and say, ‘Here I am!’”

Then they did the hardest dance, the one that’s called “stepping out of the dance.”

Here’s my card. I live on the sunny side of the street, and I’m always home when it rains.” And then the shadow went away.

But we can take comfort that the soul is most clever when it’s on its own. The body only dumbs it down.

The air and light were the flower’s lovers, but light was the favorite. It turned to the light, and if that disappeared, it rolled its petals together and slept in the embrace of the air. “It’s light that adorns me,” said the flower. “But the air lets you breathe,” whispered the poet’s voice.

As is the case with anything done thoroughly, the galoshes could only do one thing at a time.

Our greatest sufferings here we don’t impart, You who were alone at last, and often; Know that in life much presses harder on the heart Than all the soil that’s cast upon your coffin.

The little pixie grabbed the wonderful book from the table, put it inside his red cap, and held on to it with both hands. The greatest treasure in the house was saved! Then he ran off, way out onto the roof and up on the chimney, where he sat illuminated by the burning house across the street, and with both hands he held onto his red cap that held the treasure. Now he knew his own heart and knew to whom he really belonged. But when the fire had been extinguished, and he thought about it; well—“I’ll divide myself between them,” he said. “I can’t completely give up the grocer, because of the porridge.” And that was quite human of him! The rest of us go to the grocer too, for the sake of the porridge.

“Come out on the roof, little Rudy,” was one of the first things the cat said, and Rudy understood. “All that about falling is just imagination. You won’t fall if you aren’t afraid of falling. Come on, set one paw like this, and the other like this! Feel your way with your front paws. Use your eyes, and be flexible in your limbs. If there’s a gap, then jump and hold on. That’s what I do.”

When you’re a child and can’t talk yet, you can understand hens and ducks, cats and dogs very well indeed. They are just as easy to understand as father and mother when you are really small. Even grandfather’s cane can whinny and become a horse with a head, legs, and tail. Some children lose this understanding later than others, and people say that those children are slow in developing and are children for an exceedingly long time. People say so many funny things!

(…) but that doesn’t matter because I have gotten this much out of it: things are not distributed quite the way they should be, either for dogs or for people in this world. Not everyone is created to sit on laps or drink milk.

Never think that you will fall, and you’ll manage!”

You have to climb, and you won’t fall down if you believe you won’t.

When you meet someone from your home when you are far away, then you speak to each other like you know each other.

Luck was with him, as it always is for those who believe in themselves and remember that “God gives us the nuts, but he doesn’t crack them open for us.”

Water is so soft and yet so strong. It has a back to bear weight, and a mouth with which to swallow. Gently smiling, softness itself and yet a terror, with shattering strength.

“The world has no more joy to give me.” Words uttered in an abundance of happiness, repeated in a torrent of grief.

“Little Kai is with the Snow Queen and finds everything to his liking. He thinks it’s the best place in the world, but that’s because he has gotten a splinter in his heart and a little chip of glass in his eye. They have to come out first, or he’ll never become human again, and the Snow Queen will keep her power over him.”

He was carrying around some sharp, flat pieces of ice which he positioned in all sorts of ways, trying to make something out of it. It’s like when the rest of us use little wooden pieces and make figures from them. It’s called a tangram. Kai was also making figures and very complicated ones. It was the game of Icy Reason. To his eyes the figures were quite excellent and of the very highest importance. That was because of the bit of glass in his eye!

Then Kai burst into tears. He cried so that the splinter of glass washed out of his eye. He recognized her and cried joy fully, “Gerda! sweet little Gerda! Where have you been so long? And where have I been?” He looked around. “How cold it is here! How big and empty it is!” and he held Gerda tight.

A tail wind for one is head wind for another.

“Cattle die, kinsmen die, one day you die yourself; I know one thing that never dies— the dead man’s reputation.”

In those days the saying was: “The herds know when it’s time to go home and give up grazing, but a foolish man will always forget the size of his stomach.”

They knew that, all right, but do as I say, not as I do! They also knew that “love turns to loathing if you sit too long on someone else’s bench,” but still they stayed. Meat and mead are good things!

“I don’t quite understand it,” said stork mother, “but that’s not my fault. It’s the idea’s fault. But it doesn’t make any difference because I have other things to think about.”

Then they repeated this and wrote it up as a prescription : “Love brings forth life,” but how the whole thing was going to be worked out, they didn’t know.

They say that raindrops hollow out the hard rock. Over time the waves of the sea polish the angular stones until they’re round. The dew of grace that fell over little Helga hollowed out the hardness and rounded the sharpness. But she didn’t recognize that, didn’t know it herself. Does the seed in the earth, when it’s dampened by life-giving moisture and the warm rays of the sun, know that it hides growth and a flower within itself?

“Everyone flies in his own way,” said stork father. “The swans diagonally, the cranes triangularly and the plovers in curves like a snake.”

Better to have something in your tummy when you’re alive than be made a fuss of when you’re dead!

People don’t always go straight to hell, but they can get there the long way around, if they have talent.

Tears of sorrow that a mother cries for her child always reach the child, but they don’t set it free—they only burn and make the torment greater.

“The Portuguese is a gifted speaker,” they said. “We don’t use such great big words, though our sympathy for you is as great. But if we don’t do anything for you, we’ll be quiet about it. We find that the noblest.”

It’s so cold here that the clouds freeze to pieces and fall down in little white patches.” It was snow she meant, but she couldn’t explain it any better.

Oh, to grow, to grow, to become big and old! That’s the only beauty in this world, thought the tree.

“Enjoy your youth!” said the sunbeams. “Enjoy your fresh growth, and the young life that’s in you!” And the wind kissed the tree, and the dew cried tears over it, but the spruce tree didn’t understand.

“Take pleasure in us,” said the air and the sunshine. “Be happy in your fresh youth out in the open air!” But the tree wasn’t happy at all. It grew and grew. Both winter and summer it was green. Dark green it stood there, and people who saw it said, “that’s a lovely tree,” and at Christmas it was cut first. The ax cut deeply through the pith, and the tree fell with a sigh to the earth. It felt a pain and a powerless-ness, and couldn’t think of any joy. It felt saddened to be parted from its home, from the spot where it had grown up. It knew, of course, that it would never again see its dear companions, the small bushes and flowers all around, maybe not even the birds. The departure was not at all pleasant.

“How lovely the world is!” said the caterpillar. “The sun is so warm! Everything is so pleasant. And when I shall one day fall asleep and die, as it’s called, I’ll wake up and be a butterfly!”

“I’ve let myself be taken by surprise,” he said, “so I’d better surprise them too.” And he did. He was gone. Gone all day, gone all night (…)

“The world isn’t so bad after all,” said the dung beetle. “You just have to know how to take it.”

Here he could live, but “living is not enough,” he said. “You must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower!”

The flower understood it in his fashion, as we understand things in ours.

“How terribly alone he must have been,” she said. “Terribly alone,” said the tin soldier, “but it’s lovely not being forgotten!”

No, rather with friendly handshakes, and they get bread and pastries from each other because foreign food tastes best.

Harsh words bear harsh fruit. How would this end?

“The less you know, the less you’re burdened,” said Mother Søren.

Embedded in Andersen’s story is a notion that good tales can expose even the storyteller.

#fairy tales #hans christian andersen #fiction #literature #danish literature #quotes

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wearesorcerer · 4 years

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[5e] 8th-Level Spells

The glorious thing about 8th-level spells is that they are almost the same thing as 9th-level spells: horrendously powerful in ways that are barely limited. The limitations on 8th-level spells might be a smidge greater than those on 9th-level ones, but it’s not so much that (IMHO) it matters. (TBF, in 3.x spell levels vary by class; mass cure critical wounds is a 9th-level Druid spell but an 8th-level Cleric and Healing domain spell.) 8th-level spells have several perks over 9th-level spells despite being roughly as powerful: they’re available at a lower class level and you can use them more often (because you can use 8th-level and 9th-level spell slots to cast them). From experience and hearsay, I’m well aware that games don’t often get to the highest levels, but they can get to 15th/16th.

In other words, your choice of 8th-level spell is more important than your 9th. The 9th-level spell is the cherry; the 8th-level spell is either the whipped cream or some kind of drizzle.

Primary List

Abi-Dalzim’s horrid wilting · dominate monster · earthquake · incendiary cloud · power word stun · sunburst

That’s four boom-booms and two crowd-controls, with some CC mixed in with the boom-boom.

Abi-Dalzim’s Horrid Wilting: you violently dehydrate all creatures (except constructs and undead) in a 30-ft cube, dealing 12d8 necrotic damage (Con half; plants and water elementals take double damage). Non-creature, non-magical plants in the area wither and die instantly. This spell didn’t have an associated mage’s name in 3e, so I’m not sure where that came from. Other differences: it deals necrotic instead of typeless damage (you’re not applying what 3e would call “negative energy”), so undead and constructs are now immune to it; it deals a flat number of d8s instead of 1d6 per caster level (up to 20d6); and vulnerable creatures take double damage (makes sense) instead of increasing the die type to d8s. I don’t have much to complain about with this spell. It’s not my personal cuppa, but it sure is effective. Good.

Dominate Monster: you charm a creature, turning it into your mind slave for up to an hour. This is overall a downgrade from the 3e version (which lasted for one day per caster level and allowed you to perceive through the subject’s senses if you concentrated), but you don’t have to worry about issuing weird commands to prevent a creature from pulling a Sorcerer’s Apprentice problem -- and, well, you’re not waiting until 18th level (as you had to in 3.x) to get it. Do not pretend you are not horrifically evil for using this. “Good” in the sense that it’s highly useful and powerful.

Earthquake: This is the structural aspect of meteor swarm without the direct damage. It’s nearly as spectacular and will assuredly scare people in the area. The mun doesn’t care for the Earth element, but can still respect this thing’s power. Good.

Incendiary Cloud: a moving fireball that deals a flat amount of damage (10d8 fire, Dex half) but is effectively a DoT. Y’know, in case just blasting things to death wasn’t good enough for you. So far, so good.

Power Word Stun: target of 150 HP or less within range is stunned (no save); it remains stunned until, on each of its turns, it can succeed at a Con save. I like this spell a little better than power word kill in that there is some chance of the effect wearing off, as opposed to being an “I win” button almost regardless of level. It also affects more HP, so you’ll get more mileage out of it -- provided you don’t cast it on something with a good Con save. It’s not dominate monster levels of “I win,” but it’s also not mind control.

Sunburst: much bigger than fireball, blinds for one minute and deals 12d6 radiant damage (Con negates blindness, halves damage; oozes and undead have disadvantage on the save). Creatures blinded by the spell can save at the end of each of their turns to remove the blindness. ”Radiant” damage is a hold-over from 4e and was the term used to replace “positive energy,” which related to the plane of the same name. The 3.x version deals half as much typeless damage (bigger radius, though), ‘cuz it’s a light effect, not a holy effect. Sorcerers don’t get a lot of spells that deal Radiant damage unless they go Divine Soul and the Elemental Spell metamagic (UA variants) doesn’t let you change to or from Radiant (or any physical, Force, Necrotic, Poison, or Psychic) damage, so if you’re trying to cover your damage types, this is probably the spell for you. Unless you want sunbeam. A good boom-boom of boominess.

Cleric (Divine Soul) List

antimagic field · control weather · holy aura

Antimagic Field: magic stops working in a 10 ft. radius sphere centered on you. That means you shut down your class. Why would anyone do this? Mainly because of other casters. I WOULD NOT PICK THIS SPELL UNLESS YOU FIND A WAY OF ALSO BEING COMPETENT IN MELEE.

Control Weather: I’m pretty sure this is also an option for the Storm Soul or whatever it’s called, but whatevs. You’re Storm from X-Men. Need I say more? TAKE THIS SPELL!

Holy Aura: for 1000 gp, you can pretend to be a Paladin for up to a minute (with concentration). You and creatures you choose glow; they (and presumably you) have advantage on saving throws and all other creatures have disadvantage on attacks against them; Fiends and Undead that hit a creature must save (Con) vs. blindness until the spell ends. The effects are kinda neat, but why am I spending an 8th-level spell on this? Like, seriously, this is a second-level spell’s power. Pass.

Variant List

Demiplane: you create a permanent 30′ x 30′ x 30′ extradimensional room; every time you cast the spell, you can either create a new plane or gain access (via shadowy door) to one you’ve made or know of. It’s like having a better version of a bag of holding and a worse version of Mordenkainen’s magnificent mansion at once. The advantages over MMM (no costly material component, the space is permanent) outweigh its drawbacks. For Sorcerers who have incredibly awesome plans and/or just like planar magic.

Spells I Wish Were on the List

animal shapes · antipathy/sympathy · clone · glibness · illusory dragon · maze · mind blank · telepathy · tsunami

Animal Shapes: as I said about 9th-level spells, animal shapes is better for anyone who cares about polymorphing party members. There’s bound to be a Druidic or therianthropic origin at some point.

Antipathy/Sympathy: because 3.x got rid of inverting spells (a thing in AD&D), these were separate ones, so it’s good to see them as one effect. The downside is...why is this so high level? You specify a kind of creature (which sounds like species rather than type) that is affected by the spell and either wants to approach or flee from within 60 ft. of something. In real life, 60 ft. is not all that big; it’s tremendous in D&D because D&D is weird. The 10 day duration is really the only thing that justifies this spell’s level, but that’s an upgrade (it was two hours per caster level).

Clone: as I recall, this was the spell that made me realize how restricted the 5e Sorcerer’s spell list was, to my great disappointment. I’ve never used clone, but it’s a spell that’s worth using. You want to pull a Naraku? You can out do Naraku. You want to be a lich? Why would you when you can just use this spell and find a better method of gaining immortality? Such a good spell!

Glibness: This is something of an upgrade, yet not. The spell was new to 3.5; it was a Bard-only spell and third level (why it’s a Transmutation effect and not an Enchantment is beyond me), whereas here it’s 8th-level. The effects are identical save that the 3.5 gave you +30 on the check and worked for 10 min./level (which, given how Bards worked back then, meant 70+ minutes), whereas this treats your roll as a 15 and lasts for an hour. Rolling a 15 in 5e is much better than it was in 3.x given how easy it was to inflate die rolls, so the spells are roughly the same...except that this is an 8th-level spell, which is mind-blowing to me.

Illusory Dragon: other than going off of Investigation (3.5: Search) instead of Perception (Spot), this is pretty much greater shadow conjuration one level higher and with a specific thing it can do. I’d say compare it against phantasmal forces from O/B/AD&D. Still cool.

Maze: I’m assuming you can accomplish the same thing with imprisonment, but regardless, mazing is awesome.

Mind Blank: this is pretty much the best abjuration magic against spells that affect or target a creature’s mind. (I’d say that unequivocally, but I don’t know all spells in 5e.) Yes, it’s worth having. Very much so.

Telepathy: the only advantages this spell has over telepathic bond (a 5th-level spell) are that it lasts for 24 hours, you can cast it on a creature on the same plane from any distance, and it affects basically all creatures (IIRC you can’t have 0 in a stat anymore). The duration is key here, as permanency is no longer a spell.

Tsunami: I just like the idea, ‘kay?

#5e #spells

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coleisunderrated · 4 years

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Time for another journal entry from Lloyd himself. We’re finally gonna learn a bit of some of the other characters and kingdoms from here on out.

Dear Journal

It might be difficult writing because Akita and Kataru are here and decided they’re gonna be cats today. Akita’s sleeping on my lap and she hasn’t moved since and Kataru’s more interested in catching sunbeams by the window than anything else. Whatever. That’s not gonna stop me from writing.

This morning, I heard from Mom that envoys from the kingdom of Terra are coming in a few days and the reason has something to do with Cole. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like he’ll be joining them. I was kinda hoping to see him again. Cole’s a really cool guy, always looking out for anyone and even helps me out whenever we meet up. It’s been like that since we first met on my ninth birthday. He’s very much like the big brother I never had, besides Kai of course. I don’t think there’s anyone in the whole world who’s more compassionate than him.

But that’s not why I’m writing this.

I have a hunch that the envoy is coming because of that tradition the royal family has whenever the crown prince comes of age. Personally, I think it’s stupid. I know it sounds rude and I understand that each kingdom has their own culture but I find this one custom to be completely unnecessary and ridiculous. Cole could make a great king one day and I don’t think he really needs to go through with that custom to do so. He doesn’t seem too keen on it. I guess I should be glad the Gold Kingdom doesn’t believe in that bullcrap.

Still, all it makes me think of the day I’ll become king. Being royalty isn’t as cushy as it sounds. I already have to take lessons and listen to lectures on a daily basis. It’s been like that for as long as I can remember and yes, it’s as boring as it sounds. The only lessons I don’t mind are martial arts. Uncle Wu said I’ll have to protect our kingdom one day and I’m gonna have to learn to fend off anyone who’ll try to attack. I also recently started learning Spinjitzu though I’m still nowhere near as good as Dad, Mom, or even Uncle Wu. I can’t practice without getting dizzy and feeling like I’m gonna puke out all my organs. I'll never know what Grandpa was thinking when he invented that move.

I wonder what kind of king I would be. Maybe I could be a good king or I’ll turn into an evil tyrant. Perhaps I’m gonna go down the same path Dad seems to be taking. He’s still avoiding everyone and more people are believing the rumors about him. Even I’m starting to think there may be some truth to them.

I’m gonna stop here. Akita and Kataru are starting to wake up and they’re gonna want some snacks.

#ninjago #ninjago au #tales of ninjago #ninjago lloyd #lloyd's journal

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iicewitch · 4 years

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☀️ cult of dionysus

a playlist for my friend caz link to playlist: here tracklist and favorite lyrics below

1. only as good as my god - everything everything And on the steps of my church There, I'm chasing down a red girl with my hooves upon a- Ooh - Wild Ooh - Child If they crawl out of the mud Wash them away in a flood I'm only as good as my god Burnt hair and more money 2. disciples - captain murphy Don't you want devoted followers? Who leave their families for you Give their money to you Give their bodies to you Give up their lives for you Consider you God, and will kill for you Don't you want to become a cult leader? Since the death of God there has been a vacancy open You can fill that void, here is how 3. dionysus - bts Just get drunk like Dionysus Drink in one hand, Thyrsus on the other Art splashing inside this clear crystal cup Art is alcohol too, if you can drink it, you'll get drunk fool I'm now in front of the door to the world The cheers I hear when I get up on stage Can’t you see my stacked broken thyrsus At last I’m reborn 4. good hand - turbowolf And I say No pain, no gain That's the mantra I'm repeating No sun, no rain That's the mantra I'm repeating No pain, no gain, no sun, no No pain, no gain, no sun, no rain 5. addicted to love - robert palmer Your lights are on, but you're not home Your will is not your own You're heart sweats and teeth grind Another kiss and you'll be mine 6. cult of dionysus - the orion experience Or start a secret society for the wild and free Our ideology is "You can do what you want Too much is never enough" We are the Life, we are the light We are the envy of the Gods above 7. hitting on all sevens - lyndon smith Make of me a subject caste Pressed and kept beneath thy glass Every heart thy sent in heaven Always hitting on all sevens One by one as ordered Flank to flank and facing forward Hanging by the word In chapter, verse and sentence heard 8. touch tone telephone - lemon demon Don't hang up yet, I'm not done I'm an expert, I'm the one The one who was right all along Better to be laughed at than wrong I'm an expert in my field UFOlogy, yes, it's all real Ancient aliens, it's all true I'm an expert just like you 9. sundial - lemon demon Don't mind me, I've just got some problems to work out I'm only passing through or maybe just right out Somehow something set my sundial backwards tilted and upside-down Now the shadow hand is pointing time right out of town I don't remember what it is that I just said to you I've got Anubis on my back and something in my shoe 10. mother’s talk - tears for fears It's not that you're not good enough It's just that we can make you better Given that you pay the price We can keep you young and tender Following in the footsteps of a funeral pyre You were paid not to listen now your house is on fire 11. light up the night - the protomen There is a city that this darkness can't hide. There are the embers of a fire that's gone out, But I can still feel the heat on my skin. This mess we're in, well you and I, Maybe you and I, We can light up the night. 12. pure morning - placebo A friend in need's a friend indeed, A friend who'll tease is better, Our thoughts compressed, Which makes us blessed, And makes for stormy weather, 13. aspiring fires - mother mother Baby, so you think you know crazy I think you know what you know, But what you know you don't know for sure A little advice for aspiring fires You'll get put out if you don't get a little wild Try again, try again, it ain't right You don't got the due diligence to lose your mind You're not getting it right 14. oh ana - mother mother I'll play god I'll play god I'll play god I'll play god today Ante up and play that god a poker game Walk away with all our little God's spare change Playing this god it can't be good for— Ana's safety, Ana hear me ! 15. this devil’s workday - modest mouse So I ate the wedding cake 'til the whole damn thing was gone. And I'm gonna drown the ocean. Now ain't none o' that so wrong? I could buy myself a reason. I could sell myself a job. I could hang myself on treason. Oh I am my own damn god. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha 16. kiss me son of god - they might be giants I look like Jesus, so they say But Mr. Jesus is very far away Now you're the only one here who can tell me if it's true That you love me and I love me And a world screams, "Kiss me, Son of God" Yes a world screams, "Kiss me, Son of God" 17. personal jesus - depeche mode Take second best Put me to the test Things on your chest You need to confess I will deliver You know I'm a forgiver 18. charlie’s inferno - that handsome devil Catch you later, I'm off to see the man upstairs They all look like ants from here Stars and crystal chandeliers Excuse me, sir! There must be someone you've confused me for If I could see someone who knew me or someone in uniform I go to church on sunday, truly, usually more! Screaming at the angels while they pushed him through the door! 19. old 45s - chromeo Don't wanna settle Or didn't you get the memo You only get a date if you're walking in stilettos This is enough to drive you mad If you think romance is dead and gone Find an old jukebox full of 45's Pop a nickel in it and it all comes back 20. down at the midnight rectory - ted neeley Down, down, down at the midnight rectory! With jiggle juice frisking under the marquee! The peacocks are strutting behind velvet ropes, Sipping away on their heavenly dope. Gimme two alleluia's and an amen! 21. elevate - dj khalil Can't stop me, can't break me (can't break) What don't kill me, gon' make me (gon' make) Shoot for the stars, no safety (no safety) And now I see clear in HD 'Cause I win, over and over again Battlin' evil, I'm hopin' to win Fightin' my demons, I'm nice for a reason Enticed with the bleedin', I'm showin' my sins 22. come along - cosmo sheldrake We'll dance and sing 'til sundown And feast with abandon We'll sleep when the morning comes And we'll rise by the sound of the birdsongs We'll be here when the world slows down And the sunbeams fade away Keeping time by a pendulum As the fabric starts to fray 23. just one yesterday - fall out boy I thought of angels Choking on their halos Get them drunk on rose water See how dirty I can get them Pulling out their fragile teeth And clip their tiny wings If heaven's grief brings hell's rain Then I'd trade all my tomorrows for just one yesterday 24. church - fall out boy And if death is the last appointment Then we're all just sitting in the waiting room I am just a human trying to avoid my certain doom If you were church, yeah I'd get on my knees Confess my love, I'd know where to be My sanctuary, you're holy to me 25. beast dance - kurage p Cast aside your humanity, before you have to grovel on the ground, being at the bottom of society. You want to be loved? In that case, come on. ”Roar roar roar roar roar roar” Inside the cage, ‘kay? 26. black and white - MASA Pour the gospel echoing through the world into your glass. Black&White! Practice your faith through shots and prayers. Open the bottle. Black&White! 27. sister’s mercy - hitoshizuku-p Jesus!! Pray and pray Believer, if you demand for salvation Oh Yeah!! Then pay up more and more for this Bright Red, now! Cheers!! Pour and pour When you’ve filled your stomach with this bright Red, Aa! All your wishes will come true 28. inferno pt. 2 - the buttress The depth of my breadth is unmet I'm becoming unraveled on the road less traveled I know Jesus wept But I abhor the Lord Fell on my sword Forever slept 29. let’s just live - casey lee williams Let's just live Just one day Let's forget about our problems Let's fall in love with life And just be free The sun will never fade The night won't steal our day Let's dance and laugh and love And let's just live 30. ignite - casey lee williams Fool, you shouldn't stare into these eyes of fire You're goin' to regret this little fight You don't wanna mess with me, I'm something higher You'll watch yourself suffer You'll watch me ignite 31. god’s gonna cut you down - johnny cash Well you may throw your rock and hide your hand Workin' in the dark against your fellow man But as sure as God made black and white What's down in the dark will be brought to the light 32. royals - lorde Let me be your ruler (Ruler) You can call me queen bee And baby, I'll rule (I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule) Let me live that fantasy 33. you should see me in a crown - billie eilish Count my cards, watch them fall Blood on a marble wall I'm gonna run this nothing town Watch me make 'em bow One by one by, one One by one by You should see me in a crown 34. rev 22:20 - puscifer Pray til I go blind (Pray) Pray cause no one ever survives Prayin' to stay in her arms just to die longer Satyrs and saints, devils and heathens and lies 35. this must be the place - talking heads Home, is where I want to be But I guess I'm already there I come home, she lifted up her wings I guess that this must be the place I'm just an animal looking for a home and Share the same space for a minute or two And you love me till my heart stops Love me till I'm dead 36. razzle dazzle - richard gere Give 'em the old razzle dazzle Razzle Dazzle 'em Give 'em an act with lots of flash in it And the reaction will be passionate Give 'em the old hocus pocus Bead and feather 'em How can they see with sequins in their eyes? 37. you’ll be back - jonathan groff You say our love is draining and you can't go on You'll be the one complaining when I am gone And no, don't change the subject 'Cause you're my favorite subject My sweet, submissive subject My loyal, royal subject Forever and ever and ever and ever and ever 38. no light, no light - florence and the machine No light, no light in your bright blue eyes I never knew daylight could be so violent A revelation in the light of day You can't choose what stays and what fades away 'Cause it's so easy, To say it to a crowd But it's so hard, my love, To say it to you out loud 39. shiny happy people - r.e.m Meet me in the crowd, people, people Throw your love around, love me, love me Take it into town, happy, happy Put it in the ground where the flowers grow Gold and silver shine Shiny happy people holding hands Shiny happy people holding hands Shiny happy people laughing 40. a good song never dies - saint motel There was a moment, a hole opened in the sky A chance to join that pantheon For all the times they never heard your battle cry Now be an angel, sing along 'Cause a good song never dies It just reminds you of where you were The first time it made you cry The first time you felt alive 41. king of the clouds - panic at the disco Some only live to die, I'm alive to fly higher Than angels in outfields inside of my mind I'm ascendin' these ladders, I'm climbin', say goodbye This old world, this old world I don't trust anything Or anyone, below the sun I don't feel anything At all 42. battle for the sun - placebo I, I, I will battle for the sun, sun, sun, sun And I, I, I, I am the bones you couldn't break Break, break, break, break, break, break, break 43. walk like an egyptian - the bangles All the school kids so sick of books They like the punk and the metal band When the buzzer rings (oh whey oh) They're walking like an Egyptian All the school kids so sick of books They like the punk and the metal band When the buzzer rings (oh whey oh) They're walking like an Egyptian 44. credens justitiam - yuriko kaida and eri itoh Free, they are With no malice they sing quietly And they told me that my song was louder/lighter Their song Releases the day of all malice I want to be like them And my mind (their minds are) Free 45. 99.9 - mob choir The protagonist of this stage is me Cryin' my life, cryin' my psyche Cryin' my heart in such commonplaces Is this my ideal? Is this my mind? Ahh, I’m looking for the answer ! 46. cruel angels thesis - yoko takahasi But someday you will notice On those shoulders of yours There are strong wings To guide you to the far future. If there is any meaning In the fate that pulled us together, Then I am, yes, the Bible That teaches you of freedom. A cruel angel's thesis And then sorrow comes forth 47. peace and love on the planet earth - zach callison I guess we're already here I guess we already know We've all got something to fear We've all got nowhere to go I think you're all insane! But I guess I am too Is there anything that's worth more? Is there anything that's worth more? Is there anything that's worth more Than peace and love on the planet Earth? 48. now we can see - the thermals We were born in the desert We were reared in a cave We conquered in the sun but we lived in the shade We were born on an island we grew out of the sand Never saw another creature never knew another man 49. love today - mika I said Everybody's gonna love today Gonna love today, gonna love today I said Everybody's gonna love today Gonna love today Anyway you want to, anyway you've got to Love, love me, love, love me, love, love 50. where is my mind? - the pixies With your feet on the air and your head on the ground Try this trick and spin it, yeah Your head will collapse If there's nothing in it And you'll ask yourself .. Where is my mind? Where is my mind?

#gene's playlists

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starbcrn-kids · 3 years

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Open! Starring Kai N’Livek-Kirk-McCoy-Chekov-Nichols-Verrin

“I swear my sisters wake up and choose violence.”

#all starfleet personnel #star trek rp #star trek roleplay #thread: choose violence #☆ﾟ post tayen’s resurrection verse ↳ i simply wished for one more day with you ◝#—— but me i’m still a sunbeam ↻ ⌊ kai ⌋

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chicagonews-parabellum-archive · 5 years

Photo

Event: Paisley Sinclair and Luca Costello’s Wedding Date: 09/07/19

A wedding that was supposed to unify two families ended up causing further division. After a mysterious figure shot and killed Paisley Sinclair, both families are struggling to cope. People have already started pointing fingers - it’s only a matter of time before someone else ends up dead.

Citizens of Chicago, prepare for war.

Attached below is the Chatzy from 09/07.

Cici followed a waiter around eagerly, stealing tiny sandwiches off his platter and stuffing them in her purse.

Paityn couldn’t fucking believe it; after she was the one consistently getting reamed out by mommy and daddy for figuratively sleeping with the enemy not one, but two of her siblings showed up to Paisley’s wedding with Costellos as their dates. Priya with Ezra and Bash with Mia. Fucking hypocrites. Of course, when it’s the good kids no one bat an eye. She couldn’t deal. Not sober. The joints in her bag was meant for the reception, but she couldn’t wait. Paityn walked through the wedding hall and found the men’s bathroom. This will have to do. She locked herself alone in a stall and lit up, inhaling the smoke, hoping her heart rate would slow.

Ezra: walked into the venue, along side Priya, only just now starting to get a tad nervous - was it too much to bring one of the brides sister's as your date especially when the bride just happens to be marrying your brother? Well fuck it if it was, Ezra was beyond caring at this point. He grabbed a drink from the try, taking a sip of the champagne.

Sofia: Sofia emerged from her brother's room, now wearing her barely-there dress. It was too late for anyone to tell her to change. The Sinclairs were going to see, the media was going to see, and goddammit, if she couldn't stop this wedding, she could at least make everyone who'd organized it regret the experience. Strutting into a sunbeam, so that you could see through the blush fabric (close to white, but not quite close enough for her mother to actually murder her), she went looking for a bar. Time to find something appropriately sugary to throw in Leon's face when he finally showed up.

Violet arrived from the back rooms, popping into the main hall long enough to snatch up a glass of champagne as the waiter passed. The guests were trickling in and Violet spotted some familiar faces. Most of the Costello men were gathered in the back with Luca, except, probably Leon, of course, given recent circumstances.

Mia scanned the room, eying everything from the servers, to the food and the stunning decorations. Twisting on the bracelet around her wrist, she turned her gaze back to her date. Were they supposed to sit? Find a place to stand? The sight of Ezra and Priya entering was the best excuse to strike up a conversation though. "We all had the same idea, huh?" she half jokingly offered to the stunning redhead and her older brother. When had all of this happened?

Kai was in Luca's room, helping the groom get himself together, and possibly preventing him from jumping out the nearest window. "You need anything? A drink? A puke bag?"

Chanel fixed her hair in the bathroom mirror, making sure her makeup was perfect just like everything else for this event was going to be. Finally approving of the overall look, she walked out and looked around at everyone who was already in attendance. If she had anything to do with it, this day was going to go perfectly

Ezra: laughed, "you know what they say Mia, great minds." Seriously when did these two become a thing? Ezra's feels completely out of the loop. "How long's this been a thing" he asked, eyes travelling from his sister to Sebastian.

Chanel went to eat some cocktail weenies

Priya was glad to be walking into this with Ezra. It was going to be a long night by the looks of it. She smiled when she saw her brother with Mia. She had known the two would be coming together since the engagement party. "We did," she laughs.

Abel Costello surveyed the room, tugging at his collar even though he already skipped wearing a tie, he then spotted Kai from across the room and gave him a nod before making his way towards his cousin who looked handsome in blue (ily chris lol).

Luca was trying not to freak himself out. He'd tuned everyone out. The wedding was minutes away now, and the nerves he felt didn't seem to be letting up - regardless of the joint he'd smoked. He finally looked up at Kai. "We should take shots."

Sofia: Sugary drink acquired, Sofia snagged Abel as he was going past. "C'mon, Kai and Luca are in his room. Let's go do shots with them or something."

Kai flashed his cousin a smile, reaching into his jacket pocket for the flask he brought with. You know, just in case. "Bottoms up," he said, taking a drink for himself before offering it to Luca. "Don't worry. I'll steal more from the bartenders if need be."

Kieran was in no particular mood for a wedding. He couldn't even imagine the amount of drama that was bound to happen tonight. Kieran had already told himself that he was doing this shit sober, so he sipped on a glass of water, eyes scanning the room for a familiar face.

Mia smiled, finding that while both pairs might be unexpected, she was glad to see her brother smile, joke and laugh. Some of that had to be in part of Priya. "Great minds indeed." Glancing over at Sebastian she did not exactly know how to answer her brothers question. A thing. Was it? Were he and Priya a thing? "Not long. I asked Sebastian if he wanted to go with me." she lifted her shoulders in a small shrug. "How about the two of you?"

Cici stood in the back of the room, sipping a class of champagne and staring at a vase holding flowers. She couldn't tell if they were plastic or not and reached out to touch it, looking around to make sure no one saw her.

Paityn continued to smoke her joint in the men's room; her heels resting on the toilet seat in case anyone entered. Paityn wanted to hide.

Jack: Jack was looking for Paityn, who was MIA, and Shiloh, who was AWOL. Corralling them all was like herding cats. He saw Cici and waved, moving towards her, before stopping when he saw Kieran. Well, boo fucking hoo. He continued over and smiled, kissing her on the cheek. "You clean up nice."

Abel Costello was intercepted by Sofia, and promptly dragged away from the main room to meet up with the rest of the family. Inside, Luca looked like he was about to be beheaded and Kai was, well, calm as always. Abel glanced at Sofia and pressed his lips together, knowing full well that Cassandra was going to have a fit when she sees her. "Everything alright?" he asked.

Violet spotted Mia and Ezra with their dates? Whatever. She headed in their direction, lifting her dress so her hem didn't drag. "Interesting choice in companions for the night. You all look gorgeous, as usual." She offered them all a smooth smile, giving a nod to Priya and Sebastian.

Priya reached for Ezra's hand at Mia's question. How long had it been? A day since the kiss but them interacting? She wasn't sure. There was no concept of time when she was with him. "I am not actually sure." She turns to Ezra and smiles at him.

Luca wasn't about to pass up on a drink. He grabbed Kai's flask and downed a swig. "You cannot let me do this shit sober. You hear me? If I start acting sober, put some more liquor in me." He glanced over at Abel and Sofia. "Family reunion. Perfect time for a family reunion."

Juliet grabbed a glass of champagne and sipped at it as her eyes scanned the room.

Leon was late, which was both unlike him but also because he really didn't feel like being anywhere near the rest of his family. He'd had enough for the year, let along the entire week. Sunglasses still on to try and hide his black eye, stood by one of the walls, hands in his pocket as he watched the crowd.

Ezra squeezed Priya's hand tightly, giving her a warm smile. "We're taking things slow, we're not going to rush into anything. I think we've had enough shotgun relationships to last a lifetime." He turned to Violet then, "well you know, I'm always keen to liven things up, you look beautiful," he said complimenting his ex-sister in law.

Cici smiled as Jack approached her and she laughed slightly as he kissed her cheek. "Well, there's a friendly face. I thought for a minute there, this was almost an exclusive Costello event." Taking a sip from her drink, she looked him over. "Not as nice as you, Jack. I'll let you in on a little secret...my dress is from Target. Don't tell anyone."

Kai twirled his wrist in a gesture toward Abel, "C'mon. You know you want a drink," he smirked.

Kai added, drawing an X across his heart, "I promise not to let you do this shit sober. I also promise not to let you fall on your ass."

Sofia: Sofia snagged the flask from Abel and downed a hefty amount. "I'll get more. You're all a bunch of pussies anyway. I can drink you all under the table." She hugged Luca. "Be right back, promise."

Penelope stood at one of the tables, drink in hand as she watched everyone interacting. It was a matter of time before someone ended up fighting.

Abel Costello shrugged at Kai, realizing that he'll have no chance to even do security when Sofia was going to be a handful. He then turned to Luca and tilted his head. "It's a wedding, not your beheading." Not the best pep talk, but totally on-brand. "We're here for you, Lu."

Chanel looks for a flute of champagne to sip on and wonders who she should go socialize with. She spotted the mother of the bride at a table by herself and walked over to her, picking up a glass to drink on her way. Stopping at the table she offered a smiled and looked out at all the people. "It looks beautiful so far. I'm sure the ceremony will be stunning."

Kai sighed wistfully as he watched Sofia run out of the room, "She truly lights up a room, doesn't she?"

Jack: "Well, Target looks better on you than Louis Vuitton does on half the people here, so who the fuck cares anyway." Jack glanced back at Kieran. "You want me to tell him to check the perimeter or something? Go oil a gun?" He wanted Cici to have a good time, and if that involved shooing Kieran away like one of his cats, he was happy to do so.

Mia couldn't entirely believe what she was seeing. Oh yeah, Ezra and Priya were definitely a thing. Trying to hide just how surprised she was, Mia found Violet to come over at just the right moment. Thank god. "Thats great. And probably wise." She noted with a nod. Smiling at Vi she playfully nudged her with her hip. "You look absolutely stunning." She agreed.

Penelope smiled back at the blonde. Chanel was probably the most competent of the Costello’s. “Yes, everything has turned out beautifully.” She raised a glass to the blonde. “You deserve a drink with the way the last two weeks have gone.”

Ezra watched Leon walk in from the corner of his eye, "anyone ever tell our brother wearing sunglasses inside was terribly ruined?" He smirked, knowing exactly why his brother had made that fashion choice.

Elijah walks into the cocktail hour with his flask in hand. There may have already been drinks being served but none better than the moonshine he'd managed to concoct in his free time. Taking a deep swig he looked for Shiloh but couldn't see him right away. Instead he saw Jackson and walked over to him, giving him a pat on the back. "What's up motherfuckers." Seeing Cici, he cleared his throat and nodded at her very gentelmany. "And lady."

Violet gave Ezra and Mia a genuine smile, her features soft and relaxed as they usually were, especially in spite of the circumstances. "Thank you. I scored a super hot date, you know. Sofia. Whom I haven't been able to find for a bit now but... I'm sure she's got her halo on tight."

Violet followed Ezra's line of sight to spot Leon and his... sunglasses. "It's probably worse today," she replied absently.

Priya gave Violet a polite smile when she approached the four of them. "Mia," managed to look away from Ezra and to his sister, "I still cannot believe you managed to get my brother to have a date to this. Please let me know you did it. I have been trying to get him out with someone for years."

Luca nodded. "I know. I'm just fucking nervous." Luca anxiously stared at his phone, checking the time. He watched as Sofia wandered off. Luca stood from his chair, stretched out a little awkwardly. "Thank you guys for not fuckin' killing my buzz."

Chanel laughed and raised the drink she had just retrieved for herself. "I'm sure we all deserve a drink for the last two weeks. But the day is finally here, can you believe it?"

Cici followed Jack's eyes to Kieran, and she frowned a little. "Eh, he looks uncomfortable enough standing alone. Who knows, maybe you being here makes him jealous." Laughing, Cici threw her drink back and finished it. She hadn't meant what she said, but she suddenly found herself actually wondering it it was true. Glancing over at Kieran again, she hadn't noticed him look over. "So, where's the lucky girl who arrived as your date?"

Kai gave Luca a pat on the shoulder and a smile, "Of course not. That's Paisley's job now."

Sofia: Sofia saw a boy over with a couple of what she assumed were Sinclairs. They could've been relatives for all she knew. The important thing was, it was a boy, and he looked appropriately heteroflexible at least. Swinging near him, she bumped into him, giggled, and took his flask fast as lightning. "See ya, cutie." She tripped away, flask in one hand, sugary cocktail in the other. Just as she spotted Violet and was headed over to say hi, she saw what Violet was looking at, and made a beeline for Leon. "Your outfit needs ... something." She threw the drink in his face. "There we go!"

Penelope laughed, placing her own glass back on the table. “ That’s very true. Just a few more hours and we can put this whole thing behind us.”

Abel Costello couldn't help but smirk, not really wanting to voice out his agreement. "I'm still your date, but I think we should split up to look after the twins." He glanced at Luca then at Kai. "Guess I'm taking the hellspawn." (he says that lovingly okay?)

Mia narrowed her eyes a little as she saw her little sister fly across the room, clearly on the search for something. "Oh she's here alright." she noted to Violet. At Ezra's mention of Leon, she raised an eyebrow to her brother, silently asking 'Where?' to figure out which corner to scan in order to find Leon and these infamous sunglasses. Of course it was no darn surprise he'd opted for them. Anything to hide that well deserved shiner. Right then Priya said her name though, and for the time being her search of Leon would have to wait. "Really? Ahm.. not sure there's much to tell? We just had a nice conversation and I was lucky enough to get him to agree to go with me. Years huh?" Her question was directed more at Sebastian than Priya, curiosity dancing in her eyes.

Cici surprised at Elijah's sudden appearance, although not really, she rolled her eyes. "You actually are wearing a suit, Elijah. I'm shocked."

Violet 's eyes widened as she watched Sofia throw a drink in Leon's face, unable to curb the laugh that leaped from her lips. "Oh my god."

Chanel smiled and nodded, taking small sips from her glass. They could put this all behind them. Hopefully. Looking around the room some more, she wondered if either of the lucky couple had made an appearance yet. Was that bad luck? She couldn't really remember. "Have Luca or Paisley been out at all?"

Leon "What the fuck Sofia?" Leon yelled, knowing this was probably the last place that he should be yelling. "You know if you have an issue with everything or with me do it on your own fucking time," he stated, his voice getting quieter as he glared at his sister, taking off his sunglasses, "because if you really want to start a fight today, I'm sure that Dad's going to love that."

Jack: Jack glanced down at Cici, amused at the idea that he was making Kieran jealous, when he was mildly jealous of Kieran to begin with. That was the way things went, he supposed. Before he could say anything else, Elijah approached and Jack smacked him upside the head just from reflex, but then patted him for the nice save with Cici. Luca's twin came over but Jack was already paying more attention to Cici again. "I came stag. Don't think anyone wanted to put up with my grumbling."

Ezra laughed, "really Mi? You guys just talked?" Colour him not entirely convinced. He turned then, just in time to see drama play out between Sophie and Leon. "Jesus Leon's really mister popular right now with the twins uh?"

Penny let her eyes run the room again before settling on the blonde. "Not that I've seen but for Paisley that doesn't surprise me. Flair for the dramatic practically runs in the family."

Benjamin wasn't technically working, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to try to stop shit from going down. He stood near the door, watching as Sofia tossed a drink in Leon's face. He tried not to laugh, considering Leon would technically be his boss someday. Instead, Ben clenched his jaw and stared at something else.

Elijah reacted to the slap on the back of his head but recovered smoothly. He adjusted his suit and smiled wickedly at Cici. "Of course I am. I clean up very nicely when the occasion calls for it." And then suddenly his flask was out of hand and some girl, the Costello Twin? Was gone with it, throwing drinks around like they were toys. "Hey now, I'm going to need that back!"

Salma was fashionably late, but she walked into the event without a care. She made her way over towards the bar, grabbing a flute of champagne, she turned to scan the room, looking for a familiar face.

Priya "Years." Priya gave a smile to her brother before continuing, "I have been a thorn in his side over it." Out of the corner of her eye she caught the final moments of the interaction between Leon and his sister. It looks like the other Costello twin was competing for who could ruin the night first.

Luca finally decided it was time to go out and socialize with people. The wedding was only minutes away. He buried down whatever nerves that he'd felt. Luca headed out towards the main area, where everyone was socializing, and decided to make an entrance. He swiped a bottle of open champagne and downed quite a bit of it before making his presence known. "Welcome to my wedding, fu-" Luca cut himself off whenever he saw Penny. Maybe he shouldn't address the guests as fuckers.

Sofia: Sofia felt elated, too excited to regret anything, and squared up for a shouting match. She was going to offend every goddamn person in the church if possible. "An issue? I don't have an issue, Lee. I have a problem, which is YOU. Of all the times to fuck with your own brother, you pick right before he gets sold off like a cow at an auction? Why don't you just kick him in the balls and steal his fucking wallet too?" The shiner surprised her momentarily, but she was pettily glad someone had gotten there first. "You couldn't just fuck your own goddamn wife or something, you had to fuck that social-climbing sociopath with the fetish for royal purple? Fuck, I'd be ashamed to have been your wife if that's how bad your taste in women is these days."

Mia raised both her brows at her brother this time. She was tempted to call him out, but it wouldn't be prudent with everyone else around. "Really." she said with a note of finality in her tone. This time she did manage to pick Leon out, his angry face saying it all.. wow, Sofia was not holding back tonight. Trying to ignore the sibling drama she had no intention of getting in the middle of, for once, Mia smiled at Priya and Sebastian. "Well then I am glad I could help break the cycle."

Cici laughing at Elijah's shenanigans, Cici shook her head as he went looking for his flask. Grabbing another glass of champagne from a waiter passing by, she took a sip. "Grumbles? Jack, you need to stop thinking so poorly about yourself-" Cut off by Luca Costello yelling as he entered the room, Cici sighed. "Do we really have to combine the families? There's still time to back out. That little fuck is already on my nerves."

Chanel "Sounds about right. The bride should be able to make the biggest entrance anyway. I'm sure the gown is absolutely stunning." She looked around some more and then spotted Luca making his appearance. And of course, a champagne bottle was clutched in his hands.

Violet noticed the siblings seemed off in their own world with the Sinclair's, talking about their new... partnerships? She gave them another polite smile, "I'm sure I'll see you guys later on." She made it over to Sofia and Leon just as Sofia finished her speech, leaving Violet, well, speechless. "Ah, fuck." A forced smile spread across her features as she nodded at Leon and Sofia, then promptly made a B-line for the front door. Someone had to have a smoke or something, right?

Abel Costello Abel arrived just in time to catch Sofia all the way across the room throwing a drink at Leon. He rubbed his face in exasperation before deciding to go the other way. He's going to let the siblings duke it out a little, let Sofia get it out of her system before dragging her away. Maybe lock her in a closet for good measure. No. No. This was his darling <s>hellspawn</s> cousin we're talking about. Someone should really stop them. Someone not him.

Penny "She looks flawless, as any bride should on their wedding day." She paused at the loud entrance of the groom himself, mouth pursing. "And there he is. Loud as always. How do you keep a handle on that boy?"

Leon "Shut the fuck up Sofia, you really don't know what you're talking about," Leon glared at her, especially when it came to the wedding. He'd given Luca a chance to get out, he was sure all the siblings had, and it was Luca's choice. Whether or not Sofia believe it or not. "And I'm really not interested in being in all of your fucked up dramatics because you're not getting your way. So act your fucking age and not like the two-year-old you've decided to present yourself as," he said, starting to walk off towards the bathroom so that he could as least try to wash off the stickiness.

Jack: Jack winced when he saw Luca. This was just ... such a problem. "Do you think I should go over there and do something? I could, I dunno, hit him with the bottle, maybe it'll fix his personality." He finally processed that Cici had been complimenting him before and brightened visibly. "You think I'm worth a damn? Golly gosh gee, Miss Jansen, you're gonna make me blush."

Kai burst out in laughter at Sofia's antics, but quickly righted himself, running his hands down the front of his jacket before striding over to Sofia. "Heya dollface. Keepin' shit as interesting as ever, huh?"

A Wedding Guy cleared his throat, terrified to even raise his voice in this specific crowd of people. "Excuse me..." He tried, gaining no traction and zero attention. "EXCUSE ME." He tried again, this time hearing his own voice echo back at him really loudly and he felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment. "WE ASK THAT THE GUESTS MAKE THEIR WAY TO THEIR SEATS PLEASE, THE CEREMONY IS ABOUT TO BEGIN."

Ezra sighed, turning to Priya for a moment "excuse me for one moment," he said walking over his brother - literally the last thing he felt like doing but someone had to, and it seemed everyone else had taken the night off. He entered the bathroom, standing by the door, "you okay?"

Elijah huffed as he realized Sofia wasn't coming back any time soon with his flask and decided to do damage control himself. He walked over there only to catch some type of fight with what he assumed was the eldest Costello. He laughed at the insults and reassessed the girl, amused by her fire. But while she was distracted he figured it would be a good enough time to steal what was his. "I'm just going to take this little thing and prevent it from adding to the fire. Go about your business."

Violet eventually makes her way back inside since the ceremony, taking her seat with the family.

Chanel "Usually in small doses, honestly." She laughed and raised her glass before drinking some more of it. "And also a lot of this."

Juliet inserted herself into the crowd making their way to the ceremony, praying for the first time in her life that the Costellos did not see her.

Penny sighed and squared her shoulders before finishing off her drink. "Well, time to do this." She nodded to Chanel before making her way to the seats reserved for family of the bride.

Jack: Sofia bristled at Leon talking to her like a child and opened her mouth to inform him of what exactly he was, which was going to involve terms that would probably get her excommunicated, or at least thrown out of church, when Kai came up to her. "Yeah, well, you know me. Fucking hell, I have to go be the goddamn best man." Storming up the aisle, she practically left holes she stomped so hard as she stood at the front. "Last chance to bail, people. We can still make happy hour!"

Mia looked from Priya to Sebastian. "Guess we should find somewhere to sit then. You guys wanna sit together?" She mildly suggested.

Luca heard the announcement and froze. He chugged a few gulps of the champagne in his hand. He clenched his fist in order to steady himself. Luca made his way to the altar through the back, hiding behind the scenes until it was time.

Chanel realized what the wedding guy had said and gives a nod to Penny and then made her way over to her own section, on the grooms side of the aisle.

Leon was honestly surprised that Ezra was the one that decided to check up on him. Rinsing off his face he was glad taht he'd chosen to only wear black because at least he wasn't going to have too ridiculous of a stain the rest of the day. "Been better," he honestly answered, sounding as exhausted as he actually felt, "I honestly think that I ran the sibling gauntlet and managed to get all of you to not talk to me at once."

Priya looked over at Mia after Ezra left. "Yes. I think safety in numbers is the way to go tonight. Which side though?" She asked Mia.

Cici laughing at Jack's response to her compliment, Cici couldn't contain her giggle and covered her mouth with her free hand. An employee's voice echoing to the crowd to move to the pews caught her attention and cut off their conversation. Snaking her arm through Jack's she smiled. "Care to escort me in, Mr. Sinclair?"

Elijah happily sipped on the flask he had successfully stolen back as he made his way to the brides side of the wedding. Would it be inappropriate to laugh during the actual nuptials? Probably, but he also had a feeling that was what was about to happen. "Cheers to the good couple."

Jack: Jack took her arm and beamed at her. "I'd like nothing better. Wanna take bets on which one of the Costellos fucks things up the most? I got my money on the groom, but the little spitfire might beat me to it."

Ezra smiled sadly, "dude even on your worst day, you'll never screw up as badly as I have." He sighed, "look I'm sorry about before, I was blaming the wrong person, and so is Sophie, she'll realise that soon enough I promise." He threw his brother a wink. "Come on, why don't you sit with me and Priya, fair warning I think we're sitting on the Sinclair's side, but to be honest, right now I think that's the safest place to be."

Abel Costello decided to follow after Leon and Ezra, mostly just to make sure that there won't be a second altercation. He then walked in on the two having a tender moment so he cleared his throat. "Ceremony's about to start. Luca needs us."

Leon "I'm sorry too, I know I lost it on you too and you really didn't deserve that," Leon admitted before nodding over to his cousin. "But agreed, I'd rather say away from Sofia, I wouldn't be surprised if she decides to make a scene in the middle and I don't want any part of that."

Mia debated for a moment. The way her family were behaving, sitting with the brides family did not seem like a bad idea. At all. "We'll sit with you." she offered.

Ezra turned to face Abel. He sighed, "I guess it's show time then, shall we boys?"

Luca 's heart felt like it was going to leap out of his fucking chest. There was no backing out. Luca walked up to the altar, stood at the end as he waited for Paisley. As scary as this shit was, Luca was fully committed to spending the rest of his life with Paisley.

Cici walked in with Jack and searched for an open pew. "I think Luca's gonna barf." Sitting down she laughed, watching him walk up, pale as a ghost. "Or pass out. Paisley's gonna be pissed."

Leon "Guess so," Leon said as he started walking towards the ceremony.

Sofia: Sofia found Luca, who'd been sneaking around the back, and grabbed his hand, squeezing it. "Say the word, I shove the priest at Paisley and we run down the altar like in Wedding Crashers or something."

Priya extended her hand to Mia, "Come on then," she smiled at her brother before saying, "I am going to borrow your date since mine is dealing with his brother."

Ezra Ezra walked inside the hall along side Leon and Abel just in time to see Luca walking in. He took his seat beside Priya.

Violet sits with the family? Yeah.

Leon Leon sits next to ezra

Chanel realized she still held her champagne glass in her hand and decided to finish it before putting it on the floor. She'd probably remember to pick it up later.

Elijah huffed as he sat in his chair, bummed that he didn't get a seat with Shiloh. "Alright let's rock this bitch. Bring out the ginger!"

Sofia: Sofia waved at Violet and pointed at the spot she normally would be occupying. She wanted it to be as awkward as possible for Leon. She even gave Violet a big thumbs up from the altar.

Priya once seat she takes a hold of Ezra's hand.

Penny watched as her children joined her on the bride's side with their dates. She chose not to comment on their choice of dates though.

Ezra squeezed Priya's hand tightly, shaking his head at Sophie's actions, "well we know which one of my siblings is trying to make this as painful as possible" he muttered to Priya.

Leon glances over and sees Ezra and Priya's hands, but decides that it's better not to say anything (at the moment)

Kai is sitting next to Abel and probably Violet, being a good Costello boy and keeping his mouth shut.

Abel Costello made his way to the ceremony with his cousins and on his way to the pew he caught Mia standing beside Sebastian and Ezra making his way beside Priya. This shouldn't be unusual, given that everyone had been ordered to play nice, but knowing how Mia had been vocal about her disdain for this entire event, his cousin seemed to be all smiles besides the Sinclair heir. He decided to ignore it for now and stand beside Kai.

Priya leaned over to Ezra and whispered, "Better yours than mine."

Ezra sighed, "why is it always mine?" he grumbled.

Priya joked, "Genetics."

Ezra laughed, "ounch, who knew you could be so cold," he joked.

Mia noticed Abel sitting down at the other side of the aisle, but not before eying her. Yeah, he had to think she were insane where she sat not only on the Sinclair side, but with the Sinclair heir as well. She felt bad about not giving him a heads up, just like she could not help but stare at her little brother up there in the aisle looking like he was going to topple over and wishing she could stand next to him and just.. hold his hand. Which might be mighty embarrassing for him in front of such a crowd though but at least he would feel the support she was trying to convey with her eyes. She hadn't even gotten a moment to speak with him beforehand. Too wrapped up in small talk.. Shitty sister.

Luca was still waiting on Paisley's slow ass.

Sofia: Sofia was waiting on Sofia's slow ass and made an obscene gesture at the boy whose flask she'd stolen.

Nadine hadn't meant to show up late, in fact the thought of entering the chapel at such an hour made her stomach twist into knots and her mouth go dry that she almost decided to turn around and get right back into the cab that had just dropped her off. But she had flown across the Atlantic to see Penny's daughter get married and by God if she turned around now it would be rather pathetic. So, after smoothing her hands down the front of her dress and fixing her hair, Nadine straightened her shoulders, took a deep breath, and entered the church. To her horror the entirety of the room was standing, seemingly waiting for the bride, and with a face flushed red as a rose, Nadine hurried to the closest open seat among the pews.

Paisley let out a shaky sigh as she heard all of the voices echoing through the doorway. She suddenly felt incredibly nervous and began to shred the tissue she had balled into her hands. Was this the right thing to be doing? Her heart continued to race as her father walked up behind her and put an encouraging hand on her shoulder. Not saying a word, although not needing to, Paisley smiled at him. Thankful for his support. "Ready?" Morgan asked and Paisley nodded, taking his arm he held out to her. Taking one more deep breath, she held it in as the doors swung open and the music began to play.

Chanel stands in her seat as the music starts playing, turning to watch Paisley and Morgan come down the aisle.

Elijah stands and sees a hot blond across the way, winks at her and then also looks at the two coming down the aisle

Luca held his breath. The doors opened, and there was Paisley being escorted in by her father. Luca felt his heart racing. It was going to be okay. Paisley looked gorgeous and he knew, despite the circumstances, that they would make this marriage work. For the first time that evening, Luca didn't feel unsure about the future. This was good. For both sides. He smiled at Paisley, knowing that this marriage would work. It had to.

Paisley couldn't contain the smile on her face as she made eye contact with Luca and continued down the aisle, all eyes on her. It suddenly all felt...perfect. They reached the alter and Morgan whispered in her ear, kissing her cheek, and leaving her side. She held her hands out to Luca, ready for him to take them-

Unknown sat patiently, perched on the upper level loft that only housed the ancient church organ the family decided to veto out of the wedding, steadying the sniper rifle on the beam in front of him. None of the guests had even looked in his direction and he almost had to hold back a laugh. So much for top security. The cue to wait for was the girl reaching the end of the aisle, the right moment between her father being out of the way and before the boy could grab her hands. The music began to fade away as Morgan kissed his daughter's cheek and turned away. Holding his breath, he steadied his weapon, and squeezed the trigger.

Paisley falls forward.

Unknown pushed the button on the remote in his pocket, setting off the small explosions at the alter, causing the wall to immediately go up in flames. With his job done, he stood up and fled the scene.

Chanel screams, looking at all that had just happened, not knowing what to do or where to go. Something had to happen, someone had to do something

Cici jumped at the sound of the bullet and watched Paisley fall, all as explosions began to go off. Immediately she turned and searched for Kieran.

Penny stood in shock, not moving except to raise a hand do her chest. Her daughter falling. An explosion. Her body went numb.

Sofia: Sofia screams and can't move, she needs to get to Luca and shield him. Nothing else matters anymore, but she can't make her feet move.

Elijah jumps as he hears a pop and the suddenly Paisley is on the ground. He's confused, not quite connecting what had just happened. Did she trip? Did a balloon pop? How much alcohol was in this moonshine.

Juliet reached over to take Camila's hand, shock freezing the rest of her body in place.

Ezra: grabbed hold of priya's hand again, leaning forward to check that Mia and Leon were also alright, still in shock from what just happened.

Kai grabs Chanel's hand when she screams, tugging her toward him and Abel. "Hey, it's okay. We got ya."

Chanel decided to duck down, holding her hands over her head. She wasn't supposed to be a part of this part of the business. This was not her expertise.

Luca suddenly heard the sound of a gunshot. Paisley fell forward, into his arms, blood splattering his suit. She went limp and, not long after, a small explosion went off. With Paisley still in his arms, Luca fell to the ground. He held onto her tightly, shaking her stubbornly. "Pais- Paisley, wake up." He looked out in to the crowd, just as panic had begun to ensue. "Someone fucking help her!" Luca's voice broke.

Mia felt like an electro shock was going trough her, startling in her seat where she sat and unconsciously grabbing for both Priya's and Sebastian's hand, staring open mouthed as the aisle seemed to go up in a sea of flames and smoke.

Camila blinks, dazedly, brain struggling to connect the sound to the action. She grips Juliet's hand back, starts in her seat.

Chanel realizes Kai is tugging her and follows him, hoping they know what to do

Leon it took Leon a couple of second to realize what had happened, and a couple more to look around and try and figure out who the shooter even was. It was instinct to try and figure it out biut with the explosion he knew they needed to get out. Fast. "Okay we need to go. Now." he told the other people in his row.

Sebastian was frozen in place, he had no idea what had just happened. He felt his entire being go numb, he couldn't comprehend what was going on.

Priya is in shock. Her brain was screaming at her but her body was not responding. Her sister. Her little sister. Priya looks back and forth between Mia and Ezra. If the two weren't holding onto her hands her legs would have give out.

Sofia: Jack is out of his seat immediately, yelling at his crew to get outside and make sure there's not an ambush waiting before everyone streams out. He practically bodily pulls Cici with him and shoves her into a corner next to the door. "Stay here, I'll be back for you right away, I just need to make sure there's not more guys outside." He pulled several guns out of his jacket and hollered for Kieran to get people out safely.

Ezra tried to make out Luca's form through the smoke, hoping by some grace of god his brother was alright.

Kieran immediately looked for Cici at the sound of a gunshot. With a fire breaking out, he lunged across the church. He wasn't leaving here without her. Once he reached Cici, Kieran grabbed her by the arm, shielded her out of fear that there was still a threat. "Gotta go. Now."

Ezra "what about Luca?" he asked in response to Leon's command.

Abel Costello saw Paisley fall and he turned his head to try anf find the shooter. But the explosives were set off and people started panicking, leaving the rest of the security details scrambling. Someone needed to secure the family and he began pushing past the crowd to get to Luca.

Mia felt panic course trough her veins. Leon was yelling something about having to go, but Mia doesn't give it a second thought, getting to her feet and shooting down the aisle like a bat out of hell. "LUCA!" Was he hit too? Was Paisly dead? No, this could not be happening.

Sofia: Sofia grabbed Luca's shoulders, trying to get him away, but her twin wouldn't move. "Lu-lu, we've gotta go!" Since he wasn't moving, she kicked her shoes off and grabbed Paisley by the shoulders. "Carry her damn legs then!"

Nadine had tears in her eyes as she watched Morgan walk his daughter to the alter. She was reminded of her own wedding day and for a moment the woman was lost in memory before the sound of a bullet ripping through the air jolted her back to the present. Insticually she fell to the ground and covered her head, waiting for the sound of more bullets. But when an explosion rocked the foundation of the church instead, she began to pray, not having done so in years. She should have stayed in France.

Benjamin immediately looked for the Costellos. Those were his responsibility. He pulled out his weapon and immediately began looking for a way to get people out.

Penny the building was on fire and while she was worried about her daughter she needed to get the others out to safety. She looked to where her children sat with their dates. "We need to get out. Get moving. NOW."

Leon "I'll get Luca, you get everyone else," he said to his brother as he started going towards the font of the church.

Violet immediately leapt from her seat as soon as the commotion began, following Kai and Abel as they rushed to the altar. "Sof! Are you okay? Luca!"

Elijah finally registered what was happening and also started panicking like everyone else around him. He didn't know where the shot had come from or if there were others still out there. Immediately he started looking for the other Sinclair's hoping they were okay and if there was anything he could do to.

Cici did as Jack told her and then immediately was grabbed by Kieran. Feeling slightly relieved at his appearance, she clinged to him, completely shell shocked. "What do we do...the fire..."

Priya turns to her brother, worry and dread on her face. "Paisley-" she manages to get out before Ezra's and her mother's voice pull her out. "I'm-" she stutters, "i'm fine." her grip tightens on ezra's hand as she begins to make her way out the pew.

Kai rushed over to where Mia and the others were, "Who's missing? Anyone?"

Salma froze at the sound of the gunshot. For a moment, she was reminded of the day of her father's death, but was immediately brought back to the present by the smell of smoke as she sat there, dazed.

Leon quickly makes his way to the front of the church, and sees Sofia. Now wasn't the time to be petty about it. "Sof, get out of here, I'll get Luca and Paisley?"

Chanel watched as nobody knew what to do, looking to Kai as he moved to another place. She tried to follow behind him, wanting to throw up but holding back. "We- we need to get out of here. We need to hide."

Mia threw herself down on the ground beside her little brother, ignoring the blood that seemed to be oozing out on the floor. "Luca! Are you hurt? We need to leave."

Sebastian steeled his emotions and stood, he needed to do something. How was he supposed to be a second-in-command when it felt like his heart was ripped out of his chest. He moved up towards the alter not caring about the smoke or flames.

Ezra steadied his voice, "she'll be fine, but we can't do anything to help them if we end up trapped in here too," he said pulling her towards the exist.

Benjamin spotted Juliet and Camila near the back of the church. He immediately sprinted towards them. The fire was getting out of hand now - they needed to get out. Quickly. Adrenaline pumping, Ben didn't even think before he grabbed Juliet and Camila by the arm. "We need to get out of here."

Kai spots Benjamin near the back, handling some of the other girls, "C'mon," he spoke softly to Chanel, "We're gonna get to Ben and get you out."

Juliet didn't fight Ben as he pulled her up and out of his seat. "Shit, shit shit."

Sofia: Sofia wiped her face, not realizing Sofia's blood was on her hands. "I'm not leaving unless we ALL go. Now help me get her out of here or Luca's never gonna leave!"

Abel Costello found Sofia trying to drag Luca while Leon was telling her to leave. "I'll get Paisley," he offered to Leon, "you take care of Luca."

Violet wrapped an arm around Sofia, "C'mon. They got it. Come with me. We won't leave Luca."

Ezra shouted to Leon, "we need to get the girls out," refereeing the fact that Mia and Sophie were still inside.

Priya let Ezra pull her towards and exit. Her eyes kept searching for her family. For her siblings. For Paisley. "Please let her not be dead," she says softly to herself

Paisley felt her body beginning to get cold and she could no longer move her legs or arms. Explosions went off and her ears could only hear a high pitch ring. Vision blurry, she still was able to make out Luca's face. Attempting to make words, a choking sound came from her throat instead. She felt tears falling down her cheeks and she did all she could, offering Luca the biggest smile she could muster, she mouthed to him. "It's okay." She kept her eyes on him for as long as she could, unable to truly understand what as going on around her. Eventually her eye lids just got too heavy and she couldn't fight it anymore, so they closed.

Leon nodded at Abel, not surprised to see him there. "Good," he nodded at his cousin before turning to both of his sisters, "Now both of you get out and I will get Luca," he said before kneeling next to his brother. "We don't need all of us here."

Chanel nodded to Kai, looking to see Ben with some of the other girls. She began making her way to it, jumping when she heard little pops from the fire as it expanded. She'd left her purse at her chair, it had her phone in it. She had to go back. Pushing through the chaos of the other guests she tried to find where she had been sitting, crawling on her hands and knees until she finally found it.

Violet glanced at Leon momentarily as they all crowded around to help Luca, then looked at Mia, "C'mon, let's get Sof and get out of here."

Sofia: Sofia clutched Violet but still instinctively reached out for Luca. "Luca, please! Please don't leave me!"

Kai lead Chanel through the madness to Benjamin, "Can you get her out? I wanna make sure everything is good here." He gave Chanel's shoulder a comforting squeeze, keeping his arm around her.

Ezra swallowed hard, "hey don't don't think like that," he said to Priya, waiting until they were outside to pull her into his arms, "its going to be okay."

Mia couldn't breathe. Had Paisley's eyes just closed? How could this be happening? Staring blankly at her brothers that kept swimming in and out of vision. Violet was in front of her speaking, but Mia couldn't hear her, standing as if glued to the ground.

Luca could hear the chaos all around him. He was shaking now, trying to smile back at Paisley. His eyes were blurred with tears and it wasn't long before Luca was in hysterics all together. The woman that he was supposed to marry was cold, limp in his arms. She wasn't supposed to be a victim. This wedding was supposed to prevent shit like this happening. Luca rocked Paisley in his arms, shaking his head, repeating the words 'no' over and over again. "Pais. Paisley. Paisley. Please don't- fuck."

Violet wraps her other arm around Sofia, "Abel and Leon got him. Promise. C'mon," she spoke softly, eyes narrowing a bit when she noticed Mia didn't respond, "Mia? Mia? We have to go!"

Elijah decided that most people were being taken care of by others. He'd only be making things worse if he stuck around and got in the way. He quickly made his way to an exit and ran until he was sure there was nobody running after him.

Priya collapses against Ezra her entire body shaking. She holds onto him as if her life depending on it, which it did. "This wasn't suppose to happen" her voice is muffled against his chest. For once in her life Priya did not know what to do.

Abel Costello picked up the unconscious bride, not bothering to check if she was truly dead or alive; the whole church was on fire and people were running towards the door, and if the Sinclair child was dead then so be it. The family will deal with the consequence afterward. For now, they all had to make it out alive.

Mia blinked at the sight of Violet's face, lips opening and closing. "What?" she mumbles.

Leon knew that Luca wasn't going to be okay, not by a long shot. Not with everything happening this way. "Luca," Leon said, "We have to get out of here so are you walking or am I carrying you?"

Ezra hushed her, keeping his grip tight, "breath, I've got you."

Sebastian couldn't handle what was going on. He had just seen his little sisters eyes close. What the fuck was happening? Whoever did this was going to pay and they were going to pay with blood. He stood near Luca and Paisley and he couldn't figure out what to do.

Jack: Jack had cleared the entranceway and was shoving people into cars, getting them away from the conflagration and a potential ambush as quickly as possible, not even really focusing on what had happened yet. He headed back in for his family, scooping Paisley's body into his arms. It didn't even register at first that she was heavier than she should be.

Nadine got to her feet before being shoved to the side by a guest that was desperate to get outside. Chaos ensued and though nearly every bone in her body screamed at the woman to escape, she instead made her way towards the alter where Paisley's beautiful white dress could be seen on the floor, marred by crimson. She needed find Penny. She needed to find Piper. She needed help in any way she could. "I'm a doctor, move out of the way, move!"

Jack: Jack heard Nadine calling and headed for her. "She got hit, she's hurt. I can't - you can help her, right?"

Violet untangled one arm from Sofia to take Mia by the hand, "We're leaving." With that, she led the two women from the building.

Sebastian stood next to his uncle and his mother's cousin. His sister was hurt. How did this happen? He had not uttered a word since it had happened, he couldn't believe it.

Chanel had found her purse and then was ushered by Kai back to Benjamin. She didn't know what else to do as she watched the chaos erupt around her. Who would do this?

Nadine "I'll do what I can, but I need to get to her." She said, pulling up the skirt of her dress, and covering her mouth as smoke began to fill the chapel. "Where is she?"

Kieran glanced up at the roof. The fire was getting more and more out of control. He heard the roof start to crack. He grabbed Cici's hand and tugged her rather roughly out of the danger zone. He sprinted towards the door, not letting go of Cici's hand no matter what.

Leon sighed when it became clear that Luca was too far in shock - which was fair. Sighing he picked up his brother and dragged him out of the building until they were in a safe spot away from everything. He wasn't going to move away from him, instead he kneeled in front of his brother and just said, "I'm not going anywhere, okay? Don't need to talk, I'm just here."

Priya let out a shaky breath at Ezra's words. Her what ifs became a reality she could not deal with. The abyss was here.

Jack: Jack realized Nadine couldn't see more than half a foot in front of her and came closer, cradling Paisley's body. "Here, here ... she's ... fuck, she's not moving. I don't know what to do."

Mia felt Vi's hand close around hers before she was pulled forward. Stumbling along with her sister and sister-in-law she could hardly think, this ringing noise still filling her ears. The cold air hit her like a ton of bricks, and suddenly the sounds came rushing back. "Who has Luca?" she asked Violet, ice filling her veins.

Paityn walks in and is like "wtf"

Ezra looked around while still holding onto Priya, sighing in relief when he saw that all his siblings had made it out. He knew something like would happen, why didn't his father listen to him?

Salma gathered her thoughts together and finally rushed out of the church.

Chanel screamed again as more fire began popping around her. She searched for an exit and started following the people that seemed to be making their way somewhere.

Luca struggled against Leon, not wanting to leave Paisley behind. He was still crying, frustrated tears streaming down his face. Before he knew it, they were outside and safe. The fresh air didn't help any - it still felt like he couldn't breathe.

Camila follows after Juliet and Benjamin, eyes blinking in irritation at the building. Her voice is flat, rising slightly with disbelief as they navigate the chaos to the outside of the church. "Was she dead. Like. Was she fucking dead?""

Mia eyes scanned the crowd, her heart slowing a little as one by one she could count heads of her siblings, cousins and friends as well as Priya. But where was her date? Biting down on her bottom lip Mia debated going back in. "Do you see Sebastian anywhere Vi? He got out right?"

Paityn is stoned in the bathroom and knows nothing. Waiting for Uncle Jack to find her.

Violet let go of Sofia and Mia once they were outside, exhaling deeply as she took a moment to slow her nerves. In her line of work, it took a lot to shake her, but explosions erupting around her family sure as hell was enough to do it. "Leon's got him. Or had him. He has him somewhere." She began scanning the area, finally spotting Leon and Luca across the way, "Over there."

Jack: Jack held back as sob and just led Nadine out of the church, still holding Paisley. He took them both to his car. "Just - just take care of her, okay? I have to go back for the others. Please." Before he could second-guess abandoning his niece, he took off running back to the church.

Juliet shrugged, her breathing coming in short bursts. "I don't know. I-I don't know."

Violet blinked when Mia brought up Sebastian, her brow furrowing as she shrugged, "I... wasn't paying attention to the Sinclairs, honestly. I was just worried about you guys."

Camila studies the way Juliet's eyes seem to be roaming the exterior of the church, clearly searching. "Are you looking for—"

Leon wasn't going to try and make his brother talk, all that mattered at the moment was that he was alright. Looking up and scanning, he looked for the rest of his siblings, hoping that they all got out as he noticed Mia and Violet across the way.

Juliet nodded slowly. "Yeah I am. Sue me."

Priya manages to gain back some self control. "Where are they?" She pulls her body away from his but her hands still firmly holding onto him. "Where is Seb, Paityn, Shiloh, Pais-" her sister's name catches in her throat. "Shit. Where is everyone? Where the hell are they?!"

Chanel finally makes it out and then finally takes her phone out, dialing 911. Who knows if someone else had already done it, but if they had they definitely weren't here yet. And they needed them ASAP

Ezra hushed Priya, "stay here" he told her firmly I'm going to go see what's going on. He walked over to Mia, "hey where's Sebastian?"

Penny finds herself standing near the door of the church, watching everything happen but unable to function much more than breathing at this point.

Camila 's mouth twists in understanding. "I'm sure he's getting the rest of his family out. I'm sure he's alright."

Jack kicked in doors, screaming and coughing from the smoke. His head swam and he had to crouch low. He swore he'd seen everyone out except Paityn and Sebastian. Checking the mens room in case Sebastian was getting water to try and stop the blaze, he found Paityn in a stall. "Jesus fucking Christ!" Scooping her up he threw her over his shoulder and booked it, trying not to pass out from the smoke."

Juliet took Camila's hand and gave it a squeeze. "I know. I'll just feel better when I see him."

Mia chewed harder on her bottom lip. "Fuck.. he might still be in there.." Noticing Ezra coming over, Mia's guilt intensifies. "I.. I think he's still in there.." she scrambles with a certain anguish on her face.

Miles got the calls as they began to come rolling in from the public. Guests. The church. All of it. He had never rushed to a scene faster. Running up, Miles immediately froze seeing the scene unfolding in front of him. His eyes immediately fell on Penelope and he ran up to her, as other police officers began to run around. "Pen...what happened...?"

Chanel started explaining the situation to the emergency operator and then steps far away from the burning building, trying to make sure she wasn't too close, but also that whoever killed Paisley wasn't still around. And then the sirens started wailing.

Ezra eyes widened, "fuck, who else is still in there?" he asked, looking around to identify all the faces around them.

Violet took Mia by the arm again, doing her best to offer the most reassuring smile she could muster, "I'm sure his family made sure he got out alright. Look, let's go see Leon and Luca, okay? I'm sure Luca wants to know you're okay too."

Paityn was shocked getting carried by her uncle, but before she could question anything she was by her sister's side. "What the hell is going on?" she asked, completely confused.

Mia doesn't have to think it over, not really. Go back in for Sebastian or get over to Luca? Honestly, the choice was easy, branded into her very soul the day the twins had been born. "Come on." she murmurs to Violet and Sofia, holding onto Violet the best she could as they weave their way trough the crowd over to Luca and Leon.

Priya grabs hold of her sister and envelops her in a hug. "Thank god you are alright," she is holding on tight to her sister. "I-I" her voice is breaking, "Paisley has been shot. I think she's dead."

Chanel saw the police show up and ran to one of the available cop cars that started parking outside and decided she'd felt safest if she was by them.

Penny blinked at the man, barely registering who he was. "Someone- they shot her. My baby." Forget the explosions and fire. Her baby was laying in the back of someone's car unmoving.

Camila gives a ready squeeze back, eyes still smarting from the smoke. "We should— shit. Maybe move back. I still have no clue what's fucking going on." She shakes her head frantically, teeth clicking together in stress. "Maybe if we're away from the crowd you'll be able to see him come out easier."

Violet hadn't realized she'd been holding her breath while Mia decided what to do, and Violet waiting to see if she'd have to drag her away from the building. When Mia agreed to go to the boys, Violet let out her breath, leading the two over to Luca and Leon. Her eyes met Leon's when they reached each other, "He okay?"

Ezra excused himself, seeing that Priya was having a moment with her sister, he walked over to where his family had conjugated, "we're all good on our side right? Family, employees, friends the lot?" he asked Leon.

Paityn couldn't believe her ears. "What?" she asked. "Dead?" Paityn was too stoned for this. "I--" She didn't have any words. She the collapsed into Priya, unable to hold her own weight anymore. "What happened? How did it happen? Oh...my God...it was supposed to be--"

Juliet tugged at Camila's hand as she backed up slowly, eyes still scanning the crowd

Sofia was crumpled on the pavement when she saw the asian guy who was a sinclair or something at the door, looking dazed. "Fucking FUCK! This is ALL YOUR FAULT!" She wasn't sure why she was screaming at him, but she ran over, her feet burning as they touched the hot floor of the church, and pulled him out of the building back to her family. Violet looked at her and Sofia just sank back down next to Luca, now clutching the asian guy. "He's Mia's guy, okay? I had to go back for him."

Leon "He's in shock," Leon answered Violet, which was fair, glad to see everyone seemed to be there, "And I think we're good," he answered Ezra, "But my first priority was Luca."

Chanel starts flirting with one of the police officers

Violet gave Leon a nod, sinking down beside Luca to place a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Hey dude. You feeling okay? Breathing alright?"

Priya cradles her sister in her arms. Her hand is smoothing down her sister's hair, trying to offer her comfort. "Shhh. Pay, shhh." In this moment she forgot all about how she was feeling and focused entirely on her baby sister...her only sister. Priya wouldn't lie to her, she needed to know. They all needed to know what happened"There was a shot," she manages to steady her voice. "It hit her, Pay. It hit Paisley and then an explosion went off."

Nadine followed Jack out of the building, lungs screaming for fresh air. Her eyes watered from the smoke, running her make-up down her cheeks, and when they reached outside, Nadine sucked in the oxygen. Jack led them to his car before taking off back towards the church, and Nadine concentrated on the unconscious body of her cousin's daughter. There was blood, so much blood that it was clear to the woman that if she wasn't already dead, she would be in minutes. But when she placed her hand on the girl's neck, and there was no jump of a pulse, Nadine sighed. Paisley Sinclair was dead.

Luca felt a hand on his shoulder. Tears streaming down his face, he looked over at Violet. He winced a little. "She's fucking- she's fucking dead."

Miles 's face dropped as Penny mumbled out someone was dead. He turned quickly and scanned the chaotic crowd. Could he make out any of the girls? Finally he caught a glimpse of red hair, Priya. Paityn. He didn't see Paisley. Turning his attention back to Penny, he wrapped one of his arms around and shoulders and began to escort her away from the building, towards where her daughters were. "Penny, you gotta get away from the building in case debris starts flying...come stay by your girls. I'll find Morgan."

Kai found his way over to Leon, Ezra, Mia, and the lot of them, clamping a hand down on Leon and Ezra's shoulders when he reached them, "Holyyyy fuck, right?"

Sebastian looked around for his sisters, he had been yelled at by Sofia and managed to get out of the building. He couldn't handle himself but he needed to make sure the rest of his family was safe.

Benjamin looked over Camila and Juliet. "Are you both okay?" He glanced around, ensuring that no one else had fallen behind.

Mia drew close to Luca the second they came over, holding on tightly to her hand. In the meantime she hadn't noticed Sofia taking off, until she was back with Sebastian in tow. Its probably selfish, but she can't find it in her to give him more than a glance before her eyes returns to her little brother. "Just breathe." she murmurs, not sure if its helpful at all.

Violet nodded somberly, her expression twisting into one wrought with empathy. She gave him a small smile, shifting her weight to sit down next to him and pulling him into her side, "I know, sweetie." She planted a light kiss on his temple, running a hand through his hair.

Juliet shook her head. "No, not really."

Paityn was crying now; the tears didn't stop. All she could do was sob into her sister's shoulder. There wasn't anything else she could do.

Ezra Ezra stood there watching the chaos around him, he turned to Kai. "This was a hit, so who did." He said, clenching his fists.

Chanel decides to go home and walks the whole way because she is very confused and needs the air to clear her head.

Abel Costello looked at the bloodstan on his dress shirt, looking just a little annoyed that it had been ruined by the Sinclair girl's blood-- that prick Jasckson should've gotten there faster if he wanted to play hero to his dead niece. The consigliere looked around as he walked past the panicked guests and attendees, doing a headcount of the people that really mattered-- his family. The rest of Morgan's brood could burn for all he cared.

Leon "That's one way of putting it," he sighed as he turned toward Ezra and Kai, "And I really wish I knew. I know none of us liked this wedding, I don't know of anyone who was planning on doing this."

Jack lay on the pavement near Priya and Paityn. His skin screamed and his lungs burned and all he wanted to do was fall asleep, but he kept trying to get up. He had to find Piper. Finally an EMT put a mask on him and made a note that he needed to get to a hospital. "Possible lung damage. Idiot ran back into the building instead of waiting for the fire crew."

Ezra "i think it's safe to say, peace isn't coming to Chicago anytime soon," he said turning to face his brother.

Priya just held Paityn and soothed her. There wasn't else to be said. Nothing else she could say to bring her sister comfort except be her support. Even with her world crumbling around her she would hold it together for her sister. Paityn needed her. Her own collapse could wait.

Kai glances over at Luca, but sees the others have it handled, and gives them space for now. "Yeah, and it doesn't seem like they wanted anyone other than Paisley dead. The explosions weren't set up to kill. They were to distract... or... lead? Fuck if I know. They were just placed really shitty if they were going for death."

Penny let the man, who she was now aware of being Miles, lead her away from the building. There was a disconnect between her thoughts and her feet. Was this all just an awful dream? "Morgan. Find him. I can't lose him too." She looked up to see her remaining daughters holding each other up, ashamed that she wouldn't be able to help them.

Mia crouched down by Luca's side, holding onto him tightly. There is no words that can make up for what he's just gone trough, the shocking loss none of them can really comprehend.

Leon "And it sounds like they wanted the war," Leon added, "Which if that's what they want, then they can have it, I just want to know who the fuck did it."

Juliet felt her body relax as she finally caught sight of Leon with his siblings.

Sebastian managed to get over by Paityn and Priya. He was so far gone but he still wrapped an arm around both of his sisters.

Sofia: Everyone crouched around Luca but Sofia felt weirdly numb. She could hear Leon and Kai talking as if from miles away, but turned around. "Don't you dare start some bullshit war. Don't you - don't you -" she broke down sobbing and hugged Leon. "No one else can die, okay? Nobody."

Ezra "yeah that's the problem isn't? Both sides wanted this wedding called off. Both sides were unhappy with us cosing up to each other. It could have been anyone...unless we're seriously considering a third party getting involved."

Paityn was numb; she could feel her brother's presence next to her, but she didn't acknowledge it. She just opened her clutch and took out a cigarette. She couldn't light it, though. Her hands were too shaky. "Fuck," she whispered under her breath.

Priya Priya removed one of her arms from around Paityn and wrapped it around Sebastian's waist. She had them here. Seb and Paityn were okay, she could breathe but she couldn't. Her family was no longer whole.

Kai raised an eyebrow at Leon, "If anything, they wanted a war with the Sinclairs. Or to make them think we had a hand in it, so we're at war with each other."

Mia can hear the boys talking, already mentioning words like 'war' and 'third party'. Lifting her eyes to Ezra her brows are furrowed. "What do you mean 'third party?"

Kieran looked around, heart racing. With Cici safe outside, the severity of it all was starting to set in. The fucking Costellos had done this. He looked around, heart racing. "They fucking did this," he mumbled, voice low at first, laced with venom. He raised his voice this time. "They fucking did this! The Costellos fucking had her murdered." It was an emotional time and there was no stopping Kieran. He wanted to go after the first Costello that he saw.

Ezra "I mean someone's trying really hard to make it look like one of us did this. I mean we're all suspects right? We all wanted this NOT to happen. If someone was going to try and take the city from under us, now would be the perfect time while we're all too busy tearing each other apart."

Leon hugged Sofia, wishing that he was able to comfort her a little more as he held her tight, "My guess is someone's trying to frame us for this. Someone who hates the Sinclairs as much as we do or maybe just hates Paisley. But my guess is they want us to take the blame, because I don't think it was any of us."

Kai laid a hand gently on Sofia's back, "Hey, no one is gonna just rush into war for a Sinclair getting killed. Not unless we have to, right?" He turned his gaze toward Leon, then Ezra.

Abel Costello found Kieran O'Connell screaming his lungs out, putting the blame on the Costellos, without saying anything, he marched over and punched the man square in the face to shut him up.

Luca leaned in to Violet. It felt like he was a fucking little kid again. Weak, scared, helpless. Both families were divided - again. The damage done was beyond repair. A life had been taken. He was having a hard time focusing on anyone or anything. He was in fucking shot. He heard Kieran screaming. Luca sniffled, stood up from the ground. He heard Kieran yelling and the anger built in his chest. "We didn't fucking do this!" Luca yelled, practically hysterical.

Ezra turned to Leon, "it's already starting, we need to find who did this and fast before we have a blood bath on our hands."

Cici grabbed Kieran's arm, trying to shush him. "Kieran, stop. You don't...you don't know that..." Suddenly feeling like he was right, she felt an uncomfortable turn in her stomach. Suddenly Abel appeared and punched Kieran and Cici glared, shoving Abel with all her strength. "FUCK OFF!"

Kai became distracted by the shouting lunatic on the Sinclair side, turning just in time to see Abel running over and punching him in the face. "Well, shit." He rushed over to them, making sure one of the Sinclairs didn't try to sneak up and sucker punch his cousin.

Priya while holding onto both of her siblings she searched the crowd for any sign of the rest of her family. She caught sight of Jack on the ground, an oxygen mask over his face. He was alive, that is 3 out 9 accounted for.

Leon "I know. So find out who's not here, who didn't show, who's been more vocal against this, so we can rule our people out. And then we'll have to go from there. Got it?"

Violet was about to address Ezra when Luca stood up, yelling in the direction of the screaming Sinclair. She leapt to her feet, frowning at the scene, "Luca..." She turned her gaze to Leon and Ezra, "We need to get him out of here. We need to make sure this doesn't turn into more bloodshed. And now."

Camila clenches her jaw a little tighter, her free hand smoothing anxiously at the fabric of her dress. Juliet's eyes seem to track something— Leon. Safe. As much as any of them are. She knocks her shoulder gently into the other girl's. "See?" At Benjamin's question, she can only shake her head in a show of built-up tension. "I have no fucking idea." A beat, the sound of shouting, bedlam. "Is anyone else ... dead?"

Ezra nodded, "noted, I'll start putting out feelers among our inner circle, we'll smoke out who did this."

Sofia: Sofia heard Luca shouting and was immediately back at his side. Her feet were raw by now, but she couldn't even feel it. Her dress was ripped and torn, though there really wasn't much that was showing now that hadn't been before. She put his arm around her shoulders and her arm around his waist, so they looked like the world's oddest siamese twins, and prepared to hit anyone who tried to turn this around and come for her twin.

Priya Priya realized in that moment that Paisley was accounted for. She would be counted amongst the dead.

Abel Costello Abel raised his fist instinctively, ready to hit whoever had shoved him but when he saw that it was Cecila, he stopped. He lowered his hand and glared. "He needs to shut up."

Paityn finally got her cigarette lit. Seemed out of place, given the smoke and the flames. She stood and stepped away to smoke, ignoring all the yelling and fighting. All she wanted was to forget. Mute the world and forget that her sister was shot standing in her place.

Mia tightened her grip on Luca's hand, getting to her feet and cursing under her breath. "We all know we didn't do shit. Besides, we were all there in the pews.." She argued, with no one in particular. Looking from Violet, to Luca, to her brothers and back. "Do you have your car Vi?"

Nadine With nothing more she could do, Nadine draped the skirt of Paisley's wedding dress over her face and closed the car door. She needed to find Penny. The woman wandered through the crowd of attendees and first responders looking for that familiar shock of red hair, and when she finally found the mother of the bride, Nadine made her way towards her, stealing herself as she had so many times before, when she had to tell a parent their child was dead. "Penny," she called softly as she drew near, and though she hadn't seen her cousin in years, Nadine opened her arms and wrapped the woman in a hug.

Cici glared at Abel, lowering her voice. "We're the ones with one dead, not you. That's Sinclair blood on everyone's hands. You need to shut up and fuck off."

Kieran barely had any time to register what Cici was saying before he felt a fist against his face. Kieran stumbled backward just as he saw Cici shove Abel back. "There's no trusting you fucking people," Kieran spat, lunging towards Abel. "This was supposed to be a good thing - I'm going to fucking kill every last one of you!" Kieran didn't do things without orders, but he was sure that the Costellos played a part in this. Kieran shoved Abel with great force before Kieran's own fist met the side of Abel's jaw.

Leon nodded back at Ezra before he started looking around at the crowd, "Good. I'm going to check and make sure the rest of our people are okay, and see if there's anything else that I can do."

Violet nodded at Mia, "Yeah. You wanna get your brother? And Sof?" Violet approached Ezra and Leon, instinctively taking Leon by the arm to turn him toward her, "You. You okay?" She shut her eyes, shaking her head as the realization that he might snap on her came to mind, "Humor me? There was bullets and explosions and your one eye kinda looks like shit."

Penny blinked back tears as her cousin suddenly appeared, pulling her into her embrace. "Who would- That is my baby. Why would someone do this?" Her brain was racing, unable to focus on any one thing at a time. "She can't be gone. This can't happen again."

Ezra turned to Mia, "you going to be okay if I go check on Priya and meet you guys at your place?" he asked his sister.

Abel Costello shoved Cecilia aside, not wasting his breath on the girl, but it was while she had been admonishing him that Kieran decided to hit him back. He stumbled backward, fist colliding with the side of his face and Abel steadied his footing before lunging at the Kieran and sending them both falling to the ground. He began to pummel the Sinclair scum.

Priya was no longer holding onto both of her siblings anymore. Her head turned at the sound of shouts not that far off. She let go of her brother, heading straight towards the commotion. Everyone was fighting. FIGHTING. "Stop it!" She yelled at everyone who was in attendance. She was sure none of them had ever heard or seen her temper flare. "MY SISTER IS DEAD!" She bellowed. "WILL ALL OF YOU STOP ACTING LIKE CHILDREN AND PULL YOURSELVES TOGETHER."

Paityn hated seeing her mother break down and Priya explode. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temple. She texted Julius. I want to leave. Now. Paityn just hoped her driver would be quick.

Nadine Nadine didn't say anything, there was nothing to say. She didn't have answers, and she didn't think anything she would say would be more than just noise to Penny. So she held her instead, smoothing a hand over her hair as hot tears stung her eyes before falling down her cheeks.

Violet 's head shook in mild shock as Leon brushed her off and headed toward... of course. The escort girl. The escort girl who was embracing him, right in front of her, and everyone else. Violet's clamped her teeth together, jaw throbbing in anger. She almost didn't notice Mia back at her side, and with Sofia, "Where the fuck is Luca?" She snapped, squeezing her eyes shut again as she forced forward a smile, "Sorry."

Miles heard the commotion going on between Cici, Kieran, and Abel and he sighed, running a hand over his face. "I'm too fucking old for this..." He mumbled as he marched over to the three.

Priya looked over at Ezra, her hands balled into fists over the sight of Kieran and Abel beating the shit out of each other. "I need them to stop fighting," Priya says to him before turnign her attention back to the boys, "Kieran," she snapped at him with more bite than she had thought possible. "Stop this now. Or so help me I will get in there myself and ALL of you can explain why another Sinclair daughter got hurt."

Leon wrapped his arms tightly around Juliet, relieved that she seemed to be alright. Instinctively he kissed the top of her head, before looking her over, slowly leading her towards where Benjamin and Camila were both standing. "Are you all alright?" he asked the three of them.

Ezra sighed, "for god sake Abel, we have bigger fish to fry get a hold of your fucking self," he shouted, holding Priya closed to him.

Mia reached out to sqqueze Violets arm. "Luca is right here. Sof has him." she cautioned, contributing Violets burts of anger to the fact that Juliet had just made an appearance. "You okay Sof? Do you need help?" she asked her sister. "We're going to mine and Leon's apartment, okay? Luca, can you hear me? We have to go now."

Paityn rolled her eyes at her phone. Julius responded. Stuck in traffic, Pait. Might be a bit. Paityn put out her cigarette and walked up to Priya and Ezra. Tears were still falling down her cheeks, but her voice was monotone as she spoke. "Julius is stuck in traffic. I want to go home."

Juliet held on to Leon, blinking back tears as her body started to shake. This was supposed to fix things, not make them worse. Why couldn't the scandal of their relationship have continued to be the biggest problem they had to face?

Kieran was on the floor with Abel before he knew it. The blows that he delivered didn't hurt - mainly because of all the adrenaline pumping through his body. He knew that, as soon as the fight ended, he would be hurting miserably. All of the hatred that Kieran had felt for the Costellos had resurfaced the minute that he saw Paisley's body fall in to Luca's arms. They had done this and, Kieran being so enraged - felt like it was only appropriate to take one of their own. He managed to squirm his way out of Abel's grip and, within seconds, had his weapon upholstered. He aimed it at Abel's head.

Priya shouted at Kieran, "Kieran! Don't do it! Put that away. NOW."

Violet took Luca by the hand, ignoring Mia's squeeze and the whole Leon and Juliet scene. "Luca. Sweetie," she cooed, trying to get his attention without aggravating him further, "We need to leave. Get you checked out, okay?"

Sofia just held onto Luca. Everything would be okay as long as she and Luca were together. She was shivering uncontrollably, her hair was covered in soot, and her dress and face had her brother's dead wife's blood all over it. She didn't let go of her brother, and didn't even notice that people were talking to her. She said nothing to him. There weren't really words anyway. He was there, her fingers pressed into his side in a death grip that would probably leave bruises. "I lost my shoes." Looking at her now cut-up feet, she giggled and shoved a hand in her mouth. Following Vi without saying anything else.

Priya turned towards her sister and wrapped her arms around her. As quickly as her voice took on rage it softened when she held her sister close. "I'll get you home, Paityn."

Camila watches as the two embrace, exchange assurances. There's more yelling. Screaming. She can't be sure what, exactly, is fucking happening. But something is escalated. "Oh. We're fine." She glances up at Benjamin, who seems, at least, to be alright. "But I have like, no fucking clue what's going on over there. It sounds like someone else is gonna get it."

Abel Costello had done his share of waiting but he was no saint and to have Kieran O'Connell in his reach made him short-sighted. That first punch was a result, the consigliere losing his cool as the two began to fight amidst the death of a Sinclair child and a burning church. His father would be ashamed of him, letting some piece of shit errand boy get to him like that. And then Kieran managed to wrestle free, hand reached inside his coat pocket; Abel then staggered backwards and reached for his own gun and pointed it at the other man. Fuck patience. He was going to kill Kieran O'Connell right now.

Leon "I'm not going to let anything happen to you, I promise," Leon said to Juliet, nodding at Camila, "My cousins should have it under control, but you should probably get out of here, I can't promise that it's going to be safe."

Paityn 's eyes were dead, looking between Abel and Kieran. She turned to Priya, "I guess we should make sure no one else get's shot before we go."

Juliet sniffled and wiped at her eyes before looking up at Leon. "Can I crash at your place tonight? I really don'r want to be alone right now."

Priya looked to Ezra her hand reaching out to take his'. Now she understood while her mother got migraines.

Leon "Yeah of course," he nodded at her, "it's going to be okay," he said, wishing that he could promise that his words were true.

Benjamin followed Camila's gaze, watching as Kieran and Abel had their guns drawn on each other. He had a sick feeling in his stomach. He didn't understand why people were still around. "It's probably best if we all get out of here," Ben said to Camila. He eyed Juliet, who seemed to be safe with the Costello family. "I don't have a good feeling about any of this."

Ezra "you going to take your sister home?" he asked, still reeling from the events that had just happened.

Penny stood holding her cousin who was able to cry but all she could do was sob. Who could have done something like this? Penny knew one thing. Whoever did this was going to pay in blood.

Miles cringed as both men pulled their guns out. "You two idiots aren't even LISTENING!" Losing his temper, Miles let out a whistle as another officer ran over. "You two should fucking know better than this, now, c'mon." Grabbing Kieran's arm that was holding the gun, he grabbed the gun out of his hand and tossed it away from them. Pulling out the cuffs on his belt, he started to place them on his wrists. "We'll get ya bailed out in the morning, kid." Miles mumbled to Kieran. As the other officer followed the same protocol with Abel, Miles looked around at everyone staring waiting for something to happen. "A girl is dead!" He yelled, his voice cracking slightly. "Go the fuck home, no one else needs to die today."

Paityn flinched when Miles said a girl is dead. That girl was her sister. Her sister was dead. It's my fault. It should've been me.

Priya "Yes," Priya replies to him. Her sister needed to be as far away from here as possible. Where the fuck was Sebastian. Where was her dad? Where was anyone who could stop what was about to happen because she surely could not. "I need to get her out of here. I came with you-" No, she would not be letting that pain sink in. Not now. "Can you get us out of here?" she ask Ezra

Ezra nodded, "get your sister, and brother and let's get the fuck out of here before we're caught in the middle of this toxic masculinity bullshit."

Camila taps a nail idly against her leg, trying to expel her nervous energy somehow. Juliet would be leaving with Leon, it would seem. Well. At least that would be safe. She shrugs. "Yeah. Me fucking neither." She glances down at her phone, taps busily at the screen. "You think uber picks up here?"

Kai goes to bail out Abel and take care of his bro bro.

Violet leaves with Luca, Sofia, and Mia, drops them off at home, and goes to do some other shit.

Ezra could tell things were about to get bad with the cops. He went, got his car, and pulled up out front where he'd agreed to meet Priya with presumably her siblings.

Priya grabbed Paityn by the hand and made their way over to Sebastian. "Seb, we need to get out of here. Now." she shakes his shoulder with her free hand before grabbing hold of his hand. One way or another she was dragging them all out of her.

Benjamin wasn't about to let anyone Uber home after the shit storm that had happened. "I'll get you home, Cam." He sighed, glancing around. Ben knew that he wouldn't be able to rest that night until he knew that everyone was safe.

#event: the wedding #parabellumevent #recap #09/07

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