#Dormitory cat tales

[meowmoedotcom]

猫猫搬家记录，宝宝们真的好乖啊

meowmoe.com

[acourtofwhatthefuck]

Practice On Me — Part Four — Azriel x Reader

Summary: It’s Solstice! Reader decides she should probably be honest with Azriel about some stuff. Things don’t quite go to plan.

Oof. Okay. This could be uncomfortable reading for some. There are some hints and depictions of domestic abuse and also of alcoholism, so if that’s something that might trigger you, please, please do not read this. The last thing I want is for my writing to be harmful to anybody. Read with caution. Take care and put yourself first. Lots of love.

Also, please don’t hate me for this 😭we know I’m a hoe for angst and it wouldn’t be one of my fics if there wasn’t some sprinkled in there lmao.

Word Count: 5k.

Warnings: Depiction of abusive behaviour. Heavy drinking. Some violence.

On a brisk winter morning, when the sun hasn’t yet graced the sky, the last place you wish to be is at the Windhaven crèche, watching over a group of tired, grouchy younglings. Every second thought that passes through your mind is a longing one, lamenting on how desperately you wish to be back in your bed.

But alas, you owe your friend, Vegha, a favour, making you the sole minder of ten restless little girls, all annoyed that their brothers get to join their fathers for training, while they have to stay back and be…girls. A downfall, according to most Illyrian males.

You’re supposed to be watching over them for a couple of hours while Vegha runs an errand. And that time is going very, very slowly.

You’re in the middle of reading a storybook — and, yes, doing all the voices — when the door opens behind you. You feel a glimmer of hope that perhaps Vegha is back earlier than planned, but when you swivel on the child-sized chair you’ve perched yourself on, it’s Azriel who looms in the doorway.

And you…your heart does a silly little thing in your chest.

“Don’t let me interrupt.” He says. “I can wait.”

Your eyebrows flick up in amusement. “Come take a seat, then. It’s story time.”

His lips twitch, and he goes to reach for one of those infant chairs — which you’re not at all sure can handle all his muscle — but this sparks a flurry of complaints from the girls, who all insist that they want to sit with Azriel the most, and within seconds, he’s cross-legged on the floor with the children somehow managing to settle around him without bickering, and they’re all able to command his attention at once.

Happy mediums, and all that.

Your gaze lingers on him as he does all the right things; leaning his head down so he can appear less…huge, while listening with rapt attention to one of the girl’s chattering; steadying another one as they climb over him to get themselves seated; gently telling them all that they have to be quiet if they want to hear the rest of the story. That, of course, achieves immediate near silence.

And thus begins an entire performance of you continuing the tale, and the girls — and Azriel — responding in all the right places. They howl when they’re supposed to make the sound of a wolf, and roar when it’s a mountain cat, and you don’t miss that Azriel helps the tiniest of the girls to remember which animals make what sounds.

Most males in this gods-forsaken place are an intimidating presence to these children, frightening them into silence whenever they’re around, because girls are supposed to be seen and not heard. But Azriel is always gentle, always kind, and they adore him for it.

It’s a combination of all these things that force you to face a truth that’s been rapidly snowballing inside your mind and heart for the past four days — something has changed. Shifted. Has been shifting and changing for a while.

You laid awake for hours that night in the dormitory, listening to Azriel’s breathing as he slept deeply, happily sated from the pleasure you’d given him. Your mind had been too much of a war zone for you to drift off.

Nine years, you’ve called this male your closest friend. Ever since the very first day you’d met him, when a group of males had pushed you to the floor and kicked mud at you, and he’d jumped in and defended you for no other reason than that he’s good to the bone. Nine years, you’ve been by each other’s sides, and it’s been comfortable and familiar and just…right.

But now — now, you think you may have jeopardised that all by going along with Azriel’s request for help. Help with kissing. Touching. Experiencing.

You’ll always want to help him in any way that you can, of course. But you didn’t quite anticipate the predicament you now find yourself in. That you want all of those things and more, not just under the ruse of building your friend’s confidence. You want to explore more with him, feel more with him. You’ve been able to think about nothing else for days.

And it might make you a total wretch, but you want Kaeda to be a distant memory. The thought of Azriel taking what you’ve shown him, shared with him, and putting his all into somebody else…it sours your stomach. Makes you feel sick.

Makes your heart hurt.

And, well, you’re fucked, really.

It’s a kind of hurt that won’t go away on its own. It isn’t avoidable nor ignorable. And so your only option is to confront it, be honest about it. Whatever the outcome may be.

The story comes to an end, and the girls are calmed and sleepy enough that they look ready to curl up on the floor and doze off. Azriel peels himself away from the cluster of clingy children and stands up, strolling over to you.

“Well that was fun.” He comments quietly, taking the book from your hands. “Who knew I was so adept at doing animal impressions?”

“One of your many talents, I suppose.” You smile, drinking in the sight of him. He looks tired this morning. Tired, but beautiful. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

His expression sobers slightly, and he tells you, “We’re leaving this morning. For the training exercise.”

Immediately, your stomach churns. Being away from your friends sets you on edge. Windhaven is a lonely, lonely place to be without the love of Rhys, Cassian and Azriel to warm you. And not even Rhys’s mother is here to make it a little more bearable.

Az immediately recognises the bleakness that passes your face. He steps closer, his hand a gentle brush against yours. “I’ll be back for Solstice.” He reminds you yet again.

“I know.” You attempt to force an easy, breezing smile. “What’s the plan for Solstice, anyway?”

Normally, Rhysand’s mother would cook a meal in the cottage. You wouldn’t be able to attend, given that you’re always stuck at home with your father, but by the time he would pass out drunk, you’d sneak out and make it to the cottage just as the games were starting. Some of your happiest memories are of being curled up on one couch with Az, Rhys and his mother on the other, and Cassian stood in front of you, making a terrible attempt at playing charades.

But it’ll be different this year. With the High Lord keeping a tight leash on his pregnant mate in Velaris, there will be no meal, no charades. You, Azriel and Cassian would most certainly not be welcome at their intimate family celebration.

“Rhys will spend the day in Velaris.” Az tells you. “Cass and I will be getting drunk. There’s a celebration being held at the dormitories in the evening, so I suppose we’ll all end up there.”

You dip your chin. “I’ll come and find you there, then.”

His responding smile is a gentle one; one that says he sees right through you, right through to the panic that’s eating away at you, and he understands.

There’s no way he sees everything that you’re feeling, though. Perhaps that’s a good thing.

Your body goes slightly rigid as he dips down and presses a kiss to your forehead. His hand squeezes yours, and then he’s pulling away. “See you on Solstice.”

He bids a quiet goodbye to the dozing girls. It’s as he’s heading for the door that you find yourself stepping after him. “…Az?”

He turns, hand on the doorknob. “Yes?”

“There’s…something I need to talk to you about, when you get back. Something I need to tell you.”

Okay. Shit. You’re really doing this.

Azriel’s eyes rake over you, and then he smiles. “We’ll talk on Solstice.”

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Your head’s not all there today, as you stare out of the window of your father’s forge. Azriel and the others have been gone almost a week, and you’ve spent every one of those days thinking about how you’re going to tell him…whatever it is you’re going to tell him.

You’re not even certain, yourself.

Just that…that things are different. That you know, to begin with, that this was about him and Kaeda — but it’s shifted in your brain at an alarming rate, and now that you’ve shared something so…so meaningful, with him, you’re not sure you can go on acting as though it was all just a favour.

Yeah. That should do it.

And it’s a huge fucking risk, of course. There’s every chance he won’t return the sentiment, and then a giant wedge of unresolved feelings will exist between you.

But you need to — perhaps selfishly — confront this before things between him and Kaeda progress. In case there’s a slight chance that it’ll alter the path it’s heading down.

And you haven’t thought any further than that.

The snow has started again, and you watch the flurries sweep past the window and join the thick layer on the ground. You’ve become so accustomed to the noise of the forge that you hardly notice it anymore — not the constant clanking, nor the heat that the fires swathe the shop in. You used to beg your father to teach you his craft, to allow you to get stuck in and get your hands dirty, but he’s always stubbornly maintained that it’s a male’s job, and that he needs you for the bookkeeping. You’re surprised he trusts you with that.

You breathe a soft sigh, your thoughts once again flitting back to Az. To what he might be doing, thinking, feeling. Whether he misses you as much as you miss him.

But before those thoughts can take a hold of you and sink you deeper into your predicament, the door opens, the bell above it ringing and a gust of cold air momentarily biting you.

It’s rare for females to come to the forge. Very rare, indeed. Which is why, for a second or two, you just stare.

That — and because she’s incredibly beautiful.

Her eyes — the colour of emeralds — sweep the workshop, before landing on you, and she smiles. She has the telltale tanned skin of an Illyrian, but instead of the dark hair that’s so typical around here, hers is red — not orange, not auburn, but blood red. You’ve never seen a shade quite like it.

And if that’s not enough to completely bowl you over, your gaze rakes over her clothing, and you stop, stunned.

Females around here wear homespun dresses of simple brown shades. A few, like yourself, favour basic tunics and breeches. Clothing is just a necessity, not something you lend much thought to.

But this female wears Illyrian leathers. Never, in your life, have you seen females wear Illyrian leathers. It’s simply not a done thing.

But she looks resplendent in them.

They cling to supple curves and accentuate a figure that you don’t think you’d ever be able to achieve with any amount of training. And perhaps the most shocking thing of all — and the most enviable — is the presence of brilliant, beautiful wings at her back. Unclipped. Untouched. Unruined.

How your wings might have one day looked, had your father not destroyed them.

You’re not entirely convinced that an angel hasn’t just stepped into your father’s forge. Or perhaps this is the Mother that everyone worships. Part of you wants to worship her, too, and beg her to bestow upon you her blessings—

You snap yourself out of it before you can fall head-over-heels in love with her. She’s just a customer.

A very, very beautiful customer.

“Good day to you.” She says, approaching the counter. Her voice is like pure music.

You incline your head in greeting. “And to you. Is there something I can help you with?”

“I’m interested in having some gifts made for my father and brothers. For Solstice.”

Once again, you’re gawking.

Another thing that’s unheard of; females liking their family members enough to have gifts made for them.

You clear your throat, blinking out of your thoughts. “What…what kind of things were you looking for?”

“Personalised daggers.” She answers, and then she grins in a way that makes you want to tell her your life story, and leans closer. “A male can never have too many daggers, right?”

You breathe a laugh. It doesn’t sound natural. “Absolutely.”

“I’ll be needing three. One for my father, and one each for my two brothers. Can that be done in time for Solstice? I can pay extra…”

This female has beauty, leathers, wings, a relationship with her family members, money. She’s magnificent. A few exchanged words, and you’re awed by her.

Who is she? How have you never seen her before?

“It can be done.” You tell her with a flustered smile. “I’ll just need to sit with you and get some details of exactly what you want made, and then my father will get straight to it. I imagine they’ll be ready for collection by Solstice Eve.”

Her eyes light up in a way that reminds you of sunrise. “That’s perfect.”

There’s a second or two where you just…can’t help staring. Her beauty has knocked you speechless.

But once again, you snap yourself out of it and try to retain some semblance of professionalism.

“Can I take your name down?” You say, and clear your throat again. Gods, you hope you’re not blushing. “For the order.”

You grab a piece of parchment and a pen, hoping you’ll remember how the fuck to write.

“It’s Kaeda.” She says, and the pen nearly slips from your hand. “Kaeda Baralas.”

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Solstice morning sweeps in just as abruptly as the fresh onslaught of snow that once again batters the camp.

It’s going to be a rough one. You can feel it in your bones.

You dread it every year, but this year is made even worse by the constant stream of thoughts that have been plaguing you over the last week. About whether telling Az about your feelings is a good idea. Not just because of what it could do to your friendship, but because…

Because you can’t deny that since seeing Kaeda in the flesh, you’re doubting yourself more than ever.

Of course, you can see why Azriel would want her. And why he’d want to be good and experienced for her. And you…you’ve been facilitating that. You’re the practice dummy. Kaeda is the real thing.

At least the chaos of Solstice keeps you busy.

You wake early, and from the noise and foot traffic outside your bedroom window, you know Az’s unit has safely returned from their training exercise. Your relief is short-lived, replaced by the dread of your father hitting the bottle.

Every year is the same. You spend the day trying to focus on your preparation of the huge meal you’re expected to cook, while your father knocks back drink after drink and gradually gets rowdier. You tell yourself that the more he drinks, the better — he’ll fall asleep eventually, and you’ll be out of here.

But then the front door bursts open.

It’s four of your father’s friends who pile into your cramped home, singing at the tops of their voices and reeking of booze. You’re only just able to stop one of them knocking a pot of potatoes off the counter with a careless, wayward wing. They barely acknowledge you, filing through to the sitting room to greet your father. Their voices get louder, and an ache is building behind your eye.

Day bleeds into late afternoon. You try to ignore them, to focus on the task at hand. Cooking is usually enjoyable for you, but with an unwelcome party happening in the next room, you find yourself getting more and more stressed.

By the time your father bustles his way into the kitchen and begins sniffing around the food, you’re close to losing it.

“Isn’t it ready yet?” Your father rudely demands.

You stare out of the kitchen window, at the dwindling light of approaching evening, clenching your jaw. “It is. I’m waiting for your friends to leave.”

“They’ll be eating with us.”

You whirl on the spot. “We don’t have enough food for that.”

“I told you we’d have guests.”

No, he absolutely hadn’t. This is a power play. He does shit like this all the time. Backs you into corners.

“I bought food for two people.” You snap, unable to stop yourself. “Not six.”

Your father’s nostrils flare. You know that look on his face a little too well — the one where his cheeks redden and his eyes turn cold. It’s always, always made your stomach lurch.

He steps closer, and you press your back against the counter, trying your utmost not to look intimidated.

“You’d better rectify that, hadn’t you?” His tone is deceptively gentle. “Be a good girl and find a way to make the food go around six people. You wouldn’t want to ruin Solstice.”

It’s a veiled threat. One you’d be wise not to ignore.

So you stare at him and he stares at you. And when he eventually nods and leaves the room, you turn and try to work out how to make a meal for two a meal for six.

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The mountain of a male beside you jostles your chair so violently that you almost fall out of it.

His hand grabs a roast potato from your plate. He shoves it into his mouth, chews, and grins. “You weren’t going to eat that, were you?”

The entire meal has been like this.

Perhaps it’s your ice-thin temper that has you staring him right in the eye; a thing many Illyrian males consider a great disrespect from females. “Would it matter if I was?”

He swallows and swipes the lone, remaining potato you hadn’t planned to touch. “Not really, no.”

The dinner is usually the only part you enjoy of Solstice. A meal that you spend hours perfecting, of slow-cooked meat and roasted potatoes and a colourful array of different vegetables that are cooked to perfection. It’s the one part of the day where you can just sit and breathe, because even your father doesn’t usually have a bad word to say about the meal you’ve presented.

This one has been pure, unadulterated hell. 

To accommodate your unwanted guests, you’ve skimped on your own food, barely affording yourself a couple of mouthfuls. Wine and ale has been spilled across the table, and the conversation around it has only grown more and more uncomfortable — and vile — as the night has worn on. You want nothing more than to get out of here and find your friends, but your father and his cronies show no signs of slowing down. 

You sit, staring emptily at the plates, the little remaining morsels of the meal you spent all day cooking. You try to block out the laughter and jeering, the disgusting comments, the blatant disrespect, but it’s all getting to you, riling you up. You’re not sure how long you’ll last without snapping.

Your answer comes when your father looks at you. And he snaps his fucking fingers at the finished plates. 

“Clear this up, Y/N.” He says. 

You know your father. You know what he can be like, the damage he can do. Your ruined back is evidence enough. And you know the wisest and safest thing is for you to comply and rant about him to your friends later.

But you’re far beyond that point.

You meet his gaze, and your jaw ticks as you shoot back, “Why don’t you clear it up yourself?”

You regret it the second the room falls deathly silent. All the noise is gone in an instant. Every face is looking your way.

But it’s your father’s face you’re concerned with.  The expression that tells you you’ve made a grave, grave mistake. 

“What was that?” His voice is quiet. Too quiet.

You look away. Wish you could cram the words back down your throat. “Nothing.”

“It wasn’t nothing.” The male beside you sneers. “You speak to your father like that, girl? If you were my child, I’d string you up by the remains of those wings you never should have been born with.”

“I’d do a lot worse than that.” Another one remarks, a sickening laugh in his voice.

Throughout it all, your father is staring at you. Saying nothing.

“Did it hurt, anyway? Having them ripped off like that? I bet it did. I hope it did.”

Your final straw is when the pig at your side has the audacity to reach around and touch your back. You tense immediately, and you’re shooting up from your chair, knocking it over as you do.

“Don’t ever lay a finger on me again.” You will your voice to be stronger, firmer, but it won’t comply. You shake as you gather the plates up in your hand. “I’m cleaning this up.”

That’s met with a chorus of laughter, a pelting of comments. You tell yourself to block it out, block it the fuck out, balance as much as you reasonably can in your hands and book it into the kitchen. You dump the plates onto the counter and grip onto the sink basin, trying to draw in deep, slow breaths.

But then there are footsteps behind you. And the kitchen door closes. And you know that’s not good.

“Y/N.” 

Your eyes shutter. You release one of those useless breaths before you dare to turn and face your father. 

And when you do, his face is…soft. Eyes filled with concern.

But you’re not stupid enough to buy it. 

You’re taut as a bowstring as he approaches you, stopping inches away. He drinks in the sight of you, tilting his head. You wait for him to tell you that you look just like your mother — a fact that only contributes to his vitriol. As if it’s your fault that she abandoned him, abandoned both of you. 

He thinks it is.

His hand touches your cheek, his thumb sweeping the skin there. You swallow, hoping he can’t feel the way you tremble beneath him. 

“What’s gotten into you, my girl?” He asks quietly. “What did I say about not ruining Solstice?”

You swallow. Lower your gaze. “I thought it would just be the two of us.”

“Do I not have the right to invite my friends into my home?”

“I’m just saying that a little bit of warning would have been appreciated. I didn’t spend hours cooking a meal just for your friends to come along and ruin it.”

“Your attitude has become insufferable. Perhaps it’s those three males you’ve been spreading your legs for. Giving you too much of an ego boost.”

You almost want to laugh in his face — laugh at his cluelessness. But your anger wins. Maybe you’re more like him than you ever thought.

“Or perhaps, father,” you snap, “it’s an accumulation of anger and desperation after twenty years of living with a repulsive, sanctimonious—”

He strikes you so hard that for a moment, you’re simply stunned as to why you’re suddenly on the floor. But the thwack of his hit rings in your ears, echoes through the kitchen. 

And then the metallic taste of blood is coating the inside of your mouth. It’s streaming down your chin, and you’re not even sure where it’s all coming from, only that it hurts and your eyes are stinging. 

Your father stares down at you. And in that moment, you realise that the eeriest thing of all is that he never glares at you. You think you’d prefer that.

He always stares with that emptiness. That icy vacancy. It makes his actions more unpredictable, more dangerous. 

He lunges down so suddenly that you flinch, yanking you up by the front of your shirt. Your legs don’t want to comply as he shoves you towards the door.

“Get the fuck out of my house.” He hisses at you, ripping the door open. “Go on. Fuck off, just like your mother did.”

And then he’s shoving you into the snow, a plume of it erupting around you. You hardly notice the cold. You’re too stunned.

Not stunned enough, though, to refrain from biting back at him. Just like a threatened animal would. 

“Fuck you.” You sneer, the words contorted by a mouthful of blood that you spit onto the snow. “Fuck you, father.”

The bastard laughs in your face. Just as he’s always laughed in your face. And then he kicks snow at you because he can and steps back into the house.

When the door shuts behind him, you push to your feet. You’re trembling all over. It might be the cold. It might be the shock.

There’s only one person you want to see right now. So you wrap your arms around yourself and head towards the dormitories.

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Halfway through trudging across the camp, your shoes sodden with snow, your lip still bleeding, the emotions begin to hit.

You resent them. You resent feeling anything at all towards the male who is your only blood relative in this hollow, hollow place. The one who took your wings. The one who has tried to keep a firm grasp on the control he has over your life.

But you do feel things. Hurt and rage and humiliation and — bizarrely — betrayal. As if some small slither of hope had followed you from childhood into adulthood — that your father would one day miraculously awaken as a different person. A family member worth holding onto.

He never would.

No, your true family has always been the small, loving group that crams themselves into a cottage across the camp; a place of warmth and welcoming.

Rhysand and Cassian and Azriel. Rhysand’s mother, too. They are your family. They have always cared, since the moment you met them.

It’s for that reason that you persevere with your walk, even though you’re frozen to the bone. You think you might be crying. You’re not too sure anymore. Your friends will make it better. They always make it better.

The dormitories glow in the distance; a welcome sight, for once. You kick through the snow with desperation, and you’re definitely crying, definitely shaking all over, but the sounds of the celebrations coming from inside are a relief. Playful jeering and someone strumming a lute and off-kilter singing.

You push your way through the door. Inside is as crowded as you expect it to be, but you don’t even care. Anywhere is better than at home.

Your eyes — not really taking in much at all — scan the corridors, the common area, looking for any of your three closest friends. You see none of them, but a hand lands on your shoulder, and you turn to find Vegha there. Her eyes widen immediately at the state of you. You dread to think how bad you look.

“Y/N, what the fuck?” She blurts. “Why are you bleeding?”

“Fell over.” You know how stupid it sounds. “I…I need to find Azriel. Have you seen him?”

“Oh, I think he skulked off to his room a little while ago. Everyone knows he hates big parties like this—”

Perfect. You’ll hole up in his room together and block the rest of the world out. You’re already turning and pushing through people. You’ll apologise to Vegha for your rudeness later. Right now, you just need Azriel’s comfort, his love. The conversation you planned to have with him tonight is now a distant memory, an issue to confront later. You just…just want him. He always makes everything better.

You don’t notice the drink that gets spilled on you, or the disgruntled groups of people you have to shove through. None of that matters. Azriel is your family. He matters.

Finally, you make it to his room. The soft glow of faelights shine beneath the door — an indication he’s inside. You almost sob with relief as you grab the handle and burst in.

Two faces immediately look round at you.

Azriel’s.

Kaeda’s.

Kaeda lies on top of him, hands either side of his head. Her lips are swollen and inches from his. Azriel is palming at her waist, holding her against him. They’re both fully clothed, but…but you get the sense they wouldn’t have been for much longer, had it not been for your interruption.

Azriel drinks in the sight of you, his chest heaving. He blinks. You…you’re rooted to the spot.

And you fucking wince as Kaeda sits up slightly. Az’s hands fall back to his sides.

The beautiful female eyes you, tilting her head. And you want to get out of there, to fucking run, but you can’t do anything but stand and blink as something shatters inside of you.

“The shop hand from the forge.” Kaeda states in surprise, as if it’s ludicrous to consider that you might sometimes venture outside of your father’s workshop. “What happened to your face?”

Azriel is finally springing into action, then, sitting up and scooting out from beneath Kaeda. “Y/N…”

You cannot bear the gentleness of his voice. It may just finish you off.

All of this might. Staying here a second longer might.

So you, for some reason, shake your head and back slowly out of the room. Azriel lurches up, but you’re grabbing hold of the door handle firmly.

“Sorry for interrupting.” Your voice is all wrong and fractured. You quickly shut the door before it can morph into a sob.

You think Azriel might call after you, but it’s probably wishful thinking. You don’t know. Don’t know anything. Don’t know what to do next.

So you simply walk away.

You suppose you’ve taught Azriel everything he needs to know.

azriel tag list: @hanasakr @positivewitch @ruler-of-hades @brekkershadowsinger @nightscourtt @imperfect0angel @luna-1-3-5 @hyacinthoideshispanica @lucyysthings @lahoete @littlemoonash @blacksstarrynight @azriels-mate123 @ghostly-poetic @frieddesigninspiringquotesslime @a-frog-with-a-laptop @illyriansimp @morrie-rose @passingthroughfireandshadow @illyrian-dreamer @azrielsbabyg @96jnie @mich0731 @mulansaucey @truthtellerfanclub @acourtofbooksandmagic @insightsonmylife @basicbittywitty @curbside-cyanide @acourtofchaosandmess @123345566 @starrynights-frostbites @eos-princess @thesillyyogourt @ona-raising-07-l @acediahamartia @dontfollowmepleaseitsannoying @polli05927 @asdfjklbooks @azriel-luvr @amysangel @humanpersonlasttimeichecked @wildflowernightmere @audie-writes @aaronwarnerswifereal @starxqt @lulufairbank @laurzwrites @livelaughlovenestaarcheron @girlwith-thecinder-blockgarden @jjlevin @smitty-werbenjagermenjenson @spikertrash @kindagoldylocks @barbiezambie @kht1998 @soupghoul @nyctophiliawitch @gracie1234567891011 @gaymistakeboi @luvmxo @rinalouu @microwaveallthedemons @starlightshowdown

[twst-kumi]

Weeping Maiden's dorm part 1

Here we go, the first part of the RSA dorm and its members. I will post the last three dorms and the staff after Chapter 2.

If you have any questions about any characters, feel free to ask. I would be happy to answer it.

Royaldawn Dormitory :

[Name] Yamada, she has similar feature from her brother but is seen as the pretty siblings. She was a child actor in her childhood to middle school.

Flora, she is Royaldawn Dormitory's self designated housekeeper. She love [Name] greatly as she remind her of her godchild Briar rose. She is obsessed with pink.

Apple Red :

Dorm leader

Neige Leblanche

17

Sophomore

Unique magic: True love kiss

Homeland: Shaftland

Vice leader

Ash Blueglass

18

Junior

Unique magic: midnight clock

Homeland: Shaftland

Belle-rose :

Dormleader

Henry Beaumont

19

Senior

Unique magic: Tale as old as time

Homeland: Fleur city

Vice leader

Candle Jr Rocktail

19

Senior

Unique magic: Showtime

Homeland: Fleur city

Dorm members :

Endy Stirling

17

Sophomore

Unique magic: Make-believe

Homeland: Clock town

Aurelius Dreamscape

16

Freshman

Unique magic: Once upon a dream

Homeland: Briar Valley

Whitecourt

Dormleader

Chess White

19

Senior

Unique magic: Wishful thinking

Homeland: Queendom of rose

Vice leader

Mercury Hat

20

Senior

Unique magic: 10/6

Homeland: Queendom of rose

Dorm members:

Jack Rabbit

18

Junior

Unique magic: Tick-tock clock

Homeland: Queendom of rose

Che'nya

18

Junior

Unique magic: Sneaky cat

Homeland: Queendom of rose

Alexis Lewis

16

Freshman

Unique magic: Eat me, drink me

Homeland: Queendom of rose

Kingsword

Dormleader:

Zhen YongWei

19

Senior

Unique magic: For our honor

Homeland: Empire of the Dragon (Far East)

Vice leader:

Mu Chen

215

Senior

Unique magic: Dancing dragon

Homeland: Empire of the Dragon (Far East)

Dorm members:

Heric Jupiter

17

Sophomore

Unique magic: Beyond the distance

Homeland: Island of hope

[zoeisabelladaily]

Terravale Hall

Hey Diary,

Today was a whirlwind of mysteries and revelations. Let me spill the beans.

Mr. Servius escorted me to Terravale Hall with the golden key card, and the stone door greeted us with a loud creak, as if awakening from a deep slumber. Terravale Hall, a sanctuary embracing the essence of the earth, unfolded before me. The colossal stone fountain in Earthheart Plaza flowed with earth-infused water, and ancient trees whispered tales of magic. At the heart of the hall, an intricately engraved earth rune marked the gathering place for ceremonies. Rockhaven Grotto and Verdant Canopy Grove showcased magical creatures, while the Geomancer’s Archive, a magical library, invited quiet study. Dormitories carved into earthen walls provided cozy havens. Everything, in brown and green, radiated a connection with earth’s energy.

Everything there was the same as I saw earlier around my room, like the corner room, scratch on my door but the wall that swallow people wasn’t there. In my room my luggage waited for me. I arranged everything, feeling reassured that this couldn’t be mere imagination. It was as real as the air I breathed.

Morning brought a surprise — a box on my doorstep containing the school uniform and a wand, a gift from Mrs. Morgana Revancraft. The wooden wand symbolized my connection with Terravale, chosen by the “Foresight Fire.” However, this wand was different from the one the old lady gave me in Ebonhaven Village. A strange feeling urged me to keep quiet about the old lady and her wand, so I hid it. Trust needed to be earned before I could spill any secrets.

Lilith knocked on my door, and we headed to the great hall, though it seemed we were fashionably late. Albert Pendleton, a shy, bookish boy from Aetherion Spire, kindly found us seats. Headmistress Morgana Revancraft and the professors took their places, and she addressed the students. The main agenda for the day was the policy regarding relationships with “mundane am.” The rule was clear: no relationships with mundane am for the safety of everyone. Breaking this rule meant facing consequences, and it felt more like a warning than a piece of advice.

After the peculiar announcement from Headmistress Morgana Ravenscroft about the restrictions on relationships, I couldn’t help but notice Albert’s discontent. The policy seemed to weigh heavily on him, sparking my curiosity about his feelings towards these rules. Following the assembly, we headed to the food court for a delightful feast.

During our meal, Lilith inquired about my encounters with magical powers. She found it hard to believe that a witch or wizard could go through life without experiencing magic. I hesitated and confessed that I had never felt anything to indicate that I possessed magical abilities.

Now, alone in my room, reflections flood my mind. Recollections surface, like the time a dead plant revived at my touch or when I sensed influencing the positions of stars. Was I unconsciously using magic all along? And when I shared these oddities with Adam, why did he dismiss them as normal? Does he possess magical knowledge or, perhaps, love me despite being a witch? Questions swirl in my head, and answers remain elusive.

On another note, I planted the seeds Professor Xorki gave me by the riverside. The bag also contained a note with instructions to plant them discreetly. It adds another layer to the mysteries surrounding this school and my role in it.

Oh, and guess who I found under my bed? Misty! The same cat I encountered before. I called her by name, and she came to me as if she recognized my voice. Animals are incredible, aren’t they? They have a way of making us feel a connection that transcends words.

As I navigate through these magical twists, the uncertainties deepen. What other surprises await me in this mystical realm? Only time will tell.

Yours truly, Zoe

[justforbooks]

Karla’s Choice: A John le Carré Novel by Nick Harkaway

John le Carré’s son does him proud in an excellent spy thriller about a Soviet agent that faithfully bridges two of his father’s classic tales

Autumn now seems officially to be John le Carré season, given that this is the fourth year running since the author’s death in 2020 we’ve had a new book by or about him: first came the posthumously published novel Silverview, then an edition of his letters, as well as a memoir by his lover Sue “Suleika” Dawson (The Secret Heart), before last year’s follow-up exposé by his biographer Adam Sisman, The Secret Life of John le Carré, documenting other lovers the espionage writer hadn’t wanted mentioned in his lifetime.

Considering the drift of those books, it’s maybe unsurprising if we’ve lost sight of le Carré’s achievements as a novelist, especially in his early years. His first big hit, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963), which mapped a thwarted romance on to geopolitical intrigue in divided Berlin, accelerated the spy genre’s 20th-century breakaway from jingoistic tub-thumping and gung-ho adventure. By the time of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1974), an ensemble psychodrama in which the British plot against one another as much as against the Soviets, le Carré’s narrative energy is generated more by gnarly workplace tensions rather than conventional derring-do, which is nonetheless tinglingly present in the book’s shattering finale.

Karla’s Choice, perhaps the most intriguing of the le Carré-related publications to have appeared since his death, puts these achievements front and centre. Set after The Spy Who Came in from the Cold but before Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, it’s a new mission for the spymaster George Smiley, from the pen of le Carré’s son, novelist Nick Harkaway, who makes clear that while this might have been a book he was born to write, it was far from easy. He describes sending the manuscript to the author Joe Hill, Stephen King’s son, “one of the few people on Earth who can claim to understand the scale of my fear around this book”, and the extent to which it’s a family affair supplies an off-page frisson that he doesn’t shy away from in a winning foreword. (Will the book succeed? “We’re about to find out.”)

Set in 1963, it centres on a vanished Hungarian émigré, Bánáti, a Soviet spy whose cover as a London literary agent has been blown after a failed attempt on his life by a Moscow assassin. When the incident rings alarm bells at the Circus – le Carré’s fictionalised MI6 – it drags Smiley out of retirement (not for the first time, as we know) in an effort to turn Bánáti into a British asset. The attempt – unsurprisingly unsmooth – involves a German double agent previously seen orchestrating a climactic double murder in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, as well as – no spoiler this, given the title – Karla, the codenamed Russian infiltrator first seen in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

In true le Carré style, though, Karla only appears here two-thirds of the way in; Harkaway faithfully reproduces his father’s rhythms at the level of sentence and plot alike, with slow-burn tension giving way to agonising jeopardy as cat-and-mouse games explode into crunching hand-to-hand combat or street gun battles. There’s a grippingly cinematic escape scene set in Budapest, as well as a lapel-grabbing speech about “the English mistake” (geopolitical ignorance, essentially). And of course there’s the jargon of the spy trade – “handwriting”, “babysitters”, “product” – and lessons in what it takes to succeed: someone mentions training in a dormitory with “a hundred different kinds of lavatory” (“nothing... more likely to blow your cover than an inability to contend with bathroom facilities you supposedly had been using from birth”). Dry comedy ripples throughout: one Soviet spy, asked his price for defecting, says he wants to star in a film with Peter Sellers.

There’s clearly an attempt to broaden the horizons of the original books – in any case, hardly so exclusively masculine as sometimes portrayed – but Harkaway misses no chance to bring the women of the Circus closer to the spotlight. Much of the action involves Bánáti’s employee, Susanna, another Hungarian, who is his assistant at the literary agency, left to pick up the pieces after his disappearance. As Smiley draws her into the plot to turn her former boss, she learns the ropes of spycraft – a neat way to avoid clunky exposition for the reader coming to le Carré’s world for the first time. Nor is Harkaway quite so reliant on delivering plot twists via Conradian nested monologues involving recollected interrogations or minutes and reports, a staple of the original Smiley novels. (Don’t fret, though, those are still here – expertly negotiated – to say nothing of le Carré’s occasionally reader-foxing tic of referring to the same character by both name and surname, seemingly at random.)

For fans, there’s much to enjoy. The collegiality witnessed here among the Circus crew – Toby Esterhase, Jim Prideaux, Bill Haydon and co – oozes pathos in view of the in-fighting and paranoia to come in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy; ditto the agonising scene in which Smiley tries to make amends for missing a holiday with his wife by surprising her in Vienna, only to be told by the concierge at her hotel that she’s busy with her husband – a sign of further torment ahead. You needn’t be a le Carré nut to enjoy it, though, and while we’re undoubtedly in something of a glut of sequels and reboots, it’s far from unimaginative fan service. A loving tribute to a complicated father (as Harkaway’s dedication seems to acknowledge) as well as an excellent novel in its own right, and only the first of a new series, at least to judge from a broad hint dropped in the end matter. I can’t wait.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[celestemagnoliathewriter]

Venus

Written for @remadoramicrofics day 2: cat. G, 401 words. Read below or on Ao3.

Remus woke to the sight of amber eyes and the feeling of being suffocated. Venus, Tonks’s elderly cat, swiped her paw across his face and dashed off with a snarl. He brushed his fingers across his cheek. At least she hadn’t drawn blood today.

“Did she do it again?”

“Every bloody morning,” Remus muttered, swinging his legs off the bed. “Your cat's a menace.”

“She's not . . .” Tonks sighed. “She needs to get used to you.”

Remus snorted softly and began getting dressed. The cat hated him from the moment they met—from the first time he deigned to share her mistress’s attention.

“She’s never been fond of men,” Tonks explained, for at least the twentieth time. “She grew up in the Hufflepuff girls’ dormitories and then I was rarely with a wizard. Only Dad could pet her. Just give her time and treats.”

Remus rolled his eyes. He’d lived with Tonks and her mother for four months, and he’d yet to win over either cat or parent. At least Andromeda didn’t slap him on a daily basis. 

Venus started meowing (screaming, more like, in Remus’s opinion) right on time. He smoothed his shirt down and followed the brown mass into the kitchen, where Andromeda was sitting with a cup of steaming coffee.

“Good morning,” he greeted politely. “Is it all right if I give her tinned sardines?”

Andromeda nodded her agreement and Remus opened the tin, pleasantly surprised when Venus only nipped at his ankles, rather than biting his toes. Perhaps there was hope yet for the cantankerous cat. 

“When it’s possible,” Andromeda said lightly, “Venus might enjoy fresh fish. She’s fond of salmon.”

Remus tried his best to ignore the little dig at their financial situation. As if it was his fault entirely that Ted was on the run, Tonks couldn’t work, and they had limited access to fresh groceries. 

It was then he felt the tell-tale sharpness of cat claws in his big toe. Venus yowled and ran off when Remus made eye contact with her. It was kinder than her typical, morning attempt to sink further into his flesh and give him a complimentary amputation.

Without a feline demanding his fealty, Remus fixed a cup of tea and sat down to enjoy it. Like the cat, Andromeda left him alone, as usual, to finish her breakfast elsewhere.

Sighing, he wondered if his mother-in-law could also be bribed with fish.  

[hellcatinnc]

"Konnichiwa! Hajimemashite, watashi wa Danyale de desu yoroshiku"

Hi welcome to my Tumblr, my name is Danyale and this is a little about me and my blog. I have been into anime mostly shoujo for the last year as well as into otome games. I will share my reviews of love interests and games that are otome, shoujo, dating sim, and more. I also post some NSFW, Smut, Adult Fanfic, & Spoilers because I make fandom videos so be warned now but all things are tagged. Anyways hope you enjoy your stay and feel free to say hello I have many interests below if you see we have something in common say hi!

My social media:

Youtube (Paused ATM)

Tumblr

Reddit

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MASTERLIST

Writings/Fan Fics/Reviews/Walkthroughs

#2 Writings/Fan Fics/Reviews/Walkthroughs

AMV/GMV Videos

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Current Obsessions:

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Current Anime's Watching:

Uta no Prince Sama (season 4)

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! S2

Free! Iwatobi Swim Club

The Ancient Magus' Bride S2

The Rising of the Shield Hero

The Case Studies Of Vanitas

Haigakura

I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History

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Now Playing:

Piofiore Fated Memories

Charade Maniacs

My Next Life As A Villainess: all Routes Lead To Doom! - Pirates Of The Disturbance -

Love And Deepspace

Tears Of Themis

Tengoku Struggle -Strayside-

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Otome Games:

Forever Favorites:

Sympathy Kiss

Code Realize - All Of Them

Amnesia (All Of Them)

Cupid Parasite

My Forged Wedding

Love Spell Written In The Stars

Glass Heart

EPHEMERAL -FANTASY ON DARK

Variable Barricade

Kamigami No Asobi

Piofiore Fated Memories/1926

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Anime

Forever Favorites:

Bungo Stray Dogs

Amnesia

Code Realize Guardians Of Rebirth

Wolf Girl & Black Prince

Libra of Nil Admirari

Phantom in the Twilight

Magic-Kyun! Renaissance

Dance With Devils

Mr Love Queens Choice

Brothers Conflict

Diabolik Lovers 1 & 2

Kamigami no Asobi

My Happy Marriage

Uta Prince Sama

Snow White with the Red Hair

The Reason Why Raeliana Ended up at the Duke's Mansion

Tomo-chan Is A Girl

Sugar Apple Fairy Tale

My Apothecary Diaries

7th Time Loop

Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte

A Condition Called Love

Vampire Dormitory

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Favorite Fandom Love Interests

Bungo Stray Dogs

Chūya

Akutagawa

Atsushi

Sigma

Dazai

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Sympathy Kiss

Rokuro Yoshioka

Yoji Kobase

Nori

Esaka

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Code Realize

Saint Germain

Impey

Herlock Sholmes

Fran

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Amnesia

Ikki

Kent

Shin

Ukyo

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Love And Deepspace

Rafayel

Xavier

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Cupid Parasite

Allan

Ryuki

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EPHEMERAL -FANTASY ON DARK

Ray

Natsume

Shiba

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Lover Pretend

Asagi

Riku

Sena

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Radiant Tale

Liyan

Paschalia

Zafora

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Piofiore Fated Memories/1926

Dante Falzone

Nicola Francesca

Gilbert Redford

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Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte

Baldur

Endo

Sieg

Liese

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Misyr - Cafe Enchante

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Miraculous Ladybug & Cat Noir

Cat Noir

Luka

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My Forged Wedding

Haruka

Tamaki

Yomato

Saeki

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Irresistible Mistakes

Minoru Tsujimoto

Go Okuba

Toma Kiriya

Rei Kamiki

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Scandal In The Spotlight

Nagito

Iori

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Our Private Home Room

Shuya

Ryota

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Brothers Conflict

Tsubaki

Natsume

Fuuto

Kaname

Azusa

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Kamigami no Asobi

Loki

Hades

Balder

Apollon

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Variable Barricade

Ichiya Mitsumori

Shion Mayuzumi

Taiga Isurugi

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Dance With Devils

Rem

Urie

Lindo

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Diabolik Lovers

Azusa

Ruki

Yuma

Subaru

Laito

Ayato

Kou

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Libra of Nil Admirari

Hayato

Shizuru

Akira

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Snow White with the Red Hair

Obi

Zen

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Yukar From The Abyss

Imeru

Kiryl

Pewrep

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Star Crossed Myth

Partheno

Ichthys

Scorpio

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Collar X Malice

Kei

Aiji

Saike

Yoshinari

Mineo

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Tears Of Themis

Marius

Luke

Artem

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Vampire Dormitory

Ren Nikaido

Ruka Saotome

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Luke - Phantom In The Twilight

Teika - Magic Kyun!

Victor - Mr. Love Queens Choice

Kyouya - Wolf Girl & Black Prince

Lord Kudo - My Happy Marriage

Keiya - A Girl & Her Guard Dog

Arnold Hein - 7th Time Loop

Noah Wynknight - Raeliana in Dukes Mansion

Claude Jean Ellmeyer - I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss

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Non Otome Games:

Detroit Become Human

Life Is Strange True Colors

Sims 4

Houseflipper

My Time At Sandrock

Tomb Raider

All Mario Games

Heavy Rain

Dreamfall Chapters

Greedfall

Lake

Last Stop

State Of Mind

Last Day Of June

Road 96

Second Life

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Favorite Blogs

@misschimotosuwa-blog

@dialovers-lover-xoxo

@afra-blueraz

@dialovers-translations

@most-datable-datable-bracket

@reverse-harem-protag

@protags-fic-blog

@xxsycamore

@kissmetwicekissmedeadly

[evilcokito]

[ Luna - Middle Trio 27 ]

"I have friends on the other side! and she definitely has a lot of influence ON THIS side."

Remember, Sam won't tell you everything that easy. Ah, maybe he crossed off some things for protection, you know how he is: "Curiosity ███████████ the cat"

[ Curiosities - Past ]

About Her past...

She is the middle sister between Aya and Marissa. Grandma and Sandra took care of her as soon as they were babies. She was always the calmest of the three, Grandma used to compare her to a doll. While Aya broke a jar or Marissa ran off into the yard, she would sit still and smile in her little chair.

According to Sandra, she felt a little more accompanied when she met me. I don't remember and neither does she, but it's not a lie that we spent a lot of time together when we were little.

Grandma used to read a lot of fairy tales and Luna was always delighted with them, to the point of thinking she was a princess and walking around wearing a dress that Sandra sewed for her. Over time, Luna became convinced that if she kissed a frog, she would soon become her Prince Charming. “Either you kiss millions, or you wait long enough for the toad to stop being shy with you. Can you imagine? The prince jumps happily and suddenly a princess kisses him!” No one knows exactly how many toads she kissed.

Over time Sandra realized that her calm was a small part of her. Luna disappeared quite often: she ran away to town, or disappeared with ██████████ magic books that were very advanced for her age. That wasn't the problem, but that he was immune to Grandma's challenges or punishments. As if she feared nothing: not the world, not magic, not Grandma. Sandra remembers Luna's phrase: "How boring, almost 15 minutes have passed." It persisted until at some point ██████████████████████████████████████ ██████████████████████████████████████████████ ██████████ ██████████████████████████ should not have approached the coast of Port O'Bliss at that time. She swears that a mermaid saved her.

Luna began attending a wizarding school along with Aya and Marissa, on Sandra's recommendation to Abuela. Apparently her attitude led her to many fights and conflicts, she never allowed herself to be influenced by any of the other students. “No need to worry, she's in full control. The other students aren't going to do anything to her with those dark ██████████ dogs after her” Sandra said. Luna's unique magic was already well known by that time.

Shadow dogs began to follow her incessantly between her 17 / 18 years. She was never worried about this, quite the opposite. The dogs obey her without complaint. At school she ██████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ ██████████ ████ and went so far as to be selected to be Group Head of a dormitory, but Luna always rejected this.

As soon as she graduated from school, she began working as a waitress at a well-known restaurant in Port O' Bliss, where she met many important people ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ ██████████ ██████████████████████████.

The Club is something recent, from 1 year ago. Apparently one of her many many boyfriends or girlfriends gave it to her. Why don't i name Luna couples? She was always in a relationship, many times, I guess she doesn't know or like to be alone... or she's looking for someone.

Curiosities...

She looks at the calendar and her watch quite often.

She can tell schedules just by looking at the sky, or in other strange ways.

She's really good at magic in the Tarot. Sam asks her to throw the cards at him, though she refuses.

Use magic stealthily, with a simple and smooth movement of the hands. They will never know where the blow came from... and who would suspect someone so pretty and cute?

Although she fights quite often with Sam for who is prettier (and envy him for being 2 years younger), she believes that no one else can understand her like him.

Luna and Sam's shadows often rotate places. Sam has a dog shadow of Luna and she has a few of Sam's.

During her school years she was in a martial arts club, you shouldn't mess with her…she still has her medals.

She has many wrist watches, hates and loves them at the same time. It also has many calendars, agendas, alarms.

As of her majority, she decided never again to have a partner younger than her or of the same age.

She usually calls the dogs of his unique magic: "Chucho and Cuquito".

She tends to prefer dresses and likes to be fashionable.

Cats hate her. She didn't used to care until she met Trein and Lucius. "PUT A CHARM ON ME SO THAT CAT WORSHIPS ME SAM"

Luna doesn't usually get close to sea. She likes the beach, but hardly gets into the water.

[isfjmel-phleg]

Christmas Gifts for OCs

I wanted to have at least a scene of a new Christmas story ready, but that has proven impossible, so have this instead!

Rachel

Giving: For Rietta, a handkerchief embroidered with blackberry vines.

Asked for: The newest Yew book. In the original Coregean, please, not the Faysmondian translation.

Getting: From her brother, who is home from the naval academy, an interesting-looking Coregean one-narry coin he acquired that reminded him of her because look! it was minted the same year that the first Yew book was published!

Rietta

Giving: For her mother, a book of Otionovian fairy tales in the original language, bought surreptitiously from a used bookshop with Rachel's help. (Rietta herself may or may not have come along incognito.)

Asked for: A new pair of skates. She's outgrown the ones she got when she was twelve.

Getting: From the Duke of Normorot's family, an elegant engraved desk set, with pens, inkwell, etc.

Delclis

Giving: For his tutor Mr. Davell, a book by his (Davell's) favorite philosopher. Delclis has already read half of it since acquiring it and has a whole list of things he'd like to discuss.

Asked for: The most recent bound volume of the Royal Botanical Society of Corege's yearly proceedings, papers, and reports.

Getting: From his mother, a beautiful green waistcoat embroidered with leaves.

Elystan

Giving: For Morstyn Hollock (delivered to his home shortly before Christmas), a model aeroplane.

Asked for: An automobile. Not like the child-sized ones he already has. A real one. He's sure he's ready to take up driving.

Getting: From Edmara, a nice, quiet, sedate board game, just complicated enough to keep his mind busy.

Amarantha

Giving: For everyone, ink sketches, mostly portraits of the recipients, but a few illustrations (to such people as her father).

Asked for: Some very specific new colors to add to her paintbox.

Getting: From Madlen, a crocheted maroon cat.

Tamett

Giving: For Elystan, an interesting insect he found crawling around his dormitory.

Asked for: A bicycle.

Getting: From his parents, a much-needed new suit.

Josiah

Giving: For his father, a newly-released biography of Odren the Great.

Asked for: A new telescope.

Getting: From Ateva, an album of photographs from home, both older memories and new shots from while he's been away.

[twstinginthewind]

Nonverbal asks! Mia getting Paul out of an uncomfortable situation. She seems like she'd be pretty smooth at that. Most of the time.

Nonverbal ways to say "I love you"; number 11 - getting them out of an uncomfortable situation.

Pomefiore students don't often get to indulge in sweets, so when Housewarden Vil Schoenheit uncharacteristically announced a dorm-wide "cheat day", nearly the entire population of the dormitory decided to take advantage of it. As a result, both Mr. S's Mystery Shop and the Mostro Lounge were awash in purple-vested students, all trying to satisfy some long-seated cravings.

One of the tables in Mostro held a gaggle of young ladies from Pomefiore, each passing around different dishes of desserts to share and laughing over the rims of their complicated coffee drinks. At one end of the table, Mia Sealponte perched at the edge of a chair, swinging her high heels beneath her seat. Her little dark brown cat ears swiveled curiously as her eyes scanned the crowd of students. She had one particular fishie within this school that she was keeping an eye out for, and she wasn't about to have wasted putting on her new VL lip gloss for nothing! Paulie usually worked on weekdays, so he was bound to be here, right?

Paulie usually didn't have his phone on during a shift, Mia thought, but she might as well take a chance and send a message to let him know she was among the purple swarm today.

Mia waited a few moments, staring at the screen, then put her phone back down onto the table. She leaned over to ooh at the chocolate mousse cake her sister had ordered, and giggle at a comment from her roommate. Then she heard the tell-tale chime of her text alert, and she jumped in her seat, scrambling to pick her phone up.

Well, nothing else to be done there. He'd message her in time. Might as well just have fun with the girls! A few minutes passed, and a sudden sharp sound shook the room. Mia's head flew up from her double caramel XL iced macchiato to see what it could be.

Floyd Leech had kicked in the door, and he had a couple of smaller Octavinelle students tucked under each arm and thrown over his shoulders. He strode in, and dumped them on the floor in front of an impatient-looking Azul Ashengrotto, who pinched the bridge of his nose, just beneath his glasses. "Floyd, when I asked you to round up some additional help for today, I didn't quite mean—"

"You wanted some little fishies, you got 'em," Floyd laughed, leaning himself over the bar to grab a slice of orange. "I collected aaaaaaaaaall the regulars from around campus, and brought them here to you."

"And did you ask if they wanted to work an extra shift?"

Floyd shrugged, nudging one of the prone students with the side of his shoe. "Oi. Barnacle. You wanna work?"

Mia's ears pricked up. Barnacle? Oh, no. She got to her feet to rush over, heels clicking against the tiles, and wedged herself between Floyd and his target, standing as tall as her little 5'1" frame would allow. "Paulie!! You didn't tell me you were gettin' a ride here!" she squeaked.

Paul looked up at her, somewhat dazed. "Huh?"

She reached out and took his hand, grinning nervously at the two Octavinelle upperclassmen looming above her as she helped him up. "Terribly sorry, fellas, but I'm afraid Mister Pilchard is otherwise occupied this afternoon. Y'know. 'Cause he was meetin' up with me."

"He was?" Azul raised an eyebrow.

"I was?" Paul blinked, shook his head, then grinned at Mia. "I mean, yeah, I was! Right after I finished studyin'!"

"Since he already had the day off, you see," Mia added.

"Barnacle had plans?" Floyd hooted. "I didn't know ya did stuff besides buggin me, hahaha!! Who knew he had a life?"

Mia's head snapped towards the lanky merman. Her ears lay flat against her head, and her pupils narrowed. "Excuse me. Is there a problem with that, sir?" she snarled, a single fang flashing in the light.

Floyd looked at Mia. She looked at him. He looked over at Paul, then back at Mia. And he started howling with laughter.

Azul waved a hand at the two freshmen, shooing them away, as Floyd dropped to the floor, cracking up. As Mia and Paul scurried off, he quietly addressed the other students that had been collected, and they filed into the kitchen to get to work. Azul stood with his hands on his hips, tapping his foot as Floyd eventually wheezed his way to what passed for normal for him.

"A sardine," Floyd panted, "in the claws of that cat?" He chuckled again, wiping one of his eyes. "She's gonna put Barnacle through a heck of a lot more than I ever could. Oh, man, that's funny."

"At least you're pleased. We could have used him on dishes, you know." Azul sighed, and turned back to his paperwork. "As long as you're amused..."

Floyd looked over to the table where Mia and Paul had retreated, and saw his little freshman helper shifting uncomfortably among the society ladies from Pomefiore. "Oh, I think I'll get to laugh about this for a while, Azul..."

[cesium-sheep]

damage report for the kodansha sale:

volume 1 of:

ogami-san can't keep it in

livingstone

manga dogs

medakawa kuroiwa is impervious to my charms

sakura's dedication

falling drowning

lightning and romance

zatsuki: make me a star

sweet sweet revenge

a couple of cuckoos

men's life: her secret life in the boys' dormitory

momo's iron will

the tale of genji: dreams at dawn

good dog, cerberus!

blissful land

heaven's design team

hotaru's way

drowning love

tokyo tarareba girls

a serenade for pretend lovers

the shadows of who we once were

phantom of the idol

koigakubo-kun stole my first time

when a cat faces west

this vampire won't give up

nighttime for just us two

bootsleg

messiah: code edge

love, that's an understatement

run away with me, girl

my tentative name

blade girl

teppu

the moon on a rainy night

searching for my perfect brother

[corvusoculis]

"Fate is about as real as the fairy tales of our childhood. Even if it was a thing, I refuse to leave my life up to fate. If need be I'll take charge and make those that matter proud. Every single day."

◇ Threads ◇─◇ About ◇─◇ Connections ◇ ◇ Headcanon ◇─◇ Mirror ◇─◇ Musings ◇

TW: Death, Fertility

BASIC INFORMATION

FULL NAME: Selma Odette Avery

ALIAS/NICKNAME: Sel, little swan

AGE: Nineteen

BIRTH DATE: March 19th, 1959

BLOOD STATUS: Pureblood (hidden half-blood)

AFFILIATION: Neutral (Death Eater leaning, for now)

GENDER/PRONOUNS: Cis-Female. She/her

CURRENT LIVING CONDITIONS: Hogwarts, Ravenclaw Dormitory

OTHER: Avery Estate

OCCUPATION: Student at Hogwarts, Majoring in Transfiguration

PETS: Achilles (eurasian eagle owl), Ophelia (siberian cat, future)

WAND: Beech Wood, Dragonheart String, 11 1/2 inch, slightly yielding

PATRONUS: Nightjar

BOGGART: Drowning in a body of water

RELATIONSHIPS

PARENTS: Maryse Avery née. Rookwood & Victor Avery

SIBLINGS: None.

SIGNIFICANT OTHER: None.

OTHER FAMILY: Philippe Avery (cousin). Elodie Avery (cousin).

CHILDREN: None.

EDUCTATION:

SCHOOL: Hogwarts

HOUSE: Ravenclaw

YEAR: 9th

MAJOR: Transfiguration

EXTRA CLASSES: Charms, Alchemy, Arithmancy

EXTRACURRICULAR: Slug Club, Charms Club

SPOKEN LANGUAGES: English, French, Italian

PHYSICAL TRAITS

EYE COLOR: Green

HAIR COLOR: Blonde

HEIGHT: 5′4

SCARS: none.

PERSONALITY

INTELLIGENCE: High. Adaptive.

SKILLS: Wandless magic (basic, practicing), Dueling (practicing, decent), Potions (decent), Ballroom dancing (skilled), Harp play (decent), Gardening (decent)

POSITIVE TRAITS: Curious, Creative, Witty, Adaptive, Intuitive, Accepting

NEGATIVE TRAITS: Perfectionist, Calculating, Secretive, Deceptive at times

MBTI: ENFJ

Before Hogwarts

✦ Born March 19th, 1959 to Maryse and Victor Avery within the french residence of the Avery family just south of Paris within the countryside. Truth unknown to most other than those within the manor that day was that the mother of Selma was not Maryse at all. Maryse and Victor, having struggled with conceiving a child for some time, in their desperation selected a witch that met all the necessary criteria in order to keep the bloodline going. ✦ After Selma was born, the witch in question was taken care of or so they were told. Considering their secret is safe to this day, the family's never wasted a moment of thought on the matter. ✦ The first six years of her life were spent in France before her family moved back to England to settle in the Avery estate. ✦ Much like the other pureblood children she was put through lessons intended to raise her to fit the mold. Dance lessons, language lessons; anything to make her someone her family could be proud of. ✦ From the earliest moment possible that she was allowed to join the pureblood society and the events that came along with that, Selma's walked the path of the other children. At times her mind felt as though it was racing faster than the others but she got along with them just fine, coming to have her closest friends thanks to those meetings and parties and other events. ✦ By the time she turned eleven, the arrival of her Hogwarts letter couldn't come soon enough. There was a need to see the world and the school could offer her just that.

During Hogwarts

✦ From the very moment that the hat was placed upon her head it was clear she was a Ravenclaw. Even before that she'd had her thoughts on the matter, only to have them confirmed a moment later when the hat called out the house of the eagle. ✦ Selma wasted no time integrating herself and making friends. It seemed easy and she didn't mind to keep people company while she studied. Of course, there were her closest friends but that didn't mean she wasn't willing to reach out. ✦ Any time not spend studying would be spend discovering the magic of the world, being creative and letting things flow. ✦ It was the Christmas break of her first year that she found out about the truth of her family and out of fear of losing the ones she cares about has kept it ever since and instead focused even harder on appearing like the most normal person. ✦ From that moment on she's been walking through the world with eyes open, wanting to know what the differences all around were. While it was a slow progress, in the later years she's certainly found herself questioning things more often. ✦ When the time came to pick a major, Selma was torn between Alchemy and Transfiguration but eventually decided to focus on Transfiguration with charms, alchemy and arithmancy being additional classes taken to compliment her primary choice. ✦ Eventually, so she knows, her parents are going to find a match for her but until that time, she's not going to worry about things going a certain way beyond the usual worry of having to carry a legacy she doesn't feel to be her own. ✦ As per her family, for now she's siding with the Death Eaters although she has no intention of joining. Isn't she proof that such things are far from simple? Yet she cannot deny that her own family, despite the hypocrisy are part of the whole ordeal.

Future Plans

Over the years Selma has developed a need to live her own life. Even though she is prepared to fit into the mold prepared by her family from the moment they find her a match, she's grown up to be her own person. As an individual with dreams and hopes, the future she sees for herself sees her either working as an Alchemist or medi-witch, perhaps even a healer. Selma may have her creative streak, but she is very much hands on and ready to get done whatever she puts her mind to.

Headcanons (more here)

✦ Selma considered going for History of Magic but since she desired something more hands on, studying the history is a mere hobby that she's kept while focusing on her studies ✦ From the very moment alchemy became an option, she elected the class and has stuck with it ever since. Even though she's focused on transfiguration, she does see alchemy as an important addition ✦ Her favorite flowers are white roses as well as blue cornflowers and there's usually always a small vase with either of them in her dorm room ✦ Once a friend, that person usually becomes someone Selma will protect and make sure has a home to go back to ✦ Her favorite season is spring because of the flowers blooming everywhere

[longtimenospooning-luci]

Poly/OT7: I

Updated 01/14/24

Burn the Stage - @adonis-koo

When your girl group breaks up you’re desperate to prove you can make it as an idol. When you stumble across a no name company called BigHit auditioning for a new member of a boy band what do you do? The only logical solution: Cross dress and attend it anyways

A Place Called Home - @agustdakasuga

Having saved your own injured hybrid, you were determined to try and help any other hybrid that crossed your path who needed saving. But being a vet in a small hospital wasn’t enough for you. You wanted to do more, you wanted to make a difference. You wanted to give them a home.

Between the Bloodshed - ^^

Being a freelance doctor, this was just supposed to be any other job, helping a private client and taking care of them through recovery. But you were not expecting to get caught in something so much darker that would change your life entirely.

Everything Between Us - ^^ Sequel to Between the Bloodshed

They left you without a goodbye, they broke your heart. You didn’t get your happily ever after. But now they’re back and they’re searching for you to make things right. Could you take them back into your life and let them back into your heart?

How to Sell Sunshine - @alpacaparkaseok

Mafia AU, Mob Boss MC and Bangtan Crew with a twist!

The Tales of Sisters (Queendom series) - @borathae

FemDom! Royal MC in a fantasy kingdom, each member has their own story.

Damn the Charcuterie Board - @bratkook

Yoongi x Reader x Jimin in a smutty cracky fic for the best of both worlds.

Love is Blind - @cinnaminsvga

social media au where y/n posts a fake boyfriend application on twitter as a dare but ends up seeking something real in the long run (aka how to fall in love the zillennial way)

Dorm Duels - ^^

social media au where y/n posts an advertisement looking for a new place to stay that is closer to campus, causing seven upperclassmen to make it their mission to recruit her into their dormitories.

Betrayal - @daydream-hobii

Three words circled in your brain, betrayal being the most apparent. You were packing your bags, planning to leave you seven boyfriends before they got home, but when they get there early, you’re forced to witness their heartbreak, as well as prolong yours.

Sanctuary - ^^

It only had to happen once for you to gain seven new members of your family. Only once, that’s all it needed. You saved them from some predator hybrids and, since then, they were attached to your hip. You didn’t mind, you liked the company.

Peculiar Pack - @daydreamindollie

you’re a successful hybrid writer and psychologist, who takes in seven hybrids one stormy night after finding one of their pack stealing from your garden.

From Eden - @ddaenggtan

you’ve been in the dark a long time, overworked and exhausted. the only bright point is your gatekeeper, Hoseok, your closest friend and the man you love but can’t have. you’ve accepted that loneliness is inevitable for you. when a voice calls to you, though, and moves you so deeply that you rip open the earth to help them, you meet a mint-haired boy that changes everything you thought you knew about your prison.

Under the Same Sun - @floralseokjin

A stranger flips you and your boyfriend’s world upside down for one night…

No Doubt About it - @hoebii

Jerk Bangtan CEO AU for any angst lovers out there that need to feel the pain like me lmao.

Black Mamba - ^^

Snake Hybrid Reader trained as a government assassin gets adopted by CEO(?) Bangtan.

Dance to This/Call Me Yours - @hollyhomburg

Seokjin didn’t expect his new potential owner to be blind, but with the threat of being sent to a breeding clinic looming over his head, he’ll do anything. 

Hybrid House - ^^

To Seokjin, Home consists of his human partners Namjoon and Hoseok as well as their Hybrids; the pups- named Taehyung and Jimin, their black cat- called Yoongi, and their foxboy- called Jungkook. Together they have the happiest family possible, everyone loves everyone equally. So what happens when Namjoon finds you? a cat hybrid, beaten close to death left alone in an alleyway on the coldest night of the year? He takes you home, shows you his family, and together they teach you what love can be like.

Reasons Wretched and Divine - ^^ (One of my absolute favs!)

You live on an isolated but sprawling farm with your abusive husband, but things start to change for the better when your husband adopts a retired police dog hybrid named Namjoon.

Sugary Sweet - ^^

When you get drunk with your boyfriends- 3 things always happen: Jimin gets bratty. You get needy. And Yoongi gets impossibly irrevocably mushy gushy sugar cookie soft. 

Champagne & Sunshine - @jamaisjoons

a honeymoon in the Maldives, champagne, and your two newlywed husbands and mates - what more could you ask for?

Complaint - @jiminiesfavouritecolourisblue

you work for seven CEOs who have called you into their office due to a complaint.

I Want You to Stay - ^^

your bodyguards became your best friends and you couldn’t imagine your life without them.

Our Little Love - ^^

Mafia/Soft Yandere au - you were sent to do your job you didn’t expect to fall in love

Bleeding Butterflies - ^^

Vampire au - a drop of your blood was worth that of a thousand people, but they would never allow another being to have a taste

A Bed of Roses - @jimlingss

Superpowers are supposed to make you invincible, someone who could save the world, a hero. It's not supposed to be like this...

The Seven Kinds of Love - ^^

Love, an intense feeling of deep affection.

Tomorrow - @jungk0oksthighs

when Y/N gets a job at the Jeon law firm downtown, her life gets turned upside down, but is it for better, or worse? ceo!au, lawyer!au

Voracious - @jungkookiebus

 idol!Taehyung x idol!Jungkook x reader

Date Night - @justcallmenikki7

Poly Mafia AU

Regretful Choices - ^^

You get into an argument with your boyfriends, and you decide to take matters into your own hands.

Wild, Wild, Wilderness - @kimnjss

seven days in the forest spent with your seven boyfriends while they film their upcoming reality tv show. there’s no telling what the eight of you will get into when the cameras are off.

Thought you were Different - @kookiesbuckethat

Being the owner of BTS’ favourite cafe, you find yourself growing closer to the seven members without even realizing who you were talking to. What happens when you seemingly start to treat them differently after discovering their true identities?

Broken Communication - @kpopisthereasonihavenolife

Yoongi x Reader x Jungkook for some good angst with a happy ending.

Kings of Campus - @luxekook

a series in which the reader meets (and falls for) seven members of the Beta Tau Sigma (BTS) fraternity.

You Belong to Us - @minniepetals

Just do it, read all of Minnie's stories, they are fantastic and a perfect balance of angst and fluff.

Feelings of Doubt - ^^

Yours Alone - ^^

Strawberries & Cigarettes - ^^

When the rain gets Rough - ^^

Until the Last Star Falls - ^^

Caramel Macchiato - ^^

Honey Love - ^^

Nightlight - ^^

Heartbeat - ^^

Love Poem - ^^

As Long as You're Here - ^^

A Cup of Love - ^^

A Thousand Springs - ^^

When a Demon Loves - ^^

Guardians - ^^

Milk Honey - ^^

The Butterseries - ^^

Cry Me a River - ^^

[otomes-world]

Unexpected interaction (Part 5)

You must think that I was kidding, but truth is that i`m not... and I hope no one minds (￣▽￣) You know, I was thinking about writing fic with Neige for plenty time and who knows.. maybe in the future he will have one all for himself (´꒳`)♡ part1 part 2 part 3 part 4

Picture and idea belongs to @twisted-n-thirsty 

Neige was never distinguished by a pessimistic attitude towards life. After all, the world wasn`t without good people and the black streak could not last forever. Someday his princess would definitely come. You just have to sincerely believe in it. The young man, who was raised on fairy tales with a happy ending, deeply hoped for his `Happily Ever After`. In this he was supported by friends: both gnomes and forest dwellers. 

So, LeBlanche grew up, cherishing the dream to meet his destiny. He wasn`t naive, believing that the meeting would take place soon. However, the young man had no doubts that it would definitely take place. He had heard rumors before about the mysterious Prefect of the Onboro Dormitory, which had just shown up. The girl came from a world completely different from Twisted Wonderland. At that moment, hope arose in the heart of Neige, and he would be lying if he affirmed the opposite.

Due to the busy schedule, the brunette had to be content with only rumors, which sometimes reached the Academy. Most of the image was drawn by the imagination: silky strands, with which the gentle breeze played every now and then; shining eyes and a most charming smile.

So far, that has been enough. The young man didn`t even think that soon he would be able to officially meet the one who involuntarily settled in his thoughts and became the basis of everyday life. That is why, when the chance to sing and dance with you on the same stage presented itself, he immediately took it.

That`s why, when the chance to meet you face to face presented itself, LeBlanche grabbed onto it with his whole being.

Neige didn`t think about possible troubles, about the fact that for three classmates he was only a way to achieve a goal. He was overwhelmed with sincere joy, finally, to touch the object of adoration.

When you woke up this morning, you had an unpleasant feeling of inevitability. As if someone knew something that you didn`t and openly showed their superiority. Powerlessness was annoying, but at least you didn’t have to face it alone.

Despite all the suspicions, you accepted Vil’s offer and returned to the dorm, accompanied by somehow utterly pleased the hatter. Trying to ignore the expression on the face of your future roommate for a few more days, you thought about how you would inform your friends about this. Initially, you had to figure out how to get rid of the animals. Then somehow explain that they are arriving, delivering gifts from `unknown` fans and now also the fact that in spite of the ended competition, vice-leader Pomefiore would move back.

However, fate in the form of a gluttonous fiery cat, who, just as you are tired of what is happening, did it for you. Approaching the dorm, you heard the noise and din that grew louder as you approached the building. All sorts of thoughts began to creep into your head until you heard painfully familiar voices.

“What in earth this animals doing here?! Deuce, leave`ya this bird!”

“What else can I do?! This woodpecker has grabbed onto Epel’s head and doesn`t want to let go!”

“Little fry, how dare you peck the head of the great Grimm, this is our home!”

It looked like your friends had decided to take lunch time to help you once again. From this realization a pleasant warmth spread into the gruli, even though at that moment your already battered refuge was under the threat of complete destruction.

Fortunately, this was avoided. Hunt, indeed, turned out to be a professional in record time getting rid of intruders. The duo Adeuce, smoothing out the torn and dirty shape, convinced you that what was happening wasn`t the end of the world, and that you could always rely on them. Epel, with a serious expression on his face, nodded in confirmation. The moment where Rook wiped away his tears, subdued by the touching scene, you chose to erase from your memory.

Three days passed in this way. The blond, constantly absent, but always appearing at the right moment, did the work of your unspoken bodyguard, as well as the spy of Vil. The flow of gifts didn`t stop, but they never reached you. Everything was almost instantly intercepted by Hunt and brought to Schoenheit, giving you peace that hadf become rare in recent days.

However, what you certainly didn`t expect was the news that Neige LeBlanche would visit the NRC today. He seemed pretty cute to you the first time you met, but not enough to make you call yourself a fan of him. However, the person who now lives next door to you clearly didn`t share your indifference.

“Roi du Neige himself will visit Night Raven College, isn’t this the best day of my life?” Probably, if there was someone who was sincerely happy about this event, it was none other than Rook. “My heart is about to jump out of my chest, and even if it does, nothing will darken this moment. One smile will heal me and bring back to life!“

You are already quite used to the eccentric behavior of the hunter. Therefore, letting his monologue go deafening, you began to wonder if you had forgotten something. You went out as a pair familiar to the eye. You walked without Grimm, because the cat completely refused to go to history lesson, justifying himself by the fact that he would fall asleep anyway. Hunt, who had already finished his speech, but hadn`t stopped flashing eyes, followed nearby. His thoughts were probably the same as yours.

“Potato, Rook,” familiar voice with a slipping hint of discontent and irritation distracted you from your general thoughts.

“Roi du Poison! Now this day can really be called the best! My two idols are nearby, at arm’s length… My heart… ”

“I will not go into the details of your situational arrhythmia. Now I have a photo session and you are coming with me. I’ll send you to a cardiologist later.“

You’d be amazed at how calmly Vil would parry all the attacks of his vice-leader, if not for one small `but`, “I apologize for interrupting. By “you” did you mean both of us?“ One wrong move and his fans would bury you alive, and you were not going to the grave yet. "Let me refuse, today I have important lessons-…”

“I have already spoken to the director, you will not be credited with absenteeism,” Schoenheit didn’t let you finish, quickly giving an answer. The feeling was that he was in a hurry, as if wishing to avoid something.

“Vi-kun! What a coincidence, you’re here too!”

Or someone.

Well, now everything had become clear to you. You didn’t even have to turn around. One voice and a barely audible snort from Schoenheit was enough for you to understand who was walking towards you right now.

“Angel descended from heaven to earthly firmament, your sight alone was enough to heal my soul, wounded by our parting!”

You weren`t a believer, but at the moment you were ready to pray to the gods of all worlds. God, Great Seven, did it just seem to you?.. LeBlanche wasn`t accompanied by those of whom you thought, right?..

However, fate had always been a villain, because turning around you saw the trinity that changed your home into a zoo. There was another annoyed snort from Schoenheit, and for the first time you were ready to agree with him and go anywhere: even for a photo session, even for a fashion show.

“Neige, what a coincidence,” by the time the quartet approached you, Vil was already showing the perfect smile of a model. “It’s a shame it won’t last long. We are already late for the project scheduled for today. Have a good time"

The blond was ready, like the last time, to turn around on his heels and leave, when Neige thoughtfully touched chin with his hand, “Isn’t this a photo shoot for release a new perfume?” Not noticing the crease between Schonheit’s eyebrows, the young man continued. “I heard that another celebrity was chosen for this project, but I could not even think that it was you Vi-kun! I am so glad that we will work together!“

“What a shame, in that case, we could have accompanied the lady, since we also arrived here,” as if by chance remarked the brunette, if you remembered correctly, his name was Raven. However, putting aside the question of his name, you didn`t like how smoothly his words sounded.

Now the heat definitely coming down. If earlier there was tension in the air, now it almost sparkled with lightning. Once again, you had a choice. Go along with Vil and witness his confrontation with Neige, or stay in college, but with three dubious personalities.

Something told you that this day would be long in any way.

Who should you go with?  (っ´ω`)ﾉ Part 6

[noctis-noctua]

I, Kaeya Alberich, Take Thee

Pairing: Kaeya x Fem. Reader

Count: 1976

Description: Kaeya knows that be does not deserve anything he desires. There is nothing he can do to make you his, but so badly does he wish there was.

Content: Unrequited love, angst, bittersweet ending, marriage.

Warnings: Slight spoiler for Kaeya's backstory but an addition of (non-canon!) Prince Kaeya.

In another universe, maybe I am not cursed so by the Gods. Kaeya resists the urge to nibble on the tail-end of his quill. It was unbecoming for a man of his stature to succumb to unsanitary habits. Plus, this particular pen hailed from a crow’s feather, hunted by the hands of a childhood friend. The intricate quill had not been put to use for a substantial amount of time, but it fits into Kaeya’s hand as if it came to shape its spine based on the curvature of his own grasp. He could get used to signing off documents and organizing civil affairs if it meant succumbing to such mundane sensations. The morning sun dripping onto his mahogany desks and floors, a faint scratch of keratin against ivory paper filling the empty space… It has been a long time since he’s made the decision to take over petty bureau duties. Today is a special day. Kaeya needs to focus on the satisfying echoes of paper and pen, on the sunlight heating his back, or he might just go insane.

    The clamor of bells tugs Kaeya from his mechanical performance. Each ring is a song of desperation, a performance begging for his attention. Come out and celebrate! Indulge in the pain. He is not a man that falls prey to anger, but he cannot help that frustrated itch in his stomach as he hears the iron reverberating. Please just be quiet, Kaeya thinks. Let me forget. The hesitant croak of his door alerts Kaeya to the presence of the Acting Grand Master. She dons an outfit unique from her usual uniform - a cream-colored dress, embroidered by floral lace, a single azure ribbon tying at the waist. So even the straight-edged Jean has taken time off today? 

    “Kaeya, you can’t make these excuses forever.” He knows from how Jean closes the door with unperturbed silence that this is not a conversation regarding hilichurl nests or Fatui diplomats. He can tell from the way Jean drops the mature title of ‘Sir’ in favor of his childhood nickname, that it is a conversation Jean feels must be approached with gentleness as if Kaeya is a stray cat that claws at feeding hands. The Grand Master releases a heaved exhale because both of them dread this discussion as much as the other. There is an inherent wrong in seeing Kaeya distressed. He may not be shedding tears in solitude or resigning himself to the dormitories, but he is hiding, and that is enough for Jean to observe that he is not functioning as normal.

    “Please, come for a little while. I know it’s not… something you want to see, but he’s your brother. Offer a small congratulations at the least.” Her heels tap on the polished hardwood.

    “I was planning on coming by later this evening.  Tell them I’m sorry for not being able to attend the main event. How could I? Just look at all this paperwork.” Kaeya’s signature chuckle follows, putting up a front of careless flirtation. It is not uncommon for Jean to rope the Cavalry Captain into his desk chair. Lord knows he’d never do it otherwise… yet now he claims servitude to the dulling labor. How ironic. 

    “I’ll tell them of your apologies… but both of us know that paperwork isn’t the reason you can’t make it.” Jean turns around, blonde hair trailing in the breeze left behind before Kaeya can quip up a rebuttal. She’s right. Jean is always right. The papers piling on his desk are from the drawers of his subordinates, filed away to be completed in another five months' time. There is no reason they had to be done today. He is hiding. He is a coward and a pathetic one at that. The thought alone provokes Kaeya to tug on his studded gloves and push out his chair. His sights are set on leaving because to be seen as a frail child is to fail at the sole thing he succeeds at. Being the chivalrous Cavalry Captain renowned for his beauty and failsafe charm is the one thing he cannot lose because he cannot let Mondstadt see how fragile he is behind the visage. 

    Mondstadt’s avenues are bustling. Oak tables identical to the ones across local taverns have been dressed in linen tablecloths and topped with miniature feasts. Children run between tables, tugging at each other’s shirts in a feisty game of tag as festive music tempts the adults to a dance. The tell-tale strums of Mondstadt’s No. 1 Bard’s lyre lead the crowds to the statue of Barbatos. Behind it, trails of petals line the paths leading to the limestone Cathedral. Couples, singles, and families alike make haste to enter through the carved doors. No one wants to miss this. Kaeya tugs on the collar of his fur coat, gazing at the entry before him. He can hear the music of an organ, romantic and rich, ricocheting from inside. 

    He steps into the Cathedral. The ceremony has yet to start and the pews continue to fill. Citizens scoot as close as possible to allow for more onlookers to take a seat. He finds a spot next to Huffman and a few other Knights, squished on the outer edge. It is three benches from the front. Too close for Kaeya to be comfortable. The croaking benches have long since met their capacity by now. Not a soul is missing, Kaeya reckons. Diluc Ragnvindr, the wine Tycoon, Mondstadt’s famous magnate, is marrying after all. It is no small occasion. Diluc’s brazen hair is a torch amidst fog, its perk hue garnering the eyes of all in the Cathedral. He is dressed in a suave black suit. It boasts minuscule gold embellishments followed by a hefty crimson cape draped on his shoulders. Even dressed in the furs and fabrics of royalty, one could sense a distinct awkwardness from him. If you’re going to marry her, at least look confident, brother. 

    It hurts. He cannot lie to himself - not that Kaeya was trying to in the first place. There is a pain associated with seeing the woman he loves marrying the brother that no longer desires to even speak to him. Now, Kaeya regrets standing up from his busy work. These thoughts won’t stop their festering, and it punches a hole through his stomach. Kaeya is all-too-aware that tonight, you will climb into Diluc’s sheets. He’d treat you kindly, of course. He grew up with Diluc and has seen his rigorous nobility tutors shape him into the gentleman he is today. There is no doubt that you will live a lavish life of luxury. A life Kaeya could never afford to give you. 

    In Khaenri’ah, Kaeya’s title of ‘Prince’ holds as much merit as it does in Teyvat. His people are dead or suffering. His city has crumbled into dust and shards of a forgotten legacy. Kaeya himself serves one purpose, and that is to bring glory back to the Eclipse Dynasty. It is in these times that Kaeya regrets being born royalty to a lost nation. In the solace of his chambers, Kaeya would stare at the painted ceiling and ponder. If I were born someone else entirely, would you give me a chance? But who is he kidding? Kaeya knows he’s handsome. It’s stupid and unreasonable to be so self-deprecating. He isn’t the one marrying you because he wasn’t Diluc Ragnvindr. He wasn’t from a line of Mondstadtian heroes; he was from the ashes of sinners and embers of civilization. He was Kaeya Alberich, Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius, caught between familial loyalty and a stinging betrayal. Of course he wasn’t marrying you. 

    The Cathedral doors groan as the nuns heave them open. Light floods in and frames the feminine body of the lady of Mondstadt. In your hands, a bouquet of calla lilies. On your body, a silken robe of pearls and diamonds. It flows at your back, fluttering in the blessed gales of Barbatos’. Kaeya swore that as a Khaenri’ahn, he would never see the Gates of Celestia. But this… this, he thinks, might be the closest glimpse he gets. No one dares to speak. She is beautiful. She has always been beautiful. Time slows as Kaeya lets himself take in the sight of you pledging your livelihood to his brother, and his brother’s livelihood to you. 

     Then, as if he is an innocent child once again, Kaeya closes his eyes as you two kiss. Clapping and cheers fill the atmosphere. 

    “To the Ragnvindr’s! Oley!”

    “Say, Kaeya, do you ever wanna get married?” The girl questions from Kaeya’s backside. 

    “Maybe. Then I can show off in front of my lovely wife! That would be cool, wouldn’t it, Diluc?” Kaeya jests, elbowing his step-brother’s chest. Diluc rolls his eyes, ever the prodigy. 

    “We’re still young. There’s no use thinking about such things. Shouldn’t you focus on training?” He grumbles. Kaeya knows that he will never have a lucky wife. He will never have a healthy family, or a thriving home, or a genuine relationship. Those are nothing more than dreams to Kaeya.

    The girl grabs Kaeya’s arm and begins running into the fields of grapes and firs. There is a childlike giggle dispersing for all in the neighborhood to hear, fading out as they lose sight of the manor. Reaching the edge of the cliffside, they halt. It overlooks a sapphire river below, fit for one of Master Crepus’ paintings. Diluc had been abandoned long ago. 

    “Hey, Kaeya, the water kind of looks like your hair.” The girl remarks, nuzzling closer to him. He feels his heart thrashing in its cage, begging him not to react, begging him not to ruin the fate of his country. To the girl, he smells of linen, lampgrass, and sweat, much as a kid his age should. Silence settles onto their shoulders, both of them catching breaths that had been stolen in the wind. “I didn’t ask before because I thought Diluc would get mad, but… Kaeya, how about we get married when we grow up?” How silly, Kaeya thinks. I couldn’t marry you if I wanted to. 

    “Hmm, okay. So you’ll be my lucky wife then?” Kaeya plummets down onto the grass and grins. It tickles the back of his neck and stains his blouse a verdant green. He dreams of dreaming, because that is all Khaenri’ahns like him can do. He dreams of coming home to your embrace or trudging back from battle hand-in-hand. Either one is okay. Anything with you is okay. 

    “Of course, stupid. That’s what marriage is. So you’ll be my lucky husband!” Lucky husband. It fills his heart with an immature pride too chaste for a traitor of his caliber. 

    “Deal!” 

    “Deal.” 

    They are naive children making impossible promises, but a part of Kaeya has never unlatched from those delicate whispers. Khaenri’ahns dream of dreaming, but just this once, Kaeya wished he could dream of you.

    “So, Sir Kaeya, are you going to marry soon? Youth is fleeting! Get a wife while you’re young.” One of the Knights suggests, sliding him a suggestive beam. Kaeya let’s himself open his eyes. He processes the blinding light from colored panes of glass spilling over him, the jovial expressions of the citizens he has sworn to protect, and you grasping onto Diluc’s arm, a longing of adoration phasing across your features. Happy. You are happy. He turns towards the knight, cracking a smile.

    “Don’t be silly - I’m already married, Huffman.” He lets the novice soldier ogle at him for a few seconds. “I’m joking. Lighten up.” Huffman releases a hearty chortle, commenting on his Captain’s sense of humor and putting a hand to his chest. He laughs along, but Kaeya knows there is no joke. 

Don’t be silly. I’m already married. It was a deal, after all.

[uniarycode]

Takari Week 2021 Day 5- AU

Medieval Fantasy AU: Takeru is a young boy who tames a Pegasus and goes to live in a castle in the sky, with an army of Celestials, and a young prophet.

Wordcount: 3370

Written as part of @takariweek

Takeru didn’t have many memories of being on the surface, they tended to involve either his brother, his father or Pata. The former two he missed dearly, the latter seldom left his side these days.

He’d been four when he met Pata, he’d found the foal frolicking in a field, doing summersaults over the meadow. It was against the rules to interact with creatures you did not recognize, but the Deep Ones had not been seen near his village in generations, and Takeru was couldn’t help but take the risk. And Pata just seemed so friendly. Takeru had shared some herbs he’d found, and that had been enough to earn the foal’s undying loyalty.

Pata had been his secret for a while, it may seem difficult to hide a horse, but Pata could fly, most did not look for horses in the trees or on rooftops. Some that did thought they’d gone insane rather than believe their eyes. Pata became Takeru’s closest friend, his chief confidant. Without knowing the proper name for a flying horse, Takeru had decided to call him Pata, based on the gentle sound of his wingbeat. The name stuck.

He was six when Pata had been discovered. He and his brother were gathering some goods from the market, when some bigger boys from the next town over had begun attacking them, attempting to force Yamato to hand over all their money. When Takeru had cried for them to stop, it was Pata who had answered his call, galloping straight at the boys, and scaring them away instantly.

Such a large commotion could not go unnoticed, and immediately the villager’s opinion of him became divided. Some treated him with scorn, as a devil that possessed authority over monsters, others with reverence, as a sacred omen.

The priest showed up at his door a few weeks later, flanked by two outsiders, cloaked in armor and robes the likes of which far outshone even the knights of the capital. Takeru had been scared at first, until one of the knights, a woman, had summoned her own steed and told him he was very special.

She’d explained to him that they were Celestials: the goddess’s chosen. That since he had bonded with a Pegasus, that he too must have been a Celestial. And that the Deep Ones and the celestials were fated enemies.

After that, there had been questions, they asked him how he had met Pata, whether he’d ever road the horse, what his dreams were like, if he’d ever traveled outside the village.

Far more questions were directed at his parents, they asked his lineage, where his parents came from, where his parents’ parents came from, at one time they’d even accused his momma of having stolen him from another woman.

Takeru didn’t understand it at the time, but things were very complex. Celestials did not like outsiders, but since he’d tamed a Pegasus he couldn’t be an outsider. But they could not say the same about his family.

In the end, his mother had been allowed to accompany him to his new home, and his brother and father had been left behind. Even when he was old enough to ride Pata freely, he’d been forbidden from making contact with them, and he’d quickly learned how big the world was when he tried to anyway.

Life was hard with the celestials. On the ground, they said that the goddess lived in a palace in the sky, guarded by her knights. Inside the sanctuary, the tale was similar but different. The one they protected was a prophet, who died and was reborn every one hundred and eight years. And while they had many knights, the Celestials regarded their entire race as chosen ones, the only ones worthy of serving the prophet and able to defeat the king of the Deep Ones.

Being born on the surface made Takeru inferior in the eyes of the other children. That alone earned him hardship, but he had also bonded with a Pegasus at a record age. Despite having no proper training, he was years ahead of his peers, and that brought him further scorn.

***

At eight, Pata had turned into a stallion, and that had brought a conundrum for the Celestials. By right and custom, Takeru was now a squire. The next youngest squire had recently turned twelve, the eldest squires were eighteen. Takeru was simply too young and small to perform the duties provided by most squires.

He could clean the stables and feed the Pegasi, although still at slower speeds than the older squires. But he could not carry weapons for a knight, nor was he tall enough to help them into all of their armor, nor did anyone trust him to ride Pata more than three feet into the air. He was never picked to accompany a knight on a campaign or a quest.

Then he had been given a new duty. One that none of the other squires talked about. As he’d been summoned in front of the elders, they informed him he would not talk about this duty, that it would be taken with him to the grave.

That was the first of many rules.

He was told he would be delivering food to a guest, as well as refreshing the oil on their lamps. He was not to talk to the guest he found. Nor would touch her. Nor would he touch the food, only the tray used to bring it to her. He would set the tray in front of the guest, fill all the lamps in the room, then stand in the corner until she had finished eating, retrieve the tray, and leave.

And of course, no harm would come to the guest.

After he had accepted one of the elders objected, then another, then another. They were all overruled, and a knight directed Takeru to the kitchens.

It seemed silly, to have a knight guide him around, but send a squire anyway. Takeru followed the knight into the castle, through some twists and turns, to a small door guarded by two more knights.

They reaffirmed his directions, then let the door open a couple of feet, barely more than he could fit himself and the tray through. Even then, he was not at the guest. He had to walk down three more hallways before he found her.

He opened the final door to reveal a girl who looked no older than himself, to his shock. But he was a squire now, he couldn’t show such a weak reaction. The rest of the room was fancy, if cramped. A large four-post bed, a single dresser for clothes, no chair nor desk nor anything else. On the walls hung lanterns and tapestries, and in the corner of the room, there was a lectern with paper, a pen, and a chute.

He walked over to the guest and set the tray down in front of her when his eye caught a tapestry draped across the wall. So deep in the bowels of the castle, this room had no exterior light, and he moved to get a better view in the flickering lanterns.

The tapestry itself displayed a great battle, many knights fight deep ones and a strange giant monster. On the edge of the tapestry were eight symbols he did not recognize, perhaps they were words in an ancient language? Each one held a separate color: yellow, pink, red, purple, blue, green, grey, and orange.

The lantern flickered, reminding Takeru of his duties. He turned back to the tray, remembering he’d left the oil there, only to jump in horror as he saw the guest, one hand on the canister full of oil, bringing it to her lips.

“Stop!” he cried, “You’ll get sick if you drink that.”

The girl turned to him; eyes wide at his outburst. Takeru realized his mistake, raising one hand to his mouth.

“You can talk.” She said, “I’ve never talked to anyone before, except my cat. But she doesn’t like talking back.”

Takeru felt his heart speed up. He’d already broken the rules, but the guest seemed so excited. Why wasn’t he supposed to talk to the guest if she wanted to talk? His mom would yell at him for being rude.

“Yeah, I can talk.” He thought for a second. “How’d you learn to talk, if no one talked to you before.”

“Learn?” she asked. “I always knew how to talk, like how I know how to breathe or eat or write.” She said as if it were obvious.

“You know how to write too?” he asked in amazement. All the other squires knew how to write, but none of the teachers ever bothered to explain it to him.

“You don’t?” she asked. “So you can talk, but not write.” Her face twisted into a smile. “You’re an odd one.”

That was true, he was the only celestial who wasn’t born a celestial, he became a squire at such a young age. But somehow when she pointed it out, he felt all funny.

“You should eat.” He said, “You must be hungry.”

“I don’t want to eat. I want to talk. Everyone else left when I finished eating, you will too, won’t you?”

He blushed. “I-I’m supposed to.”

“And I don’t want you to leave. If I never eat you have to stay.”

That didn’t sound too bad, but he did want to see his mom and Pata again at some point. “If I take too long, they’ll probably never let me see you again. Then I won’t be able to talk to you anymore.”

“You have a point.” She said, grabbing the utensils and beginning to shovel food into her mouth. “Whurts your name. Everyone has a name, even my cat. She won’t tell it to me though.” she said, not bothering to swallow before speaking. Takeru’s mom would have called it rude, but if it's what it took to keep her eating, he could accept it.

“Takeru Takaishi.” He said, beginning to fill the lanterns around the room. “What’s yours?”

“I have many names. Guiding Star, Eternal Shepherd, Prophet of the Goddess. I like Hikari the most, though.”

Takeru ended up spilling some of the oil, he quickly tried to recover himself. “You’re the prophet? What are you doing in a place like this?”

He could have kicked himself. The room, while cramped and locked away, was still far better than the dormitory he shared with the other squires or the cold tower they’d relocated his mother into. And she had said that both were fancier, if not larger, than their old home on the surface.

“This is where I’ve always been.” She replied. “And you? There’s something mysterious about you, I can tell.”

Should he admit it? Somehow he felt he could trust this girl, she was the prophet after all. “I lived on the surface before, unlike the others. Everyone says Celestial’s are stronger than the surface dwellers.”

That earned him a laugh from Hikari. “Do they? How quickly they forget. The only reason this castle exists is because they were too scared to fight the Deep Ones themselves. They chose to flee to the one place they could not be harmed before mounting any resistance.”

Takeru looked at her, blinking. “How’d you know that, how old are you?”

“Eight. But I just know that. Like how you know to talk or write.”

There was a clatter of metal against porcelain. “Oh, I guess I’m done.” She looked down. “I was having so much fun, I must have forgotten to go slowly.”

“It’s okay.” He said. “You were probably hungry anyway.”

He lingered like that a few minutes more, neither of them talking beyond pleasantries, before he finally excused himself.

The next day he was not chosen to bring Hikari her meal. But he was the day after. That pattern continued for a couple of weeks. Eventually, Hikari admitted that whenever someone else brought her meal, she would send a letter to the elders insisting it was him who came instead.

The elders must have gotten the hint because Takeru began to visit Hikari as part of his daily routine. No one but the elders and some of the knights knew his task, but all of them regarded him differently. Like back when Pata had first been discovered. Some looked at him with reverence, some with scorn.

He and Hikari talked about everything they could, sometimes they even talked about the same things on different days. Hikari was very knowledgeable about the outside for someone who had stayed in one room her entire life and never talked to anyone. She claimed the knowledge was natural, instinctive.

One day he’d been talking about his brother, how he’d left him behind to join the celestials, and how much he missed him.

Hikari had held out her hand in response, Takeru had hesitated at first, he wasn’t supposed to touch her. But then he also wasn’t supposed to talk to her. When he took her hand she closed her eyes and began to describe a scene for him.

A young blond boy who worked the fields by day. He stayed separate from the other kids when they gathered, but kept himself close enough to watch them play. He’d fashioned a flute out of a reed, and played it only when he thought no one else was around.

She told him that his brother missed him very much.

After she released his hand, she confessed to having a brother of her own. But as she’d not been two when she’d been moved to this room as part of her duties, and she was worried that her brother had forgotten her. However, she could scry her brother at any time and learned he’d recently bonded with a Pegasus so that in a few years he’d have the qualifications to serve her himself.

***

That time came when Takeru was eleven. He’d not known, which boy to look for at first, but when a fourteen-year-old with the same dark hair as Hikari had joined the squires and the very next day he had not been told to bring Hikari her meal, he was smart enough to figure it out.

Having someone else to feed Hikari also allowed Takeru to leave with one of the knights on a quest or two. He was still the youngest of all the squires, but he had more years of training than all but the eldest. Some knights still shunned him due to his birth, but those who were willing to take him along were also quick to ask for him again, whenever he wasn’t needed to keep Hikari company.

It was after one such quest that he’d found Hikari ranting, complaining about her brother’s seeming vow of silence. It was at this point Takeru had admitted there was a rule against speaking in her presence.

“You break the rules? Every time you visit me?” she asked.

“I like you more than the rules.” He said, “Besides, you’re the Prophet. You’re probably the most important person here. You should make the rules.”

“I did make the rules.” She said. “In my past life. The past prophet always makes the rules for the next incarnation.” She looked at him “Is that odd?”

Takeru shrugged “I don’t know anything about my past life, I’m not a prophet though.”

She nodded. “Did you break any other rules?”

“I’m not supposed to touch you.” He admitted. “But you were always the one who asked.”

“That’s because I like touching you.” She said. “You make me feel nice, like watching the clouds part, or the first sunbeam cresting a mountain to welcome the new day.”

Hikari tilted her head. “Why would I tell no one to talk to me or touch me if I want to talk to everyone and I want you to touch me?”

Takeru shrugged. “Are you sure you made the rules, maybe the elders changed them?”

She shook her head. “They wouldn’t dare. They do not know how my gift works; I don’t even know how my gift works. For all they knew I would know as soon as they tried it.”

“I don’t know.” Something caught his eye. “But if you can’t talk, that doesn’t mean you can’t communicate.” He pointed at the lectern in the corner. “How much paper do you have? Taichi knows how to read and write.”

“The paper and pen are blessed; they don’t run out.” She said. “That might work, but if Taichi won’t talk to me, why would he write to me?”

“It’s not against the rules, is it?”

His scheme had ultimately proven successful, although it had taken a few days to get Taichi on board. Soon enough the siblings were truly reunited, and Takeru had never seen Hikari or Taichi looking so happy.

***

When he was fourteen, Hikari’s demeanor changed. She became more withdrawn, more distant, even to him. He couldn’t ask Taichi directly if it were the same, no squires were supposed to know who anyone else in charge of Hikari was, but he could tell that the older squire had grown more somber as well.

He confronted her directly. It took a couple of days, but he wore through her resistance.

“Takeru, you break the rules every time you come here, right?” she asked.

“I do.” He said, “But they were your rules, and you wanted me to break them, right?”

“They were.” She agreed, “I think I understand now.”

“Understand?” he pressed “That I talk to you because I enjoy it?”

“No.” she said. “Why I would make rules I barely tolerate and enforce them on myself.” She looked at the tapestry. “I think, I think I needed someone who could break the rules.”

He reached out and grabbed her hand, “Hikari, what is going on?”

“Promise me.” She said, “Promise me you’ll break the rules for me. No matter which rules. Please Takeru, you’re the only one I can trust with this.”

“I do.” He pulled her into a hug. “I’ll break whatever rule you need me to. I swear. Just please, let me help you.”

Her tears began to stain his shoulder. “Kill me.”

His blood turned cold. “What?”

“Kill me. Please Takeru, everyone else here, they think I’m a saint. They won’t let me so much as stub my toe. Even my cat won’t scratch me. You are the only one who can do this for me.”

“Hikari, I don’t understand. What is going on?”

She took a deep breath. “I had a vision. The Deep Ones were back. I watched them conquer nation after nation, I watched as even the Celestials fall. I watched them kill Taichi, I watched them kill you.” She swallowed. “And I saw all that because I was there. I was leading them, I made it happen.”

“Hikari you would never.”

“I will.” She insisted. “I’ve never been wrong before. I’ve never heard of the prophet being wrong before. This is the only way I can think of, I need to give up on this life and hope for the next one.”

Her arms squeezed tighter around him. “Please Takeru, you’re the only one I can ask.”

“No.”

“No? No! But you promised! You promised me you’d do anything!”

This was the first time he’d seen Hikari get mad, and it scared him, but still he did not relent. “I promised you I’d break every rule for you. And I will. If you tell me not to visit you again, I will break that rule. If you decree that I must kill you, I’ll break that rule as well. If it’s a rule that the profit’s visions must come to pass, then I’ll break that rule too.”

“You’re being stupid.”

“Ahh, Hikari. I’m afraid that I must break the rules of logic as well. I made a promise, you see.”

She scoffed at him, but for the first time in weeks, she was wearing a smile.